"Wow, what an emotionally clueless straight guy," Chloe remarked.
Xavier's fingers paused on the light screen, his cold gaze betraying a hint of imperceptible confusion as he turned to look in Chloe's direction.
But clearly, Chloe had no intention of explaining further.
The girl flashed him a mischievous smile, quickly finished the food on her plate, and returned to her room.
Xavier, who had just been called a clueless straight guy to his face, furrowed his brow, still unable to understand what it meant.
Finally, he turned his gaze to the younger members who were trying hard not to laugh.
Noticing his stare, Qin Huaibei immediately sat up straight, pretending nothing had happened, and earnestly finished all the breakfast in front of him. After saying goodbye to Xavier, he hurried back to his room.
The others did the same, leaving only Anderson behind.
Xavier had an inexplicable feeling that he had become disconnected from the times.
How had he turned into what his daughter called a "clueless straight guy"?
Xavier didn't understand.
After a while, he looked towards Anderson at the other end of the table.
The man had always been of a quiet nature.
No, rather than quiet, it was more accurate to say he was composed.
He never let external commotion disturb him. Now, being looked at by Xavier this way, he simply took out a napkin to wipe his mouth, then turned to face this imposing mature man:
"Ancestor, is there something you need?"
As soon as their eyes met, Xavier immediately pushed his previous thoughts to the back of his mind.
He switched off his terminal, his dark red eyes exuding a heavy sense of pressure.
"I know what you've been up to behind the scenes. It's best not to let me catch you overstepping your bounds."
Anderson calmly replied, "I've always been very discreet."
With that, he stood up from the table:
"I understand that you care deeply for the young miss, Ancestor, but what I want to say is — she's no longer the helpless little girl you think she is."
Now, she has the ability to make her own choices.
As his words fell, Anderson bowed politely to Xavier and walked towards the depths of the treehouse.
Xavier sat in place for a long while, finally rubbing his brow and calling out all his trusted subordinates.
After staying in the treehouse for so long, it was time to go out and take a look.
...
In fact, Chloe hadn't returned to her own room.
To be precise, she had reached her room's doorway but didn't go in. Instead, she chose to lean against the doorframe, waiting at her leisure for someone to come out.
This person was Pasha.
When she came out from across the hall, there were still glistening tears at the corners of her eyes, looking particularly pitiful.
But as soon as she stepped out, she caught sight of the nonchalant Chloe, who was looking at her with what could only be described as a challenging gaze.
Even with Pasha's good temper, she couldn't help but feel a bit irritated at this moment.
She tried to calm herself down a bit and asked in the most respectful voice she could muster:
"Is there anything else the young miss needs me to do?"
Maybe yes, maybe no.
Chloe tilted her head:
"What do you think?"
Pasha bit her lip, and finally said humbly:
"If there's nothing else, would the young miss please let me go?"
With that, she lifted her leg to walk out.
But before she could take a step, Chloe swiftly blocked her way.
Pasha: "..."
This behavior was very much like a street hooligan who would relentlessly flirt with any pretty girl they caught on the road.
But Chloe herself was completely oblivious to this.
She even said with a raised corner of her mouth: "Ah, so you've been trying to seduce my dear daddy all this time, haven't you?"
Pasha's expression froze, but she quickly recovered:
"I don't quite understand what the young miss is saying..."
Chloe blinked her eyes: "How could you not understand? Weren't you always very perceptive?"
She counted carefully on her fingers:
"Look, you always bring water to my dad alone, and you're always trying your best to get close to him, attempting to gain his favor and sympathy..."
Before she could finish, Chloe was interrupted by Pasha:
"Shut up!"
She angrily said: "So what are you trying to express, are you mocking me?!"
Chloe tilted her head innocently:
"Of course not."
She examined Pasha's face:
"You're so beautiful, why would you set your sights on my dad, that emotionally clueless guy with nothing but a pretty face?"
Chloe pondered for a moment, then dropped a bombshell:
"You could come to me, you know. If you try to please me, being as beautiful as you are, I'm sure I'd soften up."
As the words fell, Pasha's eyes widened in shock.
Just as Chloe was eagerly about to say more, a warm large hand landed on her shoulder.
The deep, exasperated voice of a young man sounded:
"Alright, young miss, stop making these kinds of jokes with pretty girls all the time."
It was Anderson.
The emotions Chloe had been building up instantly crumbled, and she immediately burst into laughter.
She seemed to genuinely find it hilarious, laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes.
Pasha's face turned bright red. She shot Chloe a fierce glare before turning and running away.
Chloe called out laughingly behind her:
"Don't be shy, my offer still stands!"
Hearing her voice, Pasha ran even faster, almost in a panic-stricken flight.
Chloe simply couldn't stop laughing.
Anderson could only sigh, taking out a handkerchief to gently wipe away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes.
After what seemed like ages, Chloe finally managed to stop.
She leaned against the doorframe: "Seriously though, I've never seen anyone come specifically to seduce Xavier before. I find it quite novel."
In Chloe's mind, Xavier was basically synonymous with being otherworldly.
She even suspected Xavier might be a thousand-year-old wizard, otherwise how could he have given birth to her, his daughter, through asexual reproduction.
Of course, Chloe only dared to say these things in her heart.
Mainly because she was afraid of hurting her dear daddy's self-esteem if she said it out loud.
Since the topic had come up...
Chloe turned her head to ask Anderson:
"Where did my dad go?"
Anderson folded the handkerchief he had used to wipe the young miss's tears and tucked it back into his pocket, calmly replying:
"He went out, probably to meet the Wolf King and also to investigate their background."
Hmm... that made sense.
After all, they hadn't come here just for fun and games. The most important thing was still to investigate the Viper Group.
Chloe felt a bit indignant:
"So he just sneaked off by himself without taking me?"
Anderson thought carefully for a moment, and decided to try and soothe Chloe's emotions:
"The Ancestor is just concerned for your safety."
"What could happen to me?" Chloe said as she knocked on each of her companions' doors to wake them up. "Come on, come on, let's get out and get to work."
As she said this, she couldn't help but yawn.
Anderson unwrapped a mint-flavored lollipop and popped it into Chloe's mouth.
It was a peculiarly flavored candy, but Chloe was used to the taste.
She bit down on the candy stick, urging indistinctly:
"Get up, get up, everyone get up and get to work."
