Nine Star Burden - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Star Power Upgrade
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

On the Central Street of Jiangbin City.
Two tall, beautiful and charming girls were shopping casually and strutting on the uneven stone and brick road. They formed a beautiful view that attracted everyone’s attention and turned several heads.
The short-haired girl, wearing a beige windbreaker, seemed to be the dominant one. She said nonchalantly, “He’s fine, what can possibly happen to him? He eats well, sleeps well, trains hard and performs well at my place.”
The girl beside her combed her black tresses that had gotten messy because of the wind and said hesitantly, “He…”
“Hey, you keep talking about him, are you even here to shop with me?” Xia Yan cocked her head towards the side and looked at Han Jiangxue in displeasure.
“Okay.” Han Jiangxue expressed assent gently before falling silent.
“There you go.” Xia Yan placed one hand in her windbreaker and raised her arm slightly, gesturing for Han Jiangxue to hold it.
Han Jiangxue helplessly rolled her eyes at Xia Yan and placed her hand on the latter’s arm.
Beneath Xia Yan’s calm appearance laid a gleeful heart.
She thought, I’m always the thick-skinned one who holds onto your arm first. Finally, I managed to turn the tables!
Xia Yan’s lips curled up and she sang in her heart, We people, are really happy.
“I think he’s acting rather out of the ordinary lately. He’s going through such intense training and yet, he still has the time to play with his mobile phone,” Han Jiangxue said less than ten steps later.
Xia Yan panicked and asked, “Oh? Is that so? I’ll go take a look at him when I go back later. I’ll confiscate his mobile lest he keeps playing with it. This kid probably isn’t tired enough. We have to increase the intensity.”
“Well, this is a good move.” Han Jiangxue nodded in agreement.
At the same time, a black car slowly pulled over at Xia Yan’s door half an hour after she left to go shopping with Han Jiangxue.
After the doorbell rung, Auntie Zhou looked through the peephole before frantically proceeding to open the door.
“Mr. Xia.” Auntie Zhou greeted.
“Little Zhou, is Yanyan at home?” asked the middle-aged man, whose face was square-shaped and short.
Although Auntie Zhou was older than Xia Shanhai, he was used to addressing her that way.
“Missy has just left half an hour ago to go shopping with her friends,” Auntie Zhou answered.
“Oh, I see. How is she doing lately?” Xia Shanhai strode in, appearing rather concerned. “Well, you know, children her age rarely communicate with their parents.”
“Mr. Xia, Missy has been in low spirits lately and she’s been training hard every day too. According to her, she will go to the snowfield for training tomorrow.” Auntie Zhou praised Xia Yan while holding onto some slippers for Xia Shanhai. 1
“Well, that’s good. It’s great that she’s sensible.” Xia Shanhai strode into the house and continued, “Nothing much changed at home recently, right?”
“Um…” Auntie Zhou hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Missy brought another kid home seven days ago, but she sent him to stay in the basement straightaway. He hasn’t come out since then.”
Xia Shanhai was shocked and wondered, What’s going on?
Xia Yan threw Jiang Xiaopi into the basement?
He hasn’t come out in seven days?
Has my precious daughter held someone else’s son captive? 4
He initially thought that his daughter was playful and was getting ready to hide her lover at home. To his surprise, Xia Yan actually abducted him illegally, or so he thought.
Although he and his wife absolutely disapproved of the relationship because they knew that Jiang Xiaopi was not a good kid. However, Jiang Xiaopi was also the son of their close friend. Hence, they couldn’t harm him.
“What’s going on?” Xia Shanhai asked worriedly.
“That kid is really a good boy.” Auntie Zhou was in her fifties and enjoyed gossiping. The thought of Jiang Xiao put pleasure on her face, and she even felt a little sympathetic towards him. She explained, “He trains in the basement every day. A week ago, Missy also hired a personal trainer for him. The two of them shared food and stayed together. I serve them water and their meals every day. Whenever I see him, he’s drenched in sweat as if he had just taken a shower. He’s always bruised too. It really pains me to see him that way…”
Xia Shanhai was slightly stunned because everything that happened here seemed completely different from what he had imagined. “Jiang Xiaopi is training in the basement?”
“Yes, Mr. Xia. Would you like to go take a look? It’s time for dinner. We can call them. Sir, stay behind for dinner too. The sun hasn’t set. Let the kids come out to see the sun.”
Let the kids come out to see the sun.
Come out to see the sun.
See the sun.
Those words lingered in Xia Shanhai’s heart, making him feel a little stunned.
“Okay.” Xia Shanhai nodded but was rather displeased with the snitch he had planted. He thought, This snitch is bad. He only saw Jiang Xiaopi and Xia Yan going home but didn’t see the personal trainer entering the house?
How did he even monitor the situation? 1
The door of the basement was unlocked and Xia Shanhai entered.
He made his way down the stairs and began to hear the sounds of things getting slammed and hit in addition to the sound of the ventilation pipes.
The strong and buff Lei Jin was wearing pads on his hands and legs, advancing and retreating while constantly urging Jiang Xiao to press on. He even allowed Jiang Xiao to hit the pads on his body as hard as he could.
Lei Jin would occasionally fight back too.
Jiang Xiao was wearing protective gear and dripping with sweat while keeping his eyes fixed on the target in front of him. He was full of determination and fighting spirit. 1
His gaze and puerile face were indeed awe-worthy.
Auntie Zhou, who wanted to let them see the sun, hurriedly interrupted their training. After a while, the sun really began to set.
“Xiaopi, stop for a while.” Auntie Zhou then pointed to the person beside her and introduced him. “This is Mr. Xia, Xia Yan’s father.”
“Huh?” Jiang Xiao was greatly taken aback. Staring at the tall man in front of him, he thought, It’s no wonder that Xia Yan is so tall. Her father is huge. He’s probably 1.9m, eh?
After thinking carefully, Jiang Xiao finally remembered who he was.
Jiang Xiaopi had only seen Xia Shanhai a few times before. When he was in elementary school, he saw the latter once during a gathering between the two families. Later on, before his parents left for their mission, Jiang Xiaopi would occasionally see Xia Shanhai waiting at the door.
However, that happened when he was in elementary school and wasn’t frequent either.
“Uncle… Xia?” Jiang Xiao asked after hesitating for a moment.
It was not that hard for a 25-year-old adult to address a man in his mid-forties as “Uncle”.
Not to mention, it was Xia Yan’s father. Since Xia Yan treated him so well, he ought to be polite to Xia Shanhai.
“Hehe, Xiaopi is all grown up now. I’m so relieved and heartened to see you working so hard.” Xia Shanhai’s sullen face turned a little warmer and he put on a heartened smile. “Come on, come upstairs and take a break. I’ve shown you too little concern over the past few years. It was my fault.”
Jiang Xiao scratched his head and looked at Lei Jin.
To his surprise, Lei Jin had long removed his pads and was striding towards the door.
This coach is probably done with these too… he thought.
When Jiang Xiao walked out of the basement, he happened to see that the window of the corridor was opened and Lei Jin was staring at the sunset with his arms wide open, as if he were embracing nature.
The sun was indeed better than the dim lights.
Jiang Xiao walked to the window and followed Lei Jin towards the end. The afterglow of the sunset was splattered all over the clouds and seemed to have dyed the white and clean clouds red.
While breathing in the fresh air outside the window, a message popped up in Jiang Xiao’s mind.
“Star Power Upgrade!”
“Star Power: Stardust Stage Level 3!” 6