The atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly became heavy, perhaps because Bai Cha had become serious.
Meng Qinghuan, chewing a large piece of meat, softened his chewing sound to minimize his presence the moment Mo Ziye spoke his first word of praise for Bai Cha.
He felt extremely helpless. Mo Ziye was good in every way – enthusiastic and pure – but he talked too much, and could easily step on someone's landmines without realizing it.
"Huh? What does that have to do with your dad?" Michael interjected.
Meng Qinghuan: "..."
Great, two huskies have found each other. He just wanted to have a nice meal.
The dinner party suddenly fell into awkward silence. Only Lucifer seemed unfazed, elegantly picking up his small plate and standing up to serve Bai Cha more food. He piled a plate full, a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, neatly arranged, and then refilled Bai Cha's tea.
"If you met my father, you'd feel I'm not worth mentioning. My father is the protagonist of this world." Bai Cha looked at the meticulously arranged food before her, her mood inexplicably improving. She explained a bit more: "My father, born into poverty, possessed astonishing talent. At twelve, he resonated with Samael, one of the seven great demon dragons. In his first year at Junyao, he defeated teachers from graduating classes and broke into Junyao's top ten.
At sixteen, he won the world championship representing the Dragon Knight national team. At eighteen, he earned dual degrees in Clinical Medicine and Chemistry from Cambridge University. While my father was alive, the world championships were always won by first place."
"I am seventeen now, and compared to my father, I have only just reached his starting point." Bai Cha smiled. "Let's talk about my mother. With only one A-class dragon, she was also a key player in the Dragon Knight national team. At fifteen, she inherited the Bai family and solidified her position. When my mother was around, if she spoke, your Light faction had to lower their heads."
"And now? Do you still think I'm the most formidable? I'm standing here, and people from your Light faction still dare to suppress me." Seeing Mo Ziye fall silent, Bai Cha shook her head helplessly. "Ziye, you think I'm formidable only because you've only seen me. Everyone in our Shadow faction has done many astonishing things.
To give a current example, Meng Chen, Meng Qinghuan's second uncle, single-handedly quelled a large-scale dragon riot. It's just that you don't know about it, and everyone has basically forgotten about us."
Actually, there was one more thing Bai Cha didn't say.
Do you think everyone is like you, boasting about an unfinished research project for years?
While true, the thought seemed a bit hurtful, like complaining. After thinking about it, Bai Cha decided not to say it.
"You think I'm like a protagonist only because I'm still alive, because the previous generation of heroes has died. That's all." Bai Cha took a sip of water and concluded, "My father passed away before he turned forty, and I'm only seventeen. If my parents were still alive, the word 'protagonist' would never fall to me."
If, one day, she also died, this world would have nothing to do with her, and the protagonist would naturally change.
It was like a peerless divine skill, with only a one in ten thousand chance of success, and nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine people perishing. The remaining person stumbled upon good fortune, which is why people thought they were amazing, a chosen one.
In reality, they had all walked on the corpses of their predecessors.
"I have a question." Mo Ziye scratched his recently permed golden curly hair and raised his hand with a hint of confusion. "If you're all so powerful, why has your faction withered to this extent? Why are you all only children?"
Withered – that word was indeed fitting.
The Bai family was a given; only Bai Cha remained from a large clan. The Meng family had more survivors, two in total. The Lang family was slightly better off than Meng Qinghuan, with an uncle and a grandfather, making them one of the rare few with both parents alive.
Thinking about it, if you excluded adopted children and only counted original bloodlines, it seemed they were indeed close to extinction.
Michael couldn't understand. Reproduction was open now, so why was the Shadow faction still so fixated on having only children?
"Of course not, there are brothers and sisters!" Meng Qinghuan wiggled the fork in his hand, saying with a smile, "Some died, some left, and some have left the family entirely."
"Left the family?" Michael didn't understand.
"Yes, the Shadow faction, led by the Bai family, has a rule that once a child turns twelve, they have the right to choose." Lucifer, holding the teapot, said with a smile, "To become a Shadow, or to become an ordinary person."
"Um... so, it's understandable then." Meng Qinghuan spread his hands. "Less than a fifth of us remain."
"Ah, I see..." Mo Ziye lowered his head, suddenly feeling a bit unhappy.
He didn't know why, but he just felt suddenly unhappy and a bit dejected.
"Snap!"
The wooden chopsticks broke, and everyone looked in surprise at Bai Cha, whose expression had turned grim, plunging them into silence.
"Master?" Lucifer was surprised but saw Bai Cha push her phone forward. A cold glint flashed in Lucifer's eyes as he read the message.
[Gong Yuechen: Two pieces of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first.]
[Bai Cha: Scram.]
[Gong Yuechen: ...I'm serious. First, that red alien celestial body has been officially named 'Dragon Mother' by Mo Yuntian, and the distance of that Dragon Mother to Earth has suddenly halved.]
[Bai Cha: Get to the point.]
[Gong Yuechen: And then the second is that the Light faction is using this as an excuse to issue a notice. To ensure the safety of athletes in various countries, they are allowing each country to dispatch one to two Dragon Knights for protection.]
"These guys." Bai Cha's face was extremely grim. She hadn't expected these ungrateful wretches to still be stirring up trouble at this time.
Actively allowing foreign Dragon Knights to enter – what kind of idiotic behavior was this?
"It seems they are trying every means to cause you trouble," Lucifer sighed.
Security work had always been Bai Cha's responsibility. Now, by issuing this notice, they were clearly implying they didn't trust Bai Cha's abilities.
Openly criticizing the capabilities of their own country's counterparts was truly embarrassing, a disgrace to the nation aired abroad.
The high-ranking officials of various countries were not fools; they had all risen from the mud. They understood perfectly what it meant for China's Light faction to step forward at this time.
The silence from various countries was partly to watch the show, and partly because no one dared to openly contradict Bai Cha, thereby saving face. Bai Cha's methods had caused many people trouble at the last international exchange meeting, and coupled with her strength ranking in the world's top three, very few people truly thought Bai Cha was incapable.
A disunited country was probably the situation most welcomed by other nations, no matter the time.
"Bai, Bai Cha?" Mo Ziye and the others were confused, not understanding what Bai Cha and Lucifer were talking about.
Which guys? What were they talking about?
Only Meng Qinghuan, seeing Bai Cha's expression, immediately understood. He raised his eyebrows at Mo Ziye and playfully waved his sleeve. "Oh dear~ It seems your Light faction is causing trouble again, isn't it?"
"Hey! What are you saying!" Mo Ziye immediately glared at Meng Qinghuan upon hearing this. "What do you mean 'our Light faction is causing trouble again'?"
The exquisite crystal chandelier emitted a dazzling light, making Meng Qinghuan's polished head gleam as if he were the Buddha, his head radiating light. However, Meng Qinghuan's smile became increasingly eerie.
He had always been unrestrained, his arm slung over the back of the chair as if boneless. Even though Meng Qinghuan had never opened his eyes, Mo Ziye felt a prickle of unease from Meng Qinghuan's gaze.
"Of course, I'm telling the truth, my dear little Mo~" Meng Qinghuan drawled. His voice, usually clear and resonant, took on a slightly sinister tone. "You are truly quite slow. Haven't you considered why the usually talkative Michael is practically silent in front of little Bai Cha?"
"Meng Qinghuan." Michael's gaze froze, and he immediately frowned, looking at Meng Qinghuan. His heart gave a violent jolt.
This was the first time he had seen Meng Qinghuan's eyes. Meng Qinghuan's tightly shut eyes revealed a sliver of opening, revealing pure gold, with faint golden currents flowing. It was as dangerous as the Grim Reaper's scythe cleaving down, making Michael's hair stand on end.
What kind of power was this, so bizarre?
"By stopping me from speaking, can you hide the past? You know the current relationship between you two better than your master. You're both hiding it from him, is that really okay?" Meng Qinghuan sneered, his face carrying a disdain identical to Bai Cha's. "Indifferent when it doesn't concern you, but wanting to interfere when others are doing too well. Michael, little Mo probably doesn't know that you two are considered enemies, right?"
Mo Ziye's heart skipped a beat. "What did you say!?"
"Qinghuan."
"Meng Qinghuan, have you said enough!"
Michael suddenly stood up, and in the same breath as Bai Cha, issued a warning.
"Qinghuan, that's enough." Bai Cha frowned, hesitating to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
Perhaps it was a little selfish, as she didn't want Mo Ziye to be dragged into past events. Reality was cruel, but she had to admit it was all the truth.
Because, on that day, she lost her father.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Mo Ziye knew Meng Qinghuan wasn't lying. He was somewhat incredulous. He knew nothing about this. Why did Michael know everything so clearly?
Why? Could it be Dad?
At that moment, Mo Ziye's little face turned pale, and he turned and ran out of the private room.
Since his master had left, Michael naturally chased after him, leaving the rest of the group sitting silently in the private room, looking at the dishes before them.
"Well~ Really, little Bai Cha, I played the villain for you. What's my reward?" As soon as Mo Ziye left, Meng Qinghuan's demeanor changed, and he grinned at Bai Cha.
"I only asked you to hint at the conflict between the two factions to make him leave. Who asked you to dredge up old scores?" Bai Cha rubbed her forehead in exasperation, feeling a bit weary. She picked up a chopstick and threw it directly out the window.
The chopstick, like a long nail, was firmly embedded in the trunk of a tree outside the window.
"Come in, stop hiding." Bai Cha leaned back in her chair, pushing a cup of tea towards the adjacent seat, and snorted lightly. "Peeking from a second-floor window for so long isn't very ladylike, is it?"
"Clatter."
The window was gently pushed open, and the scent of cherry blossoms wafted in. A pink figure, like a gust of wind, fluttered up and immediately wrapped herself around Bai Cha.
"Oh dear~ Cha Cha~ I wanted to give you a surprise. How can you question if I'm a lady?" Freya, dressed in a pink and white short skirt, her delicate little arms wrapped around Bai Cha's neck. "Cha Cha~ I've missed you so much. Won't you give your dear Freya a kiss of love?"
Everyone: "..."
Who is this!?
"You actually dare to come see me." Bai Cha lightly rested her forehead, her peach blossom eyes curving slightly upwards, revealing a hint of amusement.
Freya was frivolous, but Bai Cha wasn't annoyed. She let Freya cling to her like a kitten, rubbing against her. Even Meng Qinghuan was a little surprised by this. Even for him, resting his forehead on Bai Cha's shoulder was the limit.
Many little girls in the Shadow faction wanted to hug Bai Cha. They even held a competition to see who could get close to Bai Cha first. However, except for special cases like Lucifer, none had ever succeeded.
Bai Cha always seemed to effortlessly dodge everyone's intimate advances.
Unless she was willing.