"Don't be in such a hurry."
Lin Qingyue suddenly spoke, interrupting the tense atmosphere.
Under everyone's astonished gazes, she unhurriedly took out a small carved tea table from her Storage Space.
Next came several reclining chairs with soft cushions.
There was even a complete set of tea utensils with a gentle, warm glow, as well as several plates of exquisite pastries arranged like works of art.
"Did you forget the [Survival Instinct] rule?"
She reminded them without looking up, all while elegantly arranging the tea set.
"After a major battle, our spirits are taut and our muscles are fatigued. If we rush in now, our combat power will be reduced by at least twenty percent."
"How can we face the final BOSS in less-than-optimal condition?"
Lin Qingyue curved her lips, her voice carrying a hint of playful laziness.
"We need to be in perfect condition to slap the face of a paranoid who fancies himself perfect."
Su Wan looked at her leisurely and composed manner, feeling somewhat speechless.
But she had to admit that this unconventional "salted fish" theory was the most correct survival rule in this eerie Dungeon.
Over there, Lin Xiyue had already sat down without the slightest hesitation, reaching out to grab a pink macaron.
Smack!
A light sound rang out.
The back of her hand was tapped lightly by Lin Qingyue.
"Wash your hands first!"
Lin Qingyue glanced at her.
"You're so old, yet you have no manners at all!"
"Hehe!"
Lin Xiyue sheepishly withdrew her hand and obediently took out a wet wipe to clean it.
Lin Qingyue nodded in satisfaction, picked up a cup of clear, bright red tea, and handed it to Su Wan, smiling meaningfully:
"Su Wan, it's time you showed the aura of a head of the household and properly managed her."
With a single sentence, a thin blush instantly spread across Su Wan's cheeks.
She took the teacup, her voice small as she argued, "I... I'm not..."
Before she could finish, a pair of strong, powerful arms had already wrapped around her slender waist from behind, and a fluffy head rested naturally in the crook of her shoulder.
"Oh my! Xiao Wan, your words break my heart!"
Lin Xiyue wore a face of pure innocence, blowing hot breath into her ear, her voice low and clingy.
"Are you really going to abandon me after you've seduced me?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Su Wan's entire body stiffened, her ears turning crimson from the sudden intimacy and the bold words. She tried to break free, but was only held tighter.
"Let... let go! Xia Lian is still here!"
"Don't mind me, I'm blind."
Xia Lian held her teacup, her gaze fixedly welded to the tea leaves floating up and down inside, yet her cheeks were hotter than the red tea in the cup.
"See, even Xia Lian supports us."
Lin Xiyue became even more self-righteous, taking an inch and stealing a mile as she rubbed her cheek against Su Wan's.
"I'm helping you recover your status quickly! According to the [Survival Instinct] rule, intimate physical contact helps relieve post-battle psychological stress, promotes dopamine secretion, and comprehensively enhances team cohesion and combat effectiveness! Right, Sis?"
Lin Qingyue sat with her legs crossed, slowly taking a sip of tea, and nodded in profound agreement.
"Hmm, reasonable, well-evidenced, and convincing."
Her gaze turned to Xia Lian, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
"Little Xia Lian, see how this free stage play of theirs is such a great side dish. Hurry up and eat some cake, don't let it go to waste."
Xia Lian silently picked up a macaron and stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling unclearly:
"Hosting a tea party at the final BOSS's doorstep, and watching people fall in love in the meantime... I just feel like the art style of our team is getting weirder and weirder..."
"No."
Lin Qingyue set down her teacup, her peach-blossom eyes narrowing slightly, a sense of all-seeing confidence hidden within her lazy posture.
"This isn't weird; this is called a relaxed vibe."
"Lying flat is a form of wisdom."
"This, right here, is the ultimate secret to clearing high-difficulty Dungeons."
The aroma of tea wafted through the air, utterly out of place amidst the scarred ruins of a battlefield that had just witnessed a god-tier fight, yet it also exuded a strange harmony.
Xia Lian cradled the exquisite teacup in her hands, the warmth of the black tea seeping through the porcelain to her fingertips, but it couldn't quell the drum-like pounding of her heart.
Thump, thump, thump.
It wasn't the lingering tremors of battle, but a more frantic, more private palpitation.
She sat on the small stool, her gaze originally fixed on the tea leaf swirling in the water.
But her peripheral vision kept disobeying her, like an uncontrollable rebel, drifting time and again toward the person beside her.
Lin Qingyue was leaning back in her chair, her posture the epitome of languid grace.
Her long, cherry-blossom-pink hair wasn't styled, falling casually over her shoulders.
A few stray strands rested against the fair, slender curve of her neck, tracing a breathtaking line.
She held the saucer with one hand, while the other pinched a small pastry, casually bringing it to her lips.
Sunlight filtered through the colossal canopy of the Jianmu tree, casting a few broken patches of light.
One of those beams happened to fall on Lin Qingyue's profile, gilding her with a divine golden glow.
In that instant, Xia Lian felt the aesthetic values she had built over twenty years crumbling to pieces.
"This isn't right..."
Xia Lian told herself inwardly, her fingers unconsciously stroking the warm handle of the cup.
"I'm perfectly clear-headed. I haven't fallen under a Charm Spell, and my preferences have always been unwavering."
She liked guys.
There was no doubt about that.
Ever since she was a child, reading romance novels under her covers, she had always fantasized about male protagonists who were tall, handsome, and could give her a sense of security.
Tall.
Xia Lian's gaze uncontrollably drifted up from Lin Qingyue's long legs, wrapped in casual pants.
Although Lin Qingyue was sitting down, as a teammate who spent every day with her, Xia Lian knew the number clearly: 175 centimeters.
Among girls, this was supermodel height.
In terms of visual presence, it was no less imposing than guys who were 185 centimeters tall.
When Lin Qingyue stood straight, her towering presence alone would be enough to make most guys lose the courage to even approach her.
"Height... meets the criteria."
Xia Lian swallowed hard, feeling the alarm lights in her mind flashing a bit too fast.
Handsome.
This didn't even need proving.
Lin Qingyue's beauty was never the delicate, soft kind, but a sharp, heroic kind of handsome.
Especially during the battle just now, the moment she used her staff as a spear to pierce through Pride's mask in a single strike, that gaze that looked down upon the world, that wild and unrestrained aura...
It was ten thousand times more handsome than any guy she had ever seen!
"A sense of security..."
Xia Lian recalled that back, standing before everyone to protect them, and that casually tossed line: "Mem, send it on its way."
Damn it.
The sense of security was off the charts!
Finally, only one seemingly insurmountable ultimate obstacle remained: gender.
Just then, Xia Lian saw Lin Qingyue turn her head, a helpless yet doting smile appearing as she watched Lin Xiyue try to force-feed cake into Su Wan's mouth.
That smile was clean, bright, and carried a hint of a mischievous, roguish charm.
Wait, something felt wrong...
A spark of realization flashed through Xia Lian's mind, immediately followed by a thunderclap.
Their current rooming arrangements...
Weren't she and Lin Qingyue sharing a double room?
The moment this thought surfaced, the theater of Xia Lian's mind directly raised the curtains on an eighteen-plus rated play!
Every night, she could smell the same yet exceptionally pleasant shower gel fragrance on the other...
She could see those straight, long legs dangling under the loungewear...
She could even hear that steady, long breath in the quiet night...
The sturdy fortress in Xia Lian's mind named "Heterosexuality" had first been pierced through by Lord Captain's handsomeness with a Geo Spear Intent, and now it was being stuffed full of high-explosive charges by these memories of "roommate benefits."
Along with Lin Qingyue's casual smile, the fuse was instantly lit.
BOOM!
The fortress and its very foundation were blasted into the sky.
Gender?
Maybe... it wasn't so insurmountable after all?
The moment this thought sprouted, it scared Xia Lian out of her wits.
Her cheeks instantly flushed, as if someone had publicly stripped her mind bare.
She frantically lifted her tea cup and took a huge gulp, trying to extinguish the inexplicable fire in her heart.
"Hot!"
The scalding black tea seared her throat, making tears almost spring to her eyes and triggering a violent coughing fit.
"Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough!"
The commotion immediately drew everyone's attention.
"What's wrong?"
Lin Qingyue straightened up, those beautiful peach-blossom eyes looking straight at her, while she casually handed over a tissue.
Her voice was right by Xia Lian's ear, carrying a hint of clear amusement.
"Choking on tea? Are you trying to laugh the BOSS to death so you can inherit its estate?"
Xia Lian took the tissue, not daring to look Lin Qingyue in the eyes, burying her head even lower, wishing she could dive right into that cup of black tea.
"It's... it's nothing, I just got distracted and choked."
Xia Lian wiped her mouth haphazardly, forcing a change of topic.
In this tea party filled with pink bubbles and strange hormones, she felt she had to find something serious to talk about.
Otherwise, she would truly bend into a mosquito coil.