Xingyuan leisurely sipped her tea, unfazed by the scene of recognition. She hadn't seen her elder sister in nearly a day and wished these matters could be resolved faster.
Feng Nianxing cleared his throat, his face radiating the kindness of an elder.
"Child! Do you know who your birth parents are?"
Su Xingchen looked bewildered. What, was he not born to his parents?
Feng Nianxing didn't wait for his answer, continuing to recount the past story in full. He only changed the detail about Xingyuan and him being twins of opposite sexes to just twins.
One must guard against others! Moreover, Su Xingchen now was different from Xingyuan back then; he was an adult with a complete mind. He wasn't confident he would abandon his learned knowledge and friends solely based on this blood relation.
If he did, Feng Nianxing would trust him even less. A person who could so easily abandon friends would one day abandon the Xing family and Xingyu City. If that were the case, he would rather have never found this child.
Su Xingchen fell silent. So, the couple who had doted on him as if he were their own child for so many years were actually his adoptive parents?
Knowing that these matters weren't anyone's fault, and that they were his relatives who had searched for him for many years, Su Xingchen still found it difficult to accept.
He suddenly remembered that his parents had seemed to be trying hard to say something to him before they died, but they passed away before they could finish.
Thinking back now, the first half of that sentence seemed to be: Go to Xingyu City.
He was young then and didn't know such a place existed. Later, he learned about it, but he was constantly on the run and didn't pay much attention. By a twist of fate, had he missed so many years?
"How do I know what you're saying is true?" Su Xingchen asked, his voice hoarse.
Feng Nianxing grew anxious. As expected, adults were harder to deal with than children.
"Look at Xingyuan's face. You look exactly alike. Isn't that enough proof?"
A death glare from the spectating Xingyuan.
"There are so many people in the world who resemble each other. Are you saying everyone who looks like her is related?"
"You know in your heart that what we're saying is the truth. However, if you truly want some evidence, I don't mind giving it to you. Your surname is Su, which happens to be the surname of the person who took you away back then."
"Of course, more importantly, that person, to leave a way out for themselves, marked both children."
Xingyuan rolled up her sleeve, revealing her left arm, which bore the carved character "Yuan."
After confirming Su Xingchen had seen it clearly, Xingyuan lowered her sleeve and said calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, your given name should be on your right arm, carved with the character 'Chen'."
Feng Nianxing also remembered this. He immediately went over and lifted Su Xingchen's right sleeve. The character "Chen" was clearly displayed before them.
"It seems to be true!" Su Xingchen smiled, but his expression was tinged with bitterness.
"I wholeheartedly wanted to lead my brothers to create a place not controlled by warlords. But I never imagined that I myself was a part of the warlords."
Xingyuan had no intention of comforting him. If he couldn't overcome even this setback, how could he achieve anything in the future?
"Uncle Feng, a place to stay has already been prepared for him! Please trouble Uncle Feng to teach him some things these few days. When we return, we can take him to Grandfather. Grandfather will surely be very happy."
"Yes, alright!" Feng Nianxing's expression was a little complex. A Yuan had truly grown up, possessing more and more leadership qualities.
Su Xingchen was severely shaken by the truth, feeling listless and letting others handle him. He didn't feel any benefit from being the descendant of a warlord at all. If he could, he would rather be the passionate Su Xingchen.
"Tianling! That Yu Qianyun should be the female lead, right!"
"How does Master know? I didn't let anything slip, did I!" Tianling was very distressed. Its master's temperament was unpredictable; how dare it tell her who the male and female leads were! It feared that if its master eliminated them, the Heavenly Dao would come looking for it, and it couldn't fight back. ˚‧º·(˚˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅)‧º·˚
"Guessing!" At some point, Xingyuan discovered she had gained a new ability: she could see the past lives of those related to her and with strong destiny.
She clearly saw that in her previous life, Su Xingchen died on this day and also became the female lead's white moonlight.
In her grief, the female lead met Qi Wen. Later, she discovered that he, like Su Xingchen, was also passionate about changing the world. As they got to know each other, they naturally got together.
And Su Xingchen remained forever on that day.
However, Xingyuan didn't think Yu Qianyun was wrong. The blame lay with Su Xingchen for being too naive, thinking he had the right to contend with others with the little he possessed.
If she hadn't come here this time, his fate wouldn't have changed. His death would have been inevitable: he would have died by his own foolishness.
On the other side, Fang Xiyue, though she knew the person couldn't hold on for much longer, still held a flicker of expectation in her heart. But today, neither of them came. They had promised to send her flowers after each performance. What liars!
Despite her disappointment, Fang Xiyue performed on stage as perfectly as possible. This was the happiest time of her day.
As she left the stage, a familiar bouquet of flowers was handed to her by a stranger.
Fang Xiyue's initial surprised gaze instantly turned indifferent. "Thank you! But I don't need it."
The man smiled broadly and said politely, "Miss Fang, these were sent by our young master. He had a last-minute engagement and couldn't come today, so please accept them. Otherwise, I won't be able to explain to my young master."
"Your young master is..."
"His surname is Xing!" The man was very patient. The young master had instructed him before leaving that if he couldn't deliver the flowers, he wasn't allowed to return. He could only leave when she accepted them.
Fang Xiyue pretended not to want to trouble others and accepted the flowers.
"Please tell your young master that I've accepted the flowers!"
"Thank you for your understanding, Miss Fang!" The man immediately bowed with a smile and then turned to leave.
In the backstage area, A Shu looked at her senior sister returning with a smile, holding flowers, with a hint of surprise. "Senior Sister, you never accept flowers. Could it be that you've found someone you like?"
Fang Xiyue's smile vanished, and she said earnestly, "No, it's just... he seemed very sincere, and he wouldn't let me leave if I didn't accept the flowers. I had no choice but to accept them."
A Shu's eyes twinkled with amusement, and she deliberately said, "Is that so? Then, I'll help you throw them away!"
"Don't!" Fang Xiyue quickly stopped her, her cheeks flushing as she added, "It's someone's kind gesture. It would be bad to throw them away like this. Let's keep them for now! We can throw them away when they wilt."