After the cartoon had ended, William lingered for a mont, glancing at his sleeping daughter. He carefully picked her up and began their journey back ho, located just a hundred ters from XiaoPu’s.
Their villas were located far from the city and surrounded by nature. He thought Edward and Seraphine picked this to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city (but in reality, they chose this place to set up a barrier to contain Stinky Bun).
As they approached their ho, a sense of unease began to creep over William. The street was eerily silent. It was then that he saw it: a figure, standing just outside his doorstep, barely discernible in the dim light. It was Knox, his outline unmistakable even in the shadowy gloom.
William’s protectiveness surged through him as he enveloped his daughter more closely, preparing for what might co next. In that mont, his usual gentle eyes shifted, hardening with a nacing intensity that seed to darken the air around him.
Clad in dark attire, Knox’s presence was as foreboding as the grim expression on his face. In his hand, he carried a gun, its tallic surface glinting ominously under the flickering streetlamp nearby. With a swift, deliberate movent, he raised the weapon, aiming it directly at William.
At that critical mont, XiaoPu lunged forward, tackling Knox from behind. He rained down a series of forceful punches, "Have you completely lost your mind?!"
Surprised, Knox defended himself amidst the barrage of blows, showing XiaoPu the gun, "Hey, take it easy! It’s just a toy, see?!"
XiaoPu threw a punch that connected squarely with Knox’s chin, "Yeah right, and my fist is a cotton candy!" he retorted sarcastically, "Go screw yourself, you jerk!"
"It was just a prank!" Knox retorted. He was not that stupid to kill soone with so many protective asures like caras around.
The commotion woke up William’s daughter, and she began to cry at the violent scene.
William turned to his daughter, his heart aching at the sight of her tears. "It’s okay, sweetheart," he said, his voice a calming balm. "Everything’s going to be alright." He then ran over to stop XiaoPu, fearing for his safety, "Calm down! He is going to die and you’ll be charged of murder!"
"But he tried to harm you!" XiaoPu exclaid, his voice strained with emotion. "If sothing happened to you or Emma, I’d be left alone..."
William tightened his grip on XiaoPu, "I know, I know," he said soothingly, "Nothing is going to happen to us." He gently guided XiaoPu to stand up.
"Yeah, I’m sorry," XiaoPu shrugged off William’s arm and created so distance, "You should take Emma inside. I’m fine now." He didn’t know why he overreacted so much, but the mont Knox confessed to him, he no longer felt comfortable around the other boy and began to overthink every single detail, "I’m going to call soone to pick Knox up."
The traces of his past were too deep rooted in his soul. Even though XiaoPu was never in a relationship, he had lived through countless relationships as a system in his host’s romantic tales, where each love interest he monitored was more eccentric and unpredictable than the last.
"Are you sure?" William’s voice carried a subtle, chilling edge as he turned his gaze towards Knox. The unspoken warning in his eyes was clear, promising danger if Knox tried to pull a similar stunt again. Even though Knox wasn’t holding a real gun, the intention to kill him was undeniably there.
"Yeah," Xiao Pu supported Knox up.
"Call in case you need so help," William called out.
Nodding in response, Xiao Pu walked back to his own house, "Why didn’t you fight back?" he asked.
"I can’t...not against you..." Knox muttered.
Once Knox was sitting on the sofa, XiaoPu dialed Isabelle’s number. "Co pick up your son," he said tersely when she answered, his voice betraying his lingering anger. "He’s a ss."
He didn’t wait for a response, ending the call quickly, not wanting to delve into explanations or accusations.
’Why did you leave behind? You were supposed to be here,’ XiaoPu raised a question at the frad picture on the wall, revealing a deep sense of abandonnt and loss. ’But you’re just... gone. And I’m here, stuck in a life that I hate.’
The faces in the picture, frozen in a mont of happiness, offered no answers, no comfort to his aching heart.
XiaoPu felt lost, as if the world was moving on without him. On the surface, his life seed fulfilled, yet beneath that facade, a nagging feeling of dissatisfaction haunted him, a quiet whisper suggesting that sothing was missing. It left him disconnected, not just from the world around him, but from himself as well.
XiaoPu picked up a first aid kit and walked towards the living room to tend to Knox’s injuries. He carefully applied ice packs and bandages where needed, "Do you have so kind of insurance policy for getting punched?"
Knox took a deep breath, "I love you."
XiaoPu paused, silently screaming for help. "Seriously? Now? You choose the mont I’m patching you up to drop a romance bomb?"
Unable to read XiaoPu’s inner thoughts, Knox couldn’t help but be enchanted by XiaoPu’s subtle gestures, whether it was a tilt of the head or a casual shrug, "I just...yes...I had to say it."
XiaoPu’s lips were in a straight line, betraying no emotion as he mourned the loss of the easy, light-hearted friendship they once shared.
They remained silent throughout the tense wait for Isabelle. If XiaoPu weren’t skilled in martial arts, Knox would have likely made so bold moves on him. XiaoPu was glad for all the training Baby Shiro Junior pushed him through.
’What kind of business made that shark leave for a whole week?’ XiaoPu wondered, not understanding how he felt closer to an AI toy than to anyone else in this world.
Only when XiaoPu was finally alone in the house did he sigh in relief. He continued to stand in the hallway, deep in thought. The sudden appearance of a familiar face took him by surprise. The door swung open quietly, revealing soone he hadn’t expected to see – soone whose presence was a balm to his troubled heart.
With a cry that was part relief, part joy, XiaoPu ran to the figure. He threw his arms around him in a desperate, tight hug, conveying more than words ever could – the relief and comfort of seeing a familiar presence, "H-how? Shouldn’t you be dead?"
Xuan Mu, taken aback by XiaoPu’s grown-up appearance, gently patted the youth’s back, "There were no dead bodies at the scene, were there? We had to go to a closed cultivation in order to regain our strength. The timing was uncertain; it could have taken years, perhaps even decades. It was wiser to let everyone believe that we were gone for good."
Bing Shi had also felt that XiaoPu was struggling and needed their help, so here they were.
"We?" XiaoPu imdiately let go of Xuan Mu and looked around.
Bing Shi’s presence imdiately electrified the atmosphere as she burst into the hallway. With a vibrant energy that was almost tangible, she flung her arms open wide, her face radiating joy. "My Baby Angel!" She swept XiaoPu into an enthusiastic embrace, the warmth in her voice unmistakable, "You’ve grown up so much!"
Xuan Mu gently separated Bing Shi and XiaoPu, his movents cautious, almost as if he was unsure how to interact with this matured version of his child.
Bing Shi swatted her husband’s hand away and hooked her arm around XiaoPu’s, "Hubby, Yun Pu is our baby. You can’t stop from hugging him."
Xuan Mu scrutinized XiaoPu with an intensity that bordered on suspicion, his gaze sharp and probing. Every second change in XiaoPu’s expression, every subtle shift in his stance, was noted and evaluated, as if he was searching for sothing beneath the surface. "Alright," he finally conceded, "I guess this oversized toddler is sohow still our baby."
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