Qian Renxue Loses Her Composure

Jiang Lan rubbed his eyes and noticed something: Xue Qinghe's appearance had changed.

Xue Qinghe now looked to be in her early twenties. Her skin was fairer than snow, her nose straight, her phoenix eyes slightly narrow, and her stunning face held a hint of commanding authority.

Jiang Lan: "????"

Wait, what? He was a man just now. How had he changed back into Qian Renxue?

While Jiang Lan was puzzling over this, Xue Qinghe got up and dusted herself off.

Xue Qinghe was astonished when she saw who had knocked her over.

She had imagined countless possibilities, but never that a six-year-old child had sent her sprawling.

At her current level of strength, just anyone couldn't knock her to the ground.

Xue Qinghe held out a hand to Jiang Lan and asked with concern, "Are you all right, little friend?"

Jiang Lan got up, dusted off his penguin onesie, then looked up at Xue Qinghe and gave her a solemn bow.

"Sorry, mister! I was chasing Doro and didn't watch where I was going. I ran into you!"

Xue Qinghe's outstretched hand froze in midair.

Mister.

This six-year-old brat had called her mister.

How much thought had she put into infiltrating the Heaven Dou Empire? How many methods had she used? Every day, she rose before dawn to apply her disguise, practicing her expressions, voice, and way of walking in front of a mirror.

The maids at the Crown Prince's Residence whispered that His Highness knew the secret to preserving his looks—nearly thirty, yet still looking barely past twenty. She had even felt secretly pleased.

And now a six-year-old had undone it all with one word: mister.

"Mister? Are you all right? Did I hurt you when I ran into you?" Jiang Lan tilted his head and added another "mister."

Xue Qinghe felt her temples throbbing.

Enough. Stop calling me mister. She was barely past twenty, in the prime of her youth. Yes, she disguised herself as a man while undercover, but "mister" still stung!

Even dressed as a man, she had a face Qian Daoliu himself had praised, saying his granddaughter took after him. How had she become "mister" to this child?

"Mister, did you hit your head? You look awful. Your face keeps turning blue, then red." Jiang Lan stood on tiptoe and waved a chubby little hand in front of her.

Red, my foot. That was your fault.

In her mind, Xue Qinghe had already picked up this penguin and thrashed him three times. On her face, though, she kept her warm, gentle smile.

"I'm fine," Xue Qinghe said softly. "Did you hurt yourself, little friend?"

"Nope! I'm tough!" Jiang Lan patted his round belly, making a muffled thump, thump against his penguin suit. "Mister, are you sure you're okay? Your eye keeps twitching."

Xue Qinghe smiled and nodded. Because holding back around you was taking everything I had.

Qian Renxue, stay calm. You are the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, the young master of Spirit Hall, an elite spy who has spent over a decade undercover without a single slip.

You fooled even that old fox, Emperor Xue Ye. You cannot lose your composure in front of a six-year-old.

"Mister, I just got to Heaven Dou City. Can you tell me which place around here has the best food? I want barbecue! Doro wants orange cake! We have money!"

Xue Qinghe glanced down at the penguin-suit sleeve pointing at her, then looked up at the street.

Everyone was busy with their own affairs. No one had noticed them in this corner.

Good. No one had seen a six-year-old chasing His Highness the Crown Prince around calling her "mister."

"Miiister?" When Jiang Lan got no response from Qian Renxue, he thought she really had been knocked senseless. He grabbed her sleeve and shook it. "You didn't get internal injuries, did you? Doro! Bring an orange to help mister feel better!"

Hearing Jiang Lan, Doro trotted over, conjured an orange, and said to Xue Qinghe, "Mister, have an orange."

Xue Qinghe looked at the orange held out to her, then down at the little white ball holding it.

The orange was round and golden, and looked quite good.

But only one thought filled her mind: Had this little white ball just called her mister too?

Being called mister by a six-year-old was bad enough. Now even some little white ball of indeterminate species was doing it?

This face of hers—the face that made young Soul Masters in Spirit Hall blush and bow their heads, the face the maids had secretly sketched and treasured during her decade-plus in the Heaven Dou Empire—was worth nothing more than "mister" to these two little things?

"No, thank you." Xue Qinghe smiled and gently pushed Doro's orange away. Her manner was tender, her tone pleasant, but Doro noticed the faintest twitch at the corner of her mouth.

"Mister, you really don't look well." Doro looked up at her, her big purple eyes full of genuine concern. "Is your blood sugar low? When that happens, your face goes pale, then you break out in a cold sweat, then you get dizzy, and then—"

"My blood sugar isn't low," Xue Qinghe interrupted with a smile. This little thing knew quite a lot.

"Then did I give you internal injuries?" Jiang Lan leaned in from the side. A leaf he'd picked up when he fell was stuck to his penguin hood.

"Mister, your face keeps turning white, then blue, just like Mom Bo Saixi's when she's angry. Do you want to see a doctor? I really didn't mean to run into you. I can pay your medical bills. I have money!"

As he spoke, Jiang Lan reached into the pocket on his penguin onesie and pulled out a handful of Gold Soul Coins. They jingled as he spread them across his palm and looked up at Xue Qinghe with an earnest face.

Xue Qinghe looked down at the coins in his chubby little hand, then at his round face, which practically said, I'm so sorry, please take them.

The rib he had struck suddenly stopped hurting. Her attention had been completely captured by his face.

How had this brat gotten even cuter?

No. That wasn't the point.

The point was something he'd just said. Who had he said she looked like when angry?

Mom Bo Saixi?

Xue Qinghe frowned, her eyes widening slightly. Her expression shifted in an instant from what a cute child, if only he watched his mouth to did you just mention someone extraordinary?

She suddenly remembered what her grandfather had told her about Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi.

They must simply share a name. He couldn't be that woman's child.

"Little friend, you just said... Mom Bo Saixi?" Xue Qinghe bent down. Her voice still held the crown prince's habitual warmth, but her eyes narrowed involuntarily, as though she needed to make sure. "Which Bo Saixi do you mean?"

Jiang Lan blinked and answered as if it were obvious. "Bo Saixi from Sea God Island! Mister, do you know her?"

He figured Qian Renxue knew at least a little about Bo Saixi, but he couldn't let on that he knew that.

Xue Qinghe felt as if someone had pressed pause on her brain. With a buzz, every thought ground to a halt.

Bo Saixi from Sea God Island.

Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi.