I stared at Xiao Qingqing, utterly bewildered—yet I couldn’t detect even a trace of deceit in her words.

A faint melancholy lingered in Xiao Qingqing’s expression as she spoke slowly, “For Ke’er’s sake, I’d give up everything… just to grant her a happy, fulfilling life. If you can make Ke’er smile, I might even be a little kinder to you.”

Senpai’s expression was usually icy, but right now, a subtle hint of sorrow and exhaustion surfaced—making my heart tremble slightly.

“I feel like you see me as a wish-granting machine. But if Ke’er has no friends… I’ll visit her often. Become her friend.”

*That was my honest thought.* I felt a strange connection with this loli—some traits felt oddly familiar.

“Remember: you need my permission before seeing her.” Xiao Qingqing had already slipped back into her usual demeanor, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “How *did* you get on Ke’er’s good side? I thought you’d clash for sure… giving me the perfect reason to punish you. Like shipping you off to Thailand…”

So that was her plan all along! You sinister little demoness!

As we spoke, a black sedan rolled out of the garage and halted before me.

“Please get in,” Butler Cheng said flatly from the driver’s seat, face unreadable.

Xiao Qingqing clearly wasn’t returning with me. She turned toward the house, then paused—back still to me—and pointed casually at the massive stone by the gate. “Hey… see those palm prints?”

“S-see them?” I stammered.

“They’re not carved. Result of Butler Cheng’s daily inner energy cultivation.”

Huh? *Inner energy?* Did I time-travel?! Since when does *this* world have inner energy?!

“Didn’t I mention? Butler Cheng is a genuine martial arts master. One cry from Ke’er earlier, and you’d be dead.”

Don’t scare me like that! Is it *that* terrifying?!

I weakly raised a hand. “Senpai… have you been reading weird novels lately?”

Just then, Butler Cheng calmly interjected: “Young miss exaggerates. I am no martial arts master.”

*Phew. Just joking. I knew it—*

His next words drifted back: “At my age, my skills have faded. Took half a month of striking this stone to leave even these faint prints. How shameful.”

Wait… are you *serious*?!

“You’re too modest! If your skill isn’t mastery, who in the martial world dares claim it?”

“Old age… Each generation breeds prodigies. This old man’s cultivation is long past its prime.”

“Modest, modest.”

“Too kind, too kind.”

Xiao Qingqing and Butler Cheng’s seamless banter left me utterly stunned.

*Thank goodness I got along with Ke’er earlier… or I’d be dead right now.*

I slid into the sedan’s backseat, gaze fixed on the massive black fortune stone. Those densely packed palm prints made me hesitate to act rashly.

*If martial arts masters truly exist… leaving *this* many prints? That’s deep skill.*

Outside, Xiao Qingqing yawned wearily and waved over her shoulder. “Xiao Xi, go home and rest. You’ve had a tough day—recharge.”

Her unusually gentle tone flustered me. “Y-yes, Senpai Xiao! Puppy—I mean, Xiao Xi—got it!”

Butler Cheng started the engine without a smile and drove off.

Glancing through the rearview mirror, I studied him:

At least seventy. Salt-and-pepper hair, impeccably combed. Slender frame, steady hands, bright eyes—just an ordinary healthy elder. *Nothing special.*

*Obviously a prank. Senpai and the butler think I’m three? A few words fool me?*

Just then—Butler Cheng offered a faint, unreadable smile. His free hand plucked a walnut from the compartment… and *squeezed*.

No *crack*. No shell fragments.

Pure ash.

Only the pristine kernel rested quietly in his palm.

“Young friend… care for a walnut?”

His gravelly voice offered it back.

I took it instinctively. My face paled slightly as I popped it in and chewed.

*Real.*

A dizzying wave hit me—like my entire worldview was crumbling.

*Martial arts masters… really exist?!*

No, no—just an old magic trick! Elders love these dusty illusions to tease kids!

And Senpai Qingqing *adores* pranks. This was *her* scheme to scare me!

I clung to that thought, certain it was over—