It was ten in the morning.

Ruan Tang got out of bed, finished her morning routine, and received some useful intel from her daughter and younger sister—

First, she had been drunk as a skunk last night, and Xu Lai was the one who had carried her back.

Second, she had acted like a complete hooligan, getting handsy with Xu Lai.

However, her own sister, Ruan Lan, not only failed to intervene but had laughed her head off while recording a video…

After seeing the video, Ruan Tang was so embarrassed she wished she could find a hole to crawl into. She even tried to smash her phone, causing Ruan Lan to shout, "Don't step on it! Don't step on it! That's my new phone!"

"Then blame it for knowing too much!"

"..."

Ruan Lan managed to snatch her phone back from her sister's grasp with great difficulty and quickly deleted the video. "See? It knows nothing now. We're good, right?"

A video on a phone could be deleted, but what about memories in the brain?

Ruan Tang lifted her head, her gaze fixed hauntingly on Ruan Lan.

"I get it, I get it… According to the code of the streets, I have amnesia. I've forgotten everything about last night."

Fearing her sister might do something rash in her agitated state, like "killing her sister to prove her own innocence," Ruan Lan clasped her hands together and declared, "I'm off to school. Farewell!"

Ruan Lan scurried away, waving frantically from the doorway. "Yiyi, come on! I'll get you out of here."

Xu Yiyi, also sensing the tense atmosphere, meekly said with her backpack on, "Mommy, Yiyi is leaving too."

"Go on, off you go."

Ruan Tang needed some quiet time to herself anyway. She hugged a throw pillow and rolled around on the sofa in shame. Her nightdress rode up, revealing her long, snow-white legs, which looked dazzling in the sunlight.

Five years ago, Ruan Tang had also gotten drunk and clung to Xu Lai, refusing to leave. That night led to Yiyi.

And now, it was happening again…

Ruan Tang, oh, Ruan Tang. You usually handle your liquor so well. Why are you always like this around Xu Lai? You need to be more reserved! she thought frantically.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Xu Lai had appeared out of nowhere. He sat down beside Ruan Tang, a basket of vegetables in his right hand, and spoke in a gentle voice.

"AAAAAH!"

Ruan Tang shrieked again, clutching her chest in terror as she glared at him. "Why don't you make a sound when you walk? You scared me to death!"

"You were pretty scary yesterday, too. If I had known, I would have just surrendered," Xu Lai said with an air of regret. "Who knows when the next time will be? Such a pity, such a pity."

Ruan Tang silently stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

Xu Lai chuckled. "I've already hidden all the knives in the kitchen. Here, have a cucumber to cool off."

Ruan Tang took the cucumber and bit off a large piece, her pretty face an icy mask. She was trying to think of some harsh words to tell Xu Lai to stop pushing his luck when she heard him add, "That cucumber hasn't been washed yet..."

"BLECH—"

「Ten minutes later.」

Ruan Tang held a bowl of millet porridge that Xu Lai had just warmed up. She blew on the steaming spoonful, the tips of her ears tinged with red.

It was because Xu Lai had been staring at her for at least two minutes straight.

"Have you had enough of looking!?" Ruan Tang snapped, putting the bowl down.

"The more I look at you, the more beautiful you become. I could never see enough."

"Xu Lai, don't think a few nice words will make me stop being angry with you!"

"Ruan Tang, are you still half-asleep? You were the one trying to have your way with me last night. By what logic should you be the one who's angry?" Xu Lai said earnestly.

Ruan Tang bit her lower lip.

Jerk. Can't this man just give me a way to save face!?

As if reading her mind, Xu Lai continued, "Actually, I should give you an out, especially since you're so easily embarrassed. So I've decided—"

Ruan Tang's heart skipped a beat. How did he know what she was thinking? She asked hesitantly, "You've decided what?"

Xu Lai stated with a straight face, "I've decided not to give you an out."

Ruan Tang was left speechless.

"Honey," he continued, "did you know your shy expression is so charming? I want to keep looking at it for a while longer."

"..."

This time, not just her ears, but her entire face turned red and felt frighteningly hot.

She shot Xu Lai a vicious glare. "Well, did you know that you look particularly punchable right now? I really, really want to hit you!"

"Of course, I know."

Xu Lai nodded. "You're not the first person to say that."

But there was a part he left unsaid: *but most of them are dead now.*

Indeed.

When Xu Lai was young, he was invincible among his peers. With the body of a member of the Human Race, he defied the heavens step-by-step, carving out a path of invincibility.

Youth is naturally accompanied by arrogance.

The arrogant, unruly, and brutally frank manner of the young Xu Lai had offended countless prodigies, divine sons, and saintesses.

But Xu Lai loved seeing them flustered and exasperated, unable to stand him yet powerless to defeat him.

The amusing memory made Xu Lai chuckle, but then his expression grew distant.

Time flew by. Those young rivals who once competed with him had likely become the Holy Masters of some Tao Lineage or the rulers of a forbidden land by now, hadn't they?

Or perhaps, they were all dead.

No matter how magnificent your generation or how peerless your talent, you are still insignificant before the march of time. Even The Supreme Emperor only has a lifespan of one million years.

Noticing the shift in Xu Lai's mood, Ruan Tang lowered her voice. "I'm sorry. I was too harsh just now."

"It has nothing to do with you. I was just thinking about some old acquaintances and funny stories," Xu Lai said with a bitter smile.

"Since you're thinking of them, you should go find some friends for a drink and a chat," Ruan Tang suggested.

Xu Lai froze.

Then, he burst into laughter—a loud, hearty laugh seldom heard in a hundred thousand years. But as he laughed, his voice gradually grew hoarse.

He couldn't go find them.

He was the Great Emperor, invincible throughout the Universe, revered by the Four Immortal Domains as The Supreme Emperor.

From the moment he achieved the Emperor Realm, Xu Lai was utterly friendless, for he had shattered the dreams of countless people of his generation.

Because under the same starry sky…

The Emperor Realm—

There could only be one!

Unless Xu Lai died, no new Great Emperor could arise.

For the next million years, the very survival of every race, aside from the Human Race, depended entirely on Xu Lai's whims.

His figure looking desolate, Xu Lai walked into the courtyard.

He sat down on the grass among the Haitang flowers and took out a jar of Thousand-Year Nu Er Hong. He raised it high and tilted it, letting the mouth of the jar face the ground.

The liquor gushed out, splashing onto the earth.

In a voice only he could hear, Xu Lai murmured to himself, "A toast to the us from back then… a toast to the me from back then…"

Ruan Tang didn't understand the source of his sorrow, but she silently sat beside him and whispered, "Do you want me to have a drink with you?"

"I'm afraid you'd get drunk and try to push me down again. And I'm afraid I'd make a mistake."

"..."

Ruan Tang blushed and kicked Xu Lai in annoyance. "You flirtatious man!"

Xu Lai laughed heartily, then raised the jar of Nu Er Hong and took a large swig. The strong liquor sliding down his throat seemed to deepen the look in his eyes.

Grant me a drunken revelry,

for days gone by have lost their taste.

The long journey spans a thousand miles,

yet no one climbs the peak with me.

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