“Good morning, Uncle Murong.”
Qin Heng had just come downstairs when he ran into Uncle Murong, who was reading the paper at the tea table. He walked over to greet him.
Unlike Ning Muxuan’s cool aloofness, Murong Ling always wore a kind smile. He shared the Azure Silver Serpent bloodline, with silver hair and green eyes, and was tall and elegant, like a refined scholar. He had the unique charm of a mature older man.
Murong Ling set down the newspaper in his hands, smiled faintly, and pointed to the clock nearby as he spoke.
“Xiao Qin, did you just wake up? It’s already evening.”
“Ah... Sorry. I stayed up too late having fun yesterday and overslept... It definitely won’t happen again!”
Qin Heng glanced around the house. It was brightly lit, but through the gauze screen, he could see that it was already getting quite dark outside.
He scratched his head sheepishly. After chatting with Murong Ling for a bit, Qin Heng headed for the kitchen to see if there was anything he could help his mom with.
“Mom, how’s it going? Do you still need me?”
Qin’s mother flicked the water from her hands, then walked over to Qin Heng and casually lifted the hem of his shirt.
Then she started wiping her hands on it.
“?”
“Thank you, Young Master Qin, for finally gracing us with your presence!~ But we’re just about done. You really know how to pick your moments.”
Qin’s mother praised him warmly as she wiped her hands on his shirt. Once they were dry, she even gave them a disdainful flick.
“...Mom, I only bought this shirt yesterday before I went out.”
“That’s fine. Your mother doesn’t mind. You’re my precious son, after all!”
Qin Heng’s face darkened.
That’s not the point! It’s not about whether you mind it or not!
Qin’s mother narrowed her eyes smugly, then pinched both of Qin Heng’s cheeks and puckered her lips.
“Aww, Big Slacker Qin is so lucky. He can’t even get out of bed without our Muxuan coming to wake him up in person—and she’s a gorgeous ice queen, too!~ So, how was it? What’s it like to get kissed?”
“What is this, some Sleeping Beauty scenario?! And kissed? Also—why does she get to be the prince?!”
Qin Heng’s face darkened even further, and he looked like a giant squash. His mom was leagues above him, leaving him able to do nothing but rage helplessly.
Qin’s mother gave him a sly smile.
“Oh-ho~ What’s wrong with an ice-prince? You’re a big Salted Fish and you’re still being picky. I just don’t get you.”
“Auntie Liu, you can praise her all you want, but if you keep putting me down, I might have to get a paternity test and find out which of us is really your biological child.”
Qin Heng indignantly defended his basic rights as a Salted Fish. But as soon as he finished speaking, his mother looked a little panicked. Even her hands, which had just been squeezing his cheeks, began to tremble.
“Mom?”
Qin Heng was startled by his mother’s sudden change, too. He hurried over to ask if she was all right.
But Qin’s mother seemed to avoid even meeting her son’s eyes. She hastily turned her face away from his concern and spoke with a slight tremble in her voice.
“W-When did you find out you weren’t our biological child...?”
“Mom—?????!!!!!”
Qin Heng suddenly felt as if half the sky had come crashing down. He grabbed his mother and shook her, shouting.
“Y-You... what are you talking about?! Huh? Huh?! Aaaaaah?!”
His mother took one look at him and couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Hahaha—you’re just as easy to fool as ever~”
Qin’s mother pinched her son’s nose.
“Look at that high nose bridge and those double-lidded eyes. They’re both stamped with your mother’s features.”
“Phew... Mom! You can’t just joke about something like that!”
Qin Heng stared speechlessly at his mother, who was nearly forty but still acted like a mischievous little girl. A wave of helplessness washed over him.
“Hehe, you should be thanking me for my excellent genes! Just look at that handsome face. Otherwise—you’d really have nothing going for you~”
Qin’s mother didn’t care in the slightest. She kept kneading her son’s face and started bragging.
“Give me a break. I don’t make a living off my looks, and I’m not even that handsome!”
“You’re not? Muxuan’s such a cool, aloof ice goddess, and there are so many handsome guys who’d be lucky to even get in line to carry her shoes. Yet she spoils you in particular. What else could it be if not because you’re so handsome?”
Qin’s mother started fiddling with her son’s face again, earnestly teaching him by twisting the facts around.
“Oh, if being possessive counts as spoiling me, then I guess that’s—”
Before he could finish, Qin’s mother rewarded him with a bonk on the head.
“Don’t take your good fortune for granted, you brat. What’s wrong with keeping an eye on you? You’re a big Salted Fish. If no one kept you in line, you’d probably turn into a good-for-nothing. And you’re still complaining about this and that!”
Qin Heng scratched his head helplessly. Ouch, that hurt.
“I never said I minded...”
“Besides... how am I a Salted Fish? I’ve been looking after my big sister lately, okay? The young lady just gives orders...”
Qin Heng argued his case, looking pitifully aggrieved. This time, his mother didn’t disagree. She just patted his head.
“It’s only right. Muxuan’s been looking after you since you were little. You’re just paying her back a little.”
Qin’s mother waved a hand, then turned around and handed Qin Heng a trash bag, reminding him,
“Take out the trash outside, too. Once you’re done, come back, wash your hands, and eat.”
“Okay.”
————————————
The sunset glow stained the corridor a dark red. It was autumn, and a faintly chilly breeze blew in from all sides.
The stairwell was quiet, with only the sound of the boy’s footsteps. Qin Heng strolled along, carrying a trash bag in one hand while the other swung a delicate little jade ball tied around his wrist.
It was a protective jade charm Qin’s mother had sought from a master when Qin Heng was just born. The master had said the jade recognized its owner, and that ordinary people couldn’t wear it. Yet somehow, it had been meant for newborn Qin Heng. He’d gone on about things like “destiny fulfilled” and “reincarnation.” Qin’s mother hadn’t understood much of it, but it sounded like a good omen, so she happily paid up.
Qin Heng had worn the protective charm with him ever since he was little. It held his mother’s loving wishes for him, and it was beautifully patterned and smooth to the touch. It even glowed at night, just like it was now.
Qin Heng swung his arm in the dim surroundings, and the white light from the jade ball traced a slender arc, sweeping and flowing through the darkness. Big Slacker Qin played with it as enthusiastically as an elementary school kid.
(For details, see the trail effect on C6 Ayaka.)
So it wasn’t just his looks that he’d inherited from his mother; his personality was the same, too. No matter how old he got, he was still like a little kid, able to have fun with anything...
A cold breeze swept over Qin Heng’s face. He hunched his shoulders, then turned to look outside the building. He gazed at the rosy clouds and scattered yellow leaves, then suddenly slowed to a stop...
A girl stood outside the stairwell, bathed in the sunset’s glow and poised in the fading light. A lock of long hair drifted softly in the breeze. From a distance, he could only make out her delicate profile, but her jade-white skin and mesmerizing deep-red eyes were enough to leave him stunned...
The girl seemed favored by the sunset as she stood gracefully in the fading light, like a painting—a dreamlike, ethereal scene that made anyone approaching hesitate to intrude, unsure when its brilliance might disappear...
“...White hair, and fluffy ears... Is she a cosplayer? Or...”
Qin Heng was a little dazed the first moment he saw the girl, which was rare for a Salted Fish like him, who’d lived with a beauty like Ning Muxuan since childhood.
Ning Muxuan’s looks could put so-called internet celebrities and stars to shame. After living with her for seven years, Qin Heng naturally had high standards.
It was only for an instant, but the girl before him had undeniably caught his eye...
