The Broken Engagement Takes a Sudden Turn! Where's the "Thirty Years East of the River"? Where's the Script?!

The grudge had begun when they were four, on that dark, windy night when the two of them held their historic meeting atop the wall of Xiao Xun'er's courtyard.

After that, they fought plenty of times. Every fight ended the same way: An Yi, with his freakish strength, pinned Xiao Yan to the ground and rubbed his face in the dirt.

Later, Xiao Yan revealed a talent that took everyone's breath away. His cultivation soared, and he became the brightest genius in the Jia Ma Empire;

meanwhile, An Yi remained that mediocre fellow who advanced "one stage every two years," and their paths gradually crossed less often.

When life was going well, people tended to find extra room in their hearts for many things.

Standing at the top, Xiao Yan had felt that, with the soul of an adult from his previous life, holding a childhood grudge against a little brat like An Yi would be far too childish. Little by little, he let it go.

Then, three years ago, disaster struck. His cultivation regressed, and he fell from the clouds into the mud.

A genius became a good-for-nothing.

Over those three years, he learned just how warm and cold people could be.

The more someone had once fawned over him and bent over backward to please him, the harder they kicked him while he was down now. They mocked him as though trampling a former genius would somehow make them look exceptional.

An Yi alone was different.

From childhood until now, whether Xiao Yan was a genius or a good-for-nothing, An Yi's attitude toward him had never changed.

No, to be precise, the bastard had only ever treated him in two ways:

First: when Xiao Yan was riding high, An Yi would sidle up and call, "Flame Brother! If you strike it rich, don't forget me. Remember your big brother when you make it!"

Second: when Xiao Yan was down on his luck or the two were bickering, An Yi would point at his nose and shout, "You pervert! Have you forgotten that dark, windy night when we were four?"

Even now, An Yi was teasing him about his "Three-Stage Dou Qi," but Xiao Yan could hear none of the superiority or vicious scorn he saw in the eyes of his clansmen.

It was nothing more than the merciless, smart-mouthed teasing of a friend and brother.

In the vast Xiao Household, aside from his father, Xiao Zhan, An Yi was the only person whose attitude had not changed after Xiao Yan fell from his pedestal.

At the thought, a rare warmth stirred in Xiao Yan's chest. Even the white-haired fellow beside him looked a little less annoying.

That feeling lasted exactly one second.

"Flame Brother, you really don't need to feel so inferior."

Smiling, An Yi peeled a piece of candied fruit and popped it into his mouth before delivering the next blow through a muffled chew. "Sure, you're only at the third stage now—not even half as strong as me. But in my heart, you'll always be that brave boy who climbed the wall in the middle of the night!"

Xiao Yan whipped his head around and glared at An Yi, veins throbbing across his forehead.

Warmth, my ass!

It was true the bastard wasn't mocking him maliciously, but damn, he knew how to get under Xiao Yan's skin!

As Xiao Yan sat down in a foul mood, the three elders above were still all smiles as they chatted with Ge Ye of the Misty Cloud Sect.

An Yi swung his legs from his little stool and looked around. Neither Xiao Zhan nor the legendary leading lady, Nalan Yanran, had arrived. He nudged Xiao Yan with his elbow. "Hey, where's your dad?"

Xiao Yan folded his arms and snapped back three words: "I don't know."

At that moment, Xiao Xun'er leaned slightly forward in the high-backed chair to An Yi's right and spoke softly:

"When I came over, I happened to see Uncle Xiao go to the rear courtyard with a girl from the Misty Cloud Sect. Unless I'm mistaken, she should be Cousin Xiao Yan's betrothed—Nalan Yanran."

Xiao Yan paused, then frowned. "Nalan Yanran? What's she doing at the Xiao Household now?"

"Do you even have to ask?" An Yi tossed another piece of candied fruit into his mouth and said around a few chews, "She's probably here to break off the engagement."

Xiao Yan stiffened, his face darkening at once. "Break off the engagement?"

"What else?" An Yi shot him a glance. "You think she came all this way to marry you early?"

He looked Xiao Yan up and down, then shook his head with a pained expression:

"Flame Brother, I hate to say it, but look at you. Your cultivation isn't even half mine, and as for your looks... you're not even a tenth as handsome as I am. Boys like pretty girls, so of course girls like good-looking boys like me."

An Yi paused. "Frankly, unless Nalan Yanran is blind, she's far more likely to fall for me than for you."

Xiao Yan's face went as black as the bottom of a pot, the veins on his forehead twitching. "You...!"

"What? Am I wrong?" An Yi raised an eyebrow, then turned to the stunning girl beside him and dragged her into it without a shred of guilt. "Cousin Xun'er, tell him I'm right. Don't you prefer a good-looking guy like me?"

The sudden question caught Xiao Xun'er off guard. A faint blush rose to her fair cheeks. Lowering her eyes, she actually gave a tiny "Mm," her voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.

"..."

An Yi slapped his thigh in triumph and turned to Xiao Yan. "Hear that? Even Xun'er agrees."

Seeing that Xiao Yan looked ready to cough blood, An Yi took pity on him and offered some comfort:

"Don't be too upset. It's only natural—everyone loves beauty. Put yourself in her shoes. If someone hideously ugly chased you around all day, insisting you marry her, wouldn't you run?"

Xiao Yan pictured it without meaning to and shuddered.

"See!"

An Yi clapped his hands. "Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you. With things as they are for you now, Nalan Yanran would have to shoulder her carriage and flee overnight!"

"Pfft..."

Beside them, Xiao Xun'er clapped a hand over her mouth. Her face turned red as her shoulders shook.

An Yi's tongue was vicious!

Xiao Yan, meanwhile, felt as though his chest had seized up and he couldn't breathe.

He took several deep breaths. Sooner or later, that white-haired bastard's poison-coated tongue was going to anger him to death!

Just as Xiao Yan considered stepping out for a while to avoid dying young, the side door of the reception hall opened.

Xiao Zhan strode in. The clan leader, usually so imposing, did not look well. He seemed tired, and he could not quite hide his helplessness.

Behind him came a pretty young girl in a moon-white dress, with long pink hair.

It was Nalan Yanran.

But her head hung low and her eyes were red. She had clearly just cried her heart out.

Upon entering the hall, she silently walked over and sat beside Ge Ye. Like a child who had done something wrong, she said nothing.

Xiao Zhan went straight to the clan leader's seat and sat down. Forcing himself to rally, he exchanged a few courtesies with Ge Ye, welcoming the honored guests from the Misty Cloud Sect and explaining that guest rooms had been prepared. He urged them to stay and rest for a couple of days.

Ge Ye smiled and clasped his hands in agreement.

Once the formalities were done, Xiao Zhan waved a hand and said wearily, "All right. Everyone, you may leave."

"Huh???"

An Yi sat frozen on his little stool in the corner.

He forgot to chew the candied fruit in his mouth. His sky-blue eyes widened, his head full of question marks.

What happened to the broken-engagement opening I was promised?

What happened to "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never look down on a young man when he's poor"?!

What happened to the letter breaking off the engagement and the Three-Year Pact?!

This isn't the script! Director, somebody changed the scene without permission!