For Sophia’s sake, Leo chose to endure. “Mom, I’ll attend the family gathering this time.”
Jessica was waiting for Leo to say that. She smirked, “You can go, but first, sincerely apologize to me, and I’ll allow you to go.”
Apologize? Leo was momentarily puzzled. He hadn’t done anything wrong, so why should he apologize?
Sophia couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed Leo and led him upstairs, into the bedroom, and slammed the door shut with a loud “bang.”
Sitting on the bed, Sophia pouted and said, “Leo, I’m sorry, but my mom can be really unreasonable.”
Over the past four years, Leo had actually grown used to everything about Jessica. After all, Jessica was Sophia’s biological mother, and for Sophia’s sake, he had learned to endure.
It was precisely due to these four years of restraint that Leo had developed a strong mental fortitude and patience. This resilience had greatly benefited his cultivation, turning adversity into an advantage.
“Sophia, don’t be upset. These are minor issues, and I don’t mind,” Leo said with a smile on his face.
Sophia widened her beautiful eyes and stared at Leo for a while. From his eyes, she could tell that he was speaking the truth.
But Sophia couldn’t help but wonder why Leo could tolerate such treatment. Most people would find it unbearable, so why could Leo endure it?
“Leo, the way my mom treats you, don’t you feel it’s unfair and unjust?” Sophia voiced her doubts.
Leo smiled and said, “As long as your inner strength is strong enough, all the taunts, injustices, and unfairness are like clouds. They will disappear soon. As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters most to me.”
Sophia felt a warmth in her heart and finally smiled. She teased, “So, you’ve turned yourself into an ostrich, hiding yourself?”
“No!” Leo chuckled. “I’m on the path to becoming stronger!”
With a resolute tone, Leo got up from the bed and opened the bedroom door.
“What are you going to do?” Sophia asked.
“I’m going to cook. The first rule of being a good husband is never let your wife go hungry!” Leo said.
Sophia giggled and covered her mouth.
Late at night, it was time for bed. Sophia noticed that the temperature had dropped.
Sophia couldn’t help but say, “It’s getting colder tonight.”
Leo jolted, flipped the blanket open, and crawled into bed while Sophia was speaking.
Sophia was taken by surprise. “You reacted quickly tonight. Did your system get an upgrade?”
“No, I upgraded my CPU. I used to be dual-core, now I’m octa-core, so I can instantly understand what you say,” Leo jokingly replied.
Sophia moved away a bit and maintained a distance of about eight inches from Leo. “We need to establish some ground rules!”
“Please go on,” Leo said.
“First, there’s a line in the middle of the bed. The right side is my territory, and the left side is yours. If you cross the line, I’ll kick you off,” Sophia said in a serious tone.
Leo raised his hand in agreement. “No problem, I promise not to cross the border.”
Leo secretly chuckled to himself. It seemed like he had already covered a significant portion of the long journey. Sophia had accepted him in her heart, and from now on, he just needed to proceed steadily for everything to fall into place.
Sophia turned off the lights.
“We said there were ground rules; what’s the next one?” Leo couldn’t help but ask.
Sophia responded with a soft “Hmm?” and said, “I haven’t thought of the others yet. I’ll let you know when I do.”
Lying on half of the bed, Sophia felt a bit nervous and a bit expectant.
Her nervousness stemmed from the fear that Leo might suddenly reach out to her, while her anticipation stemmed from the desire for Leo to reach out to her.
In this internal conflict and hesitation, half an hour passed.
Sophia was surprised that there was no reaction from the person beside her.
Humph! He talks about having an eight-core brain, but he’s probably just with a single-core in a wooden head. Goodnight!
Leo wanted to reach out to her, but he was afraid of progressing too quickly and potentially causing Sophia’s discomfort. Since he had decided to take it slow and steady, he had to play the part of a gentleman for now.
Another hour passed, and Leo suddenly felt a leg resting on top of him.
He gently turned his head and saw that Sophia had fallen asleep.
Ever since he entered Sophia’s room, Leo, who had light sleep, had noticed something. After she fell asleep, Sophia’s body would become restless, she liked to move around, and she often kicked her blanket off.
Several times, Leo had to get up in the middle of the night to cover her with the blanket again.
Seeing the delicate face so close to him, Leo smiled tenderly and let Sophia’s leg rest on him.
The next morning, Sophia woke up from her sleep. When she saw how close she was to Leo and realized that most of her body was pressed against him, she blushed and quickly moved away, slowly getting out of bed.
Seeing Leo sleeping like a log, Sophia playfully patted her chest. “Thank goodness he didn’t wake up; otherwise, I’d be so embarrassed.”
Sophia began changing her clothes, and Leo, pretending to be asleep, slightly opened his eyes. He had been awake for a while but pretended to be asleep to avoid making Sophia uncomfortable.
After finishing her morning routine and having breakfast, Leo drove Sophia to work.
After leaving the Golden Leaf Shopping Plaza, Leo headed to the factory.
The matter with the Seven Stars Sword Sect was like a time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. Until his cultivation reached the mid-level spirit master stage, Leo decided to make thorough preparations.
Once inside the factory area, Leo asked Curitis to gather his comrades in the guardroom.
When everyone had assembled, Leo provided them with detailed information about martial cultivators.
“If I provide you with some firearms, do you have the confidence to deal with martial cultivators at the higher warrior level?” Leo asked Curitis and his team of six.
Curitis nodded confidently and said, “Mr. Bloomer, that won’t be a problem.”
“Mr. Bloomer, do you have access to firearms?” Clark couldn’t help but ask. If firearms were considered antiques, then he was an expert in antique appraisal, at the level of Mr. Tyler.
Leo didn’t say much, just nodded.
With his current level of cultivation, taking down the Seven Stars Sword Sect wouldn’t be easy. He needed some help. Curitis and his friends had a foundation in combat, so they could be of assistance.
Roy was excited. “Mr. Bloomer, with firearms, I can handle any high-level warrior who comes our way.”
Leo smiled but didn’t confirm or deny anything. Roy and the others might be underestimating martial cultivators.
Leo didn’t have direct access to firearms, but finding someone with the right connections wouldn’t be difficult. He had two potential candidates in mind: Bob and Scar.