Side Story: I Love You (2)

“It feels a bit unreal,” Alice said, sitting by the table like a leaf caught in a quiet eddy, resignation soft in her voice.

This corner was for the younger crowd, classmates clustered like sparrows on a line, Alice among them.

Winnie sat next to Yalei, her eyes flitting like fireflies before she blinked. “So your family tree is… huge.”

Yalei rubbed his forehead, embarrassment like dusk shading his face. “Yeah. In short, that’s how it is.”

“Uh-huh. That’s how.” Winnie smiled shyly, like a shy moon peeking from mist.

Anna sidled over to Alice, arm looping around her waist like a ribbon in a breeze. She leaned in. “Hey, sis~ tell me~ are we getting a sister-in-law soon?”

Edlyn pinched Anna’s cheek, laughter like warm lantern light. “Keep teasing Yalei and he might thump you someday.”

“Ugh, come on. It’s just a joke!” Anna caught Yalei’s wolfish stare and Winnie’s tomato-red blush, scratched her head like a sparrow ruffling its feathers, and grinned awkwardly.

“This girl’s gonna kill me,” Yalei sighed, looking away like a cloud resisting storm, staring at his big sister while bottling the urge to smack her.

Alice covered her mouth, smiling at the pair of siblings who looked almost mirror-like, like twin shoots from the same stalk.

The table was heaped with grilled meat and drinks, smoke and spice curling up like evening incense; the party had truly begun.

Angela, Liqianyu, and Yiyi took over for Edlyn and Eli, braving the tide of guests like oars in choppy water, tossing the guilty duo shark-eyed looks.

Anna tugged Angela’s sleeve, voice small as a cricket. “Auntie, where’s more charcoal? Our side’s almost out.”

Angela blinked, thought like a pebble skipping water, then pointed upstairs. “Maybe the storage room on the fourth floor. Go check in a bit.”

Edlyn went to greet the Demon Race’s old retinue, while Eli handled the rest, like shepherds splitting a flock.

Li Gongxuan lay sprawled on the table, belching like a faulty bellows, pushing his cup away. “Eli, spare me, man. I really can’t drink another drop.”

“Tch. And you’re from the Far East? Can’t handle a little liquor?” Liqianyu scoffed, her words sharp as frost.

Li Gongxuan rolled his eyes like turning stones. “Little sis, you’re part of his family now, huh? Elbows turning outward already?”

“What do you mean his family? Yiyi married me, okay? It’s not like she took me as her groom.” Miss Li, rarely flustered, went pink like cherry buds, forcing the words out.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Yiyi stepped up, teeth set like a clasp, and smacked Liqianyu’s shoulder with a crack like a snapped twig.

Li Gongxuan chuckled weakly, then went rigid as he saw Eli with a bottle, that smile like a hunter in moonlight. “Seriously, bro, don’t do me like this! You picked the highest proof just for me. You—you—you trying to end me? I object!”

“Hahaha! Don’t run! Weren’t you so tough before? Keep bragging for me!” Eli laughed and swore, sprinting after him like a gust down a lane.

After enough ruckus, everyone drifted back to their own currents.

Eat when it’s time, drink when it’s time, like swallows returning to eaves.

Maybe they wouldn’t have a chance to gather like this again for a long while. Angela sat by the grass heap, a skewer of lamb in hand, watching the scene like a painter watching dawn.

A faint warmth rested on her small face, like spring sunlight through bamboo.

They’d found their parents, her sister had a good home, and the nephews were grown like sturdy saplings.

“It’s like a dream,” Angela said, comfort flowing like mild tea.

Still, a thread of loneliness tugged, a reed in quiet wind.

With her sister anchored, feelings would shift like tides; her parents’ too, no doubt.

Angela smiled lightly, plucking blades of grass without thinking, like a finch pulling straw.

“What’s up?”

The familiar voice slid into her ear like a soft river, and a coat settled on her shoulders like a gentle cloud. Angela tucked her chin down and turned.

Her brother-in-law stood there with a cup, smiling like warm firelight.

Angela smiled back and hugged the coat tight, a shell finding shore. “It’s nothing. Just feeling a bit.”

“Seems the mood’s a bit low,” Eli said, hand rubbing her head like a palm smoothing silk.

Angela’s smile held a tiny glow, like a lamp behind paper. “Alright, brother-in-law. I’m just sitting here. Go keep my sister company, will you?”

She turned—and Edlyn was suddenly at her side, arm around her neck like a scarf, voice sweet as lychee wine. “Angela, are you mad at me?”

Angela flushed, lips pouting like a petal. “I’m not.”

“Feels like you haven’t wanted to talk to me lately.” Edlyn had clearly had a little wine; her breath fanned across Angela like warm plum fragrance, and she giggled.

“You and brother-in-law are in the ‘honeymoon’ glow. How could I butt in?” Angela pouted, words like a soft drum.

“So you’re mad. Silly girl.” Edlyn straightened, tightening the hug like a quilt.

“Because you haven’t paid me much mind, sis.” Angela couldn’t hold it anymore; tears slipped like dew down leaves, and she smiled sadly. “Sis, I’m scared.”

“How could you think that, silly girl?” Edlyn kneaded the back of her head like easing knots. “From start to finish, your sister’s right here.”

“Mm.”

Eli smiled and drifted away like a breeze, giving the sisters quiet to mend old threads.

He strolled to the kids’ table, a mild smile like a clear pond, and waved at Alice.

Bored and perched like a sparrow on a fence, Alice spotted him right away.

She hopped over, her smile like sunlight. “Dad, what’s up?”

“Walk with your old man?” Eli grinned, voice easy as a path through bamboo.

“Uh… okay.” Alice blinked, then laughed, a bell-bright sound.

They walked shoulder to shoulder along the pebble path, rock gardens and trickling water looking fresh again, like familiar paintings suddenly catching rainlight.

Alice hugged his arm and rubbed her cheek against it, like a kitten seeking warmth. “Thanks, Dad. But as a father, you can’t play favorites.”

Eli followed her pointing finger toward the bamboo, where Anna crouched hugging her knees like a small mountain, and Yalei stood nearby, smiling like a shy fox.

Eli chuckled helplessly and ruffled Alice’s hair like wind through grain. “Being too sensible isn’t great. You can whine to me sometimes.”

“No need. Knowing Mom and Dad love me is enough, isn’t it?” Alice’s smile was full as a moon.

Anna ran over, grabbed Eli’s other arm like ivy, and pouted at the distance, lips like a little bow.

Eli laughed, leading his two daughters while Yalei walked ahead, the four of them wandering by the bamboo like a quiet stream.

Of course, Yalei was probably too shy to come over and fuss, a crane keeping to the reeds.

…

After that, the two were pushed away, the kids claiming their own business mattered more, shooing them off like ducks from a path.

So Eli and Edlyn obeyed the “orders,” helpless as leaves on a current.

After they’d made the rounds with the guests, nodding like lanterns bobbing in wind—

Eli wrapped an arm around Edlyn and carried some grilled meat to the fire. They sat holding each other, watching the moon pour silver onto the lawn.

“Hard to believe we can live this peaceful,” Edlyn murmured, head tilted like a swan, cheek on Eli’s shoulder. “A son, a daughter, a happy home. And I’m the Demon King!”

“Alright, alright, you’re the fiercest,” Eli said, his heart rippling like lake water, hand rubbing her hair like smoothing silk.

“Mm. But we’ve been stuck to each other too long. Look—family isn’t thrilled.” Edlyn rose from his arms, her smile like a mischievous star.

“Hahaha. What could I do? Which Demonic Lord insisted I take her out?” Eli’s grin was a fox’s in moonlight.

“Oh? Blaming me now?”

“No, no. My lady, it’s my fault. I’m sorry—please forgive me~” His hands went up like supplicant palms.

“Hmph!”

They met eyes and burst into laughter, like fireflies flashing in tandem. Edlyn tilted her head. “You’re terrible.”

“Hmm? You don’t like it?”

“Fine, fine. I like it, alright? Look at you, so full of yourself.” She bared her teeth and pinched his cheek, like a tiger cub toying with prey.

“As long as you like it, it’s all good,” Eli said, pride blooming like a red peony.

“Must’ve been eight lifetimes of bad luck for me to fall for you,” Edlyn pouted, words like a tossed pebble.

“Isn’t it that, from start to finish, you’d always choose to be by me?” Eli’s voice went soft, like rain over bamboo.

“Ugh! So cheesy! Where’d you learn that?”

“Emmm… from Yiyi and Liqianyu…”

“…From now on, don’t eavesdrop on them!”

“I wasn’t… It’s just—they were loud. I heard them while I was in the bathroom.” His protest fluttered like a moth.

“…Go apologize to Yiyi, you closet romantic!”

“Hahahaha!”

“What are you laughing at!”

“Alright, alright.” Eli laughed, then lay back on the lawn, letting out a breath like a long tide.

Edlyn lay down too, her head on his arm like a pillow of cloud. She closed her eyes and whispered, “Hey, Eli, sing me a song.”

“Oh? What do you want to hear?” His voice was a gentle stream.

“Emmm—I want to know how much you love me. So here’s your chance—show me.” Edlyn opened her eyes, rolled over, and sat on his stomach, smiling like a crescent moon.

Eli paused, looking at her breathtaking face like a star over a quiet lake. A childhood song rose in him like a kite on wind. He pulled her into his arms, patting her back softly like rain on silk.

“I love you, love you—like a mouse loves rice. Through every storm, I’ll still stay with you. I miss you—miss you. No matter the hardship, if it makes you smile, I’ll do anything. That’s how I love you.”