Chapter 101: Besides hugging and kissing, have you two done anything else?

Ye Zhiqiu thought, "This is a parallel universe exactly like my original world; no matter what I do, it won't affect my own world, so what does it matter if I ruin Xiao Qidi?"

But these thoughts were just a fleeting burst of anger.

My daughter already likes that kid—if I really did that, how heartbroken would she be?

"Sigh…"

Ye Zhiqiu silently sighed.

Forget it, let that kid off for now, and later think of another plan.

Anyway, I can't let my daughter be with him.

"Are you a blockhead?" Ning Jinli stared at the dazed Xiao Qidi, "I said I like you too—don't you have any reaction?"

Xiao Qidi came to his senses, lowered his head and tightly hugged Ning Jinli.

At that moment, Ning Jinli unconsciously shed tears of happiness and also held him tightly.

Xiao Qidi closed his eyes, his arms tightening around her.

"I can barely breathe…," Ning Jinli whispered.

Xiao Qidi's face showed a mix of joy and pain; finally he gritted his teeth and let go of his hands, "From now on, we shouldn't see each other anymore."

Those words seemed to drain all his strength.

He instantly went limp, his hands hanging helplessly at his sides, and he didn't dare look at Ning Jinli.

"What did you say?" Ning Jinli could hardly believe her ears.

Obviously he likes her, and she even confessed her feelings—how could this happen?

Ye Zhiqiu, hiding far away, instantly let out a sigh of relief in the message.

Good, not bad, not bad.

It seems Xiao Qidi still has a clear grasp of the situation.

The ideological work I did with him has taken effect.

As long as he doesn't come into contact with Xiao Li, I can slowly guide Xiao Li later.

"Xiao Qidi!" Ning Jinli clenched her fists, eyes full of pain and anger, "You're the ruler of a nation—don't you have the courage to be with me? Is it just because my mom gave you an earful that you—"

"No, it's not because of those things." Xiao Qidi interrupted her questioning.

"Then what is it because of?!'

"Because…"

Xiao Qidi raised his right hand, gently stroking Ning Jinli's cheek, "Because I have my destiny, just as I told you before—my future already exists in history."

"It can be changed!" Ning Jinli shouted anxiously, "Actually that—"

"Listen to me," Xiao Qidi said softly, "These days I've been happy—the happiest time of my past eighteen years, and surely the happiest memory of the rest of my life."

Ning Jinli instantly welled up with tears.

Xiao Qidi wiped her tears and continued, "I've thought about this many times these days—if… really as you said, a miracle occurs and changes my fate, then from then on the whole world will undergo huge changes, which probably means that perhaps at the moment my fate changes, you will disappear from this world."

These words coincided with Ye Zhiqiu's theory that spatial power would erase the historical paradox.

But Ye Zhiqiu had never discussed this content with Xiao Qidi.

Ning Jinli froze for a moment, "Even if we put this in the modern world, even if someone has studied, many people still wouldn't understand this. You figured it out yourself? Genius…"

Xiao Qidi gently gazed into Ning Jinli's eyes, "Heaven letting you appear before me is already a miracle; I can't be greedy and ask for more miracles, nor can I, for my own sake, let you sacrifice yourself."

Ning Jinli bit her lip, "So you're accepting fate just to protect me? You'd really resign yourself to having your hands and feet chopped off, ears and nose cut out, eyes gouged out, becoming a Human Stick? You'd really accept being made like that and then imprisoned and exploited? You'd really accept that everything you built would be used to benefit others?"

"I'm not resigned," Xiao Qidi said softly, "but as long as you can live well, I can accept anything."

Ning Jinli burst into tears, "You idiot, big idiot!"

"Don't cry," Xiao Qidi gave a resigned smile, suppressing his inner pain, and comforted her, "Anyway, in your past I'm already dead, right? Cheer up—swollen eyes from crying aren't pretty."

Ning Jinli wiped her tears hard, laughing and crying as she said, "Big idiot, listen up—you don't need to worry about me dying; older sister, I'm going to tell you what a parallel universe is."

"Huh?" Xiao Qidi's eyes showed surprise.

Ning Jinli sniffled and gave him a thorough explanation.

After listening, Xiao Qidi stared blankly for a long while.

This extremely forward‑looking concept also opened the door to a new world for him.

But thanks to his strong comprehension ability, he roughly understood it.

"In other words, we are each in two completely identical yet independent worlds?" Xiao Qidi asked.

Ning Jinli nodded, "That's one way to understand it."

To make the concept more intuitive for Xiao Qidi, Ning Jinli pulled two strings of equal length from her clothing and held them before his eyes.

"The two strings: the left one represents your universe, the right one mine; from top to bottom they stand for past to future, or ancient to modern."

"You are at the upper end of the left string, and I am at the lower end of the right string."

"Although you and I are respectively in ancient and modern times, we are not on the same string."

"So, when I from the right string run over to the left string, no matter how much I toss and turn," Ning Jinli said, beginning to shake the left string, "look—this string representing your world changes, but the string in my right hand doesn't change at all."

Xiao Qidi's eyes lit up, "Now I get it—I understand!"

Ning Jinli dropped the strings from her hand, gazed steadily into his eyes, and asked, "So, do you still want to cut ties with me?"

Xiao Qidi pulled her into an embrace, burying his nose in her hair, and said without hesitation, "I like you; I want to be with you."

"Cough cough!" a sudden cough sounded.

Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi turned their heads, only to see Ye Zhiqiu walking toward them.

A thin layer of clouds at that moment blocked the moonlight; the night was hazy, and Ye Zhiqiu's expression couldn't be made out.

"Oh no, my mom's chasing after us." Ning Jinli grabbed Xiao Qidi's hand, "Run! I'll find another chance to convince my mom later."

But Xiao Qidi didn't move his feet, held Ning Jinli's hand tightly, and said softly, "Running away would be too disrespectful to our elders."

Ning Jinli anxiously said: "What time is it now, still worrying about politeness? She definitely came to break us up like smashing mandarin ducks! Hurry up! I'll properly apologize to my mom later."

Xiao Qidi shook his head, "Impossible."

"Ah you... fine, then you go first!" Ning Jinli urged anxiously, "Don't think my mom is usually gentle; when she gets angry she's scary, and she's always carrying a shotgun right now! This isn't modern times—I'm really afraid she'll blast you with one shot! I'll first help you block her."

Xiao Qidi's mouth curled into a smile; he not only firmly held Ning Jinli's hand, but also, facing the direction Ye Zhiqiu was coming from, raised his head, puffed his chest, and took a determined step forward.

As Ye Zhiqiu drew nearer, Xiao Qidi still refused to leave; Ning Jinli immediately stepped in front of him and shouted, "Mom! Let's talk this out nicely, don't get physical!"

"Now you're protecting him like this—what about later?" Ye Zhiqiu said with a cold tone.

Ning Jinli was extremely nervous, "Mom... first calm down, it's already so late; why don't you go rest and we can sit down and talk properly tomorrow."

Xiao Qidi stepped forward two more paces, shielding Ning Jinli behind him, "Ye Zhangmen, you may vent your anger on me; I hold no grudge, but no matter what you do, I will not part from Miss Ning."

Click—

The sound of a bullet being chambered rang out.

Ning Jinli's face paled with fright; she wanted to shield Xiao Qidi with her own body, but he pressed her down.

"Hahaha!" Ye Zhiqiu suddenly laughed, "Ah, youth is truly wonderful."

Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi were both somewhat bewildered.

"Mom, you... aren't you overdoing the anger?" Ning Jinli asked cautiously.

At that moment, the clouds covering the moon gradually drifted away.

Moonlight poured down.

Only Ye Zhiqiu's face bore a sly smile.

It didn't look like she was angry.

Ye Zhiqiu stood before the two, then looked at Xiao Qidi, "Kid, if you only leave my daughter because of what I just said, I'd think you don't like her that much. But I just overheard your conversation, and now I realize how much you care for her—you could endure a fate more painful than death to protect her. For that, you are worthy of my daughter."

Hearing Ye Zhiqiu say that, Ning Jinli joyfully said, "Mom! You're not stopping us from being together?"

Ye Zhiqiu said lightly, "For this matter, I'll reserve my opinion for now; after all, your life paths are yours to walk."

Ning Jinli was overjoyed, "Thank you, Mom!"

Then she tugged at Xiao Qidi's sleeve.

Xiao Qidi clasped his hands in gratitude, "Thank you, Ye Zhangmen, for your blessing."

Ye Zhiqiu raised her hand and placed the shotgun against his forehead, her tone turning extremely stern, "Whether I grant this blessing depends on your performance. You must agree to my condition."

Xiao Qidi's expression didn't change, "Ye Zhangmen, please speak."

Ye Zhiqiu said, "You must promise that in this life you will never fail my daughter, even if you become a king, even if you someday unify Zhong Yuan, establish the Xuan Dynasty, and become the Xuan Ancestor Emperor; if you marry her, you may not take concubines."

"As heaven bears witness," Xiao Qidi's voice resonated powerfully, "I, Xiao Qidi, swear that in this life I will never fail Miss Ning; I will protect her all her life, and besides Miss Ning, I will marry no one else—if I break this oath, may heaven strike me with thunder and leave me without a burial place!"

Ye Zhiqiu said coldly, "Fine, if you ever do even the slightest thing to upset my daughter in the future, even if heaven doesn't punish you, I will personally take action."

Xiao Qidi replied, "Yes, I will keep it in mind."

Only then did Ye Zhiqiu move the gun barrel from his forehead and then pull the trigger toward the sky.

Bang!

Fireworks burst forth, the deep-red little pellets streaking across the night sky like meteors.

After firing that shot, Ye Zhiqiu turned around and said without looking back, "Do whatever you want, I'm going back to rest."

Ning Jinli chuckled, stepped forward, and linked arms with Ye Zhiqiu.

Ye Zhiqiu teased, "Just now you weren't planning to run away with someone?"

"Oh dear, my dear Mom," Ning Jinli leaned her head on Ye Zhiqiu's shoulder and acted coquettishly, "Just now we had to run away, but not anymore."

Ye Zhiqiu laughed, "Then tonight we mother and daughter will sleep together."

Ning Jinli beamed, "Okay, Mom! Hehe!"

"I'll ask," Ye Zhiqiu said, "has that kid hugged you and kissed you?"

"Ah..." Ning Jinli felt embarrassed.

Ye Zhiqiu asked again, "Besides hugging and kissing, have you two done anything else?"

Ning Jinli quickly shook her head, "No, nothing!"

Ye Zhiqiu said, "That's good. Your old mom currently has no plans to become a grandmother. Of course, I don't oppose premarital sex; after all, whether the man's ability in that regard is adequate is quite important in a romantic relationship and marriage. But before you decide whether to have children, you must take proper protective measures. Fortunately, you can return to the modern side, where you won't lack safe contraceptives..."

"Stop, stop! Mom, could you... not say this now?" Ning Jinli's cheeks flushed instantly; she hurried to stop it, frantically giving Ye Zhiqiu meaningful looks.

Ye Zhiqiu glanced back and said, "Oh, I almost forgot you were still here, kid."

Xiao Qidi, who was silently leading the horse behind them, almost stumbled.

——

Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi spent a night on Yuqi Mountain.

The next morning, Ning Jinli brought Xiao Qidi back to the factory via the Sect Leader's training room's spacetime portal entrance.

Ning Jinli packed a large amount of modern supplies.

From clothing and shoes to daily necessities, plus some food and drink, all were sent to Ye Zhiqiu.

Although Ye Zhiqiu, over these ten years, has made quite a few daily-life items through her own knowledge to improve life, conditions are still limited, and they still can't compare to ready-made modern products.

Besides these, Ning Jinli also sent her diesel, generators, and storage batteries, plus computers, televisions, game consoles, and phones; although they can't connect to the internet, the downloaded games and various TV shows and movies are enough to add to her entertainment.

Ye Zhiqiu was so excited she was like a child, almost bursting into tears.

As a modern person, she really misses these things.

Even everyday items that improve life, she can even make a low-end homemade firearm, but wanting to produce electronic products is pure fantasy.

Who would have thought that after ten years, although I can't return to that modern world, I can now use these things.

One can imagine what kind of feeling that is.

Moreover, these new electronic products are far more advanced than those from ten years ago, and Ning Jinli still needs to teach Ye Zhiqiu how to use them properly.

Once the busyness was over, a morning passed.

"Mom, I'm leaving with Xiao Qidi first!" Ning Jinli said at the door, "Later I'll keep sending you stuff from this side, and when the time comes I'll modernize where you live so you can live comfortably."

Ye Zhiqiu was already holding a laptop, snacking and avidly watching a movie, unable to tear her eyes away, saying, "All right, all right, go on, I won't see you off."

Ning Jinli stifled a laugh, took Xiao Qidi's hand, and left this place.

After returning to the factory warehouse, she adjusted the spacetime portal, moving its other end's entrance to the Immortal Cave in Lin Xian Village.

That way the two could reach there instantly, without having to ride horseback from Yuqi Mountain to Xi Tun Guan.

Now it's also time to bring Xiao Qidi back there.

The two stepped into the fluorescent vortex, and the next second they were inside the Immortal Cave.

"Huh? Where are the guards?" Xiao Qidi looked around, seeing not a single person.

Immediately afterward, he and Ning Jinli both heard a fierce argument coming from outside the cave.

"How can a fairy's temple allow you to barge in like that!"

"Insolent! You, a mere minor general of Xi Tun Guan, dare to block this official! Men! Cut off his head for this official!"