Chapter 44: A Secret Promise in the Son-in-Law's Heart

At this moment, Qin Chuan had no idea that the Lin couple had already set their hearts on him as a son-in-law. He was still caught in an agonizing struggle between the flawless beauty before him and his duty to heal; he nearly surrendered to temptation. Yet in the end, Qin Chuan forced himself to calm down and began the treatment—not out of a particularly noble sense of professional ethics, but because the Nine Yang energy within him had suddenly surged.

He had clearly underestimated the depth of the cold energy within Lin Wanyu. After finishing the acupuncture, Qin Chuan used a guiding technique to draw the intense yin chill from her body into his own, attempting to neutralize it with his own yang energy. But the instant the two forces met and merged, a dramatic transformation occurred.

Qin Chuan felt as if an explosion had erupted in his dantian, and in a flash, an indescribable pain shot through his organs and meridians. Even with his extraordinary willpower, he could not help but cry out in agony.

This startled Li Yulan, who had been standing by on high alert. “Xiao Chuan, are you all right—” Her voice abruptly stopped as she was confronted by a terrifying sight: the veins bulging on Qin Chuan’s forehead, his once bright and handsome features now twisted with unbearable pain.

She turned to look at Lin Wanyu. The crystalline frost on her daughter’s skin had vanished, and the pallor of her face had given way to a healthy flush. A stream of icy energy, visible to the naked eye, slowly drifted out of Lin Wanyu’s body and then, like a rushing torrent, surged into Qin Chuan.

“So all of Xiao Chuan’s suffering is because he’s absorbing Wanyu’s cold energy!” At this realization, Li Yulan’s heart clenched, and the feelings she’d had earlier only grew more intense.

The bone-deep torment lasted for over ten minutes before finally subsiding. Had he not trained so diligently over the years, Qin Chuan would have long since fainted from pain. Yet in the very next instant, he was transported from hell to paradise.

As the icy current fused with the Nine Yang energy, Qin Chuan felt the need to suppress it with his techniques vanish. The agony of burning meridians was gone, replaced by a sensation of total clarity and strength coursing through him, especially in his dantian—it was as if he had been reborn.

A cry of pleasure escaped his lips. But Qin Chuan quickly realized his loss of composure. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Li Yulan watching him, her face full of worry and her eyes brimming with tears.

“This is a perfect chance to make a good impression on my future mother-in-law!” he thought, and immediately tried to contort his face into an expression of pain and anguish.

Yet the comfort inside him only intensified, rivaling the peak of a lover’s embrace. Though he’d never experienced it himself, he had studied the performances of certain actresses in foreign films with great attention and insight.

With effort, Qin Chuan reined in his wandering thoughts—it was time to test his acting skills. Whether he could climb from “aunt’s favorite” to “future son-in-law” rested on this very moment!

He recalled the trove of study materials—three whole terabytes—confiscated by his master under the pretense of protecting his cultivation, though really to enjoy them in private. He remembered being caught peeping at Widow Chen’s bath as a boy, only to be kicked away by his master “for his own good,” though the real motive was surely to enjoy the scene alone.

So many memories flashed through his mind—frustration, resentment, pain—all these negative emotions piled up inside him. At last, after three minutes, Qin Chuan’s features twisted, veins stood out on his face, and yet, despite his best efforts, shudders of pleasure slipped past his lips.

Seeing this, Li Yulan’s heart ached so much she could hardly breathe. “What a strong-willed child! Even in such agony, he’s forcing himself to pretend he feels fine—just so I won’t worry, so I won’t feel guilty…”

“Oh, Wanyu, why didn’t you take the time to truly understand Xiao Chuan? If you let a man like this slip by, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!” Li Yulan’s sorrow and anger at her daughter’s lack of initiative only grew.

Qin Chuan, meanwhile, watched Li Yulan’s micro-expressions and was finally at ease. His performance had succeeded. “The Academy owes me an Oscar!” he crowed inwardly.

What he didn’t know was that his performance had not only won over Li Yulan, but also Lin Jiancheng, who had been listening outside the whole time. From the initial anguished screams to the later cries of pleasure, Lin Jiancheng imagined the entire scene in his mind’s eye: Qin Chuan enduring excruciating pain to cure his daughter’s illness, and then, to spare her parents worry or guilt, feigning comfort and ease.

“What a pure and honest young man! If only Xiao Chuan were my son-in-law!” Hope flared in Lin Jiancheng’s eyes, and his resolve only deepened.

Had Qin Chuan known about these vivid imaginings, he would have cheered Lin Jiancheng’s wild imagination and applauded his own acting prowess.

The treatment lasted two hours. Dawn was already breaking on the horizon.

“It’s done!” Qin Chuan removed the silver needles. Before he could finish his sentence, he “fainted,” collapsing into Lin Wanyu’s arms. Under ordinary circumstances, Li Yulan would have sensed something amiss, but now she felt only pity.

“He’s worked himself to exhaustion, poor child,” she murmured, gently moving Qin Chuan off her daughter.

As he was separated from Lin Wanyu’s embrace, the “pitiful” Qin Chuan was inwardly exclaiming: So smooth! So soft! So pale!

Li Yulan dressed Lin Wanyu in fresh sleepwear and, seeing the healthy color in her daughter’s cheeks, finally relaxed. But when her gaze fell on the ashen-faced Qin Chuan, she sighed again.

She walked quietly to the door and called her husband inside.

“How’s our daughter?” Lin Jiancheng asked anxiously.

Li Yulan shot back irritably, “You only care about your daughter—aren’t you going to ask about Xiao Chuan? Can’t you be a little more thoughtful, Lin Jiancheng?”

Lin Jiancheng was momentarily speechless, surprised by his wife’s sudden defense of Qin Chuan, but it told him their daughter was likely out of danger. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly inquired after Qin Chuan.

“The poor boy’s fainted from exhaustion, his face is deathly pale, but at least his hands and feet aren’t cold. If I’d had to worry about losing one child just after saving another, I don’t know what I’d have done,” Li Yulan said, her voice full of concern.

Lin Jiancheng’s heart skipped a beat; the reality was even more dire than he’d imagined.

At that moment, Lin Wanyu slowly regained consciousness, feeling clear-headed and full of vigor. But when she took in her surroundings and saw Qin Chuan lying nearby, she immediately shrieked, “Why is that scoundrel here?”

Panic-stricken, she quickly checked herself for any sign of harm, and only relaxed when she found nothing amiss.

“Wanyu, how can you talk about Xiao Chuan like that?” Li Yulan scolded.

“That’s right, Wanyu,” Lin Jiancheng added sternly. “To us, Xiao Chuan is like our own son. If you keep speaking without knowing the facts, don’t blame us for disciplining you ourselves.”