A dumbfounded Quentin stared at her incredulously. He swallowed and said, “N-Nora, don’t… don’t joke around anymore.”
Nora glanced at him. “Get out.”
Quentin got out of the car obediently. He didn’t dare look into the car, even though the car windows were tinted—so one would only be able to look out from the inside, but not the other way.
A minute later, the car door opened and Nora got out wearing the red dress. Then, she put on the mask.
The person in front of him seemed to have suddenly changed.
From his little hillbilly cousin, she turned into the mysterious martial arts expert, Big Sister.
Quentin: “…”
He felt that he must have opened his eyes the wrong way when he woke up in the morning!
How could this be?!
He had been following the woman ever since Joel started having doubts about Nora’s identity. Despite how so much time had already gone by, how come he hadn’t realized that she was actually Big Sister?!
While he was in a daze, Nora asked, “So, you’re my younger brother?”
Quentin: “!!!”
He suddenly thought of how he had bragged and claimed just now that Big Sister had acknowledged him as her younger brother. After all, Big Sister had a mask on all the time, and her daughter was already five. Thus, he had subconsciously assumed that Big Sister must be older than him. Never would he have expected Big Sister to suddenly turn into his little cousin!
How he wished he could dig a hole and bury himself in it!
He tried his best to sift through his memories—he hadn’t said anything else, right?
He suddenly thought of what he had said when he first met her. That time, he had said very proudly, “Heh, even though you’re proof of the shame that Uncle Ian had suffered, you can rest assured that I will still protect you. I won’t let any of the Smiths die an untimely death.”
It was then followed by:
“Can you stop running about all over the place? Without me, the world’s third-best fighter, protecting you, you’ll die before you even know it!”
“Are you also taking part in the martial arts tournament? Do you want to meet Big Sister? I’m on really good terms with her!”
“Do you want to take a photo with Big Sister?”
“…”
Quentin felt like his cheeks had flushed even redder.
He suddenly asked, “There are three different types of death. Do you know what they are?”
Nora raised her eyebrows. “What are they?”
“The first is clinical death, that is to say, the body dies.
“The second is psychological death, where someone loses all hope and doesn’t wish to live anymore.
“The third is social death.”
Quentin looked at her and said, “Nora, you’ve just made me experience the third type of death.”
“…”
Nora laughed and passed by him. “Let’s go in.”
“I don’t want to go in.” Quentin said expressionlessly, “I wanna die.”
Nora didn’t pay any more attention to him. Instead, she started walking toward the arena. Two steps later, she heard footsteps behind her. Quentin’s voice then reached her. “Why are you hiding your identity, Nora? Isn’t the identity of Big Sister really cool?!”
Nora replied, “It’s bothersome.”
Bothersome?
Quentin thought for a moment. “Are you worried that others will bother you once they know who you are? Well, that’s true. After all, Big Sister is a well-known figure… Don’t worry, Nora, I can keep secrets really well. I will never tell anyone about it!”
“Oh.”
Nora had always adhered to her mother’s last words telling her not to expose her identity and to live in mediocrity. This was why she hadn’t exposed her identity all this time.
However, Quentin was simply too annoying.
Moreover, now that he was aware that she had come to the arena, given his tracking abilities, it was simply too much trouble to throw him off her trail. Thus, she had decided to reveal her identity.
Besides, even though Quentin had eighth-grader syndrome, he was the leader of the Smiths’ secret forces. He wasn’t stupid.
Nora followed Quentin into the arena.
As soon as they entered, Quentin suddenly said, “Big Sister, I’ve suddenly discovered a problem!”
Nora: “?”
Quentin said, “I didn’t expect you to actually have a pretty boy outside behind Justin’s back! No. 820 must be Cherry’s biological father, right?”
Nora: “??”
She hadn’t thought of that.
She wasn’t sure whether she could reveal Justin’s identity, so she simply uttered a sound of acknowledgment and admitted to it.
In the end, Quentin looked at her with bright and shiny eyes and said, “You’re so awesome!
“You actually dare to cuckold even Justin!”
Nora: “…”
Forget it, he could just think of it however he wanted to.
They had five matches that night, so time was rather tight for them. Nora looked around and asked, “He isn’t here yet?”
Quentin also looked around.
While the two of them were looking around, a man’s low and deep voice suddenly rang out. “Are you guys Team Third In The World?”
The two of them looked over in unison to see a man wearing a mask with an eagle’s design walking toward them. He was big and tall and was dressed in a black suit. When he walked, it was as though he had an aura of justice around him.
Additionally, he had deliberately lowered his voice, so no one could tell what his actual voice really sounded like.
Nora didn’t say anything. Instead, she glanced at Quentin.
Only then did something click in Quentin’s head. He answered, “Yes, that’s right. You are?”
“No. 007.”
As soon as he gave them his alias, Quentin instantly realized something. He asked, “You’re the first runner-up of the previous tournament?”
The other party kept quiet for a moment before he replied, “Yeah, you can say that.”
Quentin took the opportunity to give Nora an explanation. He said, “B… Sis, No. 007 is an amazing martial arts master who came out of nowhere in the last tournament. He advanced all the way to Class F that time. Both he and Big Brother were very impressive, and he even became one of the favorites for the title of champion. It was just a shame that he didn’t turn up for the finals, so the title of champion went to Big Brother while No.007 became the first runner-up.”
After explaining, Quentin looked at No.007 and asked, “Why didn’t you turn up for the finals?”
No. 007’s gaze swept across the two of them. “I had to take a mission at the last minute.”
Quentin and Nora sensitively caught a hint of something from his use of the word ‘mission’.
Quentin then said, “Oh, what a shame. Is this your first time here this year, though?”
With the exception of Big Brother in Class F, all the other martial arts experts from the previous tournament had been downgraded to Class E this year. Thus, if they wanted to advance in rank, they would also have to defeat fellow Class E contestants.
The fact that an expert like No. 007 hadn’t caused any noise this year was indicative of something—this was his first time here.
Sure enough, No. 007 nodded and replied, “Yeah, I also had something on previously. It seems like there’s a surge in martial arts experts this year, though.”
He glanced at the Benevolence Hall disciples seated in the VIP dining area. They were in a class of their own and seemed out of place among the people around them.
Quentin didn’t say anything. No. 007, however, looked at Nora and asked, “What do you think?”
Nora: “??”
Quentin was undoubtedly very strong in Team Third In The World, and she had been very low-profile all this while. Why was he suddenly directing his attention to her?
She raised her eyebrows and nodded. “It seems that way, yes.”
After she spoke, her cell phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated. Nora nodded to Quentin and No. 007, walked to the side, and took it out.. She opened it and saw a text message from Lily: ‘The test results are out.’