Chapter 284

Page Ninety-Four Release

[19:07]

After being drained by Baozhu, my consciousness was already hazy, and even the divine power flowing out seemed tinged with blood. Fortunately, all my efforts were not in vain. Mother used my divine power to make a prop on the spot, which was intended to patch up the spell in Yin Tianjie’s body.

Yuzi had also turned back into a mink.

Having been drained multiple times, I naturally couldn’t maintain divine support for her, so she became a plaything in Xiao Qilan’s hands.

“Sorry for keeping everyone waiting, dinner is ready… What’s wrong with Xiaokai? Why doesn’t he have any color?”

Mother, who had just come out of the kitchen with the last pot of soup, was startled by my pale face. Worried, she rushed over but was intercepted by Old Mom, who pulled her into a hug.

“Xiao Wei has worked hard cooking, don’t worry about Xiaokai, she’s fine~ But after dinner, we still need to go out again.”

Since the prop was made, we naturally needed to head to the research institute. We had to deal with Yin Tianjie’s issue as soon as possible to avoid any further complications.

“Do we really have to go out this late?”

But Mother’s tone was somewhat reluctant. Old Mom hugged her and kissed her cheek affectionately, “Well, you can come with us… Who’s here?”

Halfway through speaking, the doorbell rang. Sakura, who was near the entrance hall, went to open the door.

“Auntie, why are you here?”

“I’ve stewed some oxtail, let me share some with you.”

This powerful female voice…

“This… This is too much, isn’t it?”

“Too much? Leidie eats and drinks here every day, I feel bad as a mother. Oxtail isn’t expensive, consider it an extra dish for tonight, take it and eat.”

It was Zhao Ma who came. The rich aroma of braised beef filled the living room. When Father couldn’t take care of himself, she often brought food over.

Upon recognizing Zhao Ma, Mother got up and ran to the entrance hall… Wait! Wouldn’t Zhao Ma see Mother in this state and cause trouble?

— “Your concern is unnecessary. Old Zhao and Leidie are like loudspeakers. Zhao Ma has known about Father turning into a little girl for a long time.” —

Ah, that makes sense.

— “She even came specifically to catch up and mock Father, getting rid of all the sarcastic remarks over the years.” —

… Is their relationship good?

— “Of course, it’s just harmless teasing and complaints about not taking good care of you over the years.” —

Mother greeted, “Big Sister? It’s too much trouble for you to come all the way here.”

Considering she used to be the queen of the urban village (the child leader), Mother had to respectfully call her “Big Sister.”

Zhao Zhao, who came with Zhao Ma, also urged, “Sister Wei, don’t be polite with my mom. It’s so cold outside, if you take it back, it’ll get cold. Just bring it in and eat.”

Mother hesitated for a moment before accepting the ceramic pot.

“It’s so heavy! How much did you prepare? I’ll make something for you next time!”

Zhao Ma laughed, “Did you learn to cook after turning into a little girl? Should I try it on Old Zhao?”

“…Why don’t you come in and sit down?”

Zhao Zhao shook his head, “No, we’re going home for dinner… Where’s Chairman?”

“Oh, I’m here!”

Since I was mentioned, I couldn’t pretend anymore. I scratched my head and walked towards the entrance hall.

“Good evening, Auntie…”

“Dumb kid, now you should call her ‘Aunt’ right? Didn’t you two already confirm your relationship?”

After greeting Zhao Ma, she patted my shoulder, making me stagger slightly.

“…Aunt.”

I still felt embarrassed.

Zhao Ma smiled at Mother.

“Lao Chang, we’re almost family now… But life is unpredictable. I thought one of those two kids would like that little girl from the Chen family, but it turned out she’s the one left behind.”

Xiaohaitang herself said something similar, but hearing it from someone else made her seem more pitiful…

Although she’s a lonely, strong individual who doesn’t care.

After some small talk, Zhao Ma and Zhao Zhao left.

“Is it Big Sister?”

We returned to the living room, and Old Mom couldn’t help but ask.

“Pity I can’t meet her now, or I’d want to spar with her!”

He waved his fists in the air.

“You’d be knocked down by Auntie Zhao Ma with her small frame? She never stops training… Leidie says even ten lunatics can’t move Auntie Zhao Ma, she only gets handled by her.”

“If she misses, her movements are big and open, full of openings.”

Braised pork and oxtail stew, plus meat bone soup, made for an unbalanced dinner.

But everyone enjoyed it, even Yuzi, who was turned into a human by Old Mom and sat down to eat… Her chopstick skills were terrible, despite being a trained skill.

Though simple, this meal was precious to our family. I felt moved.

—”Ha, is this simple happiness?”—

Sakura sent me a smile, echoing my thoughts.

I hoped this moment could last forever, but Sakura and Old Mom didn’t have much time left… This happy time would only deepen the pain they would feel in the future.

“Let me and Yuzi wash the dishes~”

Sakura dragged Yuzi beside her, then summoned Baozhu, suddenly trapping me and both mothers inside…

Unlike Mother, who was carried, I landed on the bed with a thud.

“Go to the research institute, go early and return early.”

Sakura said through the glass cover, while Xiao Qilan was still making “Grass Flying” sounds:

“What about me? What about me?”

——

After dinner, it was past eight.

Without resting much, we boarded Baozhu and returned to the research institute. No one was in the hall, so I led Mother and Old Mom to Miss Ke Man’s office.

Pushing the door open without knocking felt a bit rude.

“…Sorry, I should have knocked first.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Miss Ke Man forgave me. She was sitting in her chair.

To my surprise, Shi Jie and Ling Qing hadn’t left yet, seemingly discussing something with Miss Ke Man, but they stopped when they saw us.

I must have interrupted them.

“You’re here, did you eat dinner?”

Shi Jie made small talk.

I replied, “Yes, we already ate.”

“Sorry, because of Bahuo’s unilateral actions, we’re making you come so late.”

Regarding Miss Ke Man’s apology, Old Mom waved it off, “Don’t mention it, she was our problem to begin with, so dealing with her is our responsibility.”

“You two discuss that matter with Director Ke first, Ling Qing and I will head back.”

Shi Jie stood up to leave, giving Mother a deep hug as she passed by.

“Xiao Wei, I’m still sorry about what Bei Hai did in the past.”

Mother frantically waved her hands.

“Don’t worry about it! We don’t need to bring it up every time we meet… Really, I don’t mind! Sorry!”

Hmm? Why is she apologizing?

I cautiously asked, “Shi Jie, were you discussing something important just now?”

From Miss Ke Man’s serious expression, it wasn’t casual conversation.

“Not anything worth mentioning.”

She didn’t want to say more, and I didn’t press.

“Then take care, Shi Jie.”

She nodded and left with Ling Qing.

Old Mom pulled up a chair and placed her things on Miss Ke Man’s desk.

“We’ve prepared what you wanted, an external patch for the transformation spell, to fix the age instability bug.”

It was a mechanical watch, though the strap and hands were intact, the inside had been hollowed out and replaced.

Miss Ke Man picked it up and examined it, asking, “How does it work?”

Old Mom explained, “The dial slot shows the remaining liquid magic, adjusting the side crown by a notch adjusts the age slightly, by two notches significantly. There’s no limit, adjust too fast and you might turn into barbecued pork or dried meat… Just tell her that.”

“Are there limits?”

Old Mom laughed, “Haha, who knows?”

So irresponsible?

While Old Mom was modifying the watch, I watched as a living battery.

The internal container of the watch could hold liquid magic, but these powers were only used to stabilize Yin Tianjie’s age, the consumption was minimal. According to Old Mom’s calculations, each fill would stabilize her condition for a week, quite amazing. The age change didn’t consume any magic, so what was causing this anomaly?

—”Her current body state is abnormal. Transformation doesn’t consume magic, but directly uses her stamina and energy, so she stumbled when running out before. That was simply… hunger.”—

It sounded somewhat pitiful.

Though she wasn’t someone worth pitying.

“Give her this, then find somewhere to release her.”

Explaining the watch’s principle, Old Mom gave further instructions for Yin Tianjie.

“Just release her like this?”

“Yes, have her come to you once a week for liquid magic refills.”

Miss Ke Man asked, “Shouldn’t you impose some restrictions? Aren’t you afraid she’ll expose our research institute?”

“Hmph, she won’t do that. Without understanding our capabilities, she wouldn’t dare offend us. And without liquid magic, this unstable age state will kill her.”

Miss Ke Man thought for a moment and agreed.

“Then I’ll knock her out and drop her far away later.”

“Do we need to knock her out?” I asked.

“At least, we can’t let her discover the institute is underground…”

—Knock knock—

Halfway through speaking, the office door was knocked. Miss Ke Man responded, “Come in, the door’s unlocked.”

“Director Ke, about the ‘miniaturization’ technology… Ha, Ling Meng is here too?”

Zi Jie entered, already wearing a white coat. Noticing me, her expression softened.

From her first sentence, it seemed she came to inquire about the key points of the miniaturization technique for the spell array, since she missed the lecture earlier.

“We came to discuss the arrangement for Yin Tianjie.”

I explained, but Sakura urged me in a telepathic message.

— “Take the initiative, act more like a boyfriend!” —

…There are so many people watching!

— “AJ and Tao Jiang aren’t doing the same in front of you?” —

“That guy’s issue is indeed complicated… Ling Meng?!”

I stepped forward and stood next to Zi Jie.

In front of everyone, I reached around her waist.

With force,

She pressed against me.

Because of the height difference, I had to look up to see her face…

Ouch!

Embarrassment opened the door wide!

— “Say something quick!” —

“Zi, why don’t you stay at my place tonight?”