Xu Yiyi panicked for a moment, but when she saw it was Xu Lai, she burst into giggles and dove into Ruan Tang's arms.

She cooed, "Mommy, save me!"

Ruan Tang's face turned red as she pushed her daughter away. She had no choice. It was one thing for the little girl to snuggle into her arms, but why was she lifting her nightgown? Her nightgown wasn't a blanket; it wasn't going to cover her completely!

"Alright, no more horsing around." Xu Lai shook the cloud-shaped cotton candy in his hand. "It's a dark cloud."

Xu Yiyi's eyes shone brightly. She stood on Ruan Tang's stomach, tiptoed to give Xu Lai a peck on the cheek, and exclaimed with delight, "Daddy is the best!"

Ruan Tang: "..."

She gazed at the small feet on her abdomen and couldn't help glaring at Xu Lai. "Your daughter just brushed her teeth," she said, gritting them. "She can't have sweets!"

"I think it's fine."

"I don't care what you think!"

COUGH.

With a cough from Xu Lai, Xu Yiyi instantly caught on. The little girl hopped off her mother's belly, giggled, and ran back to her room to eat her treat. "Goodnight, Daddy and Mommy."

"Is she even my daughter?! She's crushing me!" Ruan Tang was furious. Her own daughter had actually stepped on her, her mother, to kiss Xu Lai. She'd suffered a double blow, both physically and emotionally.

"It's fine, I'll rub it for you." Xu Lai reached out to rub the reddened spot on his wife's stomach.

But very quickly, Ruan Tang hurriedly covered her chest, her face darkening. "Mr. Xu, you don't need that hand, do you? Are we making pig's feet or phoenix claws with it?"

That despicable Xu Lai! He was actually trying to take advantage of the situation. Thankfully, I caught on in time!

Xu Lai frowned. "Honey, I suspect my hand has a mind of its own. Just now… I couldn't control it."

"..." Ruan Tang emotionlessly patted the couch beside her. "I think this couch has a mind of its own, too. You can sleep here tonight."

"Look at that temper." Xu Lai shamelessly scooted closer. "Have you eaten? I can go cook for you."

"Don't try that old routine on me." Ruan Tang rolled her eyes. "Yaoyao moved into a villa at the foot of Mount Haitang, so Yiyi and I went over there for dinner. Liu Beiming was pretty disappointed that you didn't make it."

Xu Lai slapped his forehead. He'd forgotten about that. "It's a shame," he said with regret. "If you had told me earlier, I could have prepared a gift."

"We're all family; there's no need for such formalities," Ruan Tang said offhandedly. "Yaoyao has been practicing flower arrangement recently, so I just grabbed a vase to give her as a housewarming gift."

Xu Lai nodded.

That's good. Arranging flowers is a great way to cultivate one's character. Wait a minute...

Xu Lai suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. "Honey, which vase did you give her?"

"The one you brought back last time."

"..."

Xu Lai drew in a sharp breath.

Last time, I went to the Moon, collected the scattered fragments of a Pill Furnace, repaired it into a complete Immortal Artifact, and brought it back. That was an incredibly precious Pill Furnace, a rarity even among Immortal Artifacts! Throughout the entire Immortal Domain, there were probably fewer than ten of them. An item like that would cause a bloodbath in the Immortal Domain. Using it as a flower vase was one thing, but you actually gave it away? You could have saved it for our daughter's dowry, or even for your 'second daughter,' Beibei. Worse still, giving Xu Yaoyao an Immortal Artifact could actually harm her. After all, such a divine item isn't something an ordinary person can possess.

"You're reluctant to part with it?" Ruan Tang asked, her brows furrowing when she noticed his strange expression.

"...Of course not. It's just a worthless old vase. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."

"Then why the sharp intake of breath just now? Look at how stingy you're being. If it's such a big deal, I'll give you an extra thousand yuan for your allowance this month. You can go buy another one," Ruan Tang said with a pout.

"I don't want money. I want a kiss."

"..."

Ruan Tang rolled her eyes at him. "No."

Xu Lai didn't speak, just kept staring at her until she couldn't stand the goosebumps on her skin any longer.

"Stop looking! Close your eyes!" she blurted out.

"Okay!"

Xu Lai closed his eyes in eager anticipation, and a moment later, he felt a cool sensation on his lips. He immediately wrapped his arms around Ruan Tang, and amidst her cry of surprise, he opened his eyes. "Honey, it's time for bed."

Ruan Tang: ???

It's only eight-thirty! What does he mean, 'time for bed'?!

"I just wanted to hold you sooner. I haven't seen you all day, and I missed you so much."

"..." Ruan Tang, at a loss for words, finally managed to spit out two words: "Heh. Men."

Such smooth talk. Does he really think I, Ruan Tang, am that easy to fool?

But for some reason, her arms still wound themselves around Xu Lai's neck. Ruan Tang suddenly felt she could understand Xu Lai. It seemed her arms had a mind of their own, too...

As he carried his wife back to their room, Xu Lai had the nagging feeling he'd forgotten something. It didn't seem too important, though, so he put it out of his mind.

「Meanwhile, at the East Sea City docks, on the Wan Family's cruise ship…」

Oh, wait. It's the Jiang and Su Families' cruise ship now.

Ruan Lan shivered. The sea breeze was freezing!

Where is that darned brother-in-law? I'm waiting for him so we can go home together!

"Lan Lan, let's go," Yu Xiaoxiao said hesitantly. "Everyone else has already disembarked."

"Yeah, let's not wait anymore," Li Li added. "My brother-in-law probably already left."

Ruan Lan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. It seemed that was the only explanation.

Still, seeing so many martial arts masters tonight made it all worthwhile!

Hu Yanjie took off his jacket and draped it over his girlfriend, Yu Xiaoxiao. The group walked from the third deck to the second, then down to the first, standing at the very back of the crowd.

Just as they were about to disembark, they were stopped by security staff—or more precisely, by Wan Meirong's two bodyguards.

"You lot can't leave," one of the bodyguards said in a gruff voice.

Hu Yanjie instinctively shielded the three women, only to be ruthlessly pushed aside by Ruan Lan and Yu Xiaoxiao.

"Why can't we leave?" they demanded in unison.

"There's no 'why'!" the bodyguard said coldly. "You three women, come with me. I suspect you're carrying dangerous items, and we need to take you to a room for a search."

Taken to a private room for a search in the middle of the night? Like hell!

"No way!" Yu Xiaoxiao snapped. "If you keep blocking us, I'm calling the police. Restricting our freedom of movement is illegal!"

Both bodyguards hesitated.

"Useless fools!" Cursing under her breath, Wan Meirong watched from her hiding spot around the corner of the staircase. She had planned to trick Ruan Lan into Martial Ancestor Xu Huang's room. With Ruan Lan's looks, that old lecher would never be able to resist. Who knew these two bodyguards would be so useless? If Ruan Lan and her friends get away, I won't get another chance this good!

As she was agonizing over what to do, she happened to see Xu Huang walking slowly down the stairs. Following closely behind him was the Family Head, Wan Yuanshan.

Thinking of the humiliation she'd suffered in front of the kindergarten that day, anger began to overwhelm her reason. Wan Meirong couldn't help but gather her courage and call out, "Martial Ancestor Xu, please wait!"

Xu Huang had changed his clothes and was just about to find a place to enter seclusion to break through from the Seventh Grade to the Eighth Grade. Being stopped annoyed him slightly. "What is it?" he asked coldly.

"I am Wan Meirong, from a branch of the Wan Family," she said. "Just now, I overheard someone insulting you!"

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