Chapter 164 Meeting the Parents
squeak.
The door slowly opened, and the warm light in the room shone on my face, making the corners of my eyes sore and swollen.
Before the door fully opened, Chen Xiao'er twitched the corners of her mouth and put on a sweet smile: "I'm back, Uncle Liang."
She stood at the door timidly, and when she got a clear look at the housekeeper, she straightened her back and tried to pretend to be as nonchalant as before.
"You're back, welcome home."
Uncle Liang bowed slightly, took the chocolate gift box from the young lady, waved his hand towards Ling, and then dropped it naturally.
Ling didn't let go and walked straight in with the yogurt box.
Chen Xiao'er didn't pay attention to the boxes or not. She walked in on the furry carpet and walked faster and faster, until it was like she was sprinting on the track.
Ta-da, ta-da-da.
The sound of footsteps echoed.
Mom, I miss you. I want to know if everything is okay with you, and Xiaotong—
The curtains swayed around her, shearing out lines of light and darkness. The radiant winds briefly ceased, and the virtual and real switched from illusion to reality.
While Chen Xiao'er was running, countless people outside were also running.
Is it a trap? Maybe.
【attack】
The cold words rolled up an even colder blade. The existence of power has been confirmed, so for the sake of humanity, it is worth sacrificing.
Swish, swish, swish.
Massive amounts of energy poured down from the sky, flooding the turbulent ocean.
No matter what your specific power is, we will deploy the battlefield on the real level and try our best to seize it the moment the power "materializes".
Rustle, rustle.
It's raining, and it's raining heavily.
Chen Xiao'er heard the sound of heavy rain, which hit the doors and windows, and seemed to be mixed with hail.
It’s okay, the villa won’t leak anyway.
She withdrew her gaze, walked quickly to the bedroom door amid the thunder, and reached out to grasp the door handle.
"Mom, are you there?"
…
Crash.
The rain curtain covered the sky and the earth, and its huge force attracted the ocean currents in the abyss, forming an inverted vortex underground, pushing the radiation energy continuously to the horizon.
This is not only the ritual energy sought by the Devouring Serpent Cult, but can also provide great assistance to the Church of Light. Both parties are human, but they thrive in areas where abnormal forces surge.
Of course, anomalies can harness this power far better than humans.
The train carrying the pale giant like a torch slid towards the whirlpool. Bloody hands kept rising in the surging waves, increasing the speed of the train to the limit.
It flew towards the only void in the deep darkness, as if chasing a twinkling shooting star.
A second before the train broke through the air, a deep purple light rushed over, and the devil's core resonated with their core.
“I’m here to help!”
Before Lan could react, Xinaya said, "Stop fighting! I don't want to waste any more energy!"
Abnormal spiritual bodies interact rapidly in the fluctuations.
Precious energy, temporary concessions, power, the church... We don't need to fight before the results are in. Power is so precious! Don't you want to continue to rise?
The train did not slow down. The pale giant above it puffed out his chest and raised his right fist high.
"Hello!"
The space was shrinking, and the distance to Chen Xiao'er was getting closer and closer. Xinnaya gradually changed into a human appearance and roared loudly in a human voice: "I really am here to help Chen Xiao'er——"
She is my prey - only I can kill her!
The train passed straight by, and Xinaya bit her lip and jumped on. With a roar, the wheels instantly erupted in a layer of deep purple flames, burning fiercely in the void.
…
"Of course, please come in."
A gentle response came from inside the door. Chen Yunshu leaned against the pillow, holding a half-read novel in his hand.
Seeing her mother's calm appearance, Chen Xiao'er breathed a sigh of relief.
Phew! Great! Mom seems alright. By the way, what else should I do?
She waved her arms twice in confusion, just in time to catch Zero's wrist, and quickly pulled Zero into her arms. "Um, she is Zero."
Chen Yunshu closed the book and met the tall, silver-haired girl's eyes. He couldn't help but smile, "Hello, are you Xiaoai's best friend?"
Chen Xiao'er opened her mouth dryly, as if she wanted to dig a hole and hide in it.
Oh no, I should have just said "She is Zero, my roommate" so it wouldn't be considered a lie, but if I say it now, I really should have said...
【Lover, Zero is my lover. 】
Her heartbeat gradually calmed down. Chen Xiao'er clenched her fists and took a step forward with determination. "Actually, Zero is mine..."
Ling suddenly loosened his grip and stepped in front of her. "Ms. Chen, you're not feeling well, so let's be frank. How involved were you in the Chen family's plans?"
"Saintess of the Devouring Serpent, let's be frank. What exactly is the Devouring Serpent's plan? And what role do you play in it?"
The Chen family's plan? Participation?!
Chen Xiao'er closed her mouth in surprise.
She looked at Ling's serious expression, and couldn't help but look at Chen Yunshu: her adoptive mother still maintained a gentle smile, and nodded slightly when she looked at her, as if to say "It's okay".
She was momentarily bewildered: Could it be that Mom had already planned to reconcile with the Chen family? Perhaps she'd even written a suicide note and Xiaotong's adoption agreement, which was why the school had intervened.
The answer barely made sense, but many other thoughts raced through her mind.
Xu She's deal, the conflict of interest between the school and the Chen family, the Chen family's evil plan towards his mother... and even the disappearance case of No. 12 Middle School.
Some of these clues can be connected. For example, the Chen family planned to kill his mother, and Xu She learned of the plan and revealed it to the school. The school was willing to protect Chen Yunshu in exchange for a portion of the property.
Some are completely unrelated, such as a missing person case that just happened.
But on another line of thought, the school sent Ling to question his mother, "Are you involved in the Chen family's plan?", and his mother did not refute it.
How could a person be involved in a plan to kill himself? What exactly is the Chen family's plan?
Chen Xiao'er ran to the bed and let the mud from the soles of her shoes splash onto the carpet.
She knelt down beside her mother and tremblingly grasped Chen Yunshu's cold wrist. "Mom, what exactly is the Chen family's plan? Don't you care about Xiaotong anymore?"
Chen Yunshu's perfect expression slowly collapsed, revealing a deep sadness.
She raised her other hand with difficulty to cover the back of her daughter's hand and said softly, "Of course I care about Xiaotong, very much, so I agreed to their request."
"If you care, don't agree!"
Chen Xiao'er raised her voice, her eyes instantly red: "They won't take good care of Xiaotong! They might even kill her!"
“…”
A murky tear fell from Chen Yunshu's clear right eye as she slowly leaned towards her daughter. "I know, I know everything, but Xiaotong, Xiaotong has nowhere to go."
Chen Xiao'er anxiously clenched her wrist, practically leaving a red mark. "How could that be! How about I do it... I could rent a house outside of school and live with Xiaotong. Usually, we could hire a nanny. Anyway, I definitely can't leave it to them!"
The danger is probably that the Chen family might hire someone to cause trouble.
However, Sister Lan lives in a high-end residential area, and the weaklings hired by the Chen family will definitely not be able to beat the security guards there. If they move in, a lot of trouble can be avoided.
The more she spoke, the more reliable it seemed. Although she felt a little sorry for Sister Lan, she would pay for the nanny and rent, and would go over to clean often.
"Silly child."
Chen Yunshu sighed deeply, "What about the school?" ["The church won't let her go."]
Chen Xiao'er's face flushed with anxiety: "Why are you still caring about the school at this time? What's going on in school is nothing compared to Xiaotong!"
"What happens at school is nothing compared to Xiaotong!"
The girl's resolute expression was projected onto the screen; even the pixelated image showed her self-righteousness.
"She~s talking about our school, right?" The assistant took notes under great pressure.
The expert remained calm. "Yes, her perception is very different from the facts. But don't worry, the apostle is right here."
"Too."
Data flashed in Zero's eyes as he recorded this scene in his mind.
She heard others discussing the possibility of Chen Xiao'er betraying humanity, but she remained calm.
Chen Yunshu was a little surprised by her daughter's answer, but then she chuckled and patted her on the back. "I know. Don't worry, Mommy also puts Xiaotong's future first. By the way."
She raised her head slightly, her slender neck, swirling with black mud, tilted toward Ling. "Sir, it's getting late. You and Xiao'er should go eat first. Get some sleep and rest up. We'll discuss the details tomorrow."
"Apostle, the ritual site has been activated. You and Xiao'ai should proceed first. Since your goal is to plunder power, how can you avoid entering the core area?"
Lines of text appeared in Zero's eyes.
[Number 0, the core of the ritual field is not Chen Yunshu, so there's no need to waste energy.]
[You should follow Chen Xiao'er out first. She should be able to directly enter the core area.]
【0: It might be a trap.】
[This possibility cannot be ruled out. You should do your best to protect Chen Xiao'er, and your primary goal is to seize power.]
[0: Yes.]
Zero didn't answer, but turned his body slightly.
Seeing that her senior sister didn't want to talk, Chen Xiao'er quickly stood up to smooth things over, saying with a smile, "Okay, then let's go eat first. Mom, you have a good rest... Where's Xiaotong? Can I go see Xiaotong?"
rustling.
Even under the suppression of zero, the shadows around the "bed" still swayed like fire.
Before the apostle attacked, Chen Yunshu gathered his strength and said softly, "Xiaotong has been going to bed early these days. Let's do it tomorrow. Don't worry, you'll be able to meet soon."
She studied her daughter's gentle yet worried face through her distorted vision and sighed inwardly.
Tomorrow, I will leave everything to tomorrow.
As long as the ritual is performed, as long as the new god is born - everything will be fine tomorrow, Xiao Ai.
Seeing Chen Yunshu suddenly look tired, Chen Xiao'er didn't dare to disturb him any further.
She stepped lightly across the mat and took Zero's hand. "Oh, Mom, actually—Zero, Zero is my lover!"
“…”
Chen Yunshu tilted his head, revealing an awkward expression that everyone could see indicated that "you two are not suitable for each other."
But she finally just shook her head gently: "I know, you guys go eat first."
"Yeah." Chen Xiao'er lowered her head and walked out with her senior sister.
Her mother did have many reasons to oppose their relationship, but she always felt that her mother's reason was not about gender or offspring, but the purest reason of "it doesn't seem suitable at first glance."
Realizing this, Chen Xiao'er felt very uncomfortable.
If her mother's health had improved, she would have been very open about how good and suitable she was. But firstly, she really didn't want to affect her seriously ill mother, and secondly...
Are we really suitable for each other?
Of course it’s suitable!
She immediately put aside her chaotic thoughts: "Don't be suspicious! Zero must love me too much..."
Chen Xiao'er raised her head and looked back following Ling's gaze: Ling was staring at the bedroom door with a very serious expression.
It's not hatred, but it's definitely not a friendly attitude.
"zero?"
Hearing her trembling voice, Zero silently averted his gaze.
…
"Miss, dinner is ready." Uncle Liang opened the door to the front hall for them. Behind the glass door was a table full of sumptuous and exquisite food.
Corn and shrimp, fried palm treasures, jade cabbage... these were all Blue Star dishes she had urged the chef to try since coming to this world. Only at home would they cook like this; even if other kitchens had the ingredients, they wouldn't combine them like this.
Chen Xiao'er sat down at the table, picked up a spoon, scooped a spoonful of corn and put it into her mouth.
So sweet.
It's also very bitter.
The tip of her tongue seemed to really taste the bitterness behind the umami, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Zero leaned over with concern. She took the spoon and immediately scooped a spoonful of corn into her mouth, chewing and swallowing carefully. "It's fresh, it shouldn't be bad."
"It's okay, it's not the food...it's just that I don't have much of an appetite."
Chen Xiao'er's smile was very forced. She had thought that bringing her senior schoolmate home for the first time would be a very solemn event that required a lot of preparations and that everything would go smoothly in the end.
But from my mother to my senior schoolmate to myself, no one's reaction was the same as expected.
She didn't want to complain, so she quickly finished her meal in silence, putting down her chopsticks when she was about 60% full. "I'm going to take a shower first."
"I'm with you."
Zero stood up and followed naturally.
Well.
Hahaha.
Chen Xiao'er laughed in a trance: "Haha, do you want to take a shower with me?"
Ling nodded slightly in her surprised look: "Yes, I won't leave you alone."
So - you were worried about me.
Chen Xiao'er wiped her eyes and wrapped her arms around him warmly: "Okay." She took a few steps, then stood on tiptoe and whispered in Ling's ear: "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
I'm just in a bad mood, and I don't have any psychological problems. I can't be so fragile as to commit suicide.
Even if we take a step back, Ling hasn't even arranged Xiaotong's future. He really worries too much!
Seeing the girl's suddenly relaxed brows, Ling calmly replied, "I know, we will succeed."
[Chen Xiao'er and No. 0 have entered the core area. Please monitor radiation levels and identify the ceremony site as soon as possible.]
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