Hearing Yiyi's words, Ruan Tang's mood instantly calmed. She smiled gently and hugged her daughter tightly.

Xu Lai, feeling a twinge of jealousy, asked, "What about Daddy?"

"Daddy is super handsome too!"

"Hehehe."

The family of three was brimming with joy.

Seeing the rich aura of motherly love emanating from her sister and her brother-in-law, along with that tender fatherly smile, Ruan Lan suddenly felt a deep warmth. Now this is a truly warm and loving family! So unlike their Ruan Family. Not much money, and always at each other's throats. Her father was timid and her mother had eyes for nothing but money…

Although Ruan Tang refused to acknowledge her relationship with Xu Lai, Ruan Lan knew that her proud, stubborn sister probably couldn't make room in her heart for any other man. Not with Yiyi and Xu Lai in the picture.

At that moment, Ruan Lan couldn't help but sigh, "Sis, when are you and Brother-in-law getting married? You've already taken the wedding photos."

Ruan Tang completely lost it. Those aren't wedding photos at all!

Xu Yiyi's eyes widened in anticipation. "Mommy, Mommy, are you going to marry Daddy? Is it true?"

Ruan Tang was momentarily at a loss for words.

Xu Lai, however, was quite direct. "Yes, the wedding dress is already being made."

"Oh, yeah!"

Xu Yiyi ran around the room excitedly, nearly tripping over the Gold Swallowing Beast, Xiao Hei. She grasped its furry bear paw and chirped, "Xiao Hei, Mommy and Daddy are getting married!"

Uncomprehending, Xiao Hei scratched its head with one paw, then picked up its Purple Bamboo and trotted to the backyard to start nibbling.

Yiyi then found Beibei and said with a pure, innocent smile, "Beibei, my parents are getting married, and I'm going to be a flower girl!"

"What?" Beibei was also pleasantly surprised. "When?"

"Probably tomorrow or the day after."

"Yiyi—!"

Ruan Tang covered her face; marriage wasn't something to be rushed into so hastily.

It was Xu Lai who smoothed things over. He beckoned to his daughter, "Sweetheart, for the wedding, your mommy will wear a super beautiful wedding dress woven from the Milky Way. What do you want to wear?"

"Hmm." Xu Yiyi seemed conflicted.

Xu Lai patted his daughter's head and said with a smile, "No rush, take your time thinking about it."

"Okay!"

Xu Yiyi ran back to her room to discuss it with Beibei. She even made a special call to ask for Qian Xiao's and Mao Dou's opinions.

"What nonsense are you promising our daughter? A wedding dress woven from the Milky Way..." Ruan Tang glared. "You're the one who told me not to promise children things you can't deliver."

Xu Lai just smiled and didn't argue. The materials are being collected. The finished product will be ready in a while, and then I'll give my wife a nice surprise.

"So, what was it Xu Yaoyao said you wanted to eat for lunch?" Xu Lai asked as he went into the kitchen and tied on an apron. "I'll make it for you."

SWOOSH!

Ruan Tang's face flushed beet red. She thought Xu Lai was deliberately teasing her and glared at him with flushed cheeks. "You flirtatious man! You're sleeping on the sofa tonight!"

Xu Lai was bewildered. Women are really hard to please. I was just offering to cook for her...

Just then, Ruan Lan sidled up, looking prim and proper. "Brother-in-law, I'd like roasted lamb leg."

Xu Lai nodded, not refusing. His sister-in-law had been trying to be his wingwoman lately, even if... it was completely useless.

「That evening.」

After dinner, Xu Yiyi went to her room to sleep.

Beibei was practically giddy with excitement. Finally, a chance for a good night's rest! This was because Xiao Hei was already fast asleep in the backyard. To avoid a nighttime raid from the little beast, Beibei bolted the door and lay down beside Xu Yiyi's pillow with a contented smile.

Meanwhile, Xu Lai wore a distressed expression because Ruan Tang had actually bolted her bedroom door from the inside.

"Honey, open the door."

"You're sleeping on the sofa tonight!" Ruan Tang said angrily from inside. Men are all chauvinist pigs... It's not like we're officially a couple. Even if we were, I would never do that sort of thing...

"I'm coming in, okay?" Xu Lai's voice sounded from outside the door.

Ruan Tang sat up and said lazily, "If you can get in, then tonight you won't have to sleep on the sofa—"

Before she could finish the word "sofa," Xu Lai's figure suddenly appeared in the room.

The flickering silhouette gave Ruan Tang a huge fright. She stared, dumbfounded. "Xu Lai, are you a man or a ghost!"

She then began to doubt if she had even locked the door. Flinging off the blankets, she jumped out of bed. The black lace of her nightgown fluttered, stirring a whiff of fragrance as she hurried to the door.

It was, indeed, bolted from the inside!

"Stop looking. I teleported in," Xu Lai replied.

"Teleported?" Ruan Tang's mind filled with questions. Is this some new magic trick?

"I planned to live my whole life with you as an ordinary man, but all I got for it was the sofa." Xu Lai spread his hands. "Miss Ruan Tang, let me be honest with you. I—am the very person from the stories I tell you every night, the Venerable Qingfeng you admire so much!"

"..."

Ruan Tang fell silent.

"I know this news might be a bit overwhelming for you, but—" Xu Lai began, trying to be understanding.

Before he could finish, Ruan Tang suddenly took his hand. In the moonlight, her expression was incredibly tender. "Don't say another word."

Xu Lai was astonished. She accepted it just like that? Her ability to accept new things is astonishingly quick.

But Xu Lai hadn't anticipated that the gentle Ruan Tang would say with extreme self-reproach, "Xu Lai, I'm so sorry. Making you sleep on the sofa must have crossed a line and trampled your manly pride, but I never imagined it would hurt you this badly!

"So badly that you'd actually want to become a fictional character."

Ruan Tang gripped his hand tighter, her voice choked with emotion. "Tomorrow—no, let's change and go to the hospital right now. I'll take you to the best neurologist."

Xu Lai's face darkened. "Honey, just wait a second."

"What is it?"

"I... am Xu Lai. Venerable Qingfeng. No, wait, it's Emperor Qingfeng now." Xu Lai pointed to his own nose, shocked. "You don't believe me?"

"I believe you," Ruan Tang said, her eyes filled with pity and a hint of heartache, wearing the exact expression one would give a sick patient.

For a moment, Xu Lai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He felt like a mute who had eaten bitter herbs—the bitterness was real, but he couldn't speak of it.

"I truly do admire and love the Venerable Qingfeng who devoted his life to the Human Race, but you don't have to pretend to be him for my sake," Ruan Tang said softly. "You are you, and he is he. One is a living, breathing person, and the other is a fictional character from a story."

How do I prove I am who I say I am? Xu Lai felt his heart grow weary. He didn't explain any further, instead offering a wry smile. "Alright, you got me. I'm just an ordinary person."

To get by in life, you have to wear a little green. Hmm. It doesn't count as being cuckolded if you're the other man yourself.

"So, how did you get in?" Ruan Tang asked, gathering her long hair and pinning it up.

Xu Lai didn't answer.

He watched her standing by the window as the silvery moonlight cascaded over her, making her thin nightgown seem almost transparent. She was dignified, yet carried a hint of allure.

An unexpected throb pulsed in Xu Lai's heart. He suddenly pulled Ruan Tang into an embrace.

Gazing into her beautiful eyes, which shimmered with panic and surprise, Xu Lai took a deep breath and said, "Let's be together."

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