Chapter 26: Stirring Thoughts Part 3

“All we have to do is play our parts properly as his ordeal. Once it’s all done, we send him back to the heavens nice and smooth. Otherwise, he sticks around here forever.”

“Forever,” he repeated for emphasis.

Shen Changqing got the picture.

“So last life, I pulled it off, which means this life, it’s on me again?”

“Exactly,” Su Mingyao confirmed.

“Last time, you were the one lurking in the Garden, eavesdropping on my talk with Su Shang. That’s why he just locked you in place with his power, forcing you to repeat the scene—even though you had zero interest in spying.”

Suddenly, it all clicked for Shen Changqing.

Every bizarre thing that had befallen him today stemmed from Su Shang!

Unable to leave the Garden, stuck frozen on the spot—it was all because this god was running through his tribulation, following a rigid script where Shen Changqing played the role of his nemesis.

“Then… he’s going to get mad, right?” Shen Changqing said.

“We’re his tribulation. We throw obstacles in his path. That’s got to piss him off.”

“Judging by last life’s memories, he was pretty steamed,” Su Mingyao put it mildly.

Steamed? He’d been livid enough to nearly kill him.

“So, for pissing off a god, our fate probably won’t be pretty?” Shen Changqing jabbed a thumb at himself, his face twisting into an expression straight out of Journey to the West’s Catfish Monster.

Me? You want me to rile up this Su Shang you call a god?

“…Afraid so,” Su Mingyao admitted.

“But sitting it out isn’t an option. You have no idea what Su Shang might pull for his tribulation.” He was trying to talk some sense into him.

“I’ll think it over,” Shen Changqing replied.

Fat chance! Pissing off Su Shang right now gets me nothing but grief. No way am I playing tribulation! he grumbled inwardly.

Su Mingyao read it on his face and knew Shen Changqing wasn’t budging. He let out a sigh.

Looks like he won’t play ball until he tastes world-ending doom himself. When it hits, I’ll steer clear—just don’t shut me away again. I’ll go down with the ship!

Su Mingyao hardened his resolve, casting aside more than a decade of marital bonds. He’d keep his distance when Shen Changqing bit the dust.

Back in the Black Void, he and Su Bingyao had theorized about what triggered entry there.

Su Mingyao believed that as long as someone entered once, then no matter who Su Shang destroyed the world for afterward, they would enter whenever the world was destroyed.

Su Bingyao insisted otherwise. This time, he had been purely dragged into it. He should have perished along with the world, but he had been too close to Su Mingyao. Next time, he planned to keep his distance.

Su Mingyao hoped Su Bingyao’s view was the correct one.

~~~

That evening, the banquet was held in the form of a birthday celebration, though everyone knew full well it was actually a recognition banquet.

Today, at the Su Family’s suburban manor, Su Mingyao would be officially welcomed back into the Su Family and introduced to all the prominent clans of B City who had been invited to attend.

Su Tiancheng arrived early at the prepared venue, driven by pure curiosity. What on earth had Su Shang done to turn his usually bold and stubborn wife, Li Qingshu, into such a timid and cautious shadow of herself? He had never seen her so careful before.

Li Qingshu had arrived even earlier. Her face was pale, her body swaying unsteadily, yet she stubbornly insisted on taking the stage to host—because Su Mingyao had told her that in her previous life, she was the one who had hosted it, and Su Shang had spared her for that very reason.

Su Mingyao and his brother Su Bingyao had also come ahead of time. Su Bingyao secretly flashed Su Mingyao a thumbs-up, signaling his encouragement.

Su Mingyao had no time for this so-called brother who lacked any sibling loyalty—the one he had blocked before—and simply rolled his eyes at him.

Su Tiancheng watched their little private exchange and felt their relationship seemed quite solid.

But if that closeness was built on excluding Su Shang, it wasn’t ideal. He wanted to see harmony among the three brothers, not two of them forming a clique to shut out the third.

Su Tiancheng had originally assumed it would be Su Shang and Su Bingyao teaming up against Su Mingyao, given the genuine bond those two shared after more than twenty years as brothers.

He never expected the newcomer Su Mingyao and Su Bingyao to end up the closer pair. Was this the magic of blood ties…?

If Su Mingyao knew what he was thinking, he would tell him he was overthinking it. This had nothing to do with any mystical blood connection; it was a peculiar camaraderie forged in shared hardship!

The guests began arriving one after another. Luo Shang showed up relatively late, yawning as he entered, with Assistant Liang pushing his wheelchair rather than propelling it himself.

At the sight, Su Bingyao, Su Mingyao, and Li Qingshu exchanged glances.

Su Bingyao felt relieved that the other man hadn’t gone too far off-script; at least he had let Assistant Liang push him, unlike that morning when he had raced around in the wheelchair.

Su Mingyao grew a little tense, wondering whether Shen Changqing had truly taken his advice to heart. What if he failed to project later?

Li Qingshu forced herself to stay calm, silently reciting over and over the lines Su Mingyao had written for her—the very words she had spoken in her previous life—hoping to nail it on the first try.

Assistant Liang wheeled Luo Shang into the venue and positioned him at a table near the front of the stage.

“If there’s anything you feel like eating later, sir, I’ll fetch it for you,” Assistant Liang offered.

In his eyes, Su Shang was just a pitiful soul hampered by his injuries, dragged to this banquet before he had even healed. Even though Li Qingshu signed his paychecks, he couldn’t help grumbling a little.

“No need. I’m not hungry.”

Luo Shang had long since reached the stage where he could forgo food entirely.

Assistant Liang only pitied him more, convinced he was just putting up a brave front to save face.

“Very well. Then after it’s over, I’ll head to the kitchen and pack up some of your favorites to take home,” Assistant Liang said.

“Alright.” Since Assistant Liang insisted on feeding him, Luo Shang saw no reason to refuse the goodwill.

He lifted his eyelids slightly. People were already clustering around, wine glasses in hand, clearly eager to chat him up.

“I won’t need you here for the moment. Go take a break over there.”

There was supposed to be a prelude before the banquet proper, with others coming over to mock me… Luo Shang pulled up the system panel to check.

It lined up with Su Bingyao’s earlier speculation. The Su Family had undergone quite a few changes lately, and outsiders were eager to probe for details. Su Shang made for the easiest mark.

Forcing him out of the hospital while he was still gravely injured was proof the family didn’t value him. Without their backing—and as a central figure in the drama—everyone wanted a piece of him.

Too bad. This soft persimmon had turned into a durian.

Li Qingshu, Su Tiancheng, Su Bingyao, Su Mingyao, and even Shen Changqing all appeared to be occupied with their own tasks, but in truth, they were secretly keeping tabs on Su Shang, watching his every move.

[System, this early plot beat isn’t important. I don’t want to bother with it. That should be fine, right?] Luo Shang said.

It wasn’t some critical story progression anyway, and he had no interest in playing along with the mockery.

[Should be,] the system replied.

[Fine, then. I’ll just turn them all mute.]

Li Qingshu: !!

She had it memorized now. Su Shang hated being mocked. From now on, she would make a point of showing him respect, to keep him from running into a mess like today’s again!

Su Tiancheng: ?!

What the—? He really could hear his youngest son’s inner thoughts? Everything they’d said was true! That meant the business with his youngest son unleashing Thunder Cloud to block his wife was real too? Extraordinary people actually existed in this world?!

If the others all turned mute, would they start thinking there was something wrong with the food here? Could doctors even treat something like being silenced by Su Shang…

Su Mingyao mused to himself that this was perfect. No need to rigidly copy his experiences from his last life—he’d have to learn to adapt, playing along with Su Shang’s moods as needed.

Shen Changqing nodded to himself, more convinced than ever that steering clear of Su Shang had been the right call. Hadn’t those fools who only wanted to poke fun at him just gotten themselves muted? And as for his own mission to “offend” Su Shang? Offend who? He had no idea what that even meant!

Su Bingyao took a more direct approach. He stepped forward and blocked the path of those with ill intent. “Sorry about that,” he said. “He just got out of the hospital and needs his rest. Anyone who wants to toast can come to me instead—I’ll drink for him.”

The ringleader was one of Su Shang’s old cronies from his wild playboy days, the sort who had always despised him. He was the king of spoiled rich kids in B City, the kind whose family tossed him some meaningless desk job at a company just to keep him busy. He was no match for a real power player like Su Bingyao.

With Su Shang clearly under protection—not the broken-down easy mark they’d hoped for—the man could only drain his glass in sullen defeat. He tossed out a couple of snide remarks: “The young master’s a real straight shooter! So generous of you.” Then he slunk away.

[See? That’s why I said Big Bro’s the best to me,] Luo Shang sighed inwardly to the System.

It must have been the wheelchair that tugged at Su Bingyao’s heartstrings. In the plot, he’d dragged himself here under his own power, dolling himself up to look perfectly fine and not lose face—only to draw a mob’s attacks.

Showing up in the wheelchair this time had naturally shifted things.

Those guys ought to count their blessings. If Big Bro hadn’t stepped in to save them, they’d all be tongueless by now.

[Yep, he took those drinks for me. Booze is bad stuff—harms the body and all that. So when I head out, I’ll toss Big Bro a perk or two. Maybe tack on a few decades to his lifespan.]

Su Bingyao felt a surge of emotion: !!

Yes! He knew Little Shang wasn’t the ungrateful type. Sure, the kid had gotten stronger—twisted, even—but deep down, his heart was still pure and upright!

Li Qingshu, Su Tiancheng, Su Mingyao, and Shen Changqing: ??

What? It could work like that?!

How was that even possible?!

They’d always figured Su Shang only brought disaster wherever he went. But now it was clear: he could dish out benefits beyond mortal dreams—if he felt like it.

What if I helped you through your heavenly tribulation? Would you hook me up too…? Shen Changqing’s mind began to race once more.