The night scenery was beautiful.
A gentle breeze blew.
Carrying a hint of coolness.
In the park.
Lin Fan and Mu Qing walked side by side, Old Zhang and the others followed behind, keeping a distance.
"Old Zhang, I recently learned a new word." Ginseng, riding on the Demonic Rooster, let the breeze flutter his cape, looking much like a general on parade.
Old Zhang asked, "What word?"
Ginseng said leisurely, "Third wheel."
Hearing this, Old Zhang pointed to the streetlights, "Are you talking about this?"
"Yes," Ginseng replied, understanding dawning on Old Zhang.
Old Zhang curled his lip, nonchalantly saying, "It's nothing special, just an ordinary light bulb."
The Demonic Rooster wanted to pin Old Zhang to the ground with its claws, crack open his head, and see what was inside his muddled little brain – was it just mush?
From Ginseng's perspective, Lin Fan and Mu Qing were just like his previous masters. The loving couple often strolled under the moon like this, and he would trot along behind them, watching quietly. He didn't want to be a third wheel, but because he was so often targeted, he didn't dare stray too far.
It was very quiet.
Mu Qing wanted Lin Fan to speak first. A man and a woman walking in the park felt strange. She secretly glanced at Lin Fan, noticing the faint smile that played on his lips. The moonlight illuminated his face, making it appear bright.
"Can you tell me about Mu Qing?" Mu Qing asked.
She had thought about it for a long time. She believed she had never had any interaction with Lin Fan, had never met him before. But his insistence that she was his wife left only one possibility: he had met a woman who looked exactly like her.
He was deeply in love.
Unable to forget.
Although it felt good to be doted on by a man feared even by the Starry Sky Clans, she couldn't be selfish.
If it was true, it was true. If it wasn't, it wasn't.
"Huh?" Lin Fan looked at his wife in surprise. Had she had a problem with her head? How could she ask such a strange question?
Mu Qing looked up and smiled, a beautiful smile. "I want to hear about Mu Qing from you."
"Alright," Lin Fan smiled brightly. His wife wanted to hear about herself from his perspective. He must tell it well and praise his wife properly.
"My wife, Mu Qing, is very capable, while I'm quite clumsy. Back then, I was always called the foolish young master, and my wife was the Holy Maiden of the Martial Saint Land. She was very beautiful and very powerful. I wanted to ask her for something, but she wanted me to marry her. In the end, I agreed. At first, I was reluctant, but later I felt very happy..."
Mu Qing listened quietly. Lin Fan spoke slowly and calmly. There were no dramatic twists and turns, no conflicts. From beginning to end, she could only feel warmth, an abundance of love.
She observed Lin Fan's expression.
He looked happy.
Content.
It didn't seem made up, as if it had really happened. But at the end of his story... she died?
Mu Qing was a little startled. According to Lin Fan, they had grown old together, a lifetime of love. The timeline didn't match.
After a long while.
"I'm finished." Lin Fan faced Mu Qing, smiling. "I've never forgotten a single moment we shared. Isn't it wonderful?"
To be honest, Mu Qing both believed and disbelieved Lin Fan's story.
But the experiences he described were what every woman longing for love wished for.
A thought suddenly popped into Mu Qing's mind.
He was indeed a good man.
Perhaps she could pretend to be his wife. She would surely be happy in the future.
As soon as the thought arose, Mu Qing dismissed it.
No.
How could she deceive him like that?
"Lin Fan..." Mu Qing stopped, her gaze meeting Lin Fan's eyes. Lin Fan also stopped, smiling, and looked into her eyes, as if in anticipation.
"I'm really not the wife you yearn for. My name is indeed Mu Qing, but as you said, you two grew old together. I'm still young, how could I be her, right?"
Lin Fan shook his head, grabbed Mu Qing's wrist, and pointed to the mark. "This is where I bit you. The Starry Sky Professor said that the universe is mysterious, and anything is possible, but you just don't know the reason why it happened."
Mu Qing looked down at her wrist. Indeed, even she didn't know where the mark came from. She couldn't remember, had no memory of it.
"Impossible." She still didn't believe it.
Faced with this, Mu Qing took out a cigarette.
"Don't smoke, it's not good for you."
Mu Qing put the cigarette away, her head lowered in thought.
And just then.
Lin Fan cupped her face, lowered his head, and buried his face in her neck. "I won't forget your scent, no matter how much time passes, I'll always remember it."
Mu Qing trembled, her body stiff.
To her, Lin Fan's actions felt invasive.
"I..." Mu Qing wanted to refute Lin Fan's words, but she didn't know what to say.
Lin Fan looked directly at Mu Qing, placed a finger on her lips, shushed her, and then kissed her. The streetlights illuminated them, the beams of light like a wedding scene. Everything around them dimmed, and only they were the focal point.
Old Zhang and the others watched from not far away.
Like guests offering congratulations.
If Director Hao had seen this scene, he would definitely have exclaimed,
"Holy crap! This is a miracle in medical history! Which bastard showed Lin Fan porn? He even knows how to do this, and so romantically too! Damn it... I must hire you as the chief emotional therapist of Qing Shan Mental Hospital, you name your salary, I, Hao Ren, must learn from you."
Ginseng raised its tendrils, covering Old Zhang and the Demonic Rooster's eyes. "This isn't for little kids to see. Don't look, I'll watch."
Ginseng watched intently, sobbing slightly. The scene before him reminded him of his previous masters. Perhaps they had kissed so unrestrainedly in front of him.
But...
A moment later.
The two separated, and Lin Fan and Mu Qing both looked towards Ginseng and the others.
It was the same posture, the same expression.
For Ginseng, it was as if a scene from the past replayed itself. Back then, it was just like this, his former masters were just like this.
"Waaah!"
Suddenly, Ginseng burst into tears like a human child, tears splashing everywhere.
"I miss them."
Ginseng wailed.
The Demonic Rooster was startled. Seeing Ginseng's tears was like seeing a rare treasure. Without hesitation, it flicked its tongue, trying to catch the falling tears.
Brother Ginseng, cry slower.
Give this Demonic Hero a chance.
But the angle wasn't right, and it caught very little. The Demonic Rooster thought for a moment. Fortune favors the bold. It couldn't just sit idly by. It bucked Ginseng off its back, then quickly turned its head, wanting to lick Ginseng's face with its tongue, catching the tears directly from the source.
"You're so annoying." Ginseng waved its tendrils, whipping the Demonic Rooster to the ground.
The Demonic Rooster lay there quietly, a whip mark on its face, chicken tears slowly falling from the corners of its eyes. Its initially expectant gaze gradually turned to despair.
"You'd rather waste them than let me lick them, I..."
It despaired.
As a Demonic Hero, undercover among humans, it was so tiring, so dangerous. Not only was it humiliated by humans, but it was also beaten by this ginseng. Was this life destined for such despair?
Lin Fan laughed.
Mu Qing was stunned.
"Let me take you back," Lin Fan said.
Mu Qing mumbled, "Okay."
Tonight had been quite a shock for Mu Qing. She felt like she had been passive the entire time, as if everything was led by him, and she had no initiative at all.
At the hotel.
"Goodnight," Lin Fan waved.
"Goodnight." Mu Qing said, then hurried into the hotel. Her mind was in turmoil, unable to sort out her thoughts. It was a mess, a real mess. She needed a good rest, to think things through.
Lin Fan watched Mu Qing disappear from sight.
"Old Zhang, let's go back."
Old Zhang asked curiously, "Lin Fan, what did it feel like to kiss just now?"
"It was alright," Lin Fan said.
Old Zhang said enviously, "I really want to experience that too."
Lin Fan smiled. "Then you need to find someone willing to kiss you. You can't force others. If you force someone, it's wrong."
"Oh, I understand. I'll ask them in the future." Old Zhang took Lin Fan's words to heart.
On the way back.
Ginseng's tendrils gently stroked the Demonic Rooster's head. "Little Chicken, did it hurt when I whipped you just now?"
The Demonic Rooster wanted to fight Ginseng to the death, but it simply couldn't win. It felt terrible.
"Cluck!"
"Oh, it didn't hurt? That's good."
The Demonic Rooster cursed internally. Couldn't you see the whip mark on my face?
Bright red.
Dark purple.
Half of its face was numb now, and Ginseng was asking if it hurt, then saying it didn't hurt. He wasn't even human, well… indeed he wasn't, not even a person. Damn it!
The Demonic Rooster sulked.
Its mood was terrible.
Later that night.
Lin Fan took them back. After Old Zhang fell asleep, he left the residence, leaped into the air, and disappeared into the distance. When he reappeared, he was below the hotel where Mu Qing was staying.
With a leap, he jumped onto the ledge outside the window, sat there, looked inside through the window, a smile on his face. He swung his feet, looked up at the sky, at the twinkling stars.
Inside the room, Mu Qing sat against the bed, lost in thought.
She had never imagined that she would encounter such a thing.
Gradually, Mu Qing thought of many things, pulled up the covers, and covered her head.
"Perhaps... everything he said is true."
"No, I can't think like that."
"But it seems... not bad."
Being controlled by the Shadow Society had been tiring, like being a pawn, lurking in her own territory, unable to resist when called upon.
And Lin Fan was the one who overturned the chessboard.
Declaring...
I don't want you to play this game, so no one dares to play.
To others, Lin Fan was a mentally ill patient, with problems in his head. But in Mu Qing's eyes, sometimes he gave her a feeling of true masculinity, a sense of being protected, a feeling of security.