...
"What a troublesome little brat."
Bibi Dong sighed inwardly, looked at Xuan Hao kneeling there, and finally broke the silence.
"Is kneeling comfortable?"
Xuan Hao shuddered, cautiously raised his head, revealing a pair of innocent big eyes: "I'm not feeling well... my legs are numb."
"Leg numbness?"
Bibi Dong sneered and put down her teacup.
"When you were collecting money at the academy, I saw you were quite nimble on your feet.
What?
Now you know your legs are numb?"
"Tell me, President Xuanhao."
Bibi Dong leaned forward, and an invisible pressure instantly enveloped Xuan Hao.
"You used my name to act arrogantly in the academy, making those teaching committee members so angry that they almost wanted to bang their heads against the wall."
"Do you think that just because you're my disciple, I really won't do anything to you?"
"Or perhaps..."
Bibi Dong's eyes narrowed slightly, and her tone turned dangerous:
"You think you've grown wings and can make your own rules?"
Faced with Bibi Dong's aggressive questioning, Xuan Hao did not hesitate or offer any explanation. He raised his head and spoke the most cowardly words in the most resolute tone.
"I was wrong!"
"..."
Bibi Dong's carefully prepared emotions were instantly interrupted.
She paused for a moment, then subconsciously asked, "Then tell me, where did you go wrong?"
Xuanhao blinked his big eyes, his face full of sincerity: "If my sister says I'm wrong, then I'm wrong."
"..."
Bibi Dong was immediately choked and felt a tightness in her chest.
The whole tirade she had prepared was now like hitting a soft cotton ball, having no effect whatsoever.
She was still hoping that the boy would argue with her, even if he stubbornly retorted that "I earned the money through my own abilities."
She would then slam her hand on the table and, on the grounds of "unrepentant" and "unreasonable," severely punish him by making him stand facing the wall in reflection or copying the school rules.
But what does this mean?
He immediately knelt down to admit his mistake, his attitude so sincere that no one could find fault with him, which left her speechless.
Where is your pride?
Where is your domineering spirit?
Where did that arrogant attitude go from when he was standing in the square with his hands behind his back, looking down on everyone, and wanting to collect protection money from his seniors before he even graduated from the upperclassmen's class?
Go ahead and be a little more arrogant!
How can I punish you if you don't act arrogantly?!
Seeing that Bibi Dong remained silent but still exuded a sense of oppression, Xuan Hao rolled his eyes, crawled two steps on his knees, and sidled up to Bibi Dong's leg.
He stretched out his two small hands and gently placed them on Bibi Dong's slender legs, kneading them lightly and gently, while tilting his head back with a pitiful expression:
"Sister, don't be angry. Getting angry will make you less pretty."
"You can punish me however you want, as long as you're happy, I'll accept it.
Even if you hang me up in front of the Papal Palace right now, I won't say a word."
Bibi Dong was a little confused by his shameless and roguish behavior.
She's been pope for so many years, and who doesn't tremble with fear and walk on thin ice when they see her?
Even Hu Liena doesn't dare to breathe loudly when she's angry.
This was the first time someone had dared to be so bold as to argue with her, and even dared to... massage her legs?!
But looking at the exquisitely beautiful child in front of her, who was diligently massaging her while looking at her with those wet little eyes, she couldn't bring herself to vent her anger.
One doesn't hit a smiling face, let alone such an adorable and exceptionally talented disciple.
Bibi Dong simply kept a straight face, neither speaking nor refusing, letting him fawn over her.
Seeing this, Xuan Hao felt a huge weight lifted from his heart.
He didn't say anything, but instead massaged his legs even more vigorously, controlling the force just right.
He knows it perfectly well.
If Bibi Dong were truly angry, she wouldn't have brought him back to her palace, nor would she have wasted time talking to him here; she would have just punished him directly.
Since we brought him back and he's still kneeling here spouting nonsense, it means there's not a big problem.
When dealing with an angry woman, you should never try to reason with her.
Women are emotional creatures; their emotions come first.
When a woman is angry, trying to reason with her or argue about right and wrong is like adding fuel to the fire, leading to a fight and a complete breakdown in the relationship.
At this point, you have to go with the flow.
First, calm her down, let her calm down, and soften her heart.
Once she's calmed down, even if you say the earth is flat, she might smile, pat you on the head, and say, "You're right."
Trying to reason with someone who is emotional is the stupidest thing in the world.
He's not that kind of idiot.
Time passed by, second by second.
The palace was eerily quiet, with only the soft sound of Xuan Hao's small hands rubbing against the fabric.
Bibi Dong was quite uncomfortable with Xuan Hao's attentive manner.
Although his small hands were delicate, the warmth of his touch made her tense nerves relax involuntarily.
"Alright."
Finally, Bibi Dong reached out and pressed down on Xuan Hao's hand, which he was massaging, interrupting his actions.
She lowered her head, looking at the sly little brat with a complicated expression.
Although her tone was still cold, the chilling aura had largely dissipated.
"Don't try to play the victim here."
"I'm asking you, do you even know where you went wrong?"
Xuan Hao stopped what he was doing, looked up, his playful smile vanished, and his eyes became extremely serious.
"I know."
"My mistake was that I made my sister angry."
Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow slightly, her teacup swirling gently in her hand. "Oh?
So you don't think what you did at the academy was wrong? You don't think there's anything wrong with collecting protection money or being a school bully?"
"Sister." Xuan Hao looked directly into Bibi Dong's eyes, his voice still childish but his logic perfectly clear, "You told me that yourself that day."
"You said that in the Spirit Hall, you are the Pope and I am your disciple."
"You said I don't need to follow those formalities, I don't need to care about other people's opinions.
In this world, I only need to listen to you."
"This is the only thing I need to remember, and the only thing I need to follow."
Xuan Hao shrugged and said with an air of matter-of-fact:
"Since I only need to listen to you, and you didn't forbid me from doing those things in the academy before, then what I did doesn't count as breaking the rules."
"But what I did made you unhappy and angry."
"This violates the supreme principle of listening to one's older sister."
"So, that was my only mistake. Everything else is unimportant."
"ha..."
Looking at the child in front of her with his upturned little face and righteous expression, Bibi Dong couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
What a silver tongue! What a shameless and illogical loop!
These words sound like an apology, but in reality, they are a disguised form of flattery, which also legitimizes his lawless behavior.
According to him, he was not only not wrong, but was faithfully practicing her teachings as his teacher—"only listen to her."
Since she didn't prohibit him from collecting protection money, he had every right to do so.
His only mistake was that she was having a little emotional outburst.
This is hardly an admission of wrongdoing.
This clearly means: Everything I do is to carry out your will.
If you are angry, it's because I'm being unreasonable, and I'll appease you.
Whether in terms of attitude or reasoning, Bibi Dong was flawless.
But the more she felt this way, the more frustrated she became.
As the Pope, having controlled the Spirit Hall for so many years, she has always been the one to manipulate others.
Yet today, she was rendered speechless by a six-year-old brat's twisted logic and heresies.
If she were to let him get away with it so easily with a grin, what would become of her papal authority?
Wouldn't this kid become even more unruly in the future?
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