I Am Dong'er's Boyfriend

"No."

At the same time, through the crack in the door, Bibi Dong could see the scene inside.

Her heart pounded fiercely, and her palms were sweaty.

Qian Xunji gave her a gentle push from behind.

"It's your turn."

Bibi Dong bit her lip, gathered her courage, and reached out to push open the half-closed door.

At that moment, the couple inside both looked up toward the doorway.

The spatula hit the floor with a clatter.

Bi Dashan reacted a beat too late.

His gaze moved from his daughter's face to her figure, then back to her face.

"Dad, Mom..."

"I... I'm back."

Liu Xiulan's lips began to tremble.

She suddenly raised a hand over her mouth, staggered two steps forward, then stopped and stared wide-eyed at her daughter.

"D-Daughter?"

"Yes, I'm back."

At those words, Liu Xiulan could no longer hold herself back.

She rushed forward and tightly embraced Bibi Dong, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes.

"It's my Dong'er... It really is my Dong'er..."

"Ten years... Mom thought I'd never get to see you again in this life, my child..."

Bi Dashan also walked over.

This man, who had labored for decades without ever complaining of exhaustion, now had reddened eyes.

He stretched out his rough hands, wrapping one arm around his wife and the other around his daughter. He buried his face in his daughter's shoulder, his broad shoulders trembling violently.

The family of three hugged together in the cramped main hall.

With tear-filled eyes, Liu Xiulan held her daughter's face and looked her over again and again. Tears fell uncontrollably once more. "My Dong'er... You've grown so beautiful, even more beautiful than Mom imagined..."

"It's all because your father and I were useless. We let you be taken away back then, and we couldn't find you all these years. Mom failed to take care of you."

"Mom, please don't say that."

Bibi Dong hurriedly shook her head and reached out to wipe her mother's tears. "I've been doing very well, really. And haven't I come back now?"

Bi Dashan stood nearby with red-rimmed eyes, wiping away tears while grinning. "That's right. Dong'er's features and bearing are exactly like her mother's when she was young."

His rough hand lightly patted his daughter's shoulder, then drew back as though he feared damaging her. He simply smiled foolishly, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on his daughter.

Beside them, Bibi Xi leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded. "Sigh—looks like there's no place for me in this family anymore."

"Mom and Dad only have eyes for Sis. I must've been picked up somewhere, huh?"

Liu Xiulan laughed through her tears. "You silly child, what are you saying?"

"Your sister hasn't come home in ten years. What's wrong with us looking at her a little more?"

Bi Dashan said, "Xiao Xi, go up the mountain with Dad later. We'll bring back some game to nourish your sister."

Bibi Xi curled his lips and muttered softly, "Fine. If I'd known, I wouldn't have been in such a hurry to bring Sis back. Now my status at home has taken a nosedive."

Then he changed the subject and looked outside. "Oh, right, Mom and Dad, there's someone else I need to introduce to you."

"Brother Qian, come in!"

Only then did the couple realize there was someone else at the door, and they both turned to look.

Qian Xunji walked in from outside. His simple blue cloth robes could not conceal his upright, imposing figure.

He bowed slightly, his voice gentle and courteous. "Hello, Uncle and Auntie."

Seeing an outsider, Bi Dashan hurriedly wiped his face at random and tried his best to put on a serious expression.

"This is..."

"His name is..." Bibi Dong had just begun to introduce him when she was interrupted.

"My name is Lin Qianxun. I'm Dong'er's boyfriend. Uncle, Auntie, just call me Qianxun."

Lin Qianxun was his name from his previous life.

Using it here now somehow felt strangely fitting.

"Pfft!"

Bibi Xi failed to hold back his laughter, then quickly covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking.

Bibi Dong was completely dumbfounded, staring blankly at her teacher beside her.

B-Boyfriend?

Why... why had Teacher just said that?

The expression on Bi Dashan's face instantly froze.

He was petrified.

He had just gotten back his precious daughter, who had been missing for ten years. He had not even properly hugged her or spoken with her, had not asked how she had lived all these years, and had not even had enough time to look at the woman she had grown into.

And then he was told: his daughter already had a boyfriend?!

This old father's heart felt as though it had been soaked in the vat of aged vinegar at the village entrance, sour enough to bubble.

Liu Xiulan was the first to react.

Her eyes lit up as she looked Qian Xunji up and down. The more she looked, the brighter her eyes became, and praise filled her heart.

This young man was far too handsome.

He also had such fine bearing. That aura about him made it obvious at a glance that he was no ordinary family's child.

"So you're Dong'er's boyfriend."

A smile bloomed across Liu Xiulan's face as she hurriedly stepped forward. "What a fine young man. Come in and sit, come in and sit."

"You came all this way and even brought so many things."

Only then did she notice the mountain of gifts piled by the door, and she was startled again.

"Just a small token. It's only proper," Qian Xunji said warmly, casually picking up several parcels as he followed Liu Xiulan inside.

Liu Xiulan led the teacher and disciple into the sitting room beside the main hall.

It was really just a small room with a few extra chairs and a wooden table, but it was spotlessly clean. A coarse cloth table cover embroidered with flowers lay across the table, while several pots of wild grass with tiny blooms sat on the windowsill. It was simple, yet warm.

"Sit, quickly, sit!"

Liu Xiulan welcomed them enthusiastically. Then she turned and saw her husband still frozen at the doorway, unable to resist scolding him.

"What are you standing there for?"

"Go bring out the best tea we have, and the Osmanthus Cake we bought at the market last time. Bring it all out."

Only then did Bi Dashan snap out of it. He gave a muffled "Oh" and turned toward the inner room.

As he walked, he kept muttering to himself.

"Boyfriend? Since when?"

"Dong'er is still so young. This young man looks decent enough... but this is way too sudden. I'm not ready yet."

"Wait, what did he say his name was?"

"Lin Qianxun?"

"Why does that name sound a little familiar... No, this isn't the time to be thinking about that."

He scratched his head and stood before the cabinet in the inner room for quite some time before finding the tea tin he had kept hidden away.

Inside was wild tea picked from the mountains last year. He had not even been willing to drink it himself.

Then he took out the pastry box and opened it to inspect it. The Osmanthus Cake was a little dry, but the walnut crisps were still fine...

Sigh, was this too shabby for meeting his future son-in-law for the first time?

But this was already the best their family had...

Bi Dashan felt a little conflicted. He was happy for his daughter, yet he also felt an inexplicable, sour sense of loss.

In the sitting room, Liu Xiulan had already deftly set a kettle of water to boil.

Bibi Dong sat beside Qian Xunji and secretly reached beneath the table to hold his fingers. Using Soul Power to transmit her voice, she asked.

"Teacher, why... why did you say you were my boyfriend?"

"What? Is that not allowed?"

"Of... of course it is."

A blush spread across Bibi Dong's cheeks. She then lowered her head shyly, unable to stop the corners of her lips from curving upward.

Bi Dashan, carrying the pastry box out, happened to see the whole scene.

This old father's heart was soaked in vinegar all over again.

"Cough, cough!"

Bi Dashan coughed twice, set the pastries on the table, and tried his best to look stern. "Um... Qianxun, how long have you and our Dong'er been together?"

"A long time. We met when Dong'er was six."

"Six?!"

Liu Xiulan paused as she set down the tea, looking at her daughter in surprise. "Dong'er, what exactly happened to you all these years?"

"From the way you're dressed, you must have been doing fairly well, right?"

Bibi Dong nodded and said softly, "It was all because of Tea... Qianxun."

"After we were captured by people from the Star Luo Empire, Qianxun was the one who saved me."

"Later, he was also the one who took me to Spirit City."

Hearing that her daughter had been cared for all these years by the young man before her, Liu Xiulan's tears welled up again.

She stood and was about to bow to Qian Xunji. "Qianxun, Auntie... Auntie truly doesn't know how to thank you."

"Auntie, please don't." Qian Xunji hurriedly rose and stopped her without touching her. "This is what I should have done."

Bi Dashan also nodded along gloomily, though his heart still felt a little sour.

"Indeed... Thank you."

Qian Xunji sat down again and continued, "After that, Dong'er lived with me in Spirit City."

"Spirit City?"

Bi Dashan frowned. "We searched there for a month back then. We searched every place we could, but we just couldn't find you..."

Bibi Dong said quietly, "Because I... lived in Spirit Hall."

"Spirit Hall?!"

The couple spoke in unison, their eyes widening round.