50 Under the Starry night sky
"You heard me." Zhao Yufei stressed her words.
Zhao Wei opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it once again, but he couldn't find the right words to explain the situation or reply to Zhao Yufei's outrageousness.
"Uh, um, then I would just pretend I specifically never heard those brazen words from you." Zhao Wei addressed her awkwardly.
"Even if I had to take your words seriously, something like that won't ever happen."
"Cause I am stronger than you!" He finished with unhidden pride and boundless confidence that could shake the firmaments.
His intimidating eyes looked down at her as if asserting his unseen Conqueror's Haki.
Zhao Yufei didn't falter, her eyes never left his but even then, she could feel the pressure weighing down on her but not lethal enough to make her legs go weak.
She gritted her fair teeth in defiance and after some time, she averted her gaze with a tired and helpless sigh escaping her lips.
"Ugh, you are right that I am still not strong enough."
Her facial expressions then did a complete 180 as she looked back at the heavenly food strongly beckoning her to take a prolonged bite.
Since it was currently safely secured under her arms, her hand tore a glistening juicy thigh decorated with aromatic condiments that drove her salivary glands into insanity.
Zhao Yufei couldn't resist it anymore as she munched on that appetizing thickness.
Lady-like Elegance and whatnot were all thrown out of the window.
She was unrestrained when she was together with Zhao Wei.
"Yo, take it easy. The aphrodisiac should be taking effect in like, uh, about 5 minutes." Zhao Wei adorned a cunning smile on his face as he decided to play with her.
Zhao Yufei paused her chewing and that made the food inflate one of her cheeks funnily.
"Aphrodisiac? You can't be serious. Don't you think 5 minutes is too long? You should have made it like a minute or a few seconds to get it on quickly, despicable fellow." She rolled her eyes at him and continued doing what mattered most to her at that moment.
Zhao Wei rubbed his nose with a shameless expression on his face.
"Anyway, why aren't you eating some?" Zhao Yufei asked casually as she slowly gulped down the moistened food with a cup of sweet wine.
She then cut a mid-sized chunk of meat and stretched it toward Zhao Wei.
"Do you want a bite? Aren't I kind enough to care about my junior brother?" A tender smile stretched across her mouth.
Zhao Wei winced, his face contorting into visible disgust.
"I am good. Stop calling me junior brother and you have been giving me weird labels since long ago."
"Stop it." He grumbled lightly.
Seeing him not showing appreciation for her 'kindness', Zhao Yufei harrumphed before swiftly returning that hand to her gradually opening mouth.
"How can you ignore the hand that feeds you?"
Shameless!
Now it was Zhao Wei's turn to roll his eyes.
"Who's feeding who? Say those words on the day you become a powerful entity capable of cheating reality to make such otherworldly high-quality food like mine." A picture of a big-breasted woman in a tight suit momentarily appeared in his mind.
'Twisting probability may be too far off for her, hoho.' Zhao Wei mused lightly.
An orange glow had already started spreading across the horizon as the sun which had been quite rare during the day began to gradually disappear down the expansive mountain ranges.
Zhao Yufei thoroughly washed her hands clean after eating her fill but surprisingly her belly didn't show signs of being bloated. It remained as flat as it was before she had eaten.
"You are simply the best, Wei'er." Zhao Yufei smiled in satisfaction, a light blush gracing her smooth cheeks
"You have become too comfortable with me, you glutton. I don't remember us being that close for you to address me like that." Zhao Wei facepalmed himself for her sake.
"B-But we have known each other for like, um, an eternity." Zhao Yufei nervously fiddled with her two index fingers.
"Aiyah, I think my ears have been malfunctioning as of late." Zhao Wei playfully picked his ear with a pinkie and then he scoffed at her.
"When did a few months ever stretch to an eternity?" A smile formed on his face.
It seemed that the two had already formed a knack for continuously joking with each other.
"Okay, okay, I know I am exaggerating." Zhao Yufei waved her hand in dismissal of the topic.
She then gazed at the sun, finding the scene quite captivating and suitable for their current atmosphere.
Zhao Wei put a chair next to her and sat to gaze with her.
"Friend." Zhao Wei muttered in a low voice.
The word itself felt strange on his tongue.
"Huh, what do you mean by "friend"?" Zhao Yufei tilted her neck to the side as she gave him a side glance.
"You are the first friend that I have ever made but that doesn't mean that I trust you or anything." Zhao Wei gritted his teeth and those words came out quite forced from his lips.
"Oh, you said that I am your friend? Isn't there more that you can add?" Zhao Yufei grinned like an old cunning fox.
"Shut it before I take back my words." Zhao Wei threatened with a low grumble.
"You are no fun, Wei'er."
An angry tick mark showed on Zhao Wei's face but he didn't come up with a snarky reply.
He just showed a fake smile on his face.
And the atmosphere turned to a tranquil one once again.
'Why a friend though? Shouldn't I be more than a friend…?' Zhao Yufei thought in passing with a sad undertone.
And what was more than a friend? She asked herself but didn't delve much since the answer was pretty much obvious.
"By the way, why do I feel like this might be the last time we would have such a moment?" Zhao Yufei commented.
"Trust your instincts. You thought I was joking when I said that that meal was your last supper." Zhao Wei replied as he inclined on his chair with his hands laced behind his head.
"Why would you say such a thing with such a high level of certainty? Can you see the future or what?" Zhao Yufei asked with a serious expression on her immaculately divine face.
'Aye, I can see the future to some degree, that is, through the canon events.' Zhao Wei smirked internally.
"Let me ask you this. Do you want to stay forever holed up in this tiny place?" Zhao Wei then proceeded to pose a question.
Zhao Yufei touched her small, cute chin with a thoughtful look on her face.
After a few seconds of thinking, she spoke unhesitatingly with indomitable courage.
"I don't think I would want that. After hearing some of your bullshittery over those few months, I certainly want to also experience more… adventure while growing stronger until I can pick the sun and the moon with my bare hands. Drink wine with the deities *pfft*"
Zhao Yufei's serious tone slowly started derailing to a reminiscent laughter.
Rather than feeling embarrassed by his past, which included lame poems about wine and made-up lines from the library of Xianxia junk, Zhao Wei maintained a shameless, composed, and steady facade.
"You forgot "Flirting with immortal fairies and slaying demons and punishing evil"." Zhao Wei added but it only served to intensify Yufei's laughter.
"Hehehehe!" Zhao Yufei bent in her seat as she used her delicate hand to try to contain her hearty laughter.
'Dang, that's too much cringe I have spouted over the months.' Zhao Wei tightly pursed his lips as he gazed at the dark sky with twinkling stars gradually beginning to appear.
After exhausting all the energy from her lungs, Zhao Yufei glanced at Zhao Wei but then their eyes met.
*Pfft*
Seeing his facial expression, Zhao Yufei didn't know why but she soon began keeling over in laughter.
"Laughing at others is bad, Yufei. It isn't good behavior." Zhao Wei warned with a teacher-like demeanor.
"Ah, haha, s-stop k-killing me slowly!"
"Sigh, don't say I didn't tell you."
"Y-You got me! I yield!"
"It's not funny!"
*Pfft*
Beneath the starry night sky, two people relished each other's company.
One sought the other's heart and a deep understanding of their psyche. They wanted to prove that they weren't completely useless but were instead people with an ever-growing determination capable of achieving whatever they desired.
The other yearned for the unpredictability of life and the spices thrown into his journey; a path of eternal cultivation. He was searching for himself. His own emotions. He wanted to understand an infinity of concepts on the GRAND DAO, something that he didn't even have a clear grasp of.
There were simply many things to unveil in the Fan Universe and beyond.
As the two friends stargazed peacefully while enjoying each other's company, a clan servant arrived at Zhao Wei's quarters with an important message.
"Both Young Master Zhao Wei and Young Lady Zhao Yufei are being summoned by the Clan Head."
A slight surprise briefly showed on Zhao Wei's face before he returned to normal.
Only suppressed annoyance and anger could be registered on Zhao Yufei's calm face as she looked at the oblivious young servant.
'I hope the time I have been waiting for has arrived.' Zhao Wei rose from his seat and Zhao Yufei followed suit with her fiery gaze burning holes through the young female servant's neatly plaited head.
'Broken Moon Clan, you aren't that far off from me.' Naturally, Zhao Wei had already taught about the probability of things not going his way but no matter what, he was determined to get what he wanted if there were chances to capitalize on. If there weren't any, then he would create his own.
And that was life.
***
[Author's Note]
For the impatient folks don't worry about this interactions they are meant to gradually build up Zhao Wei's character since humans are social creatures. I have learned a lot from the sociology classes to try and apply it here even if it's a little bit.
You can all sense the foreshadowing of a separation, right? This is Zhao Wei's adventure after all. I really want to jump straight to the Broken Moon arc (Alchemy, Array, New Techniques, Formidable enemies, Butterfly effects) but sadly, stories need follow steps.
Just trust me and my delivery.
For more advanced chapters and extra support (Patreon.com/OneArmedImmortal). - (They go to food because I am foodie that likes to cook any interesting recipe, hoho)
