Chapter 162 No One Will Back Down

so he didn't fear Xu Ke stepping forward at all.Lu Qi was already a level-changing cultivator; moreover, the power of his chessboard treasure wasn't weak either. Among young cultivators, especially wi...Chapter 162: Nobody Wants to Back Down

The two remained silent. Hao Ren felt guilty about disappointing Xie Yujia's long wait and didn't know how to respond, while Xie Yujia kept asking herself what she was doing.

After putting the bowls and chopsticks in the cabinet, they walked out of the kitchen. Grandma was lying sideways on the sofa with a remote control in her hand, dozing off almost asleep.

Xie Yujia felt sorry for Grandma and went over to pick up the coat beside her, covering her with it. She just thought that Grandma was lonely, so today she specially came over to keep her company as Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang were busy with their careers.

Seeing Grandma watching TV and dozing off, Xie Yujia could guess how Grandma lived alone at home usually, feeling a bit heartbroken.

"Oh, you've finished washing" Grandma rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Why don't you two go to bed early"

To Hao Ren's ears, the sentence sounded quite ambiguous.

Not only did Hao Ren feel this way, but Xie Yujia also blushed slightly upon hearing it.

Without realizing what had happened, Grandma continued, "I just dreamt that Ah Ren had a bunch of children calling me 'Grandma'!"

"But I'm male, how can I have them" Hao Ren helped Grandma up from the sofa and was somewhat at a loss.

“Haha…” Grandma didn't explain further and looked at Xie Yujia's flushed face. "I’m feeling sleepy, so I’ll go to bed now. Since it’s still early, you two can take a walk by the sea."

"Alright." It was natural for Xie Yujia to nod in agreement with Grandma's suggestion.

Grandma turned to Hao Ren and said, "You should chat more with Xiao Lu. You guys used to be close friends, but now you seem distant."

"Sure, Grandma rest well." Hao Ren helped her into the room on the first floor.

Xie Yujia looked at Hao Ren and suddenly realized he was also filial. Whether handsome or not, it was these basic qualities that had attracted her since his freshman year.

"Let's go for a walk by the sea." When Hao Ren came out again, he said.

“Alright.” Xie Yujia nodded slightly.

The beach was only dozens of meters away from the villa. The soft sand felt very comfortable underfoot. Xie Yujia乾脆脫下鞋子，光著腳踩在沙灘上。

潮水的聲音嘩啦啦地響著，很柔和。月光灑在海麵上，波光粼粼。這裡已經屬於東海市的郊區，空氣清新，星光燦爛。

Translation of the last two sentences: The sound of the tide was soft and soothing, rustling as it washed ashore. The moonlight cast a shimmering glow on the sea surface. This place already belonged to the outskirts of Donghai City, where the air was fresh and the stars were bright.

The two walked along the seaside for a few minutes without saying anything.

"How did you do on today's exam" As the male, Hao Ren couldn't help but initiate the conversation first.

Xie Yujia replied, "Well, all of today’s exams were not difficult. I should have no problem getting above 90 points."

Hao Ren smiled helplessly to himself, thinking that if he could get a 70 in each subject, it would be enough for him.

When they were young, they used to walk like this along the beach. Now, suddenly, they had both turned twenty-something.

"Ouch!" Xie Yujia bent down suddenly.

"What's wrong" Hao Ren asked as he approached her.

Under the moonlight, Xie Yujia frowned. "It feels like I stepped on some glass."

Hao Ren quickly helped her sit down and looked at her right foot. He noticed slight bleeding but saw that she had actually stepped on a broken shell rather than glass.

Sigh, Xie Yujia's skin is so delicate... In his panic, Hao Ren fetched some seawater with his hands to clean the wound for her before running off again to retrieve her shoes from afar and helping her put them back on, in case she got injured further.

Xie Yujia watched as Hao Ren ran around fussing over her. She felt a little touched. When they were young, Hao Ren always liked to act like a big man; he ignored her when she cried or was hurt until things really couldn't be contained anymore, at which point he would come over to comfort her with a few words. Now that they had grown up, however, he had become very gentle and meticulous.

"Let's go. I think it should be fine," Hao Ren said as he grabbed Xie Yujia’s arm and helped pull her up from the sand. "It gets cold on the beach at night; sitting too long will hurt your stomach."

"Hmm." Despite the slight pain in her foot, she still endured it to avoid seeming too weak.

“Do you remember when we were little I used to jump from that big rock over there, thinking the ground below would be soft sand and wouldn’t hurt. But now I wonder how I could have been so reckless back then,” Hao Ren said as he pointed to a black reef in the distance.

"Yeah, I followed you down once and ended up spraining my ankle. I cried for two days at home after that," Xie Yujia responded somewhat resentfully.

“Hehe, but actually you were pretty stubborn back then,” Hao Ren said with a chuckle.

Xie Yujia was speechless; perhaps it had been like this. She would always follow her elder brother wherever he went and try to do whatever he did no matter what.

Putting aside the matters of school, they talked about their childhood memories instead. As they pieced these memories together, vague scenes from their past began to come into focus again. Many little stories that were previously unknown became complete in each other’s recollections, gradually forming a vivid picture.

The breeze blew through Xie Yujia's hair, causing it to flutter gently. Her side profile under the moonlight was very gentle and serene; one would hardly imagine she used to be the little girl who never accepted defeat on anything and ran around like a tomboy.

Xie Yujia's legs also stopped hurting, and she started walking for a long distance before slowly returning along the beach.

When they got back home, Grandma on the ground floor was already fast asleep. Hao Ren and Xie Yujia quietly went upstairs to their rooms to rest.

Xie Yujia didn’t tell those girls about Hao Ren being her little brother, nor did Hao Ren mention it to the guys. This hidden relationship made them even more careful and considerate towards each other.

Hao Ren knew that there were still many boys openly or secretly pursuing Xie Yujia at school. After all, she was beautiful and gentle, fitting the image of a dream girlfriend for many boys.

However, Xie Yujia kept a low profile and never mentioned these things like Lin Li did, who would brag about her admirers everywhere. Moreover, she always dressed plainly, unlike Lin Li’s flashy attire.

But when compared, most boys felt that Xie Yujia was prettier and more refined than Lin Li. Hao Ren vaguely knew that there were many senior students in the Student Council who were trying to get close to Xie Yujia.

However, these boys were wary of Xie Wanjun and didn’t openly express their admiration for her. But after this national university basketball league ended, Xie Wanjun would go to America for studies, something that the senior students knew… The small villa fell back into silence again. With the ebb and flow of waves, Hao Ren woke from a beautiful dream at ten in the morning.

He quickly got up and went to see his neighbor's room, only to find it open with Xie Yujia already awake.

Had she gone back Hao Ren felt slightly anxious as he rushed downstairs still wearing his pajamas.

Xie Yujia was seen in a clean set of clothes, the same set left here last time. She had put on rubber gloves and was standing on a stool outside on the balcony, trying to hang her quilt up with tiptoes.

Grandma sat inside eating the small bread baked by Xie Yujia, smiling broadly.

"What is she doing" Hao Ren pointed at the balcony and asked Grandma.

"Doing what" Grandma rolled her eyes at him. "Yujia got up early this morning to accompany me for an early walk along the beach, made breakfast for me, washed all my bed sheets and quilts, and now she’s hanging them out on the balcony to dry. I wanted to wake you up but Yujia said that you’ve been studying too hard recently so you should sleep in a bit more!"

"Oh…" Hao Ren replied blankly, looking back at Xie Yujia working outside with a sense of shame.

Almost none of the things Xie Yujia was doing had he done for Grandma.

"Ah, Yujia is such a good girl. Whoever marries her will be blessed," Grandma said thoughtfully while watching Xie Yujia in the sunlight sprinkling water drops.

Hao Ren nodded in agreement; Xie Yujia was smart and capable, filial and an excellent cook, almost like a future Zhao Hongyu.

"Ah, if only Yujia were my granddaughter-in-law…" Grandma sighed.

Upon hearing this, Hao Ren felt it was inappropriate and quickly grabbed another bread to put in Grandma's hand. "Grandma, please continue eating. I’ll go outside."

He ran to the balcony, opened the door and walked out.

Xie Yujia was standing on a stool, using tongs to take down bed sheets from a bamboo pole. When she saw Hao Ren come out, she smiled and asked, "You're up"

Hao Ren scratched his head and felt a bit embarrassed. "Yeah. You came here just to accompany Grandma; you didn't have to do all this."

"These are just little things I did along the way. Your parents aren't at home, so there's no one around to take care of Grandma," said Xie Yujia as she jumped down from the stool and patted the damp sheets. She placed the stool in a corner on the balcony.

She took off her rubber gloves; drops of water clung to her fingertips, making them look like green scallions under the sunlight.

"I'll take care of these things from now on, so you don't have to help," said Hao Ren.

Xie Yujia smiled and glanced at him with the corner of her eye. "You You'd never think about doing such things!"

Hao Ren could only smile awkwardly. It was true; every weekend he came back to accompany his grandmother, but he hadn't thought of helping Grandma wash bed sheets and pillowcases. Only girls would think of such thoughtful details.

"I left you some breakfast as well, go eat it now. There are also some clothes and pants for Grandma here that I washed; I'm going to hang them up." Xie Yujia continued.

"Okay," Hao Ren turned around and went back into the house.

A neatly arranged breakfast was left on the dining table: milk, hamburgers, boiled eggs—a simple yet healthy meal.

“Grandma, I’m heading home now,” said Xie Yujia as she walked in after hanging up all the clothes outside.

"You're leaving already" Grandma was reluctant to see her go.

"Yeah, it's almost noon. I have exams next week and need to start reviewing," replied Xie Yujia.

"Aren't you in a different class than Ren Why don't you stay here for a while and review with him" Grandma suggested after thinking about it.

“No need, I think Hao Ren would rather I didn’t,” said Xie Yujia with a smile. “Grandma, take care of yourself. I’ll come visit again when I have time.”

"Oh... Okay," Grandma knew she couldn't keep her from leaving and stood up to see her off.

“I'll drive you!” Hao Ren said as he hastily stood up while drinking milk.

"No need, I’ll be fine. It’s just a short walk from here to the station; it will do me some good to stretch my legs," Xie Yujia looked at him with twinkling eyes and smiled before turning around and walking out the door.oon alarm clocks...Hao Ren had created an icy cave for her, but she decorated it beautifully according to her nature as a young girl.Xie Yujia崇尚簡約，從未在自己的洞府裡添置過任何東西，但是趙焰紫卻喜歡把自己的房間裝扮得很溫馨，在這樣的環境裡才能安心修煉。T...