We're Doing Fine, Getting Married Soon, Dad, Stay Out of It

Hun Ruoruo was truly frozen in place, just as the words implied.

In truth, she had prepared herself for everything before coming here. Whether he held the same views as the Elder Council or had gained a measure of approval for her because she had won the position of Young Clan Leader, neither would have surprised her in the slightest.

Except for this.

The doors to the house stood open, and candle lamps wrapped in paper shades glowed inside. Following the light, the girl ran home, only to find her father silently waiting at the entrance. From a wrinkled paper bag in his robes, he took out a glistening skewer of candied hawthorn, his face full of smiles.

Such an ordinary sight, one found everywhere in the mortal world, felt unreal to her—as illusory as those hawthorn skewers coated in sugar.

Sweet on the outside, sour within.

"You..."

For a moment, Hun Ruoruo could not speak. Unsure whether it was irritation or something else, she turned her head away first and asked softly, "Why?"

"Heh heh."

Seeing this, Scholar smiled and shook his head. "Back when your mother lived with you in this little courtyard, I would occasionally come to visit. Many times, I saw her making this sort of mortal snack, so I decided to try making it myself."

Though he called those visits occasional, judging from what Hun Ruoruo had once seen in Sound Valley, the truth was likely far more than that.

This man who called himself her father, whom she had regarded as her mortal enemy, had truly watched her grow up bit by bit, from beginning to end.

"You know that isn't what I mean." She slowly lowered her eyes.

Scholar paused slightly. The smile on his face gradually faded as he gently shook his