Chapter 1201: Going Back to Take the Exam
It was not until she saw Mengmeng snickering that she cottoned on.
"You naughty girl!"
Zhang Li pulled a wry face. Then, she asked doubtfully, "Is that true?"
"Dad did have complained about you two, but Mengmeng exaggerated it." Zi Yan found this funny. Then, she asked, "Where's Liang Hao?"
"He already went there. I saw you guys here, so I came over to ask about the situation first," Zhang Li said seriously.
"I think you're just making Liang Hao take the bullet for you," Zhang Han said with resignation. "Dad merely urges you to have a baby. Why not just do it?"
"No," Zhang Li said. "The world is so big. I haven't seen the big world yet. You and my sister-in-law have Mengmeng, the little burden, so you don't even have time to travel by yourselves. I don't want that. I haven't had enough fun yet."
"Who is a burden?" Mengmeng's little face darkened. "Well, you've got some nerve. I'll tell on you to Grandpa."
"Hey, no-no-no, I'm sorry. I take that back," Zhang Li said in a hurry.
She knew very well that if Mengmeng told Zhang Guangyou the embellished story, she would inevitably be scolded again.
"Hmph," Mengmeng snorted.
"I have to go and take a look." Zhang Li glanced at Zhang Guangyou's villa and said, "It's been a while. Hao probably can't hold on any longer."
After saying that, Zhang Li said goodbye and scurried off.
"Wow, you are already in the Innateness Realm." Sensing Zhang Li's aura, Zhang Han was a little surprised.
"It seems that she has worked hard cultivating these days."
"Daddy, I'm going to cultivate, too. After some time, I'll be a great cultivator in the Elixir Realm," Mengmeng said confidently.
"Bravo! If you enter the Elixir Realm when you're only 14 years old, it'll be only a matter of time before you surpass me," Zhang Han laughed.
"No, that probably won't happen. I don't need to surpass Daddy." Mengmeng's big eyes curved like crescent moons.
"It feels great to be protected by Daddy."
After a while, Zhang Li, Liang Hao, Zhang Guangyou, and Rong Jiali all came over. The big family chatted for some time.
Zhang Guangyou didn't scold Zhang Li and Liang Hao. He just reminded Zhang Li with a stern face that the higher their cultivation level got, the harder it was for them to conceive.
Zhang Guangyou even asked Zhang Han seriously if that was true.
At this time, Zhang Han surely didn't dare to pull the rug from under Zhang Guangyou's feet.
He answered solemnly, "Yes, that's indeed the case."
With Zhang Han's resolute confirmation, Zhang Li was immediately convinced.
Seeing Zhang Li's pensive expression, Zhang Guangyou couldn't help smiling at Zhang Han and playfully arching his eyebrows.
There was still a young man living inside him.
Zhang Mu, Deep Flame, Gai Xingkong, Zhao Feng, and many others also took two days off to cultivate.
This trip to the Domain of Seven Desolations had put a lot of pressure on them. More importantly, it gave them the motivation to grow stronger.
They believed that one day, they would be able to explore the Domain of Seven Desolations relying on their own strength.
It was a long-range goal.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Nina and Felina came over by spaceship.
After resting for a while, everyone prepared to set off.
"Master, I won't return to Earth this time."
"We'll stay here and cultivate. You'll be back soon anyway."
"I'll pass, too."
Mu Xue, Jiang Yanlan, Instructor Liu, and most of the others chose to stay.
In the end, only Yue Wuwei, Zhang Guangyou, Rong Jiali, Zhang Li, Liang Hao, Zhang Han's family, Chen Changqing, Zhou Fei, and Chen Chuan prepared to go back to Earth.
They would go back by one Thunder King and 10 corvettes.
Zhang Han would go back to Earth with some people working here. After they made it back to Earth, they would contact their sects and select another group of people to go to the Sea Dragon Star Area according to the plan.
At present, the situation in the Sea Dragon Star Area was stable. Still, there were some small problems. There were many places where people could adventure. The wonder of the Cultivation World had just begun to be revealed as the Domain of Seven Desolations was discovered. Relatively speaking, in terms of adventures, the Sea Dragon Star Area was better than Earth. However, as the Saint Warrior Planet, Earth held more secrets. However, those people were still in low realms, so they were unable to decode the secrets.
"Let's go!"
The fleet prepared for nearly two minutes. As energy erupted in the energy cabins, the fleet entered the secondary space.
During the journey, the five children—Mengmeng, Chen Chuan, Yue Xiaonao, Nina, and Felina—all stayed in the same room. There was an electronic game room in the Thunder King. Although there was no Internet, they could play online holographic video games.
"Felina, why don't you join us?" Mengmeng had noticed that Felina seldom talked and did not seem to fit in. Thus, she invited her to play the games with them.
"I don't play those stupid games," Felina said bluntly.
"Stupid games?" Mengmeng's beautiful eyes widened. "We're playing games for fun. These are not stupid games at all."
"That's right. Games are super fun," Chen Chuan echoed.
"You guys enjoy," Felina turned her face to the side and said.
"You're funny," Yue Xiaonao said. "It's fine that you don't want to play. No one is making you play games. But you don't have to make it sound like we're all childish."
Yue Xiaonao was a bit amused. Her tone caused Felina to turn around. As if she was totally senseless, she directly said, "You're childish, to begin with."
"Felina." Nina looked rather embarrassed. She wanted to say something but didn't know what to say to make things better.
"Believe it or not, I can punch you." Yue Xiaonao glared at Felina.
"I am in the God Transformation Realm," said Felina.
"Hmph." Mengmeng sneered, "You are merely a kid even if you are in the God Transformation Realm. You haven't come of age yet. If we convert your age to Earth people's age, you are probably younger than me."
Felina was bereft of speech.
She looked away again, not feeling like saying anything.
Mengmeng snorted and glanced at Felina discontentedly.
"This Dark Elf is boring."
They went away to play games themselves. For Nina's sake, they didn't bicker with Felina but left her alone.
What they didn't know was that while they were playing, Felina eyed them curiously from the corner of her eyes.
She had never played in a Game Capsule or this kind of holographic game before.
After they played for a while, the first round ended. Then, they sat down in their seats.
Nina cast Felina a look with resignation.
"This younger sister of mine really is a handful."
"Let's have some snacks."
Yue Xiaonao fetched out some potato chips, juice, and shrimp chips from her Space Treasure.
"Mengmeng, Nina, Chen Chuan, have some."
Yue Xiaonao deliberately didn't offer any snacks to Felina, nor did she look at her.
"Crunch, crunch..."
Chen Chuan chewed the potato chips. Crisp crunches were heard, mixed with the unique fragrance of potato chips.
Felina's lips moved. She tucked her jaw slightly as if she was swallowing. After taking several glances at the chips out of the corner of her eyes, she looked away. She didn't want to stare in that direction, or she would feel like having some as well.
Just as she was suppressing her appetite, a bag of potato chips was placed in front of her.
"I don't want any." Felina refused.
"Have a try." Nina thought for a moment and said, "I only tasted this kind of food very recently. Our Sea Dragon Star Area doesn't have this kind of food. It's a specialty from Earth, and it tastes very good."
After that, Nina tore open the bag, put it on Felina's lap, and sat down again. Then, she smiled apologetically at Mengmeng and Yue Xiaonao.
The three girls were besties. With Nina around, Mengmeng and Yue Xiaonao were highly tolerant of Felina.
When they eyed Felina more heedfully, they found that Felina had turned sideways slightly, as though she was too shy to try the chips. After hesitating for 10 seconds, Felina stealthily stuck her hand into the bag, picked up a potato chip, and held it to her mouth. She didn't crunch the chip but slowly nibbled at it.
When she finished the first chip, she took another one...
After Felina finished half a bag of the chips, Yue Xiaonao thumped the table and asked, "Hey, aren't the chips delicious? These are my snacks. Don't you want to thank me?"
"Swoosh!"
Felina withdrew her hand at the speed of lightning, not eating anymore. Two seconds later, she placed the bag of chips to the side and remained silent for a long time.
"What's with your younger sister?" Yue Xiaonao looked at Nina with dissatisfaction.
"She, she had seldom been around many people before. She also had few peers," Nina said to Mengmeng with the Designated Voice-transmitting Technique. "I'm sorry, Mengmeng, Xiaonao. When she was born, she lived alone with our mother for decades. After she left that island, she went through a lot of hardships to reach the Small Sky Dragon Region. The people there didn't treat her very well. That's why she is like this."
After Nina made a brief explanation, Yue Xiaoxiao's dissatisfaction was appeased.
"It turns out this Felina doesn't have a normal childhood."
Yue Xiaonao picked up a glass of juice and handed it to Nina.
Nina then held it to Felina and placed it beside her lap.
Felina remained silent for seconds. Then, she turned around and said, "Thank you."
Her voice was very low, but her words were clear.
From the corner of her eye, Felina saw Mengmeng put the straw into the juice glass and drink bit by bit.
Felina followed suit. She began to sip her juice.
"I'm going to bed."
After they enjoyed snacks for a while, Mengmeng got up and said, "The exam is drawing near. I have to study."
"That's right. Making preparations at the last moment is better than making none at all," Yue Xiaonao said. She also left in a hurry.
"Nina, shall we play games together? We can spend the night together," Chen Chuan said innocently.
"Swoosh!"
Mengmeng pelted back, grabbed Chen Chuan by the collar, and dragged him out.
When Mengmeng returned to the bedroom, she saw Zhang Han and Zi Yan playing games on the projector.
Mengmeng ran over and sat between them.
"Daddy, I know why Felina is so unsociable," Mengmeng said as if she was going to tell something juicy.
"Why?" Zhang Han asked.
"She used to live only with Auntie Tricia for decades. She had no friends and seldom met other people. After she went to the Dark Elf Clan, she came across those from the Gutuo Divine Temple... That Holy Son Gu Kun even attempted to make her marry him. Oh my God, she's still a kid."
"It's because of these experiences that she's developed such a personality." Zhang Han put away the projector screen, touched Mengmeng's head, and said, "I've paid some attention to her and found that she is very curious about things she is unfamiliar with, but she won't ask questions or say anything. She'll just stand by and watch. From the psychological aspect, her guard is always up. It's because she has no sense of security. When she is familiar with the surrounding environment, I think she will be easier to get along with."
"Really?" Mengmeng was stunned. She had little knowledge of this aspect.
"Felina didn't have a normal childhood." Zi Yan sighed softly, "It had a great impact on her personality. Mengmeng, we lived in San Diego for several years. At that time, you were also a shy and introverted girl. Later, when your Daddy began to live with us, you gradually became outgoing and cheerful. Childhood is the most important period in one's life, which will determine a person's outlook on life, personality, etc. Your childhood is perfect because of our family's reunion, and so is Felina's situation. She is still young among the elves and has been reunited. She will improve a lot in the future."
"Oh, Mummy, we used to live in San Diego. I almost can't recall those days." Mengmeng's big clear eyes were unblinking. She was going through her memories, but she could only think of fragments of that period.
"You were too little at that time," Zi Yan said, amused. "You were a little too thin. Also, you were a picky eater. Have you forgotten all that?"
"What? I was a picky eater? No way!" Mengmeng immediately retorted.
"Did you really forget?" Zi Yan curled her lips and said, "When you were a child, you didn't like to eat meat. As long as there was a little fat in the food, you would spit out all the food in your mouth. I could only cook fried eggs at that time, but you didn't like fried eggs. You were fonder of vegetables. If the vegetables tasted good, you would have a few. If you didn't like the taste, you wouldn't have any. The only food you liked was milk. You had milk every day from your birth till you were four. Now, do you know how picky you were?
"Gee!"
Mengmeng shook her little butt.
"Why bring these things up?"
But with Zi Yan's words, Mengmeng recalled part of those days. She hadn't forgotten that period completely.