Chapter 9: Heart Knot (Updated)_1

Some things, once fully explained, can really lead to disappointment. What seemed to be a beautiful fantasy in the heart suddenly feels shattered in an instant.

The reason for getting married wasn't because she felt something at first glance for him, nor was it because she was touched by what he did today; it wasn't even because their union was arranged by fate. It was simply because she had no other choice.

Though it seemed trivial, it mattered a great deal to Fang Ren.

Mu Huanqing saw him suddenly turn around, a look of confusion in his eyes, and she couldn't understand why the boy's mood had suddenly dropped.

Mu Huanqing looked at his suddenly forlorn expression, paused for a moment, and then spoke, "But there are no what-ifs in this situation."

"There are," Fang Ren's voice deepened a bit as he said.

Mu Huanqing was silent for a long time.

"Do you hate me now?" she asked.

"No, I was just thinking, if I could find a way to help you restore your powers, I probably shouldn't marry you... After all, there are things you'd rather do than marry me. For those things, you would certainly prefer not to marry me," Fang Ren said.

What followed was a speech from Mu Huanqing that unraveled Fang Ren's inner conflicts.

It turned out her "I wouldn't" meant that she wouldn't marry him if none of these events between them had happened. But now they had occurred.

That was also what Mu Huanqing meant by "no what-ifs".

Once the knot in his heart was untied, Fang Ren felt much more at ease, and his feelings toward his future wife extended beyond just an appreciation of her features.

In an era where love could be fickle and fleeting, Fang Ren appreciated her traditional values of love.

"Sorry, I thought too much," Fang Ren said with a slight smile, softly.

"Is Ah Ran going to sleep?" Mu Huanqing asked, looking at his back.

Fang Ren immediately turned around, seeing the beautiful visage up close made his heartbeat speed up again, he chuckled and replied, "How could I possibly sleep lying next to you."

"Why, am I that scary..." she said.

"No, it's because you're so pretty, I can't sleep from the excitement," Fang Ren responded with a smile.

Mu Huanqing seemed to recall something in her mind, then said with a serious expression, "That action of yours... I remember it's called 'flirting'."

"Is it wrong to flirt with you?"

"No," Mu Huanqing nodded and then continued.

"Tell me, Ah Ran, what do ordinary people do every day?" Mu Huanqing went on to ask.

Fang Ren immediately collected his thoughts, pondered for a moment, and said, "Life, right? Like you said before, supporting a spouse, raising children, working for a livelihood, and having three meals a day."

"Isn't that just waiting around to die?" Mu Huanqing frowned.

"Everyone's attitude toward life is different. An ordinary life isn't as terrible as you imagine, there are many pleasures in life too. I'll show you around later," Fang Ren said.

"Alright," Mu Huanqing nodded.

In the time that followed, Mu Huanqing kept asking Fang Ren what he did every day, where he went to school, and if anything interesting happened during his day.

Fang Ren talked a lot with her, telling her all about the funny incidents at school and mentioning some of the class clowns' amusing blunders as well.

When he brought up the memorial service for the Xuan Nv today, Mu Huanqing interrupted him with great interest.

"Why did the whole school go, but you didn't?" she asked.

"At that time, I was in the middle of concocting a new elixir and I just got absorbed in it. By the time I was called by the vice president, the memorial service was already halfway through," Fang Ren scratched his head and said with a laugh.

"Actually, it's better that you didn't go," Mu Huanqing's gaze grew somber.

"Why?" Fang Ren was taken aback.

The Xuan Nv was a heroic figure who had contributed greatly to all of humanity; as one of the humans she protected, not attending her memorial service seemed terribly wrong.

Mu Huanqing's gaze fell on the pillow, and in a faint voice she mused to herself, "She isn't truly dead..."

"Sister Hui Qing... speak up, I can't quite hear you," Fang Ren said as he leaned in a bit closer to her.

"It's nothing..."

Mu Huanqing's mood suddenly dipped, and Fang Ren was puzzled. It was just a conversation about the Xuan Nv's memorial service, and she became so despondent she didn't want to talk.

It was already 2:30 in the morning, and as the room quieted down for a while, sleep started to overtake Fang Ren's mind, and he soon fell asleep.

Watching Fang Ren sleep, Mu Huanqing slowly sat up in bed. She looked at her hands with a sorrowful gaze.

She bit her lip gently, her expression solemn, as if she was about to try something risky.

Soon, a faint light appeared behind her, but that flicker of light was just that, a momentary sparkle before it shattered into bits and pieces.

"Will it always be like this..."

Mu Huanqing let out a long sigh, then slowly lay back down in bed. Looking at Fang Ren by her pillow, she inched her body closer to his.

It wasn't so much that she was being forward, but after forcibly running her True Qi just now and causing damage to her body, her blood had cooled rapidly. She needed warmth.

The air conditioning was still blowing cold air, and the only source of warmth in the bed was Fang Ren's body.

------

------

The next day, the bright sunshine from outside the window shone on the bed. Because he went to bed so late last night, Fang Ren still showed no sign of waking up.

After a while, the doorknob moved slightly, Shang Han quietly pushed open the door, looked at the bed from the threshold, then left with a slight smile on his face.