Chapter 75

Chapter 75

For Shen Qingyu, “being human” seemed an interesting endeavor. He learned that humans kept promises and imitated the way Qiao Ying treated him when caring for her.

But apparently he had made another mistake. He had expected the food he bought at dawn to delight her, yet she was unhappy.

And so Shen Qingyu thought he had failed at being human again.

Qiao Ying looked up from his arms. “You went out early to buy breakfast?”

He nodded.

“I can eat anything. You didn’t need to go to such trouble.”

Shen Qingyu murmured acknowledgment, his mood still low.

Seeing the pastries on the table reminded Qiao Ying of her dream. Unfortunately, it had blurred upon waking. No matter how she tried to remember, a veil remained between her and its contents.

“Have you eaten?” she asked.

Shen Qingyu shook his head.

By now, she had taught him the habit of eating with her. It was true that he disliked her cooking, but strangely, even terrible food became somewhat interesting when they sat together.

Qiao Ying thrust a steamed bun into his hand. “Eat.”

The food was his, yet Qiao Ying took control as though she were the host. Only after she handed it to him did he seem to receive permission and obediently bite.

Shen Qingyu should have been a masked God of Death capable of killing at any moment. Now he looked almost excessively obedient and harmless.

Qiao Ying took a bite of her own bun. “That Shen Chunqiu is your Sworn Younger Brother.”

Shen Qingyu smiled slowly. “Yes.”

“Your parents adopted him?”

He nodded again. “They did.”

“How?”

Shen Qingyu recalled the past. “Long ago, they hunted in the mountains and found a child trapped in a pit. He had no home, so they brought him back.”

“Why was he in the pit?”

Shen Qingyu laughed. “He was starving and tried to pick up hazelnuts, but fell into a pit containing an animal trap. That is how they found him.”

Qiao Ying gave an indifferent “Oh,” then asked casually, “Why does everyone here treat him that way?”

“What way?”

“Making friends with him.”

Without hesitation, Shen Qingyu smiled. “Because when everyone makes friends with him, he does not break as easily as other people.”

The bun in Qiao Ying’s hand no longer tasted good. After a moment, she put down the uneaten half, turned to face him, and asked seriously, “Shen Qingyu, don’t you pity him?”

Shen Qingyu looked puzzled. “Why should he be pitied? He has food without foraging and a place to sleep without digging a burrow. Everyone likes speaking and playing with him. Everyone likes him.”

“That isn’t liking someone.”

Shen Qingyu lowered the hand holding the bun and tilted his head.

Qiao Ying explained, “The way I treat you. That is liking someone.”

“What way?” he asked instinctively.

“Not wanting you to go hungry, be injured, or feel pain. When the sun shines, taking your quilt outside so it smells of sunlight at night. When the weather turns cold, buying you thick winter clothes for fear you’ll catch a chill. And…”
“And?” Shen Qingyu prompted.

Qiao Ying pushed herself up and kissed the corner of his mouth. “And using this method to cure you.”

Shen Qingyu did not move. A long while later, he raised his hand and touched his lips. The warmth she left behind seemed to remain, carrying a peculiar magic.

Qiao Ying took his hand. Though she already suspected the answer, she asked, “Did you ever make friends with him?”

Shen Qingyu nodded innocently.

“When does everyone think of making friends with him?”

“When they are sick or injured, or when their cultivation reaches a bottleneck and their bodies feel unwell.”

Profound helplessness surrounded Qiao Ying. Still clinging to hope, she asked, “Has no one considered that being surrounded by so many negative emotions might become unbearable for him?”

“It won’t.”

“How do you know?”

Shen Qingyu smiled. “Yingying, I simply know.”

The child adopted by Shen Manor had been “befriended” by one person after another for countless years, yet remained alive and well. Apparently, this was something to celebrate.

Pride brightened Shen Qingyu’s gentle face.

Somehow, Qiao Ying behaved strangely today. His pride had the opposite effect. She nestled into his embrace again, wrapped her arms around his neck, and buried her face against his chest without speaking for a long time.

Shen Qingyu assumed the breakfast he bought had displeased her.

“What would you like to eat? I will buy it.”

“I don’t want anything.” As if suddenly losing her temper, Qiao Ying pinched his arm hard and raised her face to warn him fiercely. “Shen Qingyu, this time you must remember what it means to like someone. You are never allowed to twist its meaning again. Understand?”

Shen Qingyu truly possessed a good temper. Though bullied, he neither evaded her nor became angry. He merely pointed out honestly, “Yingying, you just said you could not bear to see me hurt.”

Her grip loosened. “I’m making sure you remember.”

Shen Qingyu had felt many blades enter his body, though he barely remembered those sensations. Her light pinch was weaker than an insect bite.

But Qiao Ying was the strangest person in the world, and every movement she made carried inexplicable power.

Shen Qingyu raised a hand and secretly rubbed the spot she had pinched. Only then did the tingling gradually fade, and the sensation of ants crawling through his body disappear.

He thought this must be another form of the “liking” Qiao Ying described.

His hand changed direction and found her waist.

Qiao Ying immediately glared. “Try pinching me and see what happens.”

Before he could apply pressure, Shen Qingyu withdrew his hand.

And so he thought again: she could do certain things that he could not. Her “liking” truly was strange.