Slipping Through My Fingers | Xicheng

Chapter 16

"So, A-Shan. How long are you going to be staying with us this time? Even a more important question is, did you pay a visit to your father, who misses you dearly?" Jian Cheng asked, eying the young man playfully.

"Yes, Uncle, I went to Qinghe on my way here. I wouldn't dare disrespect my father in this way. Besides, I also missed him. I would have come sooner, hadn’t it been for a demonic cultivator that injured me during a fight.” He confessed, and Ren Tian’s head snapped right in his direction.

“What do you mean you were injured? When? Why didn’t you say anything when you arrived or in a letter? How can you be this irresponsible? Do you want me to break you something as a punishment, you absolute idiot?” Ren Tian asked, coming near him, grabbing his wrist and checking his spiritual energy flow. “You will all be the death of me, I swear. Are you alright? Is something hurting you?”

Jiang Cheng chuckled at his son's behavior. He reminded him so much of himself that it was highly ridiculous. Was he also like that in the eyes of other people? Angry and irritated because he was concerned? The probability is high. 

"I am fine, I really am. It's all healed now, you don't have to worry anymore. I am right here." He took his fiancé's hand in his and kissed it.

Jiang Cheng grunted. "I'm still here. I don't think I need to remind you that you're not married yet, or do I? I'm also well aware that A-Shan sneaks into your bedroom at night, A-Tian."

Ren Tian rolled his eyes at his father. "And I don't think that I have to remind you that I remember the period of your and fath... Ehmm Lan Xichen's courtship. You two weren't exactly prude, I would say."

Jiang Wanyin's blush became so red that it looked like he might suffocate from the lack of oxygen. “Ren Tian! I am going to break your legs. Just you wait, just you wait!"

Nie Shaoshan laughed at their antics with fondness. It’s one of the things that he misses during his travels.

"I'm happy to be back. I simply regret that the incident caused me to miss A-Ling’s birthday. I even fetched him a gift on my way back. Ohhh, speaking of gifts. Did you receive yours?" He looked at Jiang Cheng in askance.

The man nodded. “Yes, I did. Thank you for remembering. And don’t worry about A-Ling, he will understand. There was no banquet, we just had a family dinner.”

“Didn’t those jerks at Lanling want to throw some exaggerated party?”

Jiang Cheng snorted, "Of course they did, but the brat told them to fuck off and stop bothering him."

"It does sound like something that A-Ling would do." He laughed, sipping on his tea.

“So,” Jiang Cheng started, straightening his back and looking at the both of them, “do you guys think that you are finally ready to set a wedding date?”

Ren Tian and Nie Shaoshan looked each other in the eyes and smiled after a moment, nodding their heads.

“Yes, Baba. We are ready for the wedding talk.”

***

They didn’t exclude Lan Xichen from negotiating the marriage contract. Ren Tian can be mad at the man as long as he wants to, but in the eyes of others he is still his father and should be present at such a time. 

There weren’t many points in the contract since almost everything had been decided beforehand. It was just a formality, but one that made Nie Huaisang come back to Lotus Pier nonetheless.

“To be honest, I knew that you two won’t be living with me the moment you told me that you don’t want to be a Sect Leader.” He looked at his son with fondness. “I won’t argue about it, however I expect frequent visits… And grandchildren.”

“Dad.” A-Shan blushed a heavy crimson. A-Tian wasn’t much different.

"What? I ain't getting any younger, so if you want me to take care of my grandchildren you need to hurry up."

"He isn't wrong, you know. No pressure though." Jiang Cheng said, making Ren Tian to roll his eyes. His father was truly impossible at times.

Lan Xichen smiled softly. "I think," he started shyly, not wanting to overstep his son's kindness. After all, he allowed him to be here and he doesn't want to pull a wrong string and destroy the last ounce of tolerance that he has for him. "I think that since we are at the topic of possible adoption, you have to decide whose family name the child would take. Since A-Shan wants to live in Lotus Pier, then the child would be a possible Sext Heir, therefore I would suggest for it to have A-Tian's and be a Ren." 

Ren Tian cleared his throat before he looked at A-Shan and smiled softly. The man nodded at him, the two of them having some sort of an unspoken conversation.

"Actually, I have done some thinking lately and I think that if it's going to be after me, then it should be Jiang, just like mine." He stated quietly, almost whispering at the end.

Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng looked at him with unreadable expressions on their faces, as if they were too stunned to speak. It took them a minute to actually comprehend the meaning of their son's words.

"Are you sure that this is what you want? I thought that you didn't want it." Jiang Cheng asks, his heart squeezing in his chest, but not painfully. It was a sort of dream come true for him.

"Yes, I want to be a Jiang. I am certain of it. I wasn't sure earlier, because it felt like I would erase my biological parents from my life completely by doing so. You see, I hardly remember their faces at this point, and I thought that it would be unfair to them, as it is not their fault that they are gone from my life. But now I know it's not true. They will always be in my heart no matter if I am Ren or a Jiang, and I want to be a Jiang."

If anyone saw a flash of tears in Jiang Cheng's eyes, they left it without comment. It wasn't a secret that Jiang Cheng waited for this moment to come, and was a bit afraid that it never would. Now that it did, he was happy beyond being able to describe it with words. It felt to him like some part of his life just came to an end.