"I really thought you'd stick around longer to sort out your feelings. No two weeks from your annoying mouth, huh?" Nan Xuanjin quipped, his tone dripping with mischief.
"I think I was just... mistaken? But—HEY!?" He Zhen sputtered, confusion turning to indignation as Nan Xuanjin's playful jab got under his skin. The two had a bickering routine so predictable it was like a sitcom with a never-ending season.
Meanwhile, the vast, celestial beauty of Heaven made He Zhen peaked. Every time Xiao Ling blinked, he zhen was in a new location. Xiao Ling was having a minor heart attack trying to keep up with He Zhen's disappearing act.
Watching the chaos, Nan Xuanjin couldn't resist a chuckle. "He's just curious..."
Xiao Ling's mind raced. "Curious? Like, 'I've never seen a cloud before' curious? Or 'I've never seen a deity before' curious?" "does he know something?"
"He's a new ascender?," Nan Xuanjin clarified, trying to calm Xiao Ling's overactive imagination.
At that moment, He Zhen materialized next to Xiao Ling, tugging on his sleeve with the fervor of a child asking for candy.
"Yes, He—Huan Cheng?" Xiao Ling asked, forcing a calm demeanor.
"I want to taste geoji jiu, Gege!" He Zhen said, practically vibrating with excitement. Geoji jiu was the kind of strong wine that could make you forget your own name, let alone your manners.
"Sure," Nan Xuanjin said with a grin that could only mean trouble.
Xiao Ling looked at Nan Xuanjin like he'd just suggested skydiving without a parachute. "Wait, you're serious?"
Nan Xuanjin just smirked and winked, as if to say, 'It's all part of the fun!'
Xiao Ling swallowed hard. He knew that when someone's got drunk, they didn't just spill secrets—they spilled cosmic-sized secrets. And he was terrified of what might come out.
***
At the geoji jiu bar, He Zhen was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. Xiao Ling, meanwhile, was nervously scanning the room as if waiting for a cosmic disaster to strike.
Nan Xuanjin ordered the drink and handed it to He Zhen, who took one swig and downed the entire thing in one gulp. Xiao Ling's jaw hit the floor, and Nan Xuanjin's eyes widened, caught between hysterics and horror.
He Zhen's face turned an impressive shade of red, like a celestial tomato, and he staggered on the spot. Xiao Ling, standing behind him, gave him a tentative poke. Suddenly, He Zhen leaped into Xiao Ling's arms with a scream of terror.
"Someone catch me! I'm falling from the sky!" He Zhen shrieked, flailing his legs and accidentally kicking Xiao Ling in the ribs. Xiao Ling yelped, and Nan Xuanjin's laughter was now an uncontrollable roar.
The bartender looked on with wide eyes, as if witnessing an otherworldly disaster unfold, as if he was he was done working here.
As He Zhen finally managed to open his squinty eyes and saw Xiao Ling beneath him, he let out a groggy, "Oh, it's just my grandpa!" and clung tighter.
Nan Xuanjin's laughter reached a crescendo as He Zhen tried to stand up, only to topple back onto the bar floor. Even his godly strength couldn't keep him balanced. He clung to Xiao Ling like a koala to a tree, and the scene was so absurd that even the stars seemed to laugh along.
He Zhen stood up and started run around. Afraid he might get lost and spill everything to a complete stranger, Xiao Ling started to follow him, fastening up to his pace and blocked him up front. He jumped up to him trying to catch him while He Zhen stood there still, spreading his arm as if he wants to be caught in a trap. He spread his arms just as Xiao Ling's.
"Hug!"
He Zhen cheered. Nan xuanjin was at a far distance looking at them. Trying to hold his laugher yet failing. As Xiao Ling looks at him. After fixing Nan Xuanjin's composure, he then eyed to him "I got nothing to do with that" as they hold each other into a comfy cuddle. Slowly He Zhen fell asleep into his arms as he mumbles "grandpa..." Xiao Ling sighs in relief looking at him with care and affection.