Chapter 143 I don't need you to pretend to be a good person!

Lu Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment, straightened her clothes, and quickly walked closer. She pulled the latch, but did not open the door completely, only opening it a crack.

A snow fox nestled in Duan Lansheng's arms as he stood innocently outside the door. Tall and broad-shouldered, he stood like a wall, completely shielding the wind and rain from the cracks in the door. Perhaps he had just come out of bed, for his hair was loose and the collar of his nightgown was slightly undone.

“I saw you hadn’t turned off the light, so I guessed you weren’t asleep yet.” Duan Lansheng’s lips were bright red as he gently parted them, stroking the fur of the little fox in his arms with his fingers. “Tangyuan is afraid of thunder. I used to hold him while he slept when it thundered. But now that you’re here, he seems to want you even more.”

As he spoke, he tilted his head, looking at her with a somewhat apologetic smile: "If you don't mind, could you let him stay for the night and keep him company?"

A silver dragon pierced the rain clouds, lightning flashing alongside his smile. His eyes, as if absorbing the coolness, seemed to shimmer with eerie light and shadow. Had he not been holding a small child in his arms, he could easily have played one of those demons from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" who would drift into temples on the night wind and disturb the minds of scholars.

Lu Yuanyuan lowered her eyes, interrupting her boundless imagination, and looked at the little fox in his arms.

Duan Lansheng was probably not lying. Before she discovered his secret, she had personally witnessed Tangyuan's fear of thunder. Right now, out of fear, the little guy was listless, curled up in a ball, his big tail covering his head, and his breathing was barely audible.

"Okay, leave it to me."

Lu Yuanyuan took the little fox. It felt so solid and cuddly in her arms. Tangyuan buried its head in her chest, its paws digging into her arm, its breath warm against her skin.

Duan Lansheng watched this scene with a smile on his face. Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he took a step back and said, "I forgot to bring Tangyuan's pillow and blanket. Wait for me for a moment."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and left.

Lu Yuanyuan looked at his back, subconsciously took a step forward, and simply followed him while holding the little fox. Her room was very close to Duan Lansheng's, and as soon as she reached the door, she heard a very soft gasp from inside.

Lu Yuanyuan looked closely and found that Duan Lansheng's room was in a mess, especially his bed—it was quite close to the window, and at this moment, the two wooden windows were blown open by the night wind, and rainwater flew obliquely and mercilessly poured into the room through the gap, wetting the soft pillow and quilt, and the wet stains spread across half of the bed, and a small puddle accumulated on the floor.

You don't even need to lift the blanket to know that the mattress is completely soaked and unusable for sleeping.

Lu Yuanyuan: "?"

Duan Lansheng stood sideways beside the bed, staring at the puddle of water with feigned annoyance. Hearing footsteps, he turned his head, his eyes flickering slightly, looking innocent as if he had suffered some undeserved misfortune.

Lu Yuanyuan: "..."

Lu Yuanyuan's gaze darted back and forth between the window and the bed twice, finding the situation utterly perplexing. She couldn't help but ask, "With such heavy rain tonight, don't you close the window when you sleep?"

Duan Lansheng nodded: "I turned it off. But maybe the wind was too strong, so I turned it back on."

Lu Yuanyuan: "..."

The two looked at each other in bewilderment. The candle on the table finally couldn't withstand the steam pouring into the room, and the flame flickered before going out with a "whoosh".

Suddenly, the surroundings were plunged into darkness.

Under the eaves, the rain was heavy and dense, but it couldn't drown out the lingering sound of breathing.

"you……"

"you……"

Suddenly, the two spoke at the same time, and then stopped at the same time.

Duan Lansheng smiled and said, "You go first."

Lu Yuanyuan turned her head away and looked around at the furniture: "You should close the window first and tidy up that place, it's all wet. Do you have a spare blanket for Tangyuan? I'll go find one."

She had just seen it; a small floral blanket was rolled up in a ball and placed on the bedside table, and it had not escaped the fate of being soaked by the rain.

"Yes, it's in the first cabinet on the left against the wall. Look for it."

Lu Yuanyuan responded and walked towards the wall. There was no moon tonight, but she could see in the dark and wouldn't trip over the furniture. She quickly arrived at the cabinet, opened the door, and a faint fragrance wafted out, like the smell of wood dried in the sun mixed with soap. The clothes were all neatly folded.

She knew that Duan Lansheng's room had several cabinets and chairs, but she almost never touched his things; tonight was the first time.

It's like a clear distinction that only you know in your heart.

Lu Yuanyuan pursed her lips, tucked the little fox into her arms, freed her hands, squatted down, and began to fold the clothes from top to bottom. In this light, although she could see the outlines of things, she still had to slowly identify them. After all, clothes folded up all look pretty much the same, and only by touching them with her fingertips could she tell the difference in texture.

Lu Yuanyuan glanced to her side and behind her; the window was already closed, and Duan Lansheng had rolled up his sleeves and was cleaning up the mess. Reassured, she turned back and continued searching.

The left pane seems to contain mostly adults' clothes and belts. But the right pane…

Turning to the bottom, Lu Yuanyuan's fingertips finally touched a blanket made of a different material from the clothes. Holding the clothes above her with one hand, she pulled it out with the other. Sure enough, it was a small, square blanket. However, the clothes in the wardrobe were packed too tightly, and when the blanket was pulled out, it pulled out a piece of clothing along with it.

not good.

Lu Yuanyuan quickly reached out and picked it up, shaking off the dust. This garment felt different from Duan Lansheng's other clothes; it was much softer and thinner, and the size was also much smaller.

At first, Lu Yuanyuan didn't realize what it was. But after she shook off the dust and the clothes came to rest, she suddenly recognized what it was.

This... isn't this the little garment she went missing?

Wasn't it blown down the mountain by the wind? How did it end up hidden here?

As Lu Yuanyuan was still in surprise, she heard footsteps approaching from behind, and Duan Lansheng's voice rang out: "Didn't find it? Let me do it, there are too many clothes."

Lu Yuanyuan turned around abruptly. Duan Lansheng had already come up behind her and naturally noticed what she was holding. He paused, but didn't explain. Instead, he squatted down beside her and gently pushed her disheveled clothes back inside.

Two people crouched in the corner, making the space even narrower, shoulder to shoulder, a faint fragrance wafting into their nostrils. It smelled somewhat like the closet, but with an added warmth from body heat.

Lu Yuanyuan glared at him, waving the small garment in her hand: "How did my clothes end up here? Didn't the wind blow them away?"

Duan Lansheng grasped her hand, which was almost touching his nose, and gently pressed it down with his fingers: "It didn't blow down the mountain, it just fell in the yard and got dirty, so I washed it for you again." "And then?"

“But then… it got dirty again.” Duan Lansheng touched the bridge of his nose with his knuckles and said, “I felt it wouldn’t be right to give it back to you, so I’ve kept it in my cabinet ever since.”

It's dirty again?

What does this mean? Did the clothes blow away again while you were hanging them out to dry?

Lu Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment, her thoughts still not quite clear, when the person next to her moved a little closer to her, lowered his head, and rubbed his cheek against her forehead, like a big dog trying to please its master, coaxing her gently, "Don't be angry with me, I'll buy you a new one."

In the dim light, their eyes met, and Lu Yuanyuan's mind went blank for a moment, finally realizing what was going on. The small garment in her hand suddenly felt incredibly sharp, and a long-forgotten feeling of embarrassment and anger welled up on her face. She crumpled the garment into a ball and threw it at him: "You dare tell me that to my face!"

The small garment was lightweight and posed no threat. It struck Duan Lansheng's chest, then floated down lightly, where he caught it. The soft, cool fabric spread out in his palm, making it appear even smaller.

"You can clean it yourself!"

After saying that, Lu Yuanyuan kicked him away and left with the blanket and glutinous rice balls.

She rushed back to her room, locked the door, blew out the candle, wrapped the little fox in a blanket, and lay down on the bed together. Tangyuan smelled the scent of its mother, and snuggled closer to her, its breathing gradually becoming long and even, and its trembling stopped.

Lu Yuanyuan covered his vest with one hand, the events from earlier flashing through her mind, making her cheeks and ears feel stinging.

As a modern person, she didn't think that Xiaoyi was something that couldn't be exposed to the light of day. The key point was that Duan Lansheng was almost openly showing his aggressiveness—deep in the seemingly burnt-out bonfire, with only lukewarm ashes remaining, there were still flames stirring. They had never left, and as long as a corner was lifted and the night wind was allowed to enter, they would become a prairie fire.

This guy, before, if you did anything out of line to him, he would act like he'd been harassed by a scoundrel. Now he's so shameless, any retaliation he gives is like punching cotton. No matter what she does, he seems to get his way, leaving her with a lump in her throat, unable to let go or release her anger.

Lu Yuanyuan gritted her teeth, sat for a while, and belatedly realized something was wrong—just now, out of anger and embarrassment, she had thrown the small garment back on the spot. Now, thinking about it carefully, it seemed that this action had benefited Duan Lansheng.

So, should she turn back now and get the clothes back?

After a moment's hesitation, she moved closer to the bed, which creaked softly. Just as she was about to get out of bed, she noticed a figure flash past the window and quickly pulled her legs back, remaining seated in the darkness.

Duan Lansheng stood outside the door, his blurry shadow shifting as if he wanted to knock.

What is he doing here? Does he intend to use the cliché excuse that "his bed got wet from the rain" to ask for lodging?

She wouldn't fall for it. No matter how pitiful he acted, she'd pretend she didn't hear him.

Through the thin door, Lu Yuanyuan gazed at the shadow, thinking this. After a long while, the shadow moved, and her throat seemed to tighten slightly as well.

But in the end, the hand didn't knock. The blurry figure remained standing outside the door until she, inside, succumbed to sleep.

.

After this incident, Lu Yuanyuan felt inexplicably annoyed whenever she saw Duan Lansheng. Duan Lansheng, however, remained unchanged. No matter how prickly or aggressive she was, he patiently accepted it all, never bringing up the embarrassing incident, never putting pressure on her, and always smiling.

As the saying goes, you can't hit a smiling face, and after a while, she couldn't keep up the cold expression either.

Another two weeks have passed.

That noon, while she was grooming Tangyuan, Duan Lansheng, who was standing nearby, flipped through the calendar and suddenly said thoughtfully, "Tangyuan's birthday is coming soon."

Lu Yuanyuan froze as she combed her hair.

The sun was shining brightly today, filling the room with light so intense that even shadows couldn't hide. Tangyuan's snow-white tail swayed in the sunlight, almost blindingly so.

Things I'd been avoiding deep down suddenly found themselves dragged into the sunlight.

She had never forgotten that the child also had a birthday, and she wasn't without curiosity. She just didn't dare to ask.

After all, he had been crushed by her own hands before he was even born. His soul drifted like duckweed, finally managing to possess a puppet and find Duan Lansheng, thus securing a chance to live.

His birth was not accompanied by laughter or celebration, nor was there any congratulations for the arrival of a new life.

So, which day can be considered his birthday?

Lu Yuanyuan gripped the comb and looked at Duan Lansheng.

Today, his hair was tied up, and his face, touched by the sunlight on the pages, shone with a gentle and delicate luster, making him look like he wasn't about to interrogate anyone.

As if unaware of her unease, Duan Lansheng glanced at the calendar and continued, "According to the calendar of the mortal world, it's the eighth day, which is the day after tomorrow. Let's celebrate his birthday on the mountain."

After saying that, he looked over, his eyes sparkling with a bright light.

Lu Yuanyuan looked up, the sunlight blurring his features. The disagreements and betrayals that had stood between them seemed to evaporate with the dew, vanishing without a trace. They were just an ordinary couple in the mundane world, discussing how to celebrate their child's birthday.

A slight daze washed over her, and an indescribable feeling welled up inside. But soon, Lu Yuanyuan knew he was waiting for her answer. She put down the comb in her hand and stood up somewhat awkwardly: "Okay, okay. But... why didn't you tell me sooner? Time was too tight, and I didn't even prepare a gift."

Duan Lansheng walked up, stroked a fox hair by her temple, flicked it away and burned it, then smiled at her and said, "It's not important. We're just celebrating behind closed doors, there are no outsiders here."

Lu Yuanyuan pursed her lips and gave a soft "hmm".

Soon after, Lu Yuanyuan learned that Tangyuan's birthday was the first time he could leave Duan Lansheng's body and appear outside in his little fox form. Although Duan Lansheng meant that it would be fine as usual, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this would be the only time she could be present for Tangyuan's birthday, and she didn't want to treat it perfunctorily.

Fortunately, she had many good things in her storage ring. Soon, Lu Yuanyuan decided what to leave for Tangyuan—the magical treasures she had accumulated over the years.

This is a cruel era where the strong rule. While ordinary little demons worry about being eaten, Tangyuan, a nine-tailed fox cub with Duan Lansheng as her backer, has already won at the starting line. But nothing in this world is permanent. She wants to use Duan Lansheng to return to the modern world, and the price will be on him. If Duan Lansheng falls, their situation may not be so secure. Therefore, leaving Tangyuan some practical magical artifacts is much better than giving her sentimental gifts.

Besides, once Duan Lansheng realizes it's a scam, the sentimental gift will become ironic trash and will inevitably be thrown away. The magic weapon is different; no one will complain about the stench of money.

In the blink of an eye, my birthday has arrived.

Over the past two days, Lu Yuanyuan had already quietly organized the contents of her storage ring, but she didn't plan to present the gift today. The storage ring contained a terrifying amount of magical treasures, and Tangyuan was so young; giving him this thing would be like entrusting a three-year-old with the keys to the World Bank. Tangyuan couldn't handle it, and the storage ring would essentially be given to Duan Lansheng.

Tangyuan didn't understand what the contents of the storage ring symbolized, but Duan Lansheng certainly knew its significance. Given his nature, he would most likely be suspicious—why would she give her entire treasure trove to a child? Even if she loved Tangyuan dearly, there was no need for her to hand over all her possessions, was there? It was as if she knew that after this birthday, she wouldn't have another chance to give it to someone else.

She couldn't let Duan Lan become suspicious.

Therefore, Lu Yuanyuan only prepared a pure gold peace lock today, strung with a red rope, and personally hung it around the little fox's neck.

After dark, Duan Lansheng somehow obtained some sparklers. The two men and the fox played with the sparklers in the yard.

Tangyuan was unusually excited all day. The peace lock around her neck had no magical power; it was just an ordinary ornament. But the little guy was so happy, as if he had received a great gift. Every now and then, he would happily nudge the peace lock with his chin.

The sparklers hissed and burst into golden sparks, attracting Tangyuan's attention. Lu Yuanyuan and Duan Lansheng sat on the veranda, drawing various patterns in the air with sparklers like they were teasing a cat. Tangyuan stood on his hind legs, tilted his head back, twitched his wet nose, stared blankly at the sparklers, and then lost his balance and fell down with a thud.

Lu Yuanyuan's heart softened, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

A slender hand lifted the little fox by the scruff of his neck and placed him on Duan Lansheng's lap. Duan Lansheng held him with one hand and used a silk handkerchief to wipe the dust off his face with the other. After playing all day, the little guy was tired. As he wiped his face, he yawned, his blinking slowed, and he nestled into Duan Lansheng's lap and fell asleep.

Lu Yuanyuan bent down and leaned closer, lowering her voice: "Is he asleep?"

"Hmm, I'm tired." Duan Lansheng rubbed the fox ears in his palm. Tangyuan kicked its feet lightly, but did not wake up.

Duan Lansheng gently placed him on the blanket beside him, then pulled the blanket up a bit to block the wind, before suddenly glancing at her. Their eyes met, and Lu Yuanyuan abruptly sat up straight, creating some distance. The atmosphere was a little strange, but fortunately, her gaze quickly found its place, and she said dryly, "There's still half a bag of sparklers left. You bought too many; it's a waste."

Duan Lansheng picked up a sparkler, turned his head, and smiled, "It won't be a waste; we haven't had enough fun yet."

Fireworks blazed, sparkling like a shower of stars, crackling and scattering, drawing different patterns. Sometimes, the light would go out before it even finished drawing a pattern. Seeing this, Duan Lansheng wanted to cheat with foxfire to prolong the burning time, but Lu Yuanyuan firmly stopped him: "No, that wouldn't be fun."

After countless attempts, she finally succeeded in drawing a pattern. Although the light and shadow could only be reflected on her retina for a moment, it still gave Lu Yuanyuan a great sense of accomplishment.

Just then, a puzzled voice came from beside me: "What...did you just draw?"

Lu Yuanyuan drew a three-tiered birthday cake from later times; cakes of this shape didn't exist in this era. She glanced at him, keeping him in suspense: "What do you see? Can you draw it?"

Duan Lansheng seemed hesitant and troubled, but Lu Yuanyuan kept staring at him. After thinking for a moment, he picked up a twig and drew a pattern on the mud, three layers, getting smaller from bottom to top, with pointed tips...

Wait, why does this look so much like a lump...?

Duan Lansheng finally finished drawing, put down his brush, blinked, and looked at her innocently.

Lu Yuanyuan: "..."

This is an utter disgrace.

Lu Yuanyuan slapped the branch out of his hand and said angrily, "What are you looking at? I didn't draw this. It's a kind of pastry!"

Seeing something on her face, Duan Lansheng's lips twitched, as if he was struggling to suppress a laugh. He pressed his hand to his lips, swallowing the trembling laughter with difficulty, before apologizing politely: "I'm sorry, it's my fault, I didn't see it clearly. Draw it again, this time I will definitely look carefully."

Not wanting to be looked down upon, Lu Yuanyuan held her breath and lit another sparkler. But fate seemed to be against her; after lighting more than a dozen sparklers, they all went out before she even finished half of them. Finally, her hand touched nothing.

Lu Yuanyuan looked down and realized that she had run out of sparklers.

And that's how it ended...

Lu Yuanyuan paused for a moment. It was clearly just a trivial matter, yet an inexplicable sense of regret welled up in her heart, spreading like ripples. But she didn't show it. She rubbed the dust off her fingertips and said casually, "That's all, I'm not drawing anymore."

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a faint blue light approaching her.

"You have one more option."

A beautiful blue flame bloomed on the tip of Duan Lansheng's index finger, while the remaining four fingers were closed. Unlike some crooked sparklers, his hand was a sparkler holder carved from white jade.

Lu Yuanyuan pursed her lips slightly, took his hand, and tried to draw in the air.

Unlike sparklers that extinguish in an instant, the foxfire, once controlled, remained suspended in mid-air for a long time. Having discovered this, Lu Yuanyuan took the opportunity to refine the design of the three-tiered cake and candle, adding ribbons, cherries, and cream to the simple children's drawing… finally completing the task.

Lu Yuanyuan was quite satisfied with the result and smiled: "Can you see it clearly now? This is the pattern I drew."

After waiting for a while and not receiving any response from Duan Lansheng, she turned her head and found that he was not looking at the pattern in the air, but staring at her intently.

Lu Yuanyuan was startled, and as if waking from a dream, she let go of his hand. But the next second, he grabbed her hand in return.

"Yuanyuan, you..." Duan Lansheng grasped her hand, seemingly a little nervous, his breathing slightly quickening. He looked down at her and spoke solemnly yet softly, "Do you feel happy now?"

"..."

"What I mean is, are you happy staying with us and living this kind of life?"

Lu Yuanyuan was quiet for a moment, then lowered her eyelashes, raised them again, and said softly, "Happy."

Whether it was her imagination or not, she felt Duan Lansheng's hand tremble uncontrollably as she spoke. The sparks of fireworks seemed to fall into his eyes. He tightened his grip on her hand slightly, then, realizing he might have hurt her, he loosened his hold and knelt down in front of her: "I..."

He rarely stutters like this, breaking a sentence into several parts before he can finish speaking.

"I... will make you happier in the future. From now on, our family will depend on each other and live like this. Are you willing?"

Lu Yuanyuan looked at him, clenched her fists for a while, and then nodded slightly.

She lied to him again.

Seemingly surprised that she would agree so easily, Duan Lansheng stared at her in a daze, and slowly, a joy without any gloom crept onto his face.

Just then, an invisible wave suddenly came from the darkness in the distance, as if some kind of force was spreading and shaking the earth.

The two turned to look at each other at the same time. Duan Lansheng's expression turned serious. He stood up and said, "I need to go upstairs."

The fluctuations were clearly coming from Yue Hong's location. Lu Yuanyuan quickly grabbed his sleeve and asked anxiously, "Has something happened to Yue Hong?"

"Don't worry, I'll go check first, and I'll let you know if there's anything."

Since he had said that, Lu Yuanyuan had no choice but to let go and let him leave. The courtyard emptied in the blink of an eye. Tangyuan was still fast asleep. A corner of the blanket had slipped down. Lu Yuanyuan took a deep breath, calmed herself, and pulled the blanket up to cover herself. But unexpectedly, Tangyuan suddenly disappeared.

Lu Yuanyuan immediately understood.

It seems that Tangyuan has used up most of her energy for today, and has returned to Duan Lansheng's body.

Lu Yuanyuan stood under the corridor for a while, gazing at the distant mountains. Unable to suppress her worry, she flashed and rushed towards the direction where Duan Lansheng had disappeared.

Practice makes perfect, and this wasn't her first time venturing into the forbidden cave. Following her memory, Lu Yuanyuan found the cave where Yue Hong was. Before she even got close, she could hear human voices, which carried far through the empty cave.

The good thing is that they were two different voices.

Yue Hong is awake?!

But soon she realized something was wrong; the two voices seemed to be arguing. The calmer one was Duan Lansheng's voice, while the other, younger voice was much hoarse, as if it hadn't spoken in a long time.

Just as Lu Yuanyuan reached the cave entrance, Yue Hong's furious words pierced the air and reached her ears:

"...Don't pretend to be a good person! If you hadn't taken advantage of my vulnerability and used my safety to blackmail her, how could she have been with you...you despicable and shameless!"