Chapter 413: Rejection

Qin Tuo and the others descended the mountain and returned to the Xue Family's villa.

Xue Chengdong saw to it that Qin Tuo was comfortably settled, then immediately ordered his men to rush off and transport the Spirit Stones.

Xue Chengdong understood deeply that latching onto Qin Tuo was the only way to guarantee the Xue Family's lasting prosperity.

Meanwhile, Huang Junkai immediately began the process of taking over the management of the Zheng Family's mining veins, and he was as busy as could be.

Qin Tuo was in no hurry. He had all of Shi City under his control anyway. Right now, the most important thing was to use those Spirit Stones and see if he could achieve a breakthrough in his cultivation.

After a few days, Xue Chengdong had a large pile of Spirit Stones excavated and transported back.

Just then, a beaming Xue Chengdong approached Qin Tuo.

"Mr. Qin, I've had a lot of Spirit Stones dug up and placed in a separate room for you. Would you like to go have a look?"

Qin Tuo nodded. Soon after, he saw the massive pile of Spirit Stones that Xue Chengdong had prepared.

Seeing the room filled with Spirit Stones, Qin Tuo was quite satisfied.

'If this pile of Spirit Stones can help me break through to the Grain Avoidance Stage,' he thought silently, 'then I'll be even more confident about ascending Peach Blossom Island before the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month!'

And so, Qin Tuo waved his hand and said,

"Very good. You've done well, President Xue."

Xue Chengdong nodded his head repeatedly in excitement and said with a smile,

"It's nothing, Mr. Qin. This is just a small matter. What is it compared to the great debt our Xue Family owes you?"

Then, afraid of disturbing Qin Tuo, Xue Chengdong turned respectfully and excused himself.

But soon after, he called Xue Qingqing over.

"Dad, did you need something?"

Xue Qingqing's face was full of curiosity.

Xue Chengdong's expression turned serious as he slowly asked,

"Daughter, do you have feelings for Mr. Qin?"

Hearing Xue Chengdong's question, Xue Qingqing's face immediately flushed bright red with embarrassment.

However, she still mustered her courage and gave a small nod, not denying it.

Xue Chengdong smiled happily. He knew his daughter was interested in Qin Tuo!

So, Xue Chengdong got straight to the point.

"Daughter, if you like Mr. Qin, then you should boldly pursue him. Men like him are a rare find. If you hesitate, you'll likely miss your chance!"

Xue Qingqing looked up and nodded seriously, saying,

"Okay, Dad. I'll be sure to seize this opportunity."

Xue Chengdong smiled in satisfaction. He knew that although his daughter was outstanding, she was still a far cry from someone like Qin Tuo.

If he could create an opportunity for his daughter and Qin Tuo to start a relationship, the entire Xue Family would rise with the tide.

"Dad, where is Qin Tuo? I'll go find him right now!"

Xue Qingqing had made up her mind, and a look of eagerness appeared on her face.

Xue Chengdong smiled and pointed in a certain direction.

"Mr. Qin is over there. Go on, find him!"

Xue Qingqing then nodded and went straight to the door of Qin Tuo's room.

'I need to find an excuse to get closer to Qin Tuo,' she thought to herself, 'and take our relationship to the next level.'

Although this was what Xue Chengdong hoped for, deep down, Xue Qingqing genuinely had strong feelings for Qin Tuo.

Regardless of the reason, Xue Qingqing very much wanted to become his girlfriend.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

With her mind racing, Xue Qingqing knocked on the door.

Qin Tuo asked casually,

"Who is it?"

He frowned. He had been just about to enter seclusion to cultivate and hadn't expected someone to come and disturb him.

Xue Qingqing's cloyingly sweet voice came from outside the door.

"Qin Tuo, it's me! Open up!"

Hearing that it was Xue Qingqing, Qin Tuo felt a little helpless but opened the door anyway.

After walking inside, Xue Qingqing immediately noticed that the room was filled with Spirit Stones of all sizes.

She asked curiously,

"Qin Tuo, what are you going to do with all these rocks?"

With her mortal eyes, Xue Qingqing naturally couldn't tell that these were incredibly precious Spirit Stones.

In truth, she was just looking for a topic of conversation, deliberately sidling up to Qin Tuo.

Qin Tuo responded casually,

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just a bit curious about these rocks!"

Xue Qingqing gazed at Qin Tuo, her eyes full of affection, and said with a smile,

"Qin Tuo, are you planning to go into seclusion to cultivate in this room?"

Qin Tuo nodded without saying much.

Xue Qingqing then followed up with,

"Oh, that's great, Qin Tuo! In that case, I can keep you company here so you won't be so bored. How about it?"

Xue Qingqing widened her beautiful eyes, her face full of anticipation.

If it were any other man, Xue Qingqing was confident she could win him over instantly.

But seeing Xue Qingqing act like this, Qin Tuo felt a bit annoyed.

Besides, how could he not tell that Xue Qingqing was interested in him?

So Qin Tuo asked bluntly,

"Miss Xue, what is it you really want?"

Xue Qingqing looked a little shy and said softly,

"Qin Tuo... actually, I've liked you for a while now. I was wondering... what do you think of me?"

It had taken all her courage to ask that question.

As a stunning beauty who was normally pursued by countless men, this was the very first time in her life she had ever confessed her feelings to someone.

However, Qin Tuo simply waved his hand and said,

"Miss Xue, I'm sorry. I'm not thinking about anything else right now. I just want to focus on my training."

Hearing Qin Tuo's words, Xue Qingqing's face instantly turned pale. She bit her lip, unable to speak.

It was obvious. Qin Tuo had just rejected her flat out...

Seeing the dejected look on Xue Qingqing's face, Qin Tuo felt helpless. He didn't want to be unfaithful to Chen Man Ni and become a womanizer.

Although Xue Qingqing was a very beautiful woman, she held little attraction for Qin Tuo.

Seeing that Xue Qingqing was still standing there in a daze, Qin Tuo couldn't help but prompt her again.

"Miss Xue, if there's nothing else, please leave. Also, I will be in seclusion training for the next few days and probably won't leave this room."

Seeing that Qin Tuo was directly asking her to leave, Xue Qingqing sighed inwardly and nodded.

"Alright, Mr. Qin. In that case, I won't disturb you any longer."

Qin Tuo didn't notice at all that Xue Qingqing's form of address for him had changed.

Then, Xue Qingqing slowly backed out of the room, closing the door for Qin Tuo on her way out.

Once Xue Qingqing was gone, Qin Tuo put all other thoughts aside and began to cultivate with single-minded focus.

When Xue Chengdong saw Xue Qingqing walk back into the main hall looking crestfallen, he was instantly puzzled.

"My dear daughter, why the long face?"

Xue Chengdong couldn't help but ask.

With a hint of a sob in her voice, Xue Qingqing said,

"Dad, Qin Tuo... he rejected me outright!"

Xue Chengdong's heart sank, and his expression turned ugly.

Immediately, it all dissolved into a long sigh...