Tang Yingchang did not go upstairs with Xu Ke. Even though he was obsessed with the Martial Path, it didn't an he was oblivious to social etiquette. He had no desire to be a third wheel.
DING DONG.
Xu Ke pressed the doorbell.
Lin Qinghua's voice ca through. "May I ask who it is?"
Xu Ke smiled. "Aunt Lin, it's ."
"Son-in-law, you're here! Co on in."
CLICK.
The door opened.
Xu Ke entered and found the living room empty. Not only was Wong Qifu absent, but Wang Qiya and Xu Yi were also nowhere to be seen.
Lin Qinghua ca out to greet him, smiling warmly. "You finally made it. Miss has been waiting for you for a long ti."
"How long has she been waiting?" Xu Ke asked while changing into the shoes he'd left here previously.
"Since this morning, I think? After a short video conference, she was waiting for you in the study. I think she went to her bedroom later..."
"Okay, I get it. I'll go up and find her."
"Sure!" Lin Qinghua nodded with a smile.
But before Xu Ke had taken two steps, Lin Qinghua's voice suddenly changed. "Son-in-law, please wait a mont."
"What's wrong?"
Xu Ke was startled and turned around. Lin Qinghua's previously cheerful face was now filled with disbelief.
"Your... your cultivation... Am I seeing this correctly?!"
Lin Qinghua was visibly shocked.
"Uh, you're not mistaken," Xu Ke said, touching his nose.
"When did this happen? Weren't you just at the Postnatal Late Stage before?! How did you manage to jump two stages like this?"
Lin Qinghua suddenly felt dizzy. She clearly rembered that Xu Ke had only been at the Postnatal Late Stage...
"Uh, no, not exactly," Xu Ke hurriedly waved his hand. "It wasn't a consecutive jump. I broke through to the Innate Great Perfection the night before I went to Sui City."
"My breakthrough to the Innate realm happened this morning."
"There were several days in between..."
He was just now rembering that not many people knew he'd broken through to the Innate Great Perfection.
But Lin Qinghua's eyes widened.
Innate Great Perfection the day before going to Sui City? And the Innate Initial Stage today? Had there even been five days between the two? She had never heard of such a barbaric way of advancing!
She hadn't even registered Xu Ke's explanation. The key issue wasn't the consecutive advancent at all...
But she opened her mouth, hesitated, then finally managed to squeeze out a few words. "Well... that's certainly not a consecutive jump..."
Xu Ke had so completely shattered her understanding of the Postnatal and Innate realms that she was montarily speechless.
"Exactly, exactly." Xu Ke nodded. Noticing the shock on Lin Qinghua's face, he cleared his throat. "Well, Aunt Lin, I'll go upstairs now."
"Go ahead..." Lin Qinghua nodded.
Xu Ke turned and left.
Lin Qinghua patted her head, her expression bewildered. What is happening to this world?
***
The second floor was quiet. Xu Ke could see that Wong Qifu's bedroom door was firmly shut.
Seeing this, an idea flashed through his mind—Is she still feeling shy and afraid to see ?
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
He approached and knocked on the door. "Open up, I'm here."
The room was silent. There was no response.
Xu Ke touched his chin, suppressing a smile. "Don't be shy. Elder Tang didn't even co upstairs, so you won't be embarrassed."
There was still no sound from the room.
Xu Ke started to wonder. Could she be angry?
He rubbed his hands together. He reached for the doorknob, then pulled his hand back. Finally, he decided to tell the truth.
"Er, hey, just open the door. I was just teasing you earlier. Elder Tang didn't hear anything."
Still no response.
This is bad. It seems she's really angry.
Xu Ke suddenly realized the situation had worsened.
It makes sense. For soone who's always so composed to be embarrassed like that, and then for to keep rubbing it in... she probably couldn't take it.
Xu Ke slapped his forehead, a headache already forming. Then, he instinctively glanced toward the stairwell to make sure Lin Qinghua wasn't on her way up.
Putting on a fawning, pleading expression, he edged closer to the bedroom door. "Dear Qi Fu, I was wrong. I won't tease you like that again. Just say sothing, will you?"
Room: "..."
Xu Ke scratched his head, then tried again with a grin. "My beautiful, elegant Qi Fu, please don't ignore ..."
Room: "..."
He tried again, his tone growing more awkward. "My peerlessly beautiful, devastatingly gorgeous, most magnificent lady in all the land... are you in there?"
Room: "..."
"I haven't seen you in days. If you're angry, you can let it all out when you see . It's not right to just lock out, is it?"
Xu Ke leaned his head against the door, a look of helplessness on his face.
Curse my stupid mouth... I really ssed up this ti.
He muttered, "I miss you so much I could die! Why won't you open the door?"
"What if the agony of missing you becos too much, and I waste away from a terminal illness right here on your doorstep? That wouldn't be very good, would it?"
"So please... just open the door?"
After his stream of antics failed to get a response, Xu Ke's confidence dwindled, and his pleas grew quieter...
Just then, Lin Qinghua's voice ca from the stairwell.
"Mister Xu, why are you standing in front of the young lady's room? What are you doing?"
Xu Ke started, whipping his head around. He saw Lin Qinghua looking at him with a puzzled expression.
His eyes widened slightly, and he let out a dry laugh. "Uh... she might have fallen asleep. I'm waiting for her to wake up. I don't want to disturb her."
He couldn't very well tell Lin Qinghua that he'd been locked out, could he?
But Lin Qinghua wore a strange expression. "But... isn't the young lady over... there?"
Lin Qinghua pointed.
Xu Ke froze, a sudden realization dawning on him. He instinctively followed her pointing finger with his eyes.
In that mont, the air seed to freeze.
There, by the balcony door, stood Wong Qifu. Her black, curly hair was casually tied back in a ponytail, and she wore a light blue silk robe that clung to her exquisite figure. Holding a cup of red tea, she leaned against the wall, a blossoming smile on her face as she watched him.
Her beauty was breathtaking, dazzling even without a trace of makeup.
But at that mont, Xu Ke's mind buzzed, and his face instantly flushed beet-red.
"Miss, I... I'll go downstairs now."
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Lin Qinghua quickly excused herself without even ntioning why she had co up. Regret was written all over her face.
She had no idea what was going on, but she knew she shouldn't be here right now.
"Okay," Wong Qifu nodded.
Although she was speaking to Lin Qinghua, her eyes never left Xu Ke.
After Lin Qinghua left, the air remained completely still.
"How long do you plan on looking at like that?" Wong Qifu blinked.
"You..." Xu Ke held onto the doorknob, his head still buzzing. "How long have you been standing there?"
"I've been here ever since you started knocking."
Upon hearing this, Xu Ke was dumbfounded. "You heard everything?"
"Weren't you saying it for to hear?" Wong Qifu couldn't help but chuckle at his shocked and embarrassed expression.
"Damn it..."
Xu Ke closed his eyes, utterly mortified. If Wong Qifu had been in the room, he wouldn't have cared so much. But the thought of her standing on the nearby balcony, watching his entire ridiculous performance...
The ntal image was so mortifying that he felt he could cringe his way through the soles of his shoes.
"By the way..." Wong Qifu suddenly said with a smile.
"What?" Xu Ke asked, looking up from behind his hand on his forehead.
"Has the pain of missing eased a bit?" Wong Qifu struggled to hold back her laughter.
Xu Ke: "..."
"Why aren't you speaking? Did you really co down with a terminal illness?"
"Can we please not talk about this?" Xu Ke pleaded, his face a mask of misery.
"Hahaha..." Wong Qifu burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Reviews
All reviews (0)