The Ice King's Little Trouble Maker-Chapter 495 - 459: Protecting Us

Qiao Yuxian finished her shower and came out, while Gu Yanjing helped her dry her hair.

Once her hair was dry, Gu Yanjing went to take his shower.

While waiting for him to finish, Qiao Yuxian went outside onto the terrace to enjoy the breeze for a bit.

She was wearing silk long pajama pants and a loose short-sleeve top, her hair down, exuding a hint of lazy allure.

She was thinking about everything that had happened lately.

Wondering who the person was tonight, who sent them over, and why they came.

As she was thinking, her phone suddenly rang.

Qiao Yuxian glanced at it and answered.

They had already found out who was caught tonight.

While talking on the phone, Qiao Yuxian looked out at the villa’s small courtyard from the terrace.

As she watched, she noticed a small light in the darkness.

Upon closer inspection, she realized it was her dad smoking in the yard.

"Clear all her forces in Capital City," Qiao Yuxian said coldly.

After saying this, she hung up the phone, put on a piece of clothing, wrote a note, and stuck it on the wall opposite the bathroom. Then she left the room to find Qiao Yu.

In the yard, Qiao Yu was holding a cigarette between his fingers, lost in thought, when he heard footsteps and turned his head to look.

Seeing it was Qiao Yuxian, he instinctively stubbed out the cigarette and tossed it into the nearby trash can.

He then waved his hand to clear the smoke.

"Dad," Qiao Yuxian called out first.

Qiao Yu said, "Not asleep yet?"

Qiao Yuxian shook her head, "You’re also not asleep, and you’re even smoking in the yard."

"Your Aunt doesn’t let me smoke inside," Qiao Yu replied.

"Smoke less. It’s bad for your health," Qiao Yuxian said, pausing for a moment and adding, "You’re not young anymore."

Qiao Yu: "...You could’ve skipped the last part."

Qiao Yuxian chuckled, "Dad, you do care about your age, huh."

Hearing her tease, Qiao Yu feigned a stern look at her.

Qiao Yuxian chuckled again, refraining from saying what was on the tip of her tongue: "You’re not convincing at all."

Seeing her fall silent, Qiao Yu remained quiet for a while before asking, "About the person who came tonight, any thoughts?"

Qiao Yuxian reached out to pluck a leaf from a nearby tree, "It was someone sent by Zhao Shimeng."

Qiao Yu furrowed his brows, a slight surprise appearing in the depths of his eyes but quickly vanishing, "Her?"

Qiao Yuxian, curious about her father’s reaction, asked, "Dad, who did you think it was?"

Qiao Yu looked at her.

All emotions vanished from his face, returning to his usual calm demeanor, "Trying to get information out of me?"

"Not really, just curious. It seemed like you suspected someone else," Qiao Yuxian said.

"I didn’t," Qiao Yu replied succinctly.

Qiao Yuxian nodded.

Qiao Yu asked, "What does she want?"

"To threaten me, I guess," Qiao Yuxian said, "You know about the Sheng Anhe situation. She came to me a few more times afterward, but I didn’t agree. Later... I captured Sheng Chendong."

"Captured Sheng Chendong?" Qiao Yu asked, "What happened?"

Qiao Yuxian gave him a brief rundown, omitting parts of the story, including her allergic reaction.

Yet Qiao Yu was still visibly upset, his face dark and holding back his anger.

Seeing him upset, Qiao Yuxian said, "Dad, it’s okay. I can handle it."

"How will you handle it? That woman!" Qiao Yu took a deep breath, not saying more, worried that the more he said, the more upset Qiao Yuxian would become.

"I can handle it myself," Qiao Yuxian said, "Dad, you all need to be careful. It might not be just her causing trouble because I’m here."

Qiao Yu looked at her.

Qiao Yuxian dropped her gaze, clenching the leaf in her hand.

Qiao Yu said, "Yuxian, don’t have thoughts of burdening the family on your mind."

Qiao Yuxian looked up at him.

Qiao Yu said, "You’re carrying this for the Qiao Family. You’re not a burden to us; you’re protecting us."

Qiao Yuxian’s fingers moved slightly at her side, the emotions in her eyes flickering briefly.

"Le Chu, Zhi Ang, and also Shuning, Wei Zhou." Qiao Yu continued, "If it weren’t you, it would be them. Only you know how much you’ve suffered, what you’ve gone through and seen, and what occupies your mind each day, compared to them."

Qiao Yuxian’s lashes fluttered twice.

Qiao Yu said, "Dad’s abilities are limited and can’t help you much. I just hope not to drag you down. No worries. We, as a family, share difficulties and happiness."

Qiao Yuxian looked at him, her eyes turning slightly red. After a moment, she smiled.

Qiao Yu also smiled, "Don’t overthink it. This is home. You shouldn’t have to think so much at home."

Qiao Yuxian nodded and paused, saying, "Dad, you’re not boring at all."

Qiao Yu: "......"

"If you had this psychological insight back in the day, you would have been with Aunt Chen Hui already," Qiao Yuxian said, "You wouldn’t have taken a detour in marriage and ended up with a second one."

"Without that detour, where would you be?" Qiao Yu said dryly.

Qiao Yuxian thought for a moment and said, "I would have found another way to be by your side."

Qiao Yu lightly knocked on her head with a finger.

Qiao Yuxian chuckled.

Qiao Yu said, "Yuxian."

"Hmm?"

"Having you, Dad has never regretted it," Qiao Yu said with little change in his expression, his voice awkwardly gentle, "With you, Dad is very happy. It’s Dad who didn’t do well enough."

Qiao Yuxian looked at him, then blinked her moist eyes and shook her head, "No."

Qiao Yu gently stroked her head, "Go to sleep. It’s quite late."

"Okay." Qiao Yuxian nodded again.

...

Gu Yanjing and Qiao Yuxian stayed over at the Qiao Family for the night, then returned to Jingyu Garden.

They had found out who sent the people from that night.

But the Qiao Family still tightened their security.

Zhao Shimeng’s forces in Capital City, Qiao Yuxian had been clearing them out.

She didn’t hold back one bit.

Both overtly and covertly, they were being cleaned out.

She was cutting off Zhao Shimeng’s retreat.

Forcing her to make a decision soon.

There weren’t any issues at Qiao Yuxian’s school side, just waiting for the graduation ceremony.

Lately, she had been dealing with matters at Yunzhong Building.

Wen Mingcheng hasn’t returned yet, and there have been many issues at Yunzhong Building recently, so she had to familiarize herself with things from the beginning.

Occasionally, on some days, she would be busier than Gu Yanjing.

Amidst such busyness, she found a day to visit the Lu Family for Old Sir Lu’s birthday.

Getting up in the morning, Qiao Yuxian was yawning non-stop.

While yawning, she stood by the bed practicing Tai Chi.

When Gu Yanjing came back from his run and saw her swinging her arms left and right by the bed, he asked, "What’s wrong?"

"I’m doing Tai Chi." Qiao Yuxian said with her eyes closed, "Can’t you tell?"

Gu Yanjing took another serious look but still didn’t see it.

He’s never seen this twisty style of Tai Chi.

Qiao Yuxian said, "Doing Tai Chi can boost energy and prevent drowsiness."

"Does it work?" Gu Yanjing asked.

Qiao Yuxian randomly struck a move and then said, "No."

After that, she fell straight onto the bed.

The bed bounced a bit from her impact.

She then kicked off her slippers, rolled over on the bed, wrapping the blanket around herself, and said, "You go to the Lu Family by yourself. I’ll sleep first."

...