Almost Losing Evan Lan 10

"Reasonable? He's a total devil, okay? He doesn't care about reason at all!"

Lily Bai: "Keep your voice down! If they hear you, you'll be punished and made to kneel again."

Helan Yu clamped a hand over her mouth.

...

Aunt Cui's cooking was delicious.

During dinner, the Supreme Emperor sighed between bites: "It's been ages since I've had Haiyu's cooking. I really miss it!"

Aunt Cui's full name: Cui Haiyu.

Aunt Cui just smiled faintly and said nothing.

Lily Bai couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, were you really close with Helan Xi's family back in the day?"

He'd even eaten Aunt Cui's cooking before?

The President glanced at her and said, "Yes! Very close, extremely close."

No one else said a word.

Lily Bai suddenly felt something odd about the atmosphere.

After dinner, the two elders showed no sign of leaving.

Instead, they told everyone they wanted to speak with Lily Bai alone.

So everyone else went up the mountain for a walk to digest, and Aunt Cui carried Moonlight away.

Only the President, General Lan, Jean Shaw, Helan Yu, and Lily Bai were left in the room.

Seeing their serious faces, as if about to discuss something major, Lily Bai grew uneasy. "Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked.

"Didn't you ask me who Helan Xi's father is?" the President began.

Lily Bai looked at him, then at General Lan, and hesitantly nodded.

"I'm planning to tell you today," said the President.

"Huh? Who?"

"Me."

Lily Bai was a little stunned. "Huh?"

"After he ran away from home, I couldn't find him for a long time. It wasn't until he was fifteen that I learned he was with your Bai family," the President said. "I tried to reach him many times, but he... refused to recognize me."

Lily Bai: "..."

"Senior, now you know, right? I really wasn't into him romantically. I was looking for him... because he's my real cousin! I wanted to bring him home," Jean Shaw added.

Lily Bai shifted her gaze from Jean Shaw to Helan Yu.

Helan Yu immediately raised her hand and swore, "I didn't know before! I only found out yesterday! Grandpa told me!"

Lily Bai looked over at her grandfather.

General Lan said, "When you and Helan Xi came to our house for the first time, and he said his mother was Lauren Lan, I immediately knew his true identity."

Lily Bai murmured to herself, "So, my mom's younger sister... it was her..."

She'd even encountered her spirit remnant at Spirit Harmony Temple...

"Lily," the President said, "You're my daughter-in-law, and Moonlight is my biological grandson, as well as the heir to the Supreme Emperor of China. I want you both to return to the Xiao family. What do you think?"

Lily Bai thought for a moment, then said, "...Your Majesty... I think we should ask Helan Xi about this. If he agrees, I have no objections."

"Ask him? How? Isn't he—" The President glanced at General Lan. "—abroad?"

Lily Bai guessed he probably knew about Helan Xi turning into a tree.

"You can still ask him even if he's abroad!" Helan Yu said, puzzled.

"He's investigating the Godslayer Syndicate right now, so it's hard to contact him," Lily Bai replied.

Helan Yu: "Oh... then let's just ask him when he gets back."

"Shut your mouth!" General Lan barked at her. "Will your lips fall off if you stop talking?"

Helan Yu closed her mouth, looking aggrieved.

Why couldn't she talk?

Was there something wrong with what she said?

"I have a way to get his opinion," Lily Bai said, looking at the President. "Just give me a little time, and I'll get back to you."