“They say, to kill a person is to break their spirit. To kill a person is to break their spirit!”
At the staircase, Bai Xia had just come out of her room, preparing to head to the Restaurant when Li Butler appeared from the side, pulling her over, claiming he had something important to report.
It turned out that earlier, when Bai Xiaoya came down for breakfast, Li Butler happened to pass by.
Seeing the Eldest Miss chatting with her lackey (Zhang Butler), he became alert and hid nearby to eavesdrop, as expected, they were plotting something devious.
Bai Xia really thought it was some grand conspiracy.
She patiently listened to him finish the sentence, but after waiting a long time without hearing more, she couldn’t help but ask,
“And then?”
“Then, the Eldest Miss said to have the Kitchen prepare two main dishes… that’s it.”
Li Butler was a bit dumbfounded too, but he quickly found a way to explain.
“Second Young Miss, what they said must be a kind of code, maybe some special tactical order. You must be careful.”
Just like that, Bai Xia was delayed a bit, and by the time she arrived at the Restaurant, the whole family plus Su Qingyu were already seated at the table.
“Xiao Su, your home isn’t around here?”
“Mm.”
“Then where is it? Coming all the way from so far to take the exam must’ve been tough, right?”
“Not really, I came by boat and plane.”
“That’s still really tough.”
This was Mr. Bai and Su Qingyu chatting about daily life.
Bai Xia felt something was off, because usually at this time, the one playing this Role would be Madam Bai.
The steady Mr. Bai rarely initiated conversations.
And when he did, his words would usually be…
“Well, as the saying goes, you reap what you sow. As long as you never give up, time will never betray your efforts.”
Yes, that’s the flavor.
At the table, though only Mr. Bai and Su Qingyu were chatting, Madam Bai could hear as well, her gaze slightly complicated.
She didn’t know if her husband asked these questions on purpose, waiting for her to say something.
Under the table, subtle undercurrents flowed.
Only Bai Xiaoya seemed oblivious, her beautiful eyes fixed on the direction of the Kitchen, as if her mind had no room for anything but food.
Mr. Bai spoke again.
“If you want to go home during the holidays, it must be troublesome, right?”
“Exactly. It’s too much hassle, so I don’t want to go back during breaks.”
Su Qingyu replied.
Then the two of them fell silent, Mr. Bai not commenting further, Su Qingyu not explaining her holiday plans.
The atmosphere grew heavy, and in theory, Madam Bai should have stepped in.
Normally, she would have, but…
She just felt it wasn’t the right decision.
“It’s simple. Just stay at our house,”
Bai Xiaoya suddenly turned around.
“Our home is so big.”
Madam Bai sighed.
Mr. Bai didn’t speak, but his expression clearly said he had no objections.
At this moment, Bai Xia chimed in to support.
“She’s been staying with us these past few days anyway. It’s been nice.”
This is unity.
This is a Team.
From now on, don’t say Xia isn’t a Team player.
Madam Bai could only nod, thinking, fine, hopefully her worries were unfounded.
To be optimistic, there probably aren’t that many girls like that in the world.
Just then, the sound of a serving cart drew closer.
Bai Xiaoya called out excitedly,
“Here it comes, here it comes, finally, the food’s here!”
Everyone’s attention shifted.
Several fragrant Soup Tureens were placed in front of the two girls.
“You two seemed a bit weak last time after going out,”
Bai Xiaoya said to Bai Xia and Su Qingyu.
“Come on, eat up.”
Angelica, Goji Berry, Red Date, and Gastrodia.
Old Hen Soup simmered to perfection.
Bai Xia raised an eyebrow.
“We… My body’s weak?”
Though she wanted to drag Su Qingyu into this, her teammate really was lacking.
If she forced it, even averaging it out, she might lose.
See how Su Qingyu didn’t even dare to speak?
“Yeah, of course,”
Bai Xiaoya declared confidently.
“Otherwise, why would you two go together?”
So it was this kind of citrus trend.
Mr. Bai looked at the three girls in surprise, then whispered to Madam Bai,
“Xiaoya has loved playing ball games since she was a kid… I mean, she likes playing sports games. Things like Online Game, FIFA, 2K—she learned a lot of skills in-game. An average person can’t win a one-on-one.”
Madam Bai thought that seemed reasonable.
She felt a small seed of doubt, but dismissed it.
After all, that was too much, like jumping several rounds ahead.
She only suspected ambiguous feelings, never that it had reached that level.
“I…”
Bai Xia glanced at Su Qingyu, who was silently sipping soup, hesitated, and decided not to say anything that would harm the Team spirit.
But, being shamed like this by a busty girl in front of the elders, really made her feel—
[Ding dong, congratulations to the Host for completing a Villainess action once. Summary: In front of the family elders, you ruthlessly humiliated the Headmistress, making one stifled and the other ashamed beyond words. A complete victory. Please settle the reward when alone.]
Good, good, it really works!
Indeed, Bai Xiaoya had the Kitchen prepare these nourishing soups and said those things not to store up anger for the next battle, but for this.
To kill a person is to break their spirit.
Even the System acknowledges its effectiveness.
Of course, Bai Xiaoya didn’t know that words were appearing before Bai Xia and Su Qingyu’s eyes as well.
[You suffered the Villainess’s merciless ridicule, losing face before your parents. What’s worse is that it’s not even true, but as a high EQ person, you can’t say things like, “Sometimes when you lose a match, it just feels like your teammate isn’t pulling their weight.”]
[You know, Su Qingyu is your sister. Together, make the Villainess regret saying those things! Reward Wheel: One spin.]
[You were mocked by the Villainess, your dignity destroyed before your future parents. What’s worse is that it’s… actually true. Not only can’t you win solo, you even drag down the team average. But regardless, being mocked like that is unforgivable. You know, you’ve known Bai Xia for a long time.]
[She’s unbelievably strong. After many days and nights of reflection, you decided to bring your talent to the busty girl’s bedroom and contribute your strength to make her regret it deeply. Reward Wheel: One spin.]
Though the task descriptions differed slightly, the objectives were the same.
The two girls silently pulled over the Soup Tureens and sipped quietly.
What else could be said?
Since the food was already delivered, might as well enjoy it.
The mood at the table shifted, turning calm yet tense, as if a storm was approaching.
Before a major battle, there is never peace—only the busy preparations.
After the meal, Bai Xia and Su Qingyu, one on each side, wordlessly dragged Bai Xiaoya upstairs.
“See? They’re angry, going online to get revenge,” Mr. Bai said to Madam Bai.
“You know the game they play, the kind on the computer.”