For a while, Shen Tanqi didn’t say anything; he really didn’t know how to respond to this.
However, Yu Ce spoke in a deep voice, “In the letter, you said you missed me.”
“Huh?” Shen Tanqi looked up in surprise, saying with genuine confusion, “When did I ever write a letter to you?”
Yu Ce took out a piece of paper from the inside of his robe, unfolding it with practiced ease, as if he had done so many times before.
It was a half-torn letter.
Shen Tanqi looked at it in shock. The words ‘Both Senior Brother Shen and I miss you a lot’ were written on the top, but the second half was mysteriously torn off, leaving the content unknown.
Awkwardly clearing his throat, he forced a smile and said, “Well, I do miss you.”
At this moment, in the hall, Xiao Qingyu also mustered the courage to speak, “Yes, Senior Brother Yu, both Senior Brother Shen and I have been thinking about you.”
After years of separation, the last time Xiao Qingyu saw Yu Ce, he was still a half-grown teenager. Yu Ce had saved him from the clutches of the demonic clan, making him the person Xiao Qingyu owed the most.
Following the voice, Yu Ce’s gaze fell on Xiao Qingyu’s face. His breath slightly paused, and he struggled to say, “You and Senior Brother Shen?”
Xiao Qingyu hesitated for a moment. Although he didn’t quite understand the meaning behind Yu Ce’s words, he sensibly noticed that Yu Ce seemed different from what he remembered.
Wasn’t it said that Yu Ce and Shen Tanqi had an extremely strained relationship?
But… why can’t he sense anything at all?
Wait a moment. In an instant, Xiao Qingyu raised his head in horror, looking at the two kids at the door who were watching the drama unfold.
Those eyebrows and eyes, apart from resembling Yu Ce, the remaining four to five points that he thought were familiar at first were so similar to Shen Tanqi! How could they look so much like Shen Tanqi?”
A cold sweat broke out on his back, and he immediately stepped aside, bowing to Yu Ce, “I suppose… I suppose you two senior brothers have more to talk about. I still have some lists to organize, so I’ll take my leave.”
“Qingyu!” Shen Tanqi panicked. If Xiao Qingyu left, what if Yu Ce wanted to do something to him? Who else could intervene?
However, Xiao Qingyu just turned back, giving him an incomprehensible look, full of regret, and placed the obsidian pentagonal box that Shen Tanqi gave him on the table.
The wife of a benefactor should not be deceived.
Farewell, brother, take care of yourself!
Xiao Qingyu swiftly left, leaving a trembling Shen Tanqi standing by the bed, shrinking into a corner.
Seeing Xiao Qingyu rushing out of the room, Fang Wenshen outside the door became even more anxious, “Why are you coming out? Where’s Yu Ce?”
Pausing for a moment, before Xiao Qingyu could catch his breath, Fang Wenshen impatiently asked, “What about the wine? Did you drink it?”
“I didn’t drink, Senior Yu… he…” Xiao Qingyu looked towards the two naive kids by the door, struggling to find the right words, “he’s here to find the child’s biological father.”
Fang Wenshen didn’t understand at all, asking in confusion, “Finding the biological father? Qingyu, are you confused?”
Xiao Qingyu couldn’t believe how dense Fang Wenshen was. Frustrated, he blurted it out in front of the children, “Shen Tanqi is Yu Ce’s child’s biological father!”
Fang Wenshen: ?
Being the innocent bystander who suddenly became involved in the drama: ?
The two kids exchanged glances and jumped up in joy, “Uncle Shen is our daddy!”
“That’s great, so great, sob…”
The two brothers hugged tightly, as if they had just won a victorious battle.
Fang Wenshen, with a trembling voice, extended a finger, pointing towards the two inside the room, “Are you saying that Yu Ce and Shen Tanqi?”
How could this be possible?
The mere mention of these two names together was already extremely rare, let alone the fact that they had… two three-year-old children.
Three years old?
Fang Wenshen’s heart skipped a beat. Three years ago, wasn’t that the time when Shen Tanqi spent ten months recuperating outside due to the Gu poison?
He had been wondering why Xiao Qingyu, who was also affected by the Gu poison, recovered so quickly, while Shen Tanqi suffered for a whole ten months. Now, thinking about those ten months, it seemed chilling!
No wonder Yu Ce was so furious earlier; they might be on the verge of a fight now in the elegant Yaoting pavilion.
Fang Wenshen slapped himself suddenly, silently praying for Shen Tanqi.
After years of separation, Yu Ce had reached the Divine Transformation stage, while Shen Tanqi was still in the late Golden Core stage. The two were separated by two major realms. Hopefully, Shen Tanqi would come out of Yaoting pavilion unscathed…
As the night deepened, the snow showed no signs of stopping.
At this very moment, as Fang Wenshen expected, the elegant Yaoting pavilion was filled with a tense and icy atmosphere, ready to erupt into conflict at any moment.
Yu Ce advanced step by step, his eyes fixated on Shen Tanqi’s face, now flushed from the effects of alcohol. Was this fragile appearance specifically put on for Xiao Qingyu to see?
“Now that everyone has left, there’s no need to pretend anymore. Or do you truly not recognize me at all?”
The alcohol was finally starting to clear from Shen Tanqi’s mind. His ears became sharper, and he vaguely felt that the voice was somewhat familiar but couldn’t place it.
It wasn’t until the candles in the room flickered and went out, plunging the entire Yaoting pavilion into darkness.
“Shen Tanqi.”
“For over three hundred days and nights, did you truly forget me?”
In the instant the candlelight reignited, Shen Tanqi opened his eyes and stared at everything before him in confusion.
A massive white dragon, as white as snow, lay coiled in front of him, making the spacious Yaoting pavilion appear incredibly cramped.
“Oh, damn…”
Shen Tanqi vaguely sensed the icy breath of the dragon, mixed with indescribable pain, disappointment, and grievances.
The fear of the male lead in his heart disappeared in an instant, vanishing without a trace. He reached out, gently touching the tail of the white dragon, and felt like he had been struck by lightning.
Yu Ce was the male lead, no doubt about it.
Yu Ce had an unresolved hatred towards him, that was true.
Yu Ce would undoubtedly want to kill him in the future, also true.
But, Yu Ce was the white dragon…
Who the heck could have seen that coming!!!
The system hadn’t even told him that the male lead was a daemon cultivator. Shen Tanqi had always thought Yu Ce was human.
So, the two children Yu Ce brought back—
Shen Tanqi suddenly realized and asked, “Are those two children mine?”
Yu Ce coldly responded without confirming or denying, “What do you think?”
With another flicker of the candlelight, Yu Ce returned to his human form, tall and graceful, closely resembling the image of Bai Long etched in his memory.
Despite having had some drinks just now, he hadn’t recognized him at all.
Unable to resist, Shen Tanqi continued to ask, “Are they really my children?”
Goldfish and Taro Ball, the twins, so the eggs he laid were double-yolked.
It must be so!
However, Yu Ce responded with indifference and detachment, “When you were drinking and having fun with your Junior Brother, did it ever cross your mind that you have children?”
With gifts, lanterns, and a drinking appointment, everyone in Rongyun Sect probably knew how Shen Tanqi planned to celebrate Xiao Qingyu’s birthday, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.
What about him?
Wasn’t he supposed to be Shen Tanqi’s good junior brother?
“You never once placed me in your heart, not for a single moment.” The scene of Shen Tanqi and Xiao Qingyu embracing replayed in Yu Ce’s mind, and he took a deep breath. “Well, so be it. I guessed it long ago.”
As he finished speaking, Shen Tanqi looked up at him in disbelief and asked in return, “How could you know whether you were in my heart or not?”
Yu Ce’s eyes dimmed slightly as he spoke, “I don’t need to know. I only believe in what my ears hear and my eyes see.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Tanqi suppressed the anger triggered by Yu Ce’s words and said, “Sometimes, ears and eyes can deceive. What you hear and see may not necessarily be true. Why not listen to my explanation?”
Yu Ce closed his eyes, averted his gaze, and spoke softly, “You admire Xiao Qingyu, the entire sect knows it. Why should I listen to your explanation?”
God knew how uncomfortable he felt every time he heard someone talk about how Shen Tanqi pursued Xiao Qingyu.
Shen Tanqi was greatly puzzled about where this ‘admiration for Xiao Qingyu’ came from, how such absurd rumors spread, and that people actually believed it.
With patience, he tried to explain the situation to Yu Ce, “Yu Ce, calm down. There’s nothing between Xiao Qingyu and me. The things you heard are probably just rumors. Don’t you trust me?”
“I wanted to trust you, before I entered the room.” Yu Ce’s voice was indifferent, as if he had already been disappointed to the extreme. “Shen Tanqi, maybe I shouldn’t have brought the children back, as Fang Wenshen said, fearing that I would ruin your good thing, right? Now that I’ve seen how close you are to him, do you want to say that you’re like this with everyone? What else is there to explain, and how do you intend to prove it?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take the children back tomorrow.”
“I won’t bother you again.”
As these words were uttered, Shen Tanqi felt as if his mind had been completely ignited by alcohol, suffocation, frustration, or something else—igniting the tiny flame in his brain.
Take the children back?
Bother him again?
Every sentence stabbed straight into his heart. Did the silly dragon even think before speaking?
A raging fire swept away the last shred of rationality he had as a salty fish, and he became uncontrollable.
“How to prove it?”
He suddenly burst into laughter, grabbing Yu Ce’s collar. Yu Ce, unexpectedly at a loss, subconsciously held onto the hand in front of him.
“Alright, I’ll tell you how to prove it.”
Shen Tanqi tiptoed, forcefully grabbing the neatly ironed collar, and then, he fiercely bit Yu Ce’s lips. In an instant, Yu Ce’s eyes widened slightly, and his brain seemed to pause for a 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)
