He snorted coldly and looked at Chu He as if he were the source of every disaster.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Xia Nuo's voice was tinged with jealousy.
"You're good enough to make them fight to the death over you, but what? You can't make them stop?"
Chu He did feel a little guilty, but he'd never admit it.
He stuck out his chin and shot back, as if he were in the right.
"How is this my fault? Can't you be reasonable?"
"In your territory, what could a powerless human like me do except follow your damn rules?"
Chu He counted off on his fingers, listing his grievances.
"Your sister's twisted rule says no one can look into her eyes for more than three seconds. I broke it, and if I didn't kiss her, I'd die! What was I supposed to do?"
"And then there's Kachi!"
Just thinking about that little devil gave Chu He a massive headache.
"She's a complete thug! She played me like a fool, and when I got carried away and kissed her, what happened? She forced herself on me! I'm the victim here!"
Xia Nuo's eye twitched as his handsome face crumpled in disbelief.
Forced herself on him...?
Kachi, who looked at everyone as if they were idiots and had even played him like a fiddle, would resort to such a brute tactic?
And his own aloof, otherworldly sister had not only discarded her rule over a kiss, but had gone straight to living with someone?
Xia Nuo stared at Chu He, his eyes filled with bewilderment and astonishment.
"Those two... both because you kissed them?"
"Not entirely."
Chu He stroked his chin, putting on an inscrutable expression as he gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, like a worldly, battle-scarred Casanova.
"After all, my damn, impossible-to-contain charm can be hard to hide sometimes."
Then his tone shifted, and his eyes suddenly sharpened.
"You must already know what happened between your sister and me, and you know there's something strange about my kiss."
"You came rushing over here like that. Are you trying to kill me?"
Chu He suddenly smiled, and Xia Nuo felt a chill run down his spine.
"Then I should warn you: my kiss seems to have a coercive effect on beings like you, incarnations of rules. That's how your sister fell for me."
"It's a little embarrassing, but if you really want to make a move on me..."
Chu He licked his lips, his gaze full of aggression.
"I wouldn't mind taking you too. You're pretty good-looking yourself."
Even Chu He felt a little unsure after saying that.
Who knew if this ability worked on men?
If it did, with his current strength, he'd probably be the one getting topped.
At that, Xia Nuo stiffened all over, as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning!
He instinctively took a step back and clamped his legs together. A chill crept over a certain part of him, and a wave of unprecedented dread washed through him.
Holy crap!
It was that overpowered?
He didn't want to fall in love with a man! And he definitely didn't want to be topped by one!
"Ahem! Let's talk this out!"
Xia Nuo instantly dropped all hostility and gave a loud, awkward cough to cover his loss of composure.
"I wasn't going to kill you!"
Seeing Chu He's expression, which clearly said, "As if I'd believe that," Xia Nuo completely lost it and decided to come clean.
"Actually... Mom doesn't know about this at all."
He wilted like a deflated balloon.
"I just wanted to scare my sister a little and, while I was at it... see what kind of person you were, since she cares so much about you."
"But..."
Xia Nuo looked thoroughly dejected, like a child who'd watched someone steal the treasure he'd guarded for years right in front of him.
"I really didn't expect you to win them both over with just a kiss!"
"Honestly, I'm pissed!"
He looked up, his resentful eyes seeming to bore into Chu He.
"They used to dote on me the most! Now I've shown you the tiniest bit of hostility, and they both rush to protect you!"
"I'm really not happy about this!"
Hearing that, Chu He smiled instead.
"You shouldn't be."
"They used to revolve around you. Now they revolve around me. Of course you're uncomfortable."
He said it as if it were only natural. Xia Nuo's handsome face flushed red with anger, but he couldn't come up with a single word to refute him.
"If you want them to treat you well again, it's simple."
Chu He patted him on the shoulder.
"Take my side from now on. When I have meat, I'll make sure you get some broth."
Xia Nuo was so choked by Chu He's shameless remark that he couldn't speak for a long moment. In the end, he could only kick a piece of rubble at his feet and turn to look at the sky.
"But the real question is! How long are they going to keep fighting?"
High above, every collision between the dark void and the dazzling river of stars made space tremble. The energy that scattered from their clashes tore through the clouds, making for a terrifying sight.
"Who knows!" Xia Nuo sounded thoroughly irritated. "It's the first time I've seen them really fight, and they're doing it over a man! They're crazy!"
"Right. Looks like they won't be done for a while."
Chu He turned away from the sky, led him over to the edge of the sports field, and plopped down.
"While we're waiting, let's talk about something."
Xia Nuo eyed him warily.
"Your mother. What's her deal?"
Chu He got straight to the point.
"Whenever Yao Yao hears her name, she looks like her soul's about to leave her body."
"And what about Kachi? Why isn't she afraid at all? Doesn't her family keep her in check?"
Xia Nuo's expression grew complicated. There was a hint of pride in it, as her son, along with a touch of gloating.
"My mother is an SSR-Class being."
SSR-Class?
Chu He's heart gave a sudden jolt. The terrifying weight behind those words far exceeded his expectations.
Xia Nuo was pleased by the flicker of shock on Chu He's face and continued.
"Besides, Mother has extremely strict requirements for my sister's partner."
He drew out the words deliberately.
"Their strength absolutely cannot be below SSS-Class."
"Kachi's mother is also SSR-Class, but she believes in letting Kachi do as she pleases. As long as Kachi is happy, her mother couldn't care less if she punched a hole in the sky."
Xia Nuo spread his hands.
"Generally, our elders don't interfere in matters between the younger generation."
A dead silence fell over the sports field.
Xia Yao's mother was an SSR-Class being, and she'd set a hard requirement that Chu He was nowhere near meeting.
This wasn't a mountain. It was an impassable chasm.
Seeing Chu He's expression darken, Xia Nuo finally felt the knot in his chest loosen. He thought he'd finally won one over on him.
"What, are you scared?"
He couldn't help sounding a little smug.
"Now you know it's not so easy to become my brother-in-law, huh?"
But Chu He was silent for only a few seconds.
He slowly raised his head.
His face showed not the slightest hint of fear. Instead, a brilliant smile spread across it.
"SSR-Class..."
A flame called ambition lit up in his eyes, burning astonishingly bright.
"Now that's interesting."
Seeing that Chu He looked less afraid than excited by the challenge, Xia Nuo felt an absurd thought grow so wildly that it made his scalp tingle. He cried out in shock:
"Don't tell me... you're thinking of taking my mom too?!"
Before you continue