CHAPTER 771: HARRASMENT DISGUISED AS BATH? (1)

He exhaled, finally sealing the Enforcer’s blade back into his hand. The black imprint pulsed faintly against his palm, like a brand. Safe, for now. If anyone stole it, he’d lose his only clean shot at killing an Executioner.

"This lazy ass..."

His lips twitched. A lumpy blanket sat on his bed. Rising and falling with steady breaths, white strands of hair spilling out like snow.

Wang Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Thud!

He kicked.

"Ah!"

A startled scream rang out as the blanket heap hit the floor. A girl sprawled onto the carpet, crop top riding up to reveal her smooth, pale stomach, her breasts bouncing with the impact. Her soft blue eyes blinked open, glassy with sleep, lips parted in confusion.

"Dad..." she groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Why do you always kick me?"

She sat up, chest straining against the thin white crop top, faintly outlined through the white fabric. With a pout, she pressed her hands over them, squeezing her cleavage accidentally together. "I was sleeping. What if it ruins my growth? What if my chest don’t grow properly?"

Wang Xiao’s eye twitched. "What the hell are you even talking about? And more importantly, why did you bring so many cars?"

He didn’t need to guess. Of course, it was her. Nobody else was stupid enough to dump seven hypercars outside his house.

"Humph... obvious, isn’t it?" Wenxi tilted her chin, lips curling smug. "A gift."

"...Gift?"

"I saw the news." She brushed her hair back, her top lifting slightly to reveal a sliver of skin. "You like cars, right? Aunt Xueying said all men like them. So I brought a few."

Wang Xiao’s brow arched. Of course she’d seen the news of him and Jiarong tearing through Tianjin like maniacs. He shook his head. "It wasn’t even me driving."

Her brows knit together. "So... you don’t like cars?"

"No." His gaze sharpened. "So tell me, who the gave you the money? Anran?"

She blinked, then tilted her head, feigning innocence. Her hair slid across her bare shoulder, the motion almost deliberate. "...Was I supposed to pay?"

His lips tightened. "...You... "

"Too bad," Wenxi cut him off, rolling back onto the bed with a lazy stretch. The blanket slipped down her legs, exposing smooth white skin of her legs.

She tugged the covers up only halfway, peeking at him from underneath, eyes glinting with mischief, lips curling into a sly smile that stretched almost ear to ear.

"I just stole it."

"..."

"What happened to Sera?" he sighed, giving up as his eyes scanned the room, but Seraphina was nowhere to be seen.

The question wiped the smile from Wenxi’s face. She tiptoed closer, pressing her small body against his chest, arms looping around his waist. She buried her face against him, inhaling as if she found peace there. But her eyes darkened.

"...She slipped," Wenxi muttered.

Her voice was low, reluctant. But she explained anyway. Seraphina and Josephine had exposed themselves, too much to cover anymore. Wenxi had no choice but to tell the truth: her mother and Seraphina were friends, something she had reinforced by calling Seraphina "Aunt."

The aftermath was simple. Too simple. She had shoved them into a nearby villa. As for the residents of that villa? Wenxi’s tone didn’t waver as she whispered, "...I freed them. From their useless lives."

Her words were sharp, tossed out with casual cruelty. Like father, like daughter, life and death weighed no more than dust. Human existence, a trivial inconvenience.

Wang Xiao stared at her, lips twitching. ’Casual cruelty, the kind only blood could pass on...’

He didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.

Her hands fidgeted as she spoke, small and pale, her fingers twisting nervously together even while her tone stayed flat. He reached out without thinking, catching them in his own larger hand.

She startled, sapphire eyes widening, face flooding with red... But she didn’t pull away.

Her skin was soft... Her hands, delicate, almost childlike in their size, yet cold with the faint tremor of what she’d just confessed.

Wang Xiao tilted his head slightly. The house was noisy elsewhere, but here, it was quiet. Just the two of them. No one to interrupt.

Wenxi blinked up at him. Once. Twice. Thrice. Her lashes trembled, blue eyes darting away. She looked almost guilty, as if even she knew this wasn’t the best time to be alone with him.

His thumb brushed along the back of her hand. Her skin was too soft, fragile like porcelain. His gaze drifted lower, to the pale pajamas she wore. Thin cotton, loose enough to slide when she moved, slipping higher on her smooth calves. She always dressed in white, pure and clean, but it only sharpened the contrast... inciting the beast in him further. Did she know? Or was it deliberate?

"Your mother said you’ve been sleeping for the last five days straight." His tone was half curious, half reproachful. "What the hell is that about?"

At first he thought it a joke, until he checked her pulse, her nerves. Even his sisters back home had messaged, asking if something was wrong with this girl.

How could anyone sleep day and night for almost a week?

She blinked, frowning faintly, her lips parting. "...Did I really?", like she herself couldn’t believe it.

Wang Xiao narrowed his eyes.

She recalled it clearly: she had stolen the cars, filled the driveway like a spoiled princess... and then simply collapsed into bed.

And she hadn’t stirred since, maybe occasionally waking for a couple of minutes to check if he was there, before going straight back to bed.

Now, standing before him, she looked perfectly fine. Her breathing was steady, her skin warm, her body as flawless as always. Only a slight imbalance in her energy, anxiety, perhaps, but nothing that explained this bizarre hibernation.

He studied her intently, his hand still holding hers. For twenty years she never once behaved like this. Why now?

Wenxi tilted her head, lips curling into a faint pout. "...Is it bad if I just like sleeping?"

"..."

Wang Xiao stared at her in silence.

She ducked her head further and further, blue eyes flicking up at him through her lashes. Her voice grew smaller, softer. "Dad... Dad... how about we leave the violence alone today? I really don’t know..."

Her hands pressed against his chest, palms warm through his shirt. It wasn’t forceful, more like she was stopping him out of habit, the way a kitten bats at a hand too big for it.

She whispered quickly, "I’m not in the mood for a swollen butt today..."

His eyes narrowed, still watching her. "That’s it...?"

She bit her lip, eyes shifting. Silence stretched before she murmured, "...Hmm. I had nothing to do. You left... and... Athene doesn’t come anymore either."

"You were bored?" His brow rose, genuinely surprised.

Her head moved faintly, nodding, hair falling across her face as she nodded. She looked up at him again, almost shy. "So I just... slept... It was easier than waiting."

"..."

Wang Xiao was speechless. "Why are you so... dependent?" He sighed and flicked her nose between his fingers.

She pouted, rubbing it, eyes moist. "Mm... isn’t it obvious?"

Before he could answer, she leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into him. Her body was warm, the thin cotton of her pajamas brushing against his skin.

In truth, it was obvious. Children mirrored their mothers more than their fathers. Eleanor was always distant, self-reliant, and her daughter Lanlan grew the same way. They mimicked what they saw.

That’s why in households where the mother quarreled endlessly with the father, the children grew warped in their bonds.

Wenxi, though clingy, was still tame compared to her mother.

She mumbled into his chest, voice muffled, "At least I’m not stupid like Yue... talking to your recorded voice on the phone..."