Hua Lin Rong stared blankly, unable to react for a while. Big brother? He would know if he had a younger brother like this. He wanted to push him off but when he grabbed Xiang Yu’s shoulders, the youth in question looked up with limpid eyes, making him pause.

Hua Lin Rong … admittedly, he was soft at heart when it came to cute things. This was an effect cultivated entirely after his younger brother’s birth but it prevailed even after so many years. Seeing those glittering eyes, that looked at him with longing and dependency, he simply couldn’t bring himself to push the other person off.

He cleared his throat, trying not to feel as awkward, and then raised his brows. “What happened?” Anyway, he first needed to find out a little more. Then, he could figure out how to navigate this situation.

Unfortunately for him, this question made Xiang Yu’s eyes swim in tears again. “It’s that Xiao Li! He actually dared to attack me after I broke up with him. You were right when you said that he was no good. I should have stayed with Xin Lan from the beginning. I’m sorry. I really should have listened to you.” He grabbed onto Hua Lin Rong’s robe, sniffling pitifully.

Yes, he really regretted it a lot. He had been warned so often but hadn’t taken it seriously. Just because he himself didn’t have good eyesight, why hadn’t he used his common sense and realized that there had to be something wrong if everyone around him warned him of one person? Why had he still insisted?

Hua Lin Rong had no time to care for Xiang Yu’s dilemma. His mind blanked when he heard those few points and his heart seemed to fall into an abyss. His grip on Xiang Yu’s shoulders tightened and he took a shaky breath. “You say that again, what happened?” He tried to make his voice sound calm but it still trembled in the end.

Xiang Yu looked up, those tears still clinging to his eyelashes. “I said I was wrong before. I finally also realized that so I got back together with Xin Lan and broke up with Xiao Li. But he got angry or … actually, I don’t know what got into him. He ran away and when I wanted answers from him, he dared to kill me! That An Rong from the Demonic Ancestor’s Poisonous Herb Garden still tried to help me but it was already too late. I can’t believe Xiao Li would go so far!”

Hua Lin Rong gulped but his eyes turned red. “Xiao Yu …”

Xiang Yu looked at him curiously, clearly waiting for some kind of question.

Hua Lin Rong shook his head and leaned down, hugging him closely. Xiao Yu … he might not understand everything but he was sure of one thing: His beloved little brother was gone. Somehow, he had turned into this youth and had now returned here. He didn’t know how or why, he only knew that somebody had wronged his brother greatly.

The tears spilled from his eyes, falling onto Xiang Yu’s shoulders as hot drops.

The fallen god raised his hands in confusion and finally raised his head to look up at the man he had called his older brother for years. Seeing his expression, he felt uncomfortable. Actually, Hua Lin Rong wasn’t his brother but … he still wanted him to be. In his three lifetimes, he had only had a sibling as Hua Lin Yu. He didn’t want to give up on that. He had really liked the care and love he received from his family members.

Seeing his brother like this, he also felt distressed. He reached up and wiped away his tears with his own lips trembling. “Big brother, don’t cry! Anyway … at least Xin Lan was there. So it’s not like I was all alone.”

This fact didn’t make a difference to Hua Lin Rong but he still nodded and wiped away the rest of his tears. “Then … what about Xiao Li?” He didn’t believe that Xin Lan would let him get away but he still needed to know.

“Oh, I killed him.”

Hua Lin Rong stared at him in a daze. There was no situation in which he could imagine his cute younger brother saying words like ‘I killed him’ so nonchalantly. But then, this wasn’t his brother, was he?

He reached up and put a hand on Xiang Yu’s head as he had always done with Xiao Yu. Actually, the difference … while it was there, it wasn’t so big that he had trouble believing any of this. Not that he completely understood. “You … how did you turn out like this then?”

Xiang Yu looked down at himself, wondering if there was anything strange about it. In the end, he only shook his head, not bothering about that any longer and turning back to Hua Lin Rong. “Well, I woke up in the High Heavens. I was really unhappy though. I asked Tian for help to go on this trial. Now, I didn’t even get to marry the man I love! How is this any fair?!”

Hua Lin Rong nodded blankly. Slowly, he was piecing everything together. “Then … what’s your name?” Actually, he wanted to know more about his brother but talking to this youth was a bit difficult. He felt that if he had a name he could use to pull his attention back, it would be a lot easier.

“Oh, it’s Xiang Yu. But you can still call me Xiao Yu!” Really, he didn’t want for anything to change. He wanted everything to stay as before as if nothing had happened.

Hua Lin Rong gave a tense smile, trying not to let his hurt shine through. “That … I don’t know. It feels a bit wrong.” He winced when he saw Xiang Yu’s expression fall and hurriedly thought of an alternative. “How about … calling you Ah Xiang? You are a god, right? So that’s also your personal name?”

Xiang Yu nodded and pondered the name for a while. Finally, he gave a reluctant nod. “Well, I can see why you’d prefer this. I still think Xiao Yu is better but … if you can’t bring yourself to do it, it’s alright.” Anyway, when it came to your family members, you ought to make some compromises, right?

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