After Falling in Love with a 2D Character as a Socially Anxious Person - Chapter 25

Yan Qili’s mother, Bai Sumuo, was born in the Western Regions.

 

During her first sixteen years, she was free and spirited. She spent the rest of her life trapped in the deep palace and eventually died on a snowy night because of a peony flower.

 

But until she died, she never became a resentful woman who spent her days crying.

 

She taught Yan Qili how to cook and took him to catch birds and steal fish for extra meals.

 

They would hide behind rock piles and use slingshots to make the servants who treated them badly run away in fear.

 

She told Yan Qili about the scenery of the Western Regions and described the vastness of the North.

 

Under the blankets, she would curse his heartless “stallion” of a father, the Emperor…

 

Her body was trapped behind high walls, but her soul was always free and brave.

 

An Jing had created the character of Bai Sumuo, but he hadn’t had time to add details yet—after all, he only had time to finish the concept of Yan Qili.

 

Even the main love interest and the child hadn’t been written down yet.

 

As the original author, he didn’t actually know exactly what kind of person Bai Sumuo was.

 

However, looking at Yan Qili’s attitude toward her, An Jing thought the woman in front of him probably shared more than just a similar face and name with the mother.

 

It felt magical to see a novel reflected in reality.

 

It was also very confusing.

 

An Jing originally wanted to hide in a corner and leave the space for Yan Qili and Bai Sumuo.

 

But Bai Sumuo was more enthusiastic toward him than toward her own son, Yan Qili.

 

From the moment she walked in, Jun Shen’s kind eyes stayed on An Jing. She almost asked directly what his relationship was with Yan Qili.

 

A series of questions hit him. An Jing’s tea-colored eyes blinked twice; he was first stunned by the way she addressed him.

 

Ah?

 

An… An Jing? Jing baby?

 

Jun Shen controlled herself and didn’t grab An Jing’s hand, but the way her body leaned toward him showed her true thoughts:

 

“My Yan Qili has been staying at your place these past few days?”

 

An Jing didn’t know what to do, so he just nodded: “Yes…”

 

The smile on Jun Shen’s face became even brighter: “Then I have really troubled you. Honestly, he didn’t tell the family. We didn’t know the situation, so we came empty-handed today…”

 

Jun Shen was too warm. An Jing couldn’t escape, so he looked at Yan Qili for help.

 

Since Jun Shen appeared, Yan Qili had not said a word. He had been watching her behavior and finally came to a conclusion—

 

If his mother were still alive and a few years older, she would look exactly like this.

 

The world changes in many ways, and times move on.

 

He came to a new world and met another Bai Sumuo.

 

After Jun Shen stopped talking, the large living room became quiet.

 

Silence wrapped around them like invisible silk threads.

 

When An Jing didn’t know what to say, he held his cup and drank water to hide. He quickly finished a cup of water in small sips.

 

Using the excuse of getting more water, An Jing quickly ran to the kitchen.

 

Watching An Jing leave, the next second, Jun Shen hit Yan Qili’s arm hard with her hand. She spoke through gritted teeth:

 

“Are you trying to kill me? You didn’t say such an important thing in advance, and you even ran away from home!”

 

“Do you know how old you are this year? You are twenty-six, but in the traditional way, you are almost thirty. In the blink of an eye, you’ll be over thirty and you don’t have anyone by your side. How can I, your mother, not be worried?”

 

“I asked you to have a meal with a girl. I didn’t ask you to walk through fire. Is it really that hard for you?”

 

Jun Shen spoke very fast and heavy at first. At the end, she glanced at the kitchen, and her tone started to rise happily:

 

“If you had told me about this earlier, I wouldn’t have worked so hard to arrange blind dates for you~”

 

People who dared to hit the “Living Yama” were either buried by him or buried by his sword, Bu Po.

 

Jun Shen’s hit was not light. Even though Yan Qili was tough, he could feel a little pain.

 

Jun Shen’s hand hurt from the hit. She frowned and blew on her palm.

 

Looking at her like this, a part of a hidden memory opened. Yan Qili’s thoughts went back more than ten years.

 

—You are already taller than your mother, yet your cooking is still this bad. How will you make a wife happy in the future?

 

—Those servants are many and look down on us. Are you stupid? Why argue with them face-to-face? What do you think I made that slingshot for?

 

—…

 

Bai Sumuo was not a spoiling mother. To help Yan Qili survive in that dangerous palace, she was sometimes very strict with him.

 

The Jun Shen in front of him even had the same hitting strength and habits as Bai Sumuo.

 

Faces can be changed with disguises.

 

But there are no two people in the world who are exactly the same in every way.

 

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Jun Shen shook her hand twice, unhappy. “Don’t think playing dumb will make this go away.”

 

“Do you know how much trouble the whole family went through to find you after you left?”

 

But look at you, acting like a peacock.

 

Running to someone’s house to practice your sword skills so peacefully.

 

Memories were like old yellow photos, flipping quickly through Yan Qili’s mind. Finally, they stopped on the Jun Shen in front of him.

 

Yan Qili finally said his first words to Jun Shen:

 

“You said you have been looking for me?”

 

 

An Jing didn’t know what Yan Qili and Jun Shen were talking about outside. He waited until he felt he couldn’t stay in the kitchen anymore before he slowly came out.

 

Maybe he took too long. When he came out, Jun Shen was already gone from the living room.

 

An Jing looked around: “Where are they?”

 

Yan Qili: “Gone.”

 

An Jing’s tight shoulders relaxed instantly. His movements became much faster as he went to Yan Qili’s side:

 

“The person just now was really her?”

 

The “Living Yama’s” mother who had died long ago?

 

Yan Qili didn’t say yes, and he didn’t say no. He just pointed his chin toward the things on the coffee table.

 

An Jing recognized the bag Jun Shen had brought.

 

Inside were Yan Qili’s ID card, phone, household register, and a man’s wallet.

 

Jun Shen had planned very well. Her idea was that even if Yan Qili refused to go back with her today, she would tie him up and take him back.

 

When she and her secretary came up, the driver and four bodyguards were waiting downstairs.

 

They were just waiting for her command to rush up and kidnap him.

 

She brought the household register to prove they were relatives, just in case people thought she was a human trafficker.

 

In the end, she didn’t use force because she changed her mind after seeing An Jing.

 

Jun Shen believed Yan Qili had his own plans.

 

After hearing Yan Qili’s words, An Jing: “…”

 

Though she planned ahead, four bodyguards and a driver wanted to kidnap the Prince of the North?

 

Did they think because Bu Po was on a display rack, it had really become a peaceful object?

 

Hiding his thoughts, An Jing picked up Yan Qili’s ID card for this world.

 

The man in the photo looked a few years younger than the current Yan Qili. His eyes were deep, his lips were thin, and he looked at the camera without expression.

 

Only the “Living Yama” could make an ID photo look so sharp and dangerous.

 

An Jing checked the ID number. The age matched Yan Qili.

 

There was some cash in the wallet, and then many different kinds of cards.

 

An Jing even saw several cards that looked very expensive just by their color.

 

An Jing looked at them repeatedly. After confirming they weren’t fake, he asked Yan Qili: “Did you find out your identity now?”

 

Yan Qili looked at him: “Of course.”

 

Yan Qili had great interrogation skills, which also worked for getting information.

 

Jun Shen didn’t hide anything from him. In a short time, Yan Qili had found out almost everything he wanted to know.

 

An Jing didn’t doubt Yan Qili’s professional skills. He was curious: “What’s the situation?”

 

Yan Qili’s long finger tapped on the household register:

 

” ‘I’ am a member of the Yan family and the next leader of the clan.”

 

With “Yan Family” and “Clan Leader” put together, An Jing was confused: “Which Yan family? Is it the one I am thinking of?”

 

As far as he knew, there was only one famous Yan family.

 

It was so famous that Sheng Li felt very proud just for being an intern at one of their minor companies.

 

But what was a clan leader?

 

An Jing’s mind raced through such an uncommon title in modern times:

 

“Aunt Jun Shen is from an ethnic minority, that’s true, but there are still clan leaders?”

 

Yan Qili nodded: “It is the Yan family you are thinking of. And the Yan family does more than just business.”

 

The Yan family had a very long history. Their thick family tree could be traced back hundreds of years.

 

Although the Yan family was growing very fast in the business world now, they actually started with martial arts.

 

Chinese martial arts are deep and have existed since ancient times. Many martial arts families were born from it.

 

The Yan family was one of them.

 

While other martial arts families slowly faded away or changed, the Yan family did not stay stuck in the past.

 

The leader of the Yan family at that time used their deep history to follow modern trends and build the Yan Corporation. But they didn’t forget their roots.

 

Ordinary people only knew that the Yan family was rich and had businesses all over the country and overseas.

 

But that was only what the Yan family wanted people to see.

 

Inside the Yan family, they still followed old rules. They are one of the few ancient martial arts families left in China.

 

According to Jun Shen, Yan Qili was the next leader and the person in charge of the Yan family.

 

He had run away from home after a fight and disappeared, and the whole family was in a mess.

 

Because the Yan family had many branches, the internal relationships were very complicated. Everyone had their own plans. It couldn’t be solved quickly.

 

Jun Shen only mentioned it briefly.

 

It was like a huge piece of luck falling from the sky. An Jing didn’t know if Yan Qili was stunned, but he certainly was.

 

An Jing’s reaction was a bit slow:

 

“Ancient martial arts family? Does that mean everyone knows how to use ‘lightfoot’ to run on water and has inner power?”

 

“…” Yan Qili gave him an annoyed look. “What kind of daydream are you having?”

 

Step out of the author’s imagination; no one in the real world can actually do those things.

 

It was all hard work with fists and feet.

 

An Jing said “Ah” and looked clearly disappointed: “So the idea of killing people with flying flowers or leaves is fake?”

 

If they are an ancient martial arts family, can’t they jump high and step on water?

 

“Who said that?” Yan Qili said calmly. “Using flowers or leaves is not hard.”

 

It just requires the right skill and strength.

 

the “Living Yama” summarized it casually—anyone with hands can do it.

 

An Jing, who had hands but still couldn’t do it: “…”

 

Darn, you really know how to show off!

 

…

 

Although the video posted by Tongye Wan was an infringement of rights, it accidentally helped An Jing and Yan Qili clear some of the fog in front of them.

 

The video being blocked everywhere and Tongye Wan’s account being banned were, of course, Jun Shen’s doing.

 

In Jun Shen’s words: Don’t I know if my son wants to be posted online for people to judge and call ‘husband’?

 

After processing this huge amount of information, An Jing was silent for a long time. He asked:

 

“So, what do you plan to do next?”

 

Now that Jun Shen had found him, was Yan Qili going back to the Yan family?

 

That was the Yan family.

 

Compared to the massive wealth of the Yan family, the string of zeros in An Jing’s bank account—which ordinary people could never earn—became just small change.

 

And compared to the Yan family, he was separated by much more than just money.

 

Thinking of this, An Jing couldn’t help but look at Yan Qili twice.

 

Once he left, they would probably never have the chance to meet again in this lifetime.