Suddenly, Qian Daoliu beside them gave a light cough and pretended to be angry.
"Feng'er, all you see now is Xue'er."
"We two old fellows have been standing here for so long, yet you treated us like air. Did you not see us?"
Golden Crocodile Douluo laughed heartily. He naturally understood that Qian Daoliu was teasing Jin Lingfeng.
Jin Lingfeng scratched his head awkwardly. He had only been thinking about giving the cake to Qian Renxue as quickly as possible and had forgotten that Qian Daoliu was sitting beside them.
But just as he was about to explain, Qian Renxue put one hand on her waist, glared at Qian Daoliu, and huffed.
"Grandpa, today is my birthday, so I'm the biggest! I won't let you yell at Lingfeng!"
At once, Qian Renxue's soft voice rang out with exceptional clarity in the quiet courtyard.
Golden Crocodile Douluo was slightly taken aback. He smugly glanced at the helpless Qian Daoliu, then deliberately laughed loudly. He was overjoyed inside; seeing Qian Daoliu get shut down was truly rare.
Qian Daoliu smiled bitterly and gazed at Qian Renxue affectionately as he sighed softly.
"Ah, just as the old saying goes, once a granddaughter grows up, she can't be kept around."
Jin Lingfeng could not help but smile as well. He had not expected Qian Renxue to speak up for him like this, and he was deeply moved. It seemed that all his pursuit and efforts to please her these past few days had not been in vain.
Qian Renxue's cheeks were so red they looked ready to bleed. She lowered her head deeply in unbearable embarrassment, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into. How humiliating...
At that moment, Jin Lingfeng smiled and tried to smooth things over.
"Xue'er, hurry and open the gift box. I put a great deal of effort into making this cake for you."
"Alright, Lingfeng."
Qian Renxue nodded with a smile, placed the cake on the stone table, and began unwrapping the red silk.
Jin Lingfeng walked over as well, while Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile Douluo watched curiously.
The next moment, the gift box was fully opened. A three-tier cream cake appeared before everyone, giving off a faint creamy fragrance. Six words had been arranged from fruit in the middle: "Happy Birthday, Xue'er!"
For a moment, Qian Renxue looked at the exquisite cream cake before her and suddenly felt her nose sting. Her girlish heart was deeply touched. She turned her gentle gaze toward the young man beside her and said excitedly.
"Lingfeng, thank you..."
Jin Lingfeng reached out and rubbed the girl's head. Looking into her eyes, he said fondly.
"Xue'er, let's cut the cake. Hurry and taste it to see if you like it."
Their gazes met at once, tender as water and filled with warmth, making even the surrounding air seem sweet.
But at that moment, an incomparably beautiful woman in a palace dress appeared out of thin air to Jin Lingfeng's right. It was Bibi Dong...
Bibi Dong wore a simple palace dress. Her usual majestic, icy aura had been replaced by gentleness, and her gaze upon Qian Renxue was filled with deep love and sorrow.
After being violated by a beast and imprisoned for ten months before giving birth, Bibi Dong's mind had completely collapsed. She accepted the Rakshasa God's inheritance and was further affected in mind, her temperament gradually turning cold and sinister.
About half a year ago, Qian Xunji returned heavily injured after leading people to hunt down Tang Hao. Bibi Dong seized the opportunity to devour him, avenging her deepest hatred and becoming the new Pope. Yet the hatred in her heart had not diminished at all; more precisely, it was influenced by the Rakshasa God's curse.
It was not until that night, after Bibi Dong absorbed the aura of the Primal Chaos Bead from Jin Lingfeng's body, that she completely escaped the influence of the Rakshasa God's power within her and returned to her normal temperament.
This caused her love for Qian Renxue to emerge. After all, her daughter was her only family in this world.
In the end, Jin Lingfeng repeatedly asked her to appear on her daughter's birthday, so Bibi Dong came today with an uneasy heart...
At once, the expressions of Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile Douluo, who had been smiling moments ago, changed drastically!
"Bibi Dong, you..."
Golden Crocodile Douluo instinctively rose to his feet and questioned Bibi Dong, but before he could finish, Qian Daoliu interrupted him.
"Golden Crocodile, forget it.
"She came to see Xue'er. Let's give them some privacy."
Then, Qian Daoliu gave Bibi Dong a complicated look before turning to his stunned granddaughter, Qian Renxue. With a heavy sigh, he disappeared from where he stood.
Previously, when his son Qian Xunji returned gravely injured, Qian Daoliu had personally tried to save him, but there was nothing he could do.
In the end, Qian Xunji died at Bibi Dong's hands in the Papal Palace. Qian Daoliu knew about this.
But considering his granddaughter Qian Renxue, and the fact that Qian Xunji had wronged Bibi Dong first, he did not kill her. He even allowed Bibi Dong to become the new Pope as compensation.
Now that Bibi Dong could appear on Qian Renxue's birthday, Qian Daoliu was more than willing to see it. After all, some forms of care could only be given by a mother...
Golden Crocodile Douluo and Qian Daoliu were close friends, so he naturally understood his intentions. He gave Jin Lingfeng a meaningful look and disappeared as well.
"Your Holiness, you came at the perfect time."
"Xue'er and I were just about to cut the cake. Come eat with us!"
Jin Lingfeng was briefly stunned the moment he saw Bibi Dong, but that was immediately replaced by deep joy.
His greatest wish was for Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue to reconcile. After all, both of them were pitiful women.
But as soon as Jin Lingfeng finished speaking, Qian Renxue's cold, frenzied shout rang out.
"Your Holiness the Pope, you are not welcome here!"
"Please return to your Papal Palace. Don't disturb my birthday!"
The simple words coming from Qian Renxue at that moment were like silver needles, viciously piercing Bibi Dong's heart and causing her immense pain. Her eyes trembled in that instant.
"Xue... Xue'er, don't be angry."
"I... I shouldn't have come today. I'll leave... I'll leave right now..."
Meeting her daughter's cold gaze, Bibi Dong hurriedly forced out a strained smile. She turned to leave, but the instant she turned around, the tears she had been desperately holding back finally burst from her eyes, and her body trembled faintly.
The current Bibi Dong no longer possessed even a trace of the lofty majesty of the Pope. She was merely a pitiful mother rejected and resented by her daughter...
At once, the atmosphere around them became unbearably sorrowful and oppressive.
Qian Renxue's lips were clenched tightly on her cold face. Yet the moment she saw tears fall from the eyes of the woman she both loved and hated, her heart trembled violently. It hurt terribly, and she felt deeply saddened.
Since childhood, as a child who had never received maternal love, Qian Renxue had deeply resented Bibi Dong. In her heart, she had long ceased to regard Bibi Dong as her mother, believing she was unworthy.
However, as a child with a normal heart, she still longed deep down for her mother's affection, yet she had never been able to have it.
It was precisely these painful emotions that had gradually made her withdrawn and domineering. After her father Qian Xunji passed away around half a year ago, Qian Daoliu was the only person she remained close to.
Now, Qian Renxue did not understand why Bibi Dong's tears made her heart ache. Proud as she had always been, she would never allow herself to lower her head before this woman. Even though her heart hurt, she endured it and tried her best to maintain a cold expression...
But just as Bibi Dong was about to leave, Jin Lingfeng hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed her hand, and shouted excitedly.
"Your Holiness, don't go!"
"Since you're already here, stay and eat the cake with Xue'er before you leave!"
Bibi Dong looked at the young man blocking her path, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and smiled self-mockingly.
"Forget it, Jin Lingfeng. Xue'er doesn't want to see me. If I stay here, she'll only hate me even more..."
Behind them, Qian Renxue snorted coldly and scolded Jin Lingfeng.
"Lingfeng, come back here. Let her go!"
"I don't want to see her again. I never want to see this woman again for the rest of my life..."
However, at that moment, Qian Daoliu appeared once more. Looking at Qian Renxue, he sighed.
"Xue'er, wait."
"Today, I'm going to tell you everything..."
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