Ruan Bei initially thought that the dream that night was just an accident, because he had heard too much gossip about his elders during the day, and what he thought about during the day manifested in his dreams at night, which led to such a strange dream.
But in the days that followed, the dream kept haunting him. When he was busy, it seemed to have been forgotten, but as soon as he had free time, the scene from the dream would suddenly reappear, which was very disturbing.
Therefore, he would often lose focus, and his expression would be troubled and unsettling. Qin Gu pressed him for an explanation several times, but he always managed to evade the question with a platitude.
After all, that was a very close elder of Qin Gu, whom Ruan Bei had never even met. It would be awkward for both of them to talk about it because of a strange dream.
Because she was preoccupied with this matter, when she was on the phone with Qin's father, Ruan Bei couldn't help but tentatively ask, "Uncle Qin, when you were young, did you... had any rivals in love?"
Qin Zheng was taken aback for a moment. He hadn't guessed Ruan Bei's situation and immediately misunderstood: "There's no love rival. An An... just Kun Kun's mother. She had other suitors at the time, but they weren't very competitive, so she can't be considered a love rival."
"What? Is someone chasing Qin Kunkun?"
"Ah? Yes, yes, Kunkun is very popular at school..." Ruan Bei was a little guilty, but he didn't lie. Both of them were very popular at school.
“Young man.” Qin Zheng chuckled twice on the other end of the phone: “Xiao Bei, relationships are a matter between two people. If his suitors are putting pressure on you, the problem lies with Qin Kunkun. He hasn’t handled these things well and hasn’t given you enough security. You can go ahead and make a scene with him.”
Ruan Bei: "..."
Even though you're speaking on my side, I still feel like you're up to something.
"Did you handle the problem of your lover's suitors like this before?" Ruan Bei asked, her voice brimming with sarcasm.
He suddenly wanted to know how Uncle Qin had caused trouble for Aunt He because of her suitors.
Qin Zhengze: "...No, not at all."
He recalled his love experiences when he was young, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
"ah?"
"Kunkun's mother is incredibly oblivious. I've been pursuing her for over half a year, and she still doesn't know I'm pursuing her." I've used every hint and suggestion imaginable, but she still treats him as a good friend, and even thinks he likes another girl, and plans to help him pursue her.
Ruan Bei was both surprised and curious when she first heard this: "And then what happened?"
"Later I just confessed my feelings." If I hadn't confessed, An'an would have had to help him pursue other girls.
"And then what?" Ruan Bei had forgotten about gathering information and was focused on finding out about his elders' love stories. He really couldn't imagine how Qin's father pursued people. He seemed to be the kind of person who was naturally aloof and never bowed his head.
"And then..." Qin Zhengze smiled wistfully, "Then I caught up with her, and she became my wife."
Ruan Bei wisely refrained from pressing the matter further. The fact that two people who clearly loved each other ultimately chose to separate, and that Aunt He died young, were unspeakable sorrows.
"Why did you suddenly think of asking me these things?" Coming back to his senses, Qin Zhengze keenly sensed that something was wrong.
Ruan Bei wanted to keep it a secret, but how could he fool an old fox like Qin Zhengze? In the end, he was forced into a corner and stammered, "I heard Kunkun mention Junior Uncle..."
"You mean him?" Qin Zhengze clearly knew who Ruan Bei was talking about.
"You know Junior Uncle?"
"Of course," Qin Zhengze said. "When your senior brother came to the capital, he brought several young people from the Xuanmen sect with him, including An'an and Luo Zikun."
"I heard..."
"I heard he has a crush on An'an?" Qin Zheng sneered, "Maybe, but he's just a coward. He grew up with An'an, but he keeps all his feelings to himself and doesn't dare to say anything. He deserves to just watch me win the heart of the beauty."
Ruan Bei: "..."
Father Qin really doesn't give his junior uncle any face at all.
"Then aren't you worried about him and Kunkun...?"
Ruan Bei didn't quite get to the point, but Qin Zhengze understood perfectly: "Are you saying that I'm at ease with his close relationship with Qin Gu, and not worried that he'll sow discord between my father and son?"
"As for Luo Zikun, how should I put it? Your grandmaster taught him to be a bit pedantic. He insists on some very strange ideas, and his thinking is somewhat different from ordinary people. He insists on repaying kindness. I once helped him unintentionally, and he has been indebted to me ever since."
This was different from what Ruan Bei knew. He had thought that his junior uncle was the kind of person who indulged in nature and had a carefree personality.
This phone call did not resolve Ruan Bei's doubts. It seemed that Qin's father and his junior uncle did not have a bad relationship, so why did they fight?
Ruan Bei was puzzled and couldn't find the answer, so he could only put this strange dream out of his mind. Perhaps when he met his junior uncle, he would no longer be troubled by this strange dream.
Time flew by, and soon the day that Junior Uncle had agreed upon with Qin Gu arrived.
Ruan Bei had been looking forward to it, and that day he happily followed Qin Gu to see the legendary junior uncle.
To accommodate them, since they had classes in the afternoon, they made a reservation at a restaurant near the school that noon. Luo Zikun sent them the private room number, and Ruan Bei and Qin Gu rushed there as soon as get out of class ended.
When meeting someone he wasn't very familiar with, Ruan Bei subconsciously lagged behind half a step, following behind Qin Gu.
Qin Gu pushed open the door to the private room. The man who was sitting at the table looking down at his phone looked up when he heard Qin Gu's voice and laughed: "You're here early. Come on in and have a seat. Let's see what we want to eat."
"Junior Uncle."
Qin Gu greeted him warmly, pulled up a chair next to Luo Zikun, and then pulled out the chair next to himself, inviting Ruan Bei to sit down as well.
"This must be Xiao Bei." Luo Zikun greeted Ruan Bei with a smile, and took out a beautifully wrapped gift box from a bag next to him: "Sorry, I missed Xiao Bei's apprenticeship gift. This is a belated gift from your uncle. Take a look and see if you like it."
The man in front of her was equally handsome, but he was a completely different style from Qin Zheng. He had a refined and gentle face, a mild temperament, and a smile even when he wasn't speaking. He had a naturally likable appearance.
Ruan Bei, however, felt no warmth at all. From the moment he saw him, a chill suddenly rose up from his back, instantly permeating his limbs and bones, and now he felt cold all over.
"Xiao Bei?" Qin Gu touched his forehead worriedly. "Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"
The breath that had been trapped in his chest was released instantly. He caught his breath and coughed a series of coughs, bending over with the force of the coughs, tears streaming down his face.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Qin Gu hugged him and kept patting his back to help him catch his breath, sweating profusely in his own anxiety.
Luo Zikun quickly poured him a glass of water: "Have some water, calm your nerves."
Ruan Bei turned his head away, burying his face in Qin Gu's arms. A loud rumbling sound filled his ears. This unexpectedly familiar face made his mind go blank, and he couldn't think straight.
Don't panic, absolutely don't panic.
Ruan Bei desperately tried to convince himself to quickly compose himself during the brief moment he was nestled in Qin Gu's arms, so that at least no one would notice anything amiss.
"It's nothing, I... cough cough, I'm all better." When Ruan Bei looked up, his face had returned to calm, and apart from the flush from coughing, there was nothing else to see.
"Why did you suddenly start coughing like this?" Qin Gu asked worriedly.
"Maybe it's because I suddenly went into an air-conditioned room and took a shower, I'm a little not used to it." Ruan Bei made up an excuse to get by. He had stopped coughing and drank a few mouthfuls of hot water.
Qin Gu carefully touched his forehead to confirm that he had no fever or other symptoms. Luo Zikun then turned up the air conditioner a few degrees before feeling relieved.
"It's my fault. I was greedy for coolness and set the air conditioner temperature too low," Luo Zikun said with a look of self-reproach.
"It's not your fault, I already had some problems with my voice," Ruan Bei said with a smile.
Qin Gu glanced at him, the corners of his mouth flattened slightly, and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.
Ruan Bei opened the gift Luo Zikun had given him; he was not the same style as the other elders of Xuanqing Temple.
When the fourth senior brother gave Ruan Bei those super expensive sneakers, he simply carried the shoebox over.
Other elders didn't even have packaging. One of the uncles who delivered the materials, because they were too scattered to carry, took a plastic bag from somewhere and put them all in it before giving it to Ruan Bei.
The gift from Luo Zikun was exquisitely packaged, using a special gift box with ribbons, and the binding method was also very particular.
Ruan Bei's mind was a jumble of thoughts as he considered these comparisons, but he remained outwardly calm. He opened the box and, at the opportune moment, revealed a look of surprise: "Thank you, Martial Uncle!"
Luo Zikun was very generous and directly gifted him a high-grade magic artifact, a compass.
"Besides being able to find the Yin and break through obstacles, this compass also comes with a trapping array." Luo Zikun explained the compass's function to Ruan Bei. It was indeed a very good and practical magic tool, and it filled the gap in Ruan Bei's lack of powerful control magic tools. He was obviously very familiar with his situation.
This thoughtful gesture did not move Ruan Bei; instead, it chilled him to the bone.
"Thank you, Uncle-Master." Ruan Bei straightened his back, letting the cold sweat soak his back, but his face was full of joy as he examined the compass back and forth, looking as if he couldn't put it down.
"Junior Uncle, don't I have a gift?" Qin Gu casually diverted Luo Zikun's attention: "Ever since we took in Xiao Bei, Master and Senior Brother have been biased. I didn't expect you to be biased too."
"Didn't I give you enough gifts?" Luo Zikun said with a friendly laugh, "How old are you? Still arguing with your junior brother."
"I'm not much older than Xiao Bei." Qin Gu naturally steered the conversation away from there.
The two of them chatted back and forth. Qin Gu asked about his experiences during this period, which was the same as always. Luo Zikun was not surprised and just talked about what he could talk about. They chatted until the waiter brought out the food.
After finishing their meal, the three sat down to drink tea. Qin Gu asked, "Uncle-Master, you said you wanted to see me about something. What is it?"
Luo Zikun said, "Here's what happened. When I went to Yundang Mountain this time, I accidentally discovered a natural formation. You know, that's my hobby. I really wanted to copy down that formation, but it turned out to be a chain formation. I couldn't break it by myself, so I had to find a helper."
Luo Zikun's statement was flawless. Although he was a fortune teller, he was quite knowledgeable about formations, even to the point of being obsessed with them, something Qin Gu knew.
In the past, Qin Gu would have agreed immediately, but this time...
He gripped Ruan Bei's hand under the table, which was clenched so tightly that it made his knuckles ache, and gently shook it, looking conflicted: "I'm not sure if I can go. My dad's birthday is coming up soon, and if I don't go, he'll definitely make things difficult for me."
Luo Zikun's expression froze for a moment, then returned to normal: "It's okay, birthday is important. You finally made up with him, so don't upset him again. I'm available anytime, no rush."
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