They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Lingering Warmth

At the same time, on the painted pleasure boat on South Lake, Leng Licí sat opposite a heroic-looking woman, frowning as he fiddled with the uncontrollable five-colored threads in his hands.

The woman sat beside him, resting her face on her hand and staring at Leng Licí with a look of exhaustion. From time to time, she interjected, “Wrong again!”

Leng Licí’s hands paused, and he angrily ripped apart the half-formed heart-knot token.

The woman yawned.

She had only intended to come as a formality, but she didn’t expect that the difficult-looking man in front of her would enter and immediately toss a ball of colored threads at her, demanding that she teach him how to braid.

Fine, teach him, she thought, but this student was terribly slow. Such a simple task, yet he still hadn’t let her leave.

After the heart-knot was violently dismantled for the umpteenth time, she attempted to suggest, “How about we change the style? What about a forehead ribbon?”

Saying this, she took out a red forehead ribbon from her clothes. “Look, this can be tied on the forehead, or it can be tied on the robe.”

She pointed to the center. “See, right here, then it becomes a lovely pendant.”

Leng Licí stared at the red cord for a moment and asked coldly, “How do you braid it?”

The woman breathed a sigh of relief. This was much simpler. She took out a few other colored threads and began to demonstrate.

…

Yun Qingwu used a spell to instantly reach South Lake while no one was looking, but the scene there was not the chaos he had anticipated.

The night was deep. Faint traces of lanterns left by festival-goers could still be seen by South Lake. Only two or three pleasure boats remained on the water, and only one or two pairs of lingering men and women were chatting by the shore. The overall scene could even be described as peaceful and quiet.

The painted pleasure boat with colored balls was one of the remaining few. It lay quietly on the lake’s surface. The boat’s dim yellow light reflected on the water, looking quite harmonious.

However, to Yun Qingwu, this harmony felt rather grating.

Little Dāo felt the arm holding her tightening. She tilted her head. “Dadd?”

Yun Qingwu put Little Dāo down, then bought a candied hawthorn from a nearby vendor who was just packing up, and handed it to Little Dāo.

He then stood under a tree, staring intently at the pleasure boat.

He wanted to see just how long Leng Licí intended to stay on that boat.

He waited for an unknown length of time. The candied hawthorn stall vendor started loudly calling out that he was closing shop. Yun Qingwu became increasingly annoyed. He thought about how anxiously he had rushed over, worried that Leng Licí would be furious and flip the tables once he realized this was a premeditated blind date.

Now, it seemed he had overthought things.

Perhaps his Father God No. 1 had been right: the outsider who didn’t understand the situation wasn’t Liu Yu; it was him.

After another unknown period, only this one boat remained on the lake. Just then, the boat finally showed signs of docking.

Inside the boat, the woman was relieved. She lifted the curtain and glanced outside, immediately spotting Yun Qingwu standing on the bank. Her gaze fell on Yun Qingwu’s forehead ribbon, and she understood. She looked at Leng Licí, who was about to lift the curtain and disembark, and laughed, “It seems the owner of your gift can’t wait any longer.”

Leng Licí’s gaze also fell on Yun Qingwu. The next second, he leaped across the water and reached the shore.

The woman sighed. “So heartless. At least say thank you.”

“A-Dàd!” As soon as Leng Licí landed, Little Dāo rushed over with outstretched arms, even dropping the candied hawthorn in her hand.

Leng Licí steadied Little Dāo with one hand, but his gaze was fixed on Yun Qingwu, who was leaning lightly against the tree trunk with his arms crossed, staring back without any intention of moving. “Has the Demon Lord been so enchanted by the beauty in his arms that he forgot his home?”

Leng Licí frowned slightly. “What are you talking about?”

He then led Little Dāo towards the way home. “Let’s go.”

Seeing that Leng Licí had no intention of explaining, the spark of anger in Yun Qingwu’s heart was about to burst into a raging fire. He straightened up, but just as the fire spread for a moment, a long, multi-colored strip was suddenly tossed towards him. He subconsciously caught it, and when he looked down, the fire in his heart instantly extinguished.

“Did you make this for me?” His eyes lit up with surprise. Although the craftsmanship of this multi-colored braided cord was not as delicate as those sold at stalls, precisely because of this, he could confirm that it must have been made by Leng Licí’s own hands.

Furthermore, given the extent of his A-Cí’s clumsiness, being able to produce the current finished product must have taken a considerable amount of time.

Leng Licí continued walking, stating stiffly, “Bought it on the street.”

Yun Qingwu quickly caught up in two or three steps, let out a drawn-out “Oh,” and teased, “Then the shop owner’s business prospects must be worrying.”

At this, Leng Licí abruptly stopped. His face was etched with defiance as he glared at Yun Qingwu. “What’s wrong with it?”

Yun Qingwu’s smile did not diminish. He covered Little Dāo’s eyes with his right hand and leaned closer to Leng Licí. Their distance was extremely close, their breaths intermingling. He whispered, “What’s wrong is that it should have ‘Exclusive to Yun Qingwu, Others Keep Out’ written on it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the distance between the two vanished entirely between their lips.

“A-Cí, I like it very much.” The kiss was brief. Yun Qingwu looked into Leng Licí’s eyes, his own shining with a smile.

Leng Licí’s eye corners lifted slightly. He turned his gaze away and extended his left hand. “The gift.”

Yun Qingwu looked at the empty palm in front of him and asked in confusion, “What gift?”

Leng Licí looked back with some displeasure. “Liu Yu said you were preparing a gift for me.”

Oh, so that’s how Liu Yu tricked Leng Licí into going.

Yun Qingwu suddenly understood, finding it amusing, yet feeling a hint of sweetness.

“I’ll give it to you tomorrow.” He smoothed over the lie. He’s right, for such a special holiday, he really should prepare a thoughtful gift.

Leng Licí “hmphed” and didn’t fuss over the one or two-day difference.

“Gift! Want!”

Little Dāo only half-understood but latched onto the keyword.

Yun Qingwu stroked Little Dāo’s little topknot. “Alright, you get one too.”

As soon as he said that, a thought flashed in his mind, and he looked at Leng Licí. “A-Cí, how about we design a ceremony for Cui You to express his feelings? Perhaps if he resolves his obsession, we will have an opportunity to persuade him.”

The mention of Cui You brought back some irritation in Leng Licí’s heart. He pushed Little Dāo into Yun Qingwu’s arms and walked forward on his own. “Do as you wish.”

After the two left, a graceful figure boarded the sole remaining boat on the lake.

The woman’s voice was a playful whine. “I almost fell asleep waiting! Who was your blind date today?”

“A duànxiù.”

The woman inside the boat tossed the messy ball of thread aside, took out an intricately embroidered pouch, and handed it to the woman who had just boarded.

The woman accepted the pouch and laughed. “What a coincidence! My blind date today was also a duànxiù.”

The two exchanged a smile. “What a coincidence indeed.”

…

South Lake was still some distance from the Cui residence. Leng Licí did not suggest using a spell to return, nor did Yun Qingwu. The two, along with Little Dāo, strolled all the way back from South Lake to the Cui residence.

By the time they were nearing the house, Little Dāo had already slept on Yun Qingwu’s shoulder. She stirred. “Down… down…”

Yun Qingwu had no choice but to let go of Leng Licí’s hand and put Little Dāo down. Little Dāo held one hand each, walking right in the middle. After a while, she wasn’t content with walking and tried to run forward with her little legs. “Charge!”

Yun Qingwu laughed and increased his pace to follow.

Leng Licí gave the father and daughter a cold look, his tone disdainful. “We’re not going to raise a fool who only knows how to giggle, are we?”

Although he said that, his own stride lengthened slightly.

“She’s only two. What do you expect her to do besides giggle at this age?” Yun Qingwu looked at Leng Licí with amusement.

Leng Licí scoffed, “When I was two, I had already learned how to feed myself.”

Yun Qingwu’s heart was pricked, feeling a mixture of soreness and tenderness. He wanted to stop and embrace the man he loved who had grown up alone and struggled, but Little Dāo was obsessed with her running game, making it impossible.

He pondered for a moment, looked around, and, after confirming they were alone, let out his white tail to gently wrap around Leng Licí’s back.

Leng Licí felt the warmth behind him and turned his head to look at Yun Qingwu, his brow furrowed. “I don’t need your pity.”

“I’m not pitying you.”

Yun Qingwu encircled Leng Licí’s arm with the tip of his tail, saying earnestly, “I just want to hug two-year-old you.”

Leng Licí’s expression froze slightly. After a moment, he looked away and said stiffly, “Then you should go back to the past.”

Yun Qingwu sighed lightly, feigning regret. “Since I can’t go back, I can only make do with hugging six-hundred-year-old you.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, his tail was forcefully flung away. “Get lost.”

But the next second, the red fox tail coiled back sullenly, and the red and white tails intertwined just like that, neither letting go.

“Once we return from this trip, I think we should arrange Little Dāo’s spellcasting lessons as soon as possible,” Yun Qingwu said after their playful moment, looking down at his daughter who was already starting to look like a little girl. “As she gets older, some things she will need to handle herself.”

Leng Licí looked at Little Dāo upon hearing this, nodding in rare agreement. “It should have been done sooner.”

Little Dāo tugged at both their arms, completely unaware of her future, and smiled innocently. “A-Dàd, Dadd, swing!”

Yun Qingwu and Leng Licí simultaneously applied force to their arms, swinging Little Dāo half a circle in the air. “Giggle, giggle—fun!”

The night was deep, and the hustle and bustle of the streets had dissipated. The lanterns hanging by every household had not yet been extinguished, and the light spread a sense of the festival’s lingering warmth over the dark ground.

Through the half-open street windows, candlelight illuminated figures still chatting inside, recounting the day’s sights or their romantic encounters.

On the empty street, the moonlight fell solely on the two adults and one child, casting long, connected shadows on the ground—intimate and romantic.

Until the eaves of the Cui manor gradually came into view.

Yun Qingwu turned to serious matters. “When mortal lovers express their feelings, atmosphere is key. How about we prepare some fireworks tomorrow as a backup? What do you think?”

“Are you that sure Cui You will agree to you?” Leng Licí glanced at Yun Qingwu askance.

“I naturally am—”

Yun Qingwu’s words were abruptly cut off by Leng Licí.

“Someone’s here.”

Leng Licí stopped walking, carefully listening to the surrounding movements.

Yun Qingwu frowned. He also noticed a barrier covering the entire Cui residence, but there was no demonic energy…

It was someone from the Celestial Realm.

Yun Qingwu felt a sense of unease. He looked at Leng Licí. “A-Cí.”

Leng Licí nodded. He took Little Dāo and walked to a spot slightly behind, giving Yun Qingwu space.

Yun Qingwu summoned his ice spear. The spear spun half a circle in the air, then “swoosh,” it cut an opening in the barrier. Yun Qingwu immediately rushed into the Cui residence.

At the same time, Leng Licí formed hand seals and quickly cast a new barrier over a wider area.