Chapter 53: Intimate Moment: Tea, Touch and Tangled Emotions. Huo Yue's Past, A Mother's Pursuit of Love.

The two of them, alone in the backyard.

Huo Yue's question awaited a response.

Shit. Now, she'll think I'm some kind of degenerate getting kicks from watching her make tea. Honestly, there's no sexual pleasure in watching her do that, but Mingyu had me feeling like every activity with a woman was somehow sexual *mental facepalm* that woman...

Yang Wei raised his hand, saying, "Sorry to disturb. I was just stretching my legs. Maybe when Wu Fengtian wakes up, we'll check on Huo Zhenwei." He acted as though he never even heard her question.

Huo Yue replied, "Silly Wei Shuai, that's not what I asked. I wanted to know if you wanted to join me for tea."

Yang Wei kept his gaze on her.

Her voice... I can tell it's hiding a lot of pain...

When Huo Yue turned, he noticed tear stains on her beautiful face.

Walking a bit closer, he remarked, "You've been crying."

Huo Yue shook her head, attempting to wipe away nonexistent tears, and explained, "No, no. My eyes are just a little sweaty. I've been focused on chores for a while, remember?"

Apologizing for the earlier topic, Yang Wei said, "I shouldn't have questioned your relationship preferences. I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me."

Huo Yue sniffled, telling him, "You're so silly. Why would I cry about that? It's not your fault, so don't be bothered."

"I made you cry. I have every reason to be bothered seeing the tears of a beautiful woman, especially when I'm the cause."

"You're quite the sweet talker," she replied, her voice indifferent.

"You know what? I'll make us some. Today, you're the one being served."

Huo Yue turned away, saying, "No, that's fine. I just need some company."

Yang Wei yawned, stating, "Sorry, not good enough. I'm going to give you all my time and affection, especially an hour of my utmost servitude," showing one finger.

Huo Yue, focused on brewing tea, giggled, "One hour? That's oddly specific."

"Time is precious. So, I can only spare it for someone special."

"You haven't known me for long, *chuckle* and you already think I'm special. Almost like you're a skilled huaren."

Yang Wei sat beside her.

Huo Yue blew on her tea before taking a sip.

"I'm sure my brother has already told you about what happened to the Azure Water Realm."

"Um, yes."

"Did he tell you anything about our mother?"

"No? Although, he did say she was from the this world."

"As you know, my mother was originally from this world. However, she came to the Azure Water Realm because she heard that there, men treated women on more equal terms. It's not that she wanted to serve under a man, but rather she hoped that whichever man she married would have genuine feelings towards her."

"In other words, she wanted a relationship where the man doesn't have to be anything special or have to grovel before her just to get her attention."

"Precisely. Even though that's what she wanted, she chased my father around a lot. My father wasn't interested in women, nor did he ever plan to get married. The moment my mother saw him, she told me it was that moment she knew he was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

*giggle* So, her Mashyan World instincts kicked in, and she pursued my father for close to a year, even disturbing him in seclusion so they could pair cultivate. She was crazy about him."

"So, did that work?"

Huo Yue shook her head gently. "No, so she used food instead. After all, the key to a sensible discussion with a man is food."

"Oh," Yang Wei recalled. "So that's where Zhenwei picked that up from."

"*chuckle* Yes, but my mother was a terrible cook, so she made an absolute disaster for my father to eat when she finally convinced him to join her for dinner. He would've died from food poisoning had his cultivation base not been high enough. After that, you'd think my father would get angry and leave.

Still, after seeing how hard a woman from the Mashyan World would try to impress a man like him, and even go as far as cooking and sneaking into his house to wash his robes, he couldn't help but fall in love with her. According to him, her imperfections made her perfect."

"I see," Yang Wei smiled solemnly.

Her mother kind of reminds me of Mingyu... She's terrible at everything, but her affection compensates for it.

"So, what happened next?" he asked.

"Well, everything was happily ever after. My mother gave up cultivation; she didn't cultivate a Soul Heart since she had both Mortal Sun Cells and Solar Radiance Pathways. It was too risky, and she didn't want to risk her spirit root getting damaged. My parents had me and my siblings, and we became students at the Azure Lotus Sect.

Living such a happy life, my father continued his cultivation journey so he could one day become a Core Formation cultivator and live just enough to be with my mother. My mother, on the other hand, became a housewife and dedicated herself to learning how to cook, clean, and wash clothes properly."

Yang Wei was now very interested in the story. "And then...?" he asked.

Huo Yue's face lost its smile. "And then everything was not so happy... Emperor Heavenmind attacked our world."