by Catofdreams
"Darling… what happened? Why are you cryi-"
Before Xue Yan could finish what she wanted to say, Lang Jie hugged her back as tightly as he could. The movie was too sad for him, and once he imagined him and Xue Yan in that situation, he couldn't bear the thought and immediately grabbed Xue Yan, whose face became as red as a ripe tomato.
"D-darling…?", Xue Yan felt flustered as she thought of how bold her husband was being. Although she was caught in surprise, she felt happy. She would never refuse any of her husband's advances, no matter how sudden it is. In fact, she wanted Lang Jie to do it more often.
The two of them relaxed in each other's arms in silence. Xue Yan felt that, although she failed halfway through her mission, she still got what she wanted. She loved the feeling of her husband being so assertive when he grabber her earlier, so she considered it a successful mission.
Lang Jie felt some sort of loneliness form in his heart as the movie left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. Although he knew that Xue Yan would always be with him, no one knew what the future held. Xue Yan was a powerful cultivator, which meant that she would live far longer than him. His heart ached as he thought of the amount of sorrow that Xue Yan would feel if he ever passed on.
Lang Jie pushed Xue Yan down on the couch, which caught her completely off guard. Xue Yan thought that the hug was as assertive as Lang Jie could get, but she didn't know that her husband had more of it hidden inside him. She silently thanked her great ally Chiri because this moment wouldn't have been possible without her.
Xue Yan felt her heart beating like crazy. Her face was even redder than before. She was now heavily panting out of sheer excitement as she witnessed Lang Jie slowly turning into a beast.
As her husband's face slowly got closer to hers, she couldn't help but protrude her lips.
"Chuu…"
She made a weird noise due to her excitement, but it didn't matter. The mood was too good to be interrupted by such measly things. The only thing that could interrupt it was something big, which couldn't possibly happe-
*RING*
The doorbell started ringing, which seemed to have been connected to the movie room's speakers. Mao Cheng thought of every single detail ahead and knew that they wouldn't be able to hear the doorbell if they were watching a movie since the room was heavily soundproofed with leather panels, so he connected it to the speakers so they could hear whenever they had a visitor.
Both Lang Jie and Xue Yan flinched in surprise as the loud sound of the doorbell's tune filled the entire room. Xue Yan couldn't hide her annoyed feeling and got up. Her veins were bulging on her forehead due to the sheer frustration she felt. It was the first time that she experienced her husband being so forceful, yet someone just had to shatter the happiness she felt.
Lang Jie noticed that Xue Yan looked grumpy.
"Ehem… l-let's finish it later, honey…", Lang Jie cleared his throat and shyly told Xue Yan. He already felt a bit embarrassed about what he had just done since the shock that came from the doorbell's sound drove away the spirit of bravery that possessed him earlier.
Xue Yan's annoyed feeling greatly decreased as she heard her husband's words. As she opened the door and got up the stairs, she shot a wink and blew a kiss towards Lang Jie, who blushed as he watched his wife go on to greet their visitor.
As his wife was now out of his field of vision, he let out a sigh.
"Even if it's embarrassing, I should do that more often…", Lang Jie told himself as he felt that his wife's reaction to his assertiveness was a good enough reason to do it more in the future.
Lang Jie patiently waited for his wife to return. After all, when he pushed his wife down, he felt eager to do what married couples usually do. Even if Lang Jie was a patient man, he felt his urges hard to suppress, but he decided to wait for his wife since that's he knew that that was the kind of man he was.
A few minutes passed by. Lang Jie thought that perhaps the visitor was someone important, like a relative or something, which is why Xue Yan is taking so long. He decided to go up and see who their visitor was.
As he went up the stairs, he saw his wife tightly hugging a woman. Both of them were standing at the front door, which was wide open.
Lang Jie wanted to go and introduce himself, but the woman was crying while she was in Xue Yan's arms. She had tears flowing down her face as she felt immeasurable happiness having met someone she had always wanted to meet.
The woman sniffled and cried her eyes out as she longed for the presence of someone that she considered her parent.
"I've missed you so much, master!"
CHAPTER 28 – “THE HUSBAND FACES EVERY CHALLENGE HEAD-ON IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED!”
Lang Jie looked at the two with a confused look on his face. She had no idea who the woman was, nor the reason as to why she was crying.
Xue Yan noticed her husband watching them and shot him an apologetic look.
Lang Jie nodded in response as he made his way to the kitchen to prepare something in order to welcome their guest. Although he felt quite disappointed since the lovey-dovey time he had with his wife was interrupted, he also felt a bit excited knowing that their visitor was someone that was in Xue Yan's past.
Xue Yan didn't talk much about her past, so he wanted to know more about it. If he could become friends with the guest, he might be able to find out more about his beloved wife.
He happily prepared some tea and a few snacks and brought it over to his wife and the guest, who were both sitting in their living room. As he went in, he noticed that his wife had an expression on her face that she had never seen before.
Xue Yan was usually cheerful. At times, she would also wear an angry expression if she felt mad. In other words, she was a simple, straightforward woman whose emotions were always written on her face. That time, however, Xue Yan had a mellow expression, which she usually only showed around Lang Jie.
Now, she was wearing the same comfortable and loving expression in front of the guest. Lang Jie could tell that it was a bit different than what she shows him. He felt relieved seeing Xue Yan act that way around the woman since that meant that she had other people she held dear in her heart. If it was another romantic interest though, it would be a different story.
As Lang Jie entered the room, he felt a chill run down his spine.
"Master… is this the guy that you married?", the woman asked Xue Yan as she shot a glare towards Lang Jie, who couldn't help but flinch due to the pressure the woman was emitting.
"Ah, darling! You shouldn't have! I could've done it instead!", Xue Yan immediately stood up and helped her husband lay the snacks and the tea he prepared.
"Don't worry, honey. Just continue and enjoy your time with your guest! This is the first time someone came over just to visit you.", Lang Jie smiled and told his wife. Although there were plenty of people who came to the house to meet Xue Yan before, they were all commanded by Xue Yan to do menial tasks. The woman that just visited is the first guest that seemed to be there just for the sake of seeing Xue Yan.
"Ah, I almost forgot! Darling, this is Lei Wu! She's a cultivator just like me. She was my disciple way back when I was younger, so she's like a daughter to me.", Xue Yan introduced the guest, who bowed to show respect towards Lang Jie, but her face told him a different story. She had a look on her face that said she wanted to kill Lang Jie, but she had to suppress her killing intent in order to please Xue Yan.
"Oh, I see. My name is Lang Jie. I'm Xue Yan's husband.", Lang Jie politely introduced himself. He wanted to crack a joke about him being Lei Wu's stepfather, but he immediately realized that the woman held hostility for him, so he held back on making the joke.
Of course, he couldn't just give up after knowing that his wife's guest disliked him. He had to make her accept him as Xue Yan's husband. All of his life, he had gathered enough experience in order to know the proper technique on how to befriend someone who disliked him.
"Miss Lei Wu, you take after your master in terms of beauty. You also seem qu
ite strong, which makes my wife feel proud of you for sure!", Lang Jie shot his first attempt at making Lei Wu accept him. One way to make someone like you is to shower them with compliments. Even if a person hated you, if you sincerely compliment them, their heart would open up a bit.
Lei Wu's expression slightly shifted into a pleased one, though her hostility was still there. Lang Jie thought that it was good progress. The path to making his wife's disciple accept him was far from complete, but little steps always add up in the end.
Lang Jie felt a small sense of victory well up within him, but that happiness only lasted for a moment as his wife would drop a bomb that undid the progress that he made.
"Of course, darling! I told you, I treat her as my daughter, so she should take after me in strength. In terms of looks though, she looks attractive… just like her father.", Xue Yan happily ran her mouth.
"Her father…?"
"My father?"
Both Lang Jie and Lei Wu asked in unison. Both of them interpreted Xue Yan's message the wrong way. Lang Jie thought that Xue Yan trained Lei Wu with someone else in the past, and if that someone was Lei Wu's 'father', then she might've had a relationship with him.
Lei Wu thought that Xue Yan knew her biological father, which caused ninety percent of the shock. The other ten percent was because the way Xue Yan worded it was like saying that she had a relationship with her real father.
Xue Yan looked at the two, who both had confused expressions on their faces. She felt that the two were completely misinterpreting the words that she had just said.
"I'm talking about you, honey! Since she's my daughter, she's also yours!", Xue Yan had to clear up the misunderstandings, but that resulted in Lang Jie's progress in obtaining Lei Wu's acceptance immediately regress.
As soon as Lei Wu heard Xue Yan's words, she visibly flinched as she couldn't bear the thought of being Lang Jie's daughter. Lang Jie closed his eyes and looked down in disappointment as the results of his hard work broke down in the same amount of time that he brought it up.
Xue Yan felt that something was off with the two. Although she was quite the powerhouse in terms of cultivation, her insensitivity was even worse than a mortal's. She herself had no idea that she had done something wrong, but she knew that she had to do something in order to make the two get along with each other since both of them are special to her.
As she observed the situation, she couldn't see any direct path to take for now, so she decided to take it slow and look for an opportunity in the close future.
"So, Lei Wu… what brought you here?", Xue Yan asked her guest. Lang Jie was about to leave the two alone, but Xue Yan held his hand to prevent him from doing so. She patted the open seat beside her to tell him to take a seat, which he did.
"To be honest, master… the martial association sent me to investigate you… but the main reason why I came here was to meet you!", Lei Wu told Xue Yan.
"It's been so long since I've last seen you, master… how many centurie-"
Before Lei Wu could continue saying what she wanted to say, Xue Yan quickly ran over and covered her mouth before she could finish it. She sent a telepathic message to Lei Wu with her qi.
"Don't mention anything about time. I don't want my darling to think that this Venerable One is an old hag…", Xue Yan conveyed her message which contained one of her insecurities.
Lei Wu found this as an opportunity to strike. She wanted to find out if her master really was in love with her husband and vice-versa, so she had been looking for an opening that she could use.
"Master… if he really loves you, then he'll accept you regardless of age!", Lei Wu answered her master telepathically.
"B-but… what if he'll find this Venerable One disgusting…"
"If he does that, then he doesn't love you! Don't worry master, I'll still be here for you!"
"No! This Venerable One can't bear to live without my darling…"
The two continued talking to each other telepathically. Xue Yan was still covering Lei Wu's mouth while staring at her intently. Lei Wu was also staring back at Xue Yan, which made things look even weirder in Lang Jie's field of view. The two stared at each other in silence for quite a while, which was an odd sight.
As Lei Wu continued to listen to her master's words, she realized that one of the questions in her mind was now answered. As the patriarch of an all-female sect, she has heard plenty of ramblings from her disciples, talking about their lovers and whatnot. Her master sounded exactly like one of her love-stricken disciples, so it was safe to assume that Xue Yan really was in love with Lang Jie.
Although one side was already confirmed, she still had to find out about the other. Lei Wu also questioned how their relationship came to be. She thought that Lang Jie used some kind of trickery in order to obtain Xue Yan's heart since only something like that could turn her cool, calm, and collected master into a woman that's fallen too far into love.
"Master, don't worry. Leave this to your disciple! I have helped plenty of my disciples with their love problems, so I am well-suited for this job!", Lei Wu sent her last telepathic message to her master.
Xue Yan hesitated for a bit, but Lei Wu seemed trustworthy enough, so she agreed to accept her help. She gave Lei Wu a nod, which Lei Wu took as a signal to commence the operation.
"Lang Jie!", Lei Wu stood up and called on the husband, who was quite surprised when Lei Wu suddenly shouted his name after staying silent for a few minutes.
"Y-yes?", Lang Jie responded and stood up reflexively.
"Do you really love my master?", Lei Wu had a serious look on her face as she gave Lang Jie the question she wanted to ask directly.
"Of course! She's my raison d'etre!", Lang Jie proudly announced his love for his wife, who couldn't help but blush as she heard her husband's bold statement.
"Then I'll have to ask you to prove it! If you accomplish the tasks that I give you, I'll accept you as my master's wife!", Lei Wu issued a challenge towards Lang Jie, who had a determined look on his face.
"Sure! Tell me what I have to do!", Lang Jie didn't hesitate for a single moment. Xue Yan's heart skipped a beat as she saw how cool her husband was acting.
"Then… I won't go easy on you!", Lei Wu had a competitive look on her face. Even if she finds out that the married couple really did love each other, there was no way that she would accept Lang Jie. In her eyes, he was far from being good enough for her master.
Just by comparing Xue Yan's great status as a cultivator, one could see that the two really were incompatible. Lei Wu believed that love could solve all problems, but she didn't believe that love knew no bounds. After all, everything in the world must know its place. If something stuck out, she had to put it back in its place.
Lang Jie was determined to show Lei Wu his love for Xue Yan. Since Lei Wu was important to his wife, Lang Jie had to make her accept him, no matter what the cost!
"First. I'll ask you a few questions about Xue Yan. Tell me your honest opinion. If I sense that you're lying, I'll count it as you forfeiting the match!", Lei Wu told Lang Jie the first part of the challenge, which he didn't seem to be bothered about. If it was just answering questions about his own feelings, then Lang Jie knew that he had this in the bag.
"Okay! Fire the questions!", Lang Jie responded.
He fearlessly faced Lei Wu's challenge with confidence. Xue Yan was watching the entire thing happen and wondered how it came to this.
"First…", Lei Wu had already prepared a set of questions in order to assure her victory, each of them using common insecurities between couples. Behind her beauty and prowess in cultivation hid her cunningness in dealing with challenges such as these. She held pride in being undefeatable every time she was challenged to something. Plus, this time, her opponent was a mortal, so she thought that dealing with him would be easy.
Xue Yan intently watched the situation unfold. Although she was quite worried, she also wanted to hear her husband's honest thoughts.
Lang Jie concentra
ted with all his might. He had to use all of his brain's power to answer in the best way he could. For him, this was far more important than any interview he had ever taken. He would even go as far as considering this as a moment of life and death, which it technically was. He didn't know about it, but Lei Wu was also preparing to take his life in case he does something that hurts her master.
Lei Wu grinned as she thought that everything might already be over after the first question. After all, not even she knew much about the matter. The question is also just a feint since her real goal was to draw out Lang Jie's feelings on the matter. It should show in the way he acts as he answers the question.
"How old do you think Xue Yan is? Giving a range of numbers is fine.", Lei Wu fired the first question.
Xue Yan couldn't help but stand up as she heard Lei Wu's first question. Even though it was an insecurity of her master's, Lei Wu seemed determined to exploit it to achieve her goal. Xue Yan also thought of what Lei Wu told her earlier about how Lang Jie should love her despite her age, so she decided to wait and listen to her husband's answer anxiously.