On the way back to the Water Pavilion, Shen Tanqi grew increasingly irritated. He wanted to immediately send Yu Ce back to the disciples’ dormitory and have him stay there where it’s cooler. However, upon opening the door, he was greeted by two little ones peeking at him from the bed, their small faces lifted towards him.
Goldfish immediately crawled off the bed and ran to Shen Tanqi, hugging him and rubbing his face against him, just like the Goldfish in the illusion. Remembering that illusion, Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but shiver. He squatted down and hugged Goldfish back, asking, “Did you study well with your brother today?”
Goldfish nodded and proudly showed Shen Tanqi his writing on a piece of paper. “Look, Daddy!”
Shen Tanqi took the paper, the characters were crooked and smudged, resembling little insects. It took some effort to recognize his own name written on it. Feeling warm inside, Shen Tanqi rubbed the little one’s head and said, “Goldfish, you did a great job writing.”
His name had complicated strokes, which made it difficult for the child.
Pleased with Shen Tanqi’s praise, Goldfish swayed happily. Then, as if remembering something, he ran to the table and picked up another piece of paper, handing it to Shen Tanqi. “Daddy, look, this is what my brother did.”
Just as Shen Tanqi was about to look, he saw Taro Ball shyly trying to block the paper with his hand, his cheeks flushed. He whispered, “Daddy, I just drew this after finishing my homework. It’s not good.”
Then, he lightly hit his brother as if blaming him for suddenly mentioning his drawing.
Shen Tanqi pursed his lips and still took the paper from Goldfish. Flattening it out, he saw four stick figures drawn on it.
One was a tall and skinny stick figure with a serious expression, carrying a sword.
Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but laugh. It was obvious at first glance that it was Yu Ce.
The drawing was really ugly, hahaha, just like him!
However, he couldn’t laugh out loud for fear of hurting Taro Ball’s feelings. Shen Tanqi forcibly restrained himself, holding back his laughter as he continued to look.
Two adorable little stick figures, one holding a small yellow flower on the left and the other holding a little goldfish on the right—these must be the brother and himself drawn by Taro Ball.
Adorable. It seemed that the little one was more serious when drawing himself and his brother, compared to the perfunctory depiction of Yu Ce just now.
He settled into the recliner, with Taro Ball and Goldfish on his lap. When he looked again, he noticed another stick figure beside the three, meticulously drawn.
It seemed like the child wasn’t satisfied even after drawing it several times, erasing and redrawing repeatedly until there was hardly any space left on the paper. Eventually, he drew it very small, sandwiched between the two little stick figures.
Next to it were two delicate words, which Shen Tanqi slowly read aloud, “My, home.”
His heart skipped a beat, the world lost its color, and all sound seemed to fade away, leaving only Shen Tanqi and the two children on his lap.
Shen Tanqi stared blankly at those words, at the drawing of the four silly and adorable stick figures, almost forgetting where he was at that moment.
My, home.
He repeated it blankly in his mind.
It wasn’t until Taro Ball asked him anxiously in a small voice, “Daddy, is the drawing not good?” that Shen Tanqi snapped back to reality, noticing a few dark wet spots on the paper.
The child climbed onto him in confusion, using his sleeve to gently wipe away Shen Tanqi’s tears.
He suddenly smiled, hugged the little ones tightly to his chest, and reassured, “Daddy’s fine. Just now, some sand blew into my eyes, making them tear up. I’m not that prone to crying, am I?”
Taro Ball looked at him doubtfully, snuggling into Shen Tanqi’s arms, stretching out his little arms, just like Yu Ce used to do when comforting them, and gently patted Shen Tanqi’s back, soothing him, “It’s okay to cry, Daddy. Daddy can also be a child. Children can cry whenever they want.”
Shen Tanqi’s eyes welled up with tears again, but he couldn’t help but chuckle, saying, “Is Taro Ball teaching Daddy the words Daddy taught you?”
“Yeah.” Taro Ball blinked, resting his head on Shen Tanqi’s chest and whispered, “Daddy said, even when we grow up, we’re still children. Children can cry whenever they want, they can be spoiled, and of course, they can sometimes be disobedient.”
Shen Tanqi felt a strange sensation in his heart, his throat tightening slightly. He whispered softly, “Alright, I’ll listen to Taro Ball.”
Goldfish lay in his lap, his round little face looking like a bun from the side. When the child saw him tearing up, he wanted to cry too, choking up a few times but no tears came out. “Daddy, will we always be together from now on?”
Shen Tanqi had long expected that one day the children would ask this question, but when faced with it, even though he had prepared himself mentally, he still couldn’t find an answer.
He remained silent for a long time, kissing both children on the forehead, then asked, “Do Goldfish and Taro Ball want a home?”
Taro Ball’s eyelashes trembled, his voice getting smaller and smaller as he asked, “Aren’t we already a family?”
Father, brother, him, Daddy.
Weren’t they a family?
Could it be that Daddy still didn’t like Father and wanted to leave them?
If that was the case, he didn’t want to make Daddy feel uncomfortable…
“Yes.” Shen Tanqi suddenly spoke up, cupping Taro Ball’s face in his hands, and said earnestly, “We are family, today, tomorrow, forever. It will never change.”
Taro Ball and Goldfish’s eyes instantly lit up, happily snuggling into his embrace, kissing and hugging him, just like two clingy little puppies.
In a place where the children couldn’t see, Shen Tanqi picked up the piece of paper and carefully examined each stick figure on it, imprinting every detail in his mind.
Taro Ball and Goldfish wanted a home.
He told himself, Shen Tanqi, don’t forget.
He must find a way, a way to stay without letting down his brother and sister.
Creak—
The door suddenly creaked open, letting in some light.
Instinctively following the light, Shen Tanqi looked up and saw Yu Ce standing at the threshold, seemingly hesitating whether to come in and face scolding.
After a moment, he came in.
He walked to the table and silently replaced the green bamboo in Shen Tanqi’s vase with his own peach blossoms.
Under Shen Tanqi’s intense gaze, Yu Ce reluctantly admitted defeat, “Senior Brother, please don’t be angry.”
He took off his storage ring and took out several snacks from the food shop, placing them on the table. “At least have something to eat before getting angry.”
Upon hearing this, Taro Ball immediately defended Shen Tanqi, discontentedly saying, “Father, why do you always make Daddy angry all the time?”
Goldfish echoed, “Yeah, yeah!”
If Shen Tanqi didn’t want to be with them forever, it was all Father’s fault for not seizing the opportunity.
Taro Ball secretly thought that it was time to find a way to help Father. He was too slow, making people worry.
Yu Ce naturally knew that he was the one who had angered Shen Tanqi first this time, so he readily agreed, “Alright, I won’t do it again next time.”
Taro Ball shot Yu Ce a look and said, “Just talking about it won’t do any good, Father, you should apologize.”
Father and son locked eyes, and Yu Ce understood. He lowered his head and said, “Senior Brother, I’m sorry.”
Their synchronized actions almost made Shen Tanqi burst out laughing, but forgiving Yu Ce so easily, he felt reluctant.
“We’ll continue with the trial in the illusion this afternoon.” But this time, if Yu Ce tried anything tricky again, he would… he would kick Yu Ce to death in the illusion. After all, he wouldn’t get hurt when he returned to reality, it would teach Yu Ce a lesson.
Yu Ce immediately agreed, “Even if Senior Brother didn’t remind me, I would have gone this afternoon. In the sect competition, I will do my best for Senior Brother’s sake.”
“For me? It’s for yourself.” Shen Tanqi said with a hint of frustration, “For your future. Think about it, the sect competition involves dozens of world-renowned sects, what a great opportunity, you…”
Yu Ce automatically filtered out the rest of Shen Tanqi’s words in his mind. He didn’t care about his future. He just wanted a simple and warm thatched cottage, with children and Shen Tanqi inside. That would be enough.
After Shen Tanqi finished talking about the benefits of winning the sect competition, Yu Ce immediately opened the snack paper and handed a piece to Shen Tanqi’s lips. “Senior Brother, have it while it’s still warm, it just came out of the oven.”
Shen Tanqi, who was enjoying himself talking, even felt he had potential as a salesperson, was interrupted by Yu Ce. He felt a bit annoyed but still took the snack and ate it.
It was indeed delicious, soft and sweet.
He temporarily forgot about Yu Ce and took another piece from the table, giving it to the two children, “It’s delicious, try it.”
Goldfish and Taro Ball had been eager to eat it, and they couldn’t wait to put it in their mouths, enjoying it thoroughly.
Seeing the children closing their eyes in enjoyment as they ate, Shen Tanqi felt satisfied. He thought Yu Ce had finally done something that didn’t make him want to scold him.
After lunch, they took a short nap on the soft bed in the Pavilion. Shen Tanqi quietly arranged the two sleeping children and gestured to Yu Ce, “Shall we go?”
Yu Ce helped him put on his coat before giving a faint “Hmm” in response.
Outside, the wind was cold, and Shen Tanqi never seemed to remember to dress warmly, which made Yu Ce worry even more.
When they arrived at Fu Feng Peak, many disciples were already waiting there, although there were far fewer than in the morning. It seemed that everyone knew how dangerous the illusion was and didn’t dare to try it casually.
The female elder in charge of guarding the formation was surprised to see them again. “Didn’t you just come this morning? The illusion cannot be entered for the second time in a day. Excessive attempts will damage your spiritual state.”
Shen Tanqi was taken aback, not expecting this. Upon hearing her words, he intended to take Yu Ce back and return the next day. However, the elder suddenly stopped him, “Wait a moment, Shen Tanqi. I didn’t see you enter the illusion for the trial this morning.”
In the morning, he had only accompanied Yu Ce, not intending to undergo the trial himself.
The elder smiled and said, “Since you have time this afternoon, why don’t you try the trial?”
Shen Tanqi pointed at himself in surprise, “Me?”
Seeing that he seemed hesitant, the elder frowned slightly and said, “Of course, besides you, who else? Your name is clearly written on the list of disciples participating in the sect competition. Shen Tanqi, you must not slack off.”
Since the elder had spoken like this, Shen Tanqi sighed, knowing that he couldn’t escape. He looked at Yu Ce, intending to ask if he was willing to accompany him.
But before he could ask, Yu Ce made a decision on the spot, “Okay, Senior Brother will enter the illusion, and I will accompany you.”
Shen Tanqi: ?
Not good, why did he feel like Yu Ce was looking forward to this so much?
“Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I won’t leave your side. If anything happens,” Yu Ce declared confidently, “I’ll be the first to go in.”
Shen Tanqi: …
You were just waiting to say that, weren’t you?
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)
