Human University started earlier than the Demon Realm Kindergarten. Wen Yan packed his bag and went to the first class after the school started.
In the classroom, there was still some time before class. Li Zheng had already arrived, occupying the golden position in the middle and back rows. It was neither too far from the blackboard nor prone to frequent roll calls.
Wen Yan sat down next to him.
Li Zheng looked at him curiously, “I thought you weren’t coming to class. Since the first day of school, you disappeared. I called you, but you didn’t answer. I almost went to the police station to report you missing.”
Wen Yan rolled his eyes, “Can’t you miss me a little?”
But he indeed hadn’t paid much attention to Li Zheng this week. They used to be together every day, to the extent that his mother suspected they were dating.
However, these days he had gone for a family visit, moved to a new place, and had been focusing on cultivating his relationship with Rong Xiao. He completely threw Li Zheng out of the picture.
Thinking of this, his steel-hearted manly heart secretly felt a bit guilty.
“So, where have you been?” Li Zheng asked him. “I remember you said it was a relative from your family visiting. Was there something important that came up?”
Wen Yan straightened up.
He cleared his throat, looking at Li Zheng with a serious expression. “This is a long story, but I’ll make it short. You won’t believe it, but some people are just lucky. They don’t do anything, and a boyfriend falls from the sky. Unbelievable.”
Li Zheng looked confused, “What do you mean? What boyfriend?”
Wen Yan tried to conceal his delight, but his lips were sealed, and the dimples on his face still showed.
He happily patted Li Zheng’s hand, “Sorry, bro, from now on, you’ll be the only single one. I’m off the market.”
Li Zheng was stunned for three seconds before grasping the central idea. His friend was in a relationship, and he almost flipped the table in excitement.
He was about to question and express his astonishment, but the bald professor entered with the attendance roster.
Questioning had to wait.
This class was famously known as the “Underworld Subject” in the major, and if the teacher caught any mistakes directly, you would fail.
Li Zheng could only hastily leave with a remark, “I’ll interrogate at lunchtime.”
Wen Yan was proud; his mood was soaring.
At noon, Li Zheng couldn’t wait to pull Wen Yan to the canteen, booked a private room, ordered eight dishes, and closed the door. He pointed at Wen Yan with his chopsticks and asked, “Tell me, which little fairy has captured your heart.”
Wen Yan was overjoyed, but he had been holding back. These days, he hadn’t shown off to anyone, and Li Zheng was like a pillow sent to him while he was napping.
But the one who captivated him wasn’t a little fairy; it was an old monster. However, age didn’t matter as long as the face was handsome.
Wen Yan took a sip of his iced cola, summarized his recent experiences, and omitted the monster part, turning it into a story of his deceased grandfather arranging a marriage for him, his parents pressing him into a blind date, and him falling in love at first sight.
“At first, I didn’t want to. In this day and age, arranged marriages are outdated, but I couldn’t resist the fact that he looked too good.” Wen Yan wore a hypocritical expression of distress on his face.
Li Zheng was initially skeptical, and after hearing it, he frowned, finding it hard to believe. He let his imagination run wild, “Your parents, who spoil you so much, are forcing you into an arranged marriage? I doubt the authenticity of this story. You must have fallen for some nightclub playboy. Don’t be shy, tell me the truth…”
Wen Yan kicked him under the table, “He’s much older than me, not a nightclub playboy.”
Li Zheng patted the footprint on his trouser leg and, for the time being, reserved his doubts. He asked, “Since he has fascinated you so much, there should be photos. What’s his name, how old is he, and when will you bring him for us to meet?”
Three consecutive interrogations, resembling a caring old father.
Wen Yan bit his chopsticks, feeling very embarrassed.
He hadn’t really left the single life; there were no photos, and he couldn’t bring the person.
“We’re still in the early stages of our relationship, you know? We’re still relatively inexperienced. After we get along better, I’ll arrange for you to meet,” Wen Yan continued to make up a story, “Don’t ask anymore. He’s much older than me, but he knows how to care for people. Moreover, he looks so good. No matter how you look at it, I’m the one who’s gained.”
Li Zheng chuckled. He saw through Wen Yan’s complete fabrication.
He became more curious. What kind of celestial being could make Wen Yan fall in love? This guy’s taste was hard to figure out, and he knew that.
Wen Yan decided to change the topic, fearing that Li Zheng would pry too much and reveal the truth. If Li Zheng spilled the beans about the demon, it would be a big problem.
He shifted the conversation timely, “Forget about me. Why were you sitting there with a troubled expression this morning when I entered the classroom? Is something bothering you? Do you need your buddy’s help?”
This time, it was Li Zheng’s turn to hesitate.
He wanted to share his troubles with Wen Yan but found it hard to open up.
Truth be told, he and Wen Yan were absolute bros, but even the best of friends harbored a few secrets—
That was, he was actually a demon, and his entire family were demons.
Moreover, their family served a prominent figure in the demon world, faithfully serving this figure through generations.
Recently, this figure, for some inexplicable reason, decided to marry a young human.
Their family erupted with excitement, and when they heard that the human was going to attend the demon school, without saying a word, they pushed Li Zheng out, instructing him to take good care of the human at school.
Li Zheng was really resentful… he couldn’t express how stifled he felt. Since birth, he had been a pampered young master, never having served anyone.
Sighing, he chose to tell Wen Yan half of the truth, “I’ve been signed into a contract. I have to work as a little maid for someone.”
Seeing Wen Yan’s confusion, he explained vaguely, “I have a senior relative who has done a lot for my family. He’s quite old and, after much difficulty, had his first spring and is to marry. Soon, they’re going to attend… an extracurricular class. Because my family’s elder is worried about their generation gap, he specifically sent me to take care of this young ‘bride’, establish a good relationship, and make sure they feel the caring of spring.”
Wen Yan took a sharp breath, not realizing the familiarity of this plot, “Your family is quite open-minded, huh? How old is this elder of yours, and how old is the young bride?”
Li Zheng thought about it; it was difficult to say that the old man was over a thousand years old.
“Anyway, quite old, I guess he’s my grandpa’s generation, and the young bride is only eighteen.”
Wen Yan’s gaze became indescribable. It was as if he were looking at a beast, “………… Huh, your elder really has no shame. Has the young bride reached the legal age for marriage?”
Li Zheng, feeling unfair, although he also felt that the age difference between the two was a bit too much, he knew a little about the situation of that elder. He was a bona fide golden single man, and who would benefit remained uncertain.
But he couldn’t refute, so he could only mumble, “They probably got married abroad; it’s not under our civil affairs bureau.”
Oh, foreigners, no wonder they are so open-minded.
Wen Yan originally wanted to complain a bit, but then he thought about it. He still had several months until he turned eighteen. He happily agreed to be someone’s little bride.
He shut his mouth.
Who knows, they might be really in love.
Lunchtime passed amid the banter between the two friends. In the afternoon, during a large class shared with the neighboring literature department, they ran into another high school buddy, Jin Yueze. A pale and frail veteran otaku, his side job was a writer of supernatural novels.
The three of them played Connect Four in the back row all afternoon.
Wen Yan lost miserably.
In the blink of an eye, four days passed.
On Friday morning, Wen Yan gave up resistance. With a tray of handmade sweets prepared by the housekeeper, he sat in the living room, waiting for his supposedly good-looking study partner.
He began to doubt if he attended kindergarten; he used to wait for Li Zheng in front of his house with snacks like this when he was a child.
While waiting, he started to get bored, began to sneakily eat cookies in advance, but suddenly, Rong Xiao gestured to him. He happily went over.
Thinking that Rong Xiao was going to remind him of some precautions in the demon world, he didn’t expect Rong Xiao to grab him, pulling him into his arms. In an instant, he found himself sitting on Rong Xiao’s lap.
Wen Yan was almost scared to jump up.
“Don’t move.” Rong Xiao held him down. “Your seal is about to expire. You’ll be going to a place full of demons later; it’s not safe.”
Wen Yan obediently stayed still.
However, he couldn’t help but yell in his heart, did sitting on the thigh really have anything to do with replenishing the seal?
But he looked like a timid little quail on the surface, sitting obediently in Rong Xiao’s arms, his earlobes turning red as if they were about to bleed.
Rong Xiao remained calm, showing no signs of wanting to take advantage of the situation. He lifted the messy hair at the back of Wen Yan’s neck, revealing the faint red seal. Then he destroyed it with a wave of his hand, injecting his own demonic energy to reseal it.
Wen Yan only felt a slight coolness entering his body, not cold but as clear as a summer spring.
On the skin at the back of his neck, a towering tree slowly took shape, with vivid green colors like painted ink, as if it possessed vitality.
“Done.” Rong Xiao let him go, ruthlessly pushing him off the sofa. “Go to class.”
Wen Yan looked at him with resentment.
Is that it?
Aren’t you responsible for the chaos you just stirred up?
But Rong Xiao really didn’t seem to have any sense of responsibility. He reminded him, “The car is here.”
Wen Yan grumpily picked up his snack box and left.
The car that came to pick him up was indeed parked outside, with the housekeeper holding the door open.
Wen Yan, who had just experienced Rong Xiao’s charm attack, had a sudden plummet of interest in the young companion inside the car.
The car door opened—
Wen Yan lazily glanced over but found that his eyes couldn’t move halfway.
He looked up at the sun, suspecting that time had really reversed to when he was in kindergarten.
Otherwise, how could he see Li Zheng crawling out of the car?
Li Zheng took a deep breath, preparing to play the role of a perfect little maid with his outstanding acting skills. However, as he bowed and raised his head, all the prepared lines were completely forgotten.
Instead, a heartfelt exclamation burst out, “What the heck!”