To maintain his "Foundation Building" persona, Qin Moyu, who also loves to eat, eats three meals a day without fail. But Shen Yebai is different; he has long since abstained from grains, and eating only increases the impurities in his body. Although those impurities are not a big deal overall, he generally avoids eating if possible.
Qin Moyu didn't let Shen Yebai order noodles, and Shen Yebai himself wasn't eating them, so this bowl of noodles was quite puzzling.
"No, this bowl of noodles isn't for me," Shen Yebai said with a smile.
Qin Moyu blinked, pointed at herself, and said, "That was... for me?"
"right."
Shen Yebai placed the noodles on the table, handed the chopsticks to Qin Moyu, and said, "Try it and see if it suits your taste."
Qin Moyu took the chopsticks and tasted the noodles; his eyes lit up instantly.
He bit his chopsticks and asked Shen Yebai incredulously, "Is this the specialty of this restaurant? It tastes exactly like what I wanted to eat, it's amazing!"
"Is it tasty?"
"Of course!" Qin Moyu nodded frantically. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Shen Yebai was a little nervous. However, he relaxed instantly after he said it was delicious.
Qin Moyu had been longing to eat Yangchun noodles, but perhaps because the world was different, Yangchun noodles, which were common in her previous life, did not exist here. Now, they suddenly appeared and were so to her liking. Combined with Shen Yebai's strange behavior, an unbelievable guess slowly emerged.
Could it be...?
Qin Moyu's eyes widened slowly as he looked at Shen Yebai, who simply smiled and nodded.
"Did you really do this, Ye Bai?!" Qin Moyu said incredulously.
"It's me." Taking advantage of his position, Shen Yebai reached out and covered Qin Moyu's eyes.
Qin Moyu's long eyelashes tickled Shen Yebai's palm like tiny brushes. Qin Moyu tried to dodge Shen Yebai's hand, but Shen Yebai stopped her, saying, "Moyu, don't move."
Qin Moyu then stopped moving around.
Shen Yebai was already taller than Qin Moyu, not to mention that Qin Moyu was sitting while he was standing. In order to better display the gift, he bent one leg and knelt on one knee until he was face to face with Qin Moyu before removing his hand.
What appeared before Qin Moyu was a bright red egg.
Happy birthday, Mo Yu.
The round egg was stained a festive red, and the character "乐" (joy) was written on it. Shen Yebai's simple sentence left Qin Moyu speechless for a long time.
After a long pause, Qin Moyu finally stammered, "But... how did you know my birthday... no, I don't even know my birthday myself..."
In his past life, Qin Moyu was abandoned at the gate of an orphanage, and his birthday was the day the director found him. In this life, although Qin Moyu has a family, he was also taken in and raised by an old Taoist priest. The careless old Taoist priest had no idea what day it was when he found Qin Moyu, let alone his birthday. Qin Moyu had only casually mentioned it to Shen Yebai, yet Shen Yebai remembered it and even made him some plain noodles.
“I don’t know Moyu’s birthday, but I remember the day we met.” Shen Yebai placed the red egg in Qin Moyu’s hand. This was something Qin Moyu had told him about, something he needed for her birthday.
Shen Yebai will never forget the day he was chased and killed, how he fought his way out of the encirclement with all his might, and how Qin Moyu picked him up when he was seriously injured and in a daze.
At first, despite Qin Moyu being his savior, Shen Yebai was very wary of him and even took advantage of Qin Moyu's trust to deliberately extract a lot of information.
Shen Yebai had looked down on Qin Moyu's naiveté, but as they spent more time together, he willingly protected his innocence.
Perhaps it was because Qin Moyu looked too harmless, or perhaps it was because Qin Moyu's whimsical ideas were too interesting, or perhaps it was because Qin Moyu's trust made him intoxicated. He let his guard down in front of him, and before he knew it, he really seemed to be the simple Shen Yebai in Qin Moyu's eyes.
The growing sense of crisis led Shen Yebai to bid farewell to Qin Moyu and embark on his bloody journey once again. He thought they would never meet again, but fate played a cruel trick, and during another chase, the two met again.
The secret and throbbing feelings reached their peak after the explosion that night. The closer Shen Yebai got to Qin Moyu, the more direct his impulse became.
—I want to protect him, I want to take him under my wing, I want to see him content.
That's why Shen Yebai remembered Qin Moyu's birthday, which he had only mentioned once, and personally made him a bowl of plain noodles, just to make him happy.
The Great Dao is ruthless; embarking on the path of cultivation means a long period of loneliness. Shen Yebai didn't want Qin Moyu's smile to be worn away by loneliness, so even though he didn't remember his own birthday, he still remembered the day the two of them met.
Qin Moyu held the red egg in his hands. The warm egg felt like a warm current flowing from his palms to his limbs. The feeling of being cared for made him hug Shen Yebai.
"Thank you, Ye Bai." Qin Moyu's voice was a little hoarse. He bit his lip, trying hard to control his emotions, but his eyes were uncontrollably reddening.
Whether in his past life or this one, he harbors an obsession with his family. It's not about enjoying the warmth of family, but simply a resentment—a resentment at being abandoned and a desire to ask them why. So even with his master and Shen Yebai in this life, he remains determined to find his elusive family and the unattainable, frigid land.
Perhaps because he had been abandoned in two lifetimes, Qin Moyu always had a sense of insecurity, but no one had ever told him so directly: I care about you.
"Ye Bai... I really want to ask them... why..." Qin Moyu's voice was low, and he showed his vulnerability to Qin Moyu without reservation.
Shen Yebai gently hugged Qin Moyu back, feeling Qin Moyu's warm body temperature. The intimate embrace eased his inner desires, but also aroused a deeper desire.
Not enough...
The emotions surging in Shen Yebai's deep black eyes gradually spiraled out of control where Qin Moyu couldn't see. Someone inside him kept questioning him—what else did he need?
Qin Moyu's wholehearted trust, his unguarded back, and his willingness to show his softness and vulnerability—Shen Yebai thought this was everything he wanted. But when he actually possessed it, he discovered that Qin Moyu was far more greedy than he had imagined.
"Am I too fragile?" Qin Moyu sniffed, and after emerging from her gloomy mood, she found that Shen Yebai was holding her very tightly. She felt a little embarrassed and moved to try to get out.
Shen Yebai released Qin Moyu's embrace as she asked, and saw the slightly red corners of Qin Moyu's eyes, a charm he had never seen before. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he unconsciously reached out to touch Qin Moyu's cheek.
"What's wrong?" Qin Moyu felt Shen Yebai's slightly cool hand, blinked, and looked at Shen Yebai with confusion.
Shen Yebai's gaze then shifted from the corner of his eye to his lips, which were opening and closing.
Chapter Twelve: The Illusion I have a little secret...
"Ye Bai?"
Qin Moyu waved her hand in front of Shen Yebai, pulling Shen Yebai's wandering thoughts back.