When Li Xiaonan came to his senses again, he found himself lying on a large bed, with Su Mei sitting beside him.
He was momentarily taken aback, as the fragmented memories refused to connect.
"Xiao Nan, you're awake! Are you hungry?" Su Mei smiled gently, holding a bowl of porridge in her hands.
Li Xiaonan couldn't help but touch his face, thinking to himself: Have I returned to my original self again?
"Hey! You're awake!"
The door swung open, and Scheming walked in, adjusting his glasses with a beaming smile.
Li Xiaonan was even more confused; what exactly was going on here?
Su Mei held out the bowl and said with a smile, "Come on! Have a little!" She scooped up a spoonful of porridge, lightly blowing on it before bringing it to Li Xiaonan's lips.
Li Xiaonan felt his heart racing unnaturally, and his eyes began to sting.
He had imagined this scene countless times. Silently, he opened his mouth and swallowed the porridge.
A voice from deep within him echoed: "How does it feel?"
Li Xiaonan shot Scheming an annoyed glance and replied, "What did you do?"
"Nothing much, just found you a godfather and godmother while you were asleep."
"Damn!"
"Cough, cough, cough!" Li Xiaonan wanted to speak but choked on his own saliva.
Su Mei put down her bowl and gently patted his back, saying, "Xiao Nan, are you okay?"
"Mom! She's fine. Why don't you go check if Dad is back?"
"Alright! You take good care of your brother," Su Mei said with a smile as she ruffled Li Xiaonan's hair. She shot a grin at Scheming before heading out the door.
Li Xiaonan's consciousness followed Su Mei until he confirmed she had left the house. Then he said, "Scheming, what are you up to now?"
Scheming chuckled awkwardly and sat down beside Li Xiaonan. "Nothing much, just giving myself a brother! But it might get a bit confusing when Mom and Dad call us; two Li Xiaonans is honestly a bit chaotic... What do you think about changing your name? How about Li Danan?"
"Change to what? Just stick with Li Xiaonan..."
"Hehe..." Scheming climbed onto the bed and lay down next to Li Xiaonan. "Brother..."
"What do you want?"
A glint of mischief flashed in Scheming's eyes as he asked, "Do you recognize me?"
"Sigh... We've been together for so long; I've already considered you a brother. Stop being sentimental. Now tell me how you managed to persuade Editor Mom?" Li Xiaonan sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a dazed expression.
"I just told her everything that happened to you and how much you've taken care of me, and so on. Women are emotional creatures, plus you're handsome; Editor Mom impulsively agreed. Once she agreed, Principal Dad couldn't escape either. So, we're having dinner together tonight."
Scheming rested his hands behind his head, looking completely relaxed.
As the sun set, the two Li Xiaonans changed their clothes and stepped outside, casting long shadows in the glow of the sunset.
In a five-star hotel, four people sat around a table, laughing and chatting. Li Xiaonan had officially recognized his godfather and godmother, and the family was enjoying a harmonious moment together.
Originally, the four planned to head home together, but Scheming suggested taking a walk alone with Li Xiaonan, allowing the two older ones to return by themselves.
"I'm planning to head back; you stay here and take good care of Mom and Dad," Li Xiaonan said, stopping in his tracks.
"Sure, come back when you have time. It's easy for you," came the reply.
"Yeah, take care of the old man on the mountain too."
"Don't worry! Your dad is my dad."
Li Xiaonan nodded and quietly returned to the Cloud Sky Pavilion in the celestial realm.
As soon as he entered, a group of "crazy women" rushed out to greet him.
"Smack!" A embroidered shoe flew toward him. Li Xiaonan reacted quickly and caught it, but before he could gather his thoughts, he was tackled to the ground.
The women were disheveled and messy; Ling Kui's hair was askew, her eyes red and swollen. "Soulmate! You finally decided to come back! You left us without a word! If it weren't for Ling Xingyao coming up here, we wouldn't even know you ran off with another man! If you really like men, why marry us!"
Li Xiaonan was stunned; it was his first time seeing such a frantic Ling Kui, and he felt completely out of sorts.
He tried to reach out, only to find his hand pinned down by Yun Moyu. Her clothes were in disarray as she exclaimed, "Even if you like men, you could have told us! What does it mean for you to just run away!"
"Yeah! Brother Xiaonan is so bad! Boo hoo hoo!"
Li Xiaonan opened his mouth in anger. "What are you all talking about? I don't understand a single word! You girls are really unruly. I've only been in the divine realm for a few days; how did you all end up like this?"
He felt an overwhelming sense of heartache as he embraced the girls in his arms.
"Have you become a deity?" Ling Kui asked, looking up in surprise.
"Yes..." Li Xiaonan replied, tidying the girls' clothing while recounting the events of his ascension to divinity, carefully omitting the fact that they were all characters from a book.
"Then Master... will you return to the Divine Realm?" Li Baobao asked with wide eyes.
"Silly girl, with you all here, I’m not going anywhere!" He kissed each of the women beside him and simultaneously transported them into the room.
"From now on, we will always be together, never to part. Whether it's the Celestial Realm, the Cultivation Realm, the Underworld, or the Demon Realm, you can go wherever you want."
"As long as we stay by your side..." Ling Kui said softly.
Li Xiaonan smiled lightly, rolling up the sheets with the girls. He laughed heartily, "I've finally realized my dreams! Obedient Dragon II! Carefree Dual Cultivation! Hahaha!"
The girls were puzzled by Li Xiaonan's antics; their neatly arranged clothes were once again disheveled by that same mischievous hand, lost in infinite tenderness.
For a while afterward, Li Xiaonan hardly left the room, constantly indulging in merriment. It wasn't until three months later that he finally saw the first rays of sunlight.
Next came the journey back to their home, starting with a visit to the Underworld to see the Demon Emperor, then heading to the Demon Realm, and finally returning to Earth.
However, this time was strange; aside from Chen Mo and Li Xiaonan being visible to ordinary people, the other girls seemed to be invisible, as if they had vanished from sight.
One day, Li The Scheming Classmate finally finished his last grueling Advanced Mathematics exam and trudged home in exhaustion.
Just as he was about to take a good nap, he spotted Li Xiaonan lounging on the sofa with a wine glass in hand, casually crossing his legs while surrounded by beautiful women.
Li the Schemer frowned and said, "Do you really have to be so arrogant..."
Li Xiaonan took a sip of his drink and replied, "What does it matter? Mom and Dad can't see them!"
"Damn! I can see them! Do you think I'm blind? You make life so extravagant; how am I supposed to live as a single guy?" Scheming threw his backpack down in frustration.
"Then why don't you find a girl for yourself? There should be plenty of pretty girls in college!" Li Xiaonan chuckled and planted a kiss on Fei Ji's purple lips.
Scheming scratched his head impatiently and looked over at Chen Mo, who was sitting on a single sofa. "How can you still focus on your book? Look at your man! Life is a mess!"
Chen Mo didn't even lift her eyes, unfazed. "This is perfectly normal!" she said, flipping a page in her book.
"Damn! Where's your integrity? You used to be so fond of my face; now you won't even glance at me!"
Chen Mo sighed, put down her book, and looked at Scheming. "I'm not someone who cares about appearances; I love Xiao Nan."
"Come on! You bunch of shameless people, can’t you just have some fun?"
Before Scheming could explode, the door swung open, and Su Mei entered with a plate of fruit. "Xiao Nan is back! How did the exam go? Li Xiaoyang, you really should drink less. Come eat some fruit!"
"Okay, thanks, Mom." Li Xiaonan smiled as he set down his glass and stood up to take the fruit platter, truly behaving like a good child.
Scheming glanced at Lu Nishang and Fei Ji hanging on him and couldn't help but feel relieved: thankfully, Mom couldn't see anything; otherwise, she'd be shocked to death.
"Alright, you all enjoy yourselves. I'm going downstairs to prepare dinner with your dad."
"Okay!" Li Xiaonan nodded with a smile as he watched Su Mei head downstairs.
Not long after, she said, "Honey, do you think Mo Mo likes Xiao Nan or Li Xiaoyang more?"
"That's hard to say."
"I think she likes Xiao Nan a bit more; after all, they grew up together!"
"I actually think she likes Li Xiaoyang more. You can tell just by looking at her eyes."
"Sigh... what should we do about this?"
"Why are you worrying so much? No matter who Mo Mo marries, she'll still be our daughter-in-law!"
"That's true! I really like Li Xiaoyang; sometimes I feel he’s even more considerate than Xiao Nan."
Li Xiaonan listened quietly, a smile creeping onto her lips as she speared a piece of fruit with a toothpick, just about to feed it to Chen Mo when Scheming suddenly leaned over and snatched it away.
Yun Moyu, sitting on the sofa, scoffed, "Come on! You haven't given up on Xiao Nan yet! Let me tell you, Xiao Nan has already said she doesn't like men!"
Scheming stood up and said, "So what? He's my brother. If you have an issue with that, why don't you divorce him? I'll just stick to him; what can you do about it?"
Scheming's shamelessness truly disgusted Yun Moyu.
She huffed and ignored him.
Chen Mo shook his head, putting down the book in his hands. "I think you're too idle. After summer break, I'll check out the Chinese department for some cute girls so you won't keep clinging to your brother. Your brother might not mind, but all those sisters-in-law will definitely find it annoying."
"I don't want any girls! How about this—why don't you marry me?"
"Get lost! I'm your brother's woman!"
"Tch! Who said that? Sanwei never said you were my brother's!" Scheming glanced at the book on the table, which was the one Chen Mo had been reading earlier. On it, Hao Ran had written four large characters: "Carefree Dual Cultivation."
"Sanwei is just an idiot! If he says no, then it's no!"
"Who exactly is this Sanwei you all are talking about?" Ling Kui asked curiously. She leaned over to look at the book on the table but found she couldn't make out the words, as if some force was protecting them.
Li Xiaonan wrapped an arm around Ling Kui's waist and said, "Sanwei... um... is probably the Creator God..."
"Is he really that impressive?"
Li Xiaonan nodded. "Yeah, he's quite impressive. He can write poetry, sing songs, paint, and even write novels."
"Is he really that amazing?"
"What good is that? With someone like him, I could take on a hundred!" Scheming scoffed.
He and Li Xiaonan had been to the divine realm and had seen the legendary Creator God; they found him to be incredibly weak.
Li Xiaonan smiled but said nothing. Just then, a voice called from outside, "Dinner's ready!"
(End of the book)
Comment 0 Comment Count