Zhi Li cried for a long time before finally speaking between sobs. “I was afraid Shizun would be influenced by them. I was afraid Shizun would also think that I wasn’t worthy, so I didn’t dare say anything.”
Now Lu Zhixing was also saying that he was afraid he would be influenced by those people.
Xi Yu still remembered how, back then, he had taken Zhi Li and run through the palaces of those immortals, having Zhi Li identify, one by one, the people who had once beaten him.
When he let Zhi Li go out to play, he also deliberately chose the little disciples of various immortals, most of whom were around Zhi Li’s age.
It made sense. If they were older, how would they dare lay a hand on his person? It was precisely because they were young and didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth.
The children who could be accepted as disciples by high-ranking immortals were mostly born with immortal bodies. Zhi Li, who had only just taken human form as a spirit beast, was naturally no match for them.
But it was no big deal. Back then, Xi Yu had sat on a stool, leisurely drinking tea, and simply said one word: “Beat them.”
Those people either relied on their status to bully others or thought spirit beasts were lowly.
He did not like using his position to oppress others, but when someone touched his person, he had no choice but to treat them the way they had treated others.
Afterward, once they had beaten all those bullying children in the Heavenly Court, Zhi Li was visibly happy.
His pair of purple pupils were filled with delight as he looked at Xi Yu, and he even held onto his hand, unwilling to let go for even a moment.
When Zhi Li had first been rescued by him, he had always been somewhat afraid of him. Usually, he did not even dare look at him when speaking. After this incident, however, he had become… clingy.
He had also grown a little braver.
His disciple ought to be like this.
But it was precisely because of that incident that Xi Yu had spent all the spirit stones he had accumulated on Zhi Li’s cultivation. He had also gathered countless things that could aid cultivation and placed them in Lanxing Hall for Zhi Li to use, afraid that he would be bullied again.
As a result, a Divine Venerable like him had become so poor that he did not have a single penny.
Raising a child cost money.
He had spent so much effort raising Zhi Li to be carefree and worry-free, but now…
Xi Yu looked at Lu Zhixing.
Zhi Li, having lost his memories, had returned to the starting point overnight.
“You…” Xi Yu wanted to tell Lu Zhixing not to have so many reservations, but thinking that he had already said it once and Lu Zhixing had not listened, he irritably clicked his tongue. “Forget it.”
Lu Zhixing asked, “Forget what?”
“You’ll know when the time comes. Go back for now. I’m leaving soon.”
“To the sanatorium?” Lu Zhixing said. “I’m going too.”
“Don’t even think about it.”
That thing had such a great influence on Lu Zhixing. There was no way Xi Yu would let him go.
Xi Yu firmly refused. Lu Zhixing was about to speak again when there was a knock on the door.
Xi Yu happened to be worried that Lu Zhixing would act spoiled again and leave him unable to resist. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he hurriedly sent Lu Zhixing away. “Someone’s here. Go back first.”
Without waiting for Lu Zhixing to answer, Xi Yu directly used magic to teleport him away.
He then used his spiritual power to change his clothes and opened the door.
Shen Qing and Luo Yuan both looked anxious.
Xi Yu hurriedly asked, “What happened?”
“It’s Chengan,” Shen Qing said. “You had something to do yesterday and left. He cried the whole night. Just now, he didn’t see you at breakfast and started crying again.”
…………………………
Luo Chengan…
Oh no!
Only then did Xi Yu remember that yesterday, he had left Luo Chengan alone at the amusement park.
“Where is he?”
Luo Yuan hurriedly replied, “Downstairs, eating breakfast.”
Xi Yu headed downstairs, with Shen Qing and Luo Yuan following behind him. As they walked, Shen Qing said, “I’ve rarely seen him cry that badly. But don’t feel guilty. I know you must have had something important to take care of. Chengan is just a child. Ever since you came back, he’s been very attached to you. He probably values you more than he values me and his dad. He was probably genuinely hurt last night, but he’s not an unreasonable child.”
Xi Yu acknowledged that he understood. As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, before he had even made it to the dining room, he heard sobbing.
When he walked into the dining room, he was startled by what he saw.
Luo Chengan’s eyes were red, and large tears were falling into his soy milk, but he still didn’t forget to pick up a crab-roe xiaolongbao and put it into his mouth. After one bite, he would take a sip of soy milk. After finishing the drink, he would put down the bowl, sob a few times, and then continue eating.
It was obvious that today’s breakfast suited his taste very well.
Xi Yu stood there for several seconds before Luo Chengan finally noticed him. The hand holding the soy milk paused, and his sobbing also stopped. He hurriedly wiped away his tears, then gulped down the rest of his soy milk.
“I’m done eating.” Luo Chengan had only gotten halfway through his sentence when he stuffed another crab-roe xiaolongbao into his mouth and mumbled, “You guys eat.”
With that, he ran out of the dining room. Shen Qing followed behind him, calling, “Chengan, Chengan!”
Luo Chengan ran extremely fast, as though something were chasing him from behind.
Shen Qing sighed. “This child.”
Xi Yu said to Shen Qing and Luo Yuan, “You two eat first. I’ll go check on him.”
Hearing this, Luo Yuan said, “Why don’t you eat a few bites first? I don’t know what’s gotten into this child this time. When he came back last night, he even explained that you had something urgent to take care of. If he already knows you had something to do, why is he still throwing a tantrum?”
Shen Qing hit him. “Say less.”
Then she looked at Xi Yu. “Eat first. It won’t hurt if he cries a little longer.”
Xi Yu shook his head and picked up a plate of crab-roe xiaolongbao from the table. “I’ll go upstairs and eat with him.”
When Luo Chengan left just now, tears were still falling from his eyes, but he hadn’t forgotten to eat another xiaolongbao. He probably hadn’t eaten enough.
Xi Yu carried the crab-roe xiaolongbao to Luo Chengan’s bedroom and knocked on the door.
Actually, he felt somewhat guilty. After all, he had been the one who promised to go see the fireworks with Luo Chengan, yet he had broken his word.
Xi Yu was a person who valued his promises very much. Once he promised something, he would do it.
But what happened yesterday had been sudden. It really was his fault.
Luo Chengan’s voice came from inside, somewhat hoarse. “Who is it?”
Xi Yu answered, “It’s me.”
After a few seconds, the door opened. Luo Chengan was no longer crying, but his eyes were still red and swollen. It was obvious that he had cried for quite some time.
But when he saw Xi Yu, he still managed to pull out a small smile. “What is it, ge?”
“Can I come in and talk?”
Luo Chengan nodded and stepped aside to let Xi Yu in.
Xi Yu placed the crab-roe xiaolongbao on the table and looked at Luo Chengan. “You didn’t eat enough just now, did you? Want some more?”
Luo Chengan looked at the crab-roe xiaolongbao and said somewhat awkwardly, “I’m full.”
However, he quickly picked up a xiaolongbao and put it into his mouth. “But since you brought them up for me, ge, I suppose I can eat a little more.”
Xi Yu chuckled and glanced around Luo Chengan’s room.
This was the first time he had ever come to Luo Chengan’s room.
Actually, he was not very familiar with the Luo family. Aside from his own room, the living room, and the dining room—places he went to every day—he had never been to the other places. This included Luo Chengan’s room, the Luo couple’s bedroom, the gym, and the movie theater.
He only knew those places existed when Luo Chengan happened to mention them.
Xi Yu casually surveyed the room. Its layout was the same as his own room, though the decorations were different. Luo Chengan’s room was very bright—not in terms of natural lighting, but in its color scheme. It was bright, just like the person himself.
But no matter how bright someone was, they could still feel sad.
Xi Yu sat down beside Luo Chengan and quietly apologized. “I’m sorry. It was my fault last night.”
Xi Yu waited until Luo Chengan had eaten the last xiaolongbao before saying it.
Luo Chengan did not look at Xi Yu. He swallowed the last bite, wiped his mouth, and said, “Oh, I know you had something urgent to do. You didn’t leave me on purpose. There’s no need to apologize.”
Xi Yu was silent for two seconds. “Then why did you cry?”
“I didn’t cry!” Luo Chengan said. “My eyes just felt uncomfortable. Don’t listen to Mom and Dad making things up. How could I have cried?”
“Oh, right, I’ll take the bowl downstairs so Auntie won’t have to come up and collect it.”
Xi Yu crossed his arms. “Sure. Go ahead. I’ll wait here.”
Luo Chengan’s footsteps stopped. After two seconds, he unwillingly turned around. “Ge…”
Xi Yu sighed, took the empty plate from Luo Chengan’s hands and placed it on the table, then held his arm. “It really was my fault yesterday. I didn’t accompany you to see the fireworks. You can be angry. You can yell at me.”
Luo Chengan tried to avoid Xi Yu’s gaze, but Xi Yu held onto his arm and wouldn’t let him turn away. He put on an unconcerned expression.
“I already told you I wasn’t angry. Why would I get angry over such a small thing? You must have had something important to do. I’m really not angry…” As Luo Chengan spoke, he was forced to look at Xi Yu. Then his voice gradually grew quieter. By the end, tears began falling again. He wanted to wipe them away, but Xi Yu was holding his arm, so he couldn’t raise his hand.
He only felt more and more aggrieved. After a pause, he finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“I just… just… feel a little sad. You all have things you need to do. I shouldn’t be like this, but I really wanted to watch the fireworks with you. No one used to go with me. Mom and Dad were busy, and I didn’t want to bother them. But I don’t really have any friends either. No one would go with me. I thought I could finally have someone accompany me last night, but then you left too… Wuuu…”
Luo Chengan burst into loud sobs. He threw himself into Xi Yu’s arms, wrapped his arms around his waist, and rested his head on Xi Yu’s shoulder.
“Ge… wuuu… I just… wuuu… feel… wuuu… a little… sad… wuuu…”
Luo Chengan’s tears were like a floodgate that had burst open, completely impossible to stop. He looked especially, especially heartbroken.
From Luo Chengan’s few words, Xi Yu could tell that Luo Chengan actually did care about being ostracized.
Someone as cheerful as him, someone who liked making friends, would naturally be very hurt when he was excluded.
But he had never said anything. Perhaps he didn’t want Shen Qing and Luo Yuan to feel sad.
Xi Yu could even feel the dampness on his shoulder. He really had never comforted a child before. The only one he had ever comforted was Zhi Li.
Xi Yu hesitated for a moment, then patted Luo Chengan’s back and apologized repeatedly. “I’m sorry. I really had something very important to deal with yesterday. I’ll accompany you to see them tonight.”
Hearing this, Luo Chengan cried even louder. “There aren’t any tonight!!! It’s only once a year, wuuu…”
Xi Yu pushed Luo Chengan away and said, “I have a way.”