Ruan Tang said nothing.

An inexplicable sense of crisis welled up inside her!

After all, Xu Lai had never been one to play with his phone before, yet today he kept looking at the screen as if waiting for someone to reply...

But Ruan Tang feigned composure. "Your dad isn't that kind of person, Yiyi. Don't talk nonsense."

Xu Yiyi, with elfin cleverness, said, "Mommy, do you want me to go sneak a peek at what Daddy's doing?"

"We have to trust him."

Ruan Tang tapped her daughter on the head.

Ruan Lan, however, added fuel to the fire. "Sis, I think Yiyi's suggestion is a good one. You have no idea, but several of our university's most beautiful girls and department belles have secretly approached me about him."

Ruan Tang's heart felt like a kitten was scratching it—itchy and restless.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally said with conviction, "I trust Xu Lai!"

"Fine, then," Ruan Lan shrugged. "I may not have given them our brother-in-law's contact information, but that doesn't mean other people won't."

Ruan Tang gave Xu Lai a deep look but said nothing, merely biting her lower lip.

If Xu Lai really has fallen for someone else... then she... she'd just have to accept it.

After all, the two of them currently had no formal status, so she had no right to be angry. Still, Ruan Tang felt a heavy feeling in her heart.

After dinner, Ruan Tang went to the bathroom to help Yiyi with her bath.

Meanwhile, Xu Lai sat in the backyard fiddling with his phone. A ball of light flickered in the distant sky and then vanished, revealing a three or four-year-old child standing on the ground. The child wore a red bodice and had cute little braids.

It was Heavenly Dao.

He pouted, waving a candied hawthorn skewer in his hand. "You, the mighty Supreme Emperor, could have just summoned me with your Divine Sense. Why send a WeChat message? Don't you know the signal is terrible up in heaven?"

That's right. Xu Lai had been constantly checking his phone because he was contacting Heavenly Dao...

He glanced sideways. "You got a problem with that?"

"..."

He did, but suddenly, he didn't.

Heavenly Dao cowered like a scolded dog and cautiously offered the skewer. "Supreme Emperor, have some candied hawthorn."

"I don't want any."

After speaking, Xu Lai noticed the skewer was clearly untouched. "Put it on the table. My daughter can have it later."

Heavenly Dao, who had been about to joyfully take a bite, didn't dare. He could only place the hawthorn skewer reluctantly on the fruit plate, staring at it longingly. Tears of grievance nearly welled up in his eyes.

"What's the story behind this dagger?"

Xu Lai took out the cursed dagger Ishihara Kai had used in his assassination attempt. The dispirited Heavenly Dao took it.

After examining it for a moment, he drew in a sharp breath. "This is..."

"Hm?" Xu Lai raised an eyebrow.

"This dagger is actually..." Heavenly Dao was clearly stunned.

Xu Lai's face darkened. "You have three seconds to tell me what it is. I hate it when people try to build suspense."

Heavenly Dao shuddered with fear and blurted out, "This is the dagger Jing Ke used to assassinate the King of Qin!"

What the...?

Is this Heavenly Dao trying to pull a fast one on me, thinking I'm not from Earth? Jing Ke's dagger couldn't have been this short. And this level of craftsmanship and forging... there's no way it's from the Qin Dynasty!

"Supreme Emperor, please let me explain!"

Heavenly Dao grew frantic and launched into his explanation. "The wind was light that day, the sun was warm, and I was bored, so I let my Divine Sense wander. It just so happened to land on the State of Qin, which at the time had a powerful military..."

He rambled on for a full half hour without ever getting to the point!

Xu Lai had figured it out. This little Heavenly Dao was a real chatterbox. Realizing his wife and daughter would be out of the bath soon, he said impatiently, "Get to the point!"

"Oh, oh, oh."

Heavenly Dao didn't dare disobey. He spewed out another long stream of words, but Xu Lai finally understood the reason—a dagger that first appeared during the Qin Dynasty had somehow made its way to Sakura Country over the centuries, where it was eventually found by Ishihara Kai.

"Interesting," Xu Lai mused, his eyes narrowing. A Spiritual Artifact crafted by an evil cultivator had appeared on Earth two thousand years ago.

It seemed this abandoned star, Earth, was still coveted by others.

"When you have a moment, go check out that cave in Sakura Country."

Without waiting for a reply, Xu Lai waved his hand dismissively. "You're dismissed."

Xu Lai, you've gone too far! I am the Heavenly Dao of Earth! Even if you're the Supreme Emperor, you can't just summon and dismiss me as you please! Where's my dignity?

Heavenly Dao felt a prickle of dissatisfaction and was about to argue his case with Xu Lai when his body suddenly began to tremble.

An indescribable sense of comfort washed over him.

When he realized why, Heavenly Dao was dumbfounded. Xu Lai had just infused a strand of Hongmeng Purple Qi from the dawn of creation into his body...

"A strand of Hongmeng Purple Qi for your candied hawthorn."

With that, Xu Lai walked briskly toward the living room, having seen Ruan Tang and Xu Yiyi step out of the bathroom in their pajamas.

"Farewell, Supreme Emperor!!!"

Heavenly Dao bowed respectfully, his heart bursting with joy. Xu Lai is the best person in the world. I freaking love him!

「Inside the room.」

Xu Lai was combing Ruan Tang's hair as she sat before the vanity mirror. Xu Yiyi, lying alone on the bed, piped up in a soft voice, "Daddy, I want you to comb my hair, too."

"Okay, come here."

Xu Lai beckoned. Xu Yiyi happily hopped off the bed and pranced over to sit in Ruan Tang's lap.

The action itself was innocent enough. The problem was that Ruan Tang was wearing a spaghetti-strap nightgown, and as Yiyi sat down, one of the straps shifted...

Xu Lai's gaze drifted over a couple of times.

Wow, my wife's skin is so fair!

A preoccupied Ruan Tang, however, failed to notice.

After Xu Lai had finished combing both her and their daughter's hair, Ruan Tang finally snapped back to reality. Looking in the mirror, she saw her own embarrassing state.

She said in exasperation, "Xu Lai, why didn't you say anything!"

"I didn't see anything."

"..."

Ruan Tang's face grew hot. She had clearly seen him glance in her direction!

She climbed into bed and pulled the covers up. Since Yiyi was still there, Ruan Tang just shot Xu Lai a glare and began to sulk.

Xu Lai continued telling his daughter stories about Venerable Qingfeng.

After he had lulled Yiyi to sleep, Xu Lai asked into the darkness, "Honey, are you asleep yet?"

"I'm asleep," Ruan Tang replied in a muffled voice.

Five minutes later, Xu Lai asked again, "Is Ruan Tang there? This is Xu Lai. If you're not asleep, just squeak."

"She's asleep!"

Ten minutes later, upon hearing the same question again, Ruan Tang said, her face darkening in the dim light, "Xu Lai, are you a child?"

"So you weren't asleep."

"...Yes, I'm not asleep! What is it?!" Ruan Tang said, on the verge of snapping.

"Don't be mad. I only looked three times when I was combing your hair."

These words sent Ruan Tang into a fit of shame and rage. Reaching over her daughter's sleeping form, she pinched Xu Lai's arm hard and whispered fiercely, "Shut up and go to sleep!"

"Fine," Xu Lai said with a sigh of helplessness.

However, Ruan Tang tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She realized she was deeply bothered by why Xu Lai had been glued to his phone ever since he got home.

After wrestling with her thoughts for a moment, she asked softly, "Xu Lai, are you asleep?"

"I'm asleep."

"..."

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