The meal is ready, but the dishes are gone.
The three of them stared at the steaming white rice in the rice cooker, then looked at the empty plates on the table, and exchanged puzzled glances.
In the afternoon, they continued with their tutoring.
Around three o'clock, the hungry Yuan Xiaofen bid farewell and left.
As she left, she glanced at Yan Yuchen with a somewhat resentful look, like a daughter-in-law who felt wronged when visiting her in-laws.
Yan Yuchen escorted her to the courtyard, feeling somewhat awkward. "How about having dinner before you leave? My parents will be back in the evening, and I guarantee you'll have food to eat."
Yan Xiaoxi next to him also blamed herself. "Yeah, Xiaofen, stay for dinner. I promise not to forget to turn on the switch tonight."
Yuan Xiaofen chuckled and waved her hand. "It's okay, I'm not angry. I'll come over again during the next break. I still have my own homework to review. I should go back now."
Watching her walk away without looking back, the two siblings had a dejected expression.
"Little sister, it's all because of you."
"Brother, it's your fault. You're lazy and don't do anything yourself!"
"I purposely gave you a chance to perform in front of an outsider. Didn't you see Yuan Xiaofen, also a girl, so capable? Why don't you feel any shame?"
"Humph, who should feel shame? She came from afar to help you with tutoring, and you let her wash your underwear, cook for you, and in the end, you didn't even give her food. You can really do such things. If our parents find out, let's see how you explain!"
Yan Yuchen softened his tone immediately and suggested, "Little sister, this is partly your fault too. If our parents find out, they will also blame you. How about we keep it a secret?"
After some thought, Yan Xiaoxi nodded. "Okay, let's keep it a secret."
"Come on, pinky swear."
"Who pinky swears with you? That's a child's trick, and I won't do it."
"Oh, little sister, Yuan Xiaofen forgot to take her clothes! Did she intentionally want to exchange clothes with you because she found yours pretty?"
"Don't make a fuss. I voluntarily let her take them. I told her that you would bring her clothes to school tomorrow. But brother, I must solemnly warn you, you're not allowed to touch her underwear!"
"Is my brother really that vulgar?"
"Yes."
"..."
...
They didn't eat lunch, and during dinner, both of them ate voraciously.
Father Yan and mother Yan looked puzzled and asked how they treated their guest at lunch. The two just kept their heads down, pretending not to hear.
As the sun set and night fell, Qingya entered Yan Yuchen's bedroom with a mournful face and swollen nose and face.
As soon as he came in, he tearfully complained, "Young Master, you must stand up for me. I was bullied. Those bastards ganged up on me, and luckily, I ran fast, or I wouldn't have seen you again. Waaah..."
Yan Yuchen was immediately furious. "When you hit a dog, you have to consider the owner. Who did it?"
Qingya had a heartbroken expression and weakly requested, "Young Master, can you choose a better analogy?"
After thinking for a moment, Yan Yuchen angrily said, "When you hit a pig, you have to consider the farmer. Who did it?"
Muscles twitched on Qingya's face, and with a tearful tone, he said, "Young Master, could you please go back to the first analogy... The thing is, I was wandering around, hoping to find some evil spirits for you to practice against. But I encountered a ghost in the river, about to harm a man who had fallen into the water. The man could have safely swum back to the shore, but the ghost disturbed his mind, increasing his panic. He was about to drown, so I immediately stepped forward to stop the ghost, fought it for three hundred rounds, and when it couldn't resist, I went back to call for help. Then they gang-rushed me..."
Yan Yuchen frowned. "What about the man who fell into the water?"
Qingya sobbed, "Fortunately, I distracted the ghost at that time. The man persisted and swam to the shore."
With a frightened look, Qingya continued, "Young Master, that evil spirit seemed quite influential. It said that it would beat me every time it sees me, relentlessly, until I'm beaten to death. Waaah, I'm so scared..."
Yan Yuchen looked out the window at the darkening sky. "It's okay. We'll go and beat it to death later. Wait a moment; my family hasn't slept yet."
Qingya was grateful and weeping. "Young Master, you're truly my reborn parents. In this world, apart from you, no one cares about or protects me. Waaah..."
"Okay, okay, stop crying all the time. You're a ghost; you should have the dignity of a ghost. How can you cry?" Yan Yuchen said with an expression of speechlessness.
"Can't ghosts cry?"
"Can they?"
"They can't?"
"They can?"
"They can't?"
"They can?" Yan Yuchen looked at Qingya, "Qingya, this young master is currently considering whether to help you take revenge tonight."
"Master is right, ghosts can't cry, certainly not."
"Yeah, we'll help you take revenge later."
While the human and the ghost were chatting about trivial matters, the door to the room was gently pushed open. Yan Xiaoxi, wearing a SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon T-shirt, slipped in and whispered, "Brother, I'll tell you something. I just heard Mom and Dad arguing outside their bedroom."
Yan Yuchen was puzzled. "That's impossible. Mom has always been gentle, and Dad never raises his voice at her. How could they be arguing?"
Yan Xiaoxi took off her shoes, climbed onto his bed, sat cross-legged, and slowly said, "It seems they're arguing about returning to Sunset Valley. Dad received a letter from Sunset Valley today and seemed to have cried. Just heard him say that he thinks you're well now, and our family no longer has the Blue Phoenix Jade coveted by others, so he wants to go back to Sunset Ridge. He wants you to go there for school. But Mom is worried about your safety and disagrees."
Yan Yuchen fell silent for a moment and sighed, "Dad probably misses his family. After all, his parents and relatives are still there."
Yan Xiaoxi said with a heavy heart, "The letter seems to be sent by Dad's mother through someone else. Something might have happened there. Dad's mood tonight looks very low."
After a moment of contemplation, Yan Yuchen touched his abdomen, feeling the pure power of the golden pill. A cold light flashed in his eyes as he said, "Whether to go back or not doesn't matter. It's the same everywhere. But the grudge against our parents being chased and forced to leave their hometown back then, we will never forget."
Yan Xiaoxi lowered her head, fidgeted with her clothes for a while, and whispered, "But... but I want to go back... Listening to Mom, my biological parents are there. I want to go back and see..."
Yan Yuchen was startled, hesitated for a moment, and looked at her, asking, "Just want to see?"
Yan Xiaoxi nodded, seeming somewhat reluctant to speak. "Yes, just want to see. Brother, don't overthink it. I won't leave you and Mom and Dad."
Yan Yuchen smiled faintly, touched her head, and sighed, "I don't know what kind of place Sunset Valley is, but I also want to go and see."
In Yan Xiaoxi's eyes, a hint of hope appeared as she said, "Mom said everyone there practices martial arts, there's a rivers and lakes, there are chivalrous heroes, and even a secluded paradise. It's so beautiful, completely different from here."
Jianghu heroes, secluded paradise.
Suddenly, a surge of impassioned emotions welled up in Yan Yuchen's heart.
==============
"Thank you for reading! Your feedback is my motivation. If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider leaving a review, rating, or sending a power stone my way. Your support fuels the creation of more content. Happy reading!"