Aimless Ascension

The real problem began when he was done with her hand and neck, as what was left here to measure her chest, waist, and leg. Gale didn't know how to measure any of that without being a bit prying. Well, since Wang Li had a flat look on her face as if she didn't really care, Gale adopted a similar look.

'Fuck, I've already seen her naked. No need to act reserved.'

He measured her chest, standing behind her, drawing the measuring tape under her arms.

"A bit higher, and don't pull too much. I would need to breathe in the dress," Wang Li advised, as Gale followed.

His finger touched her back as Gale counted the measurement. The tape wiggled on the alluring protrusion of her bosom, but she remained calm, as this was nothing of the ordinary during measurement. Well, definitely not for Gale. The split image of all her curves—his eyes laid upon before—refreshed in his mind as he measured her.

Next, he moved to her side and measured from her underarm to her legs. Gale had to focus on not remembering the scene of her wet body barely covered by some wet towels. Not to mention that night when. . .

"Do you ever wonder why Linlin fell for you?" Wang Li's question brought him back to reality. Gale was completely focused, emptying his mind of the distracting thoughts. "And no, please don't give me any sarcastic answer."

The words almost left Gale's lips. He really was ready to give a sarcastic answer that would defuse the situation. He sighed. "Probably because nobody, I mean nobody that could be attractive to her, had been kind to her."

Wang Li snorted. "Do you really believe that?" she asked. "True, nobody has been as audacious as you in their kindness, but do you really think nobody would ever try to do something good for her? Just look at her and say, who wouldn't in the world fancy a girl as pretty as her?"

Gale groaned internally as the topic returned to what he didn't want to talk about.

"You talk about girls liking mysteries in a man," Wang Li continued. "Tell me, since you came to Wayshire, did you ever stop playing the mysterious practitioner?"

Gale choked, hearing her out. True, he kept a mysterious persona, but that wasn't just here. It was just a force of habit that he adopted since he arrived in this realm. Things hadn't turned out for the best after he escaped slavery.

He had to fight in the lawless land for years. Any weakness you showed there could sentence you to death. Keeping your cards hidden and always in the act had been drilled to his bone so much that he simply couldn't help it, even to this day.

Gale thought it had gotten easier since he started to live in Stormhold, but the conflict with that stupid young master threw him into that persona yet again.

"I don't know what you want me to say here," Gale said, letting out a breath. "Yes, I do like impressing girls, and most of the time, I do it unintentionally. I think it's a normal thing for men to act like this."

Wang Li gave her a thorough glance as Gale proceeded to measure her waist.

"Gale, will you answer a question to me truthfully?"

Gale narrowed his eyes and proceeded to take it safely. "I'll try," he said.

"Why are you against getting into a relationship?" she asked. "I understand that you suffered too much summoned to this world and took a lot of time to adapt. I don't know why, but you give the vibe of someone who was deliberately running away from a relationship."

Gale thought seriously about what to answer, and for some reason, he decided to let out some truth.

"I have been in a serious relationship two times after coming to this world," he said, "and neither of them ended up well for them."

Wang Li narrowed her eyes with an expression telling him to continue if it was not too sensitive.

"I couldn't protect. . ." Gale sighed big. "From that point on, I didn't look for a serious type of relationship. And Xiaolin deserved better than a fling. I know you want well for Xiaolin, but I honestly don't think I'm a good match for her."

That brought a silence between them as Gale solemnly continued measuring.

"Just an advice," Wang Li said after a while. "I don't think Linlin would understand even if you explain everything thoroughly. I have seen her eyes, how she looks at you. I think she'll love you madly if you just give her a chance."

***

Gale returned from the market with a heavy heart, hardly exchanging anything with the two women. his disciple was remarkably contemplative on the way back.

Gale decided not to pamper her now and proceeded to search out Twilight. Actually, the ghostly figure presented herself before him before he could even start with his Qi senses.

Twilight looked cool and menacing as ever in her dark, gothic cloak as they stood near the balcony of his quarters.

"I'm guessing you have something to say." Gale played the role of conversation maker.

"The commission ends today," she said.

Gale nodded. "Can we prolong it for another week?"

Twilight shook her head.

Gale raised his eyebrows. "You got a better job at hand?"

Twilight did not provide any reply or gesture, to her credit.

Gale sighed. "I guess you're leaving for where you're from," he said.

Nod.

"Your deal with Sun Ziang didn't work out?"

A shake of the head.

"It did? Hmm, he's still preparing?"

Nod.

"So you'll be coming back?"

Nod.

"Will you take a commission like this from me then, if you have the opportunity?"

Nod.

Gale was making it good with this conversation. He probably made more progress with it than he did with his father for years.

"Anyway, will you take a complicated task for me?" Gale asked. Before she could reject, Gale continued, "No, you don't have to provide any quick progress in this. As a matter of fact, you can and will need to leave it for someone else as this isn't your forte. I'll pay in advance, so you don't need to worry."

She's simply too indispensable in what she does for him to swindle money from her. As far as Gale was concerned, nobody below gemheart should be aware of her presence unless Twilight let out something.

If he had his way, he wanted to employ her for life. However, even if he had the wealth for it, he couldn't better keep her to himself. He really wasn't the type. So it was better to keep a connection and a good relationship with her.

After a few seconds of deliberation, Twilight nodded.

Gale sighed in relief inwardly. Of course, the job wasn't hard, but time-consuming. Gale could have done it himself. He would have to travel around places for months before he could get anything out of it. Not to mention, he couldn't just leave Stormhold and his disciple for that much time.

A big weight lift out of his chest when Twilight agreed to it.