GRMFBS CH43

When the call ended, Zhan Yan was still smiling.

Before going to bed, he browsed the forum again to keep an eye on the latest happenings in Yunjin City.

There hadn’t been much gossip lately, but the Wan Yao Alliance had launched an event—their once-every-thirty-years speed race for the demon clans had begun. The race route changed every time, and this year it stretched from Qixia Mountain to Shennongjia, with powerful demon elders guarding both ends, making things relatively convenient.

The winner’s prize seemed pretty good. Meanwhile, the aquatic demons were protesting, claiming this race discriminated against their kind. Now there was a whole new argument about whether to start a swimming competition as well.

Watching this lively bunch of non-humans bicker over every little thing every day always amused Zhan Yan.

The next morning, Zhan Yunkai drove Zhan Yan to the train station. Their mother sat in the front passenger seat, and his older brother and sister sat in the back, sandwiching Zhan Yan in the middle.

Zhan Yan said, “You really don’t have to make such a big deal out of this. I could’ve gone by myself.”

“Let you drag your suitcase all the way to the station by yourself?” Zhan Yunkai glanced at Zhan Yan’s slim figure in the rearview mirror. “That’d be exhausting.”

I’m not that weak!!

Zhan Sui Ru smiled and slung an arm around his shoulders. “We won’t be seeing you for a long time after this. How could we let you go on your own?”

Zhan Yan: …That was what he had said to his brother last night!

But that had been to coax him… Yunjin City and Beiling City weren’t far apart; the high-speed train only took a few hours. He could easily come home whenever he didn’t have classes.

Everyone coming to see him off made Zhan Yan both happy and touched.

But… he had arranged to meet Gu Jiancheng at the train station! He wasn’t ready for Gu Jiancheng to meet his family so suddenly!

And sitting in the car now, there was no way he could secretly call Gu Jiancheng without the others noticing. Even if he used the gossip system to contact him, he’d still have to speak aloud.

Ahhh what should he do? Maybe he could say Gu Jiancheng was a classmate traveling in Yunjin City and they’d agreed to return to school together?

But he hadn’t mentioned this to his family before—if he suddenly brought it up now, it would definitely seem like he’d been hiding something… which he actually had! But he couldn’t let them find out, especially not his sister!

It wasn’t time to meet the parents yet!!

Maybe they could pretend to bump into each other by chance? He could pull it off, but could Gu Jiancheng? Would he be able to react in time? Or would his acting be so bad that he’d give it all away? Highly possible!

His sister’s eyes were sharp as blades. She was already suspicious…

Zhan Yan was completely torn. When they reached the train station, he still hadn’t seen Gu Jiancheng.

Gu Jiancheng had arrived at the station early and was chatting with Wan Shitong.

Wan Shitong said, “Boss, you’re going back to school today, right? Don’t you have to start your internship in the final year? Want me to set something up for you?”

“That’s next semester’s problem.” Gu Jiancheng leaned on his suitcase, expression calm and indifferent.

There were a few scattered empty seats in the station lounge, but he didn’t like squeezing in with strangers—sometimes it was hard to tell if the people around him were living beings or monsters. He could control it, but it was annoying, so he preferred to stand. This spot was perfect—not attention-grabbing, yet gave him a clear view of the main entrance.

Wan Shitong was one of the few people he could somewhat trust, someone he could talk to about matters related to this “normal human” identity. His initial fake identity had also been set up with Wan Shitong’s help.

They chatted for a while. Hearing the noisy background on the other end, Wan Shitong teased, “Boss, are you waiting for your little boyfriend?”

Gu Jiancheng hated noisy places; he never arrived this early unless he was waiting for someone—and hoping that someone would also come early, so they could spend a little more time together at the station.

A rare smile tugged at the corner of Gu Jiancheng’s otherwise cold face, and he let out a low chuckle, just about to say something when, from the corner of his eye, he caught a familiar figure at the entrance. The words stuck in his throat.

“Boss?”

“Nothing. Hanging up.” Gu Jiancheng put down his phone, staring blankly at Zhan Yan, who was surrounded by his family, frozen in place as if his feet were nailed to the ground.

He watched Zhan Yan frown, laugh, complain, and joke—watched him cuddle close to his family and let them pat his head.

Zhan Yan didn’t like others touching his hair. At school, when it grew long, he’d rather tie it up himself than visit the barber.

Gu Jiancheng had never seen this side of Zhan Yan before—never seen him like this with his family.

So vivid. So alive…

Zhan Yan’s gaze swept over, and instinctively, Gu Jiancheng took two steps back, hiding deeper in the shadows.

He knew Zhan Yan was looking for him. They had agreed to meet here at the station.

But he had dodged. Instinctively.

That Zhan Yan… looked so happy.

He didn’t need a mentally unstable lover.

The shadow at Gu Jiancheng’s feet darkened—deeper and darker—like an endless crack, or a charred, lifeless corpse.

His hand clenched on the suitcase handle, veins bulging.

He wanted to go over. Wanted to smile deliberately, act familiar on purpose, and expose their relationship on purpose. He wanted to seize his hand tightly, wanted to make him…

Gu Jiancheng’s phone vibrated like crazy. It was Wan Shitong, bombarding him with messages after detecting his unstable state.

That family began to move into the station. Zhan Yan still glanced around from time to time. Gu Jiancheng stood there motionless. Suddenly, their eyes met.

When Zhan Yan saw him, he clearly froze for a moment, then smiled and turned to walk toward him.

Gu Jiancheng hurriedly backed away—and suddenly felt his hand go empty.

The handle of his suitcase had snapped in his grip.

Gu Jiancheng: …

He grabbed the carry strap and quickly slipped away.

“Yanyan, what are you looking at?” Zhan Suiru asked.

Gone.

Zhan Yan looked around. He was sure that what he’d just seen was Gu Jiancheng, and that Gu Jiancheng had seen him too. But his view had been blocked several times by passersby, and by the time he looked again, Gu Jiancheng had disappeared.

“Thought I saw someone I knew. Guess I was mistaken?” Zhan Yan smiled, brushing it off.

Maybe Gu Jiancheng wasn’t ready to meet the family yet either?

Zhan Yan didn’t try to find him again. Their tickets were for adjoining seats—they’d see each other on the train.

After Gu Jiancheng steadied himself, he checked his phone and replied to Wan Shitong: I’m fine.

Wan Shitong: “Boss, is this because of your boyfriend?”

They were all sharp when it came to things like this. Gu Jiancheng hadn’t figured out how to reply yet when a new message popped up:

“Boss, with your condition, you really can’t afford intense mood swings.”

“Don’t fall too hard for that boyfriend of yours.”

“He affects you too much. That’s not good.”

Wan Shitong didn’t know that Zhan Yan could ease his aftereffects. Gu Jiancheng hadn’t told him—not because he didn’t trust him enough yet, but because… he couldn’t explain it clearly either.

If he said it, it would sound like he was only with Zhan Yan because Zhan Yan could suppress his symptoms.

But he wasn’t.

“Stop guessing.” Gu Jiancheng shut his phone off.

After Zhan Yan got through the ticket gate, he saw that Gu Jiancheng was already in his seat. Dragging his suitcase over, he prepared to lift it into the overhead rack himself. As soon as he lifted it, the muscles in his face tightened involuntarily.

Gu Jiancheng took the suitcase and raised it easily.

Zhan Yan: … Okay, this thing really is heavy…

His dad had packed him jars of preserved vegetables, meat paste, and other long-lasting homemade food—solid weight.

Zhan Yan helped steady it to prevent it from falling and hurting someone.

They delayed a little in the aisle putting the luggage away. Just then, Zhan Yan felt someone bump hard into his back. He stumbled forward and knocked into Gu Jiancheng, who was loading the suitcase.

Fortunately, Gu Jiancheng stood firm and smoothly slid the suitcase into place.

Startled, Zhan Yan frowned and turned. The one who’d hit him was a guy with streaked red and yellow hair. The man sneered through his nose: “Good dogs don’t block the road, you know?”

He stepped closer, about to shove Zhan Yan with his shoulder.

Gu Jiancheng, still holding the rack with one hand, turned his head—his gaze dark and chilling.

The red-yellow-haired man froze on the spot.

It was boarding time, and the aisle behind and ahead was full. Neither Zhan Yan nor Gu Jiancheng argued—they simply stepped back into their seats.

The man seemed embarrassed at having been intimidated, glared hard at them both, then raised his chin and walked away.

Gu Jiancheng shifted the tip of his shoe. A shadow stretched along the floor, creeping toward the man’s shadow—starting to gnaw at the spot on his shoulder where he’d bumped Zhan Yan.

Just a cocky little demon.

Suddenly, he felt someone grip his hand.

Zhan Yan smiled at him: “No need to get mad over people like that.”

He said this gently—but inside he was furious. If Gu Jiancheng hadn’t been steady, and if the suitcase had slipped, what if it had hit his head?

That flashy-haired punk definitely wasn’t clean—he’d check the gossip system later. There was no way this guy didn’t have dirt.

Gu Jiancheng gently squeezed his hand back.

Zhan Yan changed the subject: “Did you see me at the station earlier? Why’d you dodge?”

Gu Jiancheng unconsciously rubbed his hand. “I thought you weren’t ready to tell your family yet.”

I wasn’t. Zhan Yan had planned to avoid it—he’d been worrying about it in the car. But when he saw Gu Jiancheng just now, he’d changed his mind.

Because at that moment… Gu Jiancheng had looked so bad.

Those eyes that always lit up when they saw him—had seemed about to go dark again.

Zhan Yan rambled on, leaning against him. The bullet train ran smoothly. Outside the window, blue sky, white clouds, countryside fields, tall trees and low houses flew past, all framed in the small round window.

Zhan Yan’s voice got lower and lower. He leaned shoulder to shoulder with Gu Jiancheng, watching the world blur past in silence.

Thick gray-blue clouds smeared across the top of the window frame. A drop of rain fell, trailing a long diagonal line. Then another.

“Your family?” Zhan Yan suddenly asked softly.

“Gone,” Gu Jiancheng replied calmly.

Before university, he’d been dragged into the Infinite—a world of endless horror scenarios where he’d been stretched, broken, regrown, matured. Later, he’d stopped growing entirely. The Infinite had no proper time flow, and once his body froze, he could no longer judge how long he’d been there.

Anyway—it had been a very, very long time.

The Infinite was gone now. But this world wasn’t his original one, and he didn’t even know where his original world was.

The blurred raindrops smeared the scenery outside. The train swayed ever so lightly.

Maybe this was the last rain of late summer.

“Oh,” Zhan Yan murmured, squeezing his hand gently. “I’m adopted.”

Gu Jiancheng paused.

“My brother, my sister, and I—all adopted.” Zhan Yan smiled at him. “My parents are wonderful. They accepted us and made us part of their family.”

Gu Jiancheng understood.

—So they’ll accept you too.

How could he not fall for him, again and again?