Though, even after Ge Jinsheng helped Huai Zhen and Ge Nianlan, they realized that Luo Qianwu and Zheng Yuying were simply standing there in silence.
The line slowly moved forward.
Zheng Yuying glanced around and took in her surroundings. It has been a long time since she had come to this part of town. The first time she was brought to Liuling City by her parents, she had come here as well. At that time, Luo Qianwu was already living with his uncle and they saw each other less and less. It was only after she became a disciple at Black Mane Palace that they finally saw each other again. But just before she was accepted, she remembered coming here with her parents and…
She looked up at the tall tree.
At that time, she was probably where her hip was now. She was small, yet that small child had managed to throw her wish far up—far higher than other couples who were in the area. She craned her neck, wondering if her wish was still up there.
“Yuying?”
The soft call surprised her. She looked at Luo Qianwu, who was watching her intently.
“Is there somewhere else you want to go?” Luo Qianwu asked. “Only one of us needs to stand in line. If you see food you want, you can go.”
Zheng Yuying awkwardly shook her head. “No, I’m um…that wasn’t what I was looking at. I was just looking around.”
“Oh, alright,” Luo Qianwu hummed. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he looked away again.
Zheng Yuying looked the other direction. Her gaze shifted back towards the tree once she was sure Luo Qianwu was no longer paying attention to her. If she remembered correctly, the wish had hit one of the higher branches on the tree. But it had been close to a decade now. With so many festivals and visitors, her wish had probably been knocked down by now.
“Yuying.”
Zheng Yuying hummed. “What’s wrong?”
“I turn fifteen in another month,” Luo Qianwu said.
“Mn. You do,” Zheng Yuying nodded. She squinted slightly. There was a wish that could be hers, but she wasn’t sure.
“I thought passing through the coming-of-age trial was enough, but your parents still ignored me,” Luo Qianwu said with an awkward chuckle.
“They probably didn’t mean to. They’re busy after all,” Zheng Yuying offhandedly replied.
“Yeah…I was thinking of properly visiting your family’s home after my birthday. Do you want to come with me?”
Zheng Yuying finally looked at Luo Qianwu. “Why are you visiting them? If you miss my parents, I can just tell them to come down.”
“I don’t think it would be proper to tell them to come down for this.”
“For your birthday?”
The line moved forward.
“For the annulment of our engagement,” Luo Qianwu said.
Several meters away, Ge Nianlan gasped and slapped Ge Jinsheng’s thigh. “That—what is he talking about!?”
Meanwhile, Zheng Yuying was wondering the same thing. She stared blankly at Luo Qianwu. “Our…huh?”
Luo Qianwu smiled gently. “Maybe if I ask too, then Auntie and Uncle will finally realize that I was serious about the annulment.”
Zheng Yuying felt her heart hammering in her chest. “You’ve requested an annulment before?”
“Just twice in the past year,” Luo Qianwu said. He looked away. “I know how irritating it is for you to be engaged to someone you don’t even like. I actually overheard your conversation with Xiao Jing the year before last.”
“What conversation?”
“What you said about not wanting to be engaged,” Luo Qianwu said. His head lowered to his chest. “I’m sorry. I wanted to talk to you about this sooner, but you’ve been avoiding me lately. I’m completely okay with annulling the engagement. I’ll talk to your parents about it this time too—properly. I shouldn’t tie you down just because your parents feel obligated to grant the last wish my parents had. It’s unreasonable to you.”
Zheng Yuying stared at Luo Qianwu wordlessly for a while. Her hands trembled at her side. “You…heard that?”
Luo Qianwu started. “I didn’t mean to listen in on it. I just happened to be cleaning the weapon shed. I wanted to say something, but after I heard what you said, I kind of just…spaced out for a while, I guess?”
Zheng Yuying clenched her hands into fists. She realized that she had made a mistake. And it was a very big, very horrible mistake.
“…Yuying, I really didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Luo Qianwu said. He glanced at her. “Are you angry?”
“No, no, I…give me a second,” Zheng Yuying mumbled.
Luo Qianwu hummed.
The line continued forward.
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.
Coafg afc wlceafr, Itfcu Teslcu rlutfv. Vtf abbx Oeb Hljcke’r tjcv. “P cffv sbe ab mbwf klat wf.”
Oeb Hljcke’r fsfr klvfcfv. Lf uijcmfv ja atf ilcf. “Dea kf’gf jiwbra—”
“Qf mjc pera ufa yjmx lc ilcf ijafg!” Itfcu Teslcu rjlv. “P cffv sbe ab rff rbwfatlcu gluta cbk.”
Luo Qianwu wanted to protest, but Zheng Yuying had already tugged him out of the line. He fumbled to follow after her for a moment. As they walked, he watched her weave the way through the crowd and followed her closely. A small smile bloomed on his face.
This was just like when they were younger.
Zheng Yuying stopped in front of the Wishing Tree. She put her hands on Luo Qianwu’s shoulders. “Stay right here okay?”
“O—Yuying!?”
Zheng Yuying took off from the ground. She used qinggong to scale the tree and eventually made it to a spot near the top, where there were far fewer wishes. The crowd below pointed and spoke to each other in somewhat of a frenzy. Everyone watched as Zheng Yuying hopped from tree branch to tree branch until she finally plucked a wish from the tree.
“What are you doing, Miss?! You shouldn’t touch other people’s wishes!”
“This is my own!” Zheng Yuying shouted back. She looked at Luo Qianwu. “I need to show someone this!”
The crowd of people glanced at each other and muttered to themselves and Zheng Yuying flew back down. She stopped in front of Luo Qianwu and held the rotted mandarins out to him.
“Read the wish.”
Luo Qianwu glanced at the paper and string, which had lost their vibrancy over the many years. He glanced at Zheng Yuying again and tentatively took the paper.
“With how old that piece of paper looks, that wish has probably been up there for many years!” someone whispered.
“I wonder what her wish says.”
“The string and paper are both red! I bet it has something to do with that boy!”
Although the crowd continued to make speculations, Luo Qianwu calmly red what was written on the pinkish sheet of paper.
Qianwu and Yuying together until the ocean runs dry and the mountains collapse.
His fingers twitched against the brittle paper. He glanced at Zheng Yuying. “This…”
“I threw it up there before I became a disciple at Black Mane Palace,” Zheng Yuying said, her face abhorrently red. She pursed her lips for a second and glanced at Luo Qianwu before she huffed. “Ah, forget it! I’ll tell you everything or else you won’t believe me. But the reason I joined Black Mane Palace was because I wanted to see you more often. I heard you weren’t doing very well, so I got worried. I begged my parents for a long time before they gave me permission. And what you overheard was…just me being stupid, okay? I couldn’t stand my friends teasing me about you, so I just blurted that out so that they would shut up. Everyone knows how much I like you. It’s embarrassing as hell…”
“Then, why do you avoid me?” Luo Qianwu asked.
Zheng Yuying’s mouth opened and closed awkwardly before she buried her head in her hands. “It’s been so long since we really talked that it felt too awkward. I’m…I’m sorry, Qianwu. I didn’t realize my actions would lead you to misunderstand me like this. I really—really—like you. Even now, I still like you. But…ahem…I understand if you don’t want to get married anymore because of how childish I’ve been. I…probably caused you a lot of grief too. God, I was being so du—”
Zheng Yuying’s words stopped abruptly as her forehead touched Luo Qianwu’s chest. She stiffened at the feeling of his arms wrapped tightly around her.
The crowd around them burst into loud cheers and applause, making Zheng Yuying shrink further into Luo Qianwu’s arms. Luo Qianwu chuckled softly against her ear and pulled her away from the crowd. She held tightly onto him as he escaped the crowd with the ease of his qinggong. Only once they were far enough away did Luo Qianwu pull back.
“You’re telling the truth?”
“Why in the world would I lie to you?” Zheng Yuying chided.
Luo Qianwu laughed until his sides hurt. He slowly sank to the crowd, his hands still holding Zheng Yuying’s.
“Yuying, thank you.”
Zheng Yuying clicked her tongue. “Alright, alright. Stop making a scene and get up. And don’t thank me. I should be the one who’s apologizing to you. I can’t believe you spent so long thinking that I…it’s all because I was being stupid.”
Luo Qianwu giggled as he looked up at Zheng Yuying. “You’re not stupid. I was the one making assumptions.”
He sighed. “I should thank the Young Lord when we get back.”
“Him? Why?”
“I’m sure he brought us out here because he wanted us to talk,” Luo Qianwu said. He glanced at her sheepishly. “He knows how much I like you.”
“You told him?”
“He’s just perceptive. He even got mad that we kept avoiding each other during his tutoring sessions.”
“T-that’s just because I didn’t want to get distracted,” Zheng Yuying said.
Luo Qianwu laughed. “If the Young Lord heard this, he would be excited.”
Ge Nianlan, who had managed to follow them thanks to the two great martial experts at his side, rolled his eyes. He crossed his arms as he dangled from Ge Jinsheng’s arm.
“I’m not really excited.”
Huai Zhen glanced at Ge Nianlan. “Shouldn’t you be happy that it ended well?”
“It’s just so ridiculous,” Ge Nianlan groaned.
Was that why they had eventually made up in the cursed artifact? They didn’t need anyone’s help because neither hated each other. It was just one big misunderstanding!
Ge Jinsheng chuckled. “Still, you did a good deed. If you didn’t try to set them up, who knows how long they would have taken to clear up the misunderstandings.”
“It’s such a waste of time,” Ge Nianlan said. He stood properly and looked around. He turned to Huai Zhen and the others. “Let’s go play somewhere else.”
Ling Tong and Ge Jinsheng shared a glance.
“There was a whole street of stall games that we didn’t go down,” Ge Nianlan said. He took Huai Zhen’s hand and then Ge Jinsheng’s hand. “Let’s go play there!”
“Then—”
“Ling Tong should stay and make sure Luo-gege and Zheng-jiejie don’t get hurt,” Ge Nianlan said. He grinned as he cozied up to Ge Jinsheng. “Since Father is here, we’ll be safe. Right, Father?”
Ling Tong waited for Ge Jinsheng to nod before she vanished from their sight.
Ge Nianlan let out a long sigh. “We shouldn’t third wheel a pair of newly reunited lovebirds. It’ll be bad karma.”
Ge Jinsheng took a hold of both boys and closed his eyes. In the next second, the trio landed in the shadows cast by a not too large tree. Huai Zhen’s eyes widened in awe. He looked up at Ge Jinsheng, who gave him a soft smile, as Ge Nianlan tugged them towards the wide streets.
“Your Excellency, is that shadow teleportation?” Huai Zhen asked softly.
Ge Jinsheng nodded. “It exerts less energy to travel through shadows, especially at night.”
Huai Zhen let out a soft “wow”.
Huai Zhen already felt this earlier, when Ge Jinsheng lent them his hearing and even managed to catch up to Luo Qianwu undetected, but Ge Jinsheng was really, really cool.
Ge Nianlan glanced behind him at the father-son duo as he poked at Sigu.
Just by looking at them, anyone could tell that they were related. On top of that, they were even talking about their shared interests! What a warm family image! If only Ge Nianlan could just slip away right now and let the two of them bond.
Unfortunately, he had to continue to third wheel, as was in his destiny.
But Ge Nianlan was not as rambunctious or lively as either Huai Zhen or Ge Jinsheng presumed that he would be. When they talked to each other, Ge Nianlan would wander off, but not too far for them to worry. He would always return quietly with some snacks or trinkets. If it was edible, he would hand it over quietly so as not to disturb their conversation.
Eventually, Ge Nianlan found a game that he was interested in and abandoned Ge Jinsheng and Huai Zhen at the street side.
The two watched him quietly for a moment before Huai Zhen broke the silence.
“Thank you.”
Ge Jinsheng glanced at Huai Zhen. “What for?”
“For letting me study at Black Mane Palace,” Huai Zhen said. “And for raising the Young Lord to be such a kind person.”
“Kind, hm?” Ge Jinsheng chuckled. “I suppose he is.”
“He is very kind,” Huai Zhen said firmly. “He is the first person aside from my shizun to reach out to me.”
“I see,” Ge Jinsheng said. “Then, I’m glad my son could be of service to you.”
Huai Zhen nodded, his gaze still concentrated on Ge Nianlan as the boy played with other children around his age.
“Why don’t you play with them too?” Ge Jinsheng suggested.
Huai Zhen shook his head. “I shouldn’t.”
Ge Jinsheng raised a brow. “Go ahead. I’ll wait here.”
“No. Some people are born to be surrounded by many people, but I’m not,” Huai Zhen said. He shifted from one foot to the other. “I prefer observing. I have no desire to join them.”
Ge Jinsheng turned away. “Whatever you want then.”
Ge Nianlan returned a bit later with two prizes in his hands. He stuffed the clay doll into Ge Jinsheng’s hand and gave Huai Zhen a lion mask.
“Cool, right? I won them for you two!” Ge Nianlan said with a grin.
Ge Jinsheng turned the clay doll, supposedly molded in Ge Nianlan’s visage, between his fingers with a small smile. “What about yourself?”
“I got too lazy towards the end,” Ge Nianlan said with a shrug. “Besides, I think it’s more fun to give gifts.”
Ge Nianlan glanced around for his next target. This time, he grabbed both Ge Jinsheng and Huai Zhen’s hands and tugged them forward.
“If you two are done with your conversation, then come play with me,” Ge Nianlan said with a bright grin on his face. “I was waiting for you two to be done, but you just kept going on and one about cultivation and martial arts.”
“Does that not interest you?” Ge Jinsheng asked.
Ge Nianlan shrugged. “If it were up to me, I want to be a librarian and spend my days reading.”
That way, he would also be far away from cultivation world politics. Then, he would have less of a chance to run into this father-son duo once he escaped Black Mane Palace!
Ge Jinsheng chuckled. “If that’s what you want to do, you can do so.”
Huai Zhen glanced at Ge Jinsheng.
He was half expecting Ge Jinsheng to get angry. After all, this was his only son. Wouldn’t he want him to succeed his position as the Palace Master? If he were to give his position away, then the Ge Clan would be at a disadvantage, right?
However, Ge Jinsheng’s words didn’t sound like an empty promise. His gaze was gentle as he watched his son. His every touch was indulging but light, as if he were touching a porcelain doll that could easily break.
Huai Zhen pursed his lips and averted his gaze. For a brief moment, he felt envy. Then, he started to miss his shizun.
“A-Huai! Look! A strength test,” Ge Nianlan said. He looked at Huai Zhen with sparkling eyes. “I bet you could beat those other kids.”
Huai Zhen glanced at the children, who were trying to break the stack of tiles. “Well, of course. I’m a martial artist. It would be cheating if I tried.”
“Cheating? Does that matter?” Ge Nianlan asked with a raised brow. He shrugged carelessly. “I guess if you don’t want the prize then we can go somewhere else. How about…oh! Lanterns!”
Huai Zhen was tugged around by Ge Nianlan until the boy decided that it was time to meet back up with Luo Qianwu and Zheng Yuying.
When the group returned to the Wishing Tree, they found the couple standing in the emptiest area. Luo Qianwu immediately stood upon seeing Ge Jinsheng. He nudged Zheng Yuying and the two fell to one knee.
“Your Excellency.”
“Get up,” Ge Jinsheng said. He glanced at the papers and strings in their hands. “Have you two waited long?”
“Not exactly,” Luo Qianwu said.
“The line was ridiculously long,” Zheng Yuying said with a sigh. She glared at Ge Nianlan. “Lucky for us, because someone lied about where they were.”
Ge Nianlan grinned. “Father came to accompany us after he finished his work, so I wanted to go play.”
He lied as easily as he breathed, Huai Zhen thought.
Ge Nianlan hopped forward and looked at the things in their hands. “So, what? You two just stood here? You didn’t talk or anything? Did you make a wish?”
If it were just the four of them, Zheng Yuying would have given Ge Nianlan’s forehead a hard poke. However, with Ge Jinsheng standing off to the side, she restrained herself and opted to just push the papers, strings, and mandarins into Ge Nianlan’s arms.
“We did,” Zheng Yuying said. She pouted as she mumbled, “The old one was void because I pulled it down.”
“What?” Ge Nianlan tilted his head.
“Forget it. Qianwu and I are going to sit here and wait. Come back when you’re done,” Zheng Yuying said.
Ge Nianlan nodded. He glanced back at them a few times as they walked away and he turned to Huai Zhen and Ge Jinsheng excitedly.
“I think they’re okay now,” Ge Nianlan said.
Ge Jinsheng hid his laughter and nodded seriously. “I’m sure they are.”
Ge Jinsheng glanced back at the two children.
They definitely reconciled. After all, the pair had proudly written their wishes to stay together and managed to throw it up to the highest branch on the Wishing Tree. If the Wishing Tree truly was sacred and truly did grant people’s wishes, then the two of them will be together for a very, very long time.
A/N: hello! I’ve put extra chapter goals back on my ko-fi✨ if you like what i’m doing, pls give me a little tip (min. $3) and it’ll go towards the stretch goal for an extra chapter! Linked here! (And in bio)
Zheng Yuying and Luo Qianwu are so cute ^^ Glad they could clear up the misunderstanding, though for some reason I thought they were a bit older than fourteen-
Also, it’s funny seeing both Nianlan and Huai Zhen see each other with Ge Jinsheng and think “Wow, what a perfect father-son moment”
Thanks for the chapter ^^
prob bc lqw and zyy are both responsible for some jobs that should be for adults LMAO 😭thanks for reading!!
A very very cute chapter ✨
Thank you 🥺
Thanks very much for the chapters. They were cute
Aaaa thanks for reading! 🫶
Really loving your story 😊 !
Thank you!
aw thank you!!!
I THOUGHT IT MAY BE A MISUNDERSTANDING!!! ough, cheers for talking before he went through with an annulment anxhskd