Chapter 52
Later that night, Gu Wenzhu sat quietly in the room, waiting for Xia Yi.
Earlier that afternoon, the entire governor’s residence had been in chaos. After Xia Yi’s father fainted, Gu Wenzhu had reached out to support him, only to be pushed aside by the crying mother. Together with Xia Yi, they helped carry his father into the room.
Gu Wenzhu stood there, bewildered, watching the servants rush past him, sometimes bumping into his shoulder, telling him to move aside.
Eventually, he withdrew to a corner, standing there lost, unsure of what had gone wrong.
When Xia Yi asked a servant to escort him to the room where he used to stay, Gu Wenzhu offered to accompany him to look after his father. Though Xia Yi didn’t outright refuse, he showed a hesitant expression.
Understanding, Gu Wenzhu said, “You go ahead. Be careful not to upset him further.”
Seeing the worry in Gu Wenzhu’s dark eyes, Xia Yi softened, wanting to stay and comfort him, but with his father still lying unconscious, he could only kiss Gu Wenzhu gently on the cheek and say, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. You just wait for me here.”
Gu Wenzhu nodded quickly, “Go ahead, I’ll be waiting right here for you.”
As Xia Yi closed the door, he saw Gu Wenzhu standing inside, watching him.
The light cast sharp shadows over his well-defined features, his deep-set eyes and prominent brows. His gaze, though silent, betrayed his nervousness and unease.
He was hurt.
Xia Yi felt a sharp pang in his heart, as though stabbed by a needle.
After hesitating for a moment, as if making a decision, Xia Yi reopened the door and said, “Want to come with me? We’ll talk to my father together.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Gu Wenzhu’s eyes lit up.
Xia Yi walked back in, wrapping his arms around Gu Wenzhu’s lean waist and resting his head on his shoulder, “Brother Zhu, it’s not your fault. Do you know? In this world, men aren’t allowed to be together.”
“Men together? But you’re not a man, you’re a ge’er,” Gu Wenzhu murmured, confused.
Xia Yi lifted his head, looking into his eyes. “In this world, there are no ge’er, only men and women. That’s why my parents were so angry when they heard we got married.”
“Brother Zhu, it’s not because of you or anything you did. Do you understand?”
Gu Wenzhu was stunned for a moment, “So it’s not that I did something wrong or wasn’t good enough, that made your father unhappy?”
“Exactly,” Xia Yi nodded firmly.
“It’s because, in this world, there are no ge’er, and in people’s eyes, you are also considered a man. That’s why they can’t accept our marriage.”
“Yes,” Xia Yi nodded again, gently cupping his face, feeling a pang of sorrow.
Gu Wenzhu’s expression gradually relaxed, a relieved smile slowly spread across his face, pure and untroubled. “Then let’s go see your parents together. I’ll do my best to make them accept me.”
“Let’s go, together.” Xia Yi took his hand, the warmth and dryness of his palm instantly calming him as they opened the door and walked out.
—
Xia Yi’s mother was sitting by the bedside, gently massaging her husband’s temples, talking to him softly now and then.
Xia Yi’s father lay there with his eyes closed, silently listening.
When Xia Yi opened the door, his father’s eyes shot open at the sound.
Seeing Xia Yi and Gu Wenzhu walk in together, he turned his head away and closed his eyes again.
Xia Yi walked over, sat by the bed, and gently took his father’s hand from on top of the quilt, holding it in his own.
“Father, I know you’re angry because you care about me.”
“Although you and mother never said it outright, I always knew that your greatest wish was for someone to stay by my side, to love me, and to spend the rest of our lives happily together.”
“I’ve already found that person, it’s Brother Zhu. I’ve been an unfilial child, always making you and mother worry and angry. I really wish I could always obey you both from now on and never make you sad again. But, Father and Mother, I can’t do that this time.”
“Because if I leave Brother Zhu, I will be heartbroken for the rest of my life and will never be happy again.”
At this moment, Gu Wenzhu stepped forward, lifted his robe, and knelt heavily on the ground. “Father, my love for Xiao Yi is as true as the heavens and the earth. In this life, no matter what happens, I will love him, protect him, and ensure his happiness. I will never part from him, even in death, I will not let go.”
“Please, Father and Mother, entrust Xiao Yi to me.”
Xia Yi’s father remained silent, lying there with his eyes closed. But his breathing became noticeably heavier, his eyes moist, and his lips trembled slightly.
Xia Yi’s mother had already started sobbing, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. After a while, she spoke in a tone of helplessness and bitterness, “Husband, let it go. You know how stubborn Xia Yi has been since he was young. Once he sets his mind on something, even ten ox couldn’t drag him away. Why harm your own body with anger and risk creating resentment that would hurt your relationship as father and son?”
Seeing that Xia Yi’s father remained silent, Xia Yi’s mother waved her hand toward the two and said, “Go back to your room. Let your father rest for now.”
—
In the room, Gu Wenzhu lay reclining against the carved bed, watching Xia Yi curiously as he wandered around, touching and inspecting various objects in the room.
“Brother Zhu, look at this shelf over here. Instead of ceramics or fancy ornaments, it’s filled with cricket cages and clay figurines. Isn’t that quite interesting?”
Xia Yi picked up an intricately made cricket cage, examining it while laughing. “I feel like the Xia Yi who disappeared was a lot like me in terms of personality and hobbies. No wonder Father and Mother didn’t notice anything off.”
Gu Wenzhu absentmindedly nodded, hesitating before asking, “Do you think that since your parents didn’t kick me out and let me stay in the same room as you, they’ve accepted me?”
“That’s exactly what it means. They won’t admit it verbally, but in their hearts, they’ve already accepted you,” Xia Yi grinned happily.
But after laughing, a bittersweet feeling welled up inside him.
How much must his parents love him to silently approve of such an unconventional marriage in a society like this?
Especially considering that his father was a governor, equivalent to a city-level party secretary. The kind of social and political pressure they would face was unimaginable.
He had caused his parents endless worry in his original world, and now in this one, his new parents were continuing to worry for him
What a troublesome person he was.
As he wandered the room, lost in thought, Xia Yi absentmindedly opened a drawer in the cabinet next to him.
When the drawer slid open, Xia Yi froze. Inside lay a small doll, dressed in a crimson long robe with a front-clasp design.
The doll was about a foot long, and its head was hidden deeper in the drawer. But the quality of the fabric and the craftsmanship of the clothes were exquisite.
Intrigued, Xia Yi reached out and picked up the doll.
As he got a closer look at it, his body stiffened, eyes widening in shock.
Holy… what?!
In his hand was a plastic Ultraman doll, dressed in clothes.
Xia Yi was flooded with disbelief. He quickly stripped off the doll’s clothes, revealing the familiar red-and-white Ultraman underneath.
This was the same kind of Ultraman toy little boys loved, the ones that cost a few dozen yuan.
It even had its hands crossed in the classic Ultraman pose.
These Ultraman toys were common in toy stores, and Xia Yi had a few when he was a kid.
But wasn’t this from his original world? Why was it in this cultivation world, in this Xia Yi’s room?
His mind was a jumble, staring blankly at the Ultraman in his hand, utterly confused.
What on earth was going on?
Noticing Xia Yi’s strange behavior, Gu Wenzhu, who had been lounging against the bed, sat up straight.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing that Xia Yi wasn’t responding, just standing there in a daze as if struck by lightning, Gu Wenzhu walked over and took the Ultraman from his hand.
“What is this?” Gu Wenzhu turned the Ultraman over, examining it from all angles. “A human body with a monster’s head, and completely naked.”
Frowning, he saw the little robe in Xia Yi’s other hand and quickly took it, dressing the Ultraman again. “Put some clothes on, otherwise it’s quite improper.”
“What kind of strange things do children in this cultivation world play with?” Gu Wenzhu muttered, while Xia Yi, still lost in his own thoughts, paid no attention.
He had owned a few Ultraman toys as a child, all different sizes and poses. His favorite one had looked exactly like this Ultraman.
But one day, it had disappeared. After searching everywhere, he asked his parents, and they told him it had been stolen by a thief who broke into their home.
Heartbroken, Xia Yi had thrown a massive tantrum, rolling and crying on the floor, to the point where his father almost picked him up and gave him a spanking.
In the end, his parents took him to a toy store, letting him pick out a new toy to calm him down.
Before it was lost, that Ultraman had been his favorite, always in his arms, even next to him when he slept at night.
One winter, while sitting by the coal stove eating roasted chestnuts made by his father, Xia Yi had accidentally pressed Ultraman’s head against the hot chimney.
His father noticed the smoke and quickly snatched the toy away. Although he saved it just in time, the plastic on the back had melted, leaving a small burnt scar.
Recalling this, Xia Yi suddenly grabbed the now-dressed Ultraman from Gu Wenzhu’s hand and quickly stripped it again, turning it over to examine its back.
In the flickering candlelight, the back of the toy Ultraman revealed a coin-sized burn scar.
“What is going on? What is going on?” Xia Yi murmured, his eyes filled with confusion and fear.
“Why is my childhood toy here?
Could it be… could it be…? A thought suddenly popped into Xia Yi’s mind.
“179, 179,” Xia Yi urgently called out to the system, “Tell me, when exactly did your glitch start?”
“It started when you accidentally traveled to the farming world,” 179 replied.
“No, you’re lying to me,” Xia Yi’s tone turned cold.
“Host, I swear I’m not lying! According to my data, we only discovered the glitch after you arrived in the farming world,” 179 protested, feeling wronged.
“If the glitch just started now, then tell me—how did my childhood toy end up here?”
“Don’t tell me it traveled with me, because this Ultraman disappeared years ago.”
“Besides, do you think I would have made a little Hanfu outfit for an Ultraman?”
179 didn’t respond immediately, as if deeply thinking. After a while, it finally answered confidently, “You’re right, you wouldn’t. The styles don’t match at all. If you were to make something, it’d be a suit of armor for him.”
Though the system’s logic was odd, the conclusion was clear: this Ultraman didn’t come with him recently—it had been here for a long time.
