Seeing the two little kids who hadn’t eaten, Shen Tanqi took out two pieces of milk-flavored candy from the dim sum wrapper and handed them to the two little kids. The two little kids obediently took them and thanked him.
He instantly liked these two kids. This inexplicable connection was really strange.
Could it be because the male lead’s halo radiated onto his two sons?
No, it should be that Little Taro Ball and Little Goldfish were naturally likable, making people feel all soft inside.
It’s really annoying. If they weren’t the male lead’s kids but his kids, it would be even better. I wonder where Bai Long and his child are now. Their child should be as cute as Little Taro Ball and Little Goldfish.
Thinking of this, Shen Tanqi felt a bit melancholic for no reason. He bent down, hugged the two little kids, and said, “Let’s go inside. It’s cold outside, and Uncle has some snacks in the room.”
Little Taro Ball was about to be polite, but Little Goldfish had already cheered, “Yay, snacks!”
Totally helpless with this clueless big brother, Little Taro Ball’s ears turned red, and he tightly tugged at the hem of his clothes.
He was a bit afraid that Shen Tanqi in front of him might look down on them. He explained in a low voice for Little Goldfish, “Thank you, Uncle. My brother is just hungry, not impolite.”
Shen Tanqi smiled and took them from Fang Wenshen’s hand, saying, “No problem, just treat it like your own home. No need to be polite.”
Hearing this, Little Taro Ball nodded and tentatively held onto Shen Tanqi’s hand.
It felt warm, unlike Uncle Fang’s rough hands, and different from Dad’s always cold hands.
Being held like this, Little Taro Ball felt a bit awkward, and his arms were a bit stiff.
On the other hand, Little Goldfish had already become very familiar, sticking close to Shen Tanqi, bouncing around happily, humming a tune he randomly made up, “Eating snacks, eating snacks, Dandan wants to eat sweet snacks…”
Silly big brother!
Little Taro Ball wiped his face with his other hand. He really wondered why fate didn’t give his brother half of his IQ.
However, he felt embarrassed for his brother, but Shen Tanqi enjoyed the innocence of the children very much. He joined in with Little Goldfish, humming along to the out-of-tune little tune.
Seeing them humming the song together, Little Taro Ball’s initial embarrassment gradually faded. After a while, he even subconsciously joined them in humming the song. After a moment of realization, he found his own behavior unexpectedly childish and quickly covered his mouth.
Fortunately, no one noticed.
Glancing around, Little Taro Ball coughed softly and straightened his face.
However, this scene quietly caught Shen Tanqi’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but curve his lips slightly.
Hmm… really adorable.
Yaoting Waterside Pavilion.
Shen Tanqi and Fang Wenshen entered together with the children. A brazier1
was burning in the room, and his body instantly warmed up. He took off his cloak, shook off the snowflakes that clung to it, and helped the two kids take off their outerwear.
He took out a delicate sandalwood box from the shelf.
It was his own favorite snack box. Placing it on the table, he carefully helped the kids onto the stools.
The snack box was opened, revealing a collection of delicate, sweet, and soft snacks.
Little Goldfish only took a glance then clapped with great joy, exclaiming, “It’s sticky rice cake!”
It was his favorite.
He loves sticky rice cake the most.
Because when he was little… his daddy who brought him into this world had once given it to him.
Thinking of that daddy, Little Goldfish suddenly felt a small pang of loss. He missed that daddy a bit.
Seeing his enthusiasm, Shen Tanqi took out the sticky rice cake from the snack box and handed it to Little Goldfish. He smiled gently, “Do you like this? But baby, you can’t eat too much. Eating too many sticky rice cakes isn’t good for your stomach.”
Little Goldfish cherished the sticky rice cake as if it was a treasure. He opened his hands, received the piece from Shen Tanqi, and held it in his palms, his eyes sparkling, “Like it, like sticky rice cake the most.”
The sticky rice cake was sweet, just like his daddy who brought him into this world.
Seeing his adorable little gestures, Shen Tanqi couldn’t resist the urge to hug the little kid and give him a couple of affectionate kisses.
After a moment, he restrained that impulse, reminding himself that these were the male lead’s kids, these were the male lead’s kids…
He and the male lead would inevitably take opposing paths in the future. By then, the male lead probably wouldn’t let Little Goldfish and Little Taro Ball get close to him at all.
Looking over, Shen Tanqi saw Little Taro Ball sitting quietly, looking serious as if the child was adhering to some strange etiquette.
His brow twitched slightly. From the snack box, he also took out a piece of sticky rice cake and gave it to Little Taro Ball. Little Taro Ball thanked him quietly before accepting the snack, then ate it with a deliberately cold expression.
Leaning on his chin, Shen Tanqi admired the two little kids eating their sticky rice cakes slowly. The more he looked, the more he liked them, and the more he felt a sense of regret.
Ah, why do they have to be the male lead’s children?
I really want to kidnap them…
At that moment, in the main residence of the sect, in the attic of the Rongyun Pavilion.
Yu Ce stood in the hall, having just heard the sect leader talk about last year’s monthly expenses for the Rongyun Sect and how many sects envied and competed for slots in the sect’s grand competition draw.
He was restless and couldn’t bear it, not absorbing a single word.
The image of those red lanterns and the imagined scene of Shen Tanqi smiling and cozying up to someone else seemed to repeatedly flash before his eyes.
Just thinking about it made his breathing inexplicably rapid. He wished he could cast a clone spell right now, stand in front of Shen Tanqi, and demand an explanation.
Even he didn’t understand what was going on with himself.
Before leaving, Shen Tanqi had said to him that they were at least still friends.
But were they really just friends?
In Shen Tanqi’s eyes, were they merely friends with two children?
“Oh, by the way, do you still remember that troublemaker from the Shen family, Shen Tanqi?” The sect leader suddenly spoke, instantly bringing Yu Ce’s thoughts back. He smiled, stroking his beard, and said, “The one who used to always bully you. In these three years you’ve been away, you haven’t forgotten about him, have you?”
At the mere mention of those three words, Yu Ce’s expression darkened. “I remember.”
How could he forget after more than three hundred days and nights?
Seeing his indifferent expression, the sect leader thought he still despised Shen Tanqi as before, and chuckled, “Since the time you saved Shen Tanqi when he fell into the water, this kid has transformed completely. Not only has he repented, but he also cares a lot about his fellow disciples. You should really go see what your good senior brother looks like now; it’s quite amusing.”
Yu Ce took a deep breath and said, “Yes, I’ve been meaning to do that.”
“That’s good. However, there’s even stranger news you might not know,” the sect leader, not having seen Yu Ce for a long time, couldn’t resist adding a few more words, “A few days ago, I heard Fang Wenxun say that Shen Tanqi has taken a liking to a new junior disciple. He’s been extremely attentive, meticulously preparing a birthday gift for him. It’s truly a bizarre occurrence…”
After saying this, even the sect leader laughed.
Yu Ce glanced at the sect leader, showing no trace of amusement.
“I never knew before that the sect leader also enjoys listening to such gossip.”
He called it ‘gossip.’
In simpler terms, you’re quite nosy.
The sect leader cleared his throat, adopting a stern expression. “You brat, now that you’ve grown wings, who are you talking about? I may be getting old, but my mind isn’t. Does hearing some interesting stories bother you? I think you’re more of an old stick-in-the-mud than I am.”
Seeing Yu Ce standing in silence, the sect leader couldn’t help but feel a twinge of heartache. Over the years, Yu Ce had been his favorite—calm, composed, not fighting for attention. Yet, he also suffered a lot of grievances because of this temperament.
He sighed and said, “Don’t hold a grudge against Shen Tanqi. With his family’s current influence, going against him might bring back the hostility you experienced before.”
“I know,” Yu Ce responded absentmindedly.
After a while, he lifted his head, fixedly looking at the sect leader, and asked, “Is it true that Shen Tanqi has feelings for the new junior disciple?”
Hearing this abrupt question, the sect leader was momentarily puzzled, then seemed to figure something out, his face filled with surprise. “What are you planning? Are you trying to compete with Shen Tanqi for someone?”
Yu Ce: …
He was really starting to get annoyed.
Really.
“No,” Yu Ce said somewhat helplessly. “I just want to know if the rumors are true.”
The sect leader looked at him with a mixture of belief and doubt, saying slowly, “Whether there are mutual feelings, I don’t know, but that new disciple, Xiao Qingyu, is indeed charming and likable. It’s normal for Shen Tanqi to admire him. Didn’t you bring back the spirit herb to cure his poison before? You should have seen him then.”
From the dusty memories of three years ago, Yu Ce finally recalled Xiao Qingyu’s appearance. The youth was indeed refined and elegant. At the time, he had vaguely felt a sense of familiarity.
“That child is kind-hearted and has good talent. Do you remember the day you left, which happened to be the day of the Lotus Festival? Xiao Qingyu, following you, was the only one who could find thirty green beads in the lotus array. If given more time, he might have broken your record of forty-nine beads.”
The record from the Lotus Festival that year was just because he found the lotus array interesting and, on a whim, summoned the white crane to play around.
As a result, when Shen Tanqi learned that he had found forty-nine green beads, he angrily threw the porcelain plate containing the beads to the ground and left in frustration.
Would senior brother react the same way towards Xiao Qingyu?
Or would he feel joy for Xiao Qingyu?
A subtle pain pricked at his heart, and he lowered his eyelashes. The fingers in his sleeve loosened as if releasing tension.
The anger that had ignited in his chest due to Shen Tanqi’s feelings suddenly disappeared, leaving only an embarrassing and ugly pile of ashes.
The person Shen Tanqi liked was kind, not much different from him, and, most importantly, they were from the same race.
Shen Tanqi should prefer Xiao Qingyu, the junior disciple, even more.
I feel so sad.
Right now, he really wanted to see his senior brother.
Yu Ce couldn’t wait any longer. He bowed and took his leave, saying, “Master, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go back now.”
“Why the rush?” The sect leader picked up the disciple list from the desk in front of him and said slowly, “This is the list of disciples participating in the upcoming sect competition. It’s still early; you should carefully study this pile of lists. I know you are talented, but this competition involves seventeen sects. Don’t be careless; understanding your opponents is the key to winning every battle.”
Yu Ce looked at the towering stack of disciple lists, his breath slightly stagnating. He attempted to resist, saying, “Master, could the disciple come back tomorrow to organize these?”
The sect leader, not having seen him for a long time, seemed to want to keep him there, pretending to be angry, “How did I teach you back then? Finish what you started the same day! Now, get to work!”
For a while, the silence in the hall seemed unbreakable, as if one could hear a pin drop.
A nearby attendant whispered to him, “Senior Brother, stay a bit. Since you left, the sect leader hasn’t had anyone to confide in. People fear loneliness when they grow old; staying and chatting with him would be good.”
After a long pause, Yu Ce stood in the vast hall, sighed helplessly, and said softly, “Yes, I will obey.”
He hoped that Fang Wenshen would take good care of Little Goldfish and Little Taro Ball, ensuring the two children wouldn’t get into any trouble.
While Yu Ce was entangled by the sect leader, he had no idea that Shen Tanqi had already started chatting about him.
“Let me tell you, my dad looks very handsome, you know.” Little Goldfish, his mouth full of plum blossom pastries, spoke in a soft and tender voice. “And he’s very gentle and upright too.”
Little Goldfish was obviously a chatterbox who adored his dad and complimented the male lead endlessly. Shen Tanqi had already heard him praise the male lead for over a thousand words on how handsome, dashing, gentle, and kind he was.
“Really? Then Dad must be very good to you guys, huh?” Shen Tanqi naturally didn’t take the children’s words too seriously. He smiled and handed a cup of water to the little ones, being careful not to let them choke.
Little Goldfish took the cup and gulped down a large sip, then continued, “Dad is the best to me and my little brother in the whole world.”
Pausing for a moment, Little Goldfish remembered something. “But Dad isn’t nice to bad people at all.”
The hand holding the water cup trembled for a moment.
On this note, Little Taro Ball also seemed to be inspired, expressing admiration, “Yes, I once saw Dad stab a bad guy with a sword, so powerful! There was nothing left, not even ashes!”
Shen Tanqi: ?
“Why haven’t I seen that before?”
“Because, Brother, you’re too scared. You fainted at the time, and you didn’t see Dad finishing off the bad guy. It’s a pity. Dad never shows mercy to bad guys. With a swipe of his sword, the bad guy’s blood spurts—”
“Waaah, that sounds terrifying.”
“What’s scary about getting rid of bad guys? You’re a scaredy-cat, Brother.”
Shen Tanqi: …
Gosh.
Why does this topic make him feel colder with each passing moment?
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
