For Luofan, the visit from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect a few days earlier had stirred a ripple in his otherwise peaceful life.
But after a few days, that ripple had settled.
And in those days, he and Xue Qinghe had grown even closer.
What did it feel like?
Like two young people who had been flirting for ages had finally confessed their feelings and taken the next step.
Xue Qinghe had always valued Luofan. He had even given him a sixty-thousand-year Head Soul Bone!
Luofan cared about Xue Qinghe too. When he visited the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he had remembered to bring back an Immortal Herb suited to him.
Yet for all their closeness, there had still been a little distance between them, as though neither had quite confessed.
Xue Qinghe had always worried that Luofan might suddenly return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
But once Luofan had stood up and declared that he would never go back, Xue Qinghe's worries had vanished.
Luofan had chosen him, and his choice was firm.
It felt like a confession had finally been answered. There was nothing left to worry about.
"Here, Brother Luofan, try these pastries. I bought them especially for you. I had to wait in line for ages!"
That day, as Xue Qinghe sat with Luofan, he brought out a box of pastries he had prepared.
"Thanks, Brother Xue!"
Luofan took the box and opened it, but instead of eating, he simply looked at Xue Qinghe.
"Go on, eat. I bought them especially for you. Why are you staring at me?" Xue Qinghe asked, puzzled by his gaze.
"Brother Xue, is there something you want me to agree to?" Luofan asked.
They had known each other for so long, and they were close. Luofan reckoned he understood Xue Qinghe's character at least a little.
He had waited in line just to buy Luofan a box of pastries?
Luofan smelled a catch.
"What kind of question is that? Didn't you say I was your brother, even if we have different parents? Can't a brother buy you pastries without asking for something in return? Is that really what you think of me?"
Xue Qinghe rolled his eyes, looking thoroughly insulted.
"All right. If I'm overthinking it, then thank you, Brother Xue!"
Luofan nodded, picked up a pastry, and took a bite.
"Brother Luofan, since we're brothers, you wouldn't refuse to help Brother Xue with one tiny little favor, would you?"
Now that Luofan had taken a bite, Xue Qinghe pinched his thumb and forefinger close together to show just how tiny the favor was.
Pfft!
Luofan spat the pastry straight back into the box. "Brother Xue, these pastries are too rich for me. Take them back!"
"No, no. You've already bitten one!"
"I'll buy you a new box, all right?"
"Wait, at least hear me out! Shouldn't you find out what I need help with first?"
"Hah. I know what you're up to before you even open your mouth. I was wondering why you hadn't come to complain about the ending of Dream of the Red Chamber. So this was what you were waiting for!"
"W-what are you saying? Can't you put it a little more elegantly?"
The two of them kept pushing the box of pastries back and forth.
Xue Qinghe's cheeks grew warm at Luofan's crude remark, and he shot him an annoyed look.
"I can be elegant, but changing that ending? Absolutely not!" Luofan shook his head, unwavering.
"No, you have to change it! The ending of Dream of the Red Chamber is too heartbreaking!" Xue Qinghe could not bear it. One way or another, he was determined to make Luofan rewrite it.
Inside the hall, Luofan and Xue Qinghe had already started wrestling over the ending and the box of pastries.
Outside, Snake Lance Douluo quietly craned his neck for a peek, then pulled his head back at once.
"Well, well. Young Master and Luofan really are close," Snake Lance Douluo said with a sigh.
"That's hardly a bad thing. With talent as extraordinary as Luofan's, sincere affection may be the only way to keep him by her side."
Porcupinefish Douluo did not peek inside, but from the sounds of the two of them tussling, he could picture the scene well enough.
As the two Titled Douluo spoke in low voices by the hall entrance, two figures suddenly approached.
The one in front wore a cloak that completely concealed her face.
The other was a man with delicate, beautiful features.
Beautiful—yes.
It was a word normally reserved for women, but it suited the approaching man perfectly.
"Elder Chrysanthemum Douluo?" Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo exchanged shocked glances as the feminine-looking man approached.
They were all Titled Douluo, but Elder Chrysanthemum Douluo was far stronger than either of them.
Why had he come here out of the blue?
Puzzled, they turned their attention to the mysterious cloaked figure.
She had arrived with Elder Chrysanthemum Douluo, yet judging by where they stood, she was the one in charge. He looked almost like her attendant.
Who was she?
Could it be...?
From the way the two stood, Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo had a good idea who the mysterious figure was. Their hearts jolted.
Sure enough, when she reached them, the figure raised a slender hand and lowered her hood, revealing an exquisite face.
It was Bibi Dong, the current pope of Spirit Hall!
"Your Holiness!" the two Titled Douluo greeted her at once.
Bibi Dong ignored them. She looked toward the hall, listening to Qian Renxue and Luofan tussle inside, and raised an eyebrow.
"It seems she's enjoying her time in the Heaven Dou Empire." A complicated look flickered through Bibi Dong's eyes.
"Your Holiness, this..." Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo hurried to explain.
But before either could finish, Bibi Dong raised a hand to stop them.
"Stay outside. I'll go in alone and have a look."
With that instruction to the Titled Douluo, Bibi Dong stepped into the hall.
The moment she entered, she saw something startling. Her steps faltered, and surprise appeared on her face.
It was the position Luofan and Xue Qinghe were in. Right then, they looked rather intimate...
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