Sheng Leyun understood perfectly well that in a world like this, a woman like her—destined to grow up to be breathtakingly beautiful—would have a sense of confidence no matter where she went if she had some decent martial arts skills.

She had practiced martial arts in many other worlds, and always from a young age. Even without her memories, many skills had already become instinctual. They just needed the right environment to be gradually activated and stimulated. This was the fundamental difference between mission-takers—it was all about who had accumulated more experience.

Once her body’s potential was unlocked, her learning speed in martial arts would leave everyone else in the dust!

However, the process was also quite painful. Just thinking about all the targeted training sessions made her start to worry.

Sheng Leyun’s little face fell, but she still managed a weak nod. “Thank you, Brother Cheng. I’ll do my best to stick with it.”

Seeing the little girl make her decision with such do-or-die gravity, Gong Zicheng found it amusing. “Mastering martial arts doesn’t happen overnight. If you take it step-by-step, your body will gradually adapt.”

“And with a group of friends training alongside you, you might even start to enjoy it.”

Sheng Leyun nodded, but couldn’t help but grumble internally, ‘That’s definitely what you tell the newbies!’

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been through it before. Every time she had to awaken her body’s potential, the feeling of rejection and pain was so intense it made her want to bash her head against a wall. The memory was so profound that she could feel it deeply even without the specific recollections.

The two of them arrived in the main hall, one walking behind the other.

When Pang and Junzi saw Sheng Leyun and Gong Zicheng arrive, they immediately fell silent. Without needing an adult to tell them, they bowed deeply in a sincere and serious apology.

“We’re sorry, Sheng Leyun. We shouldn’t have tried to get something for nothing. We’re very sorry for scaring you, and we’ve decided to turn over a new leaf and be good kids from now on!”

They bowed so low their faces almost touched their knees.

Xiao Hailan saw this and let out a scornful laugh. In a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, she sneered, “Hmph, what a bunch of brown-nosers and cowards. And you call yourselves boys? Looks to me like you were born the wrong gender!”

Xiao Xuezhen’s already grim expression darkened several shades. As all eyes, adult and child alike, fell on him, any trace of fatherly affection vanished from his heart. Furious, he yanked Xiao Hailan by the ear. “Xiao Hailan!”

“I can’t believe this is what you’ve become! Not only do you not regret your mistakes, but you mock others for admitting theirs!”

“If you keep this up, you can just go back to your grandparents’ house. We’ll see how they treat you when I’m not around to back you up.”

Wincing in pain, Xiao Hailan covered her ear with her hands as she listened to her father’s grim, furious words.

She knew he was truly angry this time.

She thought his anger was just because of what she’d done, but in reality, the man was simply unleashing an accumulation of anger, dissatisfaction, and resentment, and she had just become a convenient outlet.

Xiao Hailan bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes, and said pitifully,

“Dad, it hurts… I… I…”

She glanced at Sheng Leyun’s fake smile, then squeezed her eyes shut as tears streamed down her face. “I know I was wrong. Please don’t be angry.”

Only then did Xiao Xuezhen let go of her ear. He scrubbed a hand over his face and went to stand in the doorway, sullenly smoking a cigarette.

Since a large block of family quarters was located just across the way, the guesthouse was naturally full of people visiting friends and relatives.

The people coming and going couldn’t help but slow their pace as they passed the group in the hall, practically inching along in hopes of catching some gossip.

Sheng Leyun’s lips tightened. The smile vanished from her face, and her voice became soft and ethereal.

“It seems this is all my fault for being so petty.”

“None of you ever seem to consider how a child’s words or actions can cause me irreparable psychological harm!”

“If I were to find a group of people and scare Xiao Hailan the same way, I wouldn’t need your apologies or compensation.”

“Money is just a worldly possession. If a person is frightened to the point of developing a condition, no amount of money can cure that!”

The little girl looked thin and frail. Even her two small pigtails seemed to carry an air of timidness.

Her eyelashes were long and curled. Even from several meters away, everyone could see them fluttering like a frightened butterfly’s wings.

Gong Zicheng’s face was cold. “If you came to apologize, then do it properly. Why all this drama? Are you trying to say you’re the ones who have been wronged?”

“If that’s the case, you can all just go home. She’s just a little girl without a biological father, whose mother is someone else’s stepmother. What power does she have to accept an ‘apology’ like this from you?”

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