Finally, Du Bin couldn't hold back and spoke first.
"Alright, don't think that just because you old man are so old now, your cunning hasn't increased, it's only grown."
He had wanted to say this when they were talking about the later stages of the plan, but he had held back until now.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Ding Yujing lowered his head and sipped the tea in his cup, pretending not to understand.
Du Bin, with a puff of his chest, said, "Don't play dumb with me. Tell me about this plan you just discussed with my little disciple, what are your intentions?"
"What intentions could I possibly have? It's just that I want your little disciple to advance further."
"Don't give me that nonsense. You know that's not what I'm talking about."
Du Bin looked at the old man still so calm and composed, and he started to get annoyed.
Ding Yujing feigned ignorance, "Not that? Then what is it? What else did I say just now?"
Having been with Old Du for so many years, if he still didn't understand the man's temper, he would have really been wasting his time.
So, he was just waiting for the man to reveal it himself.
Unable to contain himself, he revealed it first, "I won't talk about anything else. I just want to ask you, what's the meaning of you finding those old men and women?"
"You're talking about this..."
Ding Yujing looked up and at Du Bin, "Isn't it obvious? It's for little Xi's own good. With the guidance of those few people, we'll be able to save a lot of trouble in the later stages. This way, besides this competition, little Xi can learn a lot."
"My disciple, having even one more person besides you is already too much for me, and now there are so many more..."
It wasn't like he hadn't interacted with them. Although he had retired from the martial world for many years.
But before he left, he knew everyone of his age who had some fame in this circle.
Really!
Old Ding's move was probably a case of the hunter aiming at the deer, but his heart was set on the shade of the elm.
Teaching students was his specialty, why would he need to go to such lengths!
He even specifically found so many people, this was clearly meant to annoy him!
And he finally had such a little disciple, it was fine to let him show her off, but if there were suddenly a bunch of people snatching his disciple away from him, at his age, wouldn't he be overwhelmed?
Ding Yujing listened and smiled, "Old Du, one must be more magnanimous in life!"
"Also, you're so old, what haven't you seen? Are you still afraid of our old friends?"
"Afraid!"
"Afraid of what! Aren't you all old and don't know how to be at peace!"
Ding Yujing: "..."
This Old Du was just stubborn as a mule!
"Yes! We're not at peace."
"But this... the later stage plan?"
Du Bin glared again when he heard this, then said, "Let's leave it at that for now."
There was still some time, so he could see how things developed.
Although he really didn't want to deal with this group of old men and women, if it could be of great use, as the old man said, it would be good for little Xi.
He had hesitated when they came to Chongxi City, and he still hadn't made up his mind.
But with Old Ding's move, it was perfect!
He didn't even need to think about it anymore; perhaps this network would come to him on its own.
In that case, he would just take it one step at a time.
Given little Xi's intelligence, with this leverage now, she probably wouldn't need anyone's help to climb up on her own.
Thinking of this, Du Bin felt much better.
"Alright, then let's proceed like this."
Ding Yujing saw that his old friend had come to terms with it and relaxed completely, knowing there was hope.
In fact, he did have his own motives for doing this, but it was all for his old friend's good.
And besides making little Xi work a bit harder, there was nothing else wrong with it.
As for the worries Old Du had, although it was a bit difficult, after all, who wouldn't love good people!
But these were all minor issues that could be resolved, not a big deal!
Moreover, after spending time with Qiu Xi, he felt he understood the child somewhat, and she was reliable!
Du Bin nodded, "Mm."
"But you have to tell me about your plan now."
"Of course."
Now that they had talked it out, sitting down and discussing it properly was not a difficult matter.
"Then tell me now."
"Okay."
Thus, the two began to discuss Qiu Xi's situation and the current plan.
Meanwhile, on the other side, as soon as Qiu Xi came out of the study, she received a call from Ni Xue.
She said that regarding the matter Qiu Xi had discussed with her earlier, she and Shen Yan had reached a decision.
Hearing this, Qiu Xi, who had planned to go downstairs to chat and rest with her two grandmothers,
turned around and went back to her room to discuss matters with Ni Xue and Shen Yan.
Closing the door, Qiu Xi leaned against the doorframe and asked, "Little Snowflower, what's your decision?"
"Little Xi, Yan Yan and I have discussed it. She's also willing to do this, considering it as practice for me."
When she had asked Shen Yan earlier, the girl had been hesitant to do it, especially when she heard there was remuneration.
She kept saying she was still an outsider, which annoyed Ni Xue. It took her a long time to persuade the girl.
"However, you know our skill levels, we're not exactly masters..."
Qiu Xi heard the result she wanted and didn't care about anything else, "Alright, Little Snowflower, we're not talking about this useless stuff now."
The key point was that if she cared about these things, she wouldn't have agreed to A Hua's request in the first place.
Speaking of which, it was just to help a friend. If there could be any progress, that would be the best, but if not, she wouldn't force it.
So, Qiu Xi began to encourage them, "This is just a trial period. The three of us can treat it as a hobby. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves, just do it first."
"Okay!"
"Then we'll do as you say, Little Xi."
"That's right! I'll give you the materials later. You and Yan Yan can discuss it first, write an opening or something to try it out, not too long. This will be our little test for the three of us."
"Mm."
Little Xi had told her earlier that they would write the story, and she would do the drawing. They could discuss and plan it well, which was great.
"Alright, then it's settled!"
"Okay! Settled!"
"We don't have much to do these days anyway. Yan Yan and I will brainstorm, and then we'll start working."
"Okay~"
Qiu Xi let out a sigh, feeling the burden on her shoulders lighten again.
"Then I won't talk to you any longer. I'm going to discuss with Yan Yan."
"Go ahead, bye-bye~"
"Mm."
After the call ended, Qiu Xi wanted to tell Nan Hua the news.
But even though she had typed the message, after thinking about it, she still didn't send it.
She felt it was better to wait until they had some results to show, otherwise it would just cause unnecessary worry.
So, Qiu Xi put down her phone and began to study the plan provided by her master and Teacher Ding.
Her priority now was to seize the time to save time for later...