If Wei Qing could redo this night, he would do everything in his power to prevent this "date" from ever happening.
Unfortunately, time didn't run backward. Right now, all he could do was grit his teeth and walk beside Jingliu toward the busiest, most glamorous cinema in Changle Heaven.
The entrance was packed with people. And at this hour, the vast majority were couples.
Compared to those lovers clinging to each other, Wei Qing simply stood quietly at Jingliu's side.
Maybe it was because his earlier question had made things awkward. The two of them kept a delicate distance—neither as distant as strangers, nor as close as they had been a moment ago.
Just as they were about to buy tickets, a familiar voice called out.
"Yo, isn't this Wei Qing and Jingliu? How'd you two end up mixed together?"
Yingxing strolled over with a lollipop in his mouth, one arm slung over Dan Feng's shoulder, looking thoroughly amused.
Dan Feng wore his usual gentle smile, his eyes calmly sweeping back and forth between Wei Qing and Jingliu.
"Yingxing? Dan Feng?" Wei Qing's expression stayed neutral. "You two here to watch a movie too?"
"Yeah. I'm actually free for once lately," Yingxing said. "And the Dragon Elders in Dan Feng's 'home' have started acting up again, so I dragged him out to clear his head."
"Honestly, seeing a movie once in a while isn't bad. But at this time it's basically the couples' slot. Staying here just feels uncomfortable."
He glanced between them.
"You two must've just come out from somewhere too, right? Since we ran into each other, how about we call Bai Heng and Jing Yuan and go grab a drink?"
From the way Yingxing said it, he clearly assumed Wei Qing and Jingliu had just walked out of some theater already.
Wei Qing, meanwhile, felt his soul leave his body a little.
Was he supposed to say they were literally about to buy tickets…?
"Bai Heng's busy at the Sky-Faring Commission tonight," Jingliu answered first. She looked like she intended to brush the two of them off cleanly.
"Jing Yuan's busy too. I already tried to ask him earlier," Wei Qing quickly followed along.
"Ah, that's a shame." Yingxing shrugged, completely missing what was going on. "I found a newly opened tavern recently—the liquor's great. Guess it'll have to be just the four of us tonight."
Dan Feng, on the side, did feel that Jingliu was a little… unusual tonight. But he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly was different, so in the end he didn't say anything.
Jingliu looked helpless. She shot Yingxing an annoyed, resentful glance, then looked at Wei Qing with slight apology.
Even though she said nothing, Wei Qing understood.
Tonight's "date" was probably dead.
At the tavern, the four of them found a quiet corner. Yingxing ordered several pots of liquor and a few drinking snacks with practiced ease, then immediately started talking.
"By the way, Wei Qing—what have you been busy with lately? I haven't seen you come out drinking in ages." Yingxing poured a cup and pushed it toward him.
"Nothing special," Wei Qing said, taking the cup and sipping lightly. "Just more work at the General's mansion."
"Oh?" Dan Feng perked up. "Did General Teng Xiao assign you something again?"
Wei Qing smiled. "Just trivial errands. Not worth mentioning."
He didn't want to linger on that topic. Some tasks involved confidential matters. It wasn't that he couldn't tell these friends—but with so many ears around, it was too easy for the wrong person to overhear.
General Teng Xiao was already old now, not far from the age where mara-struck decline would become a real risk. Across the Luofu—across the entire Xianzhou—everyone knew the General intended Wei Qing to succeed him.
After all, at this point in time, the number of people on the Luofu qualified to take the General's seat could be counted on one hand.
Sword Champion Jingliu—while still physically and mentally sound—was undeniably nearing the age where most Xianzhou people began approaching mara.
Dan Feng, the High Elder, was powerful and young, but he was a Vidyadhara; for political reasons alone, he couldn't serve as General.
Only Jing Yuan might truly compete with Wei Qing—but on a Xianzhou that worshiped the Reignbow Arbiter, Wei Qing's blessing from Lan gave him a massive political advantage from birth.
Strictly speaking, Wei Qing could even be considered a kind of Hunt-aligned "Emanator" already.
Some even speculated that the Hunt's power reached across past and future—so perhaps the reason Lan favored Wei Qing was because, in the future, Wei Qing would do something earth-shaking… something that even stirred the Reignbow Arbiter.
After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere warmed.
Yingxing got a little too buzzed and started slurring through funny stories from the Artisanship Commission. Wei Qing and Dan Feng occasionally chimed in.
Only Jingliu remained silent—one cup after another, drinking alone. Clearly, she still cared about the "date" that had been interrupted.
"See? I told you this place has good liquor—Jingliu can't even stop drinking!" Yingxing laughed, pointing drunkenly at the empty pots in front of her.
Jingliu lifted her eyes. They were glossy with a faint drunken sheen, and for once she looked… strangely vulnerable, almost wronged.
"…Mm."
"Hey, isn't there a super popular movie lately?" Yingxing fished for a new topic. "What was it called—Star River Love Song? Saw a bunch of couples going in earlier."
"And I'm telling you—if some idiot drags his girlfriend to watch that trash, they might as well break up early."
Wei Qing's cup nearly slipped from his hand.
He instinctively looked at Jingliu.
The Sword Champion was staring at Yingxing—hard. A cold glint flickered in her eyes.
"Yingxing." Jingliu's voice was even colder than usual. "What did you just say?"
"I said that movie is garbage! Cliché plot, overacted to hell—only good for fooling lovestruck couples."
"I went to see it alone when I had time. If you ask me, the male lead is shameless."
"A guy already close to mara-struck age, and he still goes around ruining some young girl's life—he deserves to die!"
Yingxing kept ranting, completely unaware that Jingliu's gaze was turning more and more dangerous.
Under the table, Wei Qing kicked Yingxing lightly.
Instead of getting the hint, Yingxing got even more fired up.
"Why'd you kick me? I'm serious! That movie should be banned!"
"And honestly, if that kind of male lead actually existed in real life, he should learn from Jingliu."
"You're old—act your age. Stop thinking about preying on the young! When he eventually goes mara-struck, what—he expects the girl to spend centuries as a living widow?"
Yingxing grew more and more animated, even slapping the table.
Meanwhile, cold sweat slid down Wei Qing's back.
This thick-skulled idiot…
He was begging for death.
Join here to read ahead.
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Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter35)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter35)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter35)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter35)
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