Chapter 918 - 355: Love You (2)
He couldn’t stand the plaintive look in Pei Weiyi’s eyes, so he hurriedly changed the subject and teased Guan Xin beside him,
"Seeing Wuyue like this, don’t you feel uncomfortable at all?"
Guan Xin said calmly, "Senior Jiang Ran went through things far more cruel than any ’discomfort’ I’ve ever known. If I were Wuyue, I’d do the same. Besides, looking at it now, it was precisely Senior Jiang Ran’s words that made Wuyue and me recognize our own feelings."
Fan Wubing straightened, full of solemn respect,
"Worthy of the Literary Ancestor, truly magnanimous."
Guan Xin smiled. "My chest can probably hold only one or two people, unlike you—yours holds the whole world."
Pei Weiyi followed with a laugh. "That’s not it. A heart that holds the whole world doesn’t hold those one or two people."
Their words, in different order, naturally carried different meanings.
Guan Xin’s was sincere admiration, while Pei Weiyi’s was deliberate teasing.
Fan Wubing tilted his head helplessly.
Just then, an urgent voice sounded from outside,
"Hall Master, Hall Master!"
Liu Qingqing stumbled and rushed in. Sensing the Hall Master’s return, she had raced here at the very first moment, almost burning her cultivation in the process; now she looked both exhausted and overexcited.
Jiang Xuan steadied her, "No rush. She’s right there."
Ye Wuyue tactfully stepped aside to make room for Jiang Ran.
Liu Qingqing approached, her body trembling. Her tears fell several times, but she forced them back. She squeezed out a smile,
"Welcome home."
Jiang Ran gently brushed the hair at Liu Qingqing’s ear,
"Qingqing, you’ve finally grown young. I’m sorry for making you shoulder so much before."
"It’s fine, it’s fine... I’m only afraid I didn’t do enough, afraid I couldn’t do anything at all." Liu Qingqing was the only one who had witnessed Jiang Ran’s choice from beginning to end. She had stayed by her side the whole time, and long ago had drowned in the pain of losing her Hall Master.
Suddenly remembering something, she hastily stepped up to Fan Wubing. She clenched her teeth, fixed her eyes on him, then performed an exceedingly solemn Daoist bow,
"This favor is too heavy for my fate to bear; I offer this as my token of respect. If you ever have need, I am willing to repay it with everything I have."
Only then did everyone come back to themselves. Immersed in the joy of Jiang Ran’s return, they had completely forgotten the one who had brought this joy to them—the great benefactor.
They crowded around, thanking him, praising him from all sides, until Fan Wubing’s face flushed red. He didn’t know how to answer and hurriedly cast a pleading look toward Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran’s face was wrapped in a spring-breeze smile, her eyes full of a tender, pampering warmth.
Fan Wubing blushed even harder. He suddenly realized that, aside from his deceased mother and his beyond-comprehension senior sister, it seemed only Jiang Ran would look at him with such a doting gaze.
He couldn’t help thinking he was truly being played round and round by her.
With considerable helplessness, he said to the crowd,
"Jiang Ran is the main character today. If you’re going to celebrate, at least get the target right."
Jiang Xuan was sincerely happy and laughed. "I’d say we shouldn’t disturb them too long. Let’s leave them more time together."
Only then did everyone realize that by crowding here, they’d actually stolen the two of them’s private space, and so they left amidst playful chatter.
Once the liveliness dispersed, time belonged only to Fan Wubing and Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran sat by the window, patted her thigh, and asked with a smile,
"You look really tired. Want to lie down and rest for a bit?"
Fan Wubing said,
"It should be you lying down to rest."
Jiang Ran blinked. "Offer expires soon, you know."
Fan Wubing choked for a moment. He had never experienced Jiang Ran’s lap as a pillow before; hemming and hawing, he lay down, muttering,
"Fine, I’ll indulge you this once."
Jiang Ran’s lips curved in a soft smile.
She gently stroked Fan Wubing’s face, her expression vaguely distant,
"You really are a restless child. You just had to drag me back, turn me into someone who breaks her word."
Breaks her word.
Fan Wubing knew what she was referring to. The last time they parted, she had promised that once the Heaven-Smiting was over, she would tell him her true feelings. Yet when the Heaven-Smiting ended, the result had been her being torn out by fate.
Fan Wubing said,
"Even if you hadn’t come back, wouldn’t that still be breaking your word?"
"At least you wouldn’t have suffered for it."
"That’s not right." Fan Wubing unconsciously wound a lock of Jiang Ran’s long hair around his fingertip. "Pain doesn’t disappear; it only takes on another shape. Pain you can’t remember is far worse than pain of losing something."
Jiang Ran said apologetically,
"I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through enough."
"You just wanted to shoulder everything alone. You said you’d never deceive me, and yet you did. Those Nine Great Demon Dao clearly only become ownerless when the Demon Lord dies, so you used your own fate as the price and took death in An An’s place." Fan Wubing covered his face. "Why am I surrounded by people like this, who throw themselves away at the drop of a hat to fulfill others?"
Faced with Fan Wubing’s "scolding," Jiang Ran was slightly unconvinced,
"Isn’t it precisely because you are that kind of person that you attract others like you?"
"Uh..." Fan Wubing said, lacking conviction, "I’m actually very fond of my life."
"If you truly cherished your life, you wouldn’t have taken the risk to retrieve my fate."
"All right." Fan Wubing let out a long breath, then suddenly asked, "So... what about your answer?"
"What answer?" Jiang Ran blinked.
Fan Wubing sat up in a rush, anxious. "Don’t you start that with me."
Jiang Ran said, all innocence, "If you don’t make it clear, how am I supposed to understand?"
"You’re pretending not to know! Just to mess with me!"
"But what is it you want me to answer?"
Looking at Jiang Ran’s aggrieved little expression, Fan Wubing felt a tightness in his chest and couldn’t help thinking: Could it be she really doesn’t realize? Or have I misunderstood everything? Been imagining things?