Chapter 359: Swimsuit and the Battle for In-Law Qualification
"Ever since I upgraded from junior college to a bachelor's degree, I've cut ties with my older brother who only went to junior college."
"Why?"
"Born from the same roots, but he just had to stop at junior college."
"......Senior Jiegeng, aren't you an only child?"
"I did have an older brother, but he ended up dying."
"Ah, sorry. When did he die?"
"Just now."
"......"
Keke stared at the girl before her, who was dressed in a red-and-white miko outfit, and fell silent.
Jiegeng gave a gentle, refined smile. "Just wanted to help you relax, Keke."
No, I can't laugh at all...
This girl called Jiegeng, an Azure Cloud Sect's true-transmission, was the tutor her big brother had found for her.
Rumor had it she was excellent academically, so the junior college joke must have been... just a joke, probably.
As for her big brother being able to find an Azure Cloud Sect true-transmission to tutor her, Keke wasn't surprised at all.
It felt like the Magical Girls of Azure Cloud Sect would give her big brother just about anything he asked for.
Jiegeng's appearance was that of a classic beauty. The old-style miko outfit, white on top and red below, wasn't worth mentioning—probably just her personal preference. The main draw was her oval face, delicate and clear features, and those jet-black eyes, especially clear and bright.
At first glance, she gave off a very antique and refined vibe. She was undoubtedly beautiful, but not in a flashy or dazzling way—more in a simple, steady, and composed manner.
Her long, silky black hair was styled in a hime-cut with bangs, tied at the back of her head with a clean white ribbon into a low ponytail, looking dignified and serious.
When she first arrived, she was unsmiling, which gave Keke a slightly cold, distant feeling. Just from her face and eyes, you could see the loneliness and faint melancholy she carried.
Like she had some tragic past, holding onto sorrow, making it hard to approach...
"In a sentence, punctuation can really change the whole meaning. For example, 'I want to eat hot pot' versus 'I want to eat punctuation marks'—see how the meaning completely changes?"
Where did that ancient joke come from?
Keke sighed.
Distance creates beauty. Sometimes, when you see a lonely, melancholy ice beauty, there's really no need to hold back.
Once you get close, you quickly realize they're actually pretty silly...
"What's wrong?" Jiegeng tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Wasn't it funny?"
But in her movements, she really gave off such an elegant, refined vibe. When she tucked her hair back, revealing her ear, Keke felt like her own little heart had been gently tugged as well.
The appearances of the seven true-transmissions were undeniable. Teacher Shion and Bingtang were both authoritative, and there were plenty of beautiful girls in the Disaster Control Bureau.
But for Keke, the person she most admired—in terms of both aura and appearance—was someone like Jiegeng.
Of course, that meant what she hoped to become herself in the future.
Mature, unsmiling, carrying a hint of loneliness and melancholy, giving off a distant, hard-to-approach vibe. From afar, she looked like an iceberg in the dark sea, bringing deep death if you got close. But the moment she opened her mouth, she was hilariously funny...
Well, scratch the last part—she didn't really need to be that funny.
Anyway, aside from that one point, Jiegeng was pretty much Keke's image of her perfect self...
She felt that this was exactly how she came across at school.
Hmph, that's right. In the eyes of her classmates, she was definitely similar to Senior Jiegeng.
Her mind wandered a bit, and finally, Keke opened her book and said, "No, I was just thinking I should focus on the tutoring first."
"There's still plenty of time for tutoring. There are two days until school starts." Jiegeng calmly opened her book. "Before that, getting closer first makes the rest of the work easier, don't you think?"
"Hmm, that does make some sense..."
"But Lady Bingtang said those two jokes were hilarious, you know?"
"Huh?"
"Recently, Azure Cloud Sect held a dad joke competition... Ah, sorry, I got off track." Jiegeng coughed, adjusted her posture—though it was already perfectly straight—and looked seriously at Keke. "Let's start with math."
A dad joke competition? What happened to the sect tournament? I wonder if Jiegeng is participating.
Keke was really curious, but seeing that Teacher Jiegeng had already started the lesson, she felt awkward interrupting.
Keke had actually already finished most of her summer homework.
But in the Jiang family, summer wasn't just about school homework. There was also prep work for the next semester.
After finishing this semester's homework, she had to get next semester's textbooks, preview them, and then do the assigned homework—all so she could get a head start next semester.
That was her big brother's habit.
Her dad and mom, of course, weren't that strict. Actually, most of the time, they were pretty relaxed. When it came to studies, if Keke and Jiang Si didn't ask for help, the couple basically never offered to teach them.
Because they'd rather spend their time having fun themselves.
Keke still remembered one time before an exam, when her big brother had gone out for a night run, her parents were making weird noises in their room, and she was stuck in the next bedroom staring at review questions, finding it all just noisy.
In the end, she couldn't figure out a problem and decided to go to her parents' room to ask for help.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw her dad and mom duo-queuing in a game.
"Mom, Dad, I don't get a question. Stop playing and teach me."
"Huh? Keke? When did you get here? Wait for us. Oh, right, where's your big brother? Go ask him."
"He went out for a run. Can't you pause the game?"
"Ah, we're playing Valorant! How do you pause that?"
Later, Keke's grades really weren't looking good, and in the end, she felt so embarrassed that she cried and went to her big brother. He made a study plan for her: finish summer homework, preview ahead, and the next semester she'd learn faster, not only keeping up with classmates but even surpassing them.
That was what they called "the slow bird needs an early start."
Since then, from elementary school through middle school, Keke had strictly followed her big brother's study plan, which kept her at the top of her class.
But both Keke and Jiang Si knew she wasn't naturally smart. Her good grades came from hard work, not from being a true genius. The moment she slacked off, her grades would drop noticeably.
That became clear after she became a Magical Girl.
Actually, compared to when she focused entirely on studying, the Magical Girl duties took up a lot of study time, so Keke's grades had slipped. That was why Jiang Si was always worried about her studies.
After all, her big brother knew her abilities too well. For the past few months, she'd been busy saving Beihai and Chongxu, so her studies were bound to fall behind.
If it really got bad, the thin-skinned and proud Keke would probably end up crying to her big brother for help again...
That had happened many times before.
So even though it was her big brother who forcefully arranged a tutor for her prep work, Keke herself also wanted to get a head start and feel more confident.
When it came to studying, if the person themselves didn't want to put in the effort, no amount of effort from others would help.
No one could force knowledge into your head.
And besides, Keke wanted to make her parents proud...
Though she held back her impulses and expectations, a lot of Keke's thoughts were already focused on seeing her parents.
There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to show off.
Like being a Magical Girl, like her grades, like how popular she was...
"Keke."
Her head was tapped lightly. "Focus."
"Oh."
...
"Keke, I'm here to play with you!"
When Li Yi arrived at Jiang Si's house with her newly bought manga and some chocolate mini-cakes, she saw Jiang Si sitting in the living room, holding a first-year high school textbook, with a pile of teaching materials on the table.
As soon as she walked in, Jiang Si glanced at her and then raised his index finger to his lips.
Li Yi immediately fell silent.
"Keke is still having class upstairs."
Li Yi was momentarily stunned, then carefully sat down next to Jiang Si. "Class? Upstairs?"
"Yeah, I found her a tutor."
"...Can't you teach her yourself?"
"What I say is hard for her to understand."
Li Yi immediately understood. Jiang Si was the kind of teacher who liked to say "obviously" and then jump straight to the answer.
Normal people couldn't keep up with his thinking.
"Why don't you come back later? Come back in the afternoon or evening."
Li Yi quickly shook her head. "No, it's fine. There's nothing much happening in Beihai lately, and I'm free anyway. I'll just wait here for Keke."
Jiang Si's gaze fell on the romance manga in Li Yi's hands. "Don't corrupt Keke."
My Keke's grades started dropping after she started hanging out with you.
He thought about it, but the emotionally intelligent Jiang Si ultimately didn't say such hurtful words, saving her some face.
After all, she was Keke's friend and had helped Keke a lot.
"Th-This is all normal manga!" Li Yi quickly defended. "And actually, Keke was the one who got me into reading these. She recommended all of them. If anyone's corrupting anyone, it's Keke corrupting me..."
"That's because you lack self-control. What does that have to do with my Keke?"
Double standards!
Even though she said that, Li Yi actually found it kind of funny.
After all, Jiang Si playing favorites with his sister wasn't anything new, and she'd known that for a long time.
He said he wanted to treat her like a sister, but Li Yi had never actually thought about competing with Keke for that role.
Compared to competing for the "little sister" title, being his "lover" was probably easier. Being his little sister was just her roundabout strategy.
Sitting next to Jiang Si, watching him scribble notes on the high school textbook, apparently highlighting key points, Li Yi got curious. "Keke's starting ninth grade next semester, right? You're already in college?"
"Preparing ahead for Keke."
Isn't that a bit too early...
It's still about a year away. Your preparation timeline is a bit exaggerated.
And besides, Li Yi glanced at the teaching materials on the table. There was "Crazy English," "Magic Proof Olympiad Math," "Huanggang Chenglong Secret Papers," "Ten Years of Exams, a Hundred Years of Simulations," "Gold Exam Papers," "History of Web Novels," and so on, all lined up.
Isn't the prep content a bit over the top...
Li Yi silently mourned for Keke for a moment, then tore open the plastic wrap on her new manga and opened the chocolate mini-cakes, placing them on the living room table.
The big TV in the living room had its volume muted, but the picture was still playing.
On the screen was an interview with the mayor. Today's news was reporting on the deep cooperation between the BH City government and Azure Cloud Sect in areas like industrial parks and technological innovation. The BH mayor kept emphasizing that the government would follow Azure Cloud's lead and that Beihai must strongly support local leading enterprises like Azure Cloud Sect, providing all-around, no-blind-spot support.
"Lately, the Ice Color Group and Azure Cloud Sect seem to be drifting further and further apart."
Not finding a topic, Li Yi went with the news.
Jiang Si looked up and nodded. "After all, they're ultimately two separate organizations. Better to separate them sooner."
Previously, Ice Color Group had acted as an intermediary, with the government not cooperating directly with Azure Cloud Sect but providing services and support through Ice Color Group.
Lately, they'd just stopped pretending. Of course, it was also because Bingtang wanted to completely separate Ice Color Group from Azure Cloud Sect. After all, Ice Color Group had a bunch of nepotistic connections, and many people were using Azure Cloud Sect's name to gain benefits and do business.
It wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't small either—not serious enough to warrant severe punishment, but ignoring it felt disgusting. So Bingtang decided to completely separate the two, even staging a fallout between Ice Color Group and Azure Cloud Sect, causing a massive suspension of business cooperation.
"Rumor has it that Bingtang's dad is now marching and holding banners in protest in front of both Azure Cloud Sect and Ice Color Group every day, shouting about not allowing asset transfers. Won't this blow up?"
Jiang Si didn't look up. "It won't now."
"Oh? Why?"
"Bingtang had him sent to prison."
"...What an interesting father-daughter relationship."
It really was interesting.
Rich family, with a filial daughter and a loving father—quite common, actually.
Jiang Si had known about Bingtang's family situation since he first met her. It was much worse than his own.
The old man had considered Ice Color Group his life's work. When Bingtang took it all away, he was deeply shocked, but since it was just moving into his own daughter's hands, and he'd never have to worry about food or drink for the rest of his life, he soon got over it and thought nothing more of it.
But now, Bingtang was directly transferring many of Ice Color Group's assets to Azure Cloud Sect, aiming to completely empty out his Ice Color Group. Naturally, the old man wasn't happy about that. But with his current status, he couldn't see Bingtang, so he had to protest this way.
A while ago, he had even found Jiang Si.
Bingtang had brought Jiang Si home many times, so her father actually knew Jiang Si and knew about his daughter's feelings for him. But at the time, he hadn't thought much of it.
Whether Jiang Si had his daughter wrapped around his finger or vice versa didn't matter much to Bingtang's dad. All he wanted was his daughter's success in business.
Bingtang's father wasn't the type to attack a business rival's personal life either. He preferred to directly encroach on the other side's business territory, slowly crushing their pride.
But now, with nothing left, this once-proud old man finally set aside his meaningless dignity.
Not only had he waited for Jiang Si at an intersection for several days, blocking his way,
But he had also humbly begged Jiang Si to help him, to steal the company seal back from Bingtang.
He wanted to strike at Bingtang emotionally.
Once he got the company back, he would not only give Jiang Si 40% of the shares but also let Jiang Si do whatever he wanted with Bingtang—Bingtang's dad believed that the reason the two hadn't progressed further
Was because Bingtang was too proud. Now that she had taken power and had money, she probably looked down on a useless guy like Jiang Si.
So Bingtang's father thought he could exploit this angle. He wanted to stir Jiang Si's ambition. As long as he laid out the situation clearly, any young man with even a shred of ambition would know how to choose.
He had even planned it out—to create an opportunity for Jiang Si to spend a night with Bingtang, have Jiang Si secretly take intimate photos, and then Jiang Si would have the leverage to threaten and control Bingtang. Jiang Si would have both the girl and the money, hitting the jackpot...
It just goes to show: the more dignity a person has, the more bottomless they become when their dignity shatters.
Out of respect for him being Bingtang's father, Jiang Si patiently listened to all his nonsense.
From a strategic standpoint, the plan was actually flawless. And if Jiang Si were a normal guy, Bingtang's dad's plan had a high success rate—after all, it was the father himself approving an act of betrayal.
That would have some appeal to most people.
Unfortunately, Jiang Si wasn't interested at all. And because Bingtang's dad talked too long, Jiang Si stopped listening halfway through and tuned everything out.
He just forwarded the recorded content to Bingtang.
When Bingtang heard it, she just smiled and said, "Want to play along? The Sect Master could follow my dad's plan, pretend to control and threaten me..."
Of course, Jiang Si wouldn't do something so redundant. Not long after, Bingtang directly sent her own father to prison on various economic crime charges.
No need for playing along at all.
The TV started playing a drama—a thousands-episode-long family ethics soap opera. Hysterical shouting and roaring, quarrels, insults, beatings.
Just watching it was depressing. Li Yi munched on her chocolate mini-cakes while flipping through her manga, deciding not to watch that trashy soap opera.
Occasionally, she would steal glances at Jiang Si. The young man was still diligently taking notes on the high school textbook, making it hard for her to interrupt.
What should she say?
Li Yi chewed on the bitter-sweet chocolate cake and spotted a scene in her romance manga where the girlfriend was feeding her boyfriend a dessert.
Li Yi's heart fluttered...
"Want to... have a taste?"
Gathering her courage, Li Yi asked softly.
"No thanks. You eat it yourself."
As expected, she was rejected.
In the past, she would have been dejected and quietly eaten it herself.
But now, Li Yi was different.
Just like Keke had said, she had to be proactive.
So she picked up the mini-cake, scooted closer to Jiang Si, and nudged him gently. "Jiang Si, Jiang Si..."
She gently pushed him. "Look at this?"
When Jiang Si turned his head, Li Yi went "Here we go!" and directly stuffed the spoon, which had a small piece of cake on it, into Jiang Si's mouth. "It's a mini-cake~"
Jiang Si dutifully ate the cake.
"How is it?"
"Not bad."
Li Yi watched the spoon leave a trace of cream on the young man's lips, along with a bit of moisture when she pulled it out.
Her cheeks flushed slightly. She scooped up another piece of cake and ate it herself.
Then she stole another glance at Jiang Si.
He hadn't paid any attention to what she was doing and seemed not to have noticed they were sharing a spoon.
So Li Yi crouched beside Jiang Si, taking a bite herself and feeding him a bite.
Just like... lovers...
As she was lost in a dizzying haze of happiness, she deliberately smeared cream on Jiang Si's lips and cheek, then reached out to wipe it off, and licked the cream off her fingers—planning to go straight for the cream on Jiang Si's lips next time.
That's how it goes in romance manga, and that's what Keke taught her. As long as she followed the plan, it would definitely work!
Li Yi gathered her courage again, planning to smear cream on Jiang Si's lips so she could lean in and kiss him, turning indirect kissing into direct kissing—traditional romance methods were useless now; it was time for new tactics.
There was no time to be shy. If she kept dragging her feet, she would get nothing. Li Yi was a master of modern romance, and she wouldn't lose!
"Keke, I'm here to play with you!"
Just as Li Yi leaned down, ready to eat the cream off Jiang Si's lips, the door was suddenly pushed open.
Then An Shiyu barged in, dressed in light, cool clothing, wearing sandals that exposed her toes, and even carrying two bags of clothes. "Let's go swimming at the pool together! I bought swimsuits..."
Then she spotted Jiang Si and Li Yi in the living room, froze for a moment, and scratched her head awkwardly. "Captain, you're here too."
In that moment of distraction, Jiang Si had already wiped the cream off his own lips.
Li Yi sat up angrily, glaring at An Shiyu. "I was here first!"
"Haha, do you want to come swimming too? Where's Keke?"
"Keke is having a tutoring session. You should come back another time."
An Shiyu didn't mind. She just walked over and sat down on the other side of Jiang Si. "No problem, I can wait for her. Oh, Jiang Si, do you want to come? Let's go swimming at the pool..."
Damn it, Li Yi's heart sank.
She hadn't prepared a swimsuit, and this girl had definitely come prepared. If she bought some random swimsuit, she would definitely lose...
"No, I have things to do."
Then Jiang Si stood up, put down his textbook, and said, "I need to use the restroom."
Once Jiang Si had gone to the bathroom, Li Yi immediately locked eyes with An Shiyu. Li Yi said in a low voice, "Coming early to invite Keke swimming? You came specifically for Jiang Si, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
An Shiyu answered with unusual honesty, leaving Li Yi momentarily speechless. Then Li Yi said dryly, "What a coincidence. Same here."
"All these cakes, are they for sharing with Jiang Si?"
"You can have some too."
Before An Shiyu could answer, Mùjǐn couldn't hold back and popped out. "Thanks! You're a really good person!"
Banned from desserts and snacks by An Shiyu, Mùjǐn had finally caught an opportunity and wasn't about to let it go.
But An Shiyu firmly pushed her back and then sighed. "It must be nice, sharing cake with Jiang Si like that."
"I think it would only be one-sided..."
Then An Shiyu said lightly, "So, want to cooperate, Captain Yiyi?"
Li Yi was taken aback. "What?"
"It's really hard to invite Jiang Si to go swimming, but if we both invite Keke, and then ask Keke to help, maybe we can get Jiang Si to the pool."
"Why would I help you..."
"I brought swimsuits for both you and Keke." An Shiyu pulled out the swimsuits and showed them off. "They're really pretty."
"No, no, that's way too revealing!"
"This is how it is nowadays. Anyway, we'll have the whole pool to ourselves—just Jiang Si and us girls. Nothing to be embarrassed about..."
"...How much have you planned out?"
An Shiyu folded the swimsuits back up and put them away, looking a bit sheepish. "Not much. I just thought if I want to go out with Jiang Si, I need to be thorough."
"Compared to those Azure Cloud Sect disciples who cling to Jiang Si all day, don't you think we're the ones being left behind, Captain Yiyi? If we don't cooperate, we won't stand a chance against the Azure Cloud Sect girls."
A few words were enough to silence Li Yi.
Just as she was about to say something, a roar suddenly came from the second floor.
"I asked you what the relationship is! What kind of relationship!"
Li Yi was stunned. An Shiyu immediately reacted. "It's Jiegeng! I told you..."
Before the two could lament about how the Azure Cloud Sect was everywhere,
Another roar came from upstairs.
"Say it! Why don't you even know this? You're Jiang Si's sister! What exactly is their relationship!"
Were they interrogating Keke?
Interrogating Keke about whose relationship with Jiang Si?
Both of them pricked up their ears, patiently waiting for more.
"You don't know? You're telling me you don't know! It's an inverse relationship!"
Both of them went "Pfft" and sat back down.
What the hell—it really was just about studying...
They thought they were going to hear some juicy gossip.
Before they could recover, Jiang Si had already come out of the bathroom.
He was holding his phone.
He glanced at Li Yi and An Shiyu. "The Bureau just called. They said there's a slot for Keke to go to the Magic Kingdom."
An Shiyu and Li Yi exchanged glances.
"The Magic Kingdom?"
"Yeah, I saw Mom and Dad there before. I asked Bingtang to check with the Bureau if there was a legitimate way to go to the Magic Kingdom. Jincha had been asking about it for a while, and now we finally got a response."
Jiang Si put away his phone and turned off the TV. "Bingtang said the Magic Kingdom has opened two slots, both for the Bureau's Magical Girls. Besides Keke, one more person needs to accompany her to the Magic Kingdom to visit Mom and Dad. I think both of you are pretty suitable."
Li Yi and An Shiyu quickly moved apart from each other.
The alliance they had just formed instantly shattered.
Both of them shouted at the same time:
"I want to go!"