The World Won't Wait

After that cold night on the rooftop, Xiao Xun'er spent a long time thinking.

Not sulking. Not spiraling.

Just... thinking.

And when morning came, she quietly returned to being herself. Calm. Poised. Gentle when she wanted to be, sharp when she had to.

She didn't bring up the auction again. Didn't ask about Ya Fei.

She simply appeared in the training courtyard like always—wooden blade in hand, brows knit in focus.

Xiao Ranyu blinked when he saw her.

"You're not busy anymore?" he asked, half-joking.

"No," she said, still not looking at him. "You're just insufferably dense to be around sometimes."

He chuckled. "So... business as usual?"

"Business as usual," she replied, already shifting into stance.

---

From then on, life slid back into motion.

Xiao Ranyu trained with Xun'er daily—sparring, bickering, arguing about overpriced dumplings from their favorite vendor.

But he didn't stop seeing Ya Fei either.

Whenever he wasn't being dragged across the courtyard by Xun'er, he'd slip down to the Miteer Auction House. Sneak into the VIP balcony. Toss sarcastic commentary at Ya Fei during live bids and watch her suppress a smile.

Sometimes he went shopping with Xiao Xun'er.

Sometimes with Ya Fei.

And occasionally—heaven help him—with both.

Xun'er had developed a peculiar habit of "coincidentally" showing up just as he was heading out. Always just in time to join them.

What surprised him wasn't that they went out together.

It was that… they got along.

Slowly.

Naturally.

What started as cautious politeness became shared small talk. Then exchanged glances. Then the occasional private joke—usually at his expense.

One afternoon, as the two girls walked ahead of him at a street stall, laughing at something he'd clearly missed, Ranyu blinked.

"I don't get it," he muttered. "How do they go from strangers to friends in under a week?"

A beat.

"Must be one of those... sisterhood things."

He never guessed it had anything to do with him.

He just assumed women worked like that.

---

Behind the calm, his path moved quietly forward.

He hadn't forced his cultivation in the past two years. A bottleneck had made that clear.

But where Dou Qi halted… his soul pressed on.

Unseen. Unhurried.

Now, his soul had slipped into the Spiritual Realm—calm, stable, and vast. A quiet treasure few noticed.

"I probably won't need to touch soul cultivation again until I'm pushing 8-tier alchemist," he mused, watching moonlight pool across his window. "Good. That saves a headache."

Even without trying, his potential carried him forward.

By now, he stood at the Dou King realm. He could break into 5th-tier alchemist if he wished. But there was no rush.

He still had time in Wu Tan City.

A little.

Because soon, the wheels of fate would begin to turn.

---

Xiao Xun'er and Ya Fei both felt it.

When Ranyu laughed, they both smiled.

When he argued with a merchant, they both listened.

When he leaned too close to a fire stall and nearly lit his sleeve, they both laughed—and exchanged a glance.

They didn't speak of it.

Not yet.

But something had shifted.

It wasn't love.

Not fully.

It was quieter than that. Elusive. Like the echo of something not yet said.

"Why does it feel like something's about to change?" Xun'er thought, watching him ruffle a child's hair at the candy stall.

"Why does the room feel colder when he leaves?" Ya Fei wondered, catching herself watching him trace characters in dust on her study desk.

No answers.

Not yet.

But the days were shortening.

And something was coming.

---

Xiao Ranyu was thirteen now.

The Xiao Clan's annual strength test loomed ahead—a gathering of clan prestige, where prodigies flaunted their growth and elders reaffirmed their pride.

Ranyu never attended.

"Why show off now," he once said, "when I plan to stun the whole continent later?"

But this year… felt different.

This was the year Yao Lao would awaken—Xiao Yan's great turning point.

Soon, his third brother would embark on the path of destiny: to the Little Doctor Fairy, the remnant of Heavenly Flame map, the cave…

And Ranyu?

He had his own trail to blaze.

He would not be left behind.

---

So, quietly, he began to prepare.

No fanfare.

Just a small satchel. One or two sealed map scrolls. Some alchemy herbs from his stash. A bundle of spices for late-night fire-grilled meat.

He moved with practiced ease.

Until someone noticed.

---

Xiao Xun'er found him kneeling under the magnolia tree, quietly strapping down a scroll.

She'd come to scold him for skipping lunch. But her steps slowed.

His face was calm. Focused. No smugness, no teasing—just quiet intent.

"...What are you doing?" she asked.

He didn't look up. "Packing."

"For what?"

"Leaving soon," he said, tying off a satchel. "Time to start my real training."

Silence bloomed between them.

When he finally glanced up, she stood still. Not angry.

Just… stunned.

"You're leaving," she said. "Alone?"

He stretched, lifting the satchel with a grunt. "Can't stay forever. The world won't wait."

She opened her mouth. Closed it again.

He turned to go.

"I'll be in the courty—"

He stopped.

Her arms slid around him from behind—tight, almost hesitant. But real.

"Xun'er?"

"Don't go," she whispered.

He turned, heart skipping once.

"You—"

"I like you," she said, firm and breathless. "I've liked you for a long time. And if I don't say it now… I'll regret it."

Ranyu blinked.

Then, slowly, he smiled. That same crooked, infuriating smile.

"You make it sound like I'm marching off to die on a frozen cliff," he teased.

She didn't loosen her grip. "Don't joke."

He gently turned her, so they stood face to face.

"I know."

"So?" she said, voice quiet.

"So... I accept," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "And I should probably apologize for that whole multiple wives speech... I wasn't exactly thinking."

She narrowed her eyes. "You'd better not have been planning."

"Zero plans," he said, raising both hands. "Just poor phrasing, bad mood, and even worse timing."

They stood under the magnolia tree in silence, no more words needed.

Whatever had been unspoken between them—it didn't need naming anymore.

When he turned to leave, she crossed her arms.

"And no chasing random women on the road."

Ranyu scoffed. "Hey, I'm not some lovestruck fool who forgets how to walk when a pretty girl passes."

She smirked. "Sure. I'll believe that when you prove it."

---

Later That Day — Miteer Auction House

Xiao Ranyu stopped by the auction house—quiet, casual, like it was any other day.

But Ya Fei was already waiting.

She wore crimson again. Always crimson. Draped in silk and dusklight, lounging in the window seat like she hadn't just spent thirty minutes pretending not to check the door.

"So," she said without turning. "You're really leaving."

Ranyu blinked. "Xun'er told you?"

"She didn't have to," Ya Fei replied, lifting her tea. "You've had that look in your eyes for weeks now. Like your shadow's already a step ahead of you."

She stood and walked over, holding out a small storage ring.

"Travel robes," she said. "Lightweight. Fire-resistant. Practical. You'll need them."

He took it, eyes narrowing with quiet surprise. "You made these?"

"I had them made," she corrected. "I don't sew. I delegate."

A soft pause bloomed between them.

"Just… be careful," she said at last. Her voice had dropped to something low, real. "The world isn't kind to clever boys."

Ranyu smirked. "I'll manage. I've got two terrifying sisters to yell at me if I don't."

She looked at him—half amused, half something unreadable.

"Do you remember what I said the first time we met?"

He grinned. "The part where you called me a brat in training pants?"

"No." She stepped closer.

"The part where I didn't throw you out."

He blinked.

Then smiled.

"I'll remember."

---

That Night — Xiao Estate

Moonlight slipped between magnolia branches, silvering the tiles below.

Ranyu stood beneath the magnolia tree—pack at his feet, pendant warm against his chest, glowing faintly with low flame.

The courtyard felt different tonight.

Still. Heavy. Like the moment before a leap.

Two girls had opened their hearts to him. Neither tried to stop him. Neither begged him to stay.

Because both believed—

In who he was.

In what he could become.

Even if it meant waiting.

Even if it meant walking behind, not beside.

For now.

He tilted his head, gazing up at the sky where clouds drifted like passing thoughts.

"Alright then," he muttered, cinching the strap across his chest. "Let's see what's out there."

And with the wind behind him,

Xiao Ranyu took his first step into the wide, waiting world.