Over at the Yun Zou Sect, a few days had already gone by at this time. Fei Bai Mu had waited until she was sure that Leng Jin Yu and Jinde had long left before she gathered the Elders, and then went to bid goodbye to her disciple. Originally, she might've wanted to take Hua Lin Yu with her but considering the circumstances, she knew that this wouldn't be a good idea. No, right now, it was clearly better if Hua Lin Yu and Xin Lan spend a bit more time together to deal with their issues. Thus, she left as soon as she had seen him and made sure that he was doing well.
Seeing that she had left, Xin Lan turned to his fiance and pulled him into his arms. "Since your Master is leaving, how about we do the same?"
Hua Lin Yu hesitated for a moment but then nodded. "Yes, let's go and say goodbye to my brother then. I'm sure that he will also be happy if he is able to return home."
Xin Lan smiled faintly, feeling that Hua Lin Yu really didn't know his brother that well if he thought that he would be happy. Clearly, Hua Lin Rong would be much happier if he was able to stay with his younger brother.
Having made up his mind, the two of them did indeed go over to tell him their decision. Just as expected, Hua Lin Rong's brows immediately furrowed when he heard that his beloved little brother would leave with just his fiance, without taking him along.
He looked from one person to the other, not quite sure what to say. He knew exactly just why Hua Lin Yu hadn't agreed to marry Xin Lan after all. On the one hand, he really hoped that these two would be able to make up, but on the other hand, he also knew that there were quite a few problems beneath the surface. So whether he went with them or stayed here … he really didn't know what the right thing to do was.
Xin Lan smiled faintly and tried to make Hua Lin Rong the decision a little easier. "Brother-in-law, don't you trust me?"
Hua Lin Rong looked at him, his gaze turning even more complicated. Xin Lan was calling him his brother-in-law this straightforwardly while he had no idea just what was really going on. He didn't know if he should pity him or be glad that he hadn't found out. But now, he could only smile wryly. "This isn't about trusting you. If it is just this, then you really don't need to worry. I do trust you. But it's … Who knows what will happen? Maybe it would be better if I accompanied the two of you. At the very least, if something goes wrong or somebody makes trouble, I can still help you."
Xin Lan gave him a lazy smile in return. "And you really believe that there's something where you can help that I wouldn't be able to deal with on my own?"
Hua Lin Rong's lips twitched. Well, that was also true. "Just being of the Hua family might already deter a few people from making trouble. That is a luxury that you currently don't have. And Xiao Yu hasn't been outside often enough to make people recognize him."
Xin Lan gave a hum, feeling that it was reasonable. At the same time, he really didn't want Hua Lin Yu's big brother to tag along all the time. After all, cultivating feelings also relied on being able to spend time together and sharing things just between the two of them. The more there was that they did together and that nobody else had anything to do with, the better the feelings between them would become. One day, he would be an existence in Hua Lin Yu's life that he just couldn't imagine not being there. That was what he was going for.
Hua Lin Yu also smiled faintly and reached out to grab his brother's hand while still holding onto Xin Lan with the other. "big brother, don't be like this. You also know how strong Xin Lan is. And I am also not useless. Together, there really aren't many people that could make trouble for us. Even if they try, we'll just beat them back."
Hua Lin Rong slightly furrowed his brows but he did have to say that what his younger brother said wasn't unreasonable. Well, neither had been what Xin Lan said before, but he just wasn't at ease. He wanted to be there just in case that something happened. After all, even if nobody came to make trouble for them, what if trouble arose between the two of them? He looked from Hua Lin Yu to Xin Lan and back again, his thoughts pretty much written on his face.
Xin Lan took his hand back from Hua Lin Yu's grip and leaned down, kissing his cheek. "It seems your brother is a little reluctant to part with you. I'll leave the two of you alone. You can talk things through. In the meantime, I'll just go and wait outside." He flashed Hua Lin Yu a smile, rubbed his shoulder intimately, and then left.
Hua Lin Yu wanted to hold him back but Xin Lan had been pretty decisive and Hua Lin Rong also didn't say anything so in the end, he stayed quiet. Well, maybe it was good if he could have a word with his brother. He turned back to him, his expression pretty much just as complicated as Hua Lin Rong's. "Big brother, what's the matter? You really don't trust Xin Lan?"
Hua Lin Rong raked a hand through his hair, wondering just what was going on with his little brother. "It's not that I don't trust Xin Lan. I'm just worried about you. Just a while ago, the two of you couldn't decide whether you wanted to get married or not. So far, there's always been somebody around you to try and help out. If that isn't the case anymore … will you really be able to deal with him?"
He didn't think that Xin Lan would force Hua Lin Yu to do anything but who knew if his silly little brother would mess things up beyond repair? Clearly, that had almost happened in the dragon realm before. If not for the fact that Xin Lan sincerely loved him, he definitely wouldn't have come back to the mortal realm with them.
If it had been any other man, he was pretty sure that they would have just given up and never spoken a word with them. And he wasn't sure if his brother would regret that.