Xie Ninger_1

Ace watched the two kids, completely immersed in their cultivation.

With a smile, he turned away, heading inside his house. Entering his system space, he harvested another batch of Spirit Apples and collected two Spirit Eggs.

A thought crossed his mind.

"Does the chicken not need to eat?"

Silence.

The system ignored him.

Ace decided he didn't care enough to push the question and left the space.

He crouched down beside his bed, reaching underneath to pull out a wooden box.

Opening it, he was met with a collection of old keepsakes—memories of his parents. Among them, carefully tucked away, was a fortune. His mother had secretly prepared enough wealth for him to live lavishly for a lifetime.

No questions asked. Xiao Zhi had been deeply loved by his mother.

More than anything. Perhaps a little too much.

He let out a breath, sifting through the contents before grabbing two Spirit Stones from the pile. Then, he carefully placed the box back in its hiding spot.

Just as he stepped outside—

"Teacher, this is too hard! My tummy is empty!"

....

....

Ace watched as the two kids carefully channeled their energy into the Spirit Stones.

He observed them in silence, nodding slightly as they worked.

"Alright, that's enough. Good job," he finally said. "Now, hand me the stones."

Without hesitation, Shan Yifeng extended his stone with a look of quiet determination, as if this were the most important task of his life.

Meanwhile, Liu Mei blinked at her stone, tilting her head.

Instead of handing it over, she shook it lightly, holding it up to her ear like a fruit vendor checking for ripeness.

Shan Yifeng sighed. "Liu Mei, just give it to Teacher."

"Wait, wait," she mumbled, squinting at the stone.

"What are you doing?" Ace asked barely holding in a laugh.

"Checking if it's ripe or not," she said seriously.

Shan Yifeng facepalmed. "It's a stone, not a fruit!"

Ace exhaled slowly. "Liu Mei."

Liu Mei sat there, big, watery eyes staring up at him, clutching her belly as if she had been suffering in silence for days.

She finally handed it over—reluctantly.

She even swayed a little, like a flower wilting in the sun.

"Hungry," she mumbled weakly, leaning against Shan Yifeng, who promptly shoved her off.

"You just ate before cultivating!" he snapped.

Liu Mei blinked.

"Yeah… but that was a long time ago."

"It was an hour ago!"

"Exactly!" she huffed, puffing out her cheeks. "That's a long time!"

Finally, Ace burst into laughter. She was just too cute—and very much a glutton.

...

...

After taking the Spirit Stones, he examined them and glanced at the two kids before speaking.

"Shan Yifeng, 65 Soul Points.

Liu Mei, 97 Soul Points."

He paused, rubbing his chin.

"Liu Mei, you're ready to step into the Silver Rank soon.. Let's start proper preparation."

Liu Mei beamed, bouncing on her heels. "Silver Rank! That means I'll be super strong, right?!"

Shan Yifeng, on the other hand, frowned slightly.

"And me, Teacher?"

Ace smirked. "You've got a long way to go. But don't worry, you've got talent."

Of course, deep down, Ace found the whole situation hilarious.

His students were on the verge of surpassing him.

He, a full-grown man, had hit a wall at the Warrior Rank, unable to cross the threshold to Silver.

Meanwhile, his students—one of whom tried to eat rocks—were about to leave him in the dust.

Before he could reflect further on his misfortunes, a system message popped up.

[Branch Quest Unlocked:]

Task: Bring in disciples and have them officially acknowledge you as their master.

Reward: 'A Peaceful Life'

Ace squinted at the words.

"Uh... 'A Peaceful Life'? Oh, sure. Because the system totally has my best interests at heart."

While Ace was still distracted by the suspicious system quest, Liu Mei—his self-proclaimed wife—had already discovered the two baskets of Spirit Apples inside the house.

By the time he noticed, she was happily munching away, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel hoarding food.

"Mei'er—" Ace started but quickly stopped himself.

Honestly, she needed to eat those apples anyway.

Whatever mysterious condition she had, these Spirit Apples were supposed to help heal her.

And since the system had given him a quest to do with it, he figured he might as well let her keep eating.

Instead, he turned to Shan Yifeng.

"Yifeng, join Meier and eat some apples. The more you eat, the more Soul Points you'll gain."

Ofcourse that was a blatant lie.

But it didn't matter—the kids wouldn't know when he's lying or not.

Sure enough, Yifeng, completely convinced, eagerly grabbed an apple and started eating.

Ace headed back inside, cracking open the Spirit Eggs to prepare an omelet.

Just as he was about to start cooking, Liu Mei's voice rang out from outside.

"Teacher! Teacher! Sister Xie Ninger is looking for you!"

Ace's hand froze mid-crack.

A sudden, inexplicable pang shot through his chest.

Why?

Reluctantly, he stepped outside. The moment he saw her, memories resurfaced—unwelcome, like an old wound tearing open.

The first time he arrived in this world, she had been the first person he saw.

Back then, she had looked at him with kind, pitying eyes, telling him he was a good person. That he should find someone who truly appreciated him.

Those words had stuck with him.

But now? Now, they felt like a dagger lodged somewhere between his ribs.

More memories flooded in—Xiao Zhi's memories. The old Xiao Zhi had pursued her relentlessly, convinced that what he felt was love.

Ace scoffed inwardly. Love? No. It was mostly lust, desperation, and a foolish desire to be someone important in her eyes.

So why did her presence still feel like a weight pressing down on his chest?

His fingers curled slightly. He told himself he didn't care. That it didn't matter.

But it did.

"What brings you here, Ning—Miss?" Ace asked, awkwardly changing how he addressed her mid-sentence.

Xie Ninger didn't seem to notice.

Instead, her gaze shifted toward the two kids, curiosity glinting in her eyes. They were far livelier than she had expected..

Xie Ninger crouched beside Liu Mei, her voice gentle but firm.

"Did teacher hit you recently?"

Ace paused mid-step.

Oh. So that's how it was?

Fine. Ignore me? I'll ignore you too.

Without a word, he turned on his heels, walking back inside.

But Xie Ninger barely noticed—her focus was entirely on Liu Mei.

The little girl blinked up at her, still chewing, completely unbothered.

"Mmmf—Teashurr—munch—givesh ushh—gulp—applesshh—chomp—all da time!"

Xie Ninger didn't respond immediately.

She was watching, searching, doubt lingering in her eyes.

She had seen bruises before. Not fresh ones, but faint, yellowing marks on Liu Mei's arms weeks ago—too faded for concern at the time.

And Shan Yifeng… his first instinct was always to flinch when an adult raised their voice.

People whispered about Ace. Even now, some still called him reckless, undisciplined. A man unworthy of students, much less children.

She had ignored those whispers at first.

But the bruises. The flinching.

It made her wonder.

Made her doubt.

Her fingers curled slightly. "Are you sure?" she asked softly.

Liu Mei nodded enthusiastically, holding up an apple as if it were the answer to all life's questions.

"Yesh! Just apples, apples, apples!"

Shan Yifeng, standing beside her, nodded like an elder confirming a sacred truth.

"Mhm. Teacher never hits us anymore."

Xie Ninger froze.

Anymore.

Something inside her twisted.

Had he, before? Had there been a time when—

Liu Mei cut off her thoughts, gasping dramatically.

"Oh! And eggs! Teacher makes omelets now!"

Xie Ninger let out a quiet breath.

She wanted to believe them.

And yet, deep down, she still wasn't sure if she did.