"Master! I've missed you so much," said Gold Cicada.

When the petite yet stunningly beautiful Gold Cicada landed on Shen Qiang's palm and excitedly said this, the gorgeous and sexy Demon Fox Chu Qing, with wide beautiful eyes, was visibly shocked.

"So cute, so pretty, is she the Gold Cicada?"

Xiu Ju smiled, flipped her wrist, and produced a large bag of snacks, saying, "Did Gold Cicada miss sister? Look what sister brought for you?"

Gold Cicada's eyes immediately lit up, and she zipped over to Xiu Ju, her tiny body dragging a large bag of snacks, and exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you, Sister Xiu Ju, they're all Gold Cicada's favorite sweets."

"Hey, little one, come over here," beckoned Chu Qing with a bright, inviting gaze.

However, seeing this, Gold Cicada, clutching her bag of snacks, zipped behind Shen Qiang, shaking her head warily, "No, you're a demon."

Beautiful Demon Fox Chu Qing was stunned.

Shen Qiang chuckled, grabbing Gold Cicada and said, "Gold Cicada, don't be afraid, she won't hurt you. You can call her Sister Chu Qing."

Gold Cicada looked at her hesitantly and after a moment, said, "Sister Chu Qing."

Chu Qing's smile reached her eyes, "Yes, that's right, such a good girl. Come here, let sister have a look, I have something tasty for you too."

"I don't want to," Gold Cicada replied, still on guard.

This made Shen Qiang a bit helpless, in an effort to alleviate the awkwardness.

Shen Qiang suggested with a smile, "Chu Qing, why don't we go upstairs and pick out a room? Gold Cicada is a little shy, but she'll get used to it."

Chu Qing smiled, "Sure." Then, casting a longing glance at Gold Cicada, she followed reluctantly behind Shen Qiang, her eyes resembling those of someone watching their favorite kitten.

There were only four bedrooms on the second floor. Although it had been made clear that Chu Qing would stay with Shen Qiang, and the four old demons had indeed spoken of an engagement and provided a dowry for her,

Shen Qiang knew all too well that it would be presumptuous to assume he could immediately ask the Beautiful Demon Fox to share a room with him without risking embarrassment.

Once upstairs,

Shen Qiang pointed at each room quite seriously but somewhat awkwardly, saying, "This one belongs to Xin Xiaoting, this one to Su Xiaonuan, this one is where I usually stay, so only the one on the left is available for you."

Chu Qing smiled, "That's fine."

Entering the sun-drenched room and opening the window to look out at the rooftop garden, Chu Qing smiled sweetly, "I like it here."

Shen Qiang laughed, "The third floor is an entertainment room, with pool, mahjong machines, and a study. There's a toilet and a bath. You can treat this place like your own home."

Chu Qing smiled, "That's excellent, I would like to change my clothes now."

Shen Qiang, suddenly remembering her exquisite figure he had seen before, said with a smile, "There should be fresh towels and pajamas in the wardrobe, and the bathroom on this floor has all the usual amenities. Make yourself at home, I'll head downstairs."

Chu Qing nodded in acknowledgment with a hum.

Soon after Shen Qiang descended the stairs, he saw Xiu Ju with a freckled face looking stern.

Shen Qiang laughed, pulling her into his embrace.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he whispered softly, "We've agreed before that I need to be like a big tree, so I must have many people around me."

After a moment of silence, Xiu Ju said, "I want to live upstairs."

Shen Qiang, surprised, replied, "But don't you really like your room?"

"I want to live upstairs," Xiu Ju insisted, discontentedly, "I don't want to live under her in a servant's room."

Shen Qiang laughed, then after a thoughtful moment, said, "Alright, if you insist, my room is yours."

"Hmph, that's more like it," Xiu Ju said with satisfaction, pulling Shen Qiang upstairs.

But as Shen Qiang, his brow furrowed tightly, watched Xiu Ju confidently tidy up the room.

In fact, the once content Shen Qiang thought that having a big house, a job, and the ability to earn money through alchemy meant he had reached the peak of life.

But this time, after going to Shanghai.

Shen Qiang realized very clearly that he was not strong enough.

If not for the help of the Dragon Group, a mere Bianyi could have ruined him and left him penniless.

Not to mention those prominent families.

If it wasn't for that man without a military rank showing up, the powerful Zhang Shuheng would have probably crushed him with a single footfall.

Besides, if it wasn't for Xiu Ju and Chu Qing, Shen Qiang alone, even when his fury was triggered and he was battling someone infected by pathogens, would have already been able to handle an expert from the Yin God Realm.

Such a progression was indeed a pleasant surprise.

Shen Qiang seemed very powerful.

But even so,

nobody cheered for Shen Qiang during that battle.

Because aside from the Dragon Breath emanating from Shen Qiang that amazed everyone,

there was nothing noteworthy to mention.

Because all those present, except for the deceased, were top-tier powerhouses of the time.

In their eyes,

even if Shen Qiang had some outstanding qualities, he was still not strong enough. Whether it was Zhang Shuheng or the elders from the Wang and Chen families, if they took action, Shen Qiang would have had no chance of survival.

It was like an ant, carrying several times its weight, passing by an elephant.

The elephant would definitely not be astonished.

So, to truly become stronger, what Shen Qiang needed to do was focus on cultivation and on developing the power around him.

Otherwise, any claim to distinction was just deceiving oneself and others.

Under such circumstances, focusing diligently on a single task every day without certainly achieving it, where could Shen Qiang find the time and energy to mediate the open rivalry and secret struggles between Chu Qing and Xiu Ju?

Moreover, the more troubling fact was that this was Provincial City, where there was not only Xiu Ju and Beautiful Demon Fox Chu Qing close by.

There were also Su Xiaonuan, Xin Xiaoting, and Miao Xiaoxia.

You can't wrap fire in paper.

If he couldn't lay things out openly and clear the air with them, continuing to drag things out would only lead to bigger and more numerous troubles.

This would consume a lot of Shen Qiang's energy and cause many problems.

So, looking at the very happy Xiu Ju after she had moved into his room, Shen Qiang suddenly felt an impulse.

Turning back to go downstairs, Shen Qiang made calls one after another to Su Xiaonuan, Xin Xiaoting, and Miao Xiaoxia, telling each of them just one sentence,

"Tonight at six, Jinyu Huacheng, urgent matter, must meet."

After calling them, Shen Qiang also phoned Lv Shuyao to notify her to go online at that time as there was something they needed to discuss.

After the phone calls, Shen Qiang, sitting in the living room, pondered for a long time. He then took Xiu Ju and Chu Qing with him, along with the cicada, directly to the bank and withdrew one billion yuan in cash.

Hearing Shen Qiang withdraw so much cash, Xiu Ju was very surprised and asked, "Shen Qiang, what do you need so much cash for?"

Shen Qiang let out a breath, smiled, and said, "Because I'm going to lay my cards on the table, and cut through the mess with a sharp knife."

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