"Have you thought over the invitation you received from Goldencrown Academy yet, Linghua?" asked Fang Ren, changing the subject. "It's the #1 Academy for young cultivators in all of the Golden Root Kingdom. Only the most prestigious and talented youngsters of the Kingdom obtain the opportunity to attend there. And you received a personal invitation, something never-before-seen in the Star Bearer Province!"
"All I'm saying is you should cherish the gift that Heaven has sent you," he finished on a soft note, coughing to clear the air.
Linghua was too busy hugging Xue Ren to fully pay heed to her father's words. "The most precious gift that Heaven sent me was Xue Ren; I don't need anything else!"
"Linghua…"
"Fine," Linghua pouted while snuggling her cheeks up against the helpless Xue Ren. "I'll consider it some more. But I won't give you a final answer until after Xue Ren's Awakening Ceremony. That way, even if he doesn't awaken something good, I can decide to stay behind and take care of him forever and ever, hehe~"
"You… Haiz…"
Fang Ren had no more words. He more than anyone knew just how much of a lost cause his daughter was when it came to Xue Ren.
"Just make sure to cultivate, Linghua," Fang Ren instructed as he turned around and made his way into the mansion through the back door. "Even if your talent is unparalleled, it won't matter if you don't put the effort in."
"I obviously know that, Father!" Linghua harrumphed. "If I'm not strong, how else will I protect my Xue??"
She giggled while holding his head in between her bosom.
'This girl always makes me conflicted…' Xue Ren thought inattentively. 'She has a good heart… But it's just so twisted.'
Over the years, Linghua had not only grown even more beautiful and curvy, her yandere side had also fully blossomed. And to a scary degree, one might add.
Any girl that so much as looked Xue Ren's way, no matter the age, was threatened with death, murder, and more death.
She effectively chased away anyone that thought about getting close to the cutely handsome Xue Ren…
Not that he minded, of course. After all, this left him with more time to train and read.
However, Xue Ren feared that Linghua would never want to leave his side in this life of hers.
With her separation anxiety unable to hold out for longer than a day before needing a 'recharge,' she might just go mad when it came time for him to leave the bird's nest...
This was also likely the primary reason why she was so hesitant about going far away to the prosperous capital of Golden Root, where the Goldencrown Academy awaited.
Xue Ren heaved a heavy cloud of air, his troubles leaking out to those around him.
"What's the matter, Xue?" Linghua asked, looking down at the squished face peeking out of her breasts. "Are you trying to tell me that you want to try breastfeeding from your blood-related sister!? Well… if you're so insistent…"
"No, I can't breathe," Xue Ren said indifferently, as if this sort of behavior from his sister was a normal occurrence. "Please let me go."
"Oh…" Linghua appeared disappointed. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to—"
"No."
Linghua's ahoge hair drooped. "Maybe you'd like to instead do—"
"No thank you."
Rejection after rejection!
Linghua had no choice but to gloomily let her brother go. She then sadly marched into the mansion, trying to figure out why her brother refused to accept any advances from a girl as pretty as she was.
"What could it be…? I just don't get it…"
The fact that he was 6 years old and her blood-related brother always seemed to slip her mind at the most convenient of times…
After a short reprieve.
"...Back to training," said Xue Ren as he got down into the push-up position and didn't get back up until dusk fell.
The days flew by after that, and eventually, half a year left in a flash.
Today was a big day for Xue Ren.
It was, after all, the day of his Awakening Ceremony!
"Happy 7th birthday, Little Xue!"
His whole family congratulated him with praise, cake, and plenty of hugs.
Lots… and lots of hugs.
For some reason, the members of his family and Mei Mei saw him as some sort of stuffed animal. He didn't react much to anything and always had this listless look about him, so they just cuddled him whenever they felt like it.
"Each year, you become more and more handsome, my baby boy," Lan Yue said while rubbing her cheeks against his. "Momma will have to work overtime to protect you from all the girls that'll want to take advantage of you when you're older~"
"I'll help as well, Mother!" Linghua interjected as she got in between the two of them, taking Xue Ren's face for herself. "I'll make sure no vixens get within six feet of him!"
"That'a girl!" Lan Yue gave a thumbs-up, pride welling up from inside her well-aged figure.
"I don't mean to interrupt the moment, but I already contacted Elder Gu beforehand," said Fang Ren, sweating bullets at the fierce glares of the two overprotective girls. "We… We shouldn't keep him waiting…"
"Humph!" Both the girls snorted, still suffocating Xue Ren in their breasts.
'I don't even know why I try anymore,' he thought with a vacant expression. 'Everything I say to these two either gets outright ignored or brushed aside…'
— Next time on Spamming Fireball: Father's Despair, Xue Ren's Awakening —