Chapter 4.1 - Gifts (Part 1)

Sun Xiao and Li XinWen reached the latter's room found at the second floor of the house. His room was located immediately to the right of the staircase. 'This is a rather generous space!' Li XinWen thought. Comparing to how they lived in the Soaring Heaven sect where the hallways to the living quarters were narrow and bare. Of course, after he had become a peak master for Soaring Heaven Sect, he had a courtyard of his own. But the size of the hut he had within that courtyard was still not comparable to this!

'Just how big is this house?' Li XinWen wondered.

In the middle was a smaller version of the living room found downstairs and two other rooms can be seen on the far side of the floor. Referring to the original's memories, the room to the right belonged to Sun Xiao and that on the left belonged to JingHua. Their mother, owing to her age slept in the master's bedroom downstairs. Sun Xiao opened the door to Li XinWen's room and led him to his bed to rest.

"Thank you Ah'Xiao," Li XinWen said smiling.

Sun Xiao merely nodded before excusing himself and closed the door to Li XinWen's room. "This is quite a cozy room," Li XinWen mumbled to himself as he surveyed his new surroundings. The room had wooden floors and a simplistic layout, giving off a zen atmosphere. Clean lines and the combination of the rich brown and black tones added to the subdued and tranquil atmosphere of the room. The bed was soft and large enough to fit two people. At the foot of the bed was a small Recamier divan and on either side were bedside tables illuminated by light fixtures secured against the wall.

A carpet accentuated the middle of the room. Immediately to the right was a walk-in closet of considerable size with glass walls acting as partition. Shirts and trousers were hung neatly and were organized according to colors. With rows and rows of shoes and plenty of drawers.

At the corner of the room, an accent chair and small coffee table can be seen near the shelf lined with books, scripts and decorative items all arranged in a stylish manner. It seemed that the original Li XinWen used this part of his room as his workplace where he studies his script or read his books. In a way, it looks like a small library.

The curtains were drawn but it was easy to make out the sliding glass doors behind them which lead to a small terrace.

"So this is how an actor's room looks like?" Lin XinWen expressed. "The room even has its own toilet and bath. This would have been unheard of in the Soaring Heaven sect! Even the highest ranking masters' quarters cannot compare to this extravagance!" shaking his head in the process.

With some effort he made his away to draw the curtains open to let some of the afternoon light into the room. Li XinWen decided to continue cultivating. He sat on the carpet cross-legged as if in meditation and closed his eyes to sense the spiritual energy in the surroundings.

Somewhere in his consciousness, Li XinWen heard a knocking against a wooden surface. It was soft yet persistent and was enough to bring his awareness back. When he opened his eyes, Sun Xiao was peeking in and had opened the door to his room.

"Xin-gege, it's almost dinner time…" Sun Xiao informed him timidly as if to apologize for the interruption. Somehow it made Li XinWen feel that Sun Xiao's timidity was also a defense mechanism on his part to put some distance between himself and those around him.

"Ah'xiao, you know you don't have to be afraid of me right?" Li XinWen asked as if to reassure the boy that it was okay.

"Not afraid…" Sun Xiao's short response was to be expected.

"Alright, alright" Li XinWen said smiling "You're not afraid…are you here to help Ge?"

Sun Xiao did not give an answer but made his way over and helped Li XinWen stand up from where he was seated. Gently taking Li XinWen's arm and placing it on his shoulder for support.

"You've become quite strong and have grown so much Ah'Xiao. Gege appreciates you supporting me like this." he said fondly to Sun Xiao as they made their way downstairs to the dining room. And Li XinWen did not notice the slight blush that adorned Sun Xiao's cheek.

When they arrived downstairs, Li XinWen immediately noticed a difference in the air around the ground floor. It felt different from when he first arrived home from the press conference. Something was abuzz. It wasn't dark or menacing. It felt more electric and energized, but he couldn't seem to locate the source. 'I wonder where this energy is coming from,' he thought distractedly and didn't notice the man sitting in the living room, looking at him expectantly.

It wasn't until Xue Rui cleared his throat and made a coughing sound that Li XinWen's averted his gaze towards where Xue Rui was seated. For a split second Li XinWen saw a faint green light flickering around Xue Rui which quickly dissipated. 'It must have been my imagination,' Li XinWen thought before greeting Xue Rui.

"Good evening Rui-ge. Welcome to our home. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

Sun Xiao helped Li XinWen sit down on the sofa opposite Xue Rui before sitting down beside Li XinWen quietly.

"JingHua invited me for dinner to celebrate your discharge from the hospital," Xue Rui responded smiling broadly.

'Didn't Hua-jie and Rui-ge have a fight? Perhaps they've already made up with each other? Well, that was fast. I guess a woman in love can easily find it in her heart to forgive,' Li XinWen thought while looking for Li JingHua. 'If it were me, I would've let the cold war lasts for a very long time...'

The sounds and smell coming from the kitchen indicated that Li mother and Li JingHua were busy preparing dinner. Li XinWen was looking forward to dinner having tasted the sumptuous spread they prepared when he arrived during lunch. In the world where he was from, eating was considered more as a form of indulgence instead of a need.

As an immortal, he didn't need to eat for sustenance. But the food he had for lunch, made a lasting impression and just thinking about it made his mouth water. Smiling at the thought Li XinWen's attention was again caught by a faint flicker in Xue Rui's direction.

A vibrating energy seem to be drawing his consciousness but he couldn't put a finger on it. As if a pulsating force was surrounding the very space they were occupying. Li XinWen's attention was brought back to the present when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve.

It was Sun Xiao who wore a worried expression on his face as if he was about to cry. "-in-gege…Xin-gege…" Sun Xiao said in an almost tearful voice. It seems that he had been calling out to Li XinWen for a while. Xue Rui watched this with a look of concern.

"What is it Ah'Xiao? Are you okay?" Li XinWen asked while looking over the boy to make sure there was nothing wrong.

"Rui-dage…" Sun Xiao replied "Xin-ge wasn't paying attention?"

"Huh? Uhm…No? I'm sorry," as he directed his attention towards Xue Rui. "Apologies Rui-ge. Did you say something?"

Sun Xiao fidgeted before glancing over at Xue Rui nervously. Xue Rui did not let Li XinWen's behavior affect him. He was going to exercise patience to win Li XinWen's affection this time around.

"Think nothing of it XinWen," He took out a small box from the elegant paper bag beside him and placed it on the table in front of Li XinWen. "I prepared a small gift to celebrate your discharge from the hospital," gesturing for Li XinWen to open his gift.