In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

"...It's nothing, I probably just didn't get enough rest."

His fiancée rubbed her forehead and jokingly told him not to worry, "Don't worry about me, or your sister will be upset again."

"Can I sleep in my brother's arms for a little while... just a little while?"

Shen Qin quickly chimed in, "I don't object to you being with them... but at least give Xiao Qin some time, okay?"

"...Okay, go to sleep peacefully."

Xu Shi nodded gently and became her human cushion.

But he felt something was off. If he wasn't mistaken, for a moment just now, he seemed to see a change in Xie Qingyan's eyes.

The feeling was somewhat similar to when Xia Ke'an used her abilities; her entire pair of eyes turned pitch black and deep.

Is it an illusion?

……

"Are you alright, Sister Xie?"

Xu Shi wasn't the only one to notice this; Xia Ke'an also asked after they left.

"...I already said I'm fine, I'll just go to sleep later."

Xie Qingyan pursed her lips, then shook her head indifferently and said, "Instead of this, why don't you stay and take another look?"

"Okay, sure."

Xia Ke'an readily agreed.

It's clear that these two had no intention of actually leaving; on the contrary, they were quite unanimous in their plan to sneak away and enjoy the heartwarming interaction between Xu Shi and his sister one last time.

As soon as they reached the window, they discovered that someone had already gotten there first.

Xia Wuyou and Jiang Chengcheng had been waiting there for a while, watching intently.

"you?!"

Xie Qingyan couldn't help but gasp, then quickly covered her mouth after realizing she had made a loud sound.

"Hey?"

The two of them didn't expect them to come back so suddenly, and paused for a moment.

The three ladies exchanged glances, and then simultaneously revealed awkward smiles.

To be honest, although they usually wished they could have Xu Shi all to themselves, they didn't actually mind spying on Xu Shi with other people...

This mentality is somewhat contradictory, but the main reason for this phenomenon is that they have all experienced traveling with three or four people, and gradually they no longer have any resistance to it...

As for Xia Ke'an, she is an exception.

Strictly speaking, she's a person who enjoys herself; she can't enjoy it herself, but seeing others do makes her happy.

Finally, Xie Qingyan broke the deadlock by making a shushing gesture and pointing to the window.

Let's just keep spying, ladies.

From this angle, you can only see Xu Shi and Shen Qin's backs—the younger sister is sleeping peacefully in her brother's arms, and a small light in the room shines just right on the two of them, giving people a very warm feeling.

Anyway, there doesn't seem to be much ambiguity, but it still makes you want to smile like a doting aunt.

But as they looked at it, the four of them couldn't help but ponder a question.

Do you think Shen Qin is constantly filled with hatred for Xu Shi, yet forced to stay by his side and be cruelly manipulated, or is she currently in a state of apparent happiness, but in reality only experiencing the cruelty of false memories?

Wow, that's a really good philosophical question.

I'm completely exhausted. I didn't sleep all night, and I still have to go to a friend's house during the day. I feel like I'm bursting with energy today...

By the way, what should I do if my wrist hurts?

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 249 Don't rush, let your sister go first.

It's hard to say who is right and who is wrong regarding the philosophical questions surrounding Shen Qin's fate, but what is certain is that even if her happiness was fake, it was still genuine happiness from the heart.

"Brother, are you carrying things onto the boat? Xiaoqin can handle this, you don't need to go through all that trouble!"

"Brother, can you stay with Xiaoqin a little longer?"

"Brother, do you want Xiaoqin to help you wash your hair? You just came back from training, and you're covered in sweat..."

Such comments were everywhere, and she herself was like a leech, following Xu Shi around almost all the time except for things like sleeping and bathing.

If there's a reason, follow along; if there isn't, create one and follow along.

As an aside, it wasn't that she was unwilling or shy about having Xu Shi accompany her to sleep or take a bath; rather, it was because there were several pairs of eyes staring at her menacingly, ready to fight at the slightest provocation, which prevented her from succeeding...

Xu Shi was both amused and exasperated by this.

It's fair to say that all of this is a bit exaggerated, but to be honest, it's within his expectations—Miss Shen Qin, no, my adopted sister, is a hopeless case of brother complex.

She used to control Shen He, but now she controls herself; there's no real difference.

If one had to find a difference, it might be that she controls herself more deeply—the reason is simple: she and Shen He are siblings, but she and Shen He are not.

As we all know, once you do something, or rather, once you do it, you can actually unleash your full potential... To be honest, if an outsider who doesn't know the backstory saw this, and you told them that these two were once mortal enemies, they wouldn't believe it.

So say it.

If someone's heart doesn't belong to you, the only reason is that you're using the wrong methods. (Just kidding.)

"Hey, you stinky dad, that's enough already!"

Even Xia Ke'an, a person who was only half-hearted about having fun, was a little annoyed under these circumstances and made a sarcastic remark.

"We're just getting started."

Xu Shi, with his thick skin, simply smiled and pointed to Miss Shen Qin, who was giving him a shoulder massage with great enthusiasm, "Isn't it great... Come on, call her Auntie."

"you!"

Upon hearing this, the older woman felt an urge to bite him to death. Shouldn't you be calling me "Auntie"?!

You bad dad, you're doing this on purpose! Who are you trying to annoy?

However, there was nothing she could say. It was her own fault for pretending to be Xu Shi's daughter with him... She didn't deny that, but even so, there was no way she would change her mind.

Looking at it this way, these two are quite similar in some ways. If it's Xu Shi, then it's fine no matter what, but others should step aside as soon as possible.

"Exactly, my brother works so hard, what's wrong with me giving him a massage?"

Shen Qin echoed her agreement, while giving her cheap niece a slightly annoyed glare.

Whether the white-haired loli calls her "aunt" or not is irrelevant, but she's unhappy that the loli won't let her serve her brother. "It's my business if I want to."

"...Where did he find it hard?!"

Xia Ke'an sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. This guy was clearly the most idle one around!

They're even more free now!

To be honest, these past few days, apart from sitting there reading like he was on vacation, he's basically been a hands-off manager—at most, he's also been acting as Pan Feng's sparring partner. Some of the things he used to do have now been handed over to his silly apprentice, Pan Ling, under the guise of training her.

The story of being Pan Feng's sparring partner is actually quite interesting.

The idea came from Xia Wuyou—in her view, her little apprentice's foundation was now completely solid, and his abilities had stabilized at around B+, and he was in a bottleneck period where he couldn't go any higher or lower.

For a combat-oriented person like Xiaofeng, the best way to overcome this bottleneck is to engage in a lot of actual combat to accumulate more practical experience. This will allow her to better control her abilities, and with more comprehensive understanding, she will naturally be able to break through... Xia Wuyou has a lot to say about this, as that's how she got through it herself back then.

Or it could be medication. Xie Qingyan was happy to do her a favor and had even offered her a suggestion before, but she had refused outright.

It's clear that these combatants still prefer relatively traditional training methods.

Does being down-to-earth give people a better feeling than taking shortcuts? Although she herself used the term "sublimation," it refers to a major bottleneck such as breaking through from A+ to S, or even breaking through from S to S+.

But you can't play like this at a low level. Wouldn't it be like using potions now to pay off debts in advance? What will you do later if you use them now?

It's not good in the long run... If her obedient apprentice was in the same situation as her, then she wouldn't object.

However, if Xia Xiaomao were to spar with Pan Feng on her own, the intensity would seem a bit too high? Not to mention she also has things to do... In comparison, her husband is a much better choice.

With the further deepening of the feedback from the "increase in entropy of evil thoughts", Xu Daguanren's combat power can not be said to have skyrocketed, but it can at least be said to have made great strides. He is at least at the A level, which is just right to be Pan Feng's sparring partner.

You should also fulfill your responsibilities as a master's father! (pointing)

Moreover, this is also a way for him to improve; combat skills can't always be just theoretical... It's clear that she's very thoughtful, and making this arrangement is for the good of her husband.

He doesn't necessarily have to be the first to bravely fight the enemy, but at least you can train him so that you won't be caught off guard when you encounter similar difficulties in the future.

Xu Shi understood the Second Madam's (or rather, the Third Madam by age) good intentions and readily agreed.

Pan Feng had no objections whatsoever—to be honest, fighting her master was really tough for her, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was complaining incessantly.

But it would be good if it were her master's father. She knew that her master's father wasn't good at fighting... It would definitely be much less stressful to spar with him, hehe!

However, Xiaofeng soon regretted her decision.

Well, Xu Shi wasn't as intimidating as Xia Wuyou, but he was full of bad intentions and used all sorts of underhanded tricks in fights. His specialties were dog-walking and sneak attacks, with no fixed moves, making Pan Feng suffer and roll his eyes in exasperation.

Moreover, despite all that, Xu Shi's combat strength isn't really weak. Even in terms of acceleration, which is related to Pan Feng's ability, he can be on par with her, and sometimes he can even outperform her...

This is without him using "Yujing". If he really added the multi-functional stick, the strength he could provide might not be weaker than Xia Wuyou's, and might even be higher...

Xiao Feng was on the verge of tears. This was so unethical!

Everyone says that Master is a big bad guy, and it's absolutely true!

I'd rather find a master... Waaah.

Faced with her accusations, Xu Shi's answer was simple.

"Just tell me, have you made any progress?"

"……Have."

Pan Feng thought for a moment and nodded firmly.

"That's settled then?" Xu Shi said, spreading his hands.

"……right."