Axolotl Translations

Ruan Zhao had just finished tucking the letters back into the box and quietly setting it in a corner when hurried footsteps echoed outside the door. A second later, the door was shoved open, and a sharp-voiced girl in a pink dress stormed in, her brows drawn together in a frown.

“Are you the girl senior brother brought back from the lower realm?” The unfamiliar girl’s expression was hostile. She crossed her arms and gave Ruan Zhao a thorough once-over, her gaze locking onto his face. Her voice wavered a little, clearly not as confident as when she first burst in. “…You don’t look that special.”

Ruan Zhao was startled by the sudden scene. He quickly secured the box latch and discreetly slid it aside before straightening, his face calm. “…And you are?”

The girl in pink lifted her chin arrogantly. “Ye Qingwei, from Silent Peak. Wait a second…”

Ye Qingwei’s brow furrowed as something dawned on her. “Hasn’t senior brother ever mentioned me to you?”

“You mean Chu Xinglan?”

Ye Qingwei gave a cold huff. “Who else would I be talking about?”

“No, he’s never mentioned you.”

“That’s impossible!” Ye Qingwei blurted, unwilling to believe it. “We… we’re really close, you know…”

But as she spoke, her voice faltered, her eyes flickering with a rare trace of guilt. The so-called closeness was really just relative. She was the sect leader’s daughter, and Chu Xinglan was the sect leader’s personal disciple. Because of her father, their relationship had naturally been a little closer than most.

That closeness amounted to Chu Xinglan helping her refine her sword technique twice, and once saving her from a demonic beast while traveling down the mountain. Chu Xinglan probably didn’t even remember it, but Ye Qingwei had clung to it ever since, secretly waiting for a chance to repay him.

When she’d overheard rumors from other disciples that senior brother had brought back a girl from the lower realm and was even planning to marry her, Ye Qingwei had lost all composure. She did remember her father mentioning a childhood fiancée of Chu Xinglan’s, an engagement made when they were still children… but so what? They hadn’t seen each other in years — what kind of real feelings could they possibly have?

What if this girl was a social climber, chasing after senior brother’s position and reputation, here just to take advantage of his feelings? Ye Qingwei absolutely couldn’t let that happen.

Driven by a mix of protective indignation and hidden curiosity, she’d rushed here without stopping — only to discover, to her utter humiliation, that Chu Xinglan had never once even mentioned her name to Ruan Zhao. She’d barged in, all fire and righteous fury, only to end up making a complete fool of herself.

The more Ye Qingwei thought about it, the angrier she got. She stamped her foot. “Unbelievable! Just unbelievable! Throwing away friends for the sake of love! Abandoning his little sister for some pretty face!”

Ruan Zhao offered a half-hearted, indifferent kind of reassurance. “Honestly, Chu Xinglan’s only ever mentioned his master to me. Not a word about anyone else.”

As expected—sometimes it took a bit of comparison to feel better about yourself. Sure enough, Ye Qingwei perked up. She dabbed at imaginary tears. “Senior brother’s as cold as a stone in an icy lake. Just being near him feels like you’ll freeze to death. Can’t believe you actually put up with him.”

What kind of weird metaphor was that? Wait… was Chu Xinglan really that cold? Sure, he wasn’t the most talkative person. He always had that serious face on and rarely smiled.

But no matter what Ruan Zhao said or did, Chu Xinglan always responded. He always took care of things. And when he looked at Ruan Zhao… there was a gentleness there. Sometimes, it even turned so intense it made Ruan Zhao’s heart skip a beat…

Ahem—anyway, Ruan Zhao had never once felt ignored or brushed off by Chu Xinglan.

So hearing Ye Qingwei say this, he couldn’t help defending him. “I don’t know… I think his personality’s actually pretty good. Maybe you guys have him all wrong?”

Ye Qingwei’s eyes widened, utterly stunned. She’d never imagined she’d hear someone praise Chu Xinglan’s personality, of all things—it felt like hearing that a block of ice was warm and cuddly. “Is this what they mean by love makes you blind?”

She pressed her hands together as if in prayer and closed her eyes solemnly. “Master, I understand now. I shouldn’t have doubted the depth of their love.”

Ruan Zhao: “……”

……

Ye Qingwei plopped down across from Ruan Zhao, picked up a cup of long-cooled tea, and drank it in one gulp.

Then her eyes drifted over to a dark-lacquered food box on the table. She swallowed discreetly. Blinking, she asked curiously, “…What’s this?”

“It’s pastries and preserves from Pinshang Zhai,” Ruan Zhao replied.

Ye Qingwei blinked again. “Is it good?”

Ruan Zhao stifled a laugh. “You can try it yourself. I think it’s pretty good.”

She’d been waiting for that. Putting on a show of reluctance, Ye Qingwei delicately picked up a piece of cloud cake between two slender fingers. “Well, since you insist, I guess I’ll force myself to try a bite.” The moment it touched her tongue, her eyes lit up. “Mmm—this is delicious!”

Before long, Ye Qingwei had devoured more than half the pastries in the box all by herself. At first, she managed to eat gracefully, but it wasn’t long before all pretense was abandoned, happily stuffing piece after piece into her mouth.

Ruan Zhao poured her another cup of tea. “Slow down—you’ll choke.”

Ye Qingwei took a long gulp of tea and grumbled, “You have no idea. Ever since I started fasting for cultivation, it’s been forever since I’ve eaten anything this good. Everyone keeps telling me a proper cultivator should overcome worldly desires—that if you can’t even resist food, your path to immortality won’t last long.” She rolled her eyes. “What a load of crap. It’s not like I’m cultivating the emotionless path—why should I care about all that?”

Ruan Zhao chuckled. “I still have a few boxes of these. If you like them, I can spare you two to take back.” Why not give them all? Well—because Ruan Zhao loved them too.

Ye Qingwei wiped the crumbs from the corner of her lips, eyes shining as she looked at him. “You’re actually really nice—nothing like what I imagined.” Not only was she good-looking, but she was kind too. Pouring tea so she wouldn’t choke, even offering to share her favorite snacks.

Unlike those selfish senior brothers and sisters of hers, always fighting over everything. A pretty, gentle person like this—pairing her with someone as emotionally dense as Chu Xinglan? What a waste.

Ye Qingwei had already forgotten her original plan. Propping her chin on her palm, she eyed Ruan Zhao curiously. “So… what do you see in my senior brother anyway?”

“You’re so beautiful and kind—you could have anyone you want. Why waste yourself on an ice block like Chu Xinglan?”

Ruan Zhao replied calmly, “Chu Xinglan and I have been engaged since childhood.”

Ye Qingwei slammed her hand on the table, furious. “Ugh, an arranged marriage! Disgusting!”

“…It’s not really like that.” Ruan Zhao thought back to the day they made their promise at the Stone of Three Lifetimes. If either of them had been unwilling, the bond wouldn’t have held. Sure, he’d been young, maybe even a little tricked into it—but over the years, not once had he regretted it. “It was mutual. We both agreed.”

Ye Qingwei squinted at him, studying his face like she was trying to sniff out even the tiniest trace of reluctance. She found none.

Popping a preserved fruit into her mouth, she chewed as she mumbled, “Alright, alright, since it’s mutual, I guess I won’t meddle.” She paused, then scooted closer, leaning in with a conspiratorial whisper, “But hey, if you ever change your mind, come find me. I’ll hook you up with someone else. Our disciples at Silent Peak are all top-notch. Especially my senior brother— already at the peak of the Golden Core stage before he even turned twenty! Looks-wise… okay, he’s maybe a tiny bit behind Chu Xinglan…”

She hesitated, then went on, “But he’s a thousand times nicer! Looks aren’t everything, you know—what really matters is how someone treats you. So if you ever get tired of that emotionless block of ice, just let me know. I’ll introduce you two.”

Before Ruan Zhao could even open his mouth to refuse, the tightly shut door slammed open again. The poor wooden door, assaulted twice in one day, now looked like it was hanging on by a thread.

“Ye Qingwei!” Chu Xinglan had just returned and overheard Ye Qingwei’s outrageous matchmaking scheme. His face was cold as ice, voice sharp as a blade. “What nonsense are you spouting? If you’re playing matchmaker, why not say it out loud so I can hear too?”

Ye Qingwei jumped, looking like a mouse caught by a cat. In a flash, she darted behind Ruan Zhao, clutching her sleeve in panic. “Big sister, big sister—save me! He’s furious! He’s gonna kill me to shut me up!”

“She’s a year younger than you—how can you call her ‘big sister’?” Chu Xinglan scowled.

“Okay, okay—little sister it is,” Ye Qingwei wisely switched her words.

But Chu Xinglan still wasn’t satisfied. He shot her a cold glare. “Let go of her sleeve. And back off. Don’t get so close.”

Ye Qingwei wasn’t stupid—she could tell just how much Chu Xinglan valued Ruan Zhao. And obviously, she wasn’t about to leave the safety of this human shield, not when the moment she did, she’d probably get beaten up.

Seeing her unmoved, Chu Xinglan repeated impatiently, “Did you not hear me? I said let go and move away.”

“Tch—no! I won’t! I won’t!” Ye Qingwei poked her head out from behind Ruan Zhao, sticking out her tongue. “You’re way too fierce, no girl’s ever gonna like you like this!”

Chu Xinglan: “……” His expression darkened, but then he suddenly schooled his face, his tone icy-casual with a hint of menace. “Junior Sister Ye… I seem to recall you have a little stash of rather interesting storybooks hidden away in your room. Pretty unconventional stuff, too. Wouldn’t want your father finding out about those little hobbies of yours, would you?”

Unconventional was putting it mildly—they were downright outrageous. How did Chu Xinglan know? Well, Ye Qingwei had once begged him to help buy a few of them. He’d accidentally seen the covers. “The Tyrannical Immortal Lord’s Forbidden Love,” “The Cold Immortal’s Scandalous Seduction,” “Domineering Pet: The Devil Lord’s 99th Great Escape.” Each one was more ridiculous than the last.

Sure enough—he hit the mark. Ye Qingwei froze, instantly deflating. She obediently let go of Ruan Zhao’s sleeve and shuffled out from behind him, looking pitiful. “Senior Brother, I’m sorry, I was wrong. Please don’t tell my dad—if he finds out, he’ll burn my entire collection.”

“Let it go, Xinglan.” Ruan Zhao spoke up at the right moment, stepping in for her. “Don’t be so harsh—she didn’t mean any harm.”

Chu Xinglan pressed his lips together, visibly aggrieved. “…But she said she was going to set you up with someone else.”

“I didn’t agree to it.” Ruan Zhao’s voice was gentle but certain. “We made a marriage contract under Heaven’s witness. In this lifetime, we’re fated to be together—no one can change that.”

Chu Xinglan’s face visibly softened, the gloom lifting in an instant.

Ye Qingwei, watching from the side, was dumbfounded by how quickly Ruan Zhao calmed him down. She gave him a silent thumbs-up. “Damn, impressive.”

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