78: Chapter 0078 Parents

Gelia, upon returning to the provincial capital, Glen City, seemed like a completely different person from the Gelia of Gray Mist Mountain Town.

The Gelia in Gray Mist Mountain Town was an authoritative police chief with a touch of roughness; in the provincial capital, she transformed into a well-behaved little girl whose voice was afraid to be too loud.

Soul-type Wizards, who specialize in personality and psychological research, generally believe that every person possesses multiple personalities; even in the darkest heart, there is light, otherwise, that person would cease to be human.

Gelia's situation was superficially similar to the multiple personality theory of Soul-type Wizards, but it still left Li Size feeling unsure how to interact with this completely unfamiliar version of her.

The car stopped abruptly in front of her house. Gelia jumped out like a startled white rabbit, her head lowered, her face flushed crimson. She mumbled, "Li Size, my father still doesn't quite believe you're my boyfriend; so... we might need to..."

"...be a little... intimate..." Her voice grew quieter and quieter, Li Size almost couldn't hear it; he was slightly confused, what did 'a little intimate' mean?

Seeing that the boy beside her remained motionless, Gelia felt annoyed. She looked up and glared at him before quickly lowering her head again. She pulled him close to her side, inserting her arm under his like a sharp sword and linking arms with him.

In that moment, he seemed to see the Deputy Director from Gray Mist Mountain again, but unfortunately, it didn't last long. She reverted to the shy little girl she was now; he could even feel the slight trembling and stiffness of the delicate wrist under his armpit.

He thought for a moment, took her arm out from under his, and placed it in his right hand, gently holding it amidst her confused and disappointed gaze; the small hand in his large one trembled slightly, the temperature rose minutely, and then it instantly softened like fatty jade.

Her lowered face turned even redder, yet there was a trace of undisguised pleasure in her eyes as she slowly followed Li Size through the door into the house.

"Cough! Cough!" Having been notified, her father, Old Payne, and her mother, Christine, were sitting upright and formally in the living room. Beside them was a young man whose eyes held a faint shadow and Killing Intent, all three looking at Li Size as he entered the living room with scrutinizing gazes.

The expressions of the three were different: Old Payne narrowed his eyes slightly, looking seasoned as if interrogating a suspect; Christine looked on with curiosity mixed with a hint of encouragement; and the inexplicable young man held an air of disdain.

After politely greeting them, Li Size was seated on a side chair opposite the young man, while Gelia was pulled next to her mother, Christine.

No one seemed to know who should speak first, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment. Christine gently patted Gelia's hand and smiled, "Daughter, aren't you going to introduce your friend?"

Gelia suddenly realized and quickly covered her mouth, saying, "Oh dear! You all insisted on forcing me to bring him home. This is my boyfriend, Li Size. Ask him whatever you want to know."

Li Size felt a headache coming on when he heard this—was she completely disregarding his fate? Old Payne glared at Li Size. After all, he was a Second-Level Wizard; even though he showed no aura at the moment, Li Size still worried that this 'father-in-law' might dislike him, this little scoundrel, and simply slap him to death to make Gelia give up completely.

As Li Size stood there nervously, Old Payne began questioning him in an interrogation-like tone: "Where is Li Size from, how old are you, and who is in your family...?"

Gelia looked at Li Size worriedly; her father's questioning sounded exactly like how she interrogated criminals. Li Size also felt immense pressure and cautiously replied, "Hello, Uncle! I am a local from Gray Mist Mountain Town, nineteen years old. It's just me and my father, Pativ, at home; he is a blacksmith..."

The more Li Size spoke, the uglier Payne's expression became, his old face quickly looking like it was about to wring out water.

Payne cursed inwardly, Does this Gelia really think I'm an idiot? She found a nineteen-year-old youth, probably hasn't even graduated from a low-level academy yet!?

Meanwhile, the unknown young man was secretly delighted. Whether Gelia was truly an old cow eating young grass or just found an actor for a brief role, it looked like he wouldn't pass Deputy Director Payne's test. He still had a chance; his complexion seemed to shift from pale to red in an instant...

Seeing Old Payne's expression, Gelia only wanted to bury her face in the ground. She had been so focused on rejecting the marriage that she forgot about Li Size's age; had she truly forgotten, or had she simply chosen not to remember?

Li Size hadn't finished speaking when Old Payne finally couldn't hold back and roared, "Boy, you are only nineteen, and she is already twenty-five! What is going on between you and Gelia? Are you pretending for her? It's impossible!"

Upon hearing this, Gelia desperately closed her eyes, as if seeing the days ahead where she would be locked up in the manor...

As Payne roared loudly, a slight trace of his aura leaked out. Li Size, feeling the pressure, broke out in a slight sweat. He wanted to yield under Payne's oppression and surrender, but he sensed Gelia's mood and dejection. His own feelings became complicated for a moment. He seemed to have figured things out yet also looked bewildered as he gritted his teeth and responded:

"No! What can age explain? If we truly love each other, why can't we be together? We are Wizard Apprentices; we shouldn't be shackled by worldly concepts!"

Old Payne's face darkened further. He roared roughly, "No! Absolutely not!"

"Cough, cough!" Christine, next to Old Payne, sensed her daughter's low spirits and abnormality. This was not the reaction of someone whose pretense of a relationship had been exposed. Although she also didn't approve of Gelia and Li Size, her daughter's dejection affected her, so she stepped forward at the appropriate time, smiling to quell Old Payne's anger.

After interrupting Old Payne with a cough, Christine sighed, "Li Size is right; Wizards shouldn't be hindered by worldly concepts, and besides, this is ultimately the children's business. It's just that, Gelia, you and Li Size are truly unsuitable. If you were just pretending, fine, but if it's real, he cannot bear the difference between you—you are a Wizard..."

Li Size's firm words seemed like a ray of light in the darkness, giving Gelia a sliver of warmth and direction amidst her despair. She suddenly remembered many things: whether she and Li Size were truly compatible, the laughter and sorrow they shared together, her fondness for him and the first stirring of affection, and how she deliberately avoided but couldn't bear to part from knowing his relationship with Felina...

What did all that matter? If Li Size could move forward without hesitation, then she, Gelia, could advance fearlessly too!

Her mother Christine's words sparked an idea in her mind. She seized the key point and looked at Li Size with a tone that was both coquettish and firm: "That's right! Li Size is already a Wizard Apprentice too. We shouldn't be limited by narrow concepts. As long as he and I truly love each other, why can't we be together?"

Christine's and Gelia's words brought the enraged Payne back to calmness...