Ji Xinghuo nodded, "Feifei, what about you?"
Among the three siblings, Liangqiu Feiyan made the least progress. Her willpower was weak, she couldn’t settle her mind, feared hardship, and even with her elder sister’s supervision during training, she would often slack off.
He prodded her on purpose, "If elder sister and Zizhen also become Mutants, and only you’re not, just make sure you don’t cry about it."
Clenching her fists, Liangqiu Feiyan retorted, "Third brother, don’t underestimate me. Just you wait and see."
"I’ll be waiting then."
After distributing the resources, Ji Xinghuo sat on the couch chatting with his family.
He talked about the sights and experiences in the Star Realm, and his siblings shared some funny life stories. They drank beverages, snacked, and the living room was filled with laughter and chatter.
Everyone refreshed their phones from time to time, sharing amusing comments they found online.
Not long after, Zhao Manying came out of the Cultivation Room.
Ji Xinghuo looked back at her and knew she had used the expansion artifact successfully and fused with the True Eye.
The two exchanged a glance, an understanding passing between them without words.
Liangqiu Feiyan excitedly said, "Man Ying, you’re out! Come see the comments, everyone online is praising your vision for choosing him as your boyfriend before third brother became famous!"
"Of course." Zhao Manying chuckled lightly, greeted everyone warmly, and sat down beside Ji Xinghuo.
However, when she saw the content on the screen, a look of surprise appeared on her face, "Xinghuo, you’ve reached the top of the ladder rankings?"
"ADC ranked it randomly," Ji Xinghuo said with a laugh.
"They didn’t rank it randomly, I think it’s quite accurate," Zhao Manying, not at all dismayed by the loss of her title as the number one on the ladder, said, "I lost to you a year and a half ago. You were the number one on the ladder even then, now it’s just back to the rightful ranking."
"That happened?" Zhong Ming said in surprise.
The rest of them had the look of onlookers watching a spectacle as Zhao Manying openly talked about her duel with Ji Xinghuo on Mount Huashan last year.
"So that’s how you met Man Ying. Third brother, you’ve kept it quite the secret!" Liangqiu Feiyan exclaimed.
Ji Xinghuo shrugged, "Just don’t spread it around."
Liangqiu Feiyan laughed, "Ah, now what most people are really curious about is what third brother looks like."
The entire network’s hot search was dominated by Ji Xinghuo.
All top ten trending topics were related to Ji Xinghuo. The most popular was "Number One on the Ladder," followed by "What Ji Xinghuo Looks Like," and others like "Heard Ji Xinghuo is a Handsome Guy," etc.
Several topics discussed Ji Xinghuo’s appearance.
While his classmates, friends, and some people who had met him in real life said that Ji Xinghuo was good-looking, many still doubted. They wondered why he protected his privacy so much that he refused to reveal his own photo now.
If he dared not reveal his face, surely it’s because he’s ugly.
Ye Dongyun asked, "Xinghuo, are you going to reveal your photo?"
"No," Ji Xinghuo immediately shook his head, "I don’t want to be recognized wherever I go. Things are good as they are."
Zhong Ming said, "As your fame and status grow, you’ll have to reveal yourself sooner or later."
"I’ll worry about that when the time comes. To maintain privacy for one more day is a day gained," Ji Xinghuo wasn’t eager for the troubles that came with celebrity status.
He wasn’t a star, nor a competitive Mutant, not even a public figure.
He had no need to care about online public opinion.
Let them say what they want.
Ji Xinghuo cast these thoughts aside and continued chatting happily with his family into the late night. The siblings each went back to their homes, leaving only Zhao Manying behind to spend the night.