Returning to School

Immersed in this scent that belonged uniquely to the other, happiness arrived so swiftly. For a moment, Kevin forgot everything that lay ahead of them. Perhaps, in his heart, no matter how many disasters might be looming at this moment,

they could not compare to a single "I love you!" from Shangguan Han.

Therefore, even if he were forced to face those so-called conventional worldly judgments right now, even if the entire world were to scorn him and deem their love base,

he could still smile indifferently at the world's curses and remain completely unmoved. Because having Shangguan Han was quite enough for him; why should he care so much about those so-called ethics and morals?

After all, his love had neither disturbed anyone else nor brought ruin to anyone's family. So why should he care too much about such things?

How could the strange and judgmental glances of others compare to the careless glance of Shangguan Han, which mattered far more to him?

Besides, countless couples in the world broke up every day for various reasons, and many chose to end their own lives when they believed love had run out.

People died every day, accidents happened daily, and rumors of who was being ostracized spread constantly. Even so, they still lived on.

Just as people always said that the earth would keep spinning even without the sun, the sun would not lose its ability to revolve simply because it lacked the earth.

On the contrary, the major planets would continue to orbit the sun. If a few people disappeared from the earth, humanity would not stop living happily on account of their deaths.

Instead, people would be quite glad to have a few fewer individuals competing with them for air, and happier to live in a world rid of a few plagues. Therefore, I believe our love is not wrong.

We have no need to give up each other just to please someone else, nor should we abandon the time we so painstakingly built together merely to pander to conventional norms.

Those opinions are merely held by outsiders, and we have no need to care about them at all. As long as we can be well and stay together forever, that is enough!

Since the two of them had decided to be together, they were naturally prepared for a barrage of attacks. And Shangguan Han would certainly not allow anyone to harm or insult his beloved.

He was willing to sacrifice everything just to protect his lover! After the passion subsided, Kevin lay in Shangguan Han's arms.

As if suddenly remembering something, he abruptly propped himself up, staring intently at Shangguan Han as he asked, "Xiao should be returning from military training soon, right? Are you going to go home and stay there?"

Although it sounded like a casual inquiry, Kevin still felt a lingering sense of desolation in his heart. The moment Shangguan Xiao returned, Shangguan Han—a man who doted on his younger sister immensely—would immediately rush back.

And then, he would continue to dote on his sister. Even though he had not seen that girl for quite some time, Kevin still remembered how pitiable and endearing she was.

Such a pure girl, with a brother who loved her so deeply—every time he saw her, the happy smile on her face was always enough to warm his soul.

He asked himself honestly: if I were her brother, I would certainly exhaust every ounce of my strength for such a girl, too. As long as it could bring her joy and keep that happy smile permanently blooming on her face,

even if it cost him his life, he would feel it was entirely worthwhile. Perhaps, in Shangguan Han's heart, Xiao was precisely such an existence!

Many times, he had thought how wonderful it would be if he were Shangguan Han's younger sister. That way, he could monopolize all of his gentleness. Perhaps the moment Shangguan Xiao returned, Shangguan Han would go back.

And then he would spend twenty-four hours a day revolving solely around her. Sometimes he couldn't help wondering: if one day Shangguan Han were forced to choose between him and Shangguan Xiao,

what would his choice be? It was a painfully obvious truth, yet one that caused him such heartache. Taken aback by Kevin's sudden mention of his younger sister who was undergoing military training,

Shangguan Han could not help softening at the thought of his quirky, precious little sister.

The recollection of how she had previously tried to play matchmaker between him and her friend brought a smile to his lips. In reality, she had indeed succeeded!

This expression only served to stir Kevin's jealousy. Although he knew that jealousy was an undesirable trait, he still could not control his emotions and found himself compelled to compare himself to Shangguan Xiao.

Coming back to his senses, Shangguan Han looked at Kevin, who was pouting, and finally understood that Kevin was jealous of Shangguan Xiao. With a look of complete comprehension, he said, "You are you, and Xiao is Xiao. You are my lover, and Xiao is my younger sister. Both of you are the most important people in my life, and neither can be omitted."

Then, pressing a kiss to Kevin's face, he continued, "So there's no need to compare. You just need to know that I love you forever!"

Shangguan Han, usually a man of few words, exhausted every romantic phrase within his knowledge in the hope of bringing a little happiness to Kevin and calming his restless heart.

Deeply moved, Kevin felt the heavy stone in his heart finally lift after hearing those words. He said nothing more, merely nodding gently.

Just as Shangguan Han had said, he was indeed letting his baseless jealousy run wild! He should learn to cherish Xiao just as dearly as Shangguan Han did. Raising his head, with a distinct "muah!" sound,

he pressed a kiss to Shangguan Han's cheek and murmured affectionately, "From now on, I'll cherish Xiao just as much as you do!"

Seeing this childlike promise, Shangguan Han curved his lips in an ambiguous smile. It wasn't that he doubted Kevin's words; on the contrary, he believed that Kevin would treat his sister well from the bottom of his heart.

It had been that way in the past as well: whenever Kevin made a promise, he would always go to all lengths to fulfill it.

Sometimes, Shangguan Han would find himself wondering about this persistence, pondering what on earth supported and encouraged him. To this day, Shangguan Han still hadn't quite figured it out.

Yet he had no wish to interrogate him directly, believing that certain things had to be uncovered and discovered by oneself in order to truly comprehend their profound essence.

However, there were times when excessive arrogance brought only unnecessary misunderstandings. Of course, that was a story for another time. Gently pulling Kevin into his embrace, the two of them quietly gazed into each other's eyes.

It was as if simply looking this way was enough to convey their deep affection to one another. There was a certain kind of person in the world who relied entirely on intuition when choosing a lover.

And the ultimate representatives of this trait were the members of the Shangguan family! This tradition began with Shangguan's grandfather, who had originally chosen his grandmother

purely out of a wild, beast-like internal intuition! He simply chose her on the spot, ultimately giving birth to the crystal of their love.

Yet for reasons unknown, by his father's generation, the father had turned out to be an unfaithful romantic, reducing Shangguan Xiong's mother to tears almost every time she spoke of him.

Having watched his mother being treated with indifference by his father since childhood and weeping into her pillow night after night, Shangguan would hide in his room and swear to the bright, pristine moon

that he would treat his own beloved properly in the future and never let them suffer even the slightest grievance.

This was precisely why, during the days he first encountered Baili Meixi, he had virtually obeyed her every whim. It was simply because his intuition told him that choosing Baili Meixi was a decision he would never regret.

And facts proved that his choice had been entirely correct! He loved Baili Meixi even more than he loved himself. Sometimes, listening to his grandparents talk

and looking at his own father, Shangguan Xiong often wondered if his father had been picked up off the street by his grandparents. Otherwise, why would he be so fickle?

Why choose his mother only to leave her to sorrow and weep, growing frailer by the day until she finally passed away? At the moment of his mother's death, his father had been trysting with a young mistress.

Ignoring the foolish woman who had always quietly guarded him from behind, he pursued his own carefree pleasure, refusing to return home for days on end, until finally Shangguan Xiong's grandparents intervened.

Only then did he return ungraciously to hurriedly handle the funeral. Barely a few days later, he brazenly welcomed all his mistresses and illegitimate children back into the main residence.

Witnessing that scene, a young Shangguan Xiong learned the meaning of cold detachment. He managed his own personal life in solitude and endured that agonizing existence alone.

It was not until the appearance of Baili Meixi that he felt the world was not entirely devoid of reasons to stay. He had found a reason to continue living, a reason that made him step out from the shadows

and steel his heart with fierce determination. Gradually, his siblings died or went missing one by one.

Coupled with the eventual passing of his father, he abandoned the Shangguan ancestral estate entirely, moving straight to the place where Meixi had once lived and marrying her there.

Thinking of his father, Shangguan Han felt a slight headache coming on. How could he break the news without startling his mother, allowing her to accept Kevin with an open mind?

If his childish mother were to suffer a shock, there was no need to even speak of clearing the hurdle of his father. Once he managed to pass his mother's test, his mother would naturally help him with his father.

Yet rack his brain as he might, Shangguan Han still could not come up with a sound strategy. Sensing that Shangguan Han seemed to be spacing out, Kevin noticed his gaze growing somewhat dim.

He was always unable to guess what was running through Shangguan Han's mind, leaving him completely in the dark about his thoughts.

He didn't know what it was that Shangguan Han liked about him, but he was certain of one thing: he did not wish for Shangguan Han to be troubled on his account.

Leaning closer to Shangguan Han, Kevin cautiously pressed his lips forward. While lost in deep thought, Shangguan Han was suddenly startled by a wave of damp warmth against his lips.

Coming back to his senses, he looked at Kevin's enlarged, mesmerizing face. A wave of agitation stirred within him; raising his hands, he pulled Kevin firmly back into his embrace, swiftly and decisively reclaiming the initiative.

The crimson bed curtains were drawn shut, and the room was once again suffused with passion. In this world, no one could remain unmoved when their beloved took such a rare initiative.

Shangguan Han knew he was no paragon of virtue; faced with a Kevin this bewitching, he allowed a rare smile to touch his lips as he responded with passionate enthusiasm.

Outside, the bed curtains blocked out the harsh, glaring sunlight, but even with the room bathed in brilliant daylight, nothing could ever obscure the deep, lingering affection between the two of them.

Meanwhile, facing their impending departure from this military district—a place they had once wished desperately to avoid—Shangguan Xiao felt a faint sense of lingering attachment, even if it did not quite amount to sorrow.

Miraculously, the chief instructor failed to show up today! Everyone found this somewhat unusual; could it be that the chief instructor wasn't coming just because this was a farewell?

That was looking down on them far too much! The instructors who came to see them off were led by Li Mingguo.

They executed a crisp military salute to express their heartfelt blessings and profound reluctance to part.

Seizing the moment while everyone else was busy bidding farewell to their respective instructors, Shangguan Xiao pulled Ouyang Xianyu over to Li Mingguo's side.

Reaching out to pat him on the shoulder with familiar, natural ease, Shangguan Xiao asked with a beaming smile, "Hey, I was wondering why the chief instructor didn't show up? Could it be that he's hiding in some corner secretly wiping away tears?"

Listening to Shangguan Xiao's teasing, Li Mingguo wore a rare, awkward, foolish grin. He vigorously scratched his nearly bald head and cast a stealthy glance at Ouyang Xianyu standing nearby.

Seeing that Ouyang Xianyu wore a placid expression, he broke into a silly smile and explained, "The chief instructor was actually assigned to carry out a mission! It's not what you guys are imagining."

As he spoke, he looked everywhere else, not daring to meet Shangguan Xiao's innocent eyes for fear of accidentally letting something slip.

In truth, the chief instructor was nowhere near a mission! The real reason was that yesterday, upon seeing that the drug had apparently proven ineffective against Ouyang Xianyu and Shangguan Xiao,

he had assumed there was a flaw in the drug's formulation. Consequently, he had taken the remaining sleeping potion, released it, and tested the drug upon himself!

One could easily imagine the outcome of such an action! Had Li not arrived in time, the chief instructor might well have burnt his own life away in a fit of overheated impulse.

He had actually inhaled a massive dose of the sleeping potion, rendering him unconscious to this very day.

Dr. Li had examined him and declared that he would need to sleep soundly for at least ten days to half a month before waking up. It was nothing short of a bolt from the blue, leaving Li Mingguo with no choice but to shoulder the responsibilities left behind by the chief instructor.