Free Web NovelChapter 81: Chapter 78: Spend Quality Time With Dad
"Meeooww."
Reaching the entrance to the apartment building, Xiaoyue frowned and pushed Yu Bao off of her.
’We’re here. Stop following me.’
’You don’t want to come to my house, do you?’
"Woof!" Yu Bao wagged his tail excitedly.
’Is there really such a good deal?!’
"..." Xiaoyue ignored him and leaped back into Shao Ya’s arms. ’This is much more comfortable. So soft and warm. Mmm.’
The young woman gently stroked the cat and waved to Su Zhi. "Well, see you later. Good luck with training this afternoon."
"You too! See you!"
"Oh, right."
Shao Ya tilted her head as if remembering something. "About Fengyun Arena, and the Alliance Youth Team... have you told your aunt and uncle?"
"...No."
Su Zhi lowered his head slightly. "I told them I was out training with a senior for the past two days. They didn’t suspect a thing."
"I figured you wouldn’t."
Shao Ya smiled softly.
"You don’t want to worry them, which is understandable. But you should probably tell them. They’re your family, after all, right?"
"Okay," Su Zhi nodded. "I’ll listen to you."
"Mhm. It’s nothing, then. Hurry home!"
Su Zhi glanced at his phone, then looked at Shao Ya. "It’s eleven o’clock. My dad’s probably cooking now. Why don’t you come eat at my place today?"
"No, thanks."
A little girl’s happiness suddenly bloomed on Shao Ya’s face.
"My dad said he can come back for lunch today. It’s a rare chance, so I want to cook lunch for him!"
"That’s great. Spend more time with your dad... er, no, with your uncle."
Shao Ya: "Pfft..."
Su Zhi coughed twice to hide his embarrassment. "Well, you should get to it. See you."
"Mhm, good luck in the city league!"
...
"Dad, Mom, we’re home."
"Woof."
"Yu Bao? Xiaoshu?" Wang Sujuan, who was binge-watching a drama, peeked her head up from behind the sofa.
She had a black face mask on, with several slices of cucumber stuck to it. Yu Bao couldn’t recognize what kind of creature this was and tucked his tail between his legs in fear.
’1 Mom = 99 White Flame Battle Spirits...’ Su Zhi silently calculated the intimidation factor.
"You finished training so early today?"
Su Mao also poked his head out of the kitchen, curious. He was holding a small spatula and wearing a little pink apron.
Su Zhi took a deep breath and finally spoke. "Dad, Mom, in two weeks, I’ll be an Alliance Youth Team Member."
Su Zhi recounted his experience: going to Fengyun Arena to train, his chance encounter with Hall Master Yan, getting the opportunity to join the team, and seizing that chance to successfully make it.
Having done something so major behind his parents’ backs, Su Zhi had prepared himself for their scolding and worry.
And yet... there was none of that.
"Peng Kai? The Peng Kai from the national team?"
Su Mao’s eyes went wide. "You didn’t tell him what I do, did you?"
Su Zhi opened his mouth. "No..."
"Good, good."
Su Mao breathed a sigh of relief, looking as if he’d just dodged a bullet.
Wang Sujuan quietly explained to Su Zhi, "Peng Kai is a Golden Alliance for your dad. Your dad owes him over a hundred bonus Chapters and still hasn’t finished paying them off. Peng Kai has asked for our address in the reader group several times, wanting to send your dad some ’local specialties.’"
Su Zhi: "..."
"How can you blame me? When my novel went premium, hardly anyone was reading it. Who the hell knew a Golden Alliance would show up?"
Su Mao shed tears of regret. "That Peng Kai asked me if a Golden Alliance was worth a hundred bonus Chapters, and I said two hundred would be no problem. I was just running my mouth! Who knew he’d actually turn around and drop a Golden Alliance on me..."
Su Zhi: "Lol."
"Alright, Xiaoshu, you go do your thing. I’ll call you when the food’s ready."
Assured that no "local specialties" would be sent his way, Su Mao hummed a little tune and went back to the kitchen. "He became an Alliance Youth Team Member without a word. My son truly has the makings of a Great Emperor!"
"What’s wrong, Xiaoshu? Not feeling well?"
"Uh, no." Su Zhi snapped out of his stupor and looked at his mother.
"It’s just... I did all this behind your backs. I thought you’d criticize me when you found out."
"We were the same way, so what right do we have to criticize you?"
Wang Sujuan smiled softly. "Your dad hid it from his family when he started writing web novels back in the day. And I hid it from my family when I was chasing after your dad... until we finally got together.
"Maybe because you’re our child, you inherited our rebellious blood! Knowing you’ve done so much these past few days makes me very happy and proud."
Wang Sujuan gently took Su Zhi’s hand.
"But, if anything major comes up in the future, maybe it would still be better to tell us? We might be able to offer some advice, what do you think?"
"...Yeah!"
Su Zhi nodded vigorously. "I will. Thanks, Mom!"
"Nothing to thank me for. Go study, haha! I’ll call you when the food’s ready!"
·
Su Zhi returned to his bedroom with a smile, closed the door, and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
Yu Bao wagged his tail. "Woof?"
"It’s nothing. Just got some sand in my eyes."
Yu Bao nodded, pretending he didn’t know he had just used Earth Force Field to do a deep clean the night before.
"Time to add some points!"
Looking at the newly acquired 0.08 Attribute Points, Su Zhi couldn’t help but smile.
It was all thanks to the second round of Tier Jumping Combat this morning.
Speaking of which, Yan Dingyi seemed to have said, "How about we go for another two rounds?" and he had refused... HISS. A huge loss.
Feeling regretful, Su Zhi rubbed Yu Bao’s head—
[Pet Beast: Yu Bao (Yu Dian Dog)
Power: 1.12
Agility: 1.45
Intelligence: 1.60
Constitution: 1.17
Perception: 1.55
Assignable Attribute Points: 0.00]
[Real-time Energy Value: 832]
This time, at Yu Bao’s request, Su Zhi specifically allocated 0.04 points to Constitution.
Yu Bao’s Core Skill, Thick Earth Blessing, enhances physical strength and resistance. After a discussion, both envoy and pet agreed that adding points to Constitution might be helpful.
"Hmph hmph woof woof woof..." Yu Bao tried his hardest to unleash the skill, the scene reminiscent of when he used to practice Sandstorm.
However, the characteristic Golden Light of Thick Earth Blessing never appeared on his body. After holding it in for a long while, he ultimately failed. frёewebnoѵēl.com
"Oof." Yu Bao flopped onto the ground, dejected.
"You can’t rush it. The general theory states that awakening a Core Skill not only requires reaching a certain proficiency but also a specific trigger."
Su Zhi soothed him gently. "Your abilities are definitely sufficient. I think your specific trigger just hasn’t arrived yet."
"Don’t be anxious. Let’s just do our best with what we can control, and leave the rest to time!"
"Woof!"
Yu Bao’s spirits were lifted once more.
...
...
「At 12:10 PM, in Apartment 502 of Building 6.」
In the kitchen, a young woman with long, shining white hair had her sleeves rolled up, lifting freshly fried hairtail fish from the pan. freēwēbnovel.com
Shao Ya didn’t like hairtail fish when she was a child, but her father loved it, so she grew to love it too.
The last dish—done!
As she plated the fried hairtail, the young woman breathed a sigh of relief and habitually glanced toward the first floor of the building opposite hers. Suddenly, her phone rang.
Seeing the caller’s name, Shao Ya quickly washed her hands and answered.
"Dad!"
The young woman bounced on the balls of her feet. "When are you coming back?"
"...I’m sorry, Xiaoya. I suddenly received a disaster relief mission. I can’t make it back this time either."
"Oh."
The young woman’s eyes dimmed for a moment, but they quickly curved into a slight smile.
"It’s okay! You go handle your business. I actually hadn’t even started cooking yet, hehe."
"Okay, I have to go now. Xiaoya, take care of yourself!"
...
After hanging up, Shao Ya looked at the table full of her father’s favorite dishes, her smile turning a bit helpless.
"Meow."
Xiaoyue came to her side and gently rubbed against her leg.
"It’s okay. Looks like it’s just us eating today."
Shao Ya patted his head, served herself some rice, and then scooped out some pet food for Xiaoyue.
Lunchtime was especially quiet, the sunlight flowing across the wooden floor.
·
·
Day one of updating 10,000 words a day, and I did what I said I would. Now I’m starting on day two’s update. I expect it’ll be a bit more than 10,000 words, as a bonus Chapter I promised everyone before the novel went premium.
Note: In the next Chapter, I tried writing some slice-of-life with a larger cast, but the effect wasn’t quite what I expected. Readers who don’t like this kind of plot can skip it without missing much. However, I still suggest giving it a look, since it’s not something you see often in other books.
