Chapter 57
By the time Ye Xiyao realized he had received a big gift from Xue Qiao, it was already a month later.
During that time, both he and Xing Xu were persistently persuaded by the Alliance government to stay, and they were eventually given positions as so-called “exorcism consultants.” The actual role of this position wasn’t particularly important—it was essentially a cushy job. There were no regular duties, but they received a monthly stipend. The only thing required of them was to assist whenever a demon caused trouble that local security forces and exorcists couldn’t handle.
Although it was a newly created and unprecedented title, designed specifically for them, it even gave them more authority over exorcism matters than the security bureau. Clearly, the Alliance wanted to build a close relationship with them. Once Ye Xiyao accepted the appointment, it would mean he was aligning himself with humanity, and neither side would need to fear the other.
For Xing Xu, this wasn’t a big deal. He had often helped the security bureau in the past, so he was used to working with the authorities and had no interest in the meaningless title of “consultant.”
Ye Xiyao’s reaction, however, was unexpected.
On the day he officially became a government official of the Alliance, Ye Xiyao was so happy that he couldn’t sleep all night.
Xing Xu, watching him laugh, couldn’t help but laugh too, though he didn’t know why.
Eventually, Xing Xu couldn’t hold back and, pressing down on Ye Xiyao’s head, asked, “Tell me what you’re laughing about.”
Ye Xiyao: “You don’t know why I’m laughing, and yet you’re laughing along with me?”
Xing Xu: “Put yourself in my shoes. If I suddenly started laughing ‘hehehe’ under the covers one night, wouldn’t you laugh?”
“Hehe.” Ye Xiyao blinked his bright eyes in the dark and said to Xing Xu, “I’m happy.”
“I know you’re happy, but I don’t get what exactly you’re happy about,” Xing Xu said. “Do you really like being an exorcism consultant that much? I don’t think the title is impressive enough. How about I get Luo Yiji to step down and make you the head of the security bureau? I’m sure he’d be willing.”
Ye Xiyao: “No, it’s not that. I just like getting a government stipend.”
Xing Xu: “Oh, I see.”
“…” Ye Xiyao stared at him for a while, confused, “You believed me that easily?”
“They’re giving you a lot of money, so it makes sense to be happy about that,” Xing Xu replied.
Ye Xiyao, worried that he’d really believe it, said, “Okay, actually it’s not that. What really makes me happy is—”
“I know what it is,” Xing Xu suddenly cut in, finishing Ye Xiyao’s thought. “You’re happy because having a role in the Alliance government means you have a recognized identity in this human world. You don’t need to hide anymore, don’t need to worry about being feared or exiled by people, and don’t have to question where you belong or who your kind are. You won’t feel lost or anxious anymore.
“Even though in terms of power, you could easily surpass any organization or person in this world, and the Alliance government is just another big organization to you… Spiritually, this is the moment when you can finally breathe a sigh of relief, right?”
Ye Xiyao was stunned for a long moment, not expecting Xing Xu to understand him so well. After being exposed, he smiled calmly, “Are we sharing minds along with godhood now? How are you so spot-on?”
“Maybe.” Xing Xu raised an eyebrow. “Now, can you guess what I’m thinking right now?”
Ye Xiyao closed his eyes and pretended to meditate before answering, “You want to sleep.”
“Wrong.” Xing Xu flipped over on top of him, “I’m thinking that with all the energy you have tonight, we might need to find a way to burn some of it off.”
“No, no, no!” Ye Xiyao rolled around in his arms but couldn’t escape, so he gave up struggling and reminded, “We have a flight to Lucheng City at 9 a.m.”
Xing Xu calculated, “Perfect, we’ve got eight hours.”
Ye Xiyao: “…!”
/
On the day they returned to Lucheng City, Ye Xiyao had prepared himself to face a snowstorm. But when they stepped off the plane, they found the weather unexpectedly pleasant.
They later learned that after the heavy snow that day, Lucheng City had experienced clear skies for an unusually long stretch. Even during the coldest days of the year, the sky remained bright and clear.
Naturally, the citizens of Lucheng City discussed this at length, and there were plenty of related search terms online. Although people debated all sorts of possibilities, no one could figure out why the winter was so warm this year.
This mild winter lasted until the end of February, and spring came without another snowfall.
…
“Stop pushing! I told you not to push!”
“Are you going to press it or not? If you’re not, I will.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t! Who’s pushing me…?!”
When Ye Xiyao heard the commotion outside, he was in the middle of brushing his teeth. Xing Xu had gotten up a little earlier and was already busy in the kitchen.
Ye Xiyao poked his head out of the bedroom and signaled to Xing Xu with his eyes to go open the door.
Xing Xu frowned, glanced down at the apron he was wearing, the kitchen knife in his hand, and the pot of soup simmering behind him. His brain went into overdrive.
Ye Xiyao spat out a mouthful of foam and said, “Are you embarrassed? I can go, I’m almost done.”
He sped up his brushing.
“No need,” Xing Xu said. “Don’t choke yourself, I’ll go.”
After saying that, Xing Xu angrily slammed the kitchen knife into the chopping board and then walked over to open the door.
As soon as he opened it, Qiao Linchuan’s hand, which was about to press the doorbell, poked right into Xing Xu’s shoulder.
Qiao Linchuan froze, his back going cold. “Whoa.”
The few people behind him instantly took a half-step back.
Their reactions were so big because Xing Xu’s expression was just too fierce.
“Tsk.” Xing Xu glanced at the time and said coldly, “Lunch is at noon. Why are you here so early? Got nothing better to do?”
Qiao Linchuan pulled back the hand that Xing Xu almost broke and explained, “We couldn’t just show up for the food! You two just moved into a new place, so we had to come help out!”
Xing Xu reminded him, “We finished moving three days ago. What help could you possibly offer now?”
“Moving isn’t that simple! We brought gifts to help make your new home feel more…” Qiao Linchuan trailed off as he looked Xing Xu up and down, then said, “Wait a minute, Xing Xu, what are you wearing?”
Xing Xu: “…”
Lu Kou: “It’s an apron!”
Xu Xingyang: “There are two little bunnies on it!”
Qin Zai: “So… are we actually eating a meal made by Xing Xu today?”
Xing Xu couldn’t take it anymore and gritted his teeth. “Shout a little louder, why don’t you? I’ll give you a megaphone to announce it.”
Everyone immediately shut up.
While Xing Xu wasn’t paying attention, Qiao Linchuan slipped through the door, familiarly grabbed a stack of disposable slippers, and handed them out to the others. After changing into them, he said, “I swear, everything we’ve seen today won’t be mentioned to anyone else. Don’t worry, Chef Xing. Only the heavens, the earth, you, me, him, and her will know—”
Xing Xu kicked him inside.
Naturally, the others didn’t dare push their luck, so they quietly changed their shoes and filed into the living room.
Just as Xing Xu was about to close the door, a hand suddenly reached in through the crack, nearly getting caught. He frowned, looked down, and was stunned for a moment.
“Why are you here?” Xing Xu’s tone wasn’t one of chasing away a guest but of genuine surprise.
They had only invited a few colleagues for lunch today and hadn’t told anyone else, so he wasn’t sure why the Demon King had shown up.
Still in the form of a child, the Demon King ignored him and walked straight into the house.
Xing Xu stuck out his foot to block him. “Shoes.”
The Demon King shot him a sideways glance. “You’re being annoying.”
Xing Xu said, “Xiaobao hates it when people don’t change their shoes at the door.”
“…” The Demon King silently changed into a pair of small slippers.
Xing Xu smirked. “Did something happen for you to come all this way?”
The Demon King: “I was just passing by.”
Xing Xu: “That’s quite a detour for just passing by.”
The Demon King: “Say one more word, and I’ll—”
Xing Xu shouted, “Xiaobao!”
The Demon King immediately shut his mouth. “…”
As he walked into the living room, Qiao Linchuan and the others’ eyes lit up.
Lu Kou exclaimed, “What a handsome little kid! Whose child is this?”
Qiao Linchuan scratched his head and muttered, “Why does this kid look so familiar…?”
Qin Zai: “His eyes kind of look like Xiaobao’s.”
Xu Xingyang: “Could he be a relative of Xiaobao?”
Xing Xu deliberately raised his voice and said, “Look at that, nobody knows you. How about introducing yourself?”
He thought the proud and arrogant Demon King would ignore him, but to his surprise, the Demon King actually introduced himself.
“Seiler.”
Though it was only two short syllables.
Luckily, Qiao Linchuan and the others had enough sense to go along with it immediately. “Oh, it’s little Seiler! Nice to meet you!”
The Demon King shot him a cold look.
Qiao Linchuan broke out in a sweat. “Haha… what a… unique child.”
Though the conversation was awkward, the Demon King at least didn’t reject them, and he sat down quietly with the humans in the living room.
Xing Xu thought, *Finally, I can close the door now.*
Just as he was about to close the door for a second time, someone else stuck their foot in the crack.
In a burst of frustration, Xing Xu swung the door open, giving up the entryway space and grumbling irritably, “Is everyone really this free?”
Even though Ye Xiyao had told them lunch would be at noon, it was still early in the morning, and people kept showing up.
Luo Yiji squeezed through the door, struggling with several large bags. “Help! Give me a hand! I can’t carry all this!”
Xing Xu couldn’t be bothered. “Who told you to buy so much? Carry it in yourself.”
Before Luo Yiji could respond, a voice came from behind him — Xue Qiao’s. “You brat! Help him carry that stuff! I bought you a housewarming gift, don’t let it get damaged.”
Xing Xu’s eyebrow twitched. “Why are you here too?”
Xue Qiao leaned against the doorframe. “You didn’t invite me, so I came myself. What, are you kicking me out?”
Suddenly, Xing Xu didn’t know what to say.
In fact, Xue Qiao had mentioned several times that she wanted to visit them, but Xing Xu had refused each time with various excuses.
This situation had a long backstory, mostly because of Xue Qiao’s “gifts.”
A little over a month ago, Xue Qiao’s lawyer came to Ye Xiyao with a pile of paperwork for him to sign. It was then that Ye Xiyao and Xing Xu realized that, in a short amount of time, Xue Qiao had bought him an overwhelming number of gifts. These included, but were not limited to, the niche brand she had mentioned earlier, a private jet, a 100-foot yacht, and homes in prime locations across various bustling cities in the Alliance.
Of course, Ye Xiyao refused all these extravagant gifts, which were worth millions.
The lawyer left with Ye Xiyao’s thanks and polite rejection, but the next day, Xue Qiao showed up in person.
Xue Qiao was known for her strong will and social prowess — her words never lost to anyone.
Ye Xiyao had zero resistance against her.
Before he could even say “no,” Xue Qiao dragged him out for a full day of shopping. They ended the day drunk in her private winery, and in his foggy state of mind, Ye Xiyao was forced to accept a dazzling array of gifts. He even drank several bottles of Xue Qiao’s finest wine.
When Xing Xu went to pick him up, he found Xue Qiao spinning and dancing on the table, sharing embarrassing stories of Xing Xu’s childhood with Ye Xiyao, while Ye Xiyao slumped in a chair, gazing up at the ceiling and mumbling, “So dizzy… so dizzy…”
In the end, Xing Xu had to carry both of them out of the wine cellar, and he sternly ordered that Xue Qiao could never take Ye Xiyao out alone again. He even imposed a “No Auntie” ban on Ye Xiyao, insisting he stay away from Xue Qiao to live a healthy life.
Because of this, Xue Qiao hadn’t seen Ye Xiyao for a whole month.
For the housewarming, Xing Xu deliberately kept her in the dark, fearing she’d cause more chaos. He could easily imagine her impulsively giving their entire house a complete makeover.
But somehow, word had gotten out…
“Hello, President Xue!”
“Sister Qiao, you’re here early! Come on in.”
“Good morning, big boss!”
Qiao Linchuan, Lu Kou, and the others immediately stood up, enthusiastically welcoming Xue Qiao.
*Great*, thought Xing Xu. *Now I know who leaked the news.*
He couldn’t really kick Xue Qiao out, so he shut the door and went back to the kitchen to continue preparing lunch.
In an unnoticed corner, Luo Yiji huffed and puffed as he placed the gifts aside, wiped his sweat, and poured himself a glass of water. As the director of the Security Bureau, he was quite familiar with acting as the errand boy.
With Ye Xiyao not out yet, the group had nothing to do, so under the strong requests of Qiao Linchuan and the others, Luo Yiji began to tell some legendary stories about demon hunters.
Some of the stories were true, some were not, but everyone listened with great interest.
The only one who didn’t enjoy it was the Demon King, who wore a child’s face but frequently showed expressions of sarcasm that didn’t match his appearance.
When Luo Yiji described a certain demon as “ferocious and terrifying,” the Demon King sneered, “It’s just a low-level creature that couldn’t survive among its own kind, so it came to the human world to show off.”
He repeatedly interrupted or contradicted Luo Yiji, but since he looked like a child, the others let it slide, except for Xue Qiao, who argued with him every time.
When Luo Yiji talked about the history of the Security Bureau’s exorcisms, the Demon King said, “Humans are weak, which is why they’re targeted by demonic beings.”
When Luo Yiji praised modern professional exorcists for becoming more and more powerful, the Demon King scoffed, “Those so-called exorcists are still too inexperienced in the face of a true demon.”
It wasn’t until Ye Xiyao finally appeared that the Demon King’s expression visibly brightened. His lips curled into a high smile, though he tried to act nonchalant, but his joy was undeniable. “Morning,” he said.
Ye Xiyao smiled and replied, “You’re here.”
The Demon King nodded. “Yeah.”
Ye Xiyao seemed to have expected the Demon King’s arrival. Perhaps he had guessed it or even dreamed about it, but he wasn’t surprised. He sat down beside the Demon King.
The Demon King asked, “Are you comfortable living here?”
Ye Xiyao replied, “Yes, it’s great here.”
At that moment, Xue Qiao suddenly interjected, “Sweetheart, if you need anything, just let Auntie know. Auntie’s got everything prepared for you. If that’s not enough, I’ll just give you the money so you can get it yourself.”
The Demon King frowned, clearly annoyed at being interrupted, but then he turned back to Ye Xiyao and said, “Whenever you feel like coming to my place, just let me know.”
Before Ye Xiyao could respond, Xue Qiao chimed in again, “Where are you going? I can give you a lift! Auntie’s got a private aircraft — super fast!”
The Demon King clenched his jaw and stared at Xue Qiao. “…”
Xue Qiao stared back. “What’s the matter? Am I not allowed to join your conversation?”
At that moment, from the kitchen, Xing Xu suddenly called out, “Xue Qiao, come help me with something.”
Xue Qiao shouted back, “Call me ‘Auntie!'”
Xing Xu: “Hurry up and come over.”
“That brat! Getting more and more disrespectful! Just wait ’til I come over there and teach you a lesson!” Xue Qiao grumbled as she stormed into the kitchen, radiating frustration.
No one knew what Xing Xu said to Xue Qiao, but from that moment on, her attitude toward Seiler (the Demon King) changed dramatically. Even during lunch, she was enthusiastically offering him food, passing him chopsticks, and serving him dishes.
The Demon King, confused, looked instinctively at Ye Xiyao.
Ye Xiyao, equally puzzled, looked instinctively at Xue Qiao.
Xue Qiao smiled elegantly, leaned in close to the Demon King, and whispered in his ear, “Dear in-law, enjoy the meal.”
The Demon King: “…”
Ye Xiyao knew he shouldn’t laugh, but he couldn’t help it. As the Demon King’s face darkened and he reluctantly accepted the large bowl of rice that Xue Qiao handed him, Ye Xiyao burst out laughing, covering his face.
The others, sitting farther away and unaware of what Xue Qiao had said, didn’t know why Ye Xiyao was laughing, but seeing him laugh made them join in too.
Once Ye Xiyao had laughed enough, he nudged Xing Xu and asked, “What did you tell Auntie?”
He assumed Xing Xu had simply explained the relationship between him and the Demon King, but what Xing Xu actually said was, “I told her Seiler was here to evaluate me. My intention was to get her to tone it down and not cause any trouble today.”
Who could have guessed Xue Qiao would run with it in a completely different direction?
Xue Qiao meant well. After hearing that the child was actually the Demon King and knowing that the Demon King was Ye Xiyao’s father, she thought she needed to show some sincerity since he was here to evaluate Xing Xu.
However, her sincerity had completely hit the Demon King’s sore spots.
Xing Xu felt that his already complicated, delicate relationship with the Demon King had now been pushed to the brink of total collapse.
Xing Xu found the situation increasingly ridiculous and amusing, and he kicked Xue Qiao under the table.
However, Xue Qiao seemed oblivious and continued serving food to the Demon King, Seiler.
The Demon King, with a dark expression, said he didn’t need more food, but Xue Qiao insisted, “You need to eat more, you’re still growing.”
The Demon King: “…”
Xing Xu: “…”
Ye Xiyao: “Pfft.”
