Chapter 16 Victory Kiss
Ren Ye arrived at a residential area with high-rising apartment buildings, he was greeted with a sight of a familiar person standing in front of him with a child in his arms.
The man had a vigorous appearance with slightly droopy eyes, waving his hands at him with a pleasant smile on his face; it was none other than his old friend, Wu Qi.
Ren Ye was surprised to see his face seemed to have aged quite significantly; he guessed it must have been the burden of having to raise a child. He got out of the car and paid the driver, taking Ren Jia in his arms, and went up to meet Wu Qi.
"Brother Ye, it has been so long," Wu Qi rushed forward to give him a hug but upon seeing the little girl in his arms, he was slightly taken aback and decided to pat him on the back.
"Little Qi, it has indeed been quite some time," Ren Ye gave him a half-smile and glanced toward the little girl in Wu Qi's arms who was staring at Ren Jia with curiosity, Ren Jia felt shy and hid her face in her Papa's arms.
Wu Qi chuckled upon seeing this and asked him with an amused tone, "Since when did my brother have a child of his own? You didn't tell me on the phone!"
"It is a rather long story," Ren Ye looked at Ren Jia in his arms and held his head up afterward, "She is my daughter."
"Where is the m-?"
"She isn't here," Ren Ye interrupted him, guessing what he was going to ask and had prepared an answer beforehand, "She is busy right now."
"Oh," Wu Qi was taken aback and his face was plastered with an understanding grin, "If that is the case, I can say we share the same fate."
"You look like you have aged ten years into the future…" Ren Ye didn't hold back as he remarked frankly with a deadpan expression, "Raising a child at home must have been an extremely hard task, eh?"
Wu Qi has been a stay-at-home dad ever since his wife has given birth, working from day to night, taking care of his only daughter while his wife comes back from work tired and laid to rest.
"Isn't that a rude thing to say? I'd say Brother Ye has aged better than I do, you look like a completely different person than when we last saw each other," Wu Qi grinned genuinely, the little girl in Wu Qi's arms shifted slightly while her curious eyes remained on Jia'er.
The little girl's face was extremely delicate with a small nose and small petal lips; resembling Wu Qi's wife whom Ren Ye has met before in the past.
"Jia'er, this is Wu Ling," Ren Ye smiled lightly and started introducing her to Wu Qi's daughter, casually calming her out of her shyness and giving her the courage to make friends with toddlers her age, "Wu Ling, this is Ren Jia."
Ren Jia gradually retracted out of her shyness and glanced at Wu Ling, the both of them met eyes for the first time. Wu Ling was much braver than Ren Jia as she greeted her with an adorable smile of her own.
"Hello, my name is Wu Ling," Her crispy and sweet voice seemed to soothe Ren Jia's nervousness as Ren Jia nodded her head adorably and replied back with a shy tone, "Hello…"
Wu Qi chuckled upon seeing this, "She must have inherited your introvertness whereas my daughter got her attitude from her fiery mother."
Ren Ye shook his head and couldn't help but ask, "How is your wife?"
Ren Ye wanted to know about the lady who had turned this friend of his into a submissive stay-at-home husband, making him do whatever she wanted at any time.
"She is doing well but her works have been tiring her out lately," Wu Qi sighed sadly, "We've been trying for another baby too."
"…"
'You did not need to tell me that…'
"Wu Qi!" A rough angry voice resounded into both of their ears, taking both of them by surprise. Wu Qi coughed awkwardly and turned to Ren Ye, "That was the tenant I was telling you about."
"He is a bit loud but he is generally a nice man," Wu Qi winked at him with reassurance. Ren Jia hid back in Ren Ye's arms upon hearing his voice, causing Ren Ye to droop his eyes lightly. 𝘧𝓇𝒆𝗲𝓌𝙚𝙗𝓷o𝘷𝒆𝘭.𝐜𝚘𝒎
The both of them entered the building and were greeted by a robust man in a tattered brown apron, the robust man appeared to be in his 40s as he donned an unshaven mustache, his eyes seemed to bury raging flames and his body resembled that of a toned bodybuilder, towering over Ren Ye and Wu Qi.
"Wu Qi! What is taking you so long? Who the hell is this?"
Wu Qi let out a bitter laugh and glanced at Ren Ye helplessly, "This is Ren Ye, my friend who I was telling you about."
"Ren Ye? This young man!" The robust man gave him a careful look before casting his eyes onto the little girl in his arms, his rough voice seemed to have softened slightly, "I had expected an old man…"
Ren Ye didn't take any of his words to heart and nodded his head casually, "My name is Ren Ye and this is my daughter, Wu Qi has informed me you were the most suitable man I could look for."
The robust man nodded his head and his anger at Wu Qi seemed to have dissipated, he glanced at Ren Ye with cold eyes, "What is it that you want from me? Having you contact me this early in the morning!"
Wu Qi gave Ren Ye an awkward smile while Ren Ye remained indifferent to him.
"Boss Tao, I feel like you should give him a discount," Wu Qi put on a soft and tempting tone as he attempted to sway him, "Ren Ye here is the best man I know in my days as a university student, the ladies went wild over him."
'This dude really never changed…' Ren Ye's features twitched slightly; Wu Qi was an 'expert' at persuasion.
"I can assure you he is an extremely clean person or rather he has extreme OCD. He always keeps our dorm clean; your room will remain neat and clean throughout the whole year."
"He is an extremely honest and trustworthy man, believe his actions and my words. It wouldn't be a waste if you decide to give him a discount. He always keeps his words."
Wu Qi had to bring up his powerful wife as well to push him further, "My wife would appreciate it as well if you could help out a friend of mine, his daughter is extremely adorable and she'll get along with our daughter…"
Wu Qi knew Boss Tao respected his wife very much and used this opportunity to forcibly convince him to help Ren Ye out.
Boss Tao frowned lightly, glancing at Ren Ye and Ren Jia up and down before casting his eyes onto Wu Qi with intimidating eyes, "I will take your words into consideration, I need to test out his sincerity first."
Ren Ye nodded his head lightly and maintained his gaze with an indifferent exterior, "Whatever you want."
Boss Tao snorted with unconcealed arrogance and declared, "If you win against me in arm wrestling, I will give you one month of free rent."
After he had said that, he lifted his sleeves and showed off his toned bicep toward Ren Ye, his features twitching in annoyance.
'I have sensed something,' Old Yi informed him inwardly, 'That man is a cultivator.'
[Ding! User has encountered another cultivator!]
'This!' Ren Ye's eyes shrank and recovered immediately, 'Is it safe if I proceed forward?'
'I don't know,' Old Yi spoke solemnly, 'I warn you to be cautious, I sensed he is a couple of realms above you.'
'I can transfer some of my current powers into you through the system in case you are being overwhelmed by his energy…'
'I can't believe I'm doing all of this for a price deduction,' Ren Ye snorted and nodded his head, 'Could you tell me what realm he is in?'
'Corporeal Phase!'
Boss Tao smirked with a vicious feel as he placed his elbow onto a wooden table in front of them, gesturing to Ren Ye with his eyes to place his.
Ren Ye placed his elbow on the table, lowered his head lightly, and glanced toward his daughter who was looking at his worry. He couldn't help but comfort her, "Don't worry, I will be alright."
'At least I hope so…'
Jia'er narrowed her head and gave him a worry-filled smile, "Papa! Fighting!"
Ren Ye couldn't hold back a smile as he gave her a head pat, "Good daughter!"
Boss Tao clenched Ren Ye's palm tightly as he glared at him with vicious eyes, "We'll start whenever you're ready!"
"Brother Ye! If you don't want to do it, you can reconsider right now," Wu Qi cried out and glanced toward Ren Ye, fearing his recommendation might lead to an unintentional fight between Ren Ye and Boss Tao.
"No problems," Ren Ye shook his head dismissively, "I'll be alright."
? Ren Ye was confident in his abilities due to having checked Boss Tao's meridians. The moment Boss Tao clasped his hand, Ren Ye used his palm senses to locate the vital meridian on his wrist; giving him the opportunity to press it at a crucial moment and weaken Boss Tao.
Wu Ling came forward and patted the worried Ren Jia on the shoulder, whispering to her with an assuring tone, "Don't worry! Your Papa will win!"
Ren Jia glanced at her with her luminous eyes reflecting her chaotic emotions, she nodded her head and glanced at her Papa; silently praying her Papa will emerge victorious.
'Papa will achieve victory!'
1! 2! 3!
Boss Tao didn't hesitate as he forcibly grabbed his hand and exerted his entire strength into tilting Ren Ye's arm to the side, causing Ren Ye to slightly grit his teeth.
Ren Ye endured and held on, keeping both of their arms balanced and in the same state for more than 5 minutes before his arms began to gradually lose strength; he hadn't used his entire energy yet and he had also sensed Boss Tao hadn't used his as well.
Instead of forcing victory and losing in the end, Ren Ye decided to let Boss Tao take the lead and give him the illusion of winning; he had kept his strength at bay in case Boss Tao decides to use his energy to overpower him and counterattack him.
All of a sudden, Ren Ye felt a string of hot pouring energy emerging from Boss Tao's hands; he immediately figured it to be Boss Tao's cultivating energy.
'Earth!' Old Yi cried out suddenly, informing Ren Ye of a looming crisis.
Earth, one of the elemental powers of cultivation, is the element that has absolute authority over inhuman superstrength, earth manipulation.
Upon figuring out his element, Ren Ye didn't hesitate any longer; immediately grasped Boss Tao's wrist with his finger, and with a bit of force from his energy, Ren Ye penetrated the meridian inside his wrist quickly.
He had done it so quickly that Boss Tao wasn't able to prepare and this caused him to be slightly shocked; feeling an aching pain on his wrist. Sensing his energy was going to run out, Boss Tao let out his entire energy and forced it onto Ren Ye's hand.
'How? This brat!' Boss Tao couldn't help but look at Ren Ye in a different light.
Behind Ren Ye's indifferent mask, he smirked smugly, 'Hehe! He guessed it must have been my doing. How could he point it out if he was the one who had cheated in the first place…'
Ren Ye counterattacked him and forcibly transmitted his physical force into his arms, holding Boss Tao's back and giving him an advantage over him. Boss Tao's hand began to tire out, he frowned and didn't stop, "You!" f𝐫ee𝘄ℯ𝚋no𝐯𝐞l.c𝘰m
Before long, Ren Ye had the upper hand and pushed his arm to the side; giving him a sense of victory. Boss Tao admitted defeat with much disappointment.
"Papa!" Ren Jia jumped up in excitement and extended her tiny arms, Ren Ye smiled and took her into his arms, swaying her all over the place and laughing in joy.
He pressed her cheeks against his cheeks, Ren Jia turned her head and printed her petal lips over Ren Ye's cheeks; giving her Papa a victory cheek kiss.
Ren Ye felt a warmth inside his heart as he grabbed her head gently and pressed her plump cheeks against his, laughing warmly.
"Papa! Congratulation!"