Walking out of the school gates with Rex, Qiao Xi saw Wang Dadong still lingering outside.
"Brother Dadong, why haven't you gone home yet?"
"Yeah, Dadong, how come you didn't go home with Xiaoyu and Arthur?"
Wang Dadong habitually rubbed the back of his head. "Xiao Xi, Rex, my parents heard you both were back and want to invite you over for dinner. Xiao Xi, my parents were super excited when they heard you returned, and kept nagging me to bring you home for a meal."
"Is that so? Well then, Rex, let's go. Let's go have dinner at my dad and mom's place," Qiao Xi said happily, pulling Rex along.
Rex lowered his glasses, the glare hiding his eyes. "All right. Besides, I've really missed Uncle and Auntie too."
With that, the three of them returned to the Wang household, though Qiao Xi had a lingering feeling she had forgotten something.
"Dad, Mom, it's been so long! Xiao Xi missed you guys so much."
Mama Wang excitedly stepped forward and hugged Qiao Xi. "Xiao Xi~ Mom missed you to death! You've grown up so much. The last time you came back, you were still just a little girl. And Rex too—you've been gone the whole summer, and Mama Wang missed you too!"
"All right, all right. It's been so long since Xiao Xi came back, and she must be exhausted right after school. Rex too. Let them wash their hands and eat," Papa Wang intervened, stopping Mama Wang as she was about to go on and on, continuing to catch up with Qiao Xi and Rex.
"Oh, right! Hehe, Mom was just too excited to see you guys. Come, come, put down your schoolbags and let's eat. Mom prepared a lot of your favorite dishes~"
***
They had barely started eating when the doorbell rang.
Qiao Xi's inner thoughts:
"Ah! How could I have forgotten! Brother Arthur was supposed to come!"
"Mom, I'll go open the door."
Looking at the plates she was currently dealing with and unable to spare a hand, Mama Wang let her go.
Qiao Xi opened the door. "Brother Arthur, why are you here?"
"I'm here to see the Narcissist about something."
She pushed the door open wide to let Arthur in.
Mama Wang poked her head out from the kitchen. "Xiao Xi, who is it?"
"Oh, it's an older brother of mine, and also a classmate of mine and Brother Dadong's. His name is Wang Arthur."
"Well, since it's just dinner time, have him come in and join us."
Seeing that Wang Arthur had arrived, Wang Dadong also came over eagerly. "Arthur, why did you come?"
"I'm here to find you about something." Before Wang Arthur could explain what it was, he heard Rex's voice.
When Wang Arthur saw that Rex was also inside, his brow furrowed deeply. "Never mind, I have something else to do, I'm leaving."
Without waiting for Wang Dadong to reply, he turned and left the Wang household.
Watching Arthur's retreating back, Qiao Xi felt thoroughly exhausted. "Brother Arthur, Rex already guessed ages ago that you'd come, you know."
Then, coincidentally, she saw Rex answer a phone call and announce he had to leave as well.
After dinner, Qiao Xi called her dad and mom into her room. On the surface, it looked like they were just catching up inside the room, but she had already brought them into the Dimension Virtual Reception Room.
Sitting on the sofa, Qiao Xi said to her dad and mom, "Dad, Mom, recently the newly appointed leader of the Gold Dimension Imperial Guard discovered that the Wu-Shi Arbitration Office has been very restless lately and will likely target Brother Dadong. Moreover... you should have sensed Rex's abnormal aura. Therefore, I hope you'll pay closer attention to the people and things around Brother Dadong."
"Don't worry, Xiao Xi. Dadong's special constitution is indeed bound to attract the attention of that black bug at the Wu-Shi Arbitration Office. We'll have people keep a close eye on Dadong," Mama Wang replied with a solemn expression.
Papa Wang seemed to suddenly think of a question. "Xiao Xi, has the Supreme Leader of the Gold Dimension not been chosen yet?"
Qiao Xi sighed helplessly. "The candidate I currently approve of is the child left behind by the previous Gold Dimension Supreme Leader. I'm rather fond of his daughter; she's currently our Homeroom Teacher, possessing an ultra-powerful cultivation constitution, though it hasn't been fully developed yet. As for his son... he's a bit more troublesome."
"Is there a problem?"
"He's currently in Black Dragon's hands, having been trained into a Wushi two years ago. Even now, the Imperial Guard still can't trace the exact location of the Wu-Shi Arbitration Office, and they haven't slipped up yet either, leaving no trace whatsoever."
***
Leaving Wang Dadong's house and returning to the villa, Qiao Xi entered the virtual reception room and saw several documents laid out in front of Qianyue.
"Qianyue, are these the newly selected commanders of the East, West, South, and North City Guards?" Qiao Xi asked Qianyue, looking through the files of the four people in her hands. (Qianyue's status was that of Grand Commander, which differed from Xiu's position.)
"Yes." The tone remained indifferent as ever.
Flipping through the files:
East City Guards Commander
Qian Shu (Huh??? This name sounds vaguely familiar?)
Age: 17
Height: 182 cm
Weight: 65 kg
Personality: Passionate and loyal
Battle Power Index: [Redacted]
Weapon: Yanyan Dagger
Appearance: Silver Dimension Ma Chao lookalike
Background: His father is Principal Qian Laiye of Pao-Le High School, mother unknown. He possesses an anti-demon constitution, meaning demons beneath his level dare not approach him and are unable to possess him. He is a thorn in Black Dragon's side that he has always wanted to eliminate.
West City Guards Commander
Milu
Age: 20
Height: 172 cm
Weight: 55 kg
Personality: Gentle and poised mature woman
Battle Power Index: [Redacted]
Weapon: Fiery Entangling Whip, electronic keyboard
Appearance: Reference to Victoria from Mystical Academy
Background: Abandoned abroad by her family in her childhood, she was adopted by a modestly famous foreign musical power family before returning to the country.
South City Guards Commander
Hui
Age: 17
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 64 kg
Personality: Cold, proud, and reclusive
Battle Power Index: [Redacted]
Weapon: Flash Drumsticks
Appearance: Silver Dimension Guan Yu lookalike
Background: An orphan adopted by Blade Ghost and Blade Feng, raised and trained as their apprentice. Aside from Blade Feng and Blade Ghost, no one knows of his existence. Because of his extremely low presence, he is frequently dispatched on secret missions.
North City Guards Commander
Yan Tong
Age: 16
Height: 161 cm
Weight: 42 kg
Personality: Cute, lively, and mischievous
Battle Power Index: [Redacted]
Weapon: Mystic Ice Crossbow
Appearance: Um... let's reference Lolita fashionista Xie Anran.
Background: Diagnosed as a genius child with an IQ of 300 in her youth, she is currently the mysterious and famous super hacker Sun. Her true appearance and name remain unknown to anyone.
(As expected, no matter where one goes, talent is always buried amongst the crowds. These are the ones.)
"Splendid. Lately, the Gold Dimension has become increasingly unsettled. With them around, I can finally rest easy." Qiao Xi could finally let out a slight breath of relief, feeling somewhat less pressured.
***
The next day, on the school lawn:
"Xiao Xi, Xiaoyu, I really don't get it. The Narcissist has been acting so weird lately; what on earth is wrong with him? He ran over to my house yesterday, and the moment he saw Rex like that, he gave me some sarcastic remarks and just walked off, making my parents think the atmosphere was super strange. Xiao Xi, you saw it too, right? Isn't that super weird?"
Qiao Xi looked at Wang Dadong helplessly. "Brother Dadong, it's probably because of that matter Brother Arthur talked to you about."
"Xiao Xi, don't tell me you don't believe in Rex either? We've all known Rex since we were kids. You should know very well what kind of person he is. There's no way in hell he could be any KO.2!" Wang Dadong looked at Qiao Xi earnestly, gripping her shoulders.
Qiao Xi swatted away the claws gripping her shoulders. "Brother Dadong, I've been away for a very long time. How could I possibly know if Rex has changed? Besides, I've also known Brother Arthur since childhood. Who do you expect me to believe? It's really awkward for me caught right in the middle, you know."
As dense as Wang Dadong was, he understood this reasoning and fell silent.
"I know everyone has their own personality, but as sworn brothers, we should just talk things out openly!" Having said that, Wang Dadong seemed to have a sudden flash of insight and grabbed his clothes. "That's right! Just talk things out! Xiao Xi, Xiaoyu, I've decided, I'm going to ask Arthur out right now! Xiaoyu, I realized talking to you is just like talking to Xiao Xi! Every problem gets solved just like that! Xiaoyu! I love you!! If I have any more problems in the future, I'll come talk to you and Xiao Xi again! Bye!"
With that, he left Qiao Xi and Ding Xiaoyu behind, both of them staring in utter bewilderment in the direction Wang Dadong had just sprinted off.
Brother Dadong, isn't your emotional state switching just a little too fast...