Invincible Dad-Chapter 770 Good night!_1

Ruan Lan’s face flushed red.

That jerk of a brother-in-law, when did he get back? He’s openly making fun of me!

Her beautiful eyes glared. "Hmph, you jerk of a brother-in-law, do you think I’ve been idle these days? I’ve been studying Formations every day, nearly driving myself mad."

Then, with tears welling in her eyes, she cried, "I was just watching some anime to relax, and you still have to pick on me! BOOHOO... I don’t want to live anymore!"

SWISH!

A dagger, brimming with a frosty aura, appeared in his hand.

Xu Lai said seriously, "The sharpness of this Magic Artifact is rarely seen in the world. It’s most suitable for ending it all."

"..."

Ruan Lan turned and stomped upstairs.

Doesn’t that heartless jerk know how to give a girl a break? Doesn’t a Fairy like me have to save face? This is so infuriating!

Xu Lai didn’t try to stop her.

Given Ruan Lan’s thick-skinned nature, he estimated it wouldn’t take more than two or three days before she came trotting back, asking for his help with the trials of the Formation Chessboard.

In truth, Xu Lai had overestimated his sister-in-law.

In less than an hour, Ruan Lan had sidled up to him. "Dearest brother-in-law, I have a teeny, tiny little problem that needs your help."

Without looking up from building blocks with his daughter, Xu Lai issued a swift, three-part rejection. "I’m busy. Not helping. Goodbye."

Ruan Lan forced a sickeningly sweet smile. "Brother-in-law, please help me? Pretty please? You’re the best, best, bestest brother-in-law in the whole wide world."

Xu Yiyi shuddered and looked over with a horrified expression. "Auntie, that’s so gross."

"..."

Ruan Lan’s mouth twitched.

If I weren’t actually so terrible at this, who would willingly be a freeloader?

The Formation Chessboard was a genuine Emperor Artifact embryo containing seventy-two trials. To unlock them all required one to be at the peak of the Immortal Venerable Realm. With Ruan Lan’s current Boundary and strength, it was like an egg trying to smash a million-ton boulder.

If I had the ability to solve it myself, I’d kick that jerk of a brother-in-law aside and shout, ’A small-fry trial like this? I could crack tens of thousands of them in minutes!’ But I can’t.

However, Ruan Lan didn’t feel it was anything to be ashamed of. After all, a certain famous person once said: "Relying on others when appropriate isn’t a bad thing. It shows that you’re adaptable, a wise decision worthy of praise."

As for which famous person said it... Just wait until I, Ruan Lan, make a name for myself in the Immortal Domain and become an Empress. Then it’ll be a famous quote by a famous person, right?

"We’ll see after I finish playing with Yiyi," Xu Lai said without looking back.

"Okay, okay!" Ruan Lan nodded eagerly. She quickly took out her phone, snapped a photo of the heartwarming scene of her brother-in-law playing with his niece, and sent it to her elder sister.

Ruan Tang seemed to be busy; she hadn’t seen the picture and didn’t reply. Bored, Ruan Lan flopped back onto the sofa.

* * *

Though it had only been a few days, Xu Lai could see from the stars in Yiyi’s eyes that his daughter had truly missed him. An apologetic look crossed his face. Too many things had come up recently, disrupting his plans to spend time with his wife and daughter.

He ruffled Yiyi’s hair and smiled. "Let’s have a barbecue tonight, how about that?"

"Yay, yay!" Xu Yiyi nodded eagerly, practically drooling. "Daddy, I want to eat grilled meat!"

"Alright."

On the other side, Ruan Lan was tempted, too. Her brother-in-law had been away from Earth for the past few days, and even though the fridge was stocked with food he’d prepared, it just didn’t taste the same.

She volunteered at once, "I’ll go set up the grill and start the charcoal, and I’ll even go get some fresh seafood from the sea!"

"Auntie is a foodie..." Xu Yiyi muttered under her breath. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"So are you." Xu Lai flicked his daughter’s nose, causing the little girl to pout.

"Yiyi is not!"

"Alright, alright, you’re not."

「An hour later.」

Xu Lai helped Ruan Lan clear the trial of the Formation Chessboard. To his surprise, it wasn’t the second of the seventy-two trials she was stuck on. It was the fourth!

This meant that Ruan Lan, with the combat power of the Golden Core Stage, had passed the second and third trials on her own.

With a baffled expression, Xu Lai checked the contents of the second and third trials and emerged looking utterly speechless.

The second trial was a test of chess skill against the ancestor of the Star Origin Sect, a man the Immortal Domain’s Chess Saint, Baize, had once berated as a hopeless player. Xu Lai even felt that only someone like Ruan Lan could pass this trial. If the second Divine General, Baize, were to take it, she would probably start questioning her own existence.

The third trial was even more interesting. It tested one’s character by simulating a hundred lifetimes. He couldn’t tell if Ruan Lan’s disposition was simply that astonishing, or if she was just unbelievably unconcerned.

Any profound enlightenment on the meaning of life? Sorry, there was none.

Any mental disorientation from the hundred reincarnations? Sorry, not a bit.

In fact, Ruan Lan’s hundred lives had been quite spectacular. She had played the part of a gold-digging heartbreaker a full seventy-seven times. It was less like she was undergoing a trial and more like she was playing a single-player game with a walkthrough.

Hence, Ruan Lan had passed two trials without a hitch, only getting stuck at the fourth, which required actual strength. That was where Xu Lai came in.

Ruan Lan took back the Formation Chessboard and snorted haughtily, "Actually, I could have completed the trial myself. This was just to test the strength of your Boundary."

"Auntie, being too tsundere can lead to staying single, you know."

THUMP!

Xu Yiyi received a light knock on her head.

As dusk settled, Ruan Tang returned home. When she saw Xu Lai, a hidden joy flickered in her eyes, but she spoke calmly, "Mr. Xu has finally remembered he has a home in East Sea City?"

Hearing the subtle complaint in his wife’s words, Xu Lai cleared his throat. "Some rather thorny issues came up in the Heavenly Court, which delayed my return."

"Did you resolve them?"

"Not yet, but they’re under control."

"I see."

Ruan Tang stood before the sofa and opened her arms. Xu Lai pulled her into an embrace, whispering as he breathed in the familiar scent of her hair, "Honey, I missed you and our daughter so much."

"Yiyi and I missed you too."

"Oh, stop being so sappy! The meat and seafood are already on the skewers, so hurry up and start grilling!" Ruan Lan’s voice drifted in from the backyard. "I’ve been so hungry these past few days I’ve actually lost weight!"

"Let’s have a... meeting tonight," Xu Lai playfully nibbled on Ruan Tang’s ear, eliciting a series of coy protests from her.

The barbecue was lavish and delicious, and the three of them feasted.

"Awesome!" Ruan Lan said contentedly, drinking her beer and munching on meat. "Now this is real food. Those eggs my sister fried this morning... were they even edible? Even Xiao Hei wouldn’t eat them!"

"WHINE?"

In a corner of the yard, the Gold Swallowing Beast, which had been gnawing on a stalk of bamboo, turned its head and looked over in a daze.

Just now... did someone call me?

Ruan Tang remained calm, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her earlobes, however, were bright red, a clear sign of her embarrassment.

Xu Lai smirked. "Your sister may not be a great cook, but she’s light-years ahead of you in Cultivation."

"Nope, I’m out of here. Goodnight!" Ruan Lan shot to her feet, offered a quick salute by clasping her fist, and retreated to her room in one fluid motion.

Xu Lai: "..."

Ruan Tang: "..."

Only Xu Yiyi chased after her, wailing, "My meat skewers! Auntie, you can’t take all the barbecue! That’s not right!"

"When it’s your dear aunt doing it, can it really be measured by right and wrong?"

"Auntie, I heard that people who steal their niece’s meat end up flat-chested!"

"???"

A commotion erupted upstairs.