Deliberately Careless

Deliberately Careless

"Cousin Xiao Yu, after not seeing you for a year, you're already a Three Star Fighter?"

Seeing this, Xun Er stepped forward with a smile and asked.

"Xun Er, haha, I heard you've already become a Fighter. With talent like yours, you're probably not much worse than Xiao Yan was back then."

Xiao Yu nodded at her words, then praised her with a smile.

"Not at all. Brother Xiao Yan became a Fighter at ten, and by twelve, he was already a Five Star Fighter! Xun Er can't compare to Brother Xiao Yan!"

Xun Er shook her head and sighed.

"That's true. Xiao Yan back then truly amazed the entire clan!"

Xiao Yu seemed to recall Xiao Yan's terrifying cultivation speed from back then, and a wistful look appeared on her pretty face.

"However, your talent seems even more frightening now. You cultivated five stages of Dou Qi in a single year—that was something you could only achieve in three years before!"

She then looked at Xiao Yan and spoke with a face full of amazement.

"After cultivating once before, it naturally came more easily. I've also worked harder than before. After all, having no Dou Qi for the past three years wasn't pleasant."

Xiao Yan smiled freely and spoke lightly.

"Mm, not bad!"

Xiao Yu looked gratified, then asked with some concern, "By the way, I heard from Xiao Ning that Xiao Yuan is already a Two Star Dou Zhe? What happened? You three are close, so I might as well ask you two. He didn't take some pills or exhaust his potential, did he?"

"Don't worry, Cousin Xiao Yu. Uncle Xiao and the three elders have already examined him. There's absolutely no problem."

Xun Er smiled faintly and replied.

Hearing Xun Er say this, Xiao Yu finally relaxed and asked, "All right. I haven't seen him in a year, and I do miss him. Do you two know where he went?"

As the topic circled back again, Xiao Yan and Xun Er exchanged a tacit glance, seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

Fortunately, after their delay, Xiao Yuan and Ya Fei had already gone farther and farther away.

"Uh, Third Brother was sent by Father to receive guests. Why don't you wait for now, Sister Xiao Yu? Once the Coming-of-Age Ceremony begins, you'll naturally see him."

Xiao Yan quickly came up with an excuse and said.

Disappointment visibly appeared on Xiao Yu's face, but she soon smiled again and said gently, "All right, then I'll wait. Oh, in a few months, it'll be time for Jia Nan Academy to recruit students. You two must cultivate diligently. Let me tell you in advance, the one in charge of recruitment this time is my mentor. When the time comes, I'll be counting on you all to make me proud!"

Xiao Yan raised a brow. In truth, he did not really want to go to Jia Nan Academy.

With Yao Lao's guidance, Jia Nan Academy was nothing special anyway! "The Coming-of-Age Ceremony is about to begin!"

At that moment, Xun Er suddenly reminded them.

Xiao Yu stopped speaking and looked toward the stage expectantly, but she did not see the young man she wanted to see.

Once everyone had taken their seats, the Coming-of-Age Ceremony officially began.

The procedures of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony were extremely cumbersome, enough to make one dizzy.

Sitting beneath the stage, Xiao Yan watched his peers being handled like puppets onstage. He could not help rubbing his forehead as he said to Xun Er beside him with a bitter smile, "This Coming-of-Age Ceremony is simply asking for trouble."

"That's just how the clan's rules are. Bear with it."

Xiao Yuan's laughter approached from afar. Before Xiao Yan could say anything, Xiao Yu beside him spoke first.

"Xiao Yuan, did you miss me?"

Xiao Yuan helplessly sat down in an empty seat nearby, then asked helplessly, "If I remember correctly, this shouldn't be Jia Nan Academy's usual break. Is it really all right for you to take leave and come back?"

Xiao Yu's eyes immediately lit up. "You even know that? You care about me that much?"

Xiao Yuan fell silent.

He was beginning to regret coming over to sit here.

For some reason, Xiao Yu had liked him very much ever since they were children.

At first, perhaps it was merely because she found him pleasing to the eye, and because Xiao Yuan was much more mature and steady than children his age.

But four years ago, when Xiao Yan's talent began to decline and Xiao Yuan took charge of the marketplace and began to distinguish himself, Xiao Yu's enthusiasm toward Xiao Yuan grew even stronger.

Since she cared for him, she also treated Xiao Yan quite well during his downfall and often spoke up for him.

"As your cousin, isn't it perfectly normal for me to be concerned about you?"

Xiao Yuan sighed with a headache.

"Hmph, keep pretending. I practically watched you grow up. Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?"

Xiao Yu gave a smug snort and laughed softly.

"Is it possible that there's only one year between us, so we should count as having grown up together?"

Xiao Yuan sighed helplessly again.

Although his ears had indeed been much quieter when Xiao Yu was away, he had also found it rather strange. After all, ever since they were young, Xiao Yu had always liked dragging him into conversations and making him play with her.

"Right? Childhood sweethearts!"

Xiao Yu immediately nodded.

"..."

Xiao Yuan fell silent once more.

After a moment, he could not help asking, "Just what kind of nonsense have you been learning at Jia Nan Academy?"

Although Xiao Yu had always clung to him closely in the past, she had never said anything so direct or so openly affectionate.

Xiao Yan and Xun Er beside them were also trying hard not to laugh, amusement in their eyes.

After not seeing her for a year, Sister Xiao Yu had truly become impressive.

"Hmph, who says I haven't studied properly? Look, I'm three stars now!"

As Xiao Yu spoke, she thrust out her ample chest.

Xiao Yuan's gaze was instinctively drawn over. On the chest of her light purple academy uniform, stretched taut by her chest, were embroidered three golden stars.

"Well? Impressive, right?"

As Xiao Yu spoke, her chest rose and fell slightly.

"Very impressive indeed."

Xiao Yuan withdrew his gaze and nodded seriously.

"It seems Sister Xiao Yu has gained quite a lot at Jia Nan Academy."

Hearing Xiao Yuan's praise, a bright smile also appeared on Xiao Yu's pretty face.

Looking at the smile on Xiao Yu's face, Xiao Yuan was briefly distracted.

Setting aside their nearly nonexistent blood relation, he and Xiao Yu really could be considered childhood sweethearts.

"Oh, right. I heard you're two stars now. Hehe, I knew you could do it. Come on, let Sister take a look at what attribute your Dou Qi is."

Finally remembering the "important matter," Xiao Yu affectionately grabbed Xiao Yuan's hand and began to examine him.

Xiao Yuan smiled at this and circulated the Dou Qi within his body.

"Ice Attribute?"

Feeling the pure Dou Qi within Xiao Yuan's body, Xiao Yu's heart settled. She immediately picked up a teacup and said joyfully, "Quick, help me chill this tea."

Xiao Yuan said nothing, but he still circulated Dou Qi into his hand. Then, with a light tap of his fingertip against the teacup, he froze the tea inside into ice.

"Xiao Yuan! You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Looking at the chunk of ice in the teacup, Xiao Yu raised her Willow Eyebrows and pretended to be displeased, lightly punching Xiao Yuan with her delicate fist.

"No, I was deliberately careless!"

Xiao Yuan raised a brow and said with a smile.

"Hmph!"

Xiao Yu fiercely glared at Xiao Yuan, then stuffed the ice from the teacup into her mouth and crunched away.

It really was quite refreshing.