Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Chapter 336: Chapter 32 You’re Good at Dodging Punishment
 

Yan Yu silently did nothing and filled Xie Ruoxi’s cup to the brim.

Xie Ruoxi grew increasingly smug, thinking to herself, “The commander supports me, and the captain pours me wine. Could it be that the era belonging to me, Xie, the Immortal Venerate, is truly upon us?”

From now on, under the heavens and above the earth, only I shall be revered!!!

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, feeling an almost unstoppable urge to stand on the table and howl. But with everyone present, it wasn’t appropriate to go too wild, so she drank the wine poured by Yan Yu in one gulp and, with animated brows and vibrant gestures, bragged to her parents and relatives:

“Back when I fought in the Mysterious Realm on Black Dragon Isle, there were thousands of Onmyoji on the other side. I stood alone at the back, anchoring the formation, and they didn’t even dare to attack me.”

“Thousands of people?” Xie’s mother was extremely anxious, “Then you…”

She was about to say be very careful, before recalling that it was an event that had already happened.

“It’s nothing.” Xie Ruoxi said dismissively, “I dealt with them all by myself.”

Everyone fell silent. Was this for real? In which parallel universe did this take place?

“Ruoxi is truly amazing.” An aunt raised her cup with a forced smile and said, “Ruoxi has always been so brave. I remember back in primary school the teacher said that she was the only one in the class who wouldn’t listen…”

The crowd maintained their silence. Auntie, if you don’t know what to say, it’s better to say nothing at all.

“Ahem.” Xie Ruoxi coughed before continuing to boast, “Why not talk about the battle to defend the Southern Border? Several times when our team almost got wiped out, it was all thanks to my Thunder Method that we were able to turn the tables. The most dangerous time was when we faced the Witch King. Half of our side fell after one of his attacks, and I had to use all my skills and wit to repel him.”

The young women all bowed their heads to eat, hiding the awkward expressions on their faces.

Only to hear Xie’s father nodding and saying:

“Mmm, protecting the family and the country, a noble deed.”@@novelbin@@

“Whether it’s the Onmyoji from the cherry blossoms or the Sorcerers from the Southern Border, none would be a match for me!” Xie Ruoxi, having drunk too much, said proudly, “With my cultivation talent, I’m bound to become the number one Cultivator in the country, the strongest in Lu Country… no, the strongest in this world!”

“You’ve had too much.” Yan Yu calmly took her cup away, “Eat some food.”

“I’m not drunk, I…” Xie Ruoxi was about to throw a little tantrum, but when she looked into Yan Yu’s calm eyes, the wild blaze of arrogance inside her suddenly extinguished.

I am the strongest in this world? No… no, that’s not right.

I’m just a pure, cute, delicate, and helpless Ruoxi, hehe~

She quickly adjusted her demeanor, lowered her head to feign obedience and gentleness, only to hear Yan Yu continue:

“Uncle and Auntie, you’ve heard it, haven’t you? Xie Ruoxi is now a Cultivator with top-notch abilities in the country, so her safety can’t be taken lightly. As her parents, according to the rules, you need to receive protection from the Military Manor.”

“We have already contacted the Annan Army, and they should be arranging to take you both to a residence within the military compound in Star City.”

“Ah?” Xie’s father and mother were caught off guard by this news, “We have to move to Star City?”

“The initial plan was to arrange it in Baoqing Prefecture.” Yan Yu said indifferently, “The Annan Army believes that the military force of Baoqing Prefecture is inadequate, and given Comrade Xie Ruoxi’s strength level, her family requires a higher level of security protection, hence the provisional choice is Star City.”

“Oh, oh…” The elderly couple didn’t know how to respond. They clearly weren’t keen on moving, but Yan Yu was invoking orders from a higher authority; feeling cornered, they had no choice but to dazedly agree and leave it at that.

The latter half of the banquet became somewhat dull with the discussion of moving, coupled with Xie Ruoxi’s reconciliation.

After the meal, Yan Yu offered to stay overnight but was politely declined by Xie’s parents.

They had never planned to stay for the night, as they didn’t want to burden their daughter, so they had already purchased return tickets for the same day.

At the train station’s waiting platform, the aunt once again mustered the courage to approach her cousin, smiling and saying:

“Ruoxi has really made something of herself this time, that…”

Xie’s mother glanced at her impassively and interrupted her:

“Aren’t you going to see your daughter?”

“Uh, she said she was on a business trip, so we won’t visit her.” The aunt, interrupted in her momentum, could only weakly find an excuse, and then shrunk back beside her husband.

But in her mind, she was resolved to get her daughter, who worked and lived in Jinling, to establish a good relationship with Xie Ruoxi.

Due to over a decade of resentment, even if she were to make a complete 180-degree turn in her attitude now, she guessed Xie’s parents would still not pay her much heed.

But when Qianqian was a child, she had a fairly good relationship with Xie Ruoxi, and there was another cousin Wenwen. The three of them often played together during the summer holidays… Xie Ruoxi’s parents refused my attempts to curry favor, but surely Xie Ruoxi wouldn’t completely ignore Qianqian, right?

With this thought, she no longer persisted in entangling Xie Ruoxi’s mother and silently took out her phone to send a message to her daughter.

Back at Yan Yu’s place, everyone went to wash up and change clothes.

In the bathroom, Yan Yu was brushing his teeth when he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

With the toothbrush in his mouth, he went to open the door, only to see Xie Ruoxi standing outside, timorously looking like a pitiful, big-eyed rabbit wanting to beg for mercy but not daring to do so, which immediately made him frown.

What the hell… weren’t you quite arrogant at the dinner table just now? How come you’ve reverted to your original state after coming back?

So, all the effort we went to backing you up this time was for nothing, huh?

“Can I come in?” Xie Ruoxi asked tentatively.

“Come in,” Yan Yu mumbled, “wait for me to finish brushing my teeth.”

He went back into the bathroom, finished brushing his teeth cleanly, bent his head to spit out the toothpaste foam, and immediately a cup of water was held out to him.

It was handed to him by Xie Ruoxi.

Faced with her overly obvious attempt to ingratiate herself, Yan Yu sighed inwardly, took the cup and gargled noisily, wiped his mouth with a towel, then turned and left the bathroom saying:

“So, what do you want?”

“Captain, I did something wrong.” Seeing Yan Yu sitting on the edge of the bed, Xie Ruoxi immediately knelt down in a familiar manner, embracing Yan Yu’s legs, “I got too carried away with pride this time, please don’t beat me, okay?”

Yan Yu: ???

Why the hell are you kneeling again?! Kneeling again! You’re truly helpless…

Just as he was about to express his disappointment with an exasperated kick, he suddenly realized that Xie Ruoxi wasn’t actually kneeling—she was squatting while hugging his thighs, just like a rabbit, with her hind legs folded under her bottom and her front paws resting on him.

“Stand up and talk,” Yan Yu said impatiently.

Xie Ruoxi obediently stood up and sat beside Yan Yu, her head down as she stared at the floor, trembling with fear.

“Why did you get carried away?” Yan Yu asked indifferently.

“Because I’ve been suppressed too harshly in the past,” Xie Ruoxi said after a moment of silence, her voice melancholic, “Captain… all my life, whether at home or at school, I’ve always been the unnoticed one in everyone’s eyes.”

“People only care about who has good grades, who comes from a wealthy family, who is good at making friends. Then look at me—with terrible grades, a poor family, and a slight social anxiety that makes me afraid to speak loudly. Who would pay attention to a waste like me, really…”

As she spoke, she thought about the many years of humility and sorrow and started to dab at her tears, dropping them like small pearls.

But Yan Yu remained unmoved, because this beautiful waste had cried too many times before—her tear ducts were just more active than most people’s, so her crying wasn’t necessarily because she was breaking down. It could have been just a release of emotions, or perhaps an attempt to soften her own heart. In any case, best not to dwell on it for now.

“I…” Xie Ruoxi choked up, “I started to like the two-dimensional world after my looks developed in the ninth grade and boys began saying I was pretty… Captain, do you know that my looks might be the only thing I have that counts for something? And in this world, only the two-dimensional realm purely appreciates beauty…”

“Yeah, so what?” Yan Yu asked coldly.

“So, what I really like isn’t the two-dimensional world, but the feeling of being valued by others.” Xie Ruoxi sniffled hard, continuing to sob, “The reason I want to cosplay isn’t that I really like the original characters, but because I hope the fans who like those original characters will pay attention to me, look at me, like me…”

Lack of love.

This term suddenly appeared in Yan Yu’s mind.

But before he could ponder further, he saw Xie Ruoxi turning her head to look at him.

Her face was wet with tears, looking pitiful and delicate like a rain-drenched pear blossom, yet her expression was serious and solemn… an expression that Yan Yu had never seen her wear since he had known her.

How can the beautiful waste suddenly become serious? What happened to your persona?

“Captain,” Xie Ruoxi said softly, “I’ve always wanted to thank you.”

“Even at my most worthless times, you didn’t choose to give up on me. You still patiently paid attention to me, watched over me, liked me.”

“I don’t like you,” Yan Yu asserted, “Don’t confuse me with your fans. The only reason I trained you is because of your exceptional cultivation talent…”

“But I like you,” Xie Ruoxi suddenly said.