“Long time no see…” I repeated, tears streaming down my face. I caressed his haggard yet handsome face, saying, “Shang, you’ve lost weight.” He laughed, containing indescribable joy, not answering me. His hands cupped my face, his beautiful eyes slowly closing as he approached mine. But I caught sight of Shu Yang’s lost expression.
I gently pushed Shang away, deliberately feeling guilty as I changed the subject: “It’s all your fault! Talking about the crime of deceiving the monarch, making us separate for so long, heartbroken and reluctant! I hate you the most!”
“Puchi!” Shang laughed, brighter than ever, from trying hard to suppress it to throwing his head back in hearty laughter.
I became curious, “What are you laughing at?” It was usually hard to get him to smile, and now he’s laughing about serious matters. Shang finally managed to control his laughter, “I was just joking. Didn’t you take it seriously? Hehe…”
I not only didn’t get angry but felt honored to have gotten my life back—a life I bought from the King of Hell with quite a bit of silver! I raised an eyebrow at him: “So… you’re not holding a grudge? I’m pardoned for my great crime?” Shang looked amused, “Of course.”
I looked at him slyly: “Without any conditions?”
Shang nodded and laughed again. Is seeing me look so funny? I’m not a clown, I’m a beautiful woman! “Shang! Stop laughing! How annoying. Why don’t we go to my temporary home? Even if it’s not as big as yours, it feels more like home!”
Shang nodded in agreement. I held his hand, but didn’t forget to turn back and reach out to Shu Yang, who looked lost and jealous but silently endured: “Little Yang, let’s go home!”
Shu Yang’s face bloomed with a smile again, running forward to hold my hand. With one hand holding each of my beloved, my left atrium filled with sweetness and happiness, returning ‘home’. I hope that one day, we’ll have a real home, a warm and happy one.
Opening the door, I saw Little Bao Xi at the dining table with a miserable face, his eyes red. With bunny ears on his head, he looked like an adorable little bunny. “Little Han… wuwuwu…” I let go of their hands and ran forward, stroking Bao Xi’s little head like a sister. “Bao Xi, why are you crying? What kind of man cries like this? Don’t cry, tell me what happened, okay?”
Bao Xi choked, wiped his eyes, and nodded firmly: “Okay.” What he said was almost what I expected, but the details were beyond my imagination. Leaving Bao Xi with Lan was a huge mistake.
In the morning, Lan threw clothes onto Bao Xi’s face while he was sleeping, waking him up. Bao Xi’s first words were: “Dress yourself, wash up, and fix your hair.” Bao Xi looked pitiful: “But I don’t know how…” Lan coldly replied: “If you can’t do it, don’t do it. I can’t do it either.” Then he disappeared.
At meals, Lan would drop a spoon and leave, saying: “If you can’t use chopsticks, use a spoon to eat.” Bao Xi was on the verge of tears.
When Bao Xi walked up and tugged Lan’s sleeve, saying: “I need to use the bathroom…”
“Lan didn’t even look at Bao Xi, just threw the house map at him and disappeared, causing Bao Xi, a little direction-challenged boy, to get lost in the courtyard, wandering around all afternoon without finding his way back to his room.
My fist clenched, glaring at Lan who was leisurely playing with his jade pendant: “Damn Lan!!! How did I teach you to take care of Bao Xi? How can you treat him like this?” Lan looked at me without surprise: “I don’t know how to take care of kids. I hate kids. I don’t want to do it at all.”
Just as I was about to explode, Mo Ran pulled my sleeve, his face showing an unprecedented seriousness: “Han, tomorrow night, on the roof, I’ll wait for you.”
I was stunned, forgot to answer, and Mo Ran turned and left.
The next day, I pretended not to care about Mo Ran’s words, continuing to take care of Bao Xi as usual, but everyone knew I was thinking about Mo Ran all day. “Little Han~! Don’t feed me right up my nose!” Bao Xi complained, and I suddenly came back to my senses, quickly wiping Bao Xi’s oil-covered nose with my sleeve.
Shu Yang grabbed my hand, “Xiao Han, why are you distracted today? If you’re not feeling well, go rest.” I frowned, “It’s nothing, I’m fine.”
“Bao Xi blinked his big eyes at me, seeming to want to see through my heart, ‘Little Han, you’re lying! You’re clearly concerned about yesterday’s Mo…’ Before he could finish, Shang covered his mouth, ‘Little kid, don’t talk nonsense.’ I knew what Bao Xi wanted to say, and I admitted to myself that I was indeed concerned about what Mo Ran said yesterday. Why did he ask me to the roof? I’d never seen Mo Ran look so serious.
I know what Mo Ran means, but I’ll still play dumb! After all, I understand my feelings for him, and being too frank would only hurt him. I don’t want to end up losing our friendship. ‘Oh, didn’t I already let you take a step further and become my son? Your status is already quite high!’
Mo Ran looked up at the stars, dissatisfied. After a while, he said again: ‘You know that’s not what I mean. I would rather not be your good friend, buddy, or son. I’d rather give up everything and take the position of a lover!’
Oh no, this time I’m truly at a loss for words. ‘Mo Ran…’ His tears flowed from the corner of his eyes. This was the first time I’d seen Mo Ran cry. I never expected him to cry when facing emotions.
I wiped away his tears with my fingertips. ‘You know? Sometimes, feelings can’t be forced. It’s not that everyone in the world ends up with the person they like. The most important thing is mutual affection. Even if we can’t be lovers, can we still be good friends?’
“No.” Moran’s single word made me shudder. Damn, he’s so difficult. Then Moran turned his head, wearing his usual cunning smile: “I want to become sworn siblings with you.” His smile made me relax a bit.
I deliberately raised an eyebrow at Moran, “Who says we’d be brother and sister? Why not sister and brother?” Moran stubbornly pursed his lips: “Who says so! I’m clearly older!” “Tch, little one, how old are you?” I looked at him disdainfully, and he replied: “Seventeen.”
I stood up indignantly, “But I’m taller!” Moran silently stood up, towering over me. Oh heavens, how unfair! “Well, I’m better at martial arts!”
Moran stomped his foot unconvinced: “That’s not fair~!” Hey, stomp away, stomp harder – look, he’s fallen down! I crouched down and shouted into the big hole: “How’s that? Isn’t falling from the roof quite… comfortable?”
Moran shook off the dust and pointed at me: “You’re shameless!” I ignored him, soon hearing sounds of punching, kicking, and Moran’s pig-like screams.
Then I remembered this was Lan’s room, and Lan was currently… bathing. I wanted to laugh, my stomach hurt, and I burst into uncontrollable laughter that echoed through the entire house.
Early this morning, a ‘knock knock knock knock’ at the door woke me up. Everyone else was sleeping so soundly, too lazy to get up and open the door.
Indeed, people are so lazy in spring. But why can’t I be lazy too! Reluctantly, I ran barefoot to open the door. As soon as I opened it, I blurted out: “Who is it! So early in the morning!”
The person knocking saw me, their eyes wide in disbelief, and the portrait in their hand dropped to the ground. I looked up and rubbed my eyes, staring again, “Ning Yu Mo?! What… what are you doing here?!” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I’m a fugitive; he’s surely here to arrest me!
I changed my expression and spoke sweetly: “Young master… Who are you looking for? No need to say more, I know. We don’t have the person you’re looking for, so…” I tried to close the door, but he stuck his foot in the doorway.
I smiled apologetically: “Hehe, sir, what else can I do for you?” But I saw Ning Yu Mo’s tears falling to the ground. He suddenly pushed the door open and hugged me tightly.
