Chapter 148: Exploration Phase

“Then I’ll just assume, Dad, that you’ll help me.”

“Ugh, so annoying! Why do you have to ask so many times? ‘The demeanor of an Emperor,’ huh? Have you ever thought I might become an Ancestor? What are you going to do then?”

Luozining was momentarily at a loss for words.

Normally, someone might say they’d do the right thing, even if it meant punishing their own family, but Luozining wouldn’t.

“If you become an Ancestor, Dad, I’ll have my own considerations…”

“What considerations?”

This was obviously a question with no answer.

But Luo You always felt a chill down her spine.

Well, it was just a hypothetical.

Luo You didn’t really care, so to stop Luozining from pestering her with questions, she said:

“If I want to help, I’ll help.”

“I know, I know, you’ll help—on the condition that you don’t go and do things beyond your abilities and cause trouble for yourself. Otherwise, I’ll want a clear answer,” Luozining’s lips curled into a slight smile.

“Then it’s settled. Dad, you can’t back out.”

“Mm, I won’t.”

“All right, I’m going back now.”

“You’ve been a little neurotic lately, coming and going all the time.”

Luozining pursed her lips and said bitterly, “There are various reasons… That’s all.” With that, she left.

Luo You was left a bit stunned.

Only after quite a while, when she heard Luozining close the door, did a voice finally sound in the living room.

“What do you mean ‘there are various reasons’? That’s something only adults are allowed to say. You little brat still have a long way to go!”

Luo You muttered softly.

She couldn’t help but think: Looks like this girl has started to get a taste of reality’s harshness, otherwise, she wouldn’t say something like that.

Troubles and hardships are the true roots of personal growth.

Once at the forefront, even that rebellious girl started to change.

“When will she stop being so paranoid and suspicious?”

After a moment, Luo You shook her head, “Well, I’ll give her a little credit this time~” but her own strategy definitely wouldn’t change.

She worried that Luozining might suddenly pull a surprise attack, so she waited over two hours before calling Zhizhi back.

“Your daughter is really strange—coming and going like this,” Zhizhi asked curiously, “Is it because I’m here?”

“Oh right, you don’t know yet—actually, she’s also a Magical Girl.”

“Eh!? She is too!?”

Zhizhi’s expression went blank.

“What’s her name?”

“Oyster. If you knew, you’d probably use your status to tease her.”

“That’s mean. I’m not that kind of person, am I?”

“Exactly like that.”

Putting that aside for now, Luo You then got ready for the photoshoot.

Since the topic of “mother and daughter business” was especially popular right now, they wanted to get as much traffic as possible, aiming to gain 100,000 followers in a week!

But obviously, they couldn’t always shoot in a studio—it would be too expensive.

So this time, they were back in Xingyue’s dorm.

“Hey.”

In Xingyue’s dorm, Zhizhi couldn’t help but ask, “What if Xingyue suddenly comes back?”

Luo You paused while setting up the scene and turned to look at her.

“Are you scared of Xingyue?”

“Ah… no, it’s just that it would be really awkward, right?”

“No problem, no problem.”

She said it was fine but didn’t explain how she would handle it, which was a little unsettling.

After all, this was technically Xingyue’s dorm, so they only moved the furniture a bit to disguise the place so outsiders wouldn’t recognize it.

“Youyou, this outfit this time… hmm!”

A finger tapped Zhizhi’s lips.

“Eh~ what should Zhizhi call me now?”

“..! Ma—Mom…” Zhizhi blushed as she said it.

“Mhm mhm~ That’s my good Zhizhi~”

Luo You happily pulled out two qipaos for the shoot.

Both had white stockings with a mesh pattern—pure and innocent with a hint of seduction.

Of course, these qipaos were rented.

It wasn’t easy to find two sets fitting a minor’s figure, so Luo You had spent some time on it.

“Come on~ good Zhizhi, put them on quickly. If you don’t know how, Mom will teach you hand-in-hand~”

“Ugh—!”

Zhizhi let out a heavy grunt, her face completely red.

It was still hard to get used to this weird roleplay—so embarrassing!

Even though she felt ashamed mentally, her body responded as if it had been reprogrammed, honestly reacting like a moth to a flame.

She was terrified of herself.

But…

Having this little succubus mother really wasn’t bad!

Wearing a qipao wasn’t too difficult; Zhizhi got dressed in no time.

“Youyou… Mom, I’m done, okay?!”

“Ah~ Zhizhi, since you’re ready, come help Mom here. It’s out of reach~”

Luo You’s back was completely exposed—pure white skin, flawless butterfly shoulder blades, and a hint of hip curve that instantly suffocated Zhizhi on the spot!

So, so provocative!

“Zhizhi?” The little succubus mother turned back and smiled coquettishly, “Mommy’s body looks that good, huh~?”

“!?”

Zhizhi snapped back to reality and hurriedly checked if her expression had fallen apart.

Fortunately, it hadn’t.

She feigned calm, “Don’t flatter yourself. This mother role you’re playing is weird.”

“Is that so? I think it works.”

“Then would you dare show this side to Luozining?”

“Maybe it’s a little rebellious~”

Luo You corrected herself.

If Luozining saw this scene, she’d probably want to bury her face in her underwear.

No doubt…

Luo You looked at Zhizhi, who was still quite composed, and asked, “Zhizhi, what type do you like?”

“What type do I like?”

“Like, what kind of person do you like? Or you can think of it as your XP.”

“Hmph! Why would I tell you what type of person I like? Can you even satisfy my fantasies?”

“Eh~ It’s okay to tell Mom. There might be a special reward~”

“No thanks. Come on, turn around and lean against the wall. Don’t look back, I’ll help you zip up.”

“Tch~”

Even now, Luo You still didn’t understand what Zhizhi’s type was.

After all, she didn’t even know if she was really a fiancée to Zhizhi, but it seemed likely.

The outside world said that this Fourth Seat had formed a “Shorties Group,” consisting entirely of Magical Girls under 1.5 meters tall.

Was Zhizhi’s XP that kind of person?

Probably not.

Luo You was an experienced hunter, but even her rich experience couldn’t figure out Zhizhi’s XP.

【Could it be something extreme, obscure, and embarrassing?】

If that were the case, she really couldn’t guess.

Just like biodiversity in life forms, human XPs were very diverse.

At first, Luo You never imagined that Xingyue’s XP was actually liking to be stepped on.

Who would believe that if not for that royal duel?

She would never have guessed in her life.

Just have to explore slowly!

That was part of the fun~

Nine Abyss Sea.

After Luozining returned, Jiyue asked curiously, “Zining, what’s up? You look so happy.”

“Eh? Am I happy?”

“The corners of your mouth are practically about to split like a yurei.”

… What a strange metaphor?

Luozining touched her face.

Was she actually happy?

“What happened to make you so happy?”

“… Nothing much, just confirmed a few things.”

Luozining replied calmly.

Then, as if recalling something pleasant, she smiled gently toward the window.

Sure enough, in this world, the answers to seemingly unsolvable, misunderstood problems were often the most boring ones.