Do you really think you can get me with just a banana?

Li Suyin, in the center of the crowd, was holding a swaddled baby and chatting and laughing with the guests who came to congratulate her, while Chen Boyiao was teasing the child and bowing to the guests from time to time.

The baby was just one hundred days old, and his rosy face showed his childishness and innocence, which attracted the laughter of the onlookers. Some pinched his hands, and some whispered blessings. Li Xiuqi stood aside, laughing heartily.

Guan Shanyu prepared a longevity gold locket and a homemade multiplication table as gifts. He felt the former was a blessing, while the latter was practical. In this world, learning arithmetic early on meant it could be used anywhere.

Just as Su Yi and the others were about to lead Guan Shanyu and the others into the courtyard, a servant suddenly arrived from the corridor, announcing that the banquet was ready. Upon hearing this, Li Xiuqi turned and invited the guests to dine in another courtyard. As he turned, he spotted Guan Shanyu and the others approaching from a distance, gave them a slight nod, and led the guests toward the corridor.

Li Suyin noticed Li Xiuqi's actions and also saw Guan Shanyu approaching. Her eyes lit up and she quickly told Li Xiuqi that she would go and say hello and come over. Then she and Chen Boyao came over with the child in their arms.

Seeing this, Su Yi curiously nudged Guan Shanyu with her arm and asked curiously, "Shanyu, I heard that Ruchen came back to life, but he didn't come over?"

Before Guan Shanyu could reply, Li Xiuqi called out from the corridor: "Suyi, Qingfan, come and help!"

Su Yi curled her lips, exchanged a glance with Qing Fan, and said to Guan Shanyu, "This banquet happens once a month, and it's really tiring. Shanyu, why don't you leave later today? Qing Fan and I will come and chat with you after we finish our work."

Qing Fan responded as he followed Su Yi down the corridor, not forgetting to turn around and shout to Guan Shanyu, "After you finish talking to my sister, remember to come for dinner. We've prepared venison today!"

Guan Shanyu waved at them and looked back at Yan Ruchen who was standing behind him without saying a word. He had his eyes slightly lowered, as if in a daze, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Li Suyin came over with the child in her arms, brushing past Suyi and the others. She reminded them coquettishly, "Run slower. We're not going to rob gold, why are you in such a hurry?"

Su Yi and the others ran away laughing, ignoring Li Suyin's words. Guan Shanyu saw Li Suyin approaching, so he felt into his sleeves, wanting to take out the gift for her, but as soon as he raised his hand, Li Suyin put the child in her arms into Guan Shanyu's hands.

???

Guan Shanyu looked at the baby in his arms with a bewildered look on his face. The child was wrapped tightly and was as heavy as a lead ball. He looked at Li Suyin in surprise, only to see Li Suyin fanning herself with her hands and panting, "Help me hold it. It's too heavy. I'm so tired."

Guan Shanyu glanced at Chen Boqiao who was following behind Li Suyin and muttered softly, "Your husband is still here, why are you asking me to hold him?"

Li Suyin sat nonchalantly on a stool nearby, fanning herself as she explained, "My husband, oh no, my husband's ancestors seem to have that obesity gene. This child is only a hundred days old, and he already weighs over twenty pounds. I'm exhausted from holding him every day."

Chen Boqiao walked forward, scratching his head awkwardly, and silently massaged Li Suyin's shoulders. Guan Shanyu frowned and mouthed to Li Suyin, "We agreed to come to the banquet, but ended up coming here to help you hold the baby?"

Li Suyin couldn't help laughing when she saw his expression and explained, "No, I heard that if children often look at good-looking people, they will look like them when they grow up. So I want you to hug her more. If she grows up to look like you, my daughter will be invincible."

Guan Shanyu was amused by her. Looking at the little girl sleeping soundly and heavily in his arms, he joked, "If your daughter grows up to look like me, Brother Bo Qiao and Palace Master Li will probably come after me."

Li Suyin waved her hand generously, "No, no." Chen Boqiao also smiled shyly and said, "My lady is right. A man as handsome as Brother Shanyu will definitely have beautiful children in the future."

Guan Shanyu smiled politely at him when he heard this, but did not answer. Li Suyin tapped her arm and continued, "Speak softly. If others hear this, you will be beaten."

Chen Boqiao looked confused and asked Li Suyin softly, "Isn't this a good thing to say? Why did you get beaten?"

Guan Shanyu smiled and turned to look at Yan Ruchen, who was standing motionless behind him. Li Suyin also followed his gaze and noticed that behind Guan Shanyu stood an ordinary disciple, bowing his head respectfully.

But suddenly, this ordinary disciple raised his eyes and looked at Li Suyin.

Their eyes met, and Li Suyin was startled.

Damn, this person’s eyes look so familiar.

Li Suyin narrowed her eyes and moved closer to take a closer look. She saw that the disciple raised half of his mouth corner and gave her a sinister smile.

Instantly, Li Suyin's blood seemed to rush to her brain, her pupils slightly dilated, and she yelled, "Fuck!"

Guan Shanyu and Chen Boqiao looked at her in confusion, only to see her suddenly jump up from the stool, quickly cover Chen Boqiao's mouth and run away.

Guan Shanyu looked at them in confusion as they hurried away, and looked around with some confusion.

What’s going on? Is there going to be a thunderbolt?

Just as she was wondering, Li Suyin came running back, holding up her skirt. She hurriedly took her daughter from Guan Shanyu's arms and explained, "What I just said was all bullshit. Just listen to it. The meal is about to start, so come and eat. The food is delicious today. If you don't like it, tell me and say goodbye."

After saying that, she ran away holding her daughter as if she was carrying a big ball of claws.

Guan Shanyu turned back with his neck stiff, and saw Yan Ruchen also looking bewildered. He thought for a moment and explained for Li Suyin: "This phenomenon may be called postpartum stress..."

Since the servants and the master had to eat in different places, Yan Ruchen, dressed as a disciple, should have eaten with the other disciples.

However, Guan Shanyu came here specifically to have a deep conversation with Yan Ruchen, so after thinking it over, he decided not to stay for dinner. After leaving a gift, he hurriedly said goodbye on the pretext of having urgent matters to attend to at Wangshuiling.

Since the two of them agreed to have a good chat, they did not use the pass on the way back, but chose to walk.

Originally, Yan Ruchen suggested finding a teahouse to take a break, but Guan Shanyu felt that it would be too serious to find a place to talk alone, and it would be more natural to talk while walking.

The long street was still bustling, with vendors each occupying their own territory, their dazzling array of goods gleaming in the sun. A constant stream of pedestrians weaved through, their cries echoing in the background, as people either lowered their heads to browse or chatted loudly, creating a lively atmosphere.

However, because it was too lively and not suitable for conversation, they both tacitly chose to walk on in silence. Since neither of them had eaten yet, Guan Shanyu bought some snacks on the way and handed Yan Ruchen a portion of assorted jade lotus root rice, then lowered his head to eat as he walked.

But just as he put the food into his mouth, the noise in his ears disappeared instantly.

Guan Shanyu raised his head in a daze. There was no long street or pedestrians in front of him. Now the two of them were on a vast plain.

His hands trembled in surprise, and the food fell to the ground. He looked around, but before he could ask where he was, Yan Ruchen had returned to his true form and followed him, saying, "If we don't talk now, it will really be dark."

Upon hearing this, Guan Shanyu looked up at the sky. The sun was shining brightly and it was still a long time before dark.

But just as Yan Ruchen said, Guan Shanyu was indeed procrastinating. He couldn't figure out how to start the conversation, and it was really possible that he would walk and walk without saying a word until dark.

Yan Ruchen explained, "This is another remote place in Wangshuiling. Few people come here on weekdays. We don't have to worry about being overheard when we talk here."

Guan Shanyu nodded, guessing that Yan Ruchen had cast a talisman to teleport them there at some point. But since they were going to talk, he thought he'd start with something lighthearted. Then, remembering something, he asked, "Did you install those three ropes in my room?"

Yan Ruchen nodded: "Yes."

Guan Shanyu asked again: "Why can I go to different places? Is it an illusion?"

Yan Ruchen replied: "It's true, just like we are now, we can travel thousands of miles in an instant, just open the door and we're there."

Guan Shanyu nodded and asked again: "Why these three locations?"

Yan Ruchen paused for a moment, then smiled faintly and replied, "These are my three favorite places in the world, so I wanted to share them with you. If you don't like them, I can just leave."

Guan Shanyu quickly shook his head and said, "No, I like it very much. It's very beautiful." After that, he paused again, and under the scorching sun, he looked at the golden-faced young man in front of him and asked softly, "You've been back for so long, and we haven't had a good chat yet. Do you... have anything you want to say to me?"

Yan Ruchen lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, and said slowly: "I do have a question that I have been thinking about for a long time."

Guan Shanyu stared at him, and Yan Ruchen continued, "Li Suyin, is she also from another world? Does she have anything to do with me in your story?

Guan Shanyu was stunned, thinking that it was probably Li Suyin's abnormal reaction for so long that Yan Ruchen noticed something was wrong, so he nodded and explained: "Well, she came from the same world as me. She is a reader of my book. Her original character was originally..."

"Your wife."

???

A crack finally appeared on Yan Ruchen's calm face.

He asked, almost with a hint of a smile, "My wife?"

Guan Shanyu didn't dare look him in the eye and nodded. Yan Ruchen actually smiled and asked, "No wonder she's so scared of me. Is she worried that I might be interested in her?"

Guan Shanyu pondered for a moment, took a bite of his snack, and decided to defend Li Suyin: "She's not afraid that you'll fall for her. It's mainly because she's like me, timid and weak, and doesn't want to get involved in the disputes in the world of immortal cultivation."

Yan Ruchen looked at him, was silent for a while, and said, "Oh, no wonder you have such a good relationship with her." After that, he didn't ask any more questions, took a light bite of the food in his hand, turned around and walked forward.

Guan Shanyu looked at his receding figure, hesitated for a moment, and then chased after him, shouting, "Wait a minute."

But he was running a little too fast this time, and he was in a confused state at the moment. Although Yan Ruchen stopped when he heard him, he did not brake. He staggered when he stopped beside Yan Ruchen. Almost at the same time, Yan Ruchen reached out and grabbed him.

The two of them were so close that Guan Shanyu leaned half of his body against Yan Ruchen out of inertia, and they could hear each other's breathing clearly. Guan Shanyu looked at this face that was so close to him, which was a few years younger than he remembered. When he raised his eyelids slightly, he would meet a pair of deep eyes, calm yet obscure.

His lips moved, but he didn't speak, and Yan Ruchen quickly let go of him.

The moment he let go of his hand, Yan Ruchen turned around and continued walking forward, as if he was avoiding something, saying, "Be careful. Even though it's a flat road, you still have to watch out for the rocks under your feet."

But after taking a step, Yan Ruchen could no longer move.

Guan Shanyu still held his hand tightly, seemingly a little stubborn, standing behind him and looking at him.

Yan Ruchen took a deep breath, turned around slowly, his face still calm, and asked, "What's wrong?"