Chapter 134: Bai Ruoshui Wakes Up

Chapter 134: Bai Ruoshui Wakes Up

Although Long Rui is not a mermaid, his way of thinking is pretty much the same as a mermaid's.

Mermaids are beautiful, and before they fully cut themselves off from the world, every mermaid had heard endless confessions of love. But the people who said they loved them didn't actually love them—they just wanted their looks and their pretty scales.

Eventually, mermaids stopped buying all that sweet talk. If you really love someone, you show it through actions.

They don't believe what people tell them, and they don't say those things themselves either.

Bai Ningxin only says it now because his lovesick husband insists on hearing it—if he doesn't say it for a day, Long Shen gets emo. Back when they first got together, Bai Ningxin would never talk about liking someone or not.

Long Shen: I like you. Do you like me?

Bai Ningxin: Let's do it.

Simple, straightforward love between adults.

Long Rui knew Xie Yongyun liked hearing that stuff, so he'd definitely say it every day too.

Xie Yongyun turned his head away, not looking at him: "You don't even like me."

"Who said I don't like you?"

"I said so! So what!"

Different upbringings, you know? Like, Shen Cun talked about how much he loved Xie Shihua every single day. Xie Yongyun thought that's what liking someone should look like.

Long Rui smiled: "Well, you're wrong. I really do like you."

"You're lying." Xie Yongyun's ears went red, but at least he wasn't as mad anymore.

"I'm not lying. I really do like you." Long Rui kissed him on the cheek.

He admitted that at first, he only felt responsible for Xie Yongyun. But as they spent time together, he started noticing how adorable Xie Yongyun was, and he was genuinely happy he'd marked this cute omega.

They would have their own family, and perhaps children as adorable as him. Thinking about all that made Long Rui look forward to the future.

"Then tell me, what do you like about me?"

"Everything. Want me to prove it?"

"How would you prove it?"

Long Rui scooped him up: "I'll prove it over time."

Xie Yongyun was confused—what the heck did proving it with time even mean?

Well, he'd find out soon enough.

Meanwhile, General Shen was back to applying for an early marriage again.

"They don't have kids, so shouldn't it be my turn?"

Shen Cun pinched the bridge of his nose: "Ayu, why are you in such a hurry? YeYe's right here. He's not going anywhere."

Shen Yu wasn't this impatient before.

"You proposed to Dad within three days of getting together." "And you've got the nerve to talk about me!"

"That's different. Your dad was an interstellar superstar back then. If I hadn't moved fast, someone would've snatched him up."

No joke—the people chasing Xie Shihua lined up from Romar to Lexus and all the way to the next planet.

Shen Cun had to work his ass off to win that beauty's heart.

"YeYe's the same now!"

Bai Yeye wasn't a celebrity, but he'd already become the number one most popular omega in the galaxy. People were even making merch of him, and General Shen bought like several truckloads of it.

"Father-in-law, say something!" Shen Yu looked to Long Shen for help. They were both alphas—he'd get it, right?

Long Shen rubbed his nose: "Uh, well... maybe we should wait until Arui gets back to talk about it."

"No need to discuss. Yongyun's still too young—not at marriage age yet."

"Isn't he already 22?"

"I'm talking about his mental age. He's too immature. Last night he was still watching Baby Octopus and Sponge Brother."

"Then what about YeYe..." He remembered Bai Yeye had watched it with Xie Yongyun last night too.

"He's already old enough—physically and mentally mature, totally ready for marriage. Right, YeYe?" Shen Yu gave Bai Yeye's little hand a squeeze.

Bai Yeye wanted to say no, but thinking about how Shen Yu had been putting him through the wringer these past few days, he just nodded silently.

Maybe if Shen Yu focused on wedding planning, he'd stop tormenting him so much.

YeYe's life matters too!

"Alright then, we'll do it your way." Seeing how eager Shen Yu was, they couldn't bring themselves to drag it out any longer. They were going to get married anyway—might as well let him do it quickly.

General Shen almost jumped for joy, unable to hide the grin on his face.

Watching their son act so goofy, Shen Cun and Xie Shihua shook their heads. How could he get this dumb after falling in love?

They totally forgot how dumb they'd been when they were dating.

After dinner, everyone brought out the cake they'd made for Bai Yuanzhou and gathered around to sing happy birthday.

Bai Yuanzhou held Bai Ruoshui's hand as they made wishes together, and everyone's eyes got all teary.

After making his wish, Bai Yuanzhou cut a slice of cake and said goodbye to everyone: "Thanks everyone. I'm really happy. I'll take Ruoshui back now."

Everyone knew he wanted to eat the cake alone with Bai Ruoshui, so nobody tried to stop them.

Bai Yuanzhou took Bai Ruoshui back to the palace, set the cake on the table between them, put a spoon in Bai Ruoshui's hand, and guided his hand to scoop up a bite, feeding it to himself.

"Ruoshui, this year's cake is good too, but I still want to eat the cake you made for me."

Bai Yuanzhou had once mentioned he'd never had cake made by family, so Bai Ruoshui spent over half a year learning how to bake. He got so good he could draw chibi versions of the two of them on the cake.

Every year had a different chibi design, and Bai Yuanzhou had been looking forward to this year's.

"You've been sitting so long today—are you uncomfortable? I'll eat faster, and then I'll let you lie down and rest." Bai Yuanzhou just wanted him to feed him, like he used to.

The cake was sweet, but as it went down, all that was left was bitterness.

"I should be grateful, at least the heavens didn't take you from me. But I miss you so much. I miss you holding me, talking to me."

Seeing the pile of gifts by the bedside, Bai Yuanzhou could no longer hold back his emotions, tears streaming down his face as he held Bai Ruoshui's hand.

These gifts were specially sent by the people of the prince's residence, prepared for him before Bai Ruoshui got hurt.

Maybe he guessed he'd be sad, so each gift had a note written by Bai Ruoshui himself, telling him to be happy on his birthday and not to cry.

But with Bai Ruoshui in this state, how could he possibly not cry?

"Ruo Shui, I feel so terrible." Countless memories pressed down on Bai Yuanzhou, making it hard to breathe, especially compared to Bai Ruoshui's current state, which made it even worse.

Bai Yuanzhou didn't know how long he'd been crying while holding his hand, until his head started to throb and his vision went blurry.

He gave his face a hard slap, trying to stay alert, intending to help Bai Ruoshui to bed to rest first.

Just as he was about to slap himself a third time, a hand slowly grasped his.

Bai Yuanzhou went stiff, hardly able to believe what he felt.

Was it an illusion?

He rubbed his eyes and found that Bai Ruoshui had opened his eyes at some point. His expression looked weak, but his gaze was as gentle as ever.

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