GRMFBS CH310

Just as they shared a kiss, Zhan Yan suddenly got disconnected.

Only after logging out of the Dawn World did Zhan Yan remember that he hadn’t checked what the newly leveled-up little star in the “Objects” tab looked like. Was it because of this sudden upgrade that he got kicked offline?

He tapped into the information panel interface.

Wait, huh? Where were his stars?

There wasn’t a single star left in the “Objects” tab. In the exact spot where the little stars used to sit, a miniature golden scale now rested quietly.

Zhan Yan poked the tiny scale. Information regarding the Supreme Balance immediately flowed into his consciousness.

Is this… a user manual? What’s the point of having a user manual? The Supreme Balance isn’t even in my hands.

Zhan Yan ran a search using his mini-encyclopedia. The little watermelon spun round and round without yielding anything. It was unclear whether information on the Supreme Balance couldn’t be searched in the first place, or because it was currently held by Infinite.

Zhan Yan then used the Gossip System search bar to look up “Supreme Balance” and “Infinite” simultaneously. A familiar line of text popped up: [***Loading...***].

Great, it was definitely in Infinite’s hands.

The anticipated spiritual energy still couldn’t be deployed in reality just yet.

Zhan Yan yawned, checking the time. Forget it, if it can’t be used yet, so be it. It was already quite late anyway, so there was no need to log back into the Dawn World tonight.

Zhan Yan sent a message to Gu Jiancheng: Zhan Yan: [Goodnight.]

He closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

…

The next morning, Zhan Yan woke up early.

His elder brother had already left, leaving just him and Gu Jiancheng at home.

Zhan Yan directed Gu Jiancheng to prepare freeze-dried treats for Xingxing, while he set porridge to simmer in the rice cooker. After coming back from morning exercises, tossing a cold side dish together would make breakfast ready to serve.

Just before heading out the door, Gu Jiancheng lingered, pulling at Zhan Yan’s hand.

Zhan Yan patted him: “What is it?”

Gu Jiancheng: “Where’s the promised reward?”

Zhan Yan: “What reward?”

Gu Jiancheng: “For reciting the line for you.”

Yesterday, they had barely kissed when Zhan Yan abruptly disconnected. Gu Jiancheng had startled awake from the dream and desperately wanted to go next door to find Zhan Yan, but his brother-in-law’s presence had lingered in the house the entire time. It wasn’t enough; he wanted his reward.

He wrapped his arms around Zhan Yan’s waist, refusing to let him leave.

Did I ever promise a reward for reciting a line? Zhan Yan thought back and stated firmly, “I never said there would be a reward.”

Gu Jiancheng: “You never said so?”

Zhan Yan nodded: “Never.”

Gu Jiancheng: “Really never?”

Zhan Yan: “Really never.”

Gu Jiancheng: “Really, really never?”

Zhan Yan: … Seriously impossible to deal with. What kind of decent person blows warm air into someone’s ear while acting cute?

He rolled his eyes and turned to look at Gu Jiancheng. Gu Jiancheng’s eyes sparkled brightly, looking identical to Damao next door coming over to beg for cat food.

Zhan Yan: “Just a quick kiss then.”

Gu Jiancheng obediently let go, leaning in to give him a peck.

Click. The front door sounded.

Zhan Yan sprang apart instantly.

Gu Jiancheng: …

Standing outside the door were Zhan Yunkai, Ji Yueming, and Zhan Suiru.

Zhan Yan stared at them with wide, astonished eyes. Why had Mom, Dad, and his sister all returned today? And so early, too? If they were all back, where was his brother?

The three powerhouses had taken advantage of yesterday to coordinate their schedules. Meanwhile, Ghost King Lin Yuan, who hadn’t worked yesterday, had accumulated a towering pile of duties and couldn’t spare a moment today. It was utterly infuriating. He even suspected they had done it on purpose.

Zhan Yunkai’s gaze was razor-sharp, darting toward Gu Jiancheng like daggers. Ji Yueming’s look was deeply meaningful, wandering between the two of them. Zhan Suiru shot Zhan Yan a telling look.

[Chongming Demon King Zhan Yunkai, Tianshi Ji Yueming, and Zhan Suiru didn’t see anything, but they heard it all outside the door.]

Zhan Yan: …

Gu Jiancheng stood obediently beside him, his expression clear, upright, and innocent.

Ji Yueming: “Yan Yan, let’s skip morning exercise today. Come, let’s do a physical check-up.”

Zhan Yan grew wary: “…No psychic scalpel, right?”

Ji Yueming: ? Oh, right. She remembered now. Back when Yan Yan suddenly took a fancy to sweet bread baked by his brother, before their secret identities had dropped, she had considered using a deep-tissue massage tool as an excuse to conduct an examination under the guise of post-workout muscle relaxation.

Ji Yueming ruffled his hair between tears and laughter. “Why do you hold such grudges? Your hair needs a trim.”

Zhan Yan: “Mm, I’ll use the automated haircutting cap later to trim it. Sis, that cap of yours only cuts one single style, you know.”

Zhan Suiru: “It’s just a hat; how smart do you expect it to be?”

Zhan Yan: “When you used to cut my hair, you could do so many different styles.”

Zhan Suiru: “Fine, I’ll trim it for you today.”

Zhan Yan: “Dad, I want to eat food made by you. I haven’t had it in so many days.”

Xingxing joined in on the commotion, first trotting over to meow greetings to everyone, then rubbing against Zhan Yunkai’s legs to wheedle at the chef with the finest hunting skills. Meow wants to eat too!

Zhan Yunkai headed into the kitchen to cook.

Having wheedled all around and successfully diverted the whole family’s attention, Zhan Yan stole a spare second to lightly brush his lips against Gu Jiancheng’s.

Gu Jiancheng’s eyes lit up in an instant.

Zhan Yan pressed a finger against his lips in a shushing gesture.

Gu Jiancheng’s eyes curved into a grin. Mm-hmm, keeping quiet. Reaping the sweetest rewards in silence, hehe~

After finishing breakfast, Zhan Yan underwent a physical examination before being shooed off to play with Xingxing. Gu Jiancheng was called over by the rest of them. Acting cute wouldn’t work this time, leaving Zhan Yan able only to look at him with helpless sympathy.

Xingxing pawed at the yarn ball in Zhan Yan’s hands: “Mee-ya?”

Zhan Yan tossed the ball of yarn to Xingxing, letting out a soft sigh as he whispered: “Tell me, when will they truly accept Xiao Gu?”

Lying on his side, Xingxing hugged the yarn ball with his front paws and kicked away with his back legs. Hearing Zhan Yan’s words, he paused, his little ears flicking in confusion.

What did “truly accept” mean? Xiao Gu lived here now—wasn’t that being accepted?

Xingxing used his little brain to think it through carefully. He was a member of this family. He slept here every day, and Xiao Gu slept here every day too. He ate here every day, and Xiao Gu ate here every day too. He played here every day, occasionally heading out for fun and returning afterward; Xiao Gu also played here every day, occasionally heading out and coming right back. Xiao Gu did the exact same things as him every single day, so Xiao Gu was a member of this family too.

Then why does Yan Yan still look so troubled? Could Xiao Gu really be different from him in some way?

Xingxing pondered earnestly. Ah… right! He also worried about this family every single day!

He had to worry about whether they were safe when going out hunting. Everyone had been staying out longer and returning for shorter periods lately; the prey outside was definitely too tough to catch. Xingxing actually knew how to hunt himself, and felt he could provide for this family… well, half of it, anyway. The others ate far too much. Besides, for a tiny kitten to feed himself plus five… wait, no, counting Xiao Gu, feeding six humans was a bit much. If he worked hard, he could support three. But none of them let him hunt. He had previously caught a mouse in the compound and brought it back, yet none of them would eat it. Hmph! Picky eaters!

Zhan Yan nudged the yarn ball: “Xingxing, what are you daydreaming about?”

Xingxing hurriedly hugged the yarn ball back to his chest: “Mee-wu meow-yowl.”

Xingxing expressed that he carried so many worries every day. He had to worry about Zhan Yunkai, who had the best hunting skills. Zhan Yunkai often complained to him: “Yueming is so busy,” “I barely got to see Yueming for a few days this week,” “How long has it been since we went on a trip?” So whenever he had a chance, he led Zhan Yunkai to find Ji Yueming—bringing Zhan Yunkai to the garden when Ji Yueming was tidying up the yard, and guiding Ji Yueming to the kitchen when Zhan Yunkai was cooking.

He had to worry about Ji Yueming, whose aura often turned fierce. Ji Yueming frequently hugged him upon arriving home, especially when no one else was around. The aura on her was often intensely sharp; she must have run into formidable prey outside. He had even presented that super-huge rat he caught to Ji Yueming. He could help Ji Yueming hunt! But Ji Yueming still wouldn’t take him along.

He had to worry about Zhan Suiru not sleeping well. Every evening Zhan Suiru claimed she was heading to bed early for her beauty sleep, yet sometimes woke up unhappy—she was definitely having nightmares. Whenever that happened, he would forgive Zhan Suiru for messing up the fur he had just groomed. Though Zhan Suiru rarely had nightmares now, she still liked mussing up his fur. Hmph, meanie!

He also had to worry about Zhan Jinli, whose cooking tasted terrible and who was so clumsy he got bullied by other cats… Hmph! Now he wasn’t going to worry about Zhan Jinli at all! If he wanted to be buddies with that bad cat, he could go right ahead! He would never help Zhan Jinli fight again!

Xingxing let out a series of earnest meows, concluding that since Xiao Gu ate, drank, slept, and played just like him, his only flaw was that he didn’t worry enough!

Between tears and laughter, Zhan Yan gently scratched Xingxing behind the ears. He had no idea Xingxing fretted over so many things each day.

Xingxing expressed that Xiao Gu was quite a worry for this cat too. Xiao Gu’s hunting skills were simply pathetic! Even worse than the food Zhan Jinli brought back. How was he supposed to feed himself in the future? Xingxing deduced that he must have freeloaded off Zhan Yan’s hunting before, and only ate well after joining this household. Therefore, Zhan Yan’s worry about whether Xiao Gu could stay in this family was completely justified.

In the other room, Gu Jiancheng had no idea he was being fretted over by a little cat. Right now, he was worrying about Zhan Yan.

The others had just synced the intel from Candle Dragon with him, alongside the results of the physical exam. Bai Ze’s soul had suffered injuries and was currently mending. Based on known facts, the leveling up of Zhan Yan’s Gossip System was actually a sign of his recovery. However, upgrading too hastily might instead bring him physical discomfort.

Currently, among Zhan Yan’s six information tabs, the “Abilities” tab was maxed out, while the “Spirits,” “Organizations,” and “Anomalies” tabs were all at four stars.

“The ‘Objects’ tab might be at five stars; it wasn’t far off previously,” Gu Jiancheng stated. Last night, after explaining the information about the Supreme Balance, Zhan Yan disconnected before Gu Jiancheng could ask whether he leveled up. With Zhan Yan disconnected, he was forced offline too, and had forgotten to ask this morning. The progression for the “Domain” tab seemed rather ambiguous, so he wasn’t too clear on that either.

Overall, Zhan Yan’s recovery shouldn’t face major hurdles, provided his intake speed of new information was kept under control.

As for that “profound bond” that even Gu Jiancheng didn’t fully comprehend…

The great boss Deep Shadow declared with righteous solemnity: “Holding a small, low-key wedding is perfectly fine too. We can always make it up to Yan Yan with a grand one later.”

Zhan Yunkai: … Heh!

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