Confused Ya Fei, Teasing

Wutan City, Mittal Auction House.

Behind a spacious desk sat a beautiful woman.

She wore a red dress, her temperament mature, exuding a faint, alluring charm.

The woman held a pen in one hand while resting her forehead on the other, her cherry-red lips parting slightly as she muttered to herself.

From the side, the woman's exquisite, charming curves were clearly revealed beneath her red dress.

Tap, tap.

A series of footsteps sounded outside the room. The woman raised an eyebrow, set down her pen, and turned her gaze toward the door.

A second later, the door opened, and a figure walked in.

The newcomer was a delicate young girl.

"Xue Li?" Seeing the girl's excitement, Ya Fei could not help but feel curious. "What happened? What makes you look so thrilled?"

Xue Li said respectfully, "Miss, you asked me to watch the arena match between the Xiao Clan and the Jia Lie Clan. Guess who won in the end."

"The Xiao Clan?" Ya Fei's red lips moved slightly.

Xue Li nodded vigorously, then said with great certainty, "You would never guess how the Xiao Clan won!"

Ya Fei glanced at her, tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, and leaned back lazily in her chair, her proud curves displayed against the red dress.

She said languidly, "It must be that the third young master of the Xiao Clan has returned."

"How did you know Young Master Xiao Yan returned?" A look of astonishment appeared on Xue Li's face.

"Otherwise, given the rules set by the Jia Lie Clan, who else in the Xiao Clan could be a match for Jia Lie Ao? Xiao Ning? Xiao Qiang? Or that little young master, Xiao Yu?" Ya Fei was uninterested.

She had been transferred to Wutan City by her clan for quite some time, and she had a fair understanding of the three major clans and other forces in Wutan City.

Given the situation of the Xiao Clan, among those under twenty-two, anyone with any real strength had either gone away for training or joined Jia Nan Academy.

Since the Xiao Clan accepted the rules proposed by the Jia Lie Clan, they naturally had some confidence.

It was simple, then: that confidence must come from the eldest or second young master of the Xiao Clan.

However, as far as Ya Fei knew, those two had not returned in years; she had heard that the Clan Head had tried to urge them to marry several times, but to no avail.

Excluding those two, the only one who could give the Clan Head the confidence to accept the challenge...

The result went without saying: it must be that the third young master of the Xiao Clan had returned to participate in the match.

Ya Fei still had some interest in this young genius, because his speed in breaking through to a Dou Practitioner at age eleven was a rare talent, even in the Imperial Capital.

She asked, "Was the battle intense? How many moves did it take for Xiao Yan to defeat Jia Lie Ao?"

However.

Faced with the question, Xue Li shook her head vigorously and said, "Miss, you guessed wrong! Although Young Master Xiao Yan returned, the one who actually fought for the Xiao Clan was Xiao Yu!"

Xiao Yu?

Hearing this, a look of deep suspicion appeared on Ya Fei's face. She stared at her maid, Xue Li, for two seconds with her beautiful eyes and said seriously, "Are you sure you didn't mistake him for someone else? They are twins and look very similar."

Xue Li shook her head again.

There is no way I could have mistaken them!

Although Xiao Yan and Xiao Yu were twin brothers, the younger brother, Xiao Yu, had more refined and defined facial features than his older brother.

In terms of pure handsomeness, Xiao Yu was definitely a cut above!

Ya Fei was a bit bewildered now.

She asked in surprise, "Xiao Yu was able to beat Jia Lie Ao? Xue Li, are you sure you aren't joking with me? If I find out you're lying, do you believe I'll sell you off?"

At the end, Ya Fei deliberately put on a fierce expression to scare her.

Because in all of Wutan City, who didn't know about the extreme twin brothers of the Xiao Clan?

In particular, Xiao Yu had been stuck at the third stage of Dou Force for years, with no progress in his cultivation whatsoever.

How could he possibly be a match for a three-star Dou Practitioner like Jia Lie Ao?

Xue Li quickly swore an oath, saying that if her mistress didn't believe her, she could find others to testify.

Seeing the little maid's reaction, Ya Fei's suspicion diminished, replaced by intense curiosity.

Next, under the little maid's narration, from Xiao Yu taking the stage at the Xiao Clan's most embarrassing moment, to facing doubt, knocking down Jia Lie Ao with one punch, and winning a marketplace for the Xiao Clan with three punches, the entire crowd of onlookers was shocked into silence.

Although Ya Fei was not there in person, she could still feel the vividness of the scene.

After hearing the whole story, her curiosity about Xiao Yu deepened even further.

At this moment, Ya Fei looked up and saw the little maid's face flushed red, filled with an expression of worship.

"Xue Li, have you developed a crush?" Ya Fei said immediately.

Instantly, the tips of Xue Li's ears turned red, and her face became as red as an apple.

"Come to my room tonight to keep me company, and if you please me, I'll marry you off to Xiao Yu, how about that?" Ya Fei teased with a wicked smile.

"Miss, please stop bullying me. If it really comes to that, why don't you find a man yourself?" Xue Li's voice was as soft as a mosquito's, her small hands clutching the hem of her dress, her fingers twisting incessantly.

She paused for a moment before adding, "I am merely a maidservant; how could the Xiao Clan possibly look upon me with favor? Unless... unless..."

Ya Fei asked, "Unless what?"

"Unless you, Miss, were to marry Xiao Yu, and I became your chambermaid—that might be a possibility." Having said this, as if she had exhausted all her courage, Xue Li turned and ran out of the room.

Ya Fei was stunned, and it was a long while before she regained her senses, then offered a smile, though a trace of bitterness lingered at the corners of her lips.

Marriage?

Given her status, did she even have a choice? The power of decision likely rested entirely in the hands of the clan!

"Ya Fei! You must work hard! You cannot admit defeat. Don't forget why you agreed to come to Wutan City in the first place—wasn't it to take control of your own destiny?!" Rubbing her cheeks, Ya Fei rallied her spirits and threw herself back into her work.

As for the matter of Xiao Yu, Ya Fei cast it to the back of her mind, choosing not to dwell on it any further.

Wutan City was located on the edge of the empire, near the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

While business at the Mittal Auction House had always been decent, none of it had much to do with Ya Fei.

Simply put, this did nothing to highlight her capabilities.

This point caused Ya Fei a great deal of distress.

Even though she had personally stepped forward to preside over every auction.

However, for an auction house, relying solely on a pretty face could bring in foot traffic, but it would not increase profits.

To make the auction house truly formidable, one needed special talent.

For instance, an Alchemist!

Or perhaps someone with formidable strength!

Ya Fei bit her red lip with her pearly teeth, fretting, "An Alchemist... heh, in a place like Wutan City, how could such a figure possibly exist? If I could win over a high-ranking Alchemist, my status within the clan would surely skyrocket."

Time passed in a flash.

Half a month had gone by since the tournament.

Ever since that appearance, Xiao Yu had returned to his usual state of slacking off.

On ordinary days, he would stay at home with his wife and son, or head to the cliff behind the Xiao Clan estate to sit, feel the breeze, and take in the scenery.

Regarding his son's name, after careful consideration, Xiao Zhan decided to name him Xiao Fan.

Xiao Yu didn't have any objections to this; the name was far better than the Liangchen, Aotian, or Ritian that his Third Brother kept spouting.

Xiao Yu even suspected that his Third Brother was hinting at something, or perhaps testing him.

However, he didn't really care.

As early as when he was four or five years old, his Third Brother had always tried to exchange secret codes with him.

From the "Palace Jade Liquid Wine" to the multiplication tables and the Pythagorean theorem.

Xiao Yu's guard had been raised long ago.