[But you don’t particularly care what others think of you.
You’re simply enjoying the process of acquiring knowledge and enriching yourself.
The opinions of your family—and your child bride-to-be—are naturally the only ones that truly matter.]
[However, seeing how popular you’ve become leaves Jingliu feeling just a little bit jealous.
You used to belong only to her…]
[From a child’s perspective, it’s like her favorite toy has suddenly been discovered by everyone else, and now she’s being forced to share.]
[At least, that’s how you interpret it.]
“Liuliu, look what I made for you.”
Bai Qiong pulled out a small wooden carving of Jingliu that he had whittled with his own fingers during sculpture class, presenting it to her with a face full of pride.
The moment she saw the little wooden figure, Jingliu’s earlier jealousy melted away completely, leaving nothing behind but pure delight.
“Wow!
Qiong, this carving of me is so pretty!
I love it!”
Jingliu’s glistening eyes seemed to radiate light, her face filled with both surprise and joy.
Seeing his work so thoroughly appreciated, the corner of Bai Qiong’s mouth couldn’t help but curl upward.
Had he possessed a tail, it would have been wagging furiously behind him by now.
“Heheh.
So, Liuliu…
do you have anything you want to give me?”
He had seen it earlier.
Jingliu had been sitting right beside him, her body angled sideways to block his view, practically radiating I’m hiding something energy.
And it wasn’t just the turned body—she kept sneaking glances at him, looking over for a second before whipping her head back around to keep carving.
Jingliu is such a dummy!
But that’s okay.
As long as I’m smart enough, it doesn’t matter.
I’ll just be her external brain.
Worst case, I’ll just stay by her side forever…
Oh, you silly little Liuliu!
You’ve already fallen right into the great Bai Qiong’s trap!
Now you’ll never be able to escape the great Bai Qiong!
Without a second thought, Jingliu whipped out the wooden carving she had just finished making.
Indeed, this carving was none other than…
Bai Qiong blinked.
Then he rubbed his eyes.
Then he shook his head.
This…
vaguely humanoid lump of wood…
what exactly was it?
“Th-this carving…” Jingliu’s little face burned crimson.
She glanced at the beautiful carving Bai Qiong had just given her and seemed to fully register that hers was, in fact, not very good at all.
Bai Qiong immediately snatched the carving from her hands and cradled it in his palms like a precious treasure.
“So this is the carving you made of me?
It looks exactly like me!” Bai Qiong’s expression was wildly theatrical.
“Getting it this good on your first try—Liuliu, you’re a little genius too!”
“Pfft—”
Jingliu couldn’t help but crack a genuine smile at his antics.
Then she stuck out her lips, puffed up her chest, and assumed a look of immense pride.
“O-of course!
I’m super amazing!”
Seeing her strike such an adorable pose, Bai Qiong couldn’t resist reaching out and ruffling her hair, smoothing it down gently.
Jingliu didn’t resist in the slightest.
She simply narrowed her eyes and basked in the attention, a picture of pure contentment.
The bond between the two of you was truly the envy of all who saw it.
Watching the intimate way you two interacted, one of Bai Qiong’s little hangers-on grumbled bitterly:
“Boss Bai is getting totally whipped by that Jingliu girl!
Women will only sap your will to fight, Boss!
Looks like…
it’s time for me to start grinding too!
Who says I can’t sit in the Boss’s chair one day?!”
[Age 7: Your follower’s grand ambition to usurp the throne collapsed before it even reached the halfway mark.
According to his own account, the reasoning went like this—”If I want to surpass the Boss, I have to learn from the Boss!” And so, he became the ultimate simp for a little girl in the class next door.]
[Even you couldn’t help but click your tongue in amazement.
Xianzhou natives sure do mature fast.]
What, you think I’m too mature for my age?
Please.
You can’t compare me to those little brats.
[Same year, you graduate from private tutoring at the very top of your class.
A swordsman aboard the Xianzhou takes notice of your talent with the blade and expresses his desire to take you on as a disciple.]
[You initially wanted to refuse, but the man claimed his family possessed a vast collection of countless books!
He lured you in with the promise that while you studied swordsmanship under him, he could arrange for others to guide your studies in other fields as well.]
[Fortunately, his residence isn’t too far from yours—just a Realm or two away.
A round trip by Starskiff takes about two system hours.]
[Your parents seem to recognize him; apparently, he carries some degree of renown aboard the Xianzhou Cangcheng.
Once you agreed, your parents raised no further objections.]
Self-study could only take you so far.
Not all knowledge was publicly available on the Interastral Network.
If you wanted to push further, you needed the guidance of a proper mentor.
But…
“Waaaaah…
does Qiong really have to go?” Jingliu tugged at the hem of his clothes, her crystalline eyes glistening with a thin film of unshed tears.
Her gaze was filled with nothing but desperate pleading.
But Liuliu wouldn’t let him leave.
He had considered bringing her along to study swordsmanship with his new master, but she hadn’t even finished her private tutoring coursework yet!
There was no way Uncle Jing and Aunt Liu would let her start sword training now.
Letting her start private tutoring this early had already been pushing it.
If it weren’t for the fact that Jingliu had thrown a massive tantrum back then, demanding to attend alongside Bai Qiong…
And considering the average Xianzhou native’s lifespan of around 800 years, most children didn’t even begin private tutoring until around age 40.
They had already bent the rules by letting Jingliu start at the absolute minimum age of five.
With her coursework still incomplete and no visible talent for the sword having manifested yet, there was simply no way they’d let her pursue swordsmanship now.
Bai Qiong reached up and gently ruffled Jingliu’s hair.
“Liuliu, I’ll come back every Saturday and Sunday.
I promise.
And I’ll bring you some Cycrane Skewers when I do.”
Jingliu remained unmoved.
“And a cup of hot Glactic Milk.”
Jingliu’s grip on his clothes loosened slightly.
“And a cup of Soda Bean Juice?”
Jingliu hurriedly shook her head.
“I want a slice of Resonant Lotus Cake!
No Soda Bean Juice!”
“Mmm…
then it’s a deal~”
Jingliu nodded firmly.
Truth be told, she wasn’t that fixated on the snacks.
She just didn’t want to make things hard for Bai Qiong.
She was a very considerate girl!
“Let’s go.” Bai Qiong’s father clapped a hand on Bai Qiong’s shoulder and nodded a greeting toward Uncle Jing.
Recently, Bai Qiong’s parents had finally found some downtime.
They’d been looking forward to spending more time with him, only for this situation to crop up out of nowhere.
Still, with their son heading off on his first real journey away from home, neither of them could quite set their minds at ease.
So they helped him pack his luggage and decided to accompany him to see this so-called master for themselves.
In a way, it was like starting boarding school in middle school—classes Monday through Friday, staying on campus, then heading home for Saturday and Sunday.
The group made their way toward the passenger Starskiff at Starskiff Haven.
Bai Qiong proceeded to give everyone a masterclass in the art of looking back every three steps.
Jingliu couldn’t bear to see him go.
And naturally, he couldn’t bear to leave her either.
But he considered himself practically an adult now.
These kinds of feelings shouldn’t be written all over his face.
He was convinced he was putting on a perfect display of carefree nonchalance.
What he didn’t realize was that everyone else could see the reluctance etched clearly into his expression.
Mm…
Jingliu could see it too.