After everyone was reborn, I was strictly disciplined.

Jiang Huaijin was slightly taken aback when he saw Xie Xingran and the other person.

The bloodstains from when Xie Xingran kicked him earlier had completely disappeared. His handsome face remained fair and smooth, with a straight and prominent nose, undamaged in the slightest.

Xie Xingran saw this scene at a glance, her small brows furrowed instantly, and a strange displeasure welled up in her heart.

He had gathered all his strength to kick out that kick, thinking he would at least make the other party suffer a bit, but it actually caused Jiang Huaijin zero damage!

He stared at Jiang Huaijin's excessively handsome face, a surge of malice welling up inside him, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself:

The restoration methods in the cultivation world are truly outrageous; it's restored to its original state so quickly?

It's such a pity. I should have found a more ruthless method, preferably one that could have completely ruined his flamboyant face.

Although she thought this way, Xie Xingran immediately put on an innocent and carefree expression.

He jumped down from Bai Zhi's arms, his short legs moving quickly as he hopped and skipped to meet her. Without hesitation, he reached out his little hand and held Jiang Huaijin's hand tightly.

He tilted his little head back, his bright, black grape-like eyes sparkling, and his voice as soft as cotton candy: "Brother Jiang."

Jiang Huaijin lowered his eyes to look at the little figure who had taken the initiative to approach him. A slight, imperceptible ripple appeared in his eyes, which were originally as indifferent as a cold pool.

Especially when Xie Xingran's warm and soft fingers grasped his slightly cool palm, his tall and slender body trembled slightly, and his fingertips subconsciously curled up.

Jiang Huaijin is truly disappointing.

Xie Xingran completely ignored his subtle gesture and turned to Bai Zhi, saying:

"Sister Baizhi, I have a few words I'd like to say to Brother Jiang alone. Why don't you wait for me over there for a moment?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhi's face immediately showed a troubled expression.

She was personally assigned by the madam to be by the young master's side, and her core responsibility was to protect his safety. Now that the young master wanted her to leave, she was really worried.

"It's alright, Sister Baizhi."

Xie Xingran seemed to see through her concerns and immediately added, "Brother Jiang is still here, he'll protect me, right?"

As he spoke, he tilted his head back again, blinked his bright eyes at Jiang Huaijin, and looked obedient and endearing.

Jiang Huaijin's eyes deepened, his dark pupils seeming to hold an endless abyss.

He met Bai Zhi's worried gaze, nodded slowly, and said in a deep and magnetic voice, "It's alright. With me by his side, no one will hurt Ranran."

Hearing Jiang Huaijin's promise, Bai Zhi finally felt relieved and nodded in agreement:

"Alright. Young master, I'll wait at the stone pavilion not far away. I'll come right away when you call me."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Sister Baizhi," Xie Xingran replied sweetly.

Bai Zhi gave Xie Xingran another deep look before turning around and slowly walking away.

As Bai Zhi's figure completely disappeared from sight, Xie Xingran's sweet and charming smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold look of disgust.

He abruptly pulled his hand back as if he had touched something filthy, and quickly pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve pocket, repeatedly wiping the area that Jiang Huaijin had just touched.

Jiang Huaijin stood quietly in place, his slender body as upright as a pine tree, his dark eyes fixed on Xie Xingran's every move.

She took in the disgust in his eyes and the impatience in his movements, and the temperature in her eyes gradually dropped.

Only after Xie Xingran put the handkerchief back into her sleeve did the look of disgust on her face fade slightly. Jiang Huaijin then slowly spoke, with a hint of barely perceptible sarcasm:

"Everything you just said and did was a lie, wasn't it?"

He gazed at Xie Xingran before him, his dark eyes still calm and indifferent, but the last glimmer of light in that unfathomable darkness had been extinguished, leaving only a desolate wasteland.

The aura around him was heavy and oppressive, like the unease before a storm.

"yes."

Xie Xingran answered without hesitation.

He casually tossed the handkerchief he had used to wipe his hands onto the ground, then rubbed it hard with the sole of his shoe, crumpling the fabric into a wrinkled mess, much like his undisguised malice at that moment.

"I am lying. If I didn't make up some nice lies, how could Grandma believe me? How could she feel comfortable letting me come see you alone?"

"It's all your fault and that meddlesome servant Bai Zhi's fault!"

He abruptly raised his head, his bright black eyes filled with venom, and his voice sharpened.

"If you hadn't been so nosy and gone to complain to Grandma, she wouldn't have come at all! If she hadn't come, I wouldn't have bothered coming up with this lame excuse to appease you!"

"You two annoying tattletales!"

Xie Xingran clenched her small fists, her chest heaving slightly like a lit firecracker.

"When I grow up and become powerful, I'll make you both pay the price, so you'll never be able to get in my way again!"

Why?

Jiang Huaijin's voice was hoarse, carrying an indescribable weariness.

He slowly raised his hand, pressed his throbbing temples, and let out a long breath, his chest rising and falling with it.

The look in her eyes as she gazed at Xie Xingran was devoid of its previous turmoil, replaced only by an overwhelming weariness and disappointment, along with a hint of barely perceptible bewilderment.

He silently questioned himself: Xie Xingran's personality was already formed when he was ten years old, and he was stubborn and unruly. It was understandable that he couldn't correct him.

But in this life, he had been by Xie Xingran's side since he was an infant in swaddling clothes, patiently teaching him manners and carefully guiding his character, wishing he could pour all his goodness into him.

But why did he end up looking like this?

He bullies others, lies constantly, hides a knife behind his smile, and is extremely vicious.

Is this really the mindset and actions of a three-year-old child? Jiang Huaijin felt a heavy weight on his heart, as if a huge rock was pressing down on it, making even breathing difficult and painful.

Was his teaching method really wrong?