Xia Nuo's eye twitched violently.
The moment Kachi appeared, a distinct crack appeared for the first time on his handsome face, as if it had been carved from the ice of an eternal night.
He did his best to maintain the dignity of the Head Instructor, trying to keep that terrifying pressure blanketing the entire field. But his voice had already betrayed him, carrying a hint of surprise and politeness.
"K-Kachi, big sis, what brings you here?"
Kachi didn't even acknowledge him.
She simply stretched lazily, unconcerned with the people around her. Her petite body unfurled gracefully, and her joints made a series of crisp, pleasant pops.
She looked nothing like she was facing a terrifying being capable of freezing space and time. If anything, she seemed to be strolling through her own backyard.
The terrifying aura that could make even SS-Class horrors cower and tremble was as laughably feeble before her as could be. It couldn't even stir the hem of her clothes.
Xia Nuo watched helplessly as she strolled through the imposing domain he had carefully constructed. His expression became impossible to maintain.
His face turned pale, then red.
"What brings me here?"
"You've got some nerve asking!"
"You woke me up from a lovely dream first thing in the morning, then made such a racket. Were you trying to make sure everyone knew you'd arrived?"
Before she had even finished speaking, she suddenly appeared right in front of Xia Nuo.
She only came up to his chest, yet she exerted an invisible pressure that made him instinctively take half a step back.
Kachi rose onto her toes and extended a finger as fair as jade, poking his hard chest without the slightest hesitation.
"It's been days, but your flashy personality hasn't changed one bit."
"So tacky."
"..."
Xia Nuo's handsome face flushed almost imperceptibly. Faced with her merciless scolding, all he could do was speak sheepishly.
"Kachi, big sis, stop making fun of me. I'm just... carrying out my duties."
His attitude had changed so completely, from arrogant to deferential, that all the survivors were dumbstruck.
Only Xia Yao seemed used to this. But the unease in her heart was growing stronger.
Kachi gave a soft snort, finally shifting her gaze away from him. She looked past him and settled her eyes on Chu He.
She glanced with interest at Xia Yao standing nearby, looking so nervous she seemed like a kid caught by her parents. A faint smile flickered in Kachi's starry eyes.
In the deathly silence, she walked toward Chu He, one step at a time.
A delicate, unusual fragrance wafted into Chu He's nose, blending the scent of books with stardust.
Looking at the petite figure before him, he had already guessed most of what was going on.
This little troublemaker had come to stir things up.
Then, right in front of her best friend and her best friend's aggressively imposing younger brother, Kachi did something that made everyone's brains short-circuit.
She floated over to Chu He, extended a fair index finger, and gently hooked it beneath his chin. Her fingertip felt slightly cool.
The gesture was playful and intimate.
Boom!
Xia Yao was struck as if by lightning, her entire body freezing in place.
Her mind went completely blank.
She could only watch as her best friend treated her man to the kind of affectionate gesture reserved for lovers.
How could this be?
Didn't Kachi hate men the most?
Hadn't she said men were all stupid and boring creatures?
Then what was she doing now? Why did the gesture come so naturally to her?
Xia Nuo was completely dumbfounded too.
He looked at his sister, then at Chu He, and finally at Kachi's utterly matter-of-fact expression.
His sister... Kachi... this human...
A love triangle?
His thoughts were a complete mess. All his plans, all his carefully prepared lines, were crushed to pieces in an instant.
Wait, what?
His uncle hadn't mentioned anything like this!
"He's your sister's man, which means he's my man too."
Chu He's face was reflected clearly in Kachi's eyes. Her voice was lazy, but she was speaking to Xia Nuo.
"If you want to lay a hand on him from now on, you'll have to ask me whether I approve first."
Xia Nuo's mouth twitched violently as her words fell.
How was he supposed to deal with this?
He'd only planned to use the "will of Mother" as a pretext to scare his sister a little, and see that adorable look on her face when she—who feared nothing—was finally put in her place.
While he was at it, he'd also take a good "measure" of this human brother-in-law who had come out of nowhere, and figure out what he was made of—and why his sister cared so much about him.
But when he saw his sister's face turn deathly pale, and heard the unfinished words she'd spoken with such resolve, the satisfaction he should have felt never came.
Instead, a pang of bitterness gripped his heart.
It was as if the precious treasure he'd protected since childhood had been quietly stolen by the man called Chu He right before his eyes.
That nameless fury had changed his mind in an instant. He had to teach this human a lesson!
But he'd never imagined that Kachi would show up before his plan had even begun.
And the first thing she did was take a clear stand in defense of this human!
For the first time, Xia Nuo knew what regret felt like.
In just a few short minutes, he had somehow lost the affection of both his sisters!
And Kachi wasn't like his straightforward sister.
Her mind was as sharp as a monster's. She'd probably see through his little scheme before long.
He felt like a clown, trapped at center stage with three people watching him, unable to move forward or retreat.
On the field, the pressure that could freeze souls quietly eased as its owner lost control of his emotions.
The survivors, who had been scared out of their wits, now found a strange sweetness amid their absolute terror.
What a juicy piece of gossip!
Gods fighting—not gods fighting, but gods fighting over a man!
This was far more exciting than any terrifying training!
A white guy who had been sprawled on the ground crying a moment ago quietly nudged the fellow beside him, who was dragging a toad. Silently, he mouthed, "A-Awesome..."
The other guy's despair had already been replaced by a blazing fire of gossip. He nodded frantically in agreement.
The incredible reversal made everyone temporarily forget their fear. They craned their necks and stared wide-eyed, terrified of missing even the tiniest detail.
Meanwhile, the livestreams from around the world, which had been interrupted for quite some time, erupted with comments.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! The drama of the year! The little brother-in-law showed up with a knife, only to find out his brother-in-law has more than one woman!"
"I knew God Chu was no ordinary guy! Look at Kachi's little gestures and the way she's looking at him—she hooked his chin! She's way too practiced! Those two definitely have something going on!"
"Queen Xia Yao's expression... My heart's breaking, but I also want to laugh so badly. What do I do? Green light? No, this is the light of the battlefield of love!"
"Look at the instructor's face! It's black as the bottom of a pot! Hahahaha, he showed up with an aura ten feet wide, but now he's so awkward he could dig himself a three-bedroom apartment with his toes!"
"Best line of the day: 'He's mine, so he's mine too.'"
"Sugoi! Th-this is the aura of the ultimate harem king? Chu He-san didn't even do anything, and two supreme beings are already fighting over him!"
"Little brother has been utterly defeated!"
The atmosphere turned incredibly strange.
They were frozen like that for more than ten seconds.
"Ahem... Ahem!"
Xia Nuo coughed loudly twice, trying to regain control of the situation. But even he couldn't hide the uncertainty in his voice.
He put on a stern expression and announced with forced authority,
"That's it for today's assembly!"
"Get back to your quarters and wait for further instructions!"
The survivors, as if pardoned, scrambled to run back. But each of them kept glancing over their shoulders, their reluctant looks like people watching a drama of the year that hadn't finished yet.
Before long, only four people remained on the enormous field.
Yet the atmosphere had grown even colder and stranger!
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