Chapter 51

Translated by boilpoil Edited by boilpoil

Time for the acting skill test!

“Yang shixiong.”

Bai Lianhua called out without much confidence, his voice even uncontrollably a bit shaky.

Yang Chongyin doesn’t say anything, just looking at him with unblinking eyes, as if trying to etch his current appearance into his memories. With such a dedicated expression, he is making Bai Lianhua almost unable to keep up his smile.

——What a live demonstration of how smiles disappear gradually.

Bai Lianhua is the one to fail first. He sags his head downwards, like a kid who has done something bad, waiting for the scolding with nervous eyes… but also can’t help but slightly lift up his head, trying to discreetly work out Yang Chongyin’s emotions.

Noticing Bai Lianhua is up to his usual habits, Yang Chongyin’s expression softens somewhat.

He says gently, “if Bai shidi is currently divining for people, why not divine for me as well?”

Bai Lianhua “???”

No, no. He is almost able to hear the noose around his neck. It’s obvious Yang Chongyin’s response will be something he doesn’t want to hear.

Yet this is a wish that is clearly inaudible to Yang Chongyin.

“For years I’ve been divining this, but I discover that my powers are limited, and I can never divine an answer… Now that I think about it, perhaps what I want to know, only Bai shidi, you can divine a clear answer for me.”

Bai Lianhua asks with a trembling tone, “what answer?”

“When can I see you again every day?”

——Holy, bullseye!

Bai Lianhua almost loses his voice, before barely managing to utter quietly, “… now.”

“From now on.”

… Nope. He needs to pack up for the day.

If he stays, he’ll definitely manage to realise that joke earlier between him and the system – a free relationship drama for the residents of the hamlet starring him and Yang Chongyin, enriching everyone’s gossip and cultural appetite, contributing to the variety of their small talks.

In fact, he is certain there seem to be people noticing the odd atmosphere about this corner and is looking at them.

Bai Lianhua hurriedly packs up, before decisively dragging Yang Chongyin away from the place.

Yet, for now, he doesn’t have anywhere else to go, so he could only bring Yang Chongyin back to the tavern.

Yang Chongyin doesn’t seem to mind, and follows him quietly, until they enter the room.

Yang Chongyin, taking a look around, asks, “you’ve been living here all this time?”

Bai Lianhua nods, embarrassed, “the room might be disappointing, so if shixiong can put up with it for now.”

A tavern in a hamlet would be praiseworthy if it is tidy and clean, asking for more is clearly unrealistic.

He thinks it’s alright, but Bai Lianhua thinks that with Yang Chongyin’s living standards after he has become the State Oracle, this place would be deemed too shabby.

——Uh, fine, even taking a step back to the antagonist’s living quarters in the sect, that would be better than this place… Yang Chongyin who has never received lacking material treatment is probably having problems adapting to this.

Yang Chongyin shakes his head, however, “you’re the one that’s living here. I just… Nevermind.”

Bai Lianhua used to be beloved in the sect. The senior disciples cared for him. Even the cold-hearted master and elder had quite the patience with him, meaning that Bai Lianhua had the best standards of living in there. He has never suffered in that regard, but now…

Bai Lianhua tilts his head, “huh? For me, I think it’s pretty nice. The place lives up to the cost.”

Nice and cheap, deserving of your patronage… And it also feels nice to have less décor, it feels fresh and unburdened.

Sigh, perhaps it’s a difference in aesthetic vision between him and the antagonist who grew up in the past.

His smile is genuine enough that Yang Chongyin couldn’t say anything else.

The two people sit quietly by the table. It’s almost making Bai Lianhua feel like he’s sitting on needles.

In the end, Yang Chongyin breaks the silence first, “I was genuinely asking for a divination back there.”

Bai Lianhua also tries his best to appeal with his cute expression, “shixiong, I am serious as well… Even if you didn’t come for you, I was planning to look for you.”

——That’s the truth. He’s not feeling guilty at all, yup!

“Eight years have passed. I have never managed to divine your whereabouts. I almost thought you…” Yang Chongyin closed his eyes, clearly unable to say what comes next.

Bai Lianhua feels a bit embarrassed.

Eight years ago, when he chose to leave the world by disintegrating the material form of his projection, he technically did die.

He thought quite early on that if Yang Chongyin did divine before, he’ll definitely have discovered that he has disappeared from the world since then.

This isn’t easy to come up with excuses for… Say he had an out-of-body experience and only regained consciousness now? But then his physical body shouldn’t have been undivinable.

Same for pretending to be amnesiac… This won’t do either.

So Bai Lianhua could only dryly smile in the end, awkwardly explaining that no, he didn’t. While the situation seems quite absurd, but he must believe him when he says that he really didn’t use any demonic techniques to resurrect himself.

Yang Chongyin nods, “I know you wouldn’t… But so what if you did? I don’t mind.”

Bai Lianhua “…” Hey, it feels really odd when you say something like that with such a saintly appearance.

It’s the fault of Yang Chongyin’s cold and detached true●diviner aura that would make one mistake him for being saintly both inside and outside.

——In a certain sense, Bai Lianhua thinks Yang Chongyin is also a pretty white lotus, but just the cold and noble type, different in nuance to him.

So… two white lotuses have no future together. No one’s ever heard of such a combination, ok?

Now that its silence cooldown is over, the system that thought about staying put for a while can’t help but pop up again, “emm… Host, can you not be so happy-go-lucky when it comes to painfully obvious conclusions?”

“I’ll bet your innocence that I’ll lose if the antagonist purely thinks of you in wholesome brotherly terms!”

Bai Lianhua “…” Fine, I don’t dare to gamble. I admit.

At night, seeing Yang Chongyin not showing any interest in leaving, Bai Lianhua touches his deflated purse, and forces himself to speak in a painful tone, “it is late now. If shixiong wants to stay, I’ll get the manager and rent another room for shixiong, does that sound good?”

Yang Chongyin stays quiet, only asking with a quiet voice after a bit, “why book another room?”

“It used to be that in the sect, I couldn’t speak a lot to you, not to mention having a chat throughout the night. Now, when finally no one is here to limit us, you’re also distancing yourself from me?”

——Oof. Look at this heart-melting expression and language!

The system can’t help but cheer for Yang Chongyin inside, and tries to lecture Bai Lianhua.

“Host, look, the antagonist is personally demonstrating a brilliant example for you!”

“We must try to replicate its essence, and apply it to other antagonists in later worlds.”

Bai Lianhua “…”

Jeez, who’s the real little white flower here… He’ll give Yang Chongyin the system. Can he go and be its new white lotus host from now on?

Though no matter how reluctant Bai Lianhua is inside, it only surfaced as a short hesitation before he lowered his head in compliance.

Since his character setting is a naïve simpleton of a junior disciple, when his senior disciple asks like that, it would be the weirdest if he rejects this offer.

Sigh, he can’t destroy his character setting…

Bai Lianhua unlocks the bed-sharing achievement with Yang Chongyin while scared and helpless.

——He wanted to have Yang Chongyin sleep at the wall-facing side. Just so when he’s sleeping outside he can feel secure knowing he could run away.

His plan failed… And looking at Yang Chongyin whose expression seems as pure as ever, he can’t tell him anything along the lines of him wanting to switch places… Though Bai Lianhua who’s now trapped between the wall and Yang Chongyin can’t help but tremble.

The system soothes him, “host, don’t be afraid. If Yang Chongyin really is a white lotus, like you said, then they are unaggressive.”

Bai Lianhua says, “… this isn’t helping. I must again tell you, that, I, white lotus, I eat people up… Didn’t you diss me for that in Wen Fu’s world?”

Who told you white lotuses are harmless?

System “…” My fault for forgetting that. Host, you win.

Before sleeping, Bai Lianhua moves his body towards the wall a bit. Then a bit more. A clear division is now visible between him and Yang Chongyin.

Even with such a protection, however, but when he wakes up in the morning, um… Bai Lianhua discovers himself lodged in Yang Chongyin’s embrace, and the other person looking at him with a nonchalant expression. It’s like this is an accident and he’s not feeling guilty at all.

Bai Lianhua “???”

Impossible. Where did the big gap go? Did the system gobble it up?

Bai Lianhua expressionlessly requests in his mind, “system, replicate the scene after I fell asleep… immediately, right now.”

The system that was preparing to witness a drama play out awkwardly answers after suddenly getting called out. While thinking “antagonist, sorry, I wanted to help you but our host has become smart,” it pulls out a screen only visible to Bai Lianhua.

So Bai Lianhua sees that when after rolling around and finally falling asleep, Yang Chongyin opens his eyes and kept staring at him while closing in on him inch by inch in silence.

Scaaaary…

The heck with still maintaining his saintly aura while moving his hands and feet like that. He has the same expression on feeling someone up as if he’s focussing on divining the fate of the world, looking absolutely without any lustrous intentions… What an amazing skill, so to speak.

While Bai Lianhua is having a comment barrage in his mind filled with disses, he can only show a blanked out expression on the surface, and then a bit embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, my sleeping pose… I’ve made it hard for shixiong to sleep for the night.”

Yang Chongyin’s expression softens, “no worries. With you by my side, I had a good sleep.”

Bai Lianhua “…”

Great. Antagonist, you’ve managed to activate a lie without losing eye contact skill. What an achievement.

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