"Phew, good morning." Chu Lian reached the stairway and saw that the dining table downstairs was already packed with people. Feeling a little awkward, she wondered whether she had overslept.
After all, even the white-haired girl, who usually took a long time to come downstairs, was already sitting in her seat. Of the entire family, only Hiyori, who did not need to eat, sat alone off to the side, stroking Xuanlong Xiaoyue.
"It's not that late. It's only seven. We still have half an hour, so there's plenty of time." Li Mingxue was serving them rice and several other dishes. Hearing Chu Lian, she answered without even raising her head.
"Oh, I see." Chu Lian breathed a sigh of relief at her mother's answer. She walked downstairs and sat in her seat. Looking at the sumptuous meal before her, she once again marveled at how wonderful it was to have a mom who knew how to cook.
Seeing her precious daughter sitting there without touching her chopsticks, Li Mingxue asked, "What's wrong? Is the food not to your liking? Do you need me to make something else?"
"No. I was just thinking about how happy it makes me to have such a wonderful mom. Look, everyone else feels the same way." Chu Lian shook her head and replied with a smile, pointing at the other girls.
As though cooperating with her, both Cai Ya and Kurosaki Satsuki nodded, expressing how much they liked Li Mingxue's cooking.
"Big Sis is already flattering Mom first thing in the morning..." Chu Chu, who was gnawing on a chicken drumstick, looked down on Chu Lian's behavior.
Yet just as she said this, she saw Li Mingxue's smiling eyes and immediately fell silent, clutching the drumstick and wolfing it down. Mom was so great. How could someone like her possibly criticize her?
Pfft. Liu Yanran laughed softly. Seeing that Chu Lian still had not picked up any food, she reached out with her chopsticks and placed some fish-fragrant shredded pork into her bowl. It was a dish Chu Lian seemed to like quite a bit, since Liu Yanran often saw her eating it.
"Thank you, Yanran." After accepting the food in her bowl, Chu Lian stopped spacing out. She picked up her rice bowl and began eating while watching the girls.
It feels so wonderful to have the whole family together like this. I hope things can always stay this way. And the more people there are in the family, the better. Only then can I keep that regret from repeating itself.
Of course, the only reason everyone had gathered so neatly was today's performance. Li Mingxue used the opportunity to begin discussing it.
"Mom will be going with you later. Satsuki, Inori, Anna, and Tina will also be coming. We'll leave only Blackie and Hiyori here to guard the house. We're not only going to watch your performance today. We also need to be on guard against certain things." Once Li Mingxue saw that everyone was present, she began explaining the arrangements for the day.
"Blackie?" Hearing the unfamiliar name, Chu Lian was confused. What kind of creature would be called Blackie? Isn't that usually a dog's name? Do we have a dog? How did I not know about it?
"Blackie is the three-headed hellhound Anna subdued. For the past two days, I threw it into a separately created miniature hell for some training. It only returned this morning." As Li Mingxue spoke, she pointed beneath the feet of Anna, who was dozing off.
Chu Lian looked over and saw a puppy with three heads. A mysterious, four-sided black crystal was embedded in each of its foreheads. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly realized what it was and said, "Oh, so it's that one. I was too tired that day, so I didn't pay much attention to it."
Blackie shrank back slightly. It knew perfectly well how terrifyingly powerful Chu Lian's cannon blast had been. Had it not realized that the situation was hopeless and chosen to betray Hell and submit at the little girl's feet, it would have ended up like its comrades, blasted into pieces by a single shot.
Therefore, among everyone present, aside from respecting the Madam the most and fearing its master the most, this girl frightened it more than anyone else. Even though its strength had increased, it still had no confidence that it could withstand that cannon blast.
Hearing the girl's words, it worried that she would settle accounts with it, only for her next sentence to leave it speechless. "I thought it had some backbone before. Who would have expected it to surrender so pitifully after Anna beat it up? I really misjudged it. Even if it's a three-headed hellhound, as long as it has 'hound' in its name, I suppose it's destined to be tamed."
"Still, its strength is decent, so accepting its surrender isn't out of the question. I only hope it understands its responsibilities. As for its name, Blackie is perfectly fine. It's so black, after all. What name could be more suitable?"
Chu Lian generally approved of the three-headed hellhound's surrender, though she seemed far more interested in its name.
"Names are just labels. As long as they're easy to say and distinctive enough, they're fine. Don't you agree? Just like Chu Chu's huge breasts, Yanran's classical elegance, Cai Ya's tsundere attitude..."
"Ahem..." As she spoke, all the girls turned their gazes toward her, seemingly curious about what else she might say.
Seeing this, Chu Lian could only cough and quietly let the subject of nicknames disappear. She then asked curiously, "Mm, why does Blackie look different from when I first saw it? It didn't have crystals on its heads before. Now that it does, it looks much more impressive."
"Didn't I just tell you? For the past two days, I threw it into an independently created miniature hell and let it train there. After returning, it reached the early Heaven Rank and grew three Gloomflame Demon Crystals. At least my efforts in nurturing it weren't wasted."
Hearing her daughter's question, Li Mingxue repeated what she had just said. To make sure Chu Lian understood, she deliberately explained the reason behind its transformation.
"Oh, so this pitch-black Blackie has already reached the Heaven Rank..." Her reaction lagged for a moment before she exclaimed in shock, "Mom, what kind of miniature hell is that? I want to go too. It spent two days there and advanced from the peak Earth Rank to the Heaven Rank. With my talent, I'd definitely break through to the Earth Rank and then the Heaven Rank in no time."
"That place isn't meant for humans. Only lifeforms from Hell can enter. Besides, one day inside is equal to one year. Are you still willing to go?" Li Mingxue had already finished eating. She placed her chopsticks beside her bowl, propped her cheek on one hand, and looked at Chu Lian.
"Then I'd rather not." Even without the restriction that only creatures from Hell could enter, the idea of one day equaling one year held no appeal to her whatsoever. Becoming stronger was certainly necessary, but there was no need to torment herself like that.
Given one year, she was confident she could reach the advanced Earth Rank. It would not be nearly as troublesome, and the process would be stable and easy. Compared with entering Hell, the treatment was completely different. She was not foolish enough to choose the worse option.
More importantly, if she had to leave the girls and spend an entire year without seeing them, she had no idea how she would endure the longing. Physical torment was bearable, but mental torment alone was not.
"So now our house has Blackie at the Heaven Rank and Hiyori at the Earth Rank, right? In that case, there shouldn't be any problem with all of us going out together."
Chu Lian truly wanted everyone to leave the house together. After all, this could be considered the first time the entire family had truly mobilized. With Li Mingxue leading them, even Anna and Tina would have no choice but to behave obediently.
The other girls could come with her as well, visit the school, experience campus life, and prepare themselves for attending school later. Would that not be wonderful?
While she was speaking, all the girls except the dozing Anna had already finished eating and set down their bowls and chopsticks. They then looked at her curiously, wanting to see how long she could keep dawdling.
"Lian'er, if you keep this up, we'll probably all leave before you finish eating." Seeing this, Li Mingxue had no choice but to remind her, lest this occasionally foolish girl truly continue like this.
How could Chu Lian not know what was happening? However, she could not show that she had noticed, because that would be far too embarrassing. Everyone else had finished eating while she alone was still dawdling. Anyone would feel uncomfortable under so many gazes.
Had she noticed it herself and said so aloud, she would no longer have the face to meet anyone. Perhaps Li Mingxue had seen through this, which was why she reminded the girl to hurry.
"Ah, I know." At a time like this, she only needed to play dumb.
Chu Lian quickly shoveled down the rest of her rice, set aside her bowl and chopsticks, then accepted the warm water Inori handed her and drank it all in one gulp. Her entire body immediately felt much more comfortable and refreshed.
"Phew. Everyone needs to work hard today. We can't lose momentum in front of Mr. President, can we? Either we don't do it at all, or we do it better than anyone else and make the entire world marvel at our performance."
Chu Lian blinked and set down her cup, giving everyone another boost of confidence for today's performance. As long as they maintained the state they had reached by the end of yesterday's rehearsal, they could definitely accomplish all of this.
After expressing her thoughts and chatting with everyone for a while, she saw the girls go to collect their belongings. She packed her own things as well and prepared to leave for school.
"Mom, we're heading out." Anna and Inori, who had long yearned to attend school, finally got their wish and left with Chu Lian and the others. The school was opening its gates to everyone today, so there was no need to worry about the two of them being stopped outside.
"You should go too." Seeing the silent white-haired girl, Li Mingxue rolled her eyes. This child was far too worrying. If she liked someone, she should pursue her. Why did she insist on acting this way?
However, Li Mingxue had no desire to interfere in the affairs of the younger generation. Their emotional entanglements might seem overly sentimental in her eyes, but who had not behaved that way when they were young? She herself had been no exception.
"Go. If you don't leave now, you may never have another chance." Seeing the confusion in the white-haired girl's eyes, she encouraged her once more.
"I'm going." Biting her lower lip, the girl stood up, strapped something resembling a musical instrument case to her back, and hurried after the girls who had already left.
"Youth really is wonderful. Tina, stop sneaking food and hurry up and help me pack all the pastries." Li Mingxue smiled faintly as she watched the girl leave. The next moment, she expressed her dissatisfaction with Tina's food stealing and ordered her to help.
"Got it, meow!" Tina could not disobey the Matriarch. Otherwise, who knew what fate might be waiting for her? She did not dare imagine it.
After bustling around for more than ten minutes, they finally packed a large pile of pastries and desserts, making sure none of them could fall out, then had the petite Tina carry them.
"Blackie, Hiyori, I'm entrusting the house to you two. Remember, you may kill any enemy who tries to force their way inside. There are no consequences here that truly count as consequences. I don't want to return and find the place in ruins." Li Mingxue walked over to the three-headed hellhound, crouched down, stroked its little heads, and gave her instructions.
"Please rest assured, Madam. As long as I am here, no enemy will be able to enter." Blackie nodded obediently, stood up, and slowly walked to the entrance before lying down. It appeared to be sleeping lazily, but its spiritual perception had already enveloped the entire building. Any enemy who dared invade would undoubtedly die.
"Please rest assured, Madam. My blade has long thirsted for battle." Hiyori, who normally ignored everyone except Kurosaki Satsuki, actually rose to her feet upon hearing Li Mingxue's instructions and spoke in a solemn tone.
"Mm. It is precisely because I trust the two of you that I can leave without concern. Consider this a test. Only after passing it will you truly count as members of the Chu family. Should you fail, I'm sorry, but the Chu family has no need for useless trash." Taking the things Tina had been carrying, Li Mingxue turned and walked toward the entrance as she spoke.
Although her tone was calm, the authority contained within it caused both the girl and the hound to focus their minds completely. Establishing a place for oneself in the Chu family was no easy feat.
"Matriarch, wait for me, meow!" After putting on her little blue leather boots, Tina saw that Li Mingxue had already opened the door and gone outside, so she immediately called after her. Her tiny body darted after her as nimbly as a cat.
She did not want Li Mingxue to leave her behind. Although she knew the way, walking down the street alone would be far too embarrassing. After all, she still had a pair of cat ears and a little tail.
But with Li Mingxue beside her, she had nothing to fear. Li Mingxue would handle everything for her. No matter how strange she looked, Li Mingxue would protect her.
"I would like to see which petty thieves dare come here. This great blade will separate their heads from their bodies." After swinging her great blade once, Hiyori stood in the middle of the living room, extinguished every sign of life from her body, and disguised herself as a statue.
Blackie, meanwhile, yawned in boredom. The enemy would not come yet. They were not that foolish. The Madam had only just left, so coming now would be no different from inviting her to turn around and eliminate them.
It was quite curious to see how many people the enemy would mobilize. As long as there were no more than three Heaven Rank opponents, Blackie, which had been specially modified by the Madam, feared nothing.
"All targets have left the house. Begin the operation in thirty minutes." In a house some distance away, a white man wearing sunglasses spoke into the walkie-talkie in his hand. He then put it down and sat there carelessly, staring at the Chu residence as though it were prey.