Sister Xiaotao, Become My Disciple.

"What is it?"

Xiao Xiao immediately turned well-behaved, listening carefully to Zhang Lexuan.

Seeing how quickly she'd changed, Ma Xiaotao couldn't help feeling a little surprised. Was this little thing's hostility selective?

She'd been so hostile to Ma Xiaotao the moment they met.

Could it be...?

Ma Xiaotao glanced at Xuanyuan Sheng beside her, and suddenly everything made sense. So that was it.

This little girl who hadn't even grown all her hair yet was already looking for a boyfriend.

That was what Ma Xiaotao thought, but she kept her expression serious as she looked toward Zhang Lexuan.

She'd only just raised her favorability with the lady of the house next door to trust. She couldn't throw that trust away over something trivial.

"Is this about Xiao Sheng becoming someone's disciple?"

Though Ma Xiaotao already knew that Xiao Sheng's master was that old man Teacher Yan, his sister didn't know yet. This was the perfect chance to surprise Zhang Lexuan.

She'd surely be thrilled when she heard the news.

And the reward, Ultimate Ice, would soon be hers.

"Mm... Even someone like you, who's always leaving Shrek, knows about it?" Zhang Lexuan said with a nod.

As far as she remembered, Ma Xiaotao was usually either out on Inspector missions or searching for something at auctions. Ma Xiaotao was such a busy person—who'd have thought she'd be interested in the new students at the Outer Courtyard?

Ma Xiaotao scratched her head awkwardly.

After all, when she'd first learned about it, she'd been thinking about how to tie her little brother up.

Forget it. No point dwelling on that now.

At present, she was the perfect scapegoat in Zhang Lexuan's eyes, a good friend who'd help keep admirers away from her little brother.

"I heard Teacher Yan mention it. He was a little interested in what was going on at the Outer Courtyard, so I looked into the situation too."

"I see."

Xuanyuan Sheng looked at Ma Xiaotao, who was raising her eyebrows at him, and felt confused. What did she want him to say? She hadn't told him anything just now.

"Do your eyes hurt?"

Ma Xiaotao gave him a long, pointed look.

Was their senior-and-junior relationship something they had to hide?

She'd been blinking beside him so many times, and he'd ignored every hint she'd tried to convey.

"No. Aren't you going to tell Sister Lexuan the good news about becoming her disciple?"

Only then did Xuanyuan Sheng understand what she meant.

So that was it. How had he forgotten?

No wonder Ma Xiaotao and Sister Lexuan seemed so strangely close. Even when Ma Xiaotao was telling stories she'd made up, she didn't call her "Sister Lexuan" this affectionately.

So she wanted to get in through the back door.

Promising.

Though Xuanyuan Sheng was smiling, Ma Xiaotao sensed the malice in his eyes.

"Huh?"

Ma Xiaotao looked at him in surprise.

Xuanyuan Sheng led Zhang Lexuan over to her, then somehow produced a chair from nowhere.

He promptly sat Zhang Lexuan down in it.

Then he nudged Xiao Xiao, who'd been watching the show and enjoying the gossip, behind Zhang Lexuan and had her knead her shoulders and back.

Ma Xiaotao had no idea what Xuanyuan Sheng was doing. But since she seemed to be the main character in this little scene, she couldn't help wondering if she should run.

Xuanyuan Sheng looked pleased that Ma Xiaotao wasn't reacting at all.

Just as he'd taken the chair out of his Soul Tool, he conjured a cup of tea and handed it to her.

He hadn't expected Sister Xiaotao to be this excited too. In that case, he couldn't give her an ordinary ceremony.

"Come on, Sister Xiaotao. Present the tea and become her disciple!"

Present the tea and become her disciple?

Ma Xiaotao looked at the tea in her hands, overcome by a sudden sense of malice.

Hey, kid. Are you messing with me?

But then she remembered what Xuanyuan Sheng had said earlier about his choice of master.

Ma Xiaotao asked expressionlessly, "You... and her..."

"Mm."

Looking at Ma Xiaotao, who'd gone stiff as a statue, Xuanyuan Sheng realized something was wrong. Maybe he'd really misunderstood her.

Ma Xiaotao said nothing. She just glared at Xuanyuan Sheng, displeased.

It seemed she really had been getting ahead of herself.

She called out to the system in her mind.

"You knew about this all along, didn't you? That's why you gave me that quest—to make me his one and only senior sister."

[No. You just hadn't figured out your quest, so I decided to issue this one to help you steal your neighbor's little brother more easily.]

Heaven was her witness.

Ma Xiaotao had truly misunderstood the Next-Door Sister System. Its disciple quest was meant to help her make better use of her identity in this world and steal the little brother next door.

It wasn't just about making Ma Xiaotao Xuanyuan Sheng's senior sister. If that wouldn't make things easier, why would the system give her this quest?

[You're the one overthinking it.]

"How do you figure?"

Ma Xiaotao still felt like the system was setting her up.

[Look at the punishment. I said you'd receive Zhang Lexuan's iron-fist affection. Wouldn't that be the punishment you'd get if you succeeded in stealing him?]

At that moment, Ma Xiaotao felt as if the system had peeled the top of her head right off.

Right.

Based on what Xuanyuan Sheng had said, he and Zhang Lexuan must have arranged his apprenticeship long ago.

And the flat-chested little girl beside them, who'd been showing her a faint hostility, was probably one of the candidates too.

So the system's real goal was to get her to steal him.

Steal Xuanyuan Sheng away from Zhang Lexuan and into her own teacher's care, then use her status as his senior sister to quietly replace Zhang Lexuan and become his new big sister.

Damn it. Just look at what she'd been trying to steal!

Ma Xiaotao looked utterly frustrated, clapping her hands and stamping her feet. The three people watching her were stunned.

The little loli Xiao Xiao pointed at her own forehead twice and blurted out, "Sister Lexuan, Xiao Sheng, is she a little...?"

She'd recognized the woman in red with the stunning figure a long time ago.

Wasn't she the Inner Courtyard's witch? Xiao Xiao wasn't afraid of her.

Xuanyuan Sheng and Zhang Lexuan looked at each other.

Why did it seem like Ma Xiaotao regretted not joining Zhang Lexuan's tutelage sooner?

Xuanyuan Sheng couldn't help wondering:

Could Ma Xiaotao have wanted to become Zhang Lexuan's disciple for a long time, but lacked a proper opportunity?

Zhang Lexuan, on the other hand, was going over her memories again and again.

She really hadn't had much interaction with Ma Xiaotao before, so she didn't have many memories of her.

Ma Xiaotao was only frustrated for a moment.

"Sorry, Sister Lexuan. I thought Xiao Sheng didn't have a suitable teacher, so I was planning to recommend Teacher Yan. I never thought he'd become your disciple."

After all, sincerity was the ultimate weapon.

Her thoughts might have gone off track, but she was still walking straight ahead.

"To make it up to you, I'll use tea in place of wine and punish myself with a cup."

The cup was empty.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yi, lying in wait in the bushes, was growing impatient.

They'd been talking for ages. Why still hadn't she found an opportunity to increase her intimacy with Xuanyuan Sheng?