"Father, could you stop making those snide remarks?" Qian Xunji said through gritted teeth.
Qian Daoliu shot him a cold glance.
"Then what do you want?"
Qian Xunji opened his mouth.
He wanted to rush over and pull An Yi away.
He wanted to demand why Bibi Dong had opened her heart to someone she had known for only half a month, yet refused to get close to her own daughter.
He even wanted to kill An Yi on the spot!
As if he had seen through his thoughts, Qian Daoliu's voice turned cold.
"I know what you're thinking, but let me tell you, this isn't a matter of whether you want to watch or whether you can accept it."
"If An Yi really can change Bibi Dong's attitude toward Xue'er, then there are certain things we can make concessions on."
Qian Xunji jerked his head up, almost wondering if he had misheard.
"Concessions?"
"Father, what about me?"
Qian Daoliu looked at him without the slightest change in expression.
"If you could resolve this, I wouldn't interfere."
"Unfortunately, you can't."
Qian Xunji's face darkened completely.
Qian Daoliu continued, "Xue'er has always wanted her mother."
"All these years, she's tried everything to get close to Bibi Dong, only to be rejected again and again."
"Now, An Yi has given her hope."
His gaze fell on Qian Renxue, and his voice grew heavier.
"That little bit of ridiculous pride of yours isn't worth mentioning compared to Xue'er."
Qian Xunji clenched his fists. "Father, I..."
But Qian Daoliu gave him no chance to continue.
"You brought this whole situation about with your own hands."
"Back then, there were countless ways to resolve it, but you had to choose the most foolish and shameless one."
"You made Bibi Dong what she is today, and you deprived Xue'er of the love and care a mother should have given her from childhood."
"Now, after all this time, someone can finally clean up your mess for you, and you're standing here worrying about saving face?"
Qian Daoliu snorted coldly.
"You should count yourself lucky that, thanks to the Angel God ancestor's blessing, someone like him appeared in Spirit Hall!"
The muscles in Qian Xunji's face twitched.
Qian Daoliu turned his gaze back to An Yi.
"I don't care what you think, but there's one thing you'd better remember."
"Xue'er comes first. That's what you owe her as her father!"
The night breeze brushed past.
Qian Xunji was silent for a long time before he finally spoke.
"What if he can't change Bibi Dong?"
Qian Daoliu said calmly, "That's another matter. Even if he can't change Bibi Dong's attitude toward Xue'er, you still can't set yourself against him."
Qian Xunji turned sharply. "Why?"
"Because he's Xue'er's teacher, and the greatest source of support she'll have in the future." Qian Daoliu's tone brooked no doubt.
"An eighteen-year-old Soul Saint, with a Martial Soul capable of countering the Six-Winged Angel, who has also mastered the lost art of Soul Tool crafting."
"You should know how far someone like that might go in the future."
"If your own petty selfishness drives him out of Spirit Hall, or even makes him its enemy..."
Qian Daoliu paused, his gaze suddenly turning cold.
"Can you bear that responsibility?"
Qian Xunji's expression finally began to crack.
"Father, do you mean that no matter what he does, I have to greet him with a smile?!"
Qian Daoliu frowned. "When did I ever tell you to greet him with a smile?"
"I only told you not to provoke him!"
"Listen carefully. You're not to come into conflict with him. I'm not telling you to curry favor with him."
Qian Xunji opened his mouth, but in the end, he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.
Qian Daoliu continued, "This isn't just about you."
"It concerns Xue'er, the future of Spirit Hall, and, even more so, the future of our Angel Clan."
"Back then, you did those things to Bibi Dong in the name of putting the greater good first."
"Since that's the case, it's your turn to bear this responsibility now."
"Don't let that ridiculous pride of yours give Spirit Hall another dangerous enemy."
Qian Xunji's face turned livid, and he said nothing for a long while.
He could only look back at the little garden.
Under the moonlight, An Yi sat with his eyes closed, holding Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue in his arms. The three of them were as peaceful as a family.
Yet Qian Xunji could only hide in the shadows, without even the right to step out.
At that moment, Qian Xunji felt a terrible tightness in his chest.
And then Qian Daoliu added another remark from beside him.
"What are you looking at?"
"Didn't I tell you not to look?"
Qian Xunji: "..."
He took a deep breath and slowly turned around.
Forget it. Out of sight, out of mind!
But after a few steps, he couldn't resist looking back.
Then his expression grew even uglier.
An Yi seemed to have noticed their presence. His eyes were still closed, but he raised a hand and waved casually in their direction.
Qian Xunji: "!!!"
This guy had noticed them long ago?!
Bastard! Was he doing it on purpose!?
Early in the morning.
The horizon turned fish-belly white, and warm sunlight filtered through the treetops onto the grass in the little garden.
Bibi Dong gradually regained consciousness and slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a strand of long silver hair hanging in front of her.
An Yi's head was lowered, his eyes tightly shut. He seemed to still be cultivating.
Recalling what had happened the night before, Bibi Dong's gaze immediately grew complicated.
She had actually held this guy and cried for so long, then fallen asleep right in his arms.
It was... so embarrassing!
Bibi Dong instinctively tried to get up, but when she felt the warmth beside her, she suddenly stopped.
She hesitated for a moment, then actually snuggled farther into An Yi's arms.
When she realized what she had done, her expression froze.
What was I doing?
Before she could compose herself, however, she suddenly noticed that there seemed to be something in her arms.
Bibi Dong lowered her head.
A small golden head was buried against her chest, and two hands were tightly wrapped around her waist.
Qian Renxue!
Bibi Dong's pupils contracted sharply.
When did this girl get in here?
She instinctively raised a hand to push Qian Renxue away, but her palm hovered in midair and did not come down for a long time.
Looking at the little face sleeping so soundly, Bibi Dong's gaze shifted again and again.
Finally, she slowly closed her eyes, buried her head in An Yi's chest again, and held him a little tighter.
An Yi slowly opened his eyes.
He had noticed the moment Bibi Dong woke up, but he had remained still because he wanted to see how she would react when she saw Qian Renxue.
She didn't push her away immediately. It seemed that letting her emotions out last night had worked quite well.
An Yi reached out and gently patted Qian Renxue's head, lowering his voice. "Wake up."
Qian Renxue stirred groggily.
"Mmm..."
"Go on, hurry. If your mother wakes up, she'll get angry again."
Hearing this, Qian Renxue instantly became much more awake. She secretly raised her head for a glance and saw that Bibi Dong's eyes were still closed, with no sign that she was waking up.
Qian Renxue bit her lip, carefully loosened her hands, and slowly withdrew from Bibi Dong's arms.
Before leaving, she couldn't resist looking at Bibi Dong again.
Then she gave An Yi a grateful look.
An Yi nodded slightly.
Only then did Qian Renxue tiptoe out of the little garden.
Not until she had disappeared completely did An Yi lower his head and look at the woman pretending to sleep in his arms.
He didn't expose her, however, and merely pulled her a little closer.
The sun gradually climbed higher.
Unlike at night, a warm golden glow flowed around An Yi during the day.
Sunlight fell on his silver hair, as though gilding every strand.
If he was like the cold, clear moon at night, leaving people afraid to approach him lightly,
then at this moment, he was like the blazing sun hanging high in the sky, too dazzling to look at directly.