Chapter 125 - 3.21

How could he not think that way?

With each passing day, he found his eyes gradually being led to fall upon Xu Jiaqi more and more. Sometimes, when she would pull out bizarre plans out of nowhere, his cold and detached mask would fall apart, and a genuine smile would bloom.

"..This is dangerous." Xie Yongrui grasped at his hair, sighing as he was conflicted on what to do next. In his vocabulary, there couldn't exist a weakness. If something that made his heart stir like this appeared, then shouldn't he eradicate her right away in order to secure himself?

Or.. should he fight for these emotions- something that he had loathed for all these years because of how much negative connotation it brought to him?

"What is dangerous, my lord?" Lin asked.

Her question just made Xie Yongrui even more irked. "You can go now, I want to be alone. Keep staying close to her and report anything weird to me."

Lin was distraught, but heeded the dismissal. She took off to look for Xu Jiaqi and monitor her again.

"Haah." Xie Yongrui groaned as he got up from his seat and walked towards the door. Opening said door, he was able to see the faint figure of Xu Jiaqi playing around with his other subordinates. After spending some time, they all seemed to get along rather well.

It had been a full month after Xu Jiaqi settled in his estate, and she had been working hard to fulfill her purpose ever since. Through his observations, he roughly knew Xu Jiaqi's pattern. In the early mornings, she would be holed up inside her room, not letting a single person enter said chamber.

In the afternoon, she would spar in the guards' training grounds, taking anybody as her opponent. She would then go to the library after finishing, studying about everything and doing light paperwork on the side. 

At night, she didn't sleep, but instead trained her swordsmanship and fighting styles.

The last time he tried to send a subordinate to figure out what she was doing in the morning, he was caught and received a heavy warning to refrain from doing so if he valued her. Although he didn't know what she did, he had a subtle guess that it was connected to her magical powers in some way or another.

After all, every time he saw her come out of that room, the mystical aura that surrounded her always seemed stronger.

This was not to say he possessed adequate magic, but he always knew that he was rather sensitive to magical powers. And Xu Jiaqi always carried a layer of comfortable shine with her. It made him feel relaxed.

Perhaps, that was also part of why most of the manor's denizens were now acquainted with her and had quite the good relationship with this new person.

Although his subordinates carried a lot of distrust with them for people who they had just met, after the period of warming up passed, they would quickly shift their attitudes and turn into very reliable allies. Perhaps it was because there was no disparity between their statuses, or that they all shared a painful background and were saved by Xie Yongrui.

The lord treated them extremely well, and they got to enjoy what they excel in. They were nurtured into splendid people. There was not enough words that could convey how much gratitude they had for the lord.

The trust they had in said man was naturally extremely high. It couldn't be described with mere words. When Xu Jiaqi was admitted, although they did have negativity hurled towards her, now that she showed what she could do, the prejudices were erased and they were able to accept her well.

After all, the lord himself had chosen her. There must be a reason. They wanted to honor his decision.

That was why, today, Xu Jiaqi was happily beating up one of the guys who played a trick on her. Pitiful screams ensued, terrified at how this girl, who had to use tricks in order to beat them not too long ago suddenly became a demoness that had impenetrable offense and defense.

When Xu Jiaqi said she worked hard, it meant that she worked her ass off. Day in, day out. She was always focused in her training as she did her daily duties. Passive results boosted her rates significantly, and not to mention, she was now able to more or less wield the sword to a nearly perfect level.

Using Zenith's movements, who was actually later known as the greatest swordsman when they neared the end of their passage, Xu Jiaqi wielded the twin swords given by the System and connected Zenith's style along with her own modifications.

A true genius. Xu Jiaqi's mind was boundless. Even though she never dedicated herself to the art of swords, she quickly grew accustomed to the ordeal and was capable enough to make her own changes within such a short time, even if the world's polished physique adaptations helped.

Hearing the news of all this, Xie Yongrui decided to call the girl up after musing for a long time.

Xu Jiaqi herself had been waiting for this call for quite some time. Upon hearing the invitation, she immediately displayed a victory smirk, as if Xie Yongrui gained a loss. She rushed to Xie Yongrui's private chamber and intruded on him.

The door to his room was dragged open by Xu Jiaqi, who had a triumphant smile on her face.

Xie Yongrui, seeing this, instinctively twitched his eyebrows, but coughed to clear his throat and calm down. In his mind, he repeated a peace mantra and reminded himself that the girl he was about to speak with was an eccentric fellow that couldn't be measured with normal standards.

"Qiqi, how have you been?" Xie Yongrui smiled as he gestured for the girl to sit down on the opposite side of the table. Xu Jiaqi did as told and greeted the man back as she sat down gracefully.

"Oh? Did you miss me? Judging by how you haven't come to seek me out in the previous chances.. I thought that you might have already forgotten about me." Not answering his question, she playfully winked at him, trying to fish out an interesting reaction.

The mood was set. An ambiguous tension.

The perfect pair as the players.

The game was on.

Xu Jiaqi: It's time to battle! Pick your cards wisely, or else you will get consumed by me~