Chapter 317 - 270: I Listen to Xixi

Xue Rui thought about it and realized that was exactly how it was. Lin Ruoxi listened to him, his mom listened to Lin Ruoxi, and his dad listened to his mom...

His status in the family was soaring!

Unfortunately, people are never satisfied.

Xue Rui shook his head. "I think I’m still pretty tough."

He climbed to his feet and headed for the living room. Xie Jianfeng had gotten home before them. He glanced at the gauze on Xue Rui’s foot and said, "Seeing as you’re injured, I’ll let this slide. Go on upstairs. Muxue is in Yaoyao’s room."

"Your Majesty is merciful."

Xie Jianfeng nearly choked on a puff of smoke. He waved his hand dismissively. "Scram, scram, scram!"

...

In fact, Gu Muxue had seen the whole thing—Xue Rui getting kicked—perfectly clearly from upstairs.

She’d been staring out the upstairs window the whole time. The moment she saw Xue Rui, her heart pounded with excitement, yet she was also so furious she was grinding her teeth...

But then she saw the glaring white gauze on his foot and the way he was limping, and she desperately wanted to go downstairs and help him...

’Aunt Ren was kicking Xue Rui. Wasn’t that a bit too harsh?’

She had been furious, planning to pinch and bite him a few times to vent her frustration when she finally saw him after he’d been gone for so long. But seeing his miserable state now, her heart suddenly ached for him...

’But he’s already back home. What could possibly happen to him?’

’I have to hear how he’s going to explain disappearing for the entire day...’

So, she patiently and quietly waited in Xue Yao’s room.

Just then, Xue Yao finished a round of her game, yanked Da Huang, who had just fallen asleep on the floor, to his feet, and started vigorously rubbing his bewildered head.

"Such a good boy!" Xue Yao nuzzled her face against Da Huang’s, looking completely satisfied.

"Yaoyao, whose dog is Da Huang?" Gu Muxue asked.

Xue Yao’s expression faltered. She suddenly remembered that Da Huang had an owner, which meant he would have to leave someday.

"Sigh..." She heaved a deep sigh. She felt that she and Da Huang had grown attached to each other, and she didn’t want to face that reality.

However, that sigh only made Gu Muxue more curious. "Yaoyao, do you know?"

After a moment’s thought, Xue Yao shook her head. "My brother said he belongs to a friend of his. He didn’t tell me which one, so I probably don’t know them."

Then, she added, "I think his owner is a girl."

Just then, Xue Rui reached Xue Yao’s bedroom door. As he was about to knock, he faintly overheard the words "Da Huang" and "girl."

He quietly drew his hand back and listened intently to their conversation.

"A girl? Why do you say that?" Gu Muxue asked curiously.

’She didn’t know when it had started, but she’d begun paying extra attention to the girls around Xue Rui. She’d even misunderstood him in the past. She knew it wasn’t a good habit. Now that they were officially a couple, she should give him her complete trust.’

"Hmm... a gut feeling?"

"Da Huang has such a great temperament. He never barks at girls, so his owner must be a girl," Xue Yao explained.

Gu Muxue laughed at Xue Yao’s explanation. ’A gut feeling?’

’And yet... why did she have a gut feeling about it too...?’

Xue Yao looped her arm through Gu Muxue’s and said, "Sister Muxue, I want to play with Xiaobu."

"Well, you can come stay at my place next time, or I can bring Xiaobu with me when I visit," Gu Muxue offered.

Xue Yao shook her head and said, "I want to be petting Da Huang with my left hand and Xiaobu with my right."

Listening from outside the door, Xue Rui was at a loss for words. His sister wanted to pet Lin Ruoxi’s dog with one hand and Gu Muxue’s cat with the other.

’So did he!’

’And not just the pets, either.’

But Gu Muxue quickly replied, "Yaoyao, that really won’t work. Xiaobu is very timid; he’ll get stressed out if he sees Da Huang."

"Huh? We can’t?" Xue Yao asked, surprised. As she petted Da Huang’s tail, she thought, ’Da Huang definitely wouldn’t get stressed seeing Xiaobu...’

"Then that’s Xiaobu’s problem," Xue Yao muttered.

Gu Muxue looked at Xue Yao in disbelief...

’She really didn’t know what to say. Xiaobu might have his issues, but wasn’t the biggest problem the fact that she wanted to put a cat and a dog together in the first place?’

Xue Rui’s brow twitched as he listened. ’What was his foolish sister even saying?’

’Even if she had a point... who says that right to someone’s face?’

On second thought, Xue Rui realized that his and his sister’s current situations were actually quite similar...

He wanted two girlfriends. His sister wanted to hold both of his girlfriends’ pets at the same time...

’Lin Ruoxi’s personality was like Da Huang’s—very tolerant.’

’And Gu Muxue was like Xiaobu, getting stressed out at the first sign of danger...’

’Who would’ve thought his sister was so greedy too.’

However, Xue Yao spoke up again. "Sister Muxue, we should buy Xiaobu a stuffed dog toy. If he plays with that and gets used to it, he won’t be afraid of dogs anymore. Then we can bring Da Huang over to play."

"Hmm, that could work," Gu Muxue agreed with a nod.

’Damn! Desensitization, is it?’ Xue Rui cursed inwardly.

’A top student is a top student for a reason,’ he thought. ’She’s got plenty of clever tricks up her sleeve...’

’Although, that was his plan, too.’

’Come to think of it, his and his sister’s ideas were really...’

He could only sigh. ’Like brother, like sister,’ he thought.

’And it seemed their goals were aligned, too?’

’If Gu Muxue didn’t accept Lin Ruoxi, how could Da Huang and Xiaobu ever appear at the same time, let alone be held in Xue Yao’s arms together?’

For the first time, Xue Rui felt like he had an ally.

He knocked on the door and called out, "Yaoyao, can I come in?"

The sounds from the room stopped abruptly. A moment later, Xue Yao’s disgruntled voice called out, "Bro, you never knock. Why are you putting on an act today?"

"Are you and Muxue the same?" Xue Rui snapped back.

Gu Muxue hurried over to open the door for Xue Rui. She glanced behind him, but to her surprise, there was no one there.