Not the real me
Hu Ziyu turned his head and recognized Ao Botong, clasping his fists and said, "Palace Master, I thought you had already taken the dragon boat back." He only knew that when the show was over, this man was still in the queue of Team No. 2 (many of whom thought he was a straight male pursuer of a goddess). Ling Hong and others did not mention what happened to him afterwards, and he did not particularly care.
Ao Botong bowed deeply and said, "I have something I want to say to you alone. Please ask my father to take everyone away first. I have been hiding my presence to track you two. I only dared to approach you when the assistant officer was not around. Please forgive me."
"Palace Master, please don't be so polite. If you have anything to say, just speak directly," Hu Ziyu said. "Please call me Suanni, or you can also call me by my English name, 'Ryan.'" Turning around, Ao Botong gestured to the foreman. "I don't want the exhibits here. Pack me a brand new set and send it to the Jade Rabbit Temple in Guanghan Palace."
"Don't!" Hu Ziyu stopped the two of them: "Don't spend this money. The Dragon Clan's affairs are not yours alone. You have no obligation to apologize on behalf of your relatives."
"Please accept it, otherwise I will feel uneasy." Ao Botong requested. The foreman heard this and walked away with a smile.
"Alas." Hu Ziyu sighed. How could there be Chu Tianqi on earth and Ao Botong in heaven? Each of them loved to spend money and give gifts, and each of them refused to listen and was extremely stubborn.
Ao Botong pulled out his iPad and tapped the Wallet app to have the teller debit the money. Hu Ziyu checked his balance and was speechless. Forget silver; this guy held a million grams of gold, along with a small amount of other rare gemstones. He was destined to be a wealthy young lady. Chu Tianqi and Ao Botong's backgrounds were worlds apart, and their families and friends' attitudes towards them were completely different. However, Chu Tianqi was either in the past or the future, while Ao Botong was in the present, imminent present.
"By the way, what do you want to say?" Hu Ziyu followed him unconsciously. After walking two or three steps out of the store, he suddenly remembered his appointment with Ling Hong and quickly stopped.
"Excuse me, but please excuse me." Ao Botong grasped Hu Ziyu's wrist and gently jumped a few times. The two of them moved synchronously from the off-white commercial building to the street corner, the red brick pedestrian path, the market center, and finally to the VIP couple's seat in an open-air cafe.
"I'll have a hot Americano, and please give my friend an iced latte float with matcha ice cream," Ao Botong said to the oncoming waiter after taking his seat. Hu Ziyu was slightly surprised. It wasn't Chu Tianqi, so how could this guy know his tastes and preferences so well? Regardless, he used telepathy to send Ling Hong's location information first, to prevent him from getting angry again if he couldn't find his master.
The landscape of the open-air cafe is partly inspired by Van Gogh's famous paintings. On the orange-brown square carpet, there are dozens of checkered wooden round tables. In front of the round tables, guests can choose from round vine hanging chairs, swing-style hanging chairs, metal-frame hanging chairs, and hammock-style hanging chairs.
Hu Ziyu sat directly across from Ao Botong, and with a slight tilt of his head, their eyes met. A closer comparison revealed significant differences between Chu Tianqi and Ao Botong's features, voices, clothing, and temperament. The former had a well-proportioned diamond-shaped face, while the latter had an oval face. Chu Tianqi's voice was clear and high-pitched, while Ao Botong resembled a spirit swan, minus the magnetic presence... Hu Ziyu wondered if he'd simply grown too lonely since ascending to Heaven. Whenever he met someone new, he'd always compare them to his family and friends back on Earth.
Ao Botong's black coffee arrived first. He stirred it a few times, but made no move to drink it. Hu Ziyu said, "Don't worry about me. You go first. You bought me the book, so I should treat you." Even so, thinking of the wallet that was better than the bottom one, he could only sigh inwardly. "Sorry..." He finally managed to get Hu Ziyu alone, but when the time came to speak, Ao Botong was speechless, beyond apology, unsure how to express his kindness and love.
"Don't say sorry, don't you have something to say?" "Yes... I'm sorry for bringing you here without your permission. I've already asked the clerk to pay the bill."
"Thank you, but please don't spend this money again in the future." Hu Ziyu felt that this conversation was 87% similar to the first time he had dinner with Chu Tianqi. "Sorry." To ease his panic, Ao Botong took a sip of coffee. "I want to ask you to ignore what my father said. Also, my third aunt, fourth cousin, and eighth uncle said some unpleasant words in the palace. I have also complained to the Merit Committee, and the ruling should be coming soon." Hu Ziyu burst out laughing. How could this be considered a case of sacrificing one's own family for the sake of justice? "Don't be sorry. I didn't take to heart a single word your father and his friends said, whether it was a marriage proposal or slander. However, I envy you. I really want to have a father who is so open-minded, respectful, and tolerant of his children's sexual orientation." Hu Ziyu's stomach broke when he thought of his father.
Sometimes, he would feel that he must have suffered some kind of ominous curse, which was why he was born a homosexual and was born into the Hu family, which was still living in a feudal society.
"If you are willing, there is a chance for you." Ao Botong said: "Since I was born, there has only been one time when my father was really angry. That was when my third brother challenged a seven-year-old kid to a fight on the beach. He lost miserably and his dragon tendons were pulled out." Hu Ziyu had read this story in "The Investiture of the Gods". It can be said that it is the most exciting and fascinating part in the whole book.
"My third brother is Ao Bing, known to mortals as 'Ao Bing'. He has the appearance and abilities of a phoenix. If part of his body is dropped into the fiery baths of Phoenix Valley and soaked for a while, it will automatically regenerate." In the myth, Ao Guang suddenly received the news of his third son's untimely death. He was filled with grief and anger, and went to the Jade Emperor to complain, demanding the life of the seven-year-old boy.
Torrential rains have been falling along the East China Sea coast for seven consecutive days, flooding the sky and making life miserable.
"My father was so angry that several underwater volcanoes erupted. He scolded my third brother: 'You bully the weak with your strength, which is against the will of heaven! Born as a winged martial god, you lost miserably, which is also unacceptable to the Ao family! What do we want you to do, you loser? Get out and practice for your father, and you are not allowed to come back before five hundred years!'" Ao Botong imitated Ao Guang's current emotions and tone, which was so lifelike and vivid.
Hu Ziyu frowned and smiled. "I see. But if 'an opportunity' means I have to marry him, then forget it." Although the rejection of his confession was expected, Ao Botong still looked a little lonely.
The floating matcha coffee latte also arrived. Hu Ziyu used the tip of his tongue to lightly touch the tip of the ice cream. "Later, the Third Prince...what happened to the Marshal of the Central Altar?"
"My father said to spare him, but the Li family of Qiantangguan was very persistent and forced their incapacitated son to death. After his death, Master Li was promoted to the rank of divine general, helping to defeat King Zhou and establish the Zhou Dynasty. A few years later, he grew into a handsome and brave young man. Of course, this is a story for later."
"oh."
"Actually, after he returned from his successful career and reunited with my third brother at the Martial God Temple, the two of them put aside their past grudges and are still on good terms."
"Oh, it's a beautiful story, but it's a pity that the world will never know it."
"yes......"
Five minutes of silence followed. Hu Ziyu unhidden his PAD and opened the Heavenly Pearl to check. Linghong hadn't read his location information yet, but he was still focused on purchasing or bargaining. Ao Botong occasionally glanced up at him, sometimes pretending to read the message. Although he didn't know what else to say, he didn't want to say goodbye. After a moment, it was Hu Ziyu who broke the silence.
"Brother Suanni, have you ever met me?" When Ao Botong heard Hu Ziyu's question, he trembled slightly and said: "Yes. Four years ago,
City A held a same-sex marriage referendum, and since I was somewhat interested in the issue, I went looking for videos and information related to it. You, then a freshman in high school, engaged in a heated debate with the student body at a Christian college. From then on, I became interested in you and often searched for your image and name online.
Four years ago... around the same time Chu Tianqi first fell in love. Hu Ziyu was quiet and socially awkward, which was why his advisor pushed him to join the debate club, where he had to be vocal and assertive. He acted more like a chore manager than a member. Unfortunately, on the eve of the televised debate, the club members gathered in a restaurant for a lucky pork chop, but he was the only one left out. They subsequently suffered from food poisoning, and naturally, he was the only one to escape. Unable to resist his advisor's pleading, Hu Ziyu memorized all the debaters' prepared speeches and bravely fought his way through the debate, from the first to the closing arguments.
This incident not only caused a huge uproar on the campus of A Middle School at that time, but was also reported by major news media.
"Then why do you like me? If I tell you that those speeches were not written by me, will you be disappointed?" he asked again. Ao Botong replied: "I know that those words were mostly written by my instructor, and you just interpreted them. But it was at that time that I began to deeply feel that you were very special. If the same words were spoken through the mouth of someone else, I would not be moved, or even fall in love with the person who narrated them." After saying this, Ao Botong's ears became hot and his cheeks flushed. Hu Ziyu, who was sitting opposite him, also looked like a drunken shrimp.
"No... but no one is special. Like everything else, we're just part of decaying organic matter." Hu Ziyu was reciting a line from the classic film "Fight Club." Sometimes, when he felt embarrassed or at a loss for words, he'd steal a few lines from others.
Ao Botong responded with a quote from the philosopher Leibniz: "No two leaves in the world are alike, just as no one can move my heart as much as you do. For you, I applied to be an exchange student in the doctoral program at University A, but unexpectedly, before I could even meet you, you suddenly passed away. To catch up in your footsteps, I headed to City A, the closest place to my hometown, the East China Sea, and asked my family to take me back."
"Go back" means death. Ao Botong as a human will no longer exist, and the fifth son of the dragon, Suanni, will return. "Thank you, but I can't respond to you." Hu Ziyu lowered his head.
"It doesn't matter. Liking you is my own decision. It has nothing to do with you." At this point, Ao Botong finally opened the conversation and continued: "Just like Suzaku, I only regard him as a cute younger brother. It's just that in my previous life, I could use the reason of 'I'm sorry for being a straight man' to refuse, but now it's hard to explain clearly." Hu Ziyu felt a pity that he had never met this person when he was alive. If he could come to him and express his feelings earlier, Chu Tianqi might not have had a chance to get promoted.
Suddenly, Ao Botong called over the clerk, gave him some instructions, and then took out his PAD and opened the contact list on the Tianren Pearl. "Sorry, we have to move indoors first." Hu Ziyu stood up and moved with him.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, I was careless. It was a private reporter who saw us meeting alone. I don't know what kind of news they would publish. Anyway, I'll send a message to the relatives of the Ao family who are proficient in memory magic and friends who are good at hacking technology, asking them to erase the video footage from the reporter's hands. The owner of this place is a friend of my mother, so you can rest assured that they won't leak any information."
"Uh." Hu Ziyu was shocked. It turned out that this was what it felt like to be the rumored friend of an idol star.
The two sat down again, and the waiter brought back their drinks. Hu Ziyu also ordered a cup of bubble tea to go.
Ao Botong looked at the two drinks on the table, both of different colors and flavors, and said, "Did I misunderstand? It turns out you like this one."
"No, this is for Boss Hong. He refused to share the peaches, so at least let me repay him with something else." Hu Ziyu said.
"You are so gentle to the immortals." Ao Botong felt mixed emotions.
"Some high-ranking priests in Heaven never take immortals, humans, or ghost messengers seriously, especially those 'pure-blooded' ones. They are arrogant and pretentious all day long, acting like a jerk."
"But you are also a purebred." Hu Ziyu said.
"Yes, but there are times when I would rather not be one, so I decided to be a deserter. I begged my father to allow me to be born as a mortal, claiming I wanted to travel the world, see the world, and gain experience. In the end, the family they carefully selected for me was still a wealthy family like the Ao family."
Secondly, in order to avoid Zhuque's persistent courtship, Ao Botong signed the "Voluntary Abandonment of Divine Citizenship" against all odds, but still retained his memories of being a dragon.
Religious families have their own process of succession and teaching, and sometimes, birth order is far more important than the level of spiritual power.
On the night of Ao Botong's birth, Ao Guang invited the five masters of "Heaven, Water, Thunder, Earth, and Rain" to take charge. Suddenly, the sky was clear and thunder and lightning struck, heavy rain fell, the earth rumbled, the stars and the moon disappeared, and a dragon of light broke through the window from the sky and hovered above the birthing bed. Everyone exclaimed: "A divine fetus has been sent from heaven."
Ao Botong lived a comfortable life, enjoying excellent treatment. His only regret was that, as the third child, he was unable to intervene in many matters. The rapid expansion of the family business resulted in a growing number of officials, monks, and disciples, each a hungry mouth. To create a financial stream, the eldest brother extended his reach into education, politics, and business, striving to cultivate a cadre of dedicated followers.
"I have gained nothing in my 26 years of life. If there is anything worth mentioning, it is only meeting you," said Ao Botong.
Hu Ziyu covered his burning face and wished he could take out the ice cubes at the bottom of the cup to help cool it down.
"But the eloquent me you know is not the real me; I also feel that the me described by many people is not the real me." There were some things he never dared to explain to Chu Tianqi.
He disliked himself extremely, or rather, he even hated himself a little. Whether it was his feminine appearance, his neutral voice, his indecisive personality, or his worldly sophistication that went with the flow, in short, he liked none of them.
He always felt a little puzzled by those men who said they admired him and came over to show their affection or pester him several times. Sometimes, he was very resistant and disgusted.
Today, in the palace, he was merely fulfilling the expectations of the Star Lord and his assistants, acting as the Rabbit God's successor. Whether it was bluffing or feigning strength, even though he labeled himself as resolute and fearless, that wasn't his true self.
Ao Botong added, "Everyone says, 'Suanni loves tranquility, is elegant and gentle, and is the silent guardian of the temple.' So, if I speak even slightly louder or express my own opinions, I'll be scolded. But that's not the real me."
Hu Ziyu shrugged his shoulders and sighed: "It's so difficult to be born as a god..."
"Yes, it's really difficult to be reborn as a god." Ao Botong raised the white porcelain cup, and Hu Ziyu also held up the frosted glass cup, and the two cups made a crisp sound when they knocked in the air.
They both drank it all in one gulp, and there was no gold left at the bottom of the cup.
"I heard that you will appear on the first floor stage of A University Gymnasium at 12:30 in two days," Ao Botong asked.
Hu Ziyu was startled. Even he wasn't entirely sure of the time and place, so how could Ao Botong have known about this? The Ao family on the seafront was truly untouchable. "If you need any help, please let me know. The Fifth Division has a long-standing friendship with my father, and any visual, auditory, or tactile special effects could be of use," Ao Botong said.
"Thank you..." Hu Ziyu felt a chill on his back again. He wished he could keep a low profile and just tell a few key people about his deification instead of making it like a press conference.
"May I ask you a question?" Ao Botong asked again.
"Please go ahead." "When answering the reporter, you said: "I have only been dating the candidate Shancai Tongzi for three months, so I refused to get married. But would you be willing to wait for him for another sixty years? You are all still young and have your own suitors. What will happen in the future is hard to predict no matter what. Moreover, the people queuing in aisle two at that time included Lu Jiuchun from the Pharmacy Department, Qiu, the assistant manager of the same unit, Bai Yuzhan, the patrol officer of the City God Temple, Zhenjun of the Martial God Temple and others, and Tiger Lord from the Land Administration Hall is also quite interested in you. Secondly, I think you have a good relationship with your own assistant officer..." Hu Ziyuben frowned and listened to him counting the names of his rivals in love = the guys who might come to bother him in the future. When he heard the last sentence, he almost dropped the glass in his hand.
"Only children make choices," Hu Ziyu said, gripping the cup's stem tightly with both hands. "I don't want any of them!"
"Oh, you don't even want a candidate for Shancai Tongzi." Now, it was Ao Botong's turn to almost overturn the cup.
"Yes, there are some things you really won't understand until you die once." Thinking carefully about their interactions over the past three months, 20% was sweet, and 80% was daily trivialities and adjusting to new habits. Most of the time, it was a matter of compromise, one party reluctantly accommodating the other's preferences.
"He saw me carrying a tattered sack to school and wanted to buy me a brand-name schoolbag. I told him no, and he agreed, but he wasn't happy about it... There were so many things like that. In short, when I was around, he just let me do what I wanted and just tried to please me. Now that I'm dead, his true colors are out. He wants to get married no matter what. He's doing a lot of meaningless things just to satisfy himself. I can't stand it! But I can't do anything about it anymore."
Ao Botong was repeatedly calculating his favorability in his mind, wondering if his insistence on buying a book for Hu Ziyu had turned out to be an unwise move.
A black figure swept in at the speed of an atomic bomb, creating a hurricane wherever it went, and even overturned several sets of seats.
Needless to say, this person is Ling Hong.
"Master, hello." Although they were of different positions, Ao Botong still treated him with courtesy, stood up and then returned to his seat.
"Your humble servant greets the Palace Master." Ling Hong bowed to him, then turned to Hu Ziyu. "I haven't seen you for just a few minutes, and you've already been seduced by another man! You're such a worry!"
"No! What hookup? That's so ugly. It makes me sound like a streetwalker." Hu Ziyu retorted loudly.
Ling Hong folded his hands on his hips. "Still talking! Didn't you almost get taken away by Tiger Lord just now?" Ao Botong had originally dismissed Wan Taian, but after hearing Ling Hong's words, it seemed necessary to reassess his combat power and influence. However, before that, he had more important matters to attend to.
"Master, before you came here, did you encounter any suspicious individuals who had tiny cameras embedded in their fingernails, capable of recording with just telepathic signals?"
"The Palace Master is referring to the thieves hiding behind the potted plants. They are blocking the way and are an eyesore. I just knocked over a few of them before entering the store." Ling Hong said.
"They are paparazzi from a gossip newspaper. My friend has already found out that they are from Pineapple Weekly." In order to deal with the issue of being followed, Ao Botong left after saying "I'll see you later", which confused the master and servant.
Hu Ziyu wanted to help Ling Hong and put the blown tables and chairs back in their original places. Ling Hong didn't want his master to do it, so he flicked his fingers and created several clones to help lift and clean the tables and chairs, and took the opportunity to teach him the steps and tricks of using magic.
The original master just wanted to relax and unwind, so he let the unconscious clones run around and get busy. Hu Ziyu was invited by the clerk to wait in the VIP room for a while, and Ling Hong also sat in.
As soon as he sat down, Hu Ziyu handed him a takeaway bag of bubble tea.
Ling Hong said: "My clones will take care of it, you don't have to worry. By the way, do you like that Palace Master? Do you want to change your partner?" Hu Ziyu almost choked to death on a mouthful of jujube cake served by the store owner.
"No way!" He patted his chest a few times and replied, "My radar didn't go off, but this guy is 'double', just like that tiger. Looking around the heavens, there are very few comrades who are professional. I don't think it's possible."
Linghong just stirred the pearls and was not that interested in eating them all.
"So what if it's a double? The Palace Master will treat you well. Befriending the Dragon King Palace will be of great help to the Jade Rabbit Temple in the long run."
"Of course I know that. But I don't accept bisexuality, both physically and mentally. This group will eventually abandon their older same-sex couples with ridiculously lame excuses like 'I want to live a normal life', 'I don't want to be looked down upon by my family and friends', 'I don't want to live in the shadows'." There are countless examples like this.
"You know, although this is a recently added branch business, the people that the Rabbit God wants to take care of and protect also include 'doubles'," Ling Hong said.
"I know, but if they finally choose to marry someone of the opposite sex, that would mean they sever their connection with me. From then on, it would be up to the matchmaker," Hu Ziyu replied.
Although the tables and chairs were quickly put back in place without any damage, they still caused some trouble to the business of the store. Hu Ziyu felt a little guilty. Before leaving, he spent almost all of his remaining Tianbi and took a dozen drinks and desserts as a face-saving gift and consolation for the Twelve Golden Hairpins. Bo's younger brother helped them move the Tesla to a parking lot not far from Xianjing Street. When he thought about taking Linghong to drive on the way back, Hu Ziyu felt a chill all over his body. Maybe it would be safer to let the beast-shaped Ao Botong or Wan Taian take him back.
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