Deep Sisterly Love

Bai Mo pushed open the door with a "Closed Today" sign hanging on it and stepped into the Qingtian Hunter's Association.

The hall was very spacious. The kitchen door at the back was open, and the sounds of pots and stoves drifted out.

A little girl with twin ponytails was sitting on the long sofa, playing on a laptop.

Bai Mo walked over and sat down, then glanced at her screen.

It was packed with dense charts and lines, the kind that made anyone lose interest after just one look.

So he asked, "What are you looking at?"

"The growth trends of different species of demons in Modu." Lingling did not move her eyes from the screen, her crisp voice saying something completely at odds with her age.

"Why are you looking at that?"

"I can't stand childish things!" The expression on Lingling's face was exactly like her sister's—utterly expressionless.

Bai Mo fell silent for a moment, then said, "Lingling, how old are you?"

"Nine." Lingling shifted her gaze and glanced at him, as if she knew what he was about to say next, then added, "I'm a genius, and I'm not childish."

"I didn't say you were childish. I just wanted to say, happy birthday!"

Bai Mo took the bracelet he had prepared out of his pocket and handed it over.

"Mm..." Lingling glanced at the bracelet and recognized the silver patterns on it at once. They were Space Element formation patterns, so this was a spatial item.

She raised her hand and took it, then pressed a silver protrusion on the bracelet with practiced ease and immediately knew what was inside.

Bai Mo knew that was a Mind Element magic formation pattern. Its function was to connect to the user's mind, allowing ordinary people who were not mages to use it to control a spatial item and store or retrieve things.

"Candy?!" Seeing what was inside the spatial bracelet, Lingling smiled in satisfaction and said, "Not bad. I'll accept your tribute."

"?" Bai Mo threw out a question mark. You're not playing fair.

It was just a birthday, and she already wanted to move up a generation?

Lingling took out a lollipop. As she tore open the wrapper, she said, "You and I are teammates. My Hunter rank is higher than yours, so by the rules, I'm the captain."

She shook the bracelet already on her wrist and continued, "So this is your tribute as a rookie member to me, the master captain."

"..." Bai Mo was speechless, then changed the subject. "Where's your sister?"

"In the kitchen cooking."

Bai Mo reached out and ruffled Lingling's head. "And you still say you're not a child. Childish!"

The moment he finished, he turned into a gust of wind and slipped away.

When he entered the kitchen, he saw a graceful, elegant figure.

Leng Qing was unusually dressed today in loose, casual home clothes, which softened her usual cold, stern air and added a touch of warmth.

The doorway faced Leng Qing from the side. Her legs looked long under the loose pants, while the soft fabric still outlined the fullness of her thighs. Her top was just as loose, yet it could not hide the proud curve of her chest.

It would be perfect if she were wearing an apron. Just an apron would work too.

"Keep staring, and you can stand there for the whole day." Leng Qing's icy voice snapped Bai Mo back to his senses.

Sensing the dark aura around him growing increasingly dense, Bai Mo's expression stiffened. In an instant, his gaze became clear and pure, not containing the slightest stray thought, and he said with complete composure, "Sister Leng Qing is just too beautiful today. I was entranced for a moment. I'm going, I'm going. I won't disturb Sister Leng Qing while she cooks."

With that, he slipped away again.

CG unlocked.

There was not much food for lunch, just ordinary home-cooked stir-fries—five dishes and one soup.

Old Man Bao came downstairs and took some food, gave Lingling some pitch-black thing that no one knew what was, glanced at Bai Mo, and said, "You kids carry on. This old man is going back upstairs."

Then he carried a small bowl basin and went upstairs on his own.

Bai Mo looked at Leng Qing and Lingling in confusion. Both of them looked perfectly natural, as if they were long used to it.

Strange. This whole family did not seem very normal.

But when he saw Leng Qing bring out the finished cake, he dismissed that thought again.

The older sister was very normal.

"Thank you, Sister." After Lingling blew out the candles and took the first slice of cake Leng Qing cut for her, she added in her clear little voice, "Your birthday didn't get celebrated this year. Next year, when it's your birthday, I'll buy you a cake." She paused, as if feeling that was not sincere enough, then emphasized, "I'll buy the best one and have the top chef from Four-Star Tire Restaurant make it."

Hearing that, Leng Qing only smiled and answered, "Okay."

Bai Mo smiled when he heard it too.

Back when he had read Versatile Mage, Lingling in the story had been calm and wise, mature beyond her years, a genius completely beyond her peers.

Only after Bai Mo truly spent time with her did he realize that calmness and wisdom were only one side of her.

In daily life, she still had the childishness and competitiveness of a kid not yet ten years old.

It was just a shame. Children were more fun when they were a little foolish. Lingling was too smart.

"What deep sisterly love!" Bai Mo sighed, and reached out to take the cake Leng Qing handed him.

He took a bite. To his surprise, it tasted pretty good.

"How does it taste?"

Seeing her cousin Mu Nuxin take a bite of the green pepper scrambled eggs she had just cooked, Mu Nujiao asked with anticipation in her eyes.

Aitutu, who was beside her, also said, "Yeah, yeah! I beat those eggs, you know!"

Mu Nuxin looked at the two of them, then looked at the slightly blackened "green pepper scrambled eggs" on the plate.

After a moment of silence, she still told the truth. "It doesn't taste good. Why don't we order takeout for lunch instead? Cousin, what made you think of cooking?"

Hearing this, Mu Nujiao and Aitutu looked at each other.

Last time, when Bai Mo had invited the two of them to his home as guests, he had cooked for them personally.

In their minds, since they were the ones hosting this time, they should do the same, but clearly, neither of them had any talent in that area.

So the two of them decisively accepted the suggestion and decided that inviting someone to dinner in the evening would be less embarrassing.

"What secret signals are you two making?"

Mu Nujiao's thoughts were interrupted by her cousin's question. Coming back to herself, she said, "Then let's order takeout."

As for dinner, they should just leave it to the auntie who cooked.

That evening, Bai Mo sat at the dining table in Mu Nujiao's home, looking at Mu Nuxin and Auntie Song Qingyuan, who were smiling at him, as well as Mu Ye beside them, the Patriarch of the Mu Family.

He wore the same smile on his face, yet he felt as if he were at Jing'an Temple, striking a Wooden Fish to train his Mental Power. An invisible pressure had settled onto him from who knew where.

Wasn't this supposed to be an easy, pleasant, ordinary meal? Why did it suddenly feel like he had walked into a Hongmen Banquet?

While answering some of Song Qingyuan's questions, he used his eyes to question Mu Nujiao, who was silently dealing with the food in front of her, and Aitutu beside her.

Wasn't this supposed to be a simple little dinner date invitation?

What was going on?

How had it turned into meeting the parents? I haven't even done anything yet. Besides, I already said it—we're just classmates.

Why didn't Auntie Song believe him?

And Aitutu, couldn't you at least look at me? Didn't you usually love sneaking glances at me? What about now?

Was that beef bone in front of you really that fragrant?

After rounds of toasts and conversation, Bai Mo put down his utensils.

"Auntie Song, I'm finished. It's getting late, so I'll be heading out."

"Ah? Won't you stay for some tea?"

"No. I still need to cultivate after I get back. I mentioned it to you earlier too—I just contracted a Summoned Beast, and there are still a lot of things I haven't figured out."

"That works too. Tell your mom to go to the usual place for mahjong tomorrow."

Hearing this, Bai Mo froze. Auntie Song was actually his mom's mahjong friend?! How had he not known?

Oh. Zhuang Xingyan had too many mahjong friends. He was too lazy to remember them all.

So he smiled and said, "Sure."

At this moment, Mu Ye, who had been silent the entire time, spoke.

"Nujiao, go see him off."

"Ah?! Okay."

Hearing this, Mu Nujiao was startled for an instant. After coming back to herself, she got up.

Then she shot her cousin a fierce glare. She should never have let her come today.

After that, she dragged Aitutu along and followed Bai Mo out.

Mu Nujiao never would have expected that her parents, who were usually never home, would come back for dinner tonight. She had clearly asked a few days ago, and they had said they would not be back.

Only later did she figure out that what she had said to the cooking auntie had been overheard by that girl Mu Nuxin.

Who knew what she had said to make Mu Ye bring Song Qingyuan back home.

Hadn't they always thought their daughter was a third wheel, getting in their way?

The moment they came back, Mu Nujiao's thoughts were thrown into disarray, and she was afraid it would cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

Now that the cool wind outside brushed over her, she finally sobered up quite a bit.

"Now explain. What is all this about? This is how you thank me?" Once they had walked a little farther away, Bai Mo stopped and asked Mu Nujiao, who was following behind him.

A thin blush colored Mu Nujiao's pretty face, but it was too dark at night to see clearly.

Aitutu, on the other hand, blurted out, "They're already letting you meet the parents, but marriage has to... has to wait until we're grown up!"

Bai Mo rolled his eyes, somewhat speechless. He knew this girl was definitely making up some strange scenario in her head again.

She had absolutely no idea what was happening in the outside world.

He raised his hand and flicked her on the forehead.

"It's just having a meal with the elders. How is that meeting the parents? And they're not even your parents. Marriage? I think your head's gone fuzzy. You need to sober up."

After saying that, he looked at Mu Nujiao, a question in his eyes.

Stunned for a moment by her adorable sister's fierce words, Mu Nujiao thought it over, then slowly said, "At first, I just wanted to invite you to a meal, but somehow my cousin found out. I don't know what she told my parents, but they came back."

She blinked, then added, "Don't overthink it."

"Really? I thought my dream had come true and you'd both become my girlfriends," Bai Mo said, putting on a look of surprise.

"Pah!" Aitutu immediately spat. "Dream on. We're not even adults yet."

"Tutu!" Mu Nujiao cried in shy annoyance, pressing a palm against Aitutu's face. This little lovestruck fool! What was that supposed to mean?

That once they were adults, it would be fine?!

At the same time, she smoothed her expression, turned to Bai Mo, and said, "We'll see you off here. You should go back."