Chapter 49 Blank Sheet "Then let's call it even."...
(49)
The food and drinks were served in a continuous stream, but the atmosphere at the table became increasingly tense. Lan Ruoqing carefully picked up her chopsticks and secretly glanced at Chu Li.
She lowered her head and ate her rice, her face gloomy. Lan Ruoqing could guess that she was thinking about what happened back then.
He had very little interaction with Chu Li; most of his interactions were due to Shang Xinglan.
When she first met Chu Li, she sat silently next to Shang Xinglan without saying a word, and when she greeted her, she simply nodded lightly.
He was thin and frail, with dry hair and a yellowish complexion; he was clearly a child from a poor family. Only his eyes were bright and sparkling, inexplicably arousing a protective instinct in one of them.
After learning that she used to be a beggar, Lan Ruoqing suddenly understood why Chu Li was different from all the women he had ever met, always looking at him with wary and timid eyes. Moreover, she spoke in a very soft voice, almost inaudible.
She seemed difficult to get along with, and rarely responded when spoken to. Most of the time, she would sit quietly in a corner eating her meal.
Shang Xinglan told him several times to be more enthusiastic towards his wife and not let her feel like she couldn't fit in. Lan Ruoqing racked his brains to tell jokes, but each time she didn't laugh. Instead, she looked at them with a puzzled expression, as if she didn't understand.
Later, Chu Li suddenly found him, bringing a large sum of money, and asked him for help.
Lan Ruoqing was utterly incredulous after hearing about the murder. She simply couldn't connect the person who poisoned the cultivator with the thin, small, and taciturn Chu Li.
He asked her if Shang Xinglan knew about this.
Chu Li stammered and vaguely asked him to help cover it up, but how could this be easily covered up? It wasn't like killing a fish or a chicken; after all, it was killing a living person!
He couldn't help her, and after pondering for two days, he decided to tell Shang Xinglan what had happened.
Shang Xinglan actually pleaded with him, based on their years of friendship, not to tell anyone about Chu Li's murder.
Lan Ruoqing still remembers clearly what he said back then.
"She's too stupid, she doesn't understand anything, it must not have been intentional."
"It's all my fault, I'll handle it."
This man was completely blinded by his young wife, and he didn't even care about right or wrong!
Pulling herself back to reality, Lan Ruoqing noticed that Chu Li seemed to be looking at them, so she quickly looked away.
He sensed a murderous aura as soon as he entered the room; it was definitely not an illusion.
She's still holding a grudge; that's terrifying.
Lan Ruoqing's gaze suddenly swept over the cub beside Chu Li, and she froze, staring blankly at the cub.
Where did this child come from?
He stared intently at that small face, then looked at Shang Xinglan in shock, "Yours?"
Shang Xinglan nodded slightly and said calmly, "My child with Achu, Yinyin."
Good heavens, the children are all grown up now, and he's still all alone!
Lan Ruoqing swallowed hard.
With the child, Shang Xinglan could never be separated from Chu Li again in this lifetime.
He understands Shang Xinglan.
No matter what shocking things Chu Li did to Shang Xinglan, he would endure it for the sake of the child.
Hearing their words, the little one angrily stuffed two mouthfuls of fish into his mouth.
If it weren't for his mother's genuine affection, he wouldn't want Shang Xinglan to be his father.
Suddenly, the little boy's expression changed drastically. He coughed twice, but couldn't speak. He looked at Chu Li for help.
The next moment, Lan Ruoqing saw Chu Li quickly stand up, cup the little one's face in her hands, and ask, "Did you get a fishbone stuck in your throat?"
The little one nodded uncomfortably. Chu Li picked up a spoon from the table and said gently, "Open your mouth, Yin Yin, don't move, bear with it."
"Go and get some vinegar!" Lan Ruoqing instinctively got up to call the waiter, but saw Chu Li methodically pressing down the little boy's tongue with the spoon, then picking up a pair of chopsticks and carefully and gently removing the fish bone.
Everything ended in a matter of moments. The little boy drank two sips of tea and returned to normal.
"Are you alright now?" Chu Li smiled and rubbed his little head. "Eat fish slowly, let Mom remove the bones first."
Lan Ruoqing remained standing in the same spot, staring blankly at Chu Li.
For some reason, for a moment just now, he felt that Chu Li seemed to have changed. Her patience, gentleness, and skill in dealing with children were a side of her that he had never seen before.
However, Chu Li was just a child back then; she was only sixteen years old.
Shang Xinglan wasn't wrong to say that she didn't understand anything. A sixteen-year-old child, without anyone to teach her, could she possibly understand right and wrong?
He silently sat back down, and Shang Xinglan pushed a glass of wine in front of him. "My home and Achu's home are in the Southern Territory, not far from your hometown, Tianxin City. It's just outside the city on Xiaofu Mountain."
Lan Ruoqing nodded knowingly, took the wine he offered, and asked in a low voice, "How have you been these past years?"
Shang Xinglan rested her chin on her hand and said gently, "Very good, very happy."
Hearing his words, Lan Ruoqing breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled softly, "That's true, we already have a child, how could we not be happy?"
He paused, then noticed the lightning marks on Shang Xinglan's neck. His expression changed drastically, and he said in a deep voice, "Why haven't the lightning marks disappeared yet?"
When Shang Xinglan noticed that he had noticed, she raised her hand to straighten her clothes and said casually, "It's alright, don't worry about it."
"How can you not care? It's practically growing on your face!" Lan Ruoqing exclaimed in horror. "Why didn't you ask A-Chu to help you? If this continues, I'm afraid..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shang Xinglan coughed loudly, interrupting him, "Let's eat. It's been a long time since we last met, let's not talk about these things today."
Lan Ruoqing had no choice but to keep her thoughts to herself, and ate the meal absentmindedly.
The meal finally ended when the little one's belly was round and full. The innkeeper even personally brought some pastries for the child, and the family left Fengyi Tower.
Lan Ruoqing watched their figures, feeling a pang of sadness, but when she saw the undeniable lightning marks on Shang Xinglan's body, she couldn't help but purse her lips.
"Achu," he called softly.
Chu Li turned around and gave him a cool glance. "What's wrong, Young Master Lan? Are you still hungry? Why don't you come back to the Shang family and have some more?"
Lan Ruoqing quickly waved her hand, "No need to trouble yourself, I'm going home now."
"Then what did you call me for?" Chu Li looked at him in confusion. Shouldn't he call me Shang Xinglan?
Shang Xinglan also looked at Lan Ruoqing with confusion.
"I entrust Xinglan to you." Lan Ruoqing bowed deeply and said earnestly, "Next year, at Fengyi Tower, would you mind hosting a banquet for your family?"
next year.
Shang Xinglan is twenty-six years old.
Chu Li paused, looked away, and before she could think of a reply, she heard the person beside her say calmly, "Okay."
Lan Ruoqing glared at him, "You don't get to decide, I'm asking A-Chu."
How can my words not count?
Shang Xinglan stared at him with an unquestionable gaze, but it was more like she was saying to someone else, "We'll not only come next year, but every year after that. Get ready to spend all your money."
After saying that, Shang Xinglan took Chu Li's wrist and said calmly, "I'm leaving. See you next year."
Chu Li was pulled away by him in a daze. When she turned around, Lan Ruoqing was standing there, looking at them with a worried expression.
He bowed deeply to Chu Li, as if he were truly entrusting Shang Xinglan's life to her, hoping that she could help his dear friend overcome this calamity.
Suddenly, a hand touched the side of her face and turned her around.
Chu Li withdrew her gaze and looked at the person in front of her.
He clearly seemed much more reliable than he was at eighteen, but when Chu Li was sixteen, the eighteen-year-old Shang Xinglan seemed omnipotent, capable of carrying the burden even if the sky were to fall.
It must be because of the immortal bones.
She didn't find the Immortal Bone at Linshui Pavilion, so she decided to go look for it again when Shang Xinglan wasn't looking after she got home.
As Chu Li approached the familiar storefront, she paused, remembering how she had once chased after Shang Xinglan in the pouring rain right there before.
She gently tugged at the sleeve of the person beside her and whispered, "Husband, do you remember what I said to you here that day..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Xinglan paused slightly and turned to look at her.
He knew exactly which day it was almost without her having to explain.
"Remember."
Chu Li couldn't help but tighten her grip on his hand and lean closer. "Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you that day."
"What did you say?" Shang Xinglan had never heard her mention this before, and she became somewhat curious.
Chu Li took a barely perceptible breath, patted the little one's head to hide her nervousness, and said, "What do you like about me? Be more specific."
Shang Xinglan was taken aback, then suddenly chuckled, "How specific do you want me to be?"
Hearing his words, Chu Li pursed her lips and quickly backed down, "Never mind, forget I said anything."
She was about to leave with the cub when she was pulled back before she had gone far.
"Pure and kind."
As soon as she finished speaking, Chu Li nearly tripped and fell. She looked at Shang Xinglan incredulously, "If you're going to make up a lie, at least make one that sounds plausible!"
Which of those two words has anything to do with her? They're treating her like a five-year-old!
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Shang Xinglan suppressed the smile on her lips, reached out and stroked the top of her head, and said softly, "In your eyes, the world, including yourself, is full of bad people."
"So when you do a good deed, you will also find all sorts of excuses to prove that you are not that good and that you are only helping for some purpose."
Chu Li listened blankly, feeling the warmth in his palm.
"For example, you want to save Xie Liyi, but you say it's to prevent me from becoming a murderous monster."
"For example, you help Xie Yunge vent her anger, but you think you want to use her to infiltrate the Cangshan Sect."
"And the little donkey, you avenged him, but you said it was because you didn't like that cultivator."
Shang Xinglan spoke slowly, took her hand, and led her into the house, through the corridors.
"You think the worst of yourself, but everything you do helps others. You killed because you were bullied, not because you intended to do evil."
"Achu, your heart is a blank sheet of paper, but it has been dyed with many colors, so much so that you can't see your original color. Only those who like you can see it; those who don't like you only see the messy colors on the surface."
Chu Li listened to his words with a blank expression and whispered, "Then why can't I see my own color?"
"Because you don't like yourself that much."
Shang Xinglan pushed open the door, carried the little one who was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open inside, and said without looking up, "Otherwise you wouldn't ask me such a question. You would believe that you are worthy, that I should like you, and that everything is only natural."
Chu Li followed behind him, half understanding, and hugged his waist from behind, saying, "Only you in the world would think that way."
Shang Xinglan paused slightly, tucked the blanket around the little one, and said softly, "Yinyin thinks so too, as do Grandmother, Xie Yunge, Chu Shuyi... they all think so."
He turned around, the lightning marks on his neck glowing with a pale golden light in the dark night. Shang Xinglan hugged her tightly back, "Everyone likes you very much. Your only flaw is that you're a bit slow-witted and have a slow reaction, but that's also cute and not a big deal."
Chu Li was held tightly in his arms, and her heart felt inexplicably filled little by little by something.
She wrinkled her nose, her eyes welling up, and whispered, "I'm not that good. I even pushed you off a cliff."
Shang Xinglan was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Then let's call it even."
"Even?"
Shang Xinglan took a light breath and looked away.
"Do you remember, many years ago when you were begging on the streets of the Southern Border, someone gave you a large sum of money?"
Tears still clung to her eyelashes as Chu Li stared at him in a daze.
"What?"
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