Chapter 026: Me and My Unfair Father and Brother (Twenty-Six)
Chen Qiaoyun lives alone in the mountains. Although he has cultivated to the level of fasting, he will buy some ingredients and cook for himself when he is bored. If he can't finish the food, he will give it to the people living down the mountain. As a result, everyone within a ten-mile radius recognizes him and sends him some food from time to time.
Chen Qiaoyun refused most of them, but there were some that she really couldn't refuse, so she put them all in the kitchen, which had everything from firewood, rice, oil, salt, sweet and sour sauces, and even flour and rice.
Peach Blossom Cake requires few steps to make, is simple to make, and is not likely to taste bad.
Chen Qiaoyun politely declined Chen Yunli's request for help and asked him to sit in the yard and watch over his father.
Although Chen Yunli was still a little uncomfortable, considering Chen Wenjian's current temperament and strength, and worried that he would go out and disrupt the hard-won peace in the world again, he agreed.
So the following scene appeared in the yard - Chen Wenjian was drinking tea leisurely, while Chen Yunli was staring at him seriously.
"Heh." Chen Wenjian turned the teacup, his eyes passing over the emerald green tea and landing on his unblinking bright eyes. "Your eyes are already big, and if you stare any further they'll pop out of their sockets. Are you so afraid that I'll leave?"
"I'm afraid you'll cause trouble." Chen Yunli corrected seriously.
Chen Wenjian smiled, without commenting, but opened another cup, filled it with tea, and pushed it next to him.
"Alright, aren't you tired of staring like this? I won't run away. As long as you're still here, I'm not going anywhere."
Chen Yunli lifted the teacup to his lips and raised his eyebrows suspiciously before drinking: "Seriously?"
"Alas." Chen Wenjian sighed exaggeratedly, "My son doesn't trust me so much. It really breaks my heart."
Chen Yunli resisted the urge to roll his eyes and lowered his head to take a sip of tea.
As the tea entered his mouth, it turned into a warm current flowing through his throat, soothing his heart and lungs. Only then did he realize that his body was as cold as a piece of jade. He didn't feel like a living person, but he didn't feel dead either.
His breathing and heartbeat were very weak, especially the latter. When he pressed his palm on his chest, it took a long time to feel a slight vibration. It was not his heart that was beating, but a slightly expanding and contracting flame. The flame itself was cold, so the body that relied on it for survival was naturally not very warm.
That was the source of Chen Wenjian's evil, and the source of the unrest in the world in the past.
Chen Yunli suddenly had a subtle feeling.
"What are you thinking about?"
A soft touch poked his brow. Chen Yunli blinked, and was caught off guard by his old father's white hand poking his forehead.
This hand was cold not long ago, but now it has some warmth, and a faint blood color appears on the fingertips.
What is burning in Chen Wenjian's body is Chen Yunli's life source. It turns out that the foundation of life is different, and the life itself will also be very different.
"I'm wondering when my brother's peach blossom cakes will be ready."
Chen Yunli pushed his hand away.
Just as he finished speaking, he heard Chen Qiaoyun in the kitchen say, "It will take a while. If you're hungry, I'll ask my father to use his magic to grow some peaches for you."
Chen Wenjian: “?”
Seeing his father, who had just been flirting with him in a friendly and polite manner, now looking completely bewildered, Chen Yunli couldn't help but laugh: "Has my brother been the leader of the righteous sect for too long? He's just treating everyone with the best use of their abilities?"
"Maybe. I never realized he had this habit before." Seeing him smile, Chen Wenjian also curled his lips slightly, "Want to eat? Peaches."
"Hmm." Chen Yunli had no objection.
Chen Wenjian took this as a positive answer, and lazily raised his hand to brush the peach branch above his head. Soon, a peach swelled up and became fuller as if blown, and landed lightly on the table, rolling to Chen Yunli's hand.
As soon as Chen Yunli picked it up, two jade-like fingers pressed down on his wrist.
He raised an eyebrow: "Why, it's not for me?"
"It's for you," Chen Wenjian smiled, "but you have to give me half."
Chen Yunli squinted at him and said, "You can obviously make hundreds of them at once, why do you have to take only half of what I have?"
Sharing a peach with a man always reminds him of an ancient story.
"Why?" Chen Wenjian held his chin, as if he was stumped by his question. "After becoming a demon, I have always followed my heart. To put it simply - my willingness is priceless."
After saying that, he curled his eyes at Chen Yunli, and moved the two fingers from Chen Yunli's wrist to the middle of the peach and tapped it lightly. The peach immediately split into two, and he took away half of it.
Being possessed by a demon... that's really a perfect excuse.
Chen Yunli ate the peach expressionlessly, chewing the crisp and sweet peach flesh as if it were himself.
A moment later, the kitchen door opened, and Chen Qiaoyun walked towards them, carrying a plate of steaming dim sum. The fumes from the stove had not yet dissipated, lingering around him like celestial clouds, adding a touch of ethereal beauty to him.
Peach blossom cake is actually a pancake made by steaming dough kneaded with flower juice. It has a layer of red date paste filling inside and is sprinkled with white sesame seeds on the surface. It tastes oily and sweet in one bite. It is not amazing, but a very homely taste.
Chen Qiaoyun pinched the dough into peach blossoms, placed them on a white porcelain plate, and decorated the edges with a few real flowers.
Chen Yunli picked up a piece and slowly bit it. Moist heat overflowed from the cake, wandering between his lips and teeth, exuding a warm and sweet fragrance.
After eating the cake, he felt that all his internal organs were warmed, and the evil source lurking in his heart trembled slightly, burning more vigorously.
"How does it taste?" Chen Qiaoyun poured a cup of tea and handed it to him. Her eyelashes flickered slightly, and she couldn't help but reveal a look of anticipation.
"Hmm, it's delicious." Chen Yunli looked at the peach blossom cake with a missing corner in his hand, and childhood memories that he thought had been forgotten long ago emerged in his mind.
When I was in first or second grade, I would ride my bike out of the schoolyard after school. There were many food stalls on both sides of the street, and he often patronized some of them.
Every time he passed by, he would not brake, but would ring his bell. When the boss heard the sound, he would skillfully grab something he had prepared in advance - sometimes a pancake, sometimes a fried skewers, and reach forward.
He rode past on his bike, picked up the things and left, leaving behind only the sound of jingling on the ground and the words "I'll pay you tomorrow".
Chen Yunli smiled and took the second bite: "It's a taste that makes me miss it."
This is what it means to like.
Chen Qiaoyun lowered her eyes and smiled, feeling satisfied.
That night, the starry sky was magnificent, and the clouds and starlight were very low, as if within easy reach.
Chen Qiaoyun built a new small wooden house next to his own house, put two beds in it, and lit three lamps, making the whole room brightly lit.
Chen Yunli walked around the room for a bit, pointed at the two beds side by side, and asked, "Tonight Chen and I... and father will sleep together?"
Chen Wenjian stood behind him with his hands in his pockets, and raised his eyebrows when he heard the words.
"No." Chen Qiaoyun stroked his hair. "Father and I will share a room, and you can sleep in my room. Conditions on the mountain are limited, so I'll excuse you for one night. Tomorrow I'll build you a better room."
When Chen Yunli heard that he didn't have to live in the same room with Chen Wenjian, he was overjoyed. He waved his sleeves and was about to go out. When he passed by Chen Wenjian, he pinched the back of his collar like a kitten and pulled him in front of him with a little force.
"What are you doing?" If Chen Yunli had hair, it would have exploded by now.
"My son, you care about the world and are on guard against me, your father who once committed all kinds of evil. I don't blame you." Chen Wenjian first spoke to Chen Qiaoyun, then lowered his eyes to look at Chen Yunli, tapping his forehead with his fingertips. "But you know my personality. My moods are unpredictable and I do whatever I want. If I get upset at night and decide to go back to my old ways, Qiaoyun, you can't stop me."
Upon hearing this, Chen Qiaoyun's brows furrowed and his heart trembled.
"...Are you kidding me?" Chen Yunli looked at him suspiciously.
Chen Wenjian loosened his collar, bent down slightly, and almost put his face against his. There was a smile in his eyes, and a bit of nonchalant laziness, but there was no sign of joking at all.
Chen Yunli's heart suddenly shook violently, and the demonic source in his body expanded and contracted violently, making him uneasy.
This guy...seems serious.
Chen Yunli pursed her lips and tugged at his sleeve: "So what do you want?"
"It's simple, just make me happy." Chen Wenjian glanced at his slender knuckles. Seeing this familiar and intimate gesture being used on himself again, he felt happy both physically and mentally. "Just like now, I'm happy if you stay by my side. As long as I'm happy, I naturally have no interest in destroying the world."
Chen Yunli: “…”
Chen Qiaoyun: "..."
What a man who deserves a beating.
Seeing that his two sons showed no reaction, he slowly stood up and put the hand that was not being held behind his back: "What do you think?"
Chen Qiaoyun was the first to react, and calmly questioned, "Father cares so much about me, but you don't cherish the second life he gave you?"
Chen Wenjian met Chen Yunli's gaze. He widened his eyes angrily, looking bright, fresh, lively and cute, just like the boy in his dream.
His pupils were dark, like the surging tide in the dark night, and there seemed to be only a fine line between calmness and madness.
But all the secret, dark, deep and ambiguous thoughts in the dream were eventually suppressed back into his heart, leaving Chen Yunli with only a casual smile.
"Father, I've never thought of rebirth. This is just your wishful thinking." Chen Wenjian lifted a lock of Chen Yunli's hair, and the soft black silk wrapped around his fingertips, the black and white contrasting sharply, awe-inspiring. "I'm gone now. What's the point of living this life that wasn't my own?"
“…”
Chen Qiaoyun is an honest child. He doesn’t understand Fengpi’s spiritual world and is speechless.
Chen Yunli had seen Chen Wenjian's true nature - in a relatively stable environment, before he went crazy.
He was already struggling back then, and now he would only push the principle of using any means to achieve his goal to an even more extreme point.
Although Chen Yunli was still annoyed by his previous attitude towards him, business was more important and there was no need to go against his will over such a small matter.
Thinking of this, Chen Yunli sighed: "Then what do you want?"
Seeing that he had surrendered, Chen Wenjian smiled slightly, raised his foot and lightly kicked the leg of the bed closest to him. The whole bed immediately collapsed and dissipated, turning into sawdust all over the ground.
He waved his hand again, and the debris was blown out of the window by the night wind and fell to the ground, as if a golden-brown snow had fallen in the starlight.
Chen Wenjian leaned over and pinched Chen Yunli's face: "Yunli, let's sleep with our feet touching tonight."
Chen Yunli puffed up his face in dissatisfaction, and he withdrew his hand.
Chen Qiaoyun silently put his hands behind his back - his fists hardened.
That was the bed he spent two hours making!
…
Before turning off the lights and going to bed, Chen Yunli was still preparing himself mentally.
They were both men, so it was normal for them to sleep in the same bed. It was not like they had never slept together before. Chen Wenjian had been in the world for hundreds of years and had seen countless beauties. They probably didn't look down on him.
What's more, they are adoptive father and son. Chen Wenjian didn't treat him very well in the past, so there is no reason for him to have any unspeakable feelings for him now.
Chen Yunli was muttering a lot in his heart, but when he really lay down on the bed, next to Chen Wenjian, all his chaotic and complicated emotions settled down in an instant. His heart became miraculously quiet, and he was so steady that as soon as he closed his eyes, sleepiness came knocking on the door.
Before going to bed, Chen Wenjian took off the gorgeous black long gown with gold weaving. The material inside was soft silk. His hair was spread on it, cool and smooth, sticking to Chen Yunli's body intentionally or unintentionally.
Suddenly, he turned over and faced Chen Yunli. A shadow tilted over and completely enveloped him, completely blocking out the little remaining light.
He slept in the silent darkness, as if trapped in an abyss. He suddenly thought that there was a black dragon with golden pupils lurking beside him, coiling its tail around him layer by layer as if protecting its food.
Chen Wenjian didn't touch him, but just fixed his eyes on his face, as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
Chen Yunli felt numb all over from being stared at. After enduring for a long time, he finally couldn't help but reach out to cover his eyes.
"Go to sleep. I won't run away."
"You haven't told me yet..."
"say what?"
“…”
"...Go to sleep, Chen Wenjian. See you tomorrow morning."
"Um."
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