I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
"You're hurting me."
Qian Renxue struggled lightly, but she didn't pull her hand back forcefully, merely looking at Xuan Ming with those wet eyes.
Xuan Ming then realized his actions were a bit excessive and quickly released her hand. "Sorry, I…"
"Mmm!"
Before he could finish speaking, Qian Renxue suddenly leaned in, her soft lips directly covering Xuan Ming's, with a sense of determination and passion.
Xuan Ming, kissed forcefully once again, felt his mind go blank and instinctively tried to resist. But before he could exert any force, Qian Renxue completed her Spirit Body Possession, activating her Angelic Domain to forcefully suppress him.
Qian Renxue felt Xuan Ming's resistance and a pang of pain in her heart, but her kiss didn't stop. Instead, it became more urgent, and tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, dripping onto Xuan Ming's face with a hint of coolness.
Just then, a sudden commotion came from outside the room.
Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, sensing the intense energy fluctuations within the room, were startled. Disregarding their previous agreement, they instantly burst into the room.
When they saw the scene before them, both were stunned.
"Young Master, this…" Snake Lance Douluo looked awkward, unsure what to say.
Qian Renxue finally came to her senses, slowly releasing Xuan Ming, her cheeks flushed, and a hint of panic in her eyes.
Xuan Ming also took the opportunity to get up, straightening his clothes, his expression stern.
"It's nothing, you two go out first." Qian Renxue took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and said to Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo.
The two Douluo exchanged glances and slowly exited the room.
But they didn't go far, instead guarding the door just in case.
The room fell silent again. Qian Renxue and Xuan Ming were quiet, the atmosphere a bit subtle.
"It's getting late, I still have things to do."
Xuan Ming was the first to break the silence, standing up.
Qian Renxue reached out and grabbed Xuan Ming's hand, "Do you hate me that much?"
"Not exactly," Xuan Ming said.
Qian Renxue bit her lower lip, her gaze fixed on Xuan Ming, "Do you like that woman?"
"Which woman?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Who else could it be?" Qian Renxue said indignantly.
"Bibi Dong?" Xuan Ming said.
"Besides her, who else could it be?" Qian Renxue's eyes reddened again.
Xuan Ming turned his head, "Back in the Supreme Pontiff Palace, she saved me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lived until now. Half a year ago, she went to such lengths for me. I think it's reasonable for me to like her."
"What about me?" Qian Renxue gritted her teeth.
"Back in Heaven Dou City, if it wasn't for me, you would have been beaten to death by Ge Long. Half a year ago, for your sake, I pushed Grandpa to that extent. Did she do more for you than I did?"
Xuan Ming's expression was a bit unnatural, his brows slightly furrowed. "But because of you, I almost died in the Hall of Offerings. Afterwards, also because of you, I had to come to Heaven Dou City and cause trouble. All these years, whatever you asked me to do, even though I grumbled, I did it all."
"If it wasn't for you saving me back then, why do you think I would tolerate you?"
"As for half a year ago, you did help me, but wasn't that incident caused by you?"
"I…" Qian Renxue was momentarily speechless.
"Let me talk to her. With her personality, she won't be able to get over it without seeing something concrete," the Ice Dragon King said.
This young lady and Xuan Ming are actually very similar—both stubborn and headstrong.
When two strong-willed individuals clash, neither will yield, and the result is often a mess like this. But to say they truly have a major conflict isn't necessarily true.
Qian Renxue's initial interactions with Xuan Ming were indeed primarily for her own gain, but a large part of it was also because Xuan Ming's impression on her from the very beginning wasn't that of a child.
First impressions are very important.
Regarding the Barak Prince incident, the things Xuan Ming said were very inconsistent with his identity as a child. Although that made Qian Renxue interested in him and helped him alleviate his isolated state at the time, it also led Qian Renxue to subconsciously become wary of him.
Wariness between intelligent people!
Qian Renxue, like Xuan Ming, is stubborn and strong-willed. Their mutual wariness and clashes are simply because they are both too intelligent and unwilling to easily lower their guard.
If there hadn't been interference from others, the relationship between these two might have slowly harmonized.
However, whether it was Bibi Dong and Hu Liena, or Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and Tang Yuehua, they all treated Xuan Ming like a child—a stubborn child. They had no guard against him and actively approached him.
In contrast, Qian Renxue's wariness seemed somewhat unique.
Xuan Ming used to have a significant lack of security. He would subconsciously gravitate towards Bibi Dong and the others who didn't guard against him. It's not about scarcity but about unevenness. In comparison, Qian Renxue felt that Xuan Ming was deliberately distancing himself from her!
Especially Bibi Dong and Hu Liena, these two stimulated Qian Renxue greatly!
Qian Renxue's competitive Spirit was ignited. She refused to give in, so she started acting on her own, determined to win in her own way.
By the time she came to her senses, Xuan Ming's prejudice against her was already deeply ingrained. Even if she had thought about it and tried to change, Xuan Ming no longer trusted her.
Ultimately, if Qian Renxue had treated Xuan Ming like a child from the beginning, just like Bibi Dong and the others, and hadn't been so wary of him, none of this would have happened.
In Qian Renxue's mind, Xuan Ming is currently weaker than her, and his actions are merely relying on Bibi Dong. And she feels that Bibi Dong is not as good as her grandfather, which is the root of her discomfort.
And changing this discomfort of hers is very simple: be stronger than her, shatter her reliance!
"Alright." Xuan Ming sighed, and white light filled the room, shielding it from external perception.
Immediately after, his eyes instantly turned cold, and a layer of dark blue light began to emanate around him. A chill quickly spread outwards from him as the center, and the temperature in the room plummeted. A huge ice dragon phantom appeared behind him, exuding a terrifying pressure.
"Xuan Ming, you…" Qian Renxue opened her mouth, somewhat at a loss. She tried to circulate her spirit power to resist the cold, but found that her spirit power seemed so insignificant before this powerful ice and snow energy that she couldn't even release her Spirit.
"Little girl, why don't you understand?" The Ice Dragon King bent down, her ice-blue eyes meeting Qian Renxue's.
"He knows that without you, he would have died long ago, dying as a slave on the streets of Heaven Dou City. He wouldn't have had a future, nor this present day."
"So he has never hated you. Even if you constantly troubled him in the past, at most he only thought of leaving; he never thought of harming you."
"You must understand, he doesn't lack the ability to do so."
The Ice Dragon King's eyes narrowed, and the Ice Domain instantly burst forth, enveloping the entire Crown Prince's Residence. A chilling cold exploded, and demigod-level ice and snow power descended upon this land. Outside the door, Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo were instantly frozen.
"This… how is this possible…" Qian Renxue looked at the scene before her in horror, her body trembling uncontrollably from the cold. She had never felt such terrifying power, as if the entire World had been frozen by this cold.
The Ice Dragon King straightened up, "When he was eight years old, he disappeared for a few months because of me. Since then, he hasn't been unable to resist you. He has always tolerated you, not because he was afraid of you, but out of old affection."
"You always feel like you're tolerating him, but in my eyes, he has always tolerated you. He never thought of holding anything against you."
"You think he has a bad temper?"
"But I think no one in this World has a better temper than him."
"If he had even a fraction of your temper, you would have died long ago!"
"If he hadn't stopped me, I would have frozen you already!"
Xuan Ming always told her not to interfere too much. As long as no one wanted to kill him, as long as he didn't explicitly ask, she shouldn't get involved.
For Xuan Ming, the Dragon King's power was always just a last resort, never something he relied on. Unless there was no other choice, he wouldn't want her to help him.
Even with the current situation in Heaven Dou City, it's because Xuan Ming is confident in his own strength. Even if things escalate, he has the ability to leave; the people here can't keep him!
He never thought of relying on anyone, because he was afraid that if he truly relied on someone, they might not help him anymore.
He didn't dare to rely.
Unless it was power he truly held in his hands, completely under his command and control, he wouldn't trust it.
Including now, Xuan Ming chose to break with the Seven Great Families not because she sealed the power of the dragon bone into him, but because his current strength is sufficient to handle these troubles.
"…"
Qian Renxue bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. She recalled her past provocations and troubles towards Xuan Ming, and a deep sense of guilt surged within her. It turned out he had always silently endured everything from her, and yet she had been so ungrateful.
"But… but why does he like that woman?" Qian Renxue asked, unwilling to give up.
"How dare you even ask?" the Ice Dragon King said, somewhat exasperated.
"If only you had been a little kinder to him, would he still be so nostalgic about his time in Spirit City?"
Seventy percent of Xuan Ming's feelings for Bibi Dong and Hu Liena, and even for other girls, were due to Qian Renxue's efforts!
There's no harm without comparison!
Compared to Qian Renxue, which of those young girls wasn't well-behaved and sensible?
They say the fastest way for feelings to grow is to take advantage of a vulnerability, but Qian Renxue, good heavens, was constantly creating opportunities for others to take advantage of vulnerabilities!
"Alright, you know in your heart how you treated him. Anyway, from what I've seen, you have no right to complain about him," the Ice Dragon King said indifferently.
"As for who he likes, you can't control it, nor do you have the right to."
"Even that woman Bibi Dong has more sense than you."
Bibi Dong's desire and love for Xuan Ming were far stronger than Qian Renxue's!
But how did Bibi Dong act?
She was afraid she would hurt Xuan Ming, so she constantly restrained and suppressed her emotions.
But what about Qian Renxue?
If she wasn't happy, then no one else should be happy.