Zhong Guanyu was in an even for her uncharacteristically bad mood when her husband stepped into the room. Normally, she always loved to pull out Xiao Li and brag to everybody what a good husband she had. But today, she had once again been reminded that her cousin had somehow managed to land an even better relationship.
She knew this for a fact since Xiao Li had never gotten tired to proclaim just how well-respected Qiu Ling was in the Yun Zou Sect back when Madam Zhong or Zhong Gang asked after he had married Guanyu.
And naturally, he had. After all, he had needed to find out as much as he could about Jing Yi and Qiu Ling. So naturally, he first needed to brush up the good feelings the family held for him so that he would then be able to slowly gather information from them.
Unfortunately, his plan hadn't worked too well. Guanyu had never provided him with much information. The things she knew about her cousin weren't even enough to fill one page. Her mother and father weren't much better and while Madam Zhong had quite a few things she could say about Jing Yi's childhood both in the village and then that year in the capital city, she didn't talk about it very often.
It was almost as if she had realized that something was off about his story. Xiao Li didn't believe that but he had still grown a little more cautious because of that and only then let up with talking about the two of them on a regular basis.
Even though he had stopped doing so, Guanyu still very much remembered that time. And while her parents had been happy that he had a good relationship with their nephew and his fiance, she hadn't been all too happy to always hear about just how great Jing Yi's partner was.
If the two of them had stayed away, she might have been able to bear it but now that they were back … She just unwittingly remembered all of that and felt even worse. She wanted to be the one with the best spouse possible! Anyway, she had always been the most important person in this family. Why should she share anything with somebody else?
Xiao Li watched her expression. He had no trouble at all seeing the kind of mood she was in. He still pretended not to notice and to just be happy that he saw her again. "Guanyu, I'm back." He closed the door behind him and then walked over, leaning down to give her a hug and kiss her cheek.
Guanyu just pursed her lips. Right now, this otherwise handsome and perfect husband had suddenly turned into someone she almost held in contempt. How had she ever been able to fall in love with him? Obviously, he was lacking compared to that Qiu Ling!
Xiao Li pretended not to notice the lack of reaction and sat down next to her. "I saw that your cousin and his fiance came by. You must be very happy to see the two of them again after so much time."
This time, Guanyu scoffed. As if she was happy to see them again!
Xiao Li glanced up as if he had just noticed what kind of mood she was in. "Is something the matter? You wouldn't have gotten into trouble with them, would you?" He reached up and brushed back her hair, the perfect image of a caring husband.
Guanyu only pursed her lips further. What use was there even if he was even more caring? He was still worse than Jing Yi's fiance! He had even said before that he looked up to him. How could that be?! She was older than Jing Yi, she was the daughter of her father while he was just a nephew that had come from some rural village. She should be more important!
Xiao Li tilted his head and then gently took her hand. "Guanyu, my dear, what is the matter? Did they really do something to displease you? Then just tell me! I'll make sure to solve everything for you."
Guanyu scoffed at that. "What do you want to solve? Didn't you say very often that that Qiu Ling is above you in the sect?"
Xiao Li nodded. "Yes. But that is in the sect. We're not there right now, are we? And anyway, there are certainly different ways to solve this. Just tell me what they did to displease you."
"Isn't it enough that they're here?!" Guanyu turned around to him and furrowed her brows. "Aren't you worried at all? My father put years of his life into that restaurant and teahouse. What if he gives it to Jing Yi instead of us?"
Xiao Li really wanted to sigh. What did he care about something like this? Well, then again … The situation in the demon realm was unpredictable last that he had heard. If the current king was really pushed off the throne …
He looked down and gulped. Jin Ling had never cared about somebody's blood as long as the person was useful and willing to work for him. But other demons were different. A lot of them didn't look too kindly upon half-bloods like him. So if Jin Ling lost the fight, he would need to stay in the mortal realm until things were better in the demon realm. Having a family that provided for him wouldn't be too bad in that case. So maybe it would be stupid of him to burn this bridge now that he had already crossed?
It was just that there was still the dragon king here and he was tied to this family because of his fiance. But then again, that fiance would likely leave soon. After all, he did indeed live in that Yun Zou Sect.
Xiao Li narrowed his eyes before he restored his smile and cupped Guanyu's eyes. "Is it that they're just displeasing to your eyes? Then how about we leave for a while? Hm? Just you and me? And at the end of our little journey, we can bring something back that will make father-in-law not even think about that cousin of yours again."