Youyou noticed that Feng Rong had been acting strangely lately. Although he was still as clingy as before, he was noticeably less carefree, as if he was holding back something. He was different from the easily agitated little turkey he used to be. Initially, she thought it was because he had absorbed the memories of the Demon God and hadn't fully adjusted yet, which was why he seemed a little uncomfortable around her.
As he grew increasingly eccentric, not only did he change his initial brash and argumentative personality, but he also became somewhat hesitant and reserved around her. Even when he occasionally encountered true gods from the divine realm, who looked at him as if he had seen a ghost, he didn't immediately lose his temper. Instead, his first reaction was to nervously turn and look at her, as if worried that she might misunderstand something.
And no matter what she was doing—whether she was inspecting the Six Realms, instructing disciples, or handling sect affairs—he would steal glances at her every now and then, and sometimes, while glancing, he would drift into a daze. He seemed anxious to ask something but dared not speak, caught in a dilemma, torturing himself to death. Despite being a demon god, he exuded a thick aura of conflicted resentment, making her wonder if he was trying to steal business from the King of the Underworld.
At first, she was too busy to notice, and besides, Feng Rong always had those few days a month... until his condition became more and more serious, as if he was trapped in a state of inexplicable panic, as if he could not feel at ease if he did not keep an eye on her for a moment.
You You sighed and couldn't help but speak up, "Feng Rong, come out for a moment, let's talk."
"..." The room was silent.
"Didn't you just leave? Why are you sneaking back to stare at me? Stop hiding, I see you behind the bookshelf!"
"..." The room remained quiet.
Her lips twitched, and she immediately got up and walked towards the bookshelf on the right. Sure enough, the figure that had just been hiding in the shadows suddenly began to sway frantically, and the solidified demonic energy gathered and dispersed. Just as she was about to reach the bookshelf, for some reason, she suddenly shrank down.
A flowerpot suddenly appeared on the ground, and as if it had happened too quickly, it wobbled a couple of times.
Youyou: "..." Isn't it a bit too late for you to pretend to be a flowerpot now?
And why did you have to turn into a sunflower? Who grows sunflowers indoors?! Even when you're pretending, at least put some effort into it!
"Alright, stop pretending!" Youyou tapped the flowerpot, trying to make him change back.
Feng Rong didn't respond. Instead, the flower stalk shook, and the two leaves on either side covered the large flower plate above. It was as if it was playing dead to the end, determined to show that it was just a sunflower without feelings.
Youyou was speechless, her face changed completely, but her personality of turning into a recluse when she couldn't figure things out remained the same. "What's wrong with you these days? Tell me clearly if you have something to say."
"..." The sunflower still covered its flower head.
"What are you struggling with? You have to tell me!" She couldn't help but poke his flower stem repeatedly.
At first, he didn't dodge, but after a while, as if she tickled him, he started to subtly dodge left and right, twisting and turning in a particularly comical way. But no matter how much she poked him, he wouldn't change direction. He completely adhered to the principle that as long as I don't make a sound, I'm a true sunflower.
"Really not going back?" Seeing that no amount of prodding would work, Youyou sighed and said, "Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then I'm leaving!"
After saying that, she turned around and left. Sure enough, she hadn't taken two steps when she felt something tighten on her foot. Looking down, she saw two bright green leaves that had suddenly grabbed the hem of her skirt.
The large flower plate that had been covered up was finally lifted, revealing someone's breathtakingly beautiful face, which seemed capable of captivating anyone's heart, if... he weren't wearing a sunflower-shaped body.
Youyou found it strangely cute and even wanted to pluck the row of sunflower seeds on its head.
Feng Rong looked conflicted, with a hint of panic in her eyes, and her aggrieved expression kept welling up. She tugged at the hem of her skirt and whispered, "Are you going to find Yuan Qi again?"
"Huh?" You You was taken aback. She had already finished reading the reports, so why was she looking for Yuan Qi?
"Are you..." Feng Rong became even more nervous, even the leaf holding her skirt curled inwards, "Do you like Yuan Qi more and don't like me anymore?"
"What does this have to do with Yuan's father?" she asked subconsciously. Was this what he had been agonizing over these past few days?
"Don't deny it." He seemed to have been suppressing his feelings for a long time, and his whole being exuded a strong sense of resentment. "I can see it all. You treat him differently. You always ask for his opinion first, and he's the first person you think of when something happens. You were like this before you recovered. You never yelled at him, you only yelled at me."
He talked on and on, seemingly unable to stop, his eyes growing darker and darker. "We are all the main gods of this world. You punished the King of the Underworld and were mean to me! You're only kind to Yuan Qi! You said you'd try me out, but you trust him more!"
So... has he been jealous these past few days?
“I’ve never seen you harbor such resentment towards Yuan’s father before!” Although he and Yuan Qi didn’t get along in the past, he had never worried about this, radiating confidence.
“That’s different.” His flower plate drooped down, and even the surrounding petals wilted. He said softly, “You are already… a realm lord.” She had regained her memories, and more importantly, he wasn’t in those memories.
He always thought he was the first one to meet her, something Yuan Qi couldn't even dream of. But who would have thought that they had known each other for a long time, and that they had even been through thick and thin together before he knew her?
For the first time in his life, he felt as if he had lost completely, was about to lose the most important thing in his life, and was powerless to do anything about it.
"You're the Lord of the Realm now..." He trembled, clutching the leaf at the hem of his skirt, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible, "Will you still be... Youyou?" His Youyou?
You You was stunned for a moment, suddenly understanding the reason for his struggle these past few days. He was worried that the memory in which he was not involved was one he knew nothing about, belonging only to her and Yuan Qi. Moreover, in that memory, he didn't have a good image. Although he didn't directly interfere, he still caused trouble when the Dragon Clan was at its wit's end.
He blamed himself for standing against her, and worried that she would resent him for it. Suddenly, so many complicated entanglements had appeared between her and Yuan Qi, so complicated that even the unbreakable bond he had previously believed in seemed less important.
The entire potted plant, Feng Rong's, was taut and tense, as if awaiting some kind of judgment, ready to burrow into the ground at any moment. Youyou already didn't like him much; now she'd probably like him even less, wouldn't she?
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