Little Pink Starfish

Whether to express concern or not—this was a serious question.
→ If he expressed it → the pervert would get jealous and destroy the world, what to do.
→ If he didn’t express it… watching his little brat acting so lovestruck—his fatherly heart hurt so much!

So Gu Bai became conflicted.
And as he was tangled in thought, someone came up behind him and hugged him.

Qiguan Rui’s soft voice rang out beside him: “Since gege wants to ask… then go ahead and ask.”
Gu Bai: “???”
So unbelievable—the damn pervert actually volunteered this!

Qiguan Rui let out a low laugh: “I like it when gege puts all his attention on me. So those obstacles ahead, I’ll just kick them out of the way… Just ask him. After you ask, gege won’t think about him anymore, okay?”

Damn, could this be any more considerate!

Gu Bai was deeply moved.
He knew just how hard it was for the pervert to make this kind of compromise. And yet he was still willing—wasn’t this true love leveled up?!
So touching. Really touching.

Gu Bai nodded with a completely expressionless face, and even did something rare—he reached out, and patted the pervert’s hair: “I agree.”
Qiguan Rui, seeing his gege so emotionally responsive, was overjoyed. He leaned in close, somewhat urgently pressing his lips to Gu Bai’s.

For a moment, the air was filled with ambiguity.
Lustful heat began to ignite in the room.
Qiguan Rui pinned Gu Bai down, and the two once again fell into a blazing, passionate atmosphere.

Roughly a day and a night later, Gu Bai dragged himself up covered in marks. After changing into a fresh robe, he resumed his dignified and solemn appearance and walked out.
Qiguan Rui followed behind, fully satisfied.

—Was it really like Gu Bai thought? All about compromise and thoughtfulness?
How could that be!

As a genuine pervert, Qiguan Rui had thoughtfulness and compromise, sure—but all of that was nothing compared to his utterly overwhelming jealousy.
The reason he’d allowed Gu Bai to “show concern” for the protagonist this time—
First, was to act sweet—hadn’t there been a “benefit” just yesterday?
Second, he’d seen through something, and decided to give it a small nudge.
He was working to hurry up and get that male lead Ling Feng—who had been subtly occupying Gu Bai’s attention—out of the picture.
That way, Gu Bai would be his again. Just his.

After mingling in human society for so long, Qiguan Rui was already skilled at this sort of thing.
—No matter how much someone cared about their kid, once the kid “started their own life,” their attention inevitably shifted away. If that kid ended up happy, they might not even remember their parents for a long time!

For example, back when he first returned to the modern world, Gu Bai’s real-life didi Gu Zhang—total brother complex—was the most difficult rival for Qiguan Rui, and stole Gu Bai’s attention like crazy! During that time, even though Qiguan Rui always won, Gu Zhang still occupied a huge part of Gu Bai’s mind! Unbearable!

But Qiguan Rui couldn’t use extreme methods.
Because if he did… Gu Bai would never forgive him. The love he already had would be ruined!

Qiguan Rui endured for a very long time.
He even found a girl for Gu Zhang, had her keep having babies, barely reducing Gu Zhang’s presence!
It was an unusually grueling battle.
But because that first battle had been so hard, Qiguan Rui gained a ton of experience and could easily defeat any future opponents!
So awesome!

And so, Qiguan Rui agreed to Gu Bai expressing concern for Ling Feng.
But! Even if it was just concern—Qiguan Rui had to come along.
Are you kidding? How could he let gege be alone with another man!
Even if that man posed zero threat—no way!

#deeplypossessivejealousycase
That’s how it was.

·

Ling Feng was still practicing swordsmanship.
His life had always been so routine. If Qiguan Rui wasn’t tormenting him, he would quietly get up, quietly practice swordsmanship, quietly… basically, very diligent!
Because when Qiguan Rui wasn’t torturing him, sword practice counted as a break!

Today was no different. Ling Feng slashed “shua shua shua,” paused, stared blankly for a minute, then “shua shua shua” again… and paused again…
He was zoning out so much, he didn’t even notice two people appear beside him!

That’s right—someone with Gu Bai’s presence! Ling Feng actually didn’t notice him!
And given how fine-tuned Ling Feng’s pervert-radar was (→ trained by torment), he didn’t even pick up on Qiguan Rui’s aura sparkling nearby for ages!
Incredible!

What to do.
But as a real father, not a stepdad, Gu Bai still decided to… ask properly.
Sigh.

After watching silently for half an hour, Gu Bai opened his mouth: “Ling Feng.”
He’d actually wanted to say “Feng’er” to act [BEEP] and express some fatherly love!
But the damn pervert wouldn’t allow it!

Ling Feng snapped back to awareness and turned his head: “Shizun.”
Ling Feng: “?”
You’re not looking at me? Shishu’s glare is shooting daggers already! Ge! Even if it won’t help, don’t you at least want to try avoiding the wrath!

Ling Feng gave a jolt. Wait! Shizun’s about to say something!

Gu Bai continued: “…You have something on your mind.”
Ling Feng: “！！！！！”
This is wrong! Since when did the ice block Shizun start caring about ge’s mental health?! Please don’t care! The pervert over there is terrifying! Ge’s not a coward, really!

Ling Feng held his breath, totally unsure what to do.
To answer or not to answer—that was the question.
What to answer—another question.
What now…

Gu Bai didn’t really understand his now slightly mutated son, and didn’t know that the kid was already screaming SOS in his heart…
So he just thought: maybe the kid’s having trouble speaking about it?
Damn—is he really bent?!

Gu Bai thought there was still hope for rescue.
So his dead-fish eyes swept over, radiating death glare: “Speak.”

Ling Feng reflexively blurted: “I’m thinking about a friend!”
Gu Bai: “Details.”
Friend, huh! Whenever someone says “friend,” it’s never a real friend! Damn it, if it were truly just a friend, why the hell is his face red?!

But a disciple had to obey his Shizun, right? “A teacher for one day is a father for life,” after all. Ling Feng, having just recovered from being caught off guard, figured Shizun probably already knew something. If he didn’t come clean, he might suffer! So better to confess and hope for leniency!

Ling Feng took a deep breath, and then, speaking quickly, he spilled everything about his relationship with Yin Jiuhen. He went into great detail, and every sentence praised Yin Jiuhen!
Yin Jiuhen looked good, was learned, sword skills were amazing, his insight profound—even if he was a demonic sword cultivator, he never did evil, okay?! He even saved people all the time! He had righteous values and totally didn’t fit the demonic path, probably just an unlucky man who became a demonic cultivator by mistake! Shizun, believe me! Believe me, believe me! Brother Yin is truly a good man!

Gu Bai: So in his eyes, this Yin Jiuhen is already radiant and flawless… This really is beyond saving! Can’t be sadder.
Even when stalking this kid before, he didn’t feel this bad. But now, hearing it from a Shizun’s perspective—it just felt like…
His kid was acting like a fangirl.
Completely speechless.

Gu Bai was silent for three seconds.
Ling Feng’s heart was in his throat. So high, so high.
What was Shizun thinking?! Say something! Drop the other shoe already! Disciple’s heart is crumbling here!

Then Gu Bai finally said: “Do you have to?”
Ling Feng didn’t understand: “What?”

【Do you have to be friends?】
—He just omitted those three words.

Qiguan Rui took this moment to slide in, asserting his presence: “What master means is…”
The word “master” came out thick with ambiguity, seeming to roll sensually off his tongue.

“…If a righteous cultivator wants to befriend a demonic cultivator, there will inevitably be many complications. Are you prepared for the doubt you’ll face from your peers?”
“Of course, if you’re determined… I, as your shishu, will still support you… After all, I’m not human either, am I?”

Ling Feng’s heart raced.
Holy crap—that came out of shishu’s mouth?! That’s not normal! But it kinda makes sense! If Shizun can be with the demon emperor, then maybe he really wouldn’t get mad about me being friends with a demonic cultivator!
Suddenly felt so safe—what to do!

Also! Was he the kind of person who’d ditch a good friend just because of identity issues? Of course not!

So Ling Feng got excited: “Yes! This disciple is ready! I won’t abandon that good friend! I wish to be lifelong friends with Brother Yin!”

Gu Bai held his forehead.
So this really is turning into a BL plotline…
But even if it’s gay! You can’t just be gay with anyone!

Gu Bai immediately assumed the posture of a disapproving father-in-law—at least mentally.
Then he said: “Invite him here.”
Yes! What the hell is this male side character! Hurry and bring him here for inspection!
Even if laozi can’t keep his son, whether the kid’s getting married out or bringing someone in—it’s still a serious matter!
Must take it seriously!

Ling Feng was overjoyed: “Yes, Shizun!”
And then, he impatiently rushed down the mountain.

Gu Bai: Damn it—what is with this “eager to throw himself into someone’s arms” vibe?!