Fei Bai Mu and Hua Lin Rong had no problem seeing that Xin Lan was having trouble with this. Fei Bai Mu wasn’t sure what to do though considering that what her disciple was saying wasn’t completely wrong.

She had seen how he got closer to Xiao Li bit by bit. That didn’t mean that she agreed with it or with the way Hua Lin Yu had gone about things but this was something that she couldn’t solve for them. She could give them a place to talk and she could facilitate a meeting but that was all. As for actually solving the issue, they could only do that themselves and it really didn’t look like they were making progress there.

Just when she was wondering if maybe she should get involved after all, Hua Lin Rong already took it upon himself to do so instead.

He stepped forward, keeping an eye on Xin Lan while he ran to grab his younger brother. “Xiao Yu, I realize that things are probably not looking too well between you and Xin Lan right now but I’m sure that the two of you will be able to sort this out. No matter what was in the past, you can always talk about it and find a way, can’t you?

“Why don’t you just take a moment to sit down for this? Even if you don’t want to do it in front of your Master and me, you should at least go and listen to what Xin Lan has to say. I’m sure that after that, things will be much clearer for the both of you.” He gave him a hopeful smile, feeling that maybe Hua Lin Yu was just too embarrassed to talk about it in front of them. When they were alone, maybe he would have an easier time.

To his surprise, his brother shook his head though. “You don’t understand this, big brother! It’s not like that. I really love Xiao Li. He … he is meant for me. I just know that.”

Hua Lin Rong stared at him before he gave Xin Lan an uneasy glance. It was bad enough that his brother had somehow gotten involved with another man in a time when nobody had been looking but to actually say that he was meant to be with that man while his fiance was standing just a couple of steps away from him was really too much.

Hua Lin Rong rubbed his forehead, not sure how to proceed. If they had been alone, he could’ve asked if this was the same kind of thing that he had been talking about when he met Bai Mu. By now, this was already the third man that he saw as his fate.

Bai Mu was obviously out of the question since he was happily married but Xin Lan was willing to make up with Xiao Yu despite everything, so why did it have to be guy number three now? Even though he hadn’t met this Xiao Li, he didn’t think that he would be any better than Xin Lan. He definitely couldn’t be more familiar with Xiao Yu just based on the time his brother had already spent with his fiance. Why was that suddenly not worth anything?

But even though he really wanted to grab his younger brother by the shoulders and shake him and maybe even yell at him for once, he could hardly say any of that with Xin Lan next to them, could he? Thus, he had to swallow down those words, just giving his brother a look that hopefully transported his disappointment.

Hua Lin Yu also had some things that he wanted to tell his brother but he, as well, could only give Xin Lan a careful look, not wanting to express it in front of him.

Xin Lan turned his gaze away, his brows drawing together. After a moment, he finally sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Well, it doesn’t seem like Xiao Yu wants to talk to me right now. I will leave first then. If you reconsider, we can still have that talk.” Saying so, he turned to Sect Master Fei, giving a faint smile. “Sect Master, I would like to stay at the Jian Yi Sect at least for a couple of days. Maybe you could give me a place for so long?”

Fei Bai Mu nodded, thankful that he was making things easy for her disciple. Hua Lin Yu surely hadn’t given him any reason to treat him this well right now but it spoke for Xin Lan that he didn’t let that get between them. “Of course. I guess we should leave the two brothers alone for a moment then.” She got up, intending to lead him to a place herself. In any case, from the looks of it, there was something these two had to talk about by themselves. If it helped with sorting out this mess, she was all for that.

Xin Lan nodded and then turned to Hua Lin Yu, his gaze complicated. “I know, right now, you don’t really want to see me. But I will stay around. Maybe you will change your mind. If not, you can also let me know.

“In any case, we were supposed to marry each other. I won’t give that up that easily. I didn’t back then in the dragon realm and I will not do so now that we are in the mortal realm. You should know that.” He looked at him, very much wanting to at least pull him into his arms for a moment but he finally held back and then just nodded at his brother as well before he left with the Sect Master.

As soon as he was sure that the two of them were out of earshot, Hua Lin Rong grabbed his brother by the arm and pulled him back into the palace. “What’s the meaning of this? Just a few weeks ago, you were worried that Xin Lan wouldn’t forgive you for what you did. Why is there suddenly another man involved?

“How could you … How could you do this? Any of this? Running away, running away again, getting involved with somebody else, saying something like that straight to Xin Lan’s face when he came to apologize to you?

“What is going on with you?” Really, he did not understand Xiao Yu anymore. This person … he didn’t seem like that sweet brother that he had watched growing up from afar. No, it really felt as if there was something else going on, something that he did not understand.

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