When Feng Qishi spoke like this, he thought he would gain Mu Anxiao’s agreement, and that Mu Anxiao would form a new, impressed impression of him.
Who would have thought… Mu Anxiao was not only unmoved, but uttered such words.
He suddenly felt a sense of disappointment, his expression turning forlorn.
“Fake?” He deliberately repeated the word.
Yuan Yan, still hiding behind the tree, watched Mu Anxiao and Feng Qishi conversing not far away. He asked, “Can I come over?”
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao lowered her gaze, contemplated, then looked at Yuan Yan and said, “Don’t come over. I have something to say to him.”
Immediately, Yuan Yan responded with an “Alright,” and retreated behind the tree again.
After Yuan Yan’s reply, Mu Anxiao shifted her gaze back to Feng Qishi’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“These are my true feelings. For you to say that,” Feng Qishi sighed, “I feel quite disappointed.”
“Disappointed…” Mu Anxiao repeated the word and suddenly realized that the Feng Qishi before her was no longer the Shen Yan of the past. She then replayed Feng Qishi’s earlier words in her mind and said, “My words might not be pleasant to hear, but please don’t take them to heart.”
“Then let me take the lead from now on.”
“We’ll see.”
“You just need to agree, why ‘we’ll see’?” Feng Qishi was determined to protect Mu Anxiao, but to prevent her from having any other thoughts, he decided to make things clear. This way, if anything happened to him in the future, Mu Anxiao wouldn’t, like decades ago, shoulder all the responsibility herself.
Conversely, Mu Anxiao knew how important Feng Qishi was in the old master’s heart. Shen Yan from her previous life had already died once.
This time, she didn’t want to see Feng Qishi leave her sight.
Therefore, she still felt it was better not to involve Feng Qishi in certain matters.
“The mission is mine. Do as I say,” she stated. “Just like when I followed you before, although you were quite shameless…”
“What do you mean, shameless?” Feng Qishi asked, surprised.
Mu Anxiao continued, “Before, no matter what happened, you always pushed me forward. Every time, it was because of me,” she pointed to herself, “that you escaped danger. It’s the same now.”
“You mean, if I go forward, something will happen to me? You’re judging me from a narrow perspective.”
“Back then, I didn’t know anything. I just smoothed things over with my words. At that time, you were just…” Mu Anxiao put on an air, deliberately crossing her arms in front of her chest, “my subordinate.”
“Subordinate?” Feng Qishi was taken aback by Mu Anxiao’s words, completely stunned.
“Weren’t you? Every time, you came out to help me when I was in trouble. Whenever we encountered a monster, you pushed me forward. Honestly,” Mu Anxiao said seriously, “I was quite angry at first, but after drinking your immortal blood that time, I felt it was quite good.”
“Quite good?” Feng Qishi truly couldn’t keep up with Mu Anxiao’s pace.
Mu Anxiao smiled. “Without you, I wouldn’t have grown so much. Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today. So, from the very beginning, you were my subordinate. Now, don’t even think about stealing my thunder.”
Thunder?
Feng Qishi only wanted to lighten Mu Anxiao’s burden, but… Mu Anxiao said he was stealing her thunder.
Hearing this, Feng Qishi was left speechless and angry. “Silly Mu, I’m trying to lighten your burden, you…”
“I’ve already said I don’t need you to lighten my burden. Besides,” Mu Anxiao stared intently at Feng Qishi’s face, “I’m used to you helping me from behind. If you rush forward now, I’m not used to it.”
“Then let’s get used to it.”
“We are partners,” Mu Anxiao frowned. “Partners should complement each other, not you saving me and me saving you. If you still don’t agree with me, then we shouldn’t be partners.”
“Then let’s be husband and wife,” Feng Qishi blurted out without thinking.
Mu Anxiao’s expression froze upon hearing this. “Crazy Shen, now is not the time for you to joke with me. If you say one more foolish thing, we’ll go our separate ways.”
Feng Qishi had spoken those words on impulse. He hadn’t expected to offend Mu Anxiao so instantly. Looking at her, he gave a dry laugh. “I just said it casually, don’t take it seriously.”
“Even casual remarks are not allowed,” Mu Anxiao said with a stern expression, returning to the main topic. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Which part?” Feng Qishi hadn’t quite registered.
Mu Anxiao clarified, “The part about partners.”
“…” Feng Qishi, using Mu Anxiao’s words, thought for a moment and immediately compromised. “Alright, I’ll listen to you.” He knew he had said the wrong thing and didn’t want to offend Mu Anxiao further.
Seeing Feng Qishi’s instant compromise, Mu Anxiao’s stiff expression softened slightly. “That’s wise of you,” she said, pointing at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi smiled. “As long as you’re not angry.”
However, Feng Qishi saying this was like adding fuel to the fire. Mu Anxiao’s face turned stern again. “Crazy Shen, are you compromising just because you’re afraid I’ll be angry?”
“Of course not,” Feng Qishi’s lips curved slightly upwards as he feigned sincerity. “I’m genuinely compromising. What you said makes a lot of sense.”
Seeing that Feng Qishi didn’t seem to be lying, Mu Anxiao believed him. “That’s good,” she said. Then, remembering what Jiong Ye had said before leaving, she lowered her gaze and asked, “Hey, Crazy Shen, what did Jiong Ye mean by that half-true, half-false statement before he left?”
“It means what he said was half false and half true. It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Feng Qishi replied perfunctorily.
Mu Anxiao: “…” She had hoped to get some useful information from Feng Qishi, but instead, he had given a nonsensical explanation. She was speechless and lowered her head.
Seeing Mu Anxiao’s silent expression, Feng Qishi blinked and tentatively asked, “Why aren’t you talking anymore?” He stared at Mu Anxiao’s face.
Mu Anxiao sighed softly, tilted her head back, and looked at Feng Qishi. She said earnestly, “Crazy Shen, you were quite normal when talking to that guy. Why is it with me that you stop using your brain? Or perhaps,” she continued, “you don’t respect me, don’t want to listen to me? Or maybe, you don’t trust me.”
Feng Qishi grinned. “No.”
“No? Then why are you smiling? I’m talking to you seriously,” Mu Anxiao said. “Can you be more serious and stop spouting nonsense?”
“If you ask me, everything he said was false,” Feng Qishi replied casually, curious to see if Mu Anxiao’s brain was actually functional.
“All… false…” Mu Anxiao mumbled, shaking her head slightly. “No, it can’t all be false. And you also said he wasn’t lying.”