CH 44

Translator: dreamyrose

Editor: XavierForest

Proofreader: Happy Bubbles

There were two little dolls standing in the peach forest; one’s face looked better than the other’s, while the second one’s was flushed red. If Qian Zhu was blushing, then Su Tang’s face was comparable to an apple.

Su Tang couldn’t figure out what the other meant before, and when it dawned upon him, he realised that he was really stupid!

Shen Lan1 saw that Su Tang didn’t speak, and he was embarrassed to talk as well. All he had in his mind was the image of the other’s transformation. When he first strayed into the peach forest, he’d noticed a magnificent tree in the distance. Wanting to get a closer look, he’d approached and noticed it was glistening.

In the midst of the pink shimmer was a peach. It looked plump and juicy, seemingly very delicious, but this little peach didn’t look like it could be eaten because it seemed to be morphing into the shape of a human.

Qian Zhu was just a little surprised, and he hadn’t reacted for a while. After all, he had been in the land of the fairies2 since he was a child and naturally understood that many spirits in this world had the ability to turn into humans. However, he’d only heard of these occurrences and had never actually seen such a phenomenon before. When he saw it, he couldn’t help but stand still in awe behind the tree, watching intently.

If Su Tang ever learnt of what happened later, Qian Zhu would not admit it even if he were beaten to death, but he had no ability to predict the future. He could only stare at the little peach fairy that turned into a six-or-seven-year-old child.

The other was white and tender, his skin very smooth, and there was a faint pink glow between them. As long as you looked at him once, you wouldn’t be able to look away, but… but the boy wasn’t wearing clothes.

After staring for a long time, he finally realised the issue and blushed beet red as his heartbeat increased. He wanted to turn his head, but he was afraid of startling Su Tang. Instead, he slightly bowed his head, as if nothing had happened.

But his mind was all over the place, as if there were a hundred rabbits jumping around in his chest. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was Su Tang’s white and tender shoulders. Even after he opened his eyes, he still could not get the image out of his head. After a while, he finally gave in to his desire and opened his eyes to take a look.

At that time, Su Tang had already put on his clothes, and the majority of his skin was mostly covered. The green suited his skin tone very well, but there was still a little regret in the bottom of Qian Zhu’s heart. This regret was quickly suppressed when he saw Su Tang frown and stretch his calves in preparation to jump off the branch, but not daring to. 

There was a little hesitation on his face, along with a bit of fear, and his little red lips pouted, tempting people to come touch.

Suddenly, Qian Zhu felt an indescribable feeling, as if the softest part of his heart had been pierced. Though it didn’t hurt, the feeling left was very deep, and so he stood up without thinking and spoke to Su Tang the first sentence between them.

Qian Zhu withdrew his thoughts, not continuing to think, and instead looked up at Su Tang, but found that the other party had already jumped down, his ears red. He pretended to act casually, kicking near the small roots of the peach tree with his feet.

The little tree couldn’t bear Su Tang’s weight and soon started to break. Su Tang stared at it but then quickly stopped, refusing to look up at Qian Zhu, staring dumbly at his toes.

Another gust of wind blew away the petals on the ground, and the atmosphere instantly became delicate. Su Tang thought for a while, and suddenly felt that this matter was insignificant. He and Qian Zhu were both boys. It shouldn’t be a big deal to see each other naked, but he just kicked a big fuss over it.

So he raised his head, wanting to get rid of this awkward atmosphere.

“You…”

“I…”

Coincidentally, both of them looked up and wanted to speak at the same moment. Their gazes met. Su Tang saw himself in Qian Zhu’s eyes. He didn’t know why, but his mind emptied and he forgot all the lines he’d thought of before.

He wanted to look away, but Qian Zhu said, “Don’t look down.”

His voice was cold and there was a sense of oppression.

Su Tang immediately stood there, obedient like a good boy.

“Sorry, it’s my mistake.” Qian Zhu said.

“…It’s okay, it’s not really a big deal.” Su Tang replied, and regained some courage. He blurted out whatever he thought to Qian Zhu. When the other party heard what Su Tang had to say, he nodded with a complicated expression before taking off a jade pendant and giving it to Su Tang as compensation.

“This is for you. If you have anything in the future, you can come to the Imperial Palace to find me. I’ll also…” Qian Zhu paused, then continued, “If I have time, I’ll definitely come to see you more.”

Su Tang  had no time to decline the gift before Qian Zhu ran into the depths of the peach forest as though he were escaping from something.

“Wow, you have a lot of peach blossom luck3.” The system couldn’t help joking with Su Tang. 

“What ‘peach blossom luck’? We’re still children, alright.” Su Tang groaned, lifted his robe, and just sat on the ground with his bare buttocks as he began to carefully examine the jade pendant that Qian Zhu had given him.

“This is you being ignorant!” The system smiled and said, “You haven’t heard of a thing called adolescent love?”   

Su Tang didn’t want to argue with the system, so he lowered his head to play with the jade pendant. In the middle of the white jade4 was a red bead, simple and elegant. It gave him a sense of nostalgia.

“Ai5, this thing…” The system hadn’t paid attention, but as it took a closer look, it suddenly grew serious. It abruptly remembered that when it and Su Tang had transmigrated into the first world, Ling Si6 had given him the exact same jade pendant.

This pendant could never be mass-produced. The system thought of this and felt a little frightened. It thought of the emotions they’d both felt in the first two worlds, and then felt that this ‘Qian Zhu’ person might not be who they believed him to be.

“What’s wrong with this pendant?” Su Tang asked when he noticed the system wasn’t speaking.

“Ah…” The system stammered, but it couldn’t say anything. It wanted to tell Su Tang that Qian Zhu might be the male lead, but if the other party asked  how it knew, it didn’t know how to explain. It couldn’t possibly tell Su Tang, Your husband from a previous world gave you the exact, same love token.

What’s more, its actions would be counted as a dishonest act of cheating. If it was found out, not only would its points be deducted, but it would also receive serious punishment.

The system weighed the outcomes, and in the end, it didn’t tell its thoughts to Su Tang, just saying, “This pendant looks expensive—the origins of that little boy may not be simple.”

“Ai, your IQ seems higher, have you been replaced?” Su Tang replied, irritating the other party.

“Cough, I’m complimenting you.” Su Tang smiled embarrassedly, before he said, “I also think that his identity isn’t simple. He must be the child of a xian zun7 in this world. Speaking of, do you think he could be…?” 

Su Tang took in a long breath, and the system almost wanted to jump out and give him a round of applause. 

However…

“Will he be the rival of the male lead?” Su Tang asked.

After hearing his words, the system silently crouched back in the corner.

It felt that Su Tang and it couldn’t communicate anymore because their brains worked on different wavelengths. It was witty, but Su Tang was foolish, which was probably why in all the worlds they’d been to so far, Su Tang had been deceived by the male lead. It was probably also why Su Tang always got tricked by the male lead into following him home.

“There should be no rivals in this world,” the system said lifelessly8.

It’d consider this matter settled for now.

Su Tang used his spiritual power to create a small house out of nothing. He sat in it every day to practice. It was as if Qian Zhu had disappeared, as he never came to the peach forest again.

Su Tang didn’t say anything, but in his heart he felt a bit lonely. When the night was quiet, the moonlight fell on the window and he slept all alone. The loneliness in his heart surged up, and he secretly wiped his tears.

Half a month later, as if every day was exactly the same, Su Tang grew taller. He felt as if he’d spent a month in a dream.

Meeting during the peach-blossom festival, the male lead wandering into the peach forest, having his fateful encounter with the female lead—None! Of! Those! Events! Happened! 

This was a big problem.

When Su Tang finished telling the system this aspect, the other was also confused. It  even checked its own program before finally determining that they weren’t in the wrong world.

The two pondered for a long time without coming up with an answer. Su Tang was a little anxious, and he said, “Should I go out and see?”

“It looks like this is the only way.” The system said helplessly.

Su Tang was the little bully of the peach forest. It wasn’t difficult for him to go out. He summoned all the peaches to collide with the enchantment. Finally, after striking the enchantment for a while, several fairies who guarded the area came to check. Su Tang took advantage of the momentary chaos to turn into a peach and roll out of the peach forest.

However, the Heavenly Palace was too big, and the surrounding area was covered in a haze. After Su Tang turned into a small peach, his line of sight was on the same level as the ground and he could not see anything.

He had no choice but to find a place where there was no one around and take a human form. He didn’t dare make too much noise, worried that the patrolling palace guards would catch him and throw him back into the peach forest.

Although Su Tang wanted to be low-key, his appearance was too eye-catching, his skin white and tender, along with a pair of big, shiny black eyes. People couldn’t help falling in love at first sight, and he was soon surrounded by several fairy elder sisters.

“Little doll, which xianjun9 did you come from? Why did you come to play in Chenchi10?”

When Su Tang was questioned, he didn’t dare make a sound. He didn’t know any of the fairies here, and he couldn’t tell them even if he wanted to. He could only remain silent, slap his own cheeks lightly, and look up at the big sisters around him.

He unconsciously sold meng11, pulling at the heartstrings of the fairies around him who wanted to squeeze his face. They couldn’t help laughing. 

The fairies were at the bridge head of Chenchi, blocking the way for an incoming person. The boy didn’t speak, just silently standing behind them. After a while, everyone calmed down.

Su Tang was relieved. Seeing who the young man was through a gap, he was amazed. Afraid that he’d be surrounded by this group of elder sisters, he threw himself at the other party and exclaimed: “Brother Qian Zhu!”

Qian Zhu was stunned, allowing Su Tang to hug him on his waist, the cold look still on his face.

In fact, he was still immersed in Su Tang’s ‘brother’, his heartbeat feeling a bit slow.