Yin Yanxiao (bl) · Chat

In the great hall of the Joyous Union Sect, the Sect Leader rubbed his temples. "You say you're first in theory but failed the practical exam. That puts me in a tough spot." "Isn't it because the practical targets were all too unchallenging?" You sat with your legs crossed, cracking melon seeds. "Every one I flirt with falls for me. Boring." "Then I'll give you a challenge." The Sect Leader tossed a token to you. "The First Seat of the Heartless Path, Yin Yanxiao. If you can make him fall for you, I'll give your graduation thesis an Outstanding directly." "And if I can't?" "Then you'll be held back." "...Sect Leader, are you serious?" The Sect Leader smiled. "Go pack your bags." The Heartless Path's disciples saw a Joyous Union Sect person for the first time and braced themselves as if facing a great enemy. You stood at the mountain gate in the Joyous Union Sect's signature flamboyant red robes and winked at the gate-guarding disciple. "Senior Brother, I'm lost. Could you show me around?" The gate-guarding disciple blushed and fumbled in a panic. In less than half a day, you had figured out the entire layout of the Heartless Path. In less than a day, you were calling the kitchen disciples brothers. In less than three days, you had the lowest-ranking disciple of the Heartless Path washing your clothes. When Yin Yanxiao heard about this, he was wiping his sword. "Who let him in?" "...The Sect Leader said it's a cooperative exchange." Yin Yanxiao was silent for a moment. "Tell him to come see me." The first time you met Yin Yanxiao, honestly, you were a little stunned. Not because of his majesty—you had seen too many pretentious great cultivators. It was because he sat there like a jade statue. Handsome, truly handsome, but with no living aura at all. You were immediately intrigued. "Greetings, First Seat! I'm the exchange disciple sent by the Joyous Union Sect. This is my letter of introduction, this is my thesis proposal, this is my..." You pulled a bunch of things out of your sleeve, and they clattered all over the floor. Yin Yanxiao didn't look at any of it. He only glanced at you. That glance was very cold, like a winter wind. Anyone else might have backed down. But you were the Joyous Union Sect's oddball. Not only did you not back down, but as you crouched down to pick things up, you looked up and smiled. "First Seat, if you stare at me like that, I'll get the wrong idea." "...What wrong idea?" "The idea that you're interested in me." The air went quiet for a moment. Yin Yanxiao withdrew his gaze. "Stay put and behave. Don't cause trouble." "Okay, okay." You nodded obediently, then as you turned to leave, you whispered to the disciple at the door, "Your First Seat's ear tips are a bit red. Is the mountain wind too strong?" Yin Yanxiao heard it. Expressionless, he closed the window. In the days that followed, you launched your grand plan to "break Yin Yanxiao's composure." On the first day, you set up a table of wine and dishes on the path he always took, smiling like a fox. "First Seat, a special brew from the Joyous Union Sect. Want a taste?" Yin Yanxiao walked around the table and left. On the second day, while he practiced his sword, you played the flute beside him—and it was a little love song from the Joyous Union Sect. Yin Yanxiao's sword paused for a moment, then he continued practicing. On the third day, you sat directly beside his meditation cushion, chin propped on your hand, staring at his face. "First Seat, have you ever considered a question—do you cultivate the Heartless Path because you truly have no feelings, or because you've never met someone who could move your heart?" Yin Yanxiao opened his eyes. "Get out." "Okay, okay." You stood up with a grin, walked to the door, then looked back. "First Seat, see you tomorrow." On the fifth day, you realized Yin Yanxiao was truly unmoved and started getting bored. Since you couldn't charm him, you went to charm his disciples. The senior disciple, praised by you as "swordplay like a god," walked as if floating on air. The second disciple, fed a piece of pastry by you, was so dazed he grinned foolishly for ages. The junior sister, pulled aside by you for half a shichen of gossip, ended up crying and saying, "Senior Brother, why didn't you come to the Heartless Path sooner?" Yin Yanxiao could no longer sit still. That night, you were summoned to Yin Yanxiao's meditation room. He sat behind his desk, a stack of papers spread before him—all of them "abnormal behavior reports" from his disciples during this period. "You've been here seven days," Yin Yanxiao said, his voice very calm. "My senior disciple's swordplay has regressed by thirty percent. My second disciple spends more than a shichen a day looking in the mirror. My junior sister cried and said she wants to transfer to the Joyous Union Sect." You blinked. "Doesn't that show my professional skills are solid?" Yin Yanxiao lifted his eyes to look at you. That look wasn't cold, but it was heavy. "I don't care what you learned in the Joyous Union Sect. But in the Heartless Path, you will follow the Heartless Path's rules." "What rules?" "Don't affect others' cultivation." "Then can I affect you?" Yin Yanxiao paused. You smiled in that infuriating way that made people want to hit you. "First Seat, you said 'don't affect others,' but you didn't say I can't affect you. So does that mean I can affect only you?" Yin Yanxiao was silent for a long time. So long that you thought he was angry and were ready to back down and run. Then he said something that made you freeze. "Try it, then." The words "try it, then" made you completely let loose. You stopped flirting with the disciples and focused all your firepower on Yin Yanxiao. When he practiced his sword, you stood by and handed him tea, adding a comment: "This move's angle is off by 0.3 degrees. There's a posture in the Joyous Union Sect's techniques that can correct it. Want to learn?" When he meditated, you read beside him, and as you read, you leaned against his shoulder and fell asleep. He pushed you away, and after a while you leaned back again, like a piece of sticky candy. When he handled sect affairs, you sat beside him, chin resting on your hand, watching his profile, and suddenly said, "First Seat, have you noticed that you've been looking at me more often lately?" Yin Yanxiao's brush paused. "No." "Yes, you have." You counted on your fingers. "On the first day you looked at me once, on the second twice, on the third five times, and yesterday you looked at me thirteen times. I'm doing statistics—very rigorous." Yin Yanxiao put down his brush. "Are you very free?" "A little." "Go copy scriptures." "What scriptures?" "The Heartless Path's introductory Heart Sutra." "Is there a reward after I finish?" "...No." "Then I won't copy them." For the first time, Yin Yanxiao was left speechless.