However, just as Chu Lian opened the door and reached the stairs, she heard her mother and father talking downstairs.
Thinking that the two of them had not seen each other for quite some time, Chu Lian did not rush over. Instead, she quietly hid in a corner and eavesdropped on their conversation below.
"Oh, so you finally decided to come back? What's wrong? Your pretty secretary didn't have you completely bewitched? So many things have happened at home, yet you're only showing your face now. You really are busy." Li Mingxue sat on the sofa with her long, slender legs crossed, looking every inch a queen.
She stared coldly at Chu Xiao, who had rushed back in such a hurry that he had not even put down his things yet.
"Ah, my dear wife, my darling spouse, the love of my life, I had my reasons for only coming back now. You know how busy work has been. I have to work myself to the bone for this family."
Every word Chu Xiao said was true. Unfortunately, Li Mingxue was clearly determined to make things difficult for him. She acted as though she had not heard his apology at all, merely idly bobbing the tip of her raised foot as if she did not care in the slightest.
"Listen to me. Hasn't the research reached a critical stage recently? Once we overcome that problem, small-scale energy weapons can enter mass production. You know how much that would change things, don't you? Once every soldier is equipped with an energy weapon, we won't suffer such devastating losses when dealing with enormous monsters like we did last time, nor will there be another incident like that giant dragon rampaging through Miami in America."
Chu Xiao walked over to the sofa, set down the things in his hands, and sat in an armchair. With his hands clasped together, he meekly responded to her accusations.
"I know energy weapons are important, but do you have any idea how many things have happened to Lian'er and Chu Chu recently? You said you were developing these things to protect us, but when your daughters were in danger, where were you?"
"That was my fault. I thought all of you could handle it. I truly never imagined things would become so dangerous." He knew he was in the wrong. No matter how many reasons he had, he had failed to keep the promise he had once made, and that made it his fault. Both Li Mingxue and Chu Xiao himself believed that.
"We could handle it, but that still takes time, all right? You know I can't act freely. If I could, I would have cleaned out every last one of those people ages ago. Would I really have needed to let my daughter exhaust herself like that?"
Li Mingxue's resentment was especially intense as she said this. She had always been restricted, forced to weigh countless concerns whenever she wanted to act. Meanwhile, the children's father, who could act freely, was never around. Every time she watched her children being bullied by people who had lived for who knew how many years, she became furious.
"We signed an agreement, after all. If we unilaterally break it, the consequences will be even more severe than what we're facing now. You don't want Lian'er and the others falling into even greater danger, do you? Things may be dangerous now, but at least they can still be dealt with. If those people become involved, it won't be a question of whether the situation can be handled. It'll be a question of whether they can continue living ordinary lives at all."
Chu Xiao wore a bitter smile. He could hardly say that this was all a mess his dear wife had created when she was young, could he? He was certain that if he dared say such a thing, his tsundere wife would immediately throw him out of the house, refuse to let him return for three to five months, and cut off all contact with him.
"So you're blaming me? You blame me for being young and hot-blooded back then? You blame me for not knowing how to restrain myself? You blame me for being so strong that I humiliated them? You blame me for being so talented that it made them uncomfortable?" Li Mingxue was no fool. Even though Chu Xiao had not said it aloud, that was exactly what he meant. She narrowed her eyes at him, and her tone became somewhat dangerous.
"Absolutely not. You must understand that, in my heart, you are as magnificent as heaven and earth itself. My wife is so utterly perfect. Do you really think I would ever speak badly of you?" Chu Xiao possessed immense authority before everyone else, but in front of his own family, he discarded every so-called mask and pretense. As long as it made his family happy, what did it matter if he had to serve them hand and foot?
From that perspective, it was hardly surprising that Chu Xiao and Li Mingxue had ended up together. Both of them placed tremendous importance on the concept of family. No matter what happened, family came first, and they were willing to sacrifice everything for it. This shared belief gave them common goals and common ground, and it was also the pillar that sustained their household.
"Flattering me won't help. I'm not falling for that." Li Mingxue lifted a cup of tea and leisurely took a sip, acting as though she had not heard his explanation. Only when sweat began to bead on Chu Xiao's forehead did she finally speak.
"Ahem. I know my dear wife is the most considerate person in the world. You would never deliberately make things difficult for me." How could Chu Xiao truly give up on placating her? His most important task right now was to soothe her anger so that when he revealed why he had returned, he would not receive a beating.
"You came back because of the shot Lian'er fired today, didn't you? Unfortunately, I have nothing to tell you. That weapon of Lian'er's cannot be produced with your current technology. Yes, I said produced. In other words, forget researching it. Even if you were given every detail of its construction, you still wouldn't be able to build it."
Before Chu Xiao could explain why he had returned, Li Mingxue spoke first. They had been married and lived together for so many years. How could she not understand his personality?
"I see... I knew it was probably impossible. The power of that shot was simply too great. There's no way we could produce results without quietly researching something like that for several decades. Still, I want to know where she obtained it. That information might give us a crucial direction to pursue."
At his words, Li Mingxue's hand paused around her teacup. She turned to look at him and stared deeply into his eyes. Only after a long silence did she speak. "Do you want Lian'er to fully assist you, or do you want to take that equipment away from her?"
Her voice carried a trace of indifference and danger. She had said before that Chu Lian was the one inviolable boundary in her heart. If Chu Xiao truly intended to do such a thing, she would undoubtedly turn against him, just as she had on that night thirteen years ago.
"Don't get worked up. I have no such intention. I only want to know where Lian'er obtained it. Even if nothing comes of it, I won't pursue the matter. It is her secret, after all." Chu Xiao knew that whenever the subject involved Chu Lian, Li Mingxue easily became tense.
That was especially true because he had a dark history of once wanting to kill Chu Lian and eliminate every future threat at its source. Li Mingxue could hardly be blamed for becoming nervous.
"Phew... Forget it. Ask her yourself." Li Mingxue knew that her current emotions made her unsuitable for continuing the conversation, so she looked toward the place where Chu Lian was hiding and called, "Lian'er, Chu Chu, come downstairs."
"Oh, Big Sis, we've been discovered." Chu Chu had her entire body pressed against Chu Lian's back, her cheek resting against Chu Lian's as she breathed in the faint fragrance coming from her. She had been listening alongside Chu Lian as their parents argued over the matter.
Now that their mother had called out to them, Chu Chu was not surprised, but she still played along and made a comment.
"They knew we were here ages ago. They just didn't say anything." Chu Lian rolled her eyes, pulled Chu Chu off her back, and glanced at her before muttering, "Excess fat. All of it is useless excess fat."
Then she took Chu Chu's small hand and led her down the stairs. Looking at her mother and father, she greeted them softly. "Good evening, Dad, Mom."
"Mmm. You both already know what this is about. Chu Chu, don't interrupt. Let Lian'er speak." Li Mingxue lifted her tea again and took a gentle sip, indicating that she would no longer involve herself in the matter.
"Let me put it this way, Dad. This armor is called the Seraph, and I bought it from a very mysterious organization. That organization consists of merchants who travel among different worlds selling goods. Incidentally, I'm now in the same profession." Chu Lian did not mind her parents learning about her identity as a Spacetime Traveling Merchant. Compared to that, keeping the system secret was far more important.
"Merchants who travel among different worlds selling goods? Aren't those basically the spacetime merchants from novels? I never expected that to be your profession, Lian'er." The moment Chu Xiao heard Chu Lian's explanation, he immediately understood where her equipment had come from.
He then asked cautiously, "Do they have any more things like this? If they do, could you ask about the price for me? As long as it's reasonable, I can use my influence to find suitable items for trade and conduct a transaction with them. Your profession allows bartering, doesn't it?"
"Of course. Bartering is actually our most fundamental method of trade. Merchants like us value fairness above all else, and exchanging one item for another fully satisfies that principle, so it's extremely popular." Chu Lian's eyes lit up when she heard her father's words. Wasn't he basically a walking ATM?
As for the idea that he was her father and she should not fleece him too ruthlessly, a certain loli declared that everything would be just fine. Those things would not belong to him anyway. He would merely be using his authority to search for and gather them. Why not take whatever she could get for free?
When the time came, she would not conduct the transaction with them under her identity as a Spacetime Traveling Merchant, so they would have no way of knowing whether the exchange was truly fair. Instead, after obtaining the things they had dreamed of, they would become even more grateful to her and provide her with even more valuable items in the future. Where else could she possibly find such a wonderful opportunity?
"That's good. I'll have to trouble you, then." After receiving Chu Lian's promise, Chu Xiao no longer wanted to dwell on the subject. After all, compared to this, it was rare for him to return home, and he wanted to rest properly.
"There aren't any more questions, right? Then I'll head back upstairs." Chu Lian was perceptive enough to understand what was going through her father's mind when she saw his expression. Not wanting to disturb him, the girl took the bored Chu Chu by the hand, turned around, and headed upstairs.
"Um, my dear wife..." Seeing how considerate his daughter was, Chu Xiao felt immense gratification. He truly had not doted on her for nothing. She knew how to look after her father's needs.
"Do you want to sleep with me?" As though she already knew what he wanted to say, Li Mingxue set down her cup and asked with a smiling expression.
"Ahem..." Chu Xiao was not quite that direct. He merely coughed, but before he had the chance to speak, Li Mingxue's next sentence plunged him straight into the abyss. "Darling, you're sleeping on the floor tonight."
With that, she lowered her crossed leg, rose with a graceful sway, and went upstairs, leaving the tearful Chu Xiao sitting on the sofa with nothing he could say.