Mei returned the next morning with a notebook full of new circulation patterns and a determination that barely masked her nervousness.
"I mapped out three new techniques last night," she announced, stepping into Lin Wei's shack without the hesitation from yesterday. "Variations on the resonance pattern, I want to test them all."
Lin Wei had spent most of the night thinking about that almost kiss moment and was completely unprepared for how businesslike she was being.
"Three? That's... ambitious."
"We have twelve days until your duel." Mei set her materials down with purpose. "If we're going to optimize your cultivation enough for you to survive, we need to work efficiently. No wasting time."
[Oh she's in SERIOUS MODE... Adorable. She's overcompensating for yesterday's awkwardness by being hyper-professional. This will last approximately ten minutes.]
"Right, efficient... No wasting time." Lin Wei cleared his throat. "Should we set up the array?"
"Already did it while you were standing there." Mei had indeed positioned the recording jade slip at an optimal angle. "I studied the footage from yesterday and adjusted the placement for better energy visualization."
She was avoiding eye contact. Definitely overcompensating.
[Her heart rate is elevated. She's nervous but she came back anyway. That's significant character development!]
"So what's the first technique?" Lin Wei asked.
Mei pulled out her notes. "It's a modification of yesterday's pattern, but with deeper synchronization. The theory suggests that sustained physical contact during circulation creates exponential resonance growth."
"Physical contact."
"Yes. Like.." She gestured vaguely. "Hands. Or arms. The more connection points, the stronger the resonance. In theory."
[In theory it also makes you both horny as fuck, but sure, let's call it 'energy optimization.']
"Okay, let's try it."
Mei activated the recording array, then positioned herself in front of Lin Wei. Closer than yesterday, close enough that he could count her eyelashes.
"For the first pattern, we need hand contact." She held out her hands, palms up. "Place your hands on mine, maintain contact throughout the circulation."
Lin Wei placed his hands palm to palm with hers. Her hands were small, warm, slightly trembling.
The moment they touched, the resonance sparked to life.
"Oh," Mei breathed. "That's... that's stronger than yesterday."
"Yeah." Lin Wei could feel it, the golden threads of energy weaving between them, more intense than their first attempt.
"Start circulating," Mei said, her voice shakier than her professional tone suggested. "Follow my pattern."
They both closed their eyes and began the circulation. The energy flowed smoothly, but the sustained contact made everything feel more present. More real.
[Resonance strength: 28%. Holy shit, that jumped fast. The physical contact is amplifying it significantly.]
"Can you feel it?" Mei whispered. "The way our energies are weaving together?"
"Yeah, It's like... like your Qi is filling in the gaps in my meridians."
"And your Qi is giving me control, Usually my fire Qi is chaotic but with your influence it's... stable."
They circulated together in silence for several minutes. The resonance grew stronger, the golden threads multiplying until their energy fields were thoroughly intertwined.
[Resonance: 34%. You're approaching the threshold for basic dual cultivation. Just so you know.]
Lin Wei's eyes snapped open, mei's were already open, staring at him with an intensity that made his heart skip.
"Your hands are shaking," she said softly.
"So are yours."
"The resonance is intense."
"Very intense."
They stood there, hands pressed together, neither pulling away.
[KISS HER. Just fucking KISS HER already. The tension is killing me and I'm a disembodied consciousness.]
"We should try the second pattern," Mei said abruptly, breaking contact and stepping back.
He didn't really understand what's going on, but he just went along.
"Right, second pattern." Lin Wei flexed his hands, trying to ignore how empty they felt.
Mei consulted her notes, not meeting his eyes. "This one requires... closer contact. For optimal resonance mapping."
"How much closer?"
"Significantly closer." She finally looked up. "The theory suggests that aligning our meridian gates directly—which means front to front contact, creates maximum energy transfer efficiency."
[SHE'S ASKING YOU TO PRESS AGAINST HER. For 'science.' This girl is SNEAKY.]
"Front to front contact," Lin Wei repeated carefully.
"For science," Mei added quickly. "Pure research, the data is important."
"Of course... Research."
They both knew this was a flimsy excuse, the comments from yesterday had been full of people pointing out the obvious sexual tension. They were absolutely not fooling anyone.
But they were fooling themselves, and that was apparently enough.
Mei stepped forward until they were chest to chest. She was short enough that her head came to his shoulder. "Like this, the theory says our lower dantians need to be aligned."
**[Your lower dantians are NOT the only things getting aligned right now. Her arousal just spiked. So did yours, this is actually magnificent.]
Lin Wei placed his hands carefully on her waist. "Is this okay?"
"That's fine, I'll... I'll put my arms around your shoulders for stability." Her arms wrapped around his neck.
They were effectively hugging.
A very charged, very intentional hug but still.
"Should we start the circulation?" Mei's voice was muffled against his chest.
"Yeah, let's... yeah."
They both activated their Qi.
The resonance exploded.
[RESONANCE: 51%! HOLY FUCK!]
Mei gasped and pressed closer instinctively, Lin Wei's arms tightened around her waist. The energy flowing between them was overwhelming—like being caught in a current, swept along by forces beyond their control.
"Wei," Mei breathed. "This is... I can feel everything—"
"I know, our Qi is..." He couldn't find words. Her fire Qi was everywhere, warm and bright, flooding through his damaged meridians and healing microfractures with every pulse.
And underneath the energy, there was the very physical awareness that he was holding a girl. A pretty girl who was pressed against him, breathing hard, her body warm and soft and..
[Your dick just responded, her breath just hitched. She FELT that. Congratulations, you're both horny teenagers with hormones AND metaphysical energy amplifying everything. This is going exactly where you think it's going.]
"The resonance is affecting more than just Qi circulation," Mei said, her voice strained.
"Yeah, I noticed."
"We should probably stop."
"Probably."
Neither of them moved.
"For research purposes," Mei continued, "we should note that sustained full body contact creates... additional effects. Beyond pure energy transfer."
"Additional effects... Right, very scientific observation."
"I'm trying to stay professional here," Mei said, and there was a hint of frustration in her voice. "This is difficult enough without you mocking me."
"I'm not mocking you, I'm trying very hard not to acknowledge what's actually happening right now."
"What's actually happening?"
Lin Wei took a breath. "We're both attracted to each other and the resonance is amplifying it, and we're standing here pressed together pretending this is purely academic when we both know it's not."
Mei went quiet. Then: "If I acknowledge that out loud, I don't know what to do about it."
"We don't have to do anything about it, atleast not yet."
"But eventually?"
"Eventually we'll have to address it, because according to my system, dual cultivation requires..." He trailed off.
"Requires what?"
"Intimacy... Real intimacy, not just energy circulation."
Mei pulled back slightly to look up at him. Her face was flushed, her glasses slightly fogged. "You mean sex."
"The system calls it 'dual cultivation' but yeah, essentially."
"And that's... that's necessary for your cultivation path?"
"It's optimal, not strictly necessary but the power gains from proper dual cultivation are significant." Lin Wei forced himself to be honest. "But I'm not going to pressure you into anything. If you want to stay research partners and nothing more, that's fine."
Mei studied his face. "What do you want?"
The question caught him off guard. "What do I want?"
"Yes, not what the system wants. Not what's optimal for cultivation. What do 'you' want?"
Lin Wei looked down at her, small and brilliant and brave enough to come back despite her anxiety, brave enough to ask direct questions that terrified him.
"Honestly? I want you, not just for cultivation. You're the first person in years who's treated me like I'm worth something. Who believes in what I'm trying to do. I like you a lot."
[Oh shit, he's being GENUINE. Character growth! I'm so proud!]
Mei was caught off guard. "Oh."
"But I also don't want to rush you into anything you're not ready for, we can take this as slow as you need."
"What if I don't want to go slow?"
Now it was Lin Wei's turn to be surprised. "What?"
"I've spent my whole life being careful, being afraid, avoiding risks because of my anxiety." Mei's hands tightened on his shoulders. "But yesterday... and right now, this is the first time I've felt like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. Like I'm not broken, just... different and you make me feel brave."
[OH WOW OH WOW OH WOW. She's going to propose it, she's actually going to—]
"I want to try," Mei said firmly. "The dual cultivation.. With you, for research and for... other reasons."
Lin Wei's brain literally short circuited. "You.. what... now?"
"Not right this second!" Her face went bright red. "I mean, eventually. Soon, when we've prepared properly. I have research to review on the practical techniques, and we should establish clear boundaries and..."
"Mei. Breathe."
She took a breath. "I'm terrified, but I want to do this... with you."
[MISSION ALERT!]
[NEW QUEST: First Dual Cultivation]
[Partner: Mei Ling]
[Recommended Synchronization: 30% minimum (Current: 51%—you're READY)]
[Time Limit: 48 hours (strike while the iron is hot)]
[Reward: Dual Cultivation Core Activation, Major cultivation boost, Partner Bond strengthened]
[Penalty for Refusal: None, but seriously, WHY WOULD YOU REFUSE?]