A reply arrived shortly after dinner, when all the servants had gone off to bed. Ge Nianlan irritably tugged the letter from its envelope and gave it a quick scan.
“Yihong,
You are not allowed to court my disciple.
Signed,
Your father.”
Ge Nianlan tore the letter up to shreds. Just as he was about to throw a tantrum, Sigu tapped his hand. He glared at the bird and found that there was a letter in his beak. He frowned, but still took the letter and pulled it out. After reading it, his eyes lit up.
“I knew that old man wouldn’t let me die!” Ge Nianlan said as he happily flung himself onto the divan.
So, Huai Zhen liked romance books and spicy food? Those were easy things to come by! Of course, he would have to ask one of his maids to do the cooking and another to buy some new books, but that would be easy to do. But was that enough?
It was customary for the Young Lord to have a week of celebration dedicated to him. It was a grand festival in Liuling City, where everyone was fed and children were supposed to get special treatment. Although Ge Nianlan remembered little of the previous years now, he knew for sure that it was always a big deal. This was the only time that Ge Jinsheng allowed others to see him, after all.
And Ge Nianlan had ten of these birthdays. Meanwhile, Huai Zhen never even knew when he was born. He wondered if Baili Liuye even bothered picking a random day to celebrate Huai Zhen.
As Ge Nianlan fell deep in thought, a soft knock on the door drew him out of his wild scenarios.
He hopped up from the chair and hurried over to the door. He opened it a crack and when he saw who was on the other side, he grinned and pulled Huai Zhen in. The door closed with a light clatter.
“Nianlan—”
“We have to whisper,” Ge Nianlan said as he guided Huai Zhen to his bed. “What took you so long?”
Huai Zhen glanced at the hand that tightly gripped his and then looked at the back of the boy’s head. “I was reading and I forgot about the time.”
“What kind of book were you reading this time?” Ge Nianlan asked as he kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed.
Huai Zhen took his shoes off as well and placed them properly next to Ge Nianlan’s. He climbed onto the boy’s bed and leaned against the wall.
“Another fantasy.”
“What’s it about?” Ge Nianlan asked.
“It was a story about love and revenge,” Huai Zhen said. He placed his head on top of the black lion stuffed animal he had brought with him. “This centipede jing tricked this naïve cultivator into falling in love with him, and then took advantage of his love to get secrets about his shizun. In the end, the centipede jing got his revenge by sacrificing himself to bring down his enemies, but he also lost his love.”
“What?” Ge Nianlan stared at Huai Zhen. “Is there really someone so stupid who can be tricked that badly?”
“Hey, it’s not stupidity!” Huai Zhen snapped. “He was blinded by love.”
“He must have been really blind,” Ge Nianlan said. “And that was the end?”
Huai Zhen sighed. “Yeah, that’s how it ended. There was so much unresolved plot! At the beginning, there was a boy who always followed the naïve immortal, but then the centipede jing got rid of him and they never brought him up again. There was also a romantic plot line, hinted at between two of the characters that was never resolved.”
“That sounds like the author is a horrible writer.”
“They’re not!” Huai Zhen insisted. He pouted into the lion’s mane. “I wonder if a second volume will come out.”
“Well,” Ge Nianlan shrugged. “We can keep an eye out for it, I guess.”
“I like the author’s other work better,” Huai Zhen said longingly. “At least they got a happy ending.”
Ge Nianlan tilted his head. “What was that one about?”
“A younger cultivator was used by his shizun and brainwashed into an evil cultivator,” Huai Zhen said, his eyes widening as he spoke. “Eventually, his shizun died and the young cultivator was ostracized by the entire cultivation world!”
“Ostracized by the entire cultivation world, huh?” Ge Nianlan echoed. He shuddered. It hit a little too close to home.
“Yeah! But through it all, there was one person who stood by the cultivator’s side,” Huai Zhen giggled. He squeezed the lion in his arms. “It was very romantic.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ge Nianlan leaned his head against the wall as he watched Huai Zhen. “Really? It sounds really scary to me. It’s the entire cultivation world against you. The entire cultivation world wants you to die. And there’s only one person with you? What’s that going to do? One body can only block a couple hundred arrows before it runs out of room.”
“Tbe vbc’a ecvfgrajcv.”
“P vbc’a. Ktja’r kts P’w jrxlcu,” Xf Rljcijc rjlv.
Lejl Itfc teoofv. “Ktlcx jybea la bc j rwjiifg rmjif. Vjs atfgf kjr j qifatbgj bo qfbqif tjgjrrlcu sbe jcv yeiislcu sbe, yea atfc bcf vjs, rbwfbcf rajcvr lc ogbca bo sbe jcv mbcogbcar atfw. Gbc’a sbe atlcx atja kbeiv wjxf sbeg tfjga gjmf?”
Ge Nianlan stared at him. “Why would my heart race? Did they poison me?”
“Your heart racing is a sign that you’re falling in love!”
“…My heart races when Lord Wen tells me to take laps,” Ge Nianlan said.
“…That’s not love. That’s fear.”
Ge Nianlan fiddled with the blankets under him. “Then, is love fear?”
“What are you saying!?”
“Sshh! We’re whispering,” Ge Nianlan said.
Huai Zhen glared at him and hissed, “You’re speaking nonsense.”
“I’m trying to understand.”
“If you don’t even understand love, then why are you trying so hard to get Miss Zheng and Young Master Luo together!?” Huai Zhen irritably asked.
“I don’t understand anything about falling in love, but I understand pain,” Ge Nianlan said. He looked down at the blanket he was messing with. “Losing your loved one is very, very painful. It feels cold right here,” Ge Nianlan placed his hand to his own chest, “And it feels like you’re choking on rocks.”
He fell silent for a moment before sighing and resting his forehead on Huai Zhen’s shoulder. “I don’t want them to feel that way just because they’re stubborn.”
Huai Zhen stared at the top of Ge Nianlan’s head. He felt his chest clench.
He had never seen such a look on Ge Nianlan’s face before. He looked as if he had no more tears left to cry. But he was always smiling and joking around. What did he go through to make him make such an expression?
Ge Nianlan had closed his eyes and tried to compose himself. He felt Huai Zhen shift under him and felt a small hand gently stroking up and down his back. He stiffened. The sour feeling in his nose strengthened, but he looked up at Huai Zhen with a grin.
“Are you comforting me?”
“Kind of,” Huai Zhen mumbled. He glanced at Ge Nianlan uncomfortably. “Have you…lost…?”
Huai Zhen held his tongue. He knew little about Black Mane Palace, but even he knew that Ge Jinsheng’s wife was no longer in this world. He glanced at Ge Nianlan and wondered if he had stepped on a sore spot. However, the boy looked at him intently, transferring feelings that Huai Zhen didn’t quite understand.
“…Nianlan?”
“Mn, I’ve lost many people,” Ge Nianlan said. “But it’s okay, because it won’t happen again.”
Huai Zhen frowned. He held Ge Nianlan a little closer. “I’m sorry.”
Ge Nianlan was a bit perplexed.
The person who caused him to lose everyone he cared for was now comforting him and he didn’t feel disgusted at all. Instead, he felt sadness for Huai Zhen. He was the one who lost his mother, yet he never got the careful care of Ge Jinsheng to make up for it. What he got in return was the cruelty of the world.
…Well, at the very least, he had Baili Liuye’s affection.
“I’m sorry too.”
Huai Zhen’s brows raised. “Why are you sorry?”
Ge Nianlan smiled. “I won’t tell you.”
Huai Zhen lightly clicked his tongue. He poked Ge Nianlan’s forehead lightly. “Sometimes I wonder what goes on in here.”
“Should I open it up for you to see?” Ge Nianlan enthusiastically asked.
“No! No need,” Huai Zhen quickly rejected.
For some reason, he felt like Ge Nianlan would really do so if he said yes.
Ge Nianlan giggled. He moved Huai Zhen’s stuffed lion from his lap and replaced it with himself. He hugged the lion to his chest as he propped up one leg and crossed the other over it.
“Tell me more about falling in love! If I learn more, then maybe I’ll get Luo-ge and Zheng-jie together. Do you think I’m not doing enough? I thought people just like each other the more time they spend together,” Ge Nianlan said.
Huai Zhen yawned. “There’s a lot of ways people fall in love.”
“For example?”
“They fall in love once they get saved by the other person,” Huai Zhen said.
“You’re really hung up on that one, aren’t you?”
Huai Zhen glared at Ge Nianlan, who immediately closed his mouth. “There’s also childhood friends who fall in love. Then, there’s old enemies who know each other so well that they fall in love. There’s also the kind where you appreciate each other’s talents and you fall in love.”
Ge Nianlan watched Huai Zhen’s head bob up and down and lean closer to his. “A-Huai, are you very sleepy?”
“Mn,” Huai Zhen murmured. He batted his lashes open and sat up again. Another soft yawn escaped his lips. “I think you should just let them be, to be honest. If they’re really meant to be, then they’ll get together.”
“But the issue right now is that Luo-ge is being too much of a coward,” Ge Nianlan said as he turned onto his stomach. He kicked his feet slightly as he pinched the stuffed lion. “What if he never says anything? Then, Zheng-jiejie will just think that the engagement was broken off because he doesn’t have feelings for her!”
“Miscommunication is the spice of romance,” Huai Zhen mumbled sleepily.
“What are you saying? This is reality, not fiction,” Ge Nianlan sighed. He glanced over his shoulder at Huai Zhen. “A-Huai, you can’t possibly be sleepy yet!”
“But I am,” Huai Zhen muttered.
“You’re not. You’re actively trying to sleep,” Ge Nianlan said. He sat up and poked Huai Zhen with the lion stuffed animal. “Wake up or Mr. Sootball is going to run away from home.”
“His name isn’t Sootball,” Huai Zhen irritably said as he took his stuffed animal back. “It’s Xiao Ying.”
“Sootball is far more creative than Xiao Ying,” Ge Nianlan said.
“It isn’t.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No, it’s not. Sootball just sounds dumb.”
“And you’re telling me little shadow is okay?” Ge Nianlan asked.
“Then, what about Gugu? That’s just a sound!” Huai Zhen said as he pointed to the slumbering bird in the corner.
“Hey, Gugu is meaningful. It’s the first sound I heard out of him when I got him. Also, it means that he’s a glutton,” Ge Nianlan said. Under Huai Zhen’s judgmental gaze, he added, “Because that’s the sound of your stomach when you’re hungry.”
“No, it’s not.”
“It is though,” Ge Nianlan said.
His smile grew as he argued with Huai Zhen.
It was a futile fight anyway. Sigu’s name was shortened to Gugu and Ge Nianlan had not told anyone his real name, solely because he didn’t want to be asked questions about it. After all, he couldn’t tell them that the reason he named the bird Baili Liuye gave him “Sigu” was because he longed for old friends he had yet to lose, right?
None of it was worth it, so he decided to let Sigu suffer a little for now—at least until he could leave Black Mane Palace.
“Stop smiling.”
“I’m not smiling.”
“You are,” Huai Zhen grumbled. He glared at Ge Nianlan and scoffed. “Forget it. I’m not going to help you.”
Ge Nianlan gasped as Huai Zhen laid down on the bed and shimmied under the covers. He laid on top of Huai Zhen immediately.
“A-Huai, you can’t back out now! We’re in this together.”
“Who agreed to be with you in anything?” Huai Zhen snapped. He closed his eyes and hugged his stuffed animal close to his chest. “Get away. You’re pissing me off.”
“Alright, alright, I was wrong. Xiao Ying is a wonderful name. It’s Gugu who is stupid.”
The Ashen Phoenix opened one eye. Who dared to call this majestic beast stupid?!
“You’re just saying that because you want me to help you,” Huai Zhen grumbled.
“That’s not true! I mean it! I really am sorry. I shouldn’t make fun of you because we’re friends.”
Huai Zhen fiddled slightly with the tail of the lion. He glanced at Ge Nianlan, who had rolled off of him and settled to his side. “…You mean it?”
“Of course!” Ge Nianlan said. He hooked his pinkie with Huai Zhen’s. “I was being a bad friend. I’m sorry.”
Huai Zhen’s pout loosened slightly. He glanced at the pinky that hooked his and squeezed it slightly. “…Mn. I forgive you.”
Ge Nianlan grinned. He reached over and stroked Huai Zhen’s head. “A-Huai, you’re such a good boy.”
Huai Zhen’s cheeks slowly reddened. “What are you saying?”
He nudged Ge Nianlan’s hand away. “Now, are you going to talk about your stupid plan or can I go to sleep?”
“Oh, right!” Ge Nianlan grinned. “So, every year, there’s a big celebration for the Young Lord’s birthday. During that time, there will be festivities catered to children of all ages. I was thinking that we should beg them to take us out. Then, at the last minute, we’ll leave them behind and run off on our own.”
Huai Zhen raised a brow. “Wouldn’t it be dangerous to run off on our own?”
“We won’t be completely on our own! Ling Tong is always with me,” Ge Nianlan said. He looked at Huai Zhen. “So, what do you think? Do you think it’ll be good?”
“I don’t think it’s enough.”
“What?!” Ge Nianlan exclaimed. “What else does it need?”
“We need to leave them in a way where they won’t spend the entire night looking for us. Just think about it—you’re the Young Lord and I’m a guest from the Yunheng Region. If they lose us, they’ll definitely spend the night frantically looking for us. They won’t just be at ease and look around at the festivities,” Huai Zhen said. “We should also leave them in a place with a lot of couples.”
“A lot of…there’s a big tree that people throw their wishes at,” Ge Nianlan recalled. “I hear that if you make a wish there as a couple, you’ll stay together forever.”
“Then, we’ll lead them there. Then, we’ll have to make an excuse to leave,” Huai Zhen said. He thought about it for a moment. “You could say that you saw something that attracted your attention, but tell them to stay in this area so we know where to find them again.”
“Oh, I know!” Ge Nianlan exclaimed. “There’s also a lake where people send out wishes. I can buy two boats and buy one wishing slip, then hand it off to them and tell them that they have to make wishes.”
“…Why is that a good idea?”
“Because the lines are very long,” Ge Nianlan said. “They’ll have to stay there for a while if I assign them these two tasks.”
Huai Zhen frowned. “But won’t they just feel obligated to be there? There won’t be anything fun about that, right?”
“Not at all! If I don’t make them stay there by order, then they’ll both wander off,” Ge Nianlan said. “This is an opportunity that will force them to talk it out.”
Huai Zhen slowly nodded. “If they’re staying there for hours, trapped side by side, surrounded by couples, one of them will break. Mn. I think it’s a good idea.”
Ge Nianlan beamed proudly. He let out a short huff and rolled onto his back. “Then, it’s decided! We’ll do it that way! I’ll have to ask Father for permission to go out and then we’ll be ready!”
Huai Zhen hummed. He watched Ge Nianlan silently for a moment before softly clearing his throat. “Um…Nianlan, when is your birthday?”
“Birthday?” Ge Nianlan echoed. He wanted to say that he didn’t know, but after a moment of deliberation, he met Huai Zhen’s eyes. “It’s the twentieth day of the twelfth month.”
“Then, there’s only a week and a half left.”
“Yep!” Ge Nianlan said. He grinned, his eyes sparkling as he looked intently at Huai Zhen. “I can’t wait for you to celebrate it.”
Thanks for the chapter ^^
thanks for reading!
Aaw they are so cute 🥹
Nialan mae me a little sad for him
Thanks for the chapter ✨
thanks for reading!!
Thanks very much for the chapter
thanks for reading!!!!!
Huai Zhen and i have the same taste in romance novels 😌 eheh
good thing Ge Nianlan has him too cause his schemes arent working well akchskcjsj
GNL needs a lot of help…our poor boy wouldn’t know what to do without our tiny romance guru ;v; thanks for reading!