Chapter 1: Deepest Friendship: Please add the upcoming novel "After Removing Makeup, My Wife Became My Nemesis" to your collection!
In a life where the end is already in sight, Rong Xie had no doubt that his friendship with Shen Bingsi would be as solid as Qianbing Cliff and as unyielding as Lingxiao Mountain.
There's nothing to prove. He and Shen Bingsi grew up together. He witnessed Shen Bingsi's transformation from the stubborn and mad second young master of the Shen family's plum garden into the youngest ruthless Dao Judge in the cultivation world. Only he knows how many tears Shen Bingsi shed and how many times he went mad in secret while holding him in order to temper his character.
This deep friendship was hard-won.
After all, the other party is a ruthless cultivator who needs to sever all emotions and love...
"After all, the Second Young Master cultivates that... the Path of Heartlessness, he's heartless and carefree, how could he possibly remember your kindness? He might forget about it one day. Rong-ge'er should start planning for himself sooner rather than later."
The old woman in front of him had a shrewd and calculating look on her face as she spoke. She was also holding a five or six-year-old child in her hand, whose eyes were darting around. He secretly reached for the celadon cup with the cloud pattern on the table, but the old woman slapped his hand away.
Rong Xie felt that his patient smile was like a dried orange peel, about to burst. He picked up his teacup and took a sip of the lukewarm tea.
After letting go again, Rong Xie transformed back into the impeccably smiling and flawless head steward of Huanxue Manor.
"What should I do according to my mother's wishes?"
The old woman in front of him smiled with satisfaction.
Of course, she wasn't his biological mother, but his adoptive mother, though it wasn't that different.
More than 30 years ago, on a snowy night, she found a baby with a pale, frozen face under the Rongliang River Bridge in her hometown. She named him Rong Xie, with Rong indicating the location where he was found and Xie representing the high hopes she had for the child.
Why is it said to be a great expectation? Because the old woman was a wet nurse in the prominent Shen family in her hometown. Including her own children and those who nursed her, there were more than a dozen people in total. Those who were willing and able to "thank" her could not gather a complete group of people.
Fortunately, Rong Xie did not disappoint her. He quickly got on the good side of the second young master of the Shen family and is now the manager of the second young master's Huanxue Manor. He has great power and does not seem to have forgotten her kindness.
"Rong-ge'er is a smart boy, why would an old woman like me need to teach him?" The old woman chuckled, pulling the child along and urging, "Wang Mu, hurry up and greet Rong-ge'er! What did I tell you when we came out?"
The child shrank back, glanced at Rong Xie, and said, "Hello, Brother Rong, my name is Wang Mu, and I'm eight years old..."
Then they performed a set of programs commonly used during New Year's greetings.
Rong Xie's already pale lips pursed slightly.
He doesn't like children.
He never imagined he would spend so much time with children.
The old woman's intention was clear: she wanted to send the child to Huanxue Manor and to him.
The child is so young, yet his attempts to act like an adult are full of holes. His eyes are also cunning, and he has a shrewd wildness about him. All the children who grow up in the Shen family manor are like this. If we put them in here, Huanxue Manor will be finished. Even if Huanxue Manor doesn't fall, Rong Xie will be finished.
"Hehe, Rong-ge'er, do you think we could send Wang Mu here with you...?"
Here she comes, here she comes. Rong Xie felt a surge of annoyance, but maintained a gentle smile on his face, as if patiently listening to the old woman's words, while in reality he was frantically racking his brains for a way to refuse her.
“Mother, I understand what you mean, but Huanxue Manor is not short of people. The Second Young Master usually cultivates and does not like to be disturbed.” Rong Xie smoothly inserted a polite refusal when she finally found a moment when the old woman was catching her breath.
“How could you not be short of people? I see you don’t have a single person here…” The old woman’s eyes widened in surprise as she continued, “There are such big farms outside, plowing, turning the soil, watering, and fertilizing. You can’t possibly do all that meticulous work by one person, can you? These farming skills are best done by us country folk. Oh, right, Wang Mu has two older brothers. Why don’t we send a message back and invite them to come along too…”
After only a brief refusal, the old woman wanted to bring the whole family of five over. Rong Xie's flawless smile was about to crumble: "Outside is a garden, not for farming. As for other matters in the manor, I don't need to do them myself; there are talismans and spells. Mother, that's not the key point. The key point is that Shen Bing Si cannot be disturbed."
“Disturbing? How could it be disturbing? It won’t be disturbing. Our Wang Mu is always obedient. Rong-ge’er, if you say east, he won’t go west. And those talismans and spells, you should teach him too. He’s very good at that. Before the New Year, which sect tested his spiritual roots? They said he has four kinds of spiritual roots and can use four types of spells. Wang Mu, what are the four kinds of spiritual roots again?” The old woman pushed the child again.
"Metal, Wood, Water, Earth!" the child shouted.
Thank you: ...
Rong Xie sighed and rubbed his forehead.
He had indeed overestimated himself. Upon receiving his adoptive mother's letter, he felt that he should see her, both out of courtesy and reason. After so many years, he was no longer a young man without his own opinions. He could politely decline any unreasonable requests his adoptive mother made, while maintaining his principles.
Unexpectedly, reason and emotion were completely ineffective with my adoptive mother. She spoke the same way as before, saying your piece and saying mine.
"Mother……"
That's right, he lost the moment he uttered the word "mother".
"Rong Xie, I don't think you understand what I mean." The foster mother's face hardened. "You call me mother, so we're family. Wang Mu is your own brother! How can an older brother occupy a high branch, living a life of luxury, without helping his younger brother? Besides, your brother isn't an ordinary person. He's a genius with four spiritual roots. If you leave him in the Shen family, he'll always be a servant!"
Rong Xie remained silent; at this point, anything he said would be wrong.
"Besides, you're not getting any younger. You should think about yourself. You're not married and don't have any children. Who will take care of you when you're old? Rely on the second young master? He's the head of the manor, a great swordsman, always out there slaying demons and monsters, doing important things. He doesn't have time to take care of you." The foster mother pushed Wang Mu again. "Why not take your brother with you? You two brothers can get to know each other better. You're family, blood is thicker than water. When your brother takes over such a big Huanxue Manor in the future, do you think he'll mistreat you?"
After hearing these words, Rong Xie was not only no longer angry, but even wanted to laugh and high-five. Sure enough, the old fox is spicier. If his foster mother had such eloquence, she could easily have become an external affairs elder in the inner sect of the Spirit Mirror Sect.
Having said all that, Rong Xie knew that he couldn't refuse this request today.
There was no other way but to bring out that big Buddha statue and let him handle it.
“Mother, what you said makes perfect sense, but I can’t make the decision on this matter myself. I have to ask the Second Young Master for permission.”
Upon hearing this, the foster mother immediately turned her reproach into joy, taking Rong Xie's arm: "That's right, Rong-ge'er. You must put in a good word for him with the Second Young Master. He has always relied on you. There are so many people in the Shen Family Manor, but he has only kept you by his side all these years..."
Rong Xie chuckled inwardly, thinking to himself, "I was just wondering when Shen Bing Si had forgotten about me."
“I’ll contact him now,” Rong Xie said, standing up.
“No rush, no rush…” The foster mother’s eyes darted around. “Is the second young master perhaps at the manor? Otherwise, I’ll take Wang Muxian and go back to prepare. He hasn’t mastered those spells and talismans yet…”
Rong Xie's smile became even sweeter. Sure enough, everyone was afraid of Shen Bing Si. This big Buddha was very useful, but it was a pity that it couldn't be placed in the middle of the gate.
“Mother, don’t worry. The Second Young Master is not at the manor. He has just come out of the pass and is on official business. I don’t know when he will return. I will contact him with the communication jade pendant first, explain the situation, and ask him to make a decision.”
The foster mother breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good."
"Mother, please wait a moment." Rong Xie bowed slightly, took out a jade pendant from his bosom, put his hands together, and quickly formed a hand seal with his slender fingers.
A pale green light flowed from between his fingers, making his palms appear even whiter and more delicate than jade. Rong Xie remained indifferent as he slowly opened his palms, the jade pendant floating between them, lingering without falling.
"Huh—" The child's distracted attention suddenly focused on Rong Xie's hand.
The foster mother stared wide-eyed at this miraculous scene.
In that distant memory, the foster mother vaguely remembered that Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi seemed to have entered the inner sect of the Lingjing Sect together, and there was no question of one "mentoring" the other.
"Buzz—"
The jade pendant vibrated, maintaining a consistent frequency, like the lingering echo of a temple bell.
This continued for a while, and the foster mother's eyelids began to feel heavy, while the child began to pick at the patterns on the walnuts.
The light gradually faded, and the jade pendant fell from the sky. Rong Xie scooped it into his palm and said, "I've already notified him. He's probably busy right now, but he'll come back when he has time."
The foster mother nodded: "Your magical artifacts are truly..."
Suddenly, a strong buzzing sound shook the entire room, and a vast golden light burst forth from Rong Xie's palm, enveloping him in golden mist.
The foster mother was so frightened that she leaned back, and the child fell off the small stool with a thud, his fingers still stuck in the walnut.
"Mother, please calm down. He contacted me." Rong Xie comforted her, thinking to himself that he had indeed turned the effect up too high. There was no way around it; he often wandered around the courtyard without bringing his jade pendant, which made it difficult for Shen Bingsi to find him. In a fit of anger, he turned the one-way effect of the jade pendant to the maximum, so that even if he was outside, he could see the window suddenly shining with golden light.
A few rustling sounds of clothing and heavy breathing came from the jade pendant.
Rong Xie listened intently, but after waiting for a while without Shen Bingsi speaking, he couldn't help but worry: "Hello? Is it a convenient time to talk on your end? If not, you can contact me later. It's nothing important..."
A magnetic, breathy voice came from inside the jade pendant: "...It's nothing, go ahead."
“It’s my mother from my hometown with my younger brother…” Rong Xie carefully began, about to continue, when he was suddenly interrupted by a piercing scream.
"ah!"
It came from Shen Bingsi's side. Rong Xie frowned.
"Where did your mother and younger brother come from in your hometown? Did they climb up from the Rongliang River?" Shen Bingsi chuckled.
The adoptive mother looked embarrassed.
"You don't seem to be alright over there." Rong Xie gripped the jade pendant tightly.
"Don't worry, it's not a big problem," Shen Bingsi seemed to shift her posture, and her breathing paused for a couple of beats. "It's just a small demonic dragon... Go!"
From the jade pendant came the sounds of "whoosh," "whoosh," and "crackling" airflow, followed by several dull impacts.
"Focus on! I'm cutting off the connection." Rong Xie was a little angry. Shen Bing Si was not a child anymore, yet she still didn't know how to act properly. She was fighting the demon dragon while simultaneously using the communication jade pendant. He was really something.
"Wait!" Shen Bingsi said in a low voice, then fell silent. A fierce fighting sound came from the other side, bang bang bang! boom boom boom! It sounded like the earth was collapsing... The old woman and the child were terrified and sat obediently in their chairs, not daring to move.
Finally, things quieted down, and Shen Bingsi's breathing calmed down considerably: "We're in a bit of trouble now. This door won't open, and there are some strange scribblings on it. Can you understand them?"
Rong Xie was both amused and exasperated. He wasn't a god: "What door? What kind of ghostly talisman?"
"It's hard to say. The scribbles were all over the place, and there was even a fish blowing bubbles in the middle..." Shen Bingsi described it vividly.
Rong Xie raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he had realized something: "It might be the Turalyon paradox, but I'm not sure. It would be best to see it with my own eyes."
Shen Bingsi was silent for a moment: "There's no other way, so let's just use 'that'."
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Pre-order now for my best friend's sweet treat!
"Undecided Between Father and Son" by Tu Mengma
Happy puppy x Cold-faced, wealthy tycoon (top)
Shen Wei was pregnant. Two seconds later, he decided to leave the child behind!
After all, he's just a nobody (no!).
Others take a gap year to explore themselves, but he takes a gap year to explore... himself?
The exploration turned out to be quite successful!
It just so happens that his grandfather needed a fourth-generation successor—
His grandfather is 90 years old, his father is infertile, his two uncles are patriarchal, and his twin sister is a lesbian.
The pressure was on him; he was also a feng shui master, and his grandfather criticized the ancestral graves, causing internal strife!
Now, he is clearing the name of his ancestral graves!
Smoke rises three thousand feet high, and men can give birth too!
As for the child's father...
Shen Wei didn't want it.
He used to really want to conquer that iceberg, since his favorite sport was mountain climbing.
But now he's not alone anymore, there's someone inside him!
He didn't have time to climb the mountain; carrying heavy loads while climbing is too tiring!
Shen Wei thought for two more seconds and decided not to tell Song Qi'an.
After all, their last falling out was because Song Qi'an was unwilling to make their relationship public...
In that case, they're fine!
——
Three months later, Song Qi'an finally found out that Shen Wei was pregnant.
The cold-faced CEO's icy demeanor shattered bit by bit as Song Qi'an asked three questions in quick succession.
Whose child is it?
You... got pregnant on your own?
No, the child is mine?
Chen Wei hesitated for a moment, then started sprinting, a multitude of thoughts racing through his mind—
I'm going abroad now! I'll return with my child in four years and take back everything that's rightfully mine!
Old Master Song: My family has had only one son for ten generations, and you actually broke that rule!
Chen Wei got into the car and turned off the short drama playing on his phone! He told the driver to hurry up and leave!
As for Song Qi'an, who was wearing a three-piece suit and sprinting after them with his long legs—
The mystique has been dispelled! I still prefer the big iceberg!
——
After the baby was born, Song Qi'an spent his nights soothing the baby, making formula, feeding the baby, and putting the baby to sleep, and then comforting his wife who had been woken up.
Song Qi'an: When will we go public with our relationship?
Shen Wei: You wish!
P.S.: This is a sweet little story about a man who wins over his wife by marrying her and then doting on her, thanks to his father's status as a son!
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