Chapter 253 Not Qualified

The next morning.

Jiang Xiao rubbed his sleepy eyes and opened the door, only to see Xia Shiqi's affectionate gaze.

Jiang Xiao was instantly frightened awake.

Who could handle that? When did she start standing at my door?

Jiang Xiao asked with a puzzled expression, "You weren't standing here all night, were you?"

Xia Yan didn't retort as she usually did, but just looked at Jiang Xiao, her beautiful eyes filled with complex emotions. "I'll be very, very good to you in the future."

Jiang Xiao sighed deeply, patted Xia Yan's shoulder, and said, "When you come home from college during vacation, your mom will act the same way, but... in less than a week, she'll start getting annoyed with you, asking you what you're doing at home all day and why you haven't gone back to school."

Xia Yan: ???

"Pfft..." At this moment, Fang Xingyun, who was passing by in the living room, couldn't help but laugh when she heard this.

Jiang Xiao said, "Go wash up, then go help Teacher Fang cook. Get moving!"

Xia Yan pouted and watched Jiang Xiao pass by, seemingly rejecting her goodwill. She couldn't help but raise her leg and kick Jiang Xiao in the butt.

Jiang Xiao staggered, turned his head to look at Xia Yan, and said, "See? You can't even last a week. You've already revealed your true colors in just a few words!"

Xia Yan pointed at Jiang Xiao and shouted, "Shut up."

Jiang Xiao: "No way, no way."

Xia Yan stomped her feet in anger: "Ugh!"

In the distant bedroom, Han Jiangxue quietly watched this scene, a warm smile appearing on her cold face.

She had comforted Xia Yan all night without any effect.

But Jiang Xiao only needed a few words to return Xia Yan to her normal state.

It was as magical as resetting to factory settings...

Han Jiangxue returned to the room and tidied up the bedroom. Jiang Xiao was right; they needed to do something.

Although they couldn't be considered freeloaders here, Teacher Fang had kindly taken them in and given them a space to rest and recuperate. They couldn't take it all for granted.

Teacher Fang was a great cook. The reunion of the trio, after the storm, brought a feeling of relief and happiness, so they all had great appetites.

The presence of the three little ones made the house much warmer. Teacher Fang was also in a good mood, looking radiant as she quietly watched the three of them play, her temperament gentle, her eyes tender as water, truly a beauty.

Alas, thinking about her job and her powerful personal strength, it was no wonder she couldn't find a partner.

After breakfast, when Jiang Xiao was vying to wash the dishes, Teacher Fang had already changed into her outdoor clothes, told Han Jiangxue not to wander around, and said that she would bring back ingredients for lunch. Then she slung her bag over her shoulder and went to work.

Leaving the trio to watch the house.

The three of them looked at each other and continued their great cleaning endeavor.

While Jiang Xiao was washing the dishes, he looked at Han Jiangxue, who was wiping the counter, and said, "Do you think I can take on the job of matchmaker?"

Xia Yan, who was sweeping the living room, perked up her ears and swept closer and closer to the kitchen...

Han Jiangxue looked at Jiang Xiao curiously and asked, "What?"

Jiang Xiao said, "Do you think Teacher Fang would like Hai Tianqing?"

"Eh?" Xia Yan's voice came from outside the kitchen.

Jiang Xiao glared outside unhappily.

Xia Yan walked in generously and sat down in a chair. "Hai Tianqing is a lot younger than Teacher Fang, right?"

Jiang Xiao's movements visibly stiffened for a few seconds.

At the same time, the lure Jiang Xiao, who was boarding the plane, tugged on Er Wei's sleeve and quietly asked, "How old is Hai Tianqing this year?"

Er Wei said, "Born in '85, why?"

The lure Jiang Xiao: "Nothing, I just suddenly thought of it. How is he so much older than you? Aren't you teammates?"

Er Wei coldly glanced at Jiang Xiao and didn't respond.

At the same time, the main body Jiang Xiao, who was washing the dishes, said, "He's already... let me calculate, 31 years old."

Xia Yan said, "Yeah, several years older."

But Jiang Xiao said, "It's fine as long as he's a good person. Three years older, and she'll bring home gold bricks."

Xia Yan smacked her lips: "Well..."

Jiang Xiao said, "Look at how he dresses like a best man every day; he probably wants to be a groom already."

Han Jiangxue said, "Teacher Hai shouldn't be married, right?"

The scene switched, and the lure Jiang Xiao tugged on Er Wei's sleeve again and asked, "Hai Tianqing isn't married, right?"

Er Wei fell silent. After a dozen seconds, she said, "No, but he has someone he loves. But that person abandoned him forever, and abandoned everyone else."

Jiang Xiao was stunned. What... did that mean?

Listening to Er Wei, did she have a relationship with Hai Tianqing's beloved woman? And a good one?

Er Wei: "That's all."

...

In the kitchen, Jiang Xiao, who was washing the dishes, fell silent for a few seconds and said, "He shouldn't be married."

Han Jiangxue keenly sensed that something was wrong with Jiang Xiao and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Xiao hurriedly shook his head and said, "Nothing. I'll give Teacher Fang's WeChat to Hai Tianqing. They have matching temperaments, and they're a talented man and a beautiful woman."

Xia Yan said weakly, "Not to put down Teacher Hai, but I'm afraid his strength really isn't a match for Teacher Fang."

Jiang Xiao said, "Hai Tianqing used to be a Light Chaser. Now, Hai Tianqing must be at least a Star River Peak, if not the later stage. How strong can Teacher Fang be... um, never mind, I didn't say anything."

Were Star Sea and Star River the same?

To put it another way: were platinum-level creatures and gold-level creatures the same strength?

Jiang Xiao laughed and said, "The most important thing for people is sincerity! Look at me, a Star Cloud period nobody, and look at you two, two Star River overlords, aren't you still revolving around me every day?"

Xia Yan opened her mouth and said, "I'll give you one chance to reorganize your words."

Jiang Xiao replied, "Congratulations on your promotion to the Star River period. Don't stand there idle; hurry up and sweep the floor."

Xia Yan: "%￥#@￥#@!!!"

Looking at Xia Yan's sullen sweeping, Jiang Xiao laughed and said, "I heard from Little Jiangxue last night that you've had a really fruitful three days."

Xia Yan snorted and said, "Just don't give me any more surprises."

Jiang Xiao grinned and said, "Are you ready to absorb a Star Technique?"

Xia Yan's thinking was clear. "I'm going for the battle style, and I've already absorbed three Star Techniques: Bronze·Shadow Blade and Gold·Shadow Blade Fury, which were the Star Beads awarded to me at the National Competition."

Jiang Xiao was stunned and said, "Shadow Blade is a throwing type, right? Shadow Blade Fury should be throwing a large number of Shadow Blades around? They all seem to have soul damage?"

Xia Yan nodded and said, "Yes, but the Bronze Shadow Blade only has a small probability of attaching soul damage, but that Gold Shadow Blade Fury is bound to carry soul damage."

Jiang Xiao said, "Didn't you say you absorbed three Star Techniques? What's the third one?"

Xia Yan's face wasn't good, as if she had thought of something, and said, "Platinum·Desperate Blade."

Jiang Xiao was slightly surprised and said, "You absorbed the championship Star Bead too? And you succeeded? Wow... you're such a rich woman!"

The Desperate Blade Star Technique came from the Desperate Den in Yan Zhao Province, a Star Bead from a Star Beast called Desperate Ghost.

Speaking of its preciousness... to give a simple example, the Desperate Den was like the Yan Judgment Office in the Imperial Capital, where the Star Beasts were all Platinum-level and above, and like the Yan Judgment Office, the number of times it opened was extremely small.

As the champion, the Star Bead awarded to Xia Yan by the competition organizers was the same level as Han Jiangxue's championship reward Star Bead.

Han Jiangxue received a Star Bead from the Troll Flame Master, while Xia Yan received a Star Bead from the Desperate Ghost.

In fact, Jiang Xiao's wasn't bad either. It was also a Platinum-quality White Mountain Mist Star Bead, but its function overlapped with Jiang Xiao's Star Technique, so Jiang Xiao didn't absorb it.

As the Most Valuable Student of the finals, Jiang Xiao also obtained the Platinum-quality Void Calamity Shadow Star Bead.

There was no doubt that winning the National League Championship was a qualitative leap in strength for a team.

Not everyone could win a championship. There were only four people each year. The efforts of the competition organizers and the Star Association to cultivate and support students in this area were evident. Anything they took out was extremely precious and not in circulation on the market at all.

Of course, they gave you everything they should give you, and whether you could absorb it depended on your own ability.

Xia Yan glared at Jiang Xiao unhappily and said, "What's the use of having money? You can't buy that Star Bead with money. You two haven't had any news, and I haven't been in a good state these days. I've been hating myself for being useless, and on impulse, I..."

Jiang Xiao understood what Xia Yan meant, and he didn't know whether to blame her or be moved, but he changed the subject and said, "Don't think about it. You've already absorbed it, so isn't it good? Why don't you look happy?"

Xia Yan said, "I... I had a feeling of transparency at the time, just like when Xuexue absorbed the Flame Master Puppet Star Bead, when Xuexue gained one Star Technique with two abilities. I had the same feeling, but I failed."

Jiang Xiao almost had his nose crooked in anger.

Listen to that, were those even human words?

Jiang Xiao couldn't help but complain, "You wanted one Star Technique with two abilities? And Platinum abilities? Are you dreaming? Absorbing one is already hitting the jackpot, and you're here with me..."

Han Jiangxue, who was standing beside him, looked at Jiang Xiao with a dark gaze, directly interrupted his words, and said, "You're not qualified to say that to her."

"Uh..." Jiang Xiao smiled awkwardly and said, "Misunderstanding, hehe, misunderstanding."