Variables

"What…" He muttered and subconsciously took a step back.

His heart was beating like a drum, and his eyes blurred.

'What's going on?' He wondered.

[I am here.] Zhen Yuan transmitted, and Shen Xu forced himself to calm down.

The firm arm around his shoulders grounded him, and his vision cleared.

"Miss Qin, is something wrong?" One of the newcomers asked.

The person was a young man in his late teens or early twenties. He was tall, lean, handsome, and had a deep but soothing voice.

However, his most distinctive feature was his aura.

He had a kingly aura that made him stand out even when standing in the middle of a humble store.

"Brother Xiao, I like this red robe, but these two are trying to take it from me." Qin Ran said in an aggrieved voice.

"Nonsense!" Shen Xu shouted and glared at the young woman.

Under another circumstance, he would have been impressed by her ability to turn black to white.

Unfortunately, this was not one such circumstance.

"How can we take it from you when we have already paid for it?" He asked angrily.

Shen Xu was angry at the young woman, but he was angrier at the uncontrollable situation.

Although they had never met, he recognised one of the new arrivals as soon as the two stepped on the second floor.

The so-called 'brother Xiao' was Xiao Weimin, and he was the twenty years old main protagonist.

As described in the book, he wore a dark blue robe, black boots, and his hair was held up with a silver guan engraved with images of the four divine beasts.

Xiao Weimin was a martial cultivator, and his current cultivation was at the peak of the early stage of the foundation establishment realm.

From the book, Shen Xu knew that Xiao Weimin would break through to the mid-stage of the foundation establishment realm shortly after returning to the academy.

"This…" Xiao Weimin said and looked at Qin Ran.

Knowing she couldn't pretend, Qin Ran pouted, and her eyes turned red. She looked on the verge of tears, and Xiao Weimin felt helpless.

"Young master, how about leaving the robe for young Miss Qin? I will definitely compensate you for the loss." He said.

"Why should I do that? I bought the robe because I like it. There is no reason why I should give it up." Shen Xu said stubbornly and tried not to panic.

He had already married Zhen Yuan and wasn't attracted to the main protagonist.

However, something had undoubtedly gone wrong because the person beside the protagonist gave him a familiar feeling.

'Who is he?' Shen Xu wondered.

The person was dressed in white, wore a silver mask, and had a gentler aura than everyone present.

If Shen Xu had to guess, he would say the person was a double.

'Why do I feel a connection with him?' Shen Xu panicked.

He wanted to rip off the person's mask to see his face, but he still had some rationality.

Feeling aggrieved, he turned to Zhen Yuan and almost roared in anger.

Unexpectedly, when he was panicking, his husband was unblinkingly staring at the person!

For a moment, Shen Xu was overcome with anger, and he temporarily forgot his confusion.

With red eyes, he pinched Zhen Yuan's waist, and the man immediately came to.

"What's the matter?" Zhen Yuan asked, but the only answer he got was a glare.

'Did I do something wrong?' He wondered but continued to study the new arrivals.

"Brother Xiao, do you see his attitude?" Qin Ran complained and pointed at Shen Xu.

However, Shen Xu only rolled his eyes at her unreasonable behaviour.

"Young Miss Qin, the young master has already bought the robe and isn't willing to give it up. How about buying another robe?" Xiao Weimin asked.

"I only like red." Qin Ran said and stomped her foot.

"Young miss Qin, we will leave for the Dragon capital in three days. We can buy another robe when we pass through other towns."

"…but…" Qin Ran wanted to argue but eventually stopped herself.

Xiao Weimin was a direct disciple of the dean of the martial arts school at the Divine Rainbow Academy.

She met him by chance and wanted to become his woman.

For that, Qin Ran pretended to be gentle and would continue to do so until she succeeded.

"I am sorry for being unreasonable. I just like the robe too much." She apologised, and Shen Xu was taken aback.

He was clear about the young lady's temper and could see the unwillingness in her eyes as she apologised.

However, Shen Xu had more important things to worry about so he accepted the apology.

'I don't remember a young Miss Qin in the original book. She is another variable.' He thought but put the matter at the back of his mind.

At the moment, the most urgent thing was to figure out the identity of the protagonist's companion.

"Young masters, I apologise for the disturbance." Xiao Weimin said and focused his eyes on Shen Xu.

"My name is Xiao Weimin, and my companion is Bai Guo." He introduced.

"Young master Xiao, young master Bai, it's nice to meet you. My name is Shen Xu, and he is my Taoist companion, Zhen Yuan." Shen Xu said and a red flush appeared on his face.

He wasn't used to referring to Zhen Yuan as his Taoist companion.

However, he felt the need to clarify the matter in front of Xiao Weimin, Bai Guo, and Qin Ran.

"Do young master Bai and the two fellow Daoists know each other? Qin Ran suddenly asked.

"Why does fellow Daoist Qin think so?" Shen Xu asked.

"I have noticed that fellow Daoist Zhen has been staring at young master Bai." Qin Ran said with undisguised mockery in her eyes.

Because she didn't get the red robe, she didn't want Shen Xu to feel better.

'What if you get the robe? Your Taoist companion has fallen in love with another double.' She gloated in her mind.

"This is the first time I have met the two young masters." Bai Guo answered, and Shen Xu heaved a sigh of relief.

He had managed to change his life by marrying Zhen Yuan, and he didn't want strange variables to appear.

"Why do I feel there is some resemblance between fellow Daoist Shen and young master Bai? Your eyes and chins are similar." Qin Ran insisted.

"Our Canglan continent is a vast and mysterious place. It is not strange for two people to have one or two similar features." Shen Xu said, but he was secretly not convinced.

He felt a connection to Bai Guo, and he couldn't help but worry they were relatives.

"It is fate for the two of you to meet. You should consider becoming friends." Xiao Weimin suggested, and his lips curled into a handsome smile.

"GuoGuo, what do you think?"

"I also think it's fate." Bai Guo said but then frowned.

He was sure he had never met the other party, but he couldn't ignore the sense of familiarity hidden in the depths of his heart.

'Did I meet him somewhere before?' He wondered but shook his head in denial.

He hadn't lost his memories, so he was sure he had never met Shen Xu.

'I will leave it to fate.' He thought and drove out the confusing thoughts from his mind.

"If the young masters have time, how about eating together at noon?" Xiao Weimin asked.

"We…" Shen Xu wanted to refuse, but Zhen Yuan interrupted him.

"We still have some things to do at noon but are free for afternoon tea." He said, and Shen Xu couldn't help but look at him in surprise.

Although he hadn't known his husband for many days, Shen Xu knew that Zhen Yuan was not social.

If it was avoidable, Zhen Yuan would never take the initiative to get along with others.

However, he was taking the initiative at this time!

'Did he really fall in love with that Bai Guo?' Shen Xu doubted, and his heart turned sour.

Since Bai Guo appeared on the second floor, Zhen Yuan hadn't stopped looking at him.

It made Shen Xu unhappy, and he felt an itch to pinch his husband again.

However, he concealed his unhappiness and planned to talk about it when they left the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

"In that case, why don't we meet at the Blue Spring teahouse?"

"Good."

After that, Shen Xu put the red robe in his storage bag and followed Zhen Yuan out of the second floor.

When they were ten metres from the Myriad Treasures pavilion, Shen Xu could no longer endure his unhappiness.

"What was that about? Why did you keep staring at that Bai Guo?" He questioned.

When he heard the question, Zhen Yuan looked at Shen Xu, and his eyes lit up.

"Is my wife jealous?" He asked playfully.

"Who is jealous?!" Shen Xu snorted, but his cheeks flushed a brilliant red.

"Don't worry, I will never let you down." Zhen Yuan assured and rubbed Shen Xu's hair.

"If it's not that, why did you keep looking at him?"

"I told you that everything has laws; it is the same for people." Zhen Yuan said, and his eyes turned solemn.

"What are you trying to say?"

"XiaoXu, I am sure you and Bai Guo are close relatives." Zhen Yuan said, and Shen Xu felt cold.

In the novel, the original Shen Xu was adopted by his maternal aunt, and he never met his biological parents.

After he transmigrated into the book, Shen Xu didn't plan to find his relatives.

However, with the appearance of Bai Guo, it seemed that things wouldn't be so easy.

"Were you looking at him because you were trying to comprehend the laws around him? You want to understand our origin?"

"Something like that." Zhen Yuan said and clenched his hands.

If what he guessed was right, he and Shen Xu couldn't ignore Bai Guo.