章 22: Chapter 22: Apologies and VIP Cards!
Chapter 22: Apologies and VIP Cards!
The bell for the coming-of-age ceremony had just rung when Xiao Ze, Xiao Xuner, and Ya Fei made their dazzling entrance.
It seemed as if they were the protagonists of the ceremony, attracting the attention of the majority present.
Xiao Ze smiled as he hurriedly led Xiao Xuner to the area where the underage members of the Xiao family were.
Ya Fei remained composed as she returned to her VIP seat.
This kind of attention-grabbing scene was not unfamiliar to her over the years.
Standing on the stage, Xiao Zhan cleared his throat to regain everyone's attention.
"Thank you all for coming to the Xiao family's coming-of-age ceremony..."
As Xiao Zhan began his lengthy speech, Xiao Ze's smile froze slightly.
It seemed that lengthy speeches were unavoidable no matter where one went.
On the platform were the core members of the Xiao family, including the patriarch and elders.
As a member of the main lineage, Xiao Ze was also qualified to stand on that platform.
However, he chose to be in the area with the underage members of the Xiao family to accompany Xiao Xuner.
The protagonists of today—this year's newly adult members of the Xiao family—were in another area, preparing to undergo testing.
Looking around, Xiao Ze saw someone waving at him from the corner.
He led Xiao Xuner over and saw Xiao Yan smiling at him.
"Fourth brother, you really saved my life!"
"Huh?" Xiao Ze was puzzled. "Third brother, no one was threatening your life around here. Why do you say that?"
"You don't know. Before you came, almost everyone was eyeing me up."
"Especially those people in the VIP seats, their gazes were piercing, as if they wanted to see through my body!"
Xiao Yan said with lingering fear, "Luckily, you came, and suddenly all their attention was drawn away."
"Haha, third brother, it's not that serious. Even if I hadn't come, once the ceremony officially started, they wouldn't have focused on you so much," Xiao Ze reassured him, while Xiao Xuner remained quiet on the side.
In front of Xiao Ze, she could be lively and playful like a girl next door, but in front of others, she appeared aloof and unapproachable.
Even if others wanted to get close, they would falter in the face of Xiao Xuner's seemingly polite but actually distant demeanor!
As Xiao Ze chatted with Xiao Yan, he watched the coming-of-age ceremony.
This year's ceremony was unremarkable, with no unexpected dark horses or outstanding geniuses.
The testing process proceeded uneventfully.
Some passed the test with excitement, continuing their training within the Xiao family.
Some failed and left the stage disheartened, preparing to accept the Xiao family's arrangements and become peripheral managers.
As the grandson of the chief elder, Xiao Ning's talent was acceptable, and he barely passed the test.
After being beaten up by Xiao Ze and turned into a pig's head before, he stayed at home all day and didn't cause any trouble outside, seemingly making some progress.
"Fourth brother, did the chief elder come to apologize?"
"Huh? What's this about? Did the chief elder... offend me?" Xiao Ze asked when Xiao Yan suddenly brought up the topic.
"Earlier, Xiao Ning came to apologize to me, and we reconciled."
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Yan truthfully recounted the whole story.
"But in the end, he asked me to say a few nice words for him in front of you. I refused and told him to apologize to you himself."
"I'm not sure about that. I've been staying on the back mountain these days and haven't gone home much."
"Oh, it seems Xiao Ning couldn't find you. He'll probably come to find you after the coming-of-age ceremony ends."
As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, he saw an elderly figure approaching them.
"Xiao Ze, do you have a moment? I'd like to talk to you," said the elder.
"... Chief elder?"
Xiao Yan couldn't help but speak when he saw the sudden appearance of the figure.
"Hehe, I'm not the so-called chief elder anymore..."
"Sure! Let's find a secluded place."
Xiao Ze was fearless. Now he could have a back-and-forth with the chief elder, and he wasn't afraid of any tricks.
They arrived at a secluded place and found someone waiting there.
Xiao Ze's expression became somewhat subtle—it was Xiao Ning!
"Xiao Ze, my grandson and you had a conflict before, and I was also angry. I apologize for laying hands on you in anger. Please forgive me!" said the chief elder sincerely, with a face full of remorse.
Xiao Ning did the same, bowing repeatedly to Xiao Ze.
"Hehe, chief elder, there's no need for that. Although you've been temporarily removed from the position of elder, your contributions to the Xiao family cannot be erased."
Xiao Ze had anticipated this before he came. However, he didn't expect the chief elder to be so straightforward.
When a person is carried on a flowery sedan, they won't hesitate to say a few good words.
Everyone is family, and no matter how big the conflict, can't it be resolved?
"The conflict between me and Xiao Ning was an insult to third brother. Now that third brother has no objections, naturally, I won't continue to dwell on this matter."
"Very well, Xiao Ze, you are truly broad-minded! You are indeed the unicorn child who will lead the Xiao family to glory in the future!"
The chief elder said ecstatically, spouting various rainbow phrases.
Xiao Ze felt a little embarrassed hearing this. The chief elder usually had a serious demeanor, but he didn't expect him to be so proficient in rainbow phrases.
"Well, chief elder, now that this matter has been settled, I have something else to attend to, so I'll leave first."
Xiao Ze couldn't stand comparing rainbow phrases with this old fox.
He couldn't compete, not at all.
He always managed to find various angles to say rainbow phrases to Xiao Ze.
If it weren't for the chief elder, he wouldn't have known he had so many strengths!
As he watched Xiao Ze leave, the chief elder breathed a sigh of relief, and Xiao Ning looked at the chief elder with admiration.
"Grandfather, why didn't I know before that you're so good at praising people? Why have you never praised me?"
Hearing his grandson's question, the chief elder's face flashed with anger, and he patted Xiao Ning's head.
"If you had even a tenth of Xiao Ze's effort and achievements, whatever praise you wanted from me, I would give it to you!"
" The problem is, you're just not cutting it. Given the chance, you're useless!"
"Oh, Grandfather, please stop hitting me! I'm not a genius to begin with, and if you keep hitting me, I'll become mediocre!"
Xiao Ning fled with his head in his arms, hastily pleading.
Upon hearing this, the chief elder stopped his hand.
He really didn't want to turn his grandson into a mediocre person by hitting him.
"Xiao Ning, you must strive to excel!"
The farce between the grandfather and grandson in this secluded corner finally came to an end.
...
When Xiao Ze returned, he found that the ceremony had already entered the next stage.
The newly adult members of the clan were facing challenges from others.
"Where's my third brother?"
Returning to his original spot, Xiao Ze found only Xiao Xuner waiting there.
"Cousin Xiao Yan probably couldn't bear the scrutiny of others and left early, didn't he?"
Xiao Ze looked around and saw no one paying attention to this corner.
"Xuner, did you say anything after I left?"
"Yeah, I'm not close to Cousin Xiao Yan, so there wasn't anything to talk about."
Xuner said matter-of-factly.
"Alright, I see why my third brother left when I did."
When Xiao Ze was around, he could still chat with Xiao Yan, making the atmosphere less icy and awkward.
But when Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuner were alone, Xiao Xuner's demeanor became extremely cold, driving Xiao Yan away.
Xiao Xuner, on the other hand, had a smile on her face. She knew exactly why Xiao Yan left, and this was the result she wanted.
"Earlier, Brother Ze was always chatting with Cousin Xiao Yan, and I couldn't get a word in edgewise!"
Thinking of this, Xiao Xuner leaned closer to Xiao Ze and held his hand.
"Brother Ze, do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"
"I plan to find Cousin Xiao Yu after the ceremony ends and ask about the specific enrollment dates for the Canaan Academy."
"After that, would you like to go out for a meal?"
Xiao Xuner suggested casually.
"Sure... But this time, let me treat you."
"No problem! Xuner wants to eat to her heart's content and bankrupt Brother Ze, hehe~"
As they chatted, they watched the battles among the Xiao clan members on the field.
To be honest, it was boring for both Xiao Ze and Xiao Xuner.
They often sparred with each other, and their combat skills were quite advanced.
To them, the battles of the Xiao clan members were like chickens pecking at each other in terms of skill.
Xiao Ze also took this opportunity to test Xiao Xuner and let her point out the flaws in their fighting process.
With her rapid understanding of combat, Xiao Xuner analyzed their skill flaws and timing with ease.
Fortunately, they were in a corner, otherwise, if anyone heard, they would surely be shocked and amazed.
Because these two teenagers' understanding of combat might be even higher than some seasoned mercenaries!
"Ah... Finally, it's over. If Brother Ze hadn't asked me to analyze the fights halfway through, I might have been bored to death and left."
With Xiao Zhan's announcement, the coming-of-age ceremony officially ended, and Xiao Xuner spoke up, stretching her body.
At this moment, a graceful figure approached.
Ya Fei saw Xiao Ze and smiled warmly.
Since there was no one around in this corner, Ya Fei spoke boldly.
"Xiao Ze... Young Master, thank you again for saving me earlier."
"Here, this is the VIP card of the Mittel family. When purchasing items at the Mittel Auction House, you can enjoy discounts!"
Ya Fei took out a crystal card from her close-fitting undergarments, and the card was beautifully engraved with the emblem of the Mittel family.
Xiao Ze took the card, feeling a faint warmth emanating from it.
"If there's a need, I'll go to the Mittel Auction House."
"In that case, Ya Fei will wait... for Young Master Xiao Ze's visit. I'll leave now and won't disturb the two of you any longer."
Ya Fei said with a smile, waving goodbye to the two of them.
Xiao Ze watched Ya Fei leave and prepared to take Xiao Xuner to find Xiao Yu.
"Let's go, find Cousin Xiao Yu."
"No rush... Brother Ze, can you give me that card first?"
Xiao Xuner suddenly said, and without much thought, Xiao Ze directly placed the card in Xiao Xuner's fair palm.
"Tsk, Miss Ya Fei really knows how to please a man. This card even carries her warmth..."
Xiao Xuner looked at Xiao Ze with a half-smile, and Xiao Ze shrugged.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I don't care, and besides, can a card with lingering warmth make me daydream?"
Rolling his eyes, Xiao Ze said to Xiao Xuner, "Let's go. After we ask about the dates, I have something else to do."
"What is it?"
"I plan to take a trip!"
(End of this chapter)
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