Knock knock knock. 

“Come in.” 

Bai Yao gently pushed the door open. Seeing her daughter studying hard, she felt both proud and a little pained. 

“Xiao Qian, don’t overdo it. Get some rest early, okay?” 

“Mm, I know, I’ll go to bed soon.” 

Bai Yao nodded, but didn’t leave the room right away. Su Liqian quickly sensed something was up and looked up. 

“What is it, Mom? Is there something else?” 

“Oh, it’s nothing really.” 

Bai Yao gave her a soft smile. “Just that your cousin’s coming back this weekend, and your uncles and aunts were thinking of getting together. I was wondering if you’re free?” 

“This weekend?” 

“Yeah, Saturday. But if you’re too busy, don’t worry about it—I can tell them you can’t come. Your competition is more important.” 

Su Liqian mentally ran through her schedule and gave a gentle smile. “It’s fine, I’m free this Saturday. It’s been a while since we saw everyone anyway. I’ll go.” 

Bai Yao looked visibly happy and nodded quickly. 

“Great! I’ll make arrangements then. Just focus on your competition for now…” 

After Bai Yao left, the room returned to its peaceful silence. Su Liqian originally wanted to dig up some of the original host’s memories about these relatives, but found there were barely any. 

Her mom, Bai Yao, was the youngest daughter in the family. She had two older sisters and one older brother. 

They used to get along pretty well, but after starting their own families, they scattered across different places. Contact between them became less frequent, and their relationships gradually faded. 

Later on, the parents started shifting their conversations from household gossip to comparing their kids’ achievements. Ironically, the more they tried to show off their children, the more often they started meeting up—under the pretense of encouraging the younger generation to “bond and communicate.” 

Out of all the cousins, the most accomplished was her eldest aunt’s son. He got into a top high school in the Fifth Star District, and after placing in a small district card competition, his family threw a lavish party at the most expensive hotel in the district. Everyone was invited. 

Su Liqian, of course, went too. 

But back then, she was just a middle schooler with weak spiritual strength, average grades, and no presence to speak of. Because of her shy and self-conscious nature, she liked to stay in the background and barely had any impression of those “relatives.” 

As for her uncle’s daughter and her second aunt’s kids? They’d barely interacted. 

Su Liqian was actually relieved by that. The original host’s introverted nature made things simpler for her—she wouldn’t have to do much at this gathering. Just show up, eat, and be done with it. 

It was just a family dinner, after all. 

With that, Su Liqian tossed the matter to the back of her mind. 

She had more pressing things to deal with—like an important competition coming up before the weekend. 

Her next opponent was a card master with skills on par with hers. Although she’d gained plenty of experience through all the matches so far and was getting more comfortable in real combat, she never let her guard down. She respected every opponent and always stayed alert. 

As always, she planned to carefully review her opponent’s past matches and prepare thoroughly before the battle. 

Her second-round match was scheduled for Friday. For the next few days, she split her time between school and reviewing match videos in her dorm or at home. 

Knock knock knock. 

“Come in.” 

After hearing her permission, Bai Yao tiptoed in. 

“What’s up?” 

Su Liqian shifted her gaze from the light screen and looked at Bai Yao inquiringly. 

“Your eldest aunt invited us to the Fifth Star District.” 

“Wasn’t it supposed to be Saturday?” 

“She said Hao Lin has a match today and invited the families to go watch—and cheer him on.” 

“Oh, I see…” 

“I just wanted to ask if you’d like to go. But of course, your match is the priority.” 

Su Liqian checked the time. Still early. 

Going to watch a match didn’t seem like a big deal. Besides, the Fifth Star District had always had the best performance in the Zhouyi Star Realm. She was actually curious to see it herself. 

If she advanced to the Star Realm tournament someday, she might even face opponents from the Fifth Star District. 

“Alright, I’ll get ready.” 

She rubbed her sore neck and figured it’d be good to move around anyway. 

“Great, no rush.” 

Bai Yao smiled and quietly left the room. 

There wasn’t much to pack, and soon the three of them were on their way. 

The Fifth Star District wasn’t far from the Sixth. The three of them hopped on a hover car and quickly arrived at the arena near the district center. 

Even though the match hadn’t started yet, the place was already packed with people. 

“Over here, over here!” 

Not far away, a woman in a red dress waved at them. 

Bai Yao saw her and immediately waved back, leading Su Liqian and her father over. 

“Oh wow, you guys are finally here!” The eldest sister beamed. “And this must be Xiao Qian, right? It’s been so long—you’ve grown taller and even prettier! Girls really do blossom as they grow!” 

Bai Yao was naturally more reserved, and always found her outgoing eldest sister a bit overwhelming. She smiled and said politely, “Haha, hope we didn’t keep you waiting too long.” 

“No, no, not at all. We’re still early! Your family’s always the most punctual. Just look—some of the others haven’t even shown up yet!” 

Though her words sounded a bit scolding, Bai Yu was all smiles. She chatted with Bai Yao about family stuff while keeping an eye out for the rest of the relatives. 

“By the way, where’s Hao Lin?” 

“Oh…” 

As soon as Bai Yu mentioned her son, her face lit up with pride. “Hao Lin has a competition today. I told him to focus on preparing for it. We’ll celebrate with him once it’s over. You all better stay for that!” 

“Of course,” Bai Yao nodded. 

“Hey, didn’t your daughter Xiao Qian also enter the card competition this year? How did she do? But don’t stress her out too much—this is her first time, right? Even our Hao Lin only made it to the semifinals on his first try! Later, I’ll have Hao Lin chat with her and share some tips…” 

Bai Yao knew her sister too well. Whenever Bai Yu got the chance to brag about her son, she’d go on and on. As for the “sharing experience” part? Bai Yao didn’t take it seriously—and she wasn’t expected to. 

All she really had to do was smile and nod politely. 

“Hey, they’re here!” 

Just as Su Liqian was about to be talked to death by her overly enthusiastic aunt, her second aunt and uncle’s family finally arrived to save the three of them. 

Uncle’s daughter was around Su Liqian’s age. She remembered the girl as a shy kid who used to peek from behind her parents. But now, Bai Zhi had grown into a confident young lady, walking tall at the front. The moment she saw everyone, she ran over and grabbed Bai Yu’s hand. 

“Auntie, I’ve missed you so much!” 

Bai Yu chuckled and patted her hand. “I missed you too. Hao Lin was just talking about you the other day.” 

“Really? Brother Hao Lin mentioned me?” 

“Of course.” 

“Hehe, I knew it! He and you both spoil me. I’m here today to cheer him on!” 

“…” 

Compared to the lively vibe over there, the second aunt’s two children looked a bit awkward. 

But since their uncle had been raised by the eldest sister, it was natural for him to be closer to her and her family. 

Second Aunt Bai Lan just greeted everyone with her husband and kids, then quietly stepped aside. She didn’t seem interested in chatting. 

Su Liqian quietly observed everyone there. Her eldest aunt was clearly the one with the most influence here. Her uncle’s family got along well with the eldest aunt’s family, and they chatted happily. When Bai Yu asked Bai Yao about things, Bai Yao would occasionally respond. But Bai Lan and her family seemed a bit left out. 

Bai Lan’s daughter was named Meng Wu, and her younger son was Meng Tong. Meng Wu seemed calm and steady, while her brother kept looking around the arena. 

Su Liqian didn’t have much of an impression of any of them and quickly looked away. 

“Now that we’re all here, let’s head in! The crowd’s getting big—we’ll lose our seats if we don’t hurry!” 

That was no exaggeration. The Fifth Star District was just as obsessed with the card competition as the Sixth, maybe even more. Bai Yu had already sent her husband to reserve seats early, but with so many people pouring in, who knew if they could keep them? 

Their big group made its way into the arena, soon blending into the crowd. 

The venue was about the same size as the one in the Sixth Star District. They managed to get seats near the front. 

As the core of the group, Bai Yu naturally took the center seat. Her husband sat to her left. Su Liqian and her family were supposed to sit on her right, but Bai Zhi darted ahead and claimed the spot next to Bai Yu. 

The adults had the idea of letting the kids sit together in the middle to bond, so they stepped aside and let them choose seats first. 

That’s how Su Liqian ended up sitting next to Bai Zhi, with Meng Wu and Meng Tong on her other side, rather than with her mom. 

It was a good seat, decent view and all, but… kind of noisy. 

Bai Yu and Bai Zhi were chatterboxes. From the moment they met, they hadn’t stopped talking. 

Thankfully, the siblings on her right were quiet. 

“Hey, didn’t Xiao Qian also join this year’s competition? You two should chat!” 

Hearing her name, Su Liqian flinched a little and politely looked over at Bai Yu and Bai Zhi. 

“What? Xiao Qian’s in the card competition too?” Bai Zhi looked surprised. 

“Mhm.” 

“Perfect! We can totally share tips. It’s your first time, right? Don’t worry if you don’t get far. Brother Hao Lin is amazing—we’ll get him to teach us some stuff later…” 

Bai Zhi went on and on, then paused suddenly as if remembering something. 

“I think I placed in the preliminaries the first time I joined too. Not as good as Brother Hao Lin, of course…” 

“You’re amazing already! I’d love to have such a talented daughter,” Bai Yu chimed in. 

As the two of them went back and forth hyping each other up, Su Liqian just smiled and nodded along. 

“So, Xiao Qian, how’d you do?” Bai Zhi asked suddenly. 

“Hm?” Su Liqian blinked, then replied casually, “Oh, not bad. I just advanced.”  

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