Qiqi said, "I told you that one day I'd make you regret it."
Hu Xiaotian stared wide-eyed without saying a word.
Qiqi said, "Why aren't you talking?"
Hu Xiaotian simply closed his eyes as well.
Qiqi snapped, "Well, well, Hu Xiaotian! Playing mute with me, are you?" She shoved his shoulder hard, sending him swaying beneath the roof beam like a hanged ghost dangling from a willow tree.
Qiqi found this amusing and broke into giggles, pushing him several more times. Hu Xiaotian continued to play mute. This little brat's far too fond of her games. Give her an inch and she'll climb right up your nose onto your face. I'll just ignore you and bore you to death, damn it.
Seeing that Hu Xiaotian still refused to acknowledge her, Qiqi grew bored too. She stopped swinging him and said, "You're utterly heartless. If I hadn't pleaded with Father on your behalf, your Hu Family would have been wiped out long ago." When he still said nothing, she gritted her teeth. "Fine. If you won't talk, I'll shoot you with another Seven-Day Soul-Severing Needle."
That was more than Hu Xiaotian could bear. Frightened, he hurriedly opened his eyes. "Who's heartless? Who went through all that trouble to take you to Xiezhou? Who risked his life to save you from a pack of wolves? And who repaid kindness with treachery by shooting me with a poisoned needle?"
Qiqi gazed at Hu Xiaotian with sparkling eyes, her smile blooming like a flower. "So you're not mute after all. You can talk."
"You're the mute! Meeting you was eight lifetimes' worth of rotten luck for yours truly."
Qiqi seemed startled by his words and covered her mouth. "Oh! You actually want to call yourself my daddy? Hu Xiaotian, oh, Hu Xiaotian, you really