Auntie Yang stood up and beckoned toward the door.
"Xiaoyan, where's your brother?"
Xu Xiaoyan walked into the living room and stood obediently beside Auntie Yang.
"His teacher kept him after class, so he told me to come over first."
"That troublesome boy." Auntie Yang scolded him, then took Xu Xiaoyan's hand and turned toward Lu Guan and Na'er.
"Come here, Xiaoyan. This is Big Brother Lu Guan, and this is Little Sister Na'er. You can all play together from now on."
Xu Xiaoyan turned her head, her gaze settling on Lu Guan.
As she took in Lu Guan's imposing height and muscles, an exceedingly subtle glimmer flashed in her eyes.
She smiled sweetly, revealing two little pointed canines.
"Hello, Big Brother Lu Guan. Hello, Little Sister Na'er."
Na'er, standing beside Lu Guan, remained frozen.
Something's wrong!
I've been properly surveil... watching my brother. How could he possibly know someone I don't know about?
Na'er's sense of crisis instantly went through the roof.
Where did this Xu Xiaoyan spring from?
Could he have gone behind my back while I wasn't paying attention...
The more Na'er thought about it, the more her heart pounded with alarm.
I just managed to suppress one Gu Yue at the Spirit Pagoda. How did another one pop up the moment we came home?
Everyone knows that apart from the childhood sweetheart he met at six, all the others are vixens!
Will these vixens ever give it a rest?!
Na'er didn't understand, but she felt deeply threatened.
Biting her lower lip, Na'er quietly slipped her little hand to Lu Guan's waist, pinched a patch of soft flesh, and twisted hard.
"Hiss-"
Lu Guan sucked in a sharp breath and turned to glare at Na'er.
"What's gotten into you?"
Na'er lowered her voice and squeezed a question through gritted teeth.
"Come clean. Who exactly is that Xu Xiaoyan? How do you know her?!"
Lu Guan's face darkened with exasperation.
"Go stand somewhere else."
Lu Guan pulled the mischievous little hand away from his waist.
He could fool Xu Ran, but not Na'er. Na'er had been with him the whole time.
Na'er's little mouth puckered, and her eyes reddened on cue.
She turned, plunged into Xu Ran's arms, and drew out her voice as she began tattling.
"Mooom-Brother's picking on me as soon as he gets home!"
Xu Ran was cutting an apple on the fruit platter. At that, she set down the fruit knife and pinched Na'er's cheek with a smile.
"That brat's temper has grown after three years away. All right, since he's bullying his little sister, his punishment is to cook lunch for us today!"
Na'er, who had looked so pitiful a moment ago, instantly reined in her tears.
I get to eat Brother's cooking!
"Yay!" Na'er raised both hands and bounced on the spot.
Auntie Yang, seated on the sofa, waved her hands repeatedly, looking terribly apologetic.
"Oh, Xu Ran, we couldn't possibly! We're guests. How can we make young Lu, just a child, go to all that trouble in the kitchen?"
"Just stay seated, Auntie Yang." Lu Guan rolled up his sleeves and headed straight for the kitchen.
Xu Xiaoyan, who had been standing obediently to one side, noticed her mother's embarrassment and stepped forward.
"Auntie Xu, I often help Mom cook at home. Let me go help Big Brother Lu Guan."
The little girl's voice was soft and sweet, and there was nothing anyone could fault in her words.
Xu Ran hurriedly reached out to stop her.
"Absolutely not! You're a guest. Who puts a guest to work? Sit down and have some fruit."
Xu Xiaoyan insisted, deftly taking an apron from a nearby hook and tying it around her waist.
"It's all right, Auntie Xu. I'd like to learn how Big Brother Lu Guan cooks anyway, so I can make it for my mom at home."
With that, she took quick little steps straight into the kitchen.
In the living room, Na'er's hands remained suspended in midair for a long time.
What?!
How did things veer so completely off course?!
This was supposed to be a treat I earned by tattling. How did it turn into a chance for those two to be alone together?
I handed it to her on a platter again!
Na'er stamped her feet anxiously and started rushing toward the kitchen.
But when she reached the kitchen doorway, she forced herself to stop.
Damn it!
I don't know how to cook at all!
Na'er clung to the kitchen's sliding glass door, watching the two people standing side by side inside. She was powerless to do anything.
Waaah-
Inside the kitchen, the range hood hummed.
Lu Guan took ingredients out of the refrigerator, then raised his knife and brought it down.
The potato on the cutting board instantly became thin, evenly sized strips.
Xu Xiaoyan stood by the sink, diligently washing tomatoes.
She secretly tilted her head to study the arm Lu Guan was using to hold the knife.
His muscles were sharply defined, brimming with explosive strength.
From her very first glimpse of him in the living room, she had thought this boy her age was absurdly well-built.
"Xu Xiaoyan," Lu Guan suddenly said.
Xu Xiaoyan startled and hurriedly looked away.
"What is it, Brother Lu Guan?"
Lu Guan soaked the shredded potatoes in a basin of water to wash away the starch.
"I heard someone mention that the Xu family's hereditary Ice Staff martial soul can mutate. Is that right?"
Xu Xiaoyan paused in washing the tomatoes. She tilted her head, her long blue hair falling over her shoulder.
"Yes. Mine did."
The little girl made no attempt to hide it. In fact, she sounded a little proud.
"My martial soul is an ordinary Ice Staff during the day, but at night, it becomes the Star Wheel Ice Staff."
Lu Guan turned on the stove and poured in oil.
With a sizzle, the scallions, ginger, and garlic hit the pan, releasing their fragrance.
"The Star Wheel Ice Staff. An attribute related to the stars." Lu Guan stir-fried the ingredients in the pan. "I heard there's a Heavenly Starry Sky Academy in Tianding City that specializes in researching martial souls and soul skills with starry-sky attributes."
Xu Xiaoyan handed him the washed tomatoes.
"The Heavenly Starry Sky Academy? I think Dad mentioned it once."
Lu Guan took the tomatoes, chopped them, and added them to the pan.
"So, are you interested?"
"If you are, I can help you."
With the Spirit Pagoda's influence, getting a little girl into the Heavenly Starry Sky Academy would take no more than a word.
And Lu Guan certainly intended to find a way to recruit a control-type Soul Master like Xu Xiaoyan, whose strength lay purely in her abilities' mechanics.
Xu Xiaoyan leaned against the cabinet, her hands behind her back.
The little girl yawned.
"That sounds like such a hassle."
Xu Xiaoyan rubbed her eyes, her voice soft and languid.
"Tianding City is so far away, and I'd have to train every day. That's exhausting. But it does sound like it would really help me. Hmm..."
"I'll talk to Mom and Dad about something this brain-racking when I get home."
Lu Guan paused while tossing the pan. He had almost forgotten how easygoing Xu Xiaoyan was.
"All right, it's up to you." Lu Guan didn't press her. He plated the finished dish. "If you're interested, you can come to me for help."
At worst, I can have Master talk to Xu Xiaoyan's father later.
No pressure, no pressure.
A little over half an hour later, four dishes and a soup were brought to the table.
Sweet-and-sour ribs, stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, hot-and-sour shredded potatoes, braised pork, and seaweed and egg-drop soup.
Their aroma filled the air.
Auntie Yang sat at the dining table, praising him repeatedly.
"Oh, young Lu, your cooking is incredible! It smells even better than food made by restaurant chefs!"
Na'er was the first to rush to the table. She precisely picked out the biggest, leanest sweet-and-sour rib and placed it straight into Lu Guan's bowl.
"Brother, thanks for all your hard work. Eat more!"
After that, Na'er shot a challenging glance at Xu Xiaoyan across the table.
See? This is my brother!
Xu Xiaoyan kept her head down, eating her rice and taking little bites of braised pork, paying no attention whatsoever to Na'er's provocation.
Na'er smiled smugly.
Locked in combat with an imaginary enemy-
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