Su Ping was once again touched by his motherâs kindness. He smiled. âYou shouldnât make long walks, mom, leave it to me. I have a pet anyway. We run a pet shop, remember? I can switch to a new one each day if I want.â
Li Qingru chuckled. âYouâre kidding. What kind of pet warrior uses different pets everyday? What is your current pet? The shop doesnât have any good ones in stock.â
Su Lingyue also pricked up her ears to listen. Since Su Ping had become a battle pet warrior, he was slowly catching up to her. She preferred to stay cautious, to prevent her miserable childhood from repeating.
âItâs an Undead-type. Decent aptitude, Iâd say. Just a little below average.â
âUndead?â Li Qingru looked surprised, because not many people liked their horrible looks, even though they usually fought pretty well. âWhat exactly is it?â
Su Lingyue thought that his brother had developed a fondness for this kind of creature due to her constant âhorror pranks.â This guy had even blown a kiss to a ghost the other day, giving her the creeps instead.
Sh*t. Maybe I should use different ways to spook him each day, she thought. I canât let him catch some odd fetish.
âItâs a small skeleton.â Su Ping had no choice but to say something under Li Qingruâs demand.
âA skeleton??â Li Qingru almost cried again. âOh dear... You really should have told your mom earlier, about your awakening. Iâd get you a better pet even if I need to get a loan. You canât be a pet warrior using a skeleton!â
Su Lingyue felt her earlier anxiety gone all of a sudden. âHey, mom, he canât use a better pet at his current state anyway. You donât find many advanced battle pet warriors out of late awakeners. If you ask me, Iâd just let him find a random job at the guild. Heâll earn more money than common salarymen that way. He canât get us any income at the shop anyway.â
Li Qingru didnât look happy to hear that. âYou canât say that to your brother until he tries! Yes, itâs rare for such cases to be good. But awakening later in life is already a miracle! You know what? If you only consider late awakeners, they break through faster than normal awakeners!â
Su Lingyue couldnât keep arguing; sulking was her only choice.
Li Qingru continued, âYour brother has earned such a great opportunity. We shouldnât discourage him from it. Come, you should help him too.â
Su Lingyue didnât answer.
Su Ping knew his mother cared about him, but not to such an extent. Their family wasnât really rich. It would be for the best if they pooled all their resources on Su Lingyue, so they could aim at making her an advanced battle pet warrior.
It was clear that Li Qingru chose to be a better mother rather than a strategist.
âSis is right, mom,â Su Ping spoke in a gentle voice, âDonât waste money on me. We need it to treat your leg! Besides, I like my pet. I donât want another anyway.â
Su Lingyue raised an eyebrow at that. She thought Su Ping would use this chance to blatantly request a good pet like her Phantom Flame Beast, since that was always how he acted since childhood. She didnât expect him to be so considerate all of a sudden.
Either way, she found it necessary to judge his brother differently at this point.
She removed her unpleasant look and spoke to their mother, âIf we must, find him a middle-rank one, mom. Weâd be lucky if he becomes a middle-rank battle pet warrior. And if he can do better than that, Iâll support him with all I have. Iâll give him my Phantom Flame Beast if thatâs what it takes.â
The Phantom Flame Beast had been her partner since she was young; of course she didnât want to hand it to anyone else. She said so because she didnât believe Su Ping could surpass her.
During her studies, she never fell out of the top three on the score list. Not once. She was confident.
Li Qingru looked between them and sighed. âI hope you two stay friendly like this. You need to help each other once Iâm gone.â
Su Lingyue frowned. âDonât be like that, mom. I talked to my professor. Iâll go to the barrens as soon as I graduate, so I can earn merit points and buy medicines for you.â
Su Ping smiled. âTake care of yourself for now, mom, and donât worry about us. Iâll take care of my pet. My Little Skeleton is pretty good.â
Li Qingru shook her head. Good? How good can a skeleton be?
She was both glad and sad to see Su Ping being so humble, for she thought that she was responsible for his situation. She could have easily gotten Su Ping another Phantom Flame Beast if she had kept their shop in good condition.
â*Sigh* Iâll prepare dinner.â She headed to the kitchen and left the children behind.
Su Lingyue glanced at his brother. âI never thought you could be a good boy like this. And no, Iâm not being sarcastic. I appreciate it, really. Just donât do anything stupid, alright? Becoming a battle pet warrior means nothing. No matter how you work from now on, you wonât be able to actually help me with anything. It should be the opposite. If you stay careful and donât act up, Iâll find some time and teach you some pet warrior skills.â
Su Ping felt it was extremely weird that his sister was playing the adult role. âIâm the bigger one here, remember?â
âHumph. Every man will stay childish. No exceptions.â
âWhat the heck? You talk as if youâve been through better.â
Su Lingyueâs expression turned colder. âWatch what youâre saying.â
Su Ping stood up, and under his sisterâs threatening stare, he put a hand on her head and rubbed.
âBe a good sister, will you? A soft and cute girl draws more love from people.â
Su Lingyue was frozen for a moment.
Ever since she went to the academy at the age of 12, Su Ping, or any other male, had never managed to lay a hand on her, let alone touching her head.
She felt humiliated!
She tried slapping Su Pingâs hand away by using a small portion of her astral power, so she could teach him a lesson. Such a hit would definitely leave Su Pingâs hand swollen for a few days.
She failed. Su Ping pulled away in time.
âWhat theââ Su Lingyue clenched her teeth in rage. âYouâre playing with fire, Iâll show you!â