Chapter 76 – They’re fighting now
Jian Luo sat cross-legged on the ground, resting his chin on his hand, “Who should decide?”
Lu Shifeng gently parted his thin lips, “You.”
?
“This is what you said!”
A smile curled at the corner of Jian Luo’s mouth, “Then let’s go home.”
Lu Shifeng furrowed his brow, clearly not very willing. He said, “No.”
…
There was a moment of frozen silence in the air.
The smile gradually disappeared from Jian Luo’s lips. He lowered his gaze, his lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something but ultimately remained silent.
For some reason, he suddenly felt tired and didn’t feel like talking anymore. In fact, he understood one thing ever since he started living temporarily with Lu Shifeng, or rather, ever since he became pregnant with their child. He understood that he and the Dark Star people were not equals.
But, Lu Shifeng had always respected him, treated him well, so in these recent days, he had been feeling somewhat weightless.
It was like being slapped back to reality, like a bucket of cold water poured over him, like someone poking a snail’s shell, making him want to retreat.
After a while, Jian Luo said, “It’s up to you.”
Lu Shifeng turned his face away and looked at him, “Jian Luo.”
“Anywhere’s fine,” Jian Luo tried to stay calm. He smiled, “You decide.”
…
Lu Shifeng’s bloodshot eyes stared at him. He raised an eyebrow and, in a confident tone, concluded, “You’re angry.”
Unspoken words lingered. People were like this; if you ignored them, they could endure, but if you insisted on comforting them, they couldn’t hold back.
Jian Luo felt inexplicably irritated and said with a stiff expression, “No.”
Lu Shifeng narrowed his eyes. Despite his extensive experience on the battlefield, he had almost zero experience in dealing with emotions. Even after thoroughly searching through his past, he couldn’t find any experience in soothing others. In the Dragon King’s dictionary, there were definitely no words like “yield” when it came to Jian Luo.
Facing Jian Luo, he found himself at a loss.
So, the Marshal struggled to explain, “They can’t take care of you.”
Jian Luo understood the logic and nodded, “I know.”
Even though it seemed like they had cleared the air, the awkward atmosphere lingered, and no one could dispel it.
Jian Luo stood up and said, “I haven’t learned how to play with these yet. Let me practice a bit more.”
Lu Shifeng watched him get up and start fiddling with these small toys. He didn’t say much, just nodded, “Okay.”
…
One night, Jian Luo learned how to use a few pieces of exercise equipment.
When he returned home, he started soaking his feet. After five or six months, the medications prescribed by the hospital increased. He and Lu Shifeng developed a certain understanding. Usually, at this time, it was storytelling time.
Today, Lu Shifeng waited for a long time but didn’t hear Jian Luo’s request for a story.
The Marshal couldn’t focus on reading the documents for long and raised an eyebrow, “Do you want to hear a story?”
Jian Luo seemed preoccupied, and he suddenly spoke, “Huh?”
Lu Shifeng furrowed his brow.
It seemed that since he had refused Jian Luo’s request to go home on the training ground, this child had been absent-minded.
Jian Luo took a deep breath, “Tell me a story. How about telling one today?”
Lu Shifeng nodded, “Sure.”
Jian Luo thought for a moment and decided to tell a relatively light story, “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful queen. She gave birth to a fair-skinned princess and named her Snow White. Unfortunately, the queen passed away…”
This story wasn’t long, and it was soon finished. Afterward, Jian Luo touched his belly and summarized, “This story tells us to be brave and strong, and happiness will come later.”
…
The room fell into silence.
Jian Luo looked up at Lu Shifeng, his eyes filled with anticipation, “What do you think?”
Lu Shifeng remained expressionless, and his fingertips tapped on the armrest of the chair. After a while, he finally asked the question that had been on his mind for a while, “Is the queen physically impaired?”
“…No,” Jian Luo replied.
“Then why didn’t she take action herself?” Lu Shifeng frowned, showing his confusion. “This hunter is not her kin. Why would she dare to use him?”
Jian Luo’s mouth twitched.
The Marshal continued with reasonable doubts, “And what’s the purpose of the king? Why didn’t he intervene? Has he been controlled by the queen?”
“This…” Jian Luo hesitated.
“If the queen already controls the kingdom, she must have her own power. Why would she think of using a comb to silence him?” Lu Shifeng slowly spoke. “When analyzing the events, the queen’s motive is crucial. It can’t be that simple.”
Jian Luo was caught off guard. “I don’t think she thought that much.”
Lu Shifeng’s bloodshot eyes stared at Jian Luo, making him feel a bit uneasy, as if his own intelligence was in question.
Next, Lu Shifeng, from his professional perspective, helped Jian Luo and the child see the essence behind the events. He analyzed the motives of the characters in the story and filled in the missing logic through their actions, completely overturning their understanding of the story.
After listening, Jian Luo choked up.
Lu Shifeng asked, “Do you want to hear more stories?”
“No,” Jian Luo rubbed his temples. “I’m a bit tired.”
Normally, at this time, Jian Luo would want to play around for a while, but today, he seemed drained and willingly climbed into bed to rest.
Jian Luo lay on the bed with his head buried in the pillow, and the mattress beside him sank a little as Lu Shifeng sat down.
Lu Shifeng asked, “Do you want some water?”
Jian Luo, facing away from him, mumbled, “No need.”
…
The next day, in the early morning, Secretary Jin noticed that something was very wrong. To put it more precisely, the atmosphere was very wrong. Normally, these two were very close, always teasing each other during meals and chatting endlessly. But today was different; the dining table was unusually quiet.
Lu Shifeng served vegetables to Jian Luo, and Jian Luo simply said, “Thank you.”
Polite and distant.
It wasn’t like this before. Previously, if Jian Luo didn’t like a dish, he would always grumble about not wanting to eat it, and Lu Shifeng would coax him. But today, everything was different. Jian Luo was cold and distant, and it felt like they were in a silent argument.
Secretary Jin’s curiosity about what was happening between the two of them grew, but she didn’t dare to ask too much. She was afraid of becoming a pawn in whatever was going on between them.
After finishing the meal, Lu Shifeng asked, “Are you coming back home to sleep today?”
Jian Luo, without much expression, asked, “Are you coming back to sleep today?”
…
Secretary Jin pricked up her ears.
Lu Shifeng’s voice remained steady and somewhat serious, “Yes, I’ll be back in two days.”
“Oh,” Jian Luo replied.
The atmosphere became awkward again. It wasn’t intentional; in the past, Lu Shifeng wasn’t too talkative, and Jian Luo was the one who could talk a lot. But now, the talkative one was suddenly quiet, making it feel strangely silent.
The car dropped Jian Luo off at Phoenix Terrace. After saying goodbye, Jian Luo walked inside. These past few days, he had organized a plan for growing watermelons, and now he just needed to go over it with Wang Gang.
Wang Gang saw him come in and couldn’t hide his perplexity. He struggled to find the right words, “Luo Luo?”
Jian Luo looked at him strangely, “What’s wrong?”
“About the things circulating online…” Wang Gang’s gaze flickered towards Jian Luo’s stomach, and he hesitated, “Is it true?”
Jian Luo shrugged, “True and false, false and true. Whether it’s true or false depends on how you want to see it.”
Wang Gang was taken aback, “What do you mean?”
Jian Luo smiled, “You guess.”
“…”
Wang Gang couldn’t help but feel that something was off with Jian Luo today.
As the two worked together on the watermelon cultivation, Jian Luo had originally planned to demonstrate himself, but Wang Gang was unusually attentive, several times more so than usual.
“Come here.”
“Don’t move, let me do it.”
“Come on, I’ll handle this.”
“Sit down, why are you standing? Aren’t you tired?!”
Jian Luo sighed.
He hadn’t seen you complain about being tired while working before.
After they completed the process and planned everything, it was already noon, and someone from the altar came to invite Jian Luo.
Jian Luo knew it was time for the test, so he didn’t say anything and went over. He stood at the familiar window, and High Priest Zhan Wentai was sitting on the sofa, reading a book. The High Priest himself was naturally quiet, his flawless side profile shining with an air of sanctity and beauty.
Jian Luo took a few steps forward and bowed, “Teacher.”
Zhan Wentai put down his book and looked at him. After a moment of silence, he spoke, “Please have a seat.”
Jian Luo obediently took a seat.
Zhan Wentai handed him a test paper, “A small test to see where you’re at.”
Jian Luo picked up a pen and began to answer the questions. After he finished one paper, Zhan Wentai glanced at it, made almost no corrections, and put it down, “Do you have something on your mind?”
Jian Luo was singled out, and he met Zhan Wentai’s calm gaze. Feeling a bit like a struggling student, he stammered, “Ah… no, nothing.”
Zhan Wentai’s voice was as clear as spring water, “Why? Is it because of the temporary residence matter?”
Hit the nail on the head.
Jian Luo wasn’t trying to make a big deal out of this minor issue. It was just that matters of the heart were not something he could control. He knew Lu Shifeng was right; he just couldn’t control his emotions.
Zhan Wentai looked at Jian Luo’s conflicted expression, lifted his teacup, took a sip, and then stood up. “Come.”
Jian Luo was puzzled, “Where are we going?”
“With you like this, I doubt you can concentrate on studying,” Zhan Wentai looked down at him from a higher vantage point. “Don’t waste any more time. Let’s go. I’ll take you somewhere.”
Jian Luo was a bit at a loss. He often went places with Lu Shifeng, but he hadn’t explored many places on his own. He didn’t know where the High Priest liked to go in the Phoenix Clan.
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
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How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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