Xiang Nan knew that day was his turning point.
That day, Bai Cha kept herself locked in the room for a long time.
That day, Xiang Nan learned about Yingzi's dire situation, that Bai Cha's father had just passed away, that Bai Cha had not yet had time to take power, and that Bai Cha was being ostracized and questioned by outsiders.
"So, she's the only one left in the Bai family?"
The next day, the clean-shaven young novice monk who had actively sought him out to play had become very familiar with him. They sat on the bed chatting, and looking at the smiling young novice monk, Xiang Nan felt a bit strange. "Then why did you still beg her to keep you? She's even younger than us."
In fact, what Xiang Nan wanted to say at the time was, she's even younger than us, can we really follow her?
But he was slow-witted and not good with words, not knowing how to beat around the bush. He just felt that saying it directly might hurt her feelings too much. Looking at the smiling Meng Qinghuan, he found it strange, strange why this person would cry so pitifully and beg a little girl to keep him.
Even though he didn't know why he had followed suit and knelt down on impulse.
"Oh, you don't understand, you don't understand. Everyone has salvation. Xiao Bai saved me, so she's my lifeline~ Of course, I have to hold on tight and not let go."
Meng Qinghuan put his arm around Xiang Nan's shoulder, grinning slyly. "So it was you peeking from outside the door that day? Then we're even. I know you knelt before Xiao Bai, and you know I knelt before Xiao Bai. This must never be told outside. We have to keep each other's secrets."
"What secret is this?" Xiang Nan was confused.
"It's so embarrassing! A grown man kneeling, I'd have no face to see anyone if people found out!" Meng Qinghuan exploded on the spot. Although his entire head was bald and he couldn't explode even if he wanted to, he could only rub his smooth scalp irritably. "Even though dignity is just a passing cloud when you're cornered, spreading it out is going too far."
At that time, he and Meng Qinghuan had a very good relationship. They almost supported each other to become Bai Cha's right-hand men. Xiang Nan acted as the strategist to plan the overall situation, and Meng Qinghuan led people to respond to emergencies, their coordination was very tacit.
They talked until late that night. Being young and without adult guile, the two of them talked about their experiences without reservation.
Meng Qinghuan learned that Xiang Nan's family had been captured and taken into the laboratory, that Xiang Nan's mother had died protecting him, that Xiang Nan had undergone inhuman experiments, and that Xiang Nan's father had blown up the laboratory himself while sending Xiang Nan out.
Xiang Nan also learned that Meng Qinghuan's family had been persecuted, his father had been maliciously killed, his sister had died, and that Meng Qinghuan had been captured and exiled to a dilapidated military camp where he was almost assaulted.
"She sounds quite busy. Your whole family has caused her a lot of trouble," Xiang Nan sighed after hearing the story.
Listening to Meng Qinghuan's description, Xiang Nan felt that Bai Cha was either rescuing people or on her way to rescue them. She was looking for Meng Qinghuan's sister, rescuing Meng Qinghuan's father, and then rescuing Meng Qinghuan.
"Hmph, your family clearly caused her a lot of trouble too," Meng Qinghuan retorted indignantly. "You know, Xiao Bai's target was that laboratory at the time, and she almost succeeded. Your father blew up the laboratory."
Meng Qinghuan didn't say the latter part. Bai Cha had originally intended to rescue both Xiang En and Xiang Nan. However, Xiang En couldn't wait and made a mistake, forcing her to blow up the laboratory. Bai Cha had to change her plan to rescue Xiang Nan.
As a result, Xiang Nan ran around like a rabbit, and Bai Cha had a lot of trouble bringing him back.
Several times, Meng Qinghuan heard Bai Cha complain on the communicator about why this kid Xiang Nan ran away again.
"Hmm? You two aren't asleep yet?" The door was pushed open, and they both looked up. Bai Cha walked in with a stack of documents, looking a bit surprised to see them. But she quickly reacted, "Since you're both here, it saves me an extra trip. This is your training plan. Please read it carefully and prepare."
"Hey! Xiao Bai is keeping us, right?" Meng Qinghuan immediately jumped off the bed and pounced on Bai Cha, almost pushing her against the wall.
Little boys developed slower than little girls. Bai Cha was already a head taller than Meng Qinghuan. With Meng Qinghuan clinging to her like this, his feet were off the ground, making him look like a pendant.
Bai Cha pulled off the clingy child with a cold face. "You were already someone from Yingzi. You're over twelve and have the chance to choose for yourself. You just needed to tell me what you wanted to do, but you had to kneel before me like that."
"And you too. Don't always learn the bad things. Learn to kneel. If you keep kneeling before me, I'm afraid I'll lose years off my life." Bai Cha handed another stack of documents to Xiang Nan. "If you want to stay, you can. But it will be very tough. Read these documents first, and if you can endure it, then come and talk to me in detail."
Bai Cha left. Xiang Nan looked at the documents, a little at a loss. He looked at Meng Qinghuan beside him, only to find that Meng Qinghuan had already neatly filled out and signed the form.
"Did you finish reading?" Xiang Nan was surprised.
"No, but following Xiao Bai will definitely not be a disadvantage. Just go in blindly~" Meng Qinghuan was still smiling, his bare little head looking quite amusing. "Her family rescued my family, and she rescued me, so of course, I should follow her."
"...Is that so." Xiang Nan thought for a moment and also signed, nodding in agreement. "That's right."
"Right about what?" Meng Qinghuan didn't quite understand Xiang Nan's vague reply.
"She saved me and gave me hope. I think I should seize it." Although he didn't know if this hope was reliable, Xiang Nan sighed. "Besides, I don't understand anything about genes or abilities in these documents. I'll just sign."
"Ah? You don't understand? You should have said so earlier." Meng Qinghuan chuckled and quickly leaned over, pointing to the signature. "Why don't you cross out your name first? Xiao Bai won't mind these things anyway."
"That's not what I meant. I'm not saying she'll trick me," Xiang Nan shook his head and refused. "I just think you're right. She saved me without asking for anything in return, but I should be aware of it in my heart. I feel like I can help her, so I want to stay."
"Right, right! I think so too! Hey, what can you do? Let me tell you, I'm great at fighting. Xiao Bai also said I have a good grasp of the overall situation and am good at leading people in fights. What can you do?"
"Me? I can do theoretical knowledge, understand a bit of military and politics. My parents taught me..."
"..."
Xiang Nan remembered many of his past memories very clearly. They had promised to become Bai Cha's left and right hands, but when they actually reached this position, Xiang Nan realized that he was the only one who had held onto his original intentions.
There were too many beautiful temptations. Xiang Nan knew he shouldn't blame Meng Qinghuan, but he still felt uncomfortable. He was angry. Even he could see how precarious Yingzi was, but Meng Qinghuan had left.
"What are you standing around for? Meng Qinghuan will stay until the World Championship is over. I've also found Jingji to take over Yunhe's position. You haven't fully recovered yet. Are there any problems with the upcoming matches?" Bai Cha waved her hand in front of Xiang Nan's eyes. Xiang Nan snapped back to attention, lowered his head, and pursed his lips, remaining silent.
"Still angry?" Bai Cha said with some helplessness. She always felt like she was leading a group of children, which was her biggest concern. "What's there to be angry about? Leaving and staying is a person's freedom. I can't bind him with the responsibility of Yingzi. What's the difference between that and moral coercion?"
It was enough that she was bound. Others... it was better not to involve them.
"Bai, I'll take over Peacock Ming King's position," Xiang Nan suddenly said. "I also have purification abilities. I can too."
Bai Cha was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Xiang Nan to say that. Xiang Nan had purification techniques, but it was only because his genes were implanted with phototactic insects, which was vastly different from the demonic and divine Evil Dragon implanted by Meng Qinghuan.
And what Xiang Nan meant was that he could undergo a second gene super-transformation surgery, which would bring a great burden to the human body.
"Why are you also confused?" Bai Cha shook her head. After all, they were young people in their early twenties, full of passion and impulse. Bai Cha said helplessly, "Meng Qinghuan, he will come back."
Xiang Nan was startled. Hadn't Meng Qinghuan decided to live a peaceful life with Yunhe? Why would he come back?
"Xiao Nan, think about our current situation. We're not the only ones in trouble. It's just that we're bearing the brunt of most of the firepower," Bai Cha said helplessly. "How could you think that those people could only affect us? Being in this position, every move affects many people."
"Master." A gentle voice approached from afar. Bai Cha turned around to see Lucifer rushing over.
"Master, there's a match for you." Lucifer breathed a sigh of relief. He had called and texted Bai Cha earlier, but she hadn't responded. Lucifer thought Bai Cha had run into trouble, but now it seemed she had just muted her phone.
"Match? Isn't the match for the top ten over a month away?" Bai Cha was confused.
"Someone used their resurrection opportunity in advance to challenge you. They might think that since you're ranked third among the top three, you're easier to challenge." Lucifer patiently explained, "Mr. Hua Yueye, who was ranked thirteenth last year and defeated by Miss Freya, wants to challenge you."
Huh? Challenge me? Is this kid sick?
Bai Cha couldn't understand how Hua Yueye, who hadn't even beaten the eleventh-ranked person last year, could want to challenge her, the third-ranked person?
Seeing Bai Cha's confused expression, Lucifer leaned closer and whispered, "Hua Yueye is Miss Freya's suitor, and everyone believes that Miss Freya only conceded because of your face."
Hearing Lucifer say this, Bai Cha understood more or less.
Perhaps Hua Yueye wanted to pursue Freya, but Freya was gay, so he transferred his anger to her. Moreover, Freya's strength on the balance beam was obvious to everyone, and people said she was stronger than Asteria...
And in the last World Championship, Bai Cha had lost to Asteria because she hadn't grown yet. So by equal substitution, she was not as good as Freya, right?
Bai Cha really didn't understand how these people thought. In the last World Championship, she had just awakened her abilities, while Bai Shu had inherited the Scale of Justice statue and had been known by the name Asteria for many years, making him an established strong fighter.
Let alone her, even if she and Freya teamed up against Asteria, they wouldn't have a chance of winning.
Bai Cha felt helpless and followed Lucifer to the arena to check the situation. As soon as she arrived, she saw Freya standing beside her, looking at her pleadingly, blinking her large eyes in a pitiful manner.
"How many moves did it take to defeat him?" Bai Cha asked curiously.
"I entangled with him for over half an hour..." Freya hugged Bai Cha's arm and rubbed against her, her tone very innocent. "What could I do? Every time he fought, the arena would be full of flowers, which was really beautiful... I wanted to watch for a while longer."
Hearing Freya say this, Bai Cha understood again.
Perhaps Freya didn't want to reveal her strength and wanted to play with this poor young man. As a result, this young man, seeing that he and Freya were fighting "evenly matched," thought he was truly on par with Freya.
No wonder he had the confidence to challenge her. The key was here.