Cheng Bai’s face twisted with unwillingness. Wang Jin hurriedly added, "Don’t get upset yet. Hear me out."
"……" Cheng Bai watched him, waiting.
Wang Jin counted on his fingers. "I’ve been in Danmu Tribe for almost half a year, not counting the time I spent wandering the wilderness… Think about it. If your brother really liked me—or even cared—wouldn’t he have tried to find me sooner? Or at least come to see me once you found me?"
At the very least, he should have checked if his fiance (the original owner, now Wang Jin) was safe.
But from the moment Cheng Bai appeared, even after staying in the tribe for so many days, that so-called fiance never showed up.
After a pause, Wang Jin added, "And don’t say it’s because of the beast horde. I know it’s dangerous, but you told me yourself a few days ago that your brother is the martial hall leader in the city, one of its top warriors. If you could make it through the horde, he definitely could too."
"……" Cheng Bai fell silent. His "brother" was indeed the martial hall leader, responsible for the city’s hunting expeditions. While he couldn’t charge through the beast horde like the ancient beastmen, he could navigate it carefully.
Meaning, if his brother truly wanted to visit the little one from Ning’an City—or anywhere else—he could have… But…
The little one wasn’t his brother’s ger, so of course he wouldn’t come…
Cheng Bai studied the little one before him. As he spoke, there was a faint trace of displeasure and resentment in his eyes at being neglected… Cheng Bai’s heart inexplicably panicked, and he blurted out, "Do you resent him?"
"?" Wang Jin looked at him strangely.
Cheng Bai stumbled over his words. "You… do you resent him for taking so long to find you?"
The beastman’s unique silver eyes fixed on him, his brows slightly furrowed, lips pressed together. Even though he tried to appear normal, Wang Jin could see the tension beneath.
This tension felt out of place. They had been talking about Cheng Bai’s brother this whole time, so why did it seem like he was asking for himself…?
Wang Jin studied Cheng Bai suspiciously when suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his head. Fragments of memories flashed before him.
"Brother Bai! I… I like you!"
"Xi Yao, calm down. You’re my brother’s fiance!"
In his mind… the soft-spoken ger seemed to have mustered all his courage, trembling as he confessed to the beastman, only to be met with a response that drained all color from his face…
Wang Jin blinked at Cheng Bai, his lips parting slightly in shock, revealing a glimpse of white teeth.
"I…" Wang Jin felt his teeth chattering, his lips trembling. "Did I… ever tell you I liked you?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he clamped his lips shut, wishing he could slap himself.
It should have been, "Did the original owner ever confess to you?" But since he was the original owner now… the question wasn’t entirely wrong.
"……" Cheng Bai’s eyes flickered with surprise, then delight. "You remember?"
Not "No," but "You remember?"
So the original owner really had—
Wang Jin sucked in a sharp breath. "Cheng… Cheng Bai… you… me… I…"
His fingers trembled as he pointed at himself, then at Cheng Bai, tongue-tied as if he’d forgotten how to speak. "I… I’m engaged to your brother, and yet…"
Wang Jin swallowed hard, pointing at himself as he stared wide-eyed at Cheng Bai. "I liked you?"
Fiance and brother-in-law?! Wang Jin’s shocked eyes widened, forgetting to even breathe.
"……" Cheng Bai stiffened, standing there as if unsure how to react, but his expression held no denial.
Wang Jin’s heart sank. He knew he’d guessed right…
His face paled, his mind reeling.
What kind of person was the original owner?!
If the original owner liked this man, then what about him?
This man had traveled far to find him, ignored his own injuries to give him the Qianjin Pill, followed Brother Heng to bring him glow-petal flowers, and even—
Wang Jin looked down at the pastry in his hands, then back at Cheng Bai.
Even made pastries with his own hands and delivered them to him in the middle of the night…
The delicious treat in his hands suddenly felt like a hot coal. He hurriedly shoved it back into Cheng Bai’s hands, stammering, "Th-this should… should be returned to you."
"……" The pastry was forced back into his palms. Cheng Bai looked down at the now-crumbled treats, their shape ruined from being passed back and forth…
It was as if his heart had suffered the same fate.
The little one was rejecting him. Even when he had mistakenly believed the engagement was with his "brother," he had clung to Cheng Bai desperately! But now…
Cheng Bai’s fingers tightened, crushing the pastry completely.
"It’s late. You should go back. Regardless of a ger and a beastman being alone together in the middle of the night… as long as this engagement isn’t dissolved, we’re future brother-in-law and sister-in-law. It’s inappropriate for us to be together like this. We should avoid suspicion."
Knowing that bringing up Yuan Heng wouldn’t work, Wang Jin used the fiance he’d never even met to send Cheng Bai away.
"……" Cheng Bai’s lowered silver eyes flickered with hesitation, but it soon hardened into resolve. He looked up, meeting Wang Jin’s gaze with solemn determination, his expression utterly transparent. "Little pampered one, what if I told you… the engagement was actually mine…?"
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