It wasn’t that Qiqi was being petty or unwilling to let the “cousin” out for display, but that wolf was stealing the spotlight too fiercely, and the crowd was too enthusiastic, leaving Qiqi on edge every day...
Look, Granny Wang and Aunt Zhao next door were at it again, arguing over Rong Yi—
Granny Wang (huffily): “Xiao Ming’s mom, your Xiao Ming bullied my Fatty again today!”
Aunt Zhao (apologetically, stepping forward to pat Fatty’s head): “Be good, Fatty. Where are you hurt? Why did my Xiao Ming hit you?”
Fatty (with a few bumps on his head, a stubborn look in his eyes): “That’s not true! Brother Xiao Ming and I were sparring!”
Aunt Zhao (turning to yell at Xiao Ming): “You brat! What sparring are you doing with Fatty? He’s younger than you, he’s your little brother!”
Xiao Ming (hands behind his back, dodging nervously): “Mom, Fatty already said it, we were just sparring...”
Qiqi (with a bad feeling): “Xiao Ming, Fatty, what kind of sparring were you doing?”
Xiao Ming and Fatty pointed in unison at the wolf king: “Brother Rong Yi taught us—”
Rong Yi (stepping forward casually, looking at the bumps on Fatty’s head): “Very good, very good! Xiao Ming’s Thunderclap Palm has improved...”
Fatty (proudly showing off): “Brother Rong Yi, my Sky-Rending Claw is also really strong! Look, I tore Xiao Ming’s clothes...”
So that’s why Xiao Ming had his hands behind his back—to hide the evidence!
Aunt Zhao (shrieking): “Xiao Ming! Where’s the new shirt Mom bought you?”
Xiao Ming (dejectedly pulling out the shirt): “Fatty used it to practice Sky-Rending Claw...”
Other kids: “Brother Rong Yi, you’re biased! We want to learn martial arts too! Thunderclap Palm, Sky-Rending Claw, Brother Rong Yi is so amazing...”
A bunch of kids scrambled after Rong Yi, trailing him eagerly.
Qiqi (furious): “Rong Yi! Get back here!”
With that, she angrily grabbed that wolf, dragged him into the courtyard, and slammed the gate shut.
Qiqi: “From now on, you’re not allowed to teach kids martial arts!”
Rong Yi (puzzled): “Why can’t I teach martial arts?”
Qiqi (earnestly): “Don’t you know a gentleman uses words, not fists!”
Rong Yi (seriously): “What’s wrong with martial arts? If you don’t like someone, you can just beat them up—in our demon realm, newborn demons have to learn to survive and fight, or else other monsters will eat them...”
Qiqi (throwing her hands up to the sky): “But this is the human world! Oh, the human world of love and loyalty, where people envy mandarin ducks, not immortals!”
Rong Yi: “The human world has evil forces too!”
Qiqi: “Bullshit! We’re a harmonious new society!”
Rong Yi (shrugging): “Then why are there still demolition crews?”
Qiqi: ...
(The argument ends here, and Qiqi feels utterly defeated. The crowd sends their condolences: Qiqi, don’t be too upset; losing the debate isn’t your fault. After all, it’s no surprise the wolf king is violent—that guy was born a demon. Plus, he grew up in the royal palace, with tutors like the crown prince’s teacher...)
Qiqi raised her hand and shouted: “Stop—”
She shoved Rong Yi back into the study, quickly and neatly locked the door—how dare a little punk make big sister angry? She’d put him under house arrest! Let’s see if he dares to come out and corrupt the kids again!
No sooner had she locked it than the courtyard gate was knocked on again: “Qiqi, open up! It’s your Aunt Zhao!”
Qiqi, feeling guilty, walked back to the gate and said through the door: “Aunt Zhao, I’m really sorry about Xiao Ming’s shirt. I’ll buy him a new one later...”
Aunt Zhao: “Oh, child, what are you saying! We’re practically family now, don’t be so formal!”
Practically family? What did that mean?