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

As mentioned before, there is definitely a mechanism, or a red line, in this matter. Once it is triggered, what is bound to happen will happen.

"Oh……"

Xia Xiaomao nodded. To be honest, this was not the answer she wanted to hear most. She would have preferred someone to talk eloquently and tell her about their plans. That would have made her much happier.

But this isn't unacceptable. After all, it's not a small matter, and it's normal that he couldn't come up with a detailed plan in a short time... Besides, she has waited for ten years, and now it's only been a few months. She shouldn't be so impatient.

"Whatever you think is fine. If there's anything you really don't understand, just share it with me."

She kindly took Xu Shi's hand and smiled gently, "Maybe I can help you?"

"You're such a silly goose, sharing with you is pointless."

Xu Shi began to routinely disrupt the atmosphere.

"Hey!"

Xia Xiaomao bristled instantly.

"No, no, you've already helped me a lot."

Xu Shi cheekily admitted defeat, casually saying, "Instead of thinking about that, we should think about how to take over the Holy See... If we can really bring the Hualan Empire under our control, maybe we'll trigger the mechanism, right?"

"I have a feeling that this so-called Vatican has long been under your control..."

Xia Wuyou was not worried about this. Compared with "Heavenly Principles", the Holy See was really nothing.

"You can't say that; denying your opponent is denying yourself."

Xu Shi said solemnly, "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit... If they only focus on defense now, taking it won't be as easy as they imagine."

"Then what do you think?"

Xia Wuyou agreed, and then asked.

"Is this..."

Xu Shi pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "I'm considering whether I should appropriately reveal a weakness to them?"

"How to sell it?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"I knew you were a lazy bum. Want me to help you make a plan?"

Where should we discuss this?

Where else do you want to be?

Just as the two were chatting enthusiastically, they heard a soft knock on the door.

"Xu Shi, are you there?"

Xie Qingyan's voice came from the doorway, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you privately, is that alright?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 281 I'm hopelessly in love.

2023-10-03

"Did Qingyan need something from you?"

Hearing Xie Qingyan's words from outside the door, Xia Wuyou was a little surprised. Didn't these two just return from the palace together? What could be so urgent?

While she was still thinking, Xu Shi had already stepped forward and opened the door. "What's wrong?"

"that is……"

Xie Qingyan strode past him and came in, but stopped when she saw Xia Wuyou was there. "Wuyou, could you please leave for a moment? I want to talk to him alone."

"what……"

Xia Xiaomao was quite easy to talk to, and upon hearing this, she decided to give them some private space.

Unexpectedly, Xu Shi pressed her back down, saying indifferently, "What's the need? Wuyou isn't an outsider, let her listen if she wants."

"……whatever."

Xie Qingyan pursed her lips, then turned her head away after a long while and scoffed softly before slumping into the sofa. "I just wanted to talk to you about whether our relationship, or rather, our way of getting along, should be adjusted?"

"for example?"

Xu asked in confusion.

"I don't know how to explain it to you, but I really feel terrible right now."

The woman sighed, "Because I increasingly feel very irritated when I see you being affectionate with other people."

"Is it because of the sea god's corruption?"

Xu Shi frowned. "My advice is not to overthink it. Now that Dongfang Xiao is treating you, you'll recover soon. You'll be fine after this period."

"...Yes, but not entirely."

Xie Qingyan's expression was equally grim. "This isn't a feeling I only developed after being corrupted by the Sea God... It might have been there since we set sail?"

"But now that I'm being corrupted by the sea god, this feeling is indeed intensifying... that's why I hope to make some changes."

It's clear that her mood has been low ever since she left for the palace, and her occasional jokes are just a facade... No wonder she insisted that Xia Wuyou avoid her earlier; perhaps the idea of ​​the three of them being together is something she's against.

Ah... Xia Xiaomao remained silent. Now was not the time to speak.

She hadn't expected that during her absence, the relationship between Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan would not only not improve, but would actually worsen—and her reaction was similar to Jiang Chengcheng's. She hadn't known about the Sea God's corruption before, and now that she heard about it, she felt somewhat saddened.

She didn't know exactly how the Sea God corrupted her, but she could understand what he was saying. She also knew that Xie Qingyan was fundamentally different from them; he was more assertive when facing Xu Shishi and more sensitive in this relationship.

Otherwise, why would she throw a tantrum? To be honest, Xia Wuyou didn't want to see such a thing. In this respect, she was similar to the other girls, or rather, the First Madam. She wouldn't seriously compete for favor. Rather than seeing someone challenge Xu Shi, it was better to keep the atmosphere harmonious.

However, she couldn't offer advice now; the one who tied the knot must untie it... Of course, she also believed that this wouldn't be a problem for Xu Shi. This bad man may be a womanizer, but he's quite good at charming girls; how could he not handle it?

Xu Shi handled the situation quite well, casually handing over all the initiative to his fiancée, "So, how do you want it to change?"

"I... I really don't want much, Xu Shi."

Xie Qingyan said helplessly, "I just hope we can have more private space, and that you can be considerate of my feelings sometimes, and stop making fun of me in front of other people."

"And, I've really been idle for a long time. I also hope to do something like the others, like your apprentices, Wuyou, and Chengcheng, instead of just being an outsider watching you all work hard without being able to join in."

!

Xia Wuyou remained outwardly calm and silent, but inwardly he was utterly shocked. My God? These are words that Xie Qingyan could actually say?

She knew the other person's personality all too well, and she had even gone through the experience of the other person trying to overthrow the Heavenly Gang and suppress Xu Shi... Now, hearing her request was so humble, it would be a lie to say she wasn't surprised.

Good grief, how much CPU did you secretly use while I was away... She couldn't help but roll her eyes silently, feeling inexplicably sorry for her.

She felt that these were hardly requirements; they were just basic things in a relationship. Not to mention that her second half of the statement was entirely for Xu Shi's sake, or rather, for the entire team, hoping that she could integrate into every one of his plans.

"I understand, I understand."

Xu Shi nodded slightly. "But didn't I already tell you that your condition is unstable right now? That's why I told you to rest properly."

"I've discussed these things with you before... why insist on dwelling on this one moment?"

It's clear he's a bit impatient and obviously doesn't want to explain these things over and over again. You're an adult, you're not incapable of understanding, why do you have to keep arguing with yourself?

Don't say that.

Xia Wuyou was a little helpless. Everyone knew that Xie Qingyan was a proud and arrogant person. Separating her from him was probably no better than killing her. In addition, she was in a bad mental state. She should be coaxed instead of arguing back, right?

She always felt like she was going through some kind of menopausal or pregnancy-related irritability, but Xu Shi didn't seem to think that way and continued to treat her the same way as before, with each of them being strong and unwilling to give in.

Do you think there's nothing I can do in my current situation?

Xie Qingyan retorted defiantly, "Besides, you haven't even realized what the problem is!"

That's right. Xu Shi's answer only addressed the second half of her sentence, without mentioning the first half at all, but that was actually what she most wanted to change.

She admitted that her situation was indeed a bit delicate compared to others, and as she herself had said before, she felt from the bottom of her heart that she owed Xu Shi something.

But this is absolutely no reason for her to suffer like this. Someone once said, "You don't owe me anything anymore," right? The two of them have been through thick and thin together. If you still don't think that's enough, then don't say those things! Instead of coming together like this, they've grown increasingly distant from each other, which makes her always feel inferior to other girls.

If she had known it would turn out like this, she would have preferred to have Xu Shi give her the ability directly in the first place, at least it wouldn't have been this scenario of expectation followed by disappointment.

Anyway, she couldn't stand it. If anyone owed me, Xie Qingyan, it was only you, Xu Shi. What did the other girls have to do with me? Why should I be teased and ridiculed by you for no reason every day, and then I get angry and everyone is happy like a clown?

"Don't you know what we're doing right now?"

Xu Shi was utterly helpless. "We are now playing a game against the Vatican. Not to mention that every step is like walking on thin ice, not making mistakes is the most basic requirement. Letting you rest and recuperate is not only being responsible for you, but also for everyone."

"Besides, how could I not know where the problem lies? Aren't we treating you right now? Once you're no longer troubled by the sea god's corruption, you can do whatever you want, okay?"

Xia Wuyou always felt that these two people were still not on the same wavelength. They seemed to be talking about the same thing, but their focus was completely different.

“...I don’t have the same good temper as other people, Xu Shi.”

Xie Qingyan sighed again, "But I didn't come here to argue with you. I don't want to argue with you. I just want to lay things out and explain them clearly."

"Are you threatening me?"

Xu Shi frowned. "That's just my personality. I don't know what's wrong with me. Whatever."

"you!"

The dog-woman suddenly stood up, completely disbelieving that Xu Shi could have said such a thing.

Not long ago, he was there with a haughty look, saying "I don't want to." Heaven knows how touched she was at the time. Who knew that he would become like this so soon? It would be hard for anyone to accept such a change.

However, she didn't do anything outrageous again. She stared at Xu Shi for a long time before finally angrily flicking her sleeves and turning to leave.

Xu Shi made no attempt to stop him, but instead slammed himself onto the sofa in frustration, feeling agitated and out of breath.

Perhaps no one expected that the relationship between the two would take this turn.

Xia Wuyou, to her surprise, couldn't help but speak up after Xie Qingyan left, "Was what you did a bit inappropriate? I feel..."

To be honest, in her eyes, this was not how the two of them should have become after going through life and death together. Especially since they were both strong-willed, they didn't seem like the type to hold grudges over these things, or even if they had a falling out, they would still stick to their own opinions and refuse to give in to each other.

Could it really be because there have been too many things to do these days? She had heard from her aunt before that everyone was busy with the cat teaching and it wasn't easy... In addition, Xu Shi sometimes doesn't like to consider other people's thoughts when he does things, and he has a parental mindset of "this is all for your own good". It's not surprising that Xie Qingyan is unhappy.

Even so, Xia Xiaomao still felt that Xu Shi should be a little gentler with Xie Qingyan. As someone who had been through it all, she knew that this guy enjoyed the pleasure of training and disciplining eagles, whether it was herself or Shen Qin, and Xie Qingyan just happened to fall into this category, which easily triggered his old habits.

But then again, shouldn't training and discipline be something that should only be done before a relationship is established? Anyway, that's how Xu Shi treated her, using all sorts of little tricks to make her unable to resist at that time... But Xie Qingyan has already done *that* with you, so it's a bit too much for you to do this.

On the contrary, what's the point of being so forceful when someone is feeling so down? It's not that hard to treat her well; you've been kind to others before.