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

Thinking about it this way, the other party's desire to cooperate with Xu Shi might also be an attempt to shift the blame onto him. We were also deceived by despicable outsiders, and we're just as miserable as you are.

Therefore, it is impossible to truly stand with them, not even to feign compliance... We have finally created such a perfect environment, how can we change the whole plan for a little bit of petty gain?

On the contrary, the royal family is much more suitable in comparison—since they have already agreed to help them fill the deficit, the money cannot be wasted; they must get the royal family's support in return.

With the endorsement of the royal family and financial subsidies, the promotion of Protestantism will surely be smoother than ever before.

This is a win-win situation in a sense... Xu Shi had already explained the pros and cons to the Little Empress, and of course, she would not let go of such a good opportunity and agreed immediately.

So, those who keep saying that Mr. Xu is not doing his job properly should apologize right now!

You think locking Dongfang Xiao in the one-on-one arena was just to train her? Not at all! (Shouting)

"You still haven't submitted to me?"

Xu Shi feigned surprise and asked, "Is there something wrong with me, or with you?"

"Okay, okay, bad dad is the best."

Xia Ke'an quickly nodded, "Just to satisfy your vanity, really..."

"But there's a problem."

"Ok?"

"I'm not very good at acting, what should I do if I can't get that saintly feeling out of it?"

"Almost got it."

Xu Shi braided her hair into a plait. "I believe what Wuyou said, but what you said makes no sense."

That's for sure. If she hadn't been wearing heavy armor those previous times, given Xia Xiaomao's personality—she blushes even before telling a lie—she would have been exposed countless times already...

"Really, believe me."

The old lady, having gotten the better deal, still tried to play innocent, saying, "I need to put on a good show later, I need to act like I'm trying to get information out of you but I can't... otherwise how am I going to deal with your silly apprentice?"

"is it?"

Xu Shi's expression gradually became playful, and his hand movements came to an abrupt halt.

"OK."

The white-haired loli leaned against him, unaware of the change in his expression.

She was still enjoying the human cushion she hadn't experienced in a long time, "Let me think about how to do this, my head hurts..."

"Don't rush into developing feelings."

Xu Shi shrugged helplessly, patted her to signal her to turn around, and said, "I have a question I haven't asked you yet."

"Oh?"

Xia Ke'an didn't react for a moment, then obediently turned around, "What's wrong?"

"Come on, look into my eyes first."

Xu Shi, however, was not in a hurry, and his tone became more serious.

"What, what are you doing..."

The older woman finally realized something was wrong, but still couldn't figure out what the other person was referring to, so she reluctantly met his gaze.

"We're not doing anything, but it makes it seem more formal."

Xu Shi chuckled lightly, "After all, I've been holding this question in for a long time, so it has to be done with some ceremony."

"That feels about right now... Come on, tell me, how long are you going to keep the fact that you can turn back from me a secret?"

……

……

……

silence.

There was a long silence.

The air seemed to freeze for a while before the old lady realized what the man in front of her was saying.

Her first instinct was to run away, but unfortunately, her escape route was blocked. In that position, Xu Shi only needed to give her a light hug, and she would have no way to break free.

but.

"You...how did you know that?!"

1000 votes! Thank you everyone! Here's a big update today!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 265 All I want is an attitude!

2023-09-15

Xia Ke'an never expected that Xu Shi would suddenly bring up her matter.

More importantly, judging from his tone, it's as if he knows everything... How could he possibly know something like this?

She hadn't told anyone! She'd kept this little secret to herself all along!

"What? Are you surprised?"

Seeing her puzzled look, Xu Shi couldn't help but chuckle mischievously, "I don't think this is the first time I've asked you this question, have I? Are you really not sure or are you just pretending?"

Really? I don't remember... The old lady tried hard to recall and found that her father hadn't lied after all.

Back when they first arrived in the capital city of the empire and clashed with Luo Yu and Lu Baiyan's group, the other party had mentioned this matter intentionally or unintentionally.

At the time, she was actually quite puzzled, but Xu Shi had played the riddle-maker that time and hadn't made it clear. Plus, he hadn't pursued the topic again afterward, so the white-haired loli gradually stopped worrying about it...

"So... you knew back then?"

For some reason, Xia Ke'an's face suddenly turned red, and her voice became a few decibels softer, "You, how did you..."

"Even earlier than that."

Xu Shi gently shook his head. "Actually, I had thought about asking you this question as early as in Night City, after you underwent the surgery to transplant your superpowers."

"Don't forget that I'm the only one who has seen you turn back into your original form... This is clearly the most troublesome problem for you, but you haven't mentioned it at all. I've felt something was amiss ever since then."

"Is that why?"

The older woman thought about it and realized it was true, but she couldn't help but stubbornly insist on saying it.

"of course not."

Xu Shi pushed up his glasses, striking a pose like "the cunning frog has been touching your belly all along," and said, "Even when I asked you last time, I was just guessing."

"The real opportunity to catch you in the act was during the battle against the sea god."

"Ok?"

The white-haired loli was confused. She hadn't done anything strange back then.

Besides, weren't you eaten by the sea god? How do you still have time to think about these things? What kind of person are you...?

It can only be said that although everyone was well aware of Xu Shi's terrible character, they still couldn't help but complain about him from time to time.

"You used your ability back then, right? And you used it in front of Xiaofeng and Xiaoling."

Xu Shi laughed and said, "If your situation really hadn't changed, then you should have briefly turned into an old aunt like last time... But that didn't happen, so I can be sure that either you can't turn back at all, or you can now freely control the transformation between the two forms."

"And then I tricked you like this... your reaction says it all."

"...Xu Shi!"

After listening to his well-reasoned analysis, the old lady blinked for a long time before suddenly coming to her senses.

Although his analysis wasn't without merit, to put it bluntly, you only confirmed it because you tricked me earlier, right?

So, in the end, it was her own mental fortitude that caused her to slip up... Thinking of this, Xia Ke'an was almost dying of regret.

Seeing his smug look, she became even more furious and punched him in the chest in a fit of rage.

"You, you're the most disgusting person!"

She wished she could unleash Gu Yi's family's secret technique, the vicious dog pouncing on its prey, and bite this shameless guy to death. "I used my ability for you back then, and I almost exposed myself because of it... and you use it to analyze me?!"

"It's inevitable that I'd think of that."

Xu Shi patted her on the back to calm her down, "Besides, it's not a bad thing that you can control your form changes, so why did you keep it a secret from everyone for so long?"

"This……"

These words stumped the white-haired loli, who instantly deflated, feeling guilty.

"Well, isn't it because we have to pretend to be father and daughter..."

She refused to admit that it was her own selfish motives at play. "Besides, whether I say it or not doesn't seem to make any difference, does it..."

"How can it be unrelated?"

Xu Shi's expression turned serious. "If it's not related, why would I ask you this?"

"W-what do you mean?"

Xia Ke'an stammered, her mind a complete mess.

"Oh, I was just thinking that if you could switch forms, using it at the right time might be more helpful for your identity as a 'saintess'."

Xu Shi seemed oblivious to her blushing face and continued, "That's why I wanted to ask you."

That's true. In his eyes, running a religion is indeed something that requires a lot of hype. Mind reading and prophecy are certainly good, but if this "holy woman" could suddenly transform into another person while making a prophecy, the shock to the world would be even greater.

That would truly meet the standard of a "miracle," a perfect finishing touch.

"Okay, that seems to be true..."

The old lady's mind wasn't on the matter at all; she just nodded in agreement when she heard something was right.

The only drawback is that, as a result, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that the father-daughter relationship between the two is an act... In a sense, it also reveals more of their true colors.

Xu Shi, however, took this matter in stride. Since it was a game of cards, even the best hand was useless if you couldn't extract the value you wanted. Only when you played it at the most opportune moment could a good hand be considered a good hand.

Besides, he has more than just this one card in his hand.