Family

The next day.

Qian Xunji had spent the entire night outside the door without sleeping. He was a middle-aged man with no romantic experience whatsoever, and he had no idea what to do. His memories from another world had not taught him this!

At last, the door opened.

Two figures, one tall and one small, appeared before him.

Bibi Dong still looked grief-stricken and would not meet Qian Xunji's eyes. Qian Renxue was still furious.

Qian Xunji hurried to his feet.

"Xiao Xue, Dong'er, are you hungry? Come on, Dad will take you to eat."

Qian Renxue shot him a vicious glare, let go of Bibi Dong's hand, and walked away without a word.

At the end of the corridor, she suddenly remembered something. She looked back at Bibi Dong with concern, then glared at Qian Xunji again.

"Don't bully Mom!"

Then she turned and walked off into the distance.

"I told her to go find Qian Daoliu." Bibi Dong, who had been sobbing moments ago, changed expression in an instant. Only mockery and amusement remained in her eyes.

"What? Why would you do that? Was it necessary? If you don't agree, just say so. What was Xiao Xue supposed to make of that?" With Xiao Xue gone, Qian Xunji voiced his displeasure.

"Because I wanted to. Is that a problem?" Bibi Dong gave him a crooked smile.

"You—! Sigh. All I did was bring Tang Yuehua here. She's Tang Hao's sister and Tang San's aunt. I wanted to steal some of their fortune. I did it for Spirit Hall's future!"

"Oh? Really?"

"Of course!"

"By that logic, were you stealing my fortune back then, too?"

"N-no... That's not how I'd put it. Back then, I..." Qian Xunji realized what he had just said sounded wrong. Besides, he was the one at fault for what had happened.

"I just can't stand the thought of an innocent young woman falling into your hands and suffering the same fate I did. Is that a problem?"

"...No." Qian Xunji backed down.

Only then did Bibi Dong look somewhat satisfied. She lifted her chin with the air of a victor.

"Tang Yuehua will be my maid. Forget about her, and forget about any other woman. You can stay single for the rest of your life. That's your punishment for what you did to me back then."

Bibi Dong spoke as though she had authority over him. Was she really going to dictate the rest of his life, too?

"Bibi Dong! What I did back then was wrong, I admit it! But it's over. I've given you almost everything I can to make up for it, and I've gone along with whatever you wanted. Why do you still get to decide what I do from now on? We can live our own lives. As long as you don't go looking for another man like Yu Xiaogang, I won't interfere with yours. We can keep up appearances in front of Xiao Xue and otherwise go our separate ways. What's wrong with that?"

Bibi Dong let out a laugh. She kept her haughty expression and even closed her eyes, dismissing his words entirely. Her reply was cool and casual.

"No. Listen to me, Qian Xunji. You owe me. And since you're Xiao Xue's father, as long as I'm alive, you can forget about finding—"

"Mmph!"

Before Bibi Dong could finish, Qian Xunji stepped forward. His long arm shot out, seized her around the waist, and yanked her against him with a force she could not resist.

Before Bibi Dong could react, he kissed her hard. It was a clumsy, heavy kiss, charged with stubbornness and revenge.

Bibi Dong stiffened. Her pupils contracted, and she froze where she stood.

For a moment, she forgot to struggle. Qian Xunji had yielded to her so much lately that she had never imagined he would dare do this.

Her body seemed to lose its strength, too. She meant to push him away, but her hands came to rest against his chest without any force behind them.

She did not know how much time passed. Once her shock faded, rage swept through her. Her brows drew together as she unleashed a powerful aura. Her level 94 Soul Power surged out violently and finally threw Qian Xunji away.

"Qian Xunji!" Bibi Dong roared, glaring at him.

Qian Xunji, meanwhile, stood there stunned. Did I just force a kiss on Dong'er? Did I really do that? How did I dare? She looks angry. What do I do? What do I do?

"I have something to take care of! I didn't mean to! I'm going to check on Xiao Xue! Goodbye!" Qian Xunji fled in a flash.

Bibi Dong was left alone, seething with nowhere to direct her anger.

It took her a long time to calm down.

She recalled the kiss.

The instant his lips touched hers, she had been stunned. She had never imagined Qian Xunji would dare do such a thing.

But now she felt uneasy. She had not thought of that night years ago. She ought to have been overcome with grief and fury, ready to fight Qian Xunji to the death.

Instead, she had only been angry for a little while. In fact, her anger already seemed to be fading.

And although she had been angry, it seemed she had not... truly rejected it.

"I've gone mad. He's gone mad. We've all gone mad. I shouldn't have bothered with him last night. That bastard Qian Xunji ruined my life once, and now he's doing it again..."

Bibi Dong kept muttering to herself, trying to reassure herself while cursing Qian Xunji.

In Douluo Palace, Qian Daoliu prayed before the statue of the Angel God. He also confessed his own actions and those of his son.

"Tang Chen, I truly didn't know this was all Xunji's scheme. None of it was my idea. That unfilial son deceived me too. Forgive me..."

"Grandpa..." Qian Renxue sounded dejected. She had come to complain to her grandfather and, at the same time, give her parents a little time alone to reconcile.

But once she reached Douluo Palace, she no longer wanted to complain. She could not bring herself to speak. At some point, her anger had turned to sadness.

Qian Daoliu saw how upset she was. He gathered himself and approached her gently.

"Xiao Xue, what's wrong? Did something upset you? Will you tell Grandpa?"

"Grandpa..." At those words, Qian Renxue could no longer hold back. She threw herself into Qian Daoliu's arms.

"Oh, my Xiao Xue. Who hurt you?" Realizing how deeply upset she was, Qian Daoliu quickly held her tight.

It had been a very long time since Qian Renxue had cried like this. The last time was when Bibi Dong had scorned and berated her at the awakening of her martial soul, when she was six.

After that, she had devoted herself to cultivation. She wanted to prove herself to Bibi Dong. She wanted to surpass her.

Yet she had also carried a heavy sorrow she could never put into words.

Since reconciling with Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue had no longer been like that. Even the sorrow buried deep in her heart had disappeared.

That had made Qian Daoliu happy. But seeing her like this today brought him back to the year she was six...

He held Qian Renxue as she cried. Her sobs left him distressed, flustered, even terrified. It was as if he were seeing six-year-old Xiao Xue crying again. And he, a level 99 Ultimate Douluo, a servant of the Angel God, the Grand Priest of Spirit Hall, and Xiao Xue's grandfather, could do nothing to ease her tears.

For reasons he could not explain, he began to cry as well.

His fear for his son's family surged back. Why does my Xiao Xue have to suffer so much? Why was she born into my family?

Did I commit too many sins when I was young? Is the great Angel God punishing me by making my granddaughter grow up in this family, by making her cry again and again?

Making an executioner like me weep alongside my granddaughter—is this my punishment?

Great Angel God, I beg you, save your helpless follower! Save your follower who is crying!

I will accept your judgment! I ask only that my granddaughter no longer cry or suffer!

"Xiao Xue, tell Grandpa what happened. I promise I'll make it right." Qian Daoliu steadied himself, praying that this was not because of Bibi Dong. After all, he was only her father-in-law—and barely even that. Qian Xunji was Bibi Dong's husband only when they were in front of Qian Renxue.

"It's nothing. I just want to cry, Grandpa..." Qian Renxue wanted to tell him what had happened last night, but for some reason she could not. She did not even know why she felt so sad.

Was it Dad's betrayal? But she seemed to feel more anger than sorrow over that.

Was it because our family might fall apart again? This family had only just come together. Now they might separate again, and she might lose her father's love or her mother's and return to the way things had been...

Only with Qian Daoliu did she truly feel safe.

"All right, Xiao Xue. If you don't want to say it, you don't have to. Grandpa's here with you..." Qian Daoliu forced back his tears and stroked Qian Renxue's head. Quietly, he channeled the Angel God's power into her to soothe her heart and help her calm down...