Ruan Qiuping knew that the Matchmaker God's red string was useless for immortals, but it had the power to move the hearts of mortals and assist their marriages. Many mortal men and women who were previously strangers would immediately fall in love at first sight when connected by this red string, becoming hopelessly infatuated with each other.
But no one had told him what would happen if the red string connected an immortal to a mortal.
At this moment, Ruan Qiuping was anxiously pacing like an ant on a hot pan, terrified that this tiny red string would ruin Yu Huan's marriage prospects in the mortal world.
"Ruan Ruan," Yu Huan suddenly scratched his chest, looking a bit confused, "I feel a bit uncomfortable... Does this blessed red string have some special effect?"
Ruan Qiuping's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly asked, "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
Yu Huan blinked: "Everywhere feels uncomfortable... What exactly does this red string do to people?"
Ruan Qiuping immediately became restless. He didn't know how to explain it to Yu Huan, and finally stammered: "This... this is a blessed marriage string. I'm not very clear on the details either, but I've heard that two people entangled by this string will develop unusual feelings for each other..."
"What kind of unusual feelings?"
Ruan Qiuping's mind suddenly flashed back to the film he and Yu Huan had accidentally watched yesterday when they descended to the mortal world.
His speech became even more stuttered: "...Lo-love between men and women."
Yu Huan leaned in closer, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly, his eyes clear and innocent: "Then will Ruan Ruan have these feelings for me too?"
Ruan Qiuping felt as if Yu Huan's eyelashes were about to brush against his cheeks. He involuntarily held his breath, leaning back a bit, and said: "I... I don't. I'm immune to this."
"Why?" Yu Huan frowned slightly, his expression seeming a bit hurt, "Doesn't Ruan Ruan like me?"
Ruan Qiuping: "...Of course I like you, but not in that way... Little Yu Huan, calm down a bit, you're... you're not quite yourself right now."
"How am I not myself?" Yu Huan moved even closer.
"You're not yourself in every way, this isn't right!" Ruan Qiuping tried to push Yu Huan away, but couldn't move him. Instead, his elbow slipped, and he ended up lying back on the sofa.
Yu Huan pressed down on top of him, saying: "Ruan Ruan said he would like me more. Is Ruan Ruan going back on his word now?"
"...When did I go back on my word?" Ruan Qiuping protested softly.
"Since Ruan Ruan said he would like me more, why don't you just convert your feelings for me into romantic love? Why are you so resistant now?"
Ruan Qiuping's eyes widened: "What... what nonsense are you talking about? This... this can't be converted at will, and besides, you said it's love between men and women, but we're clearly both men..."
"But Ruan Ruan, you know very well that men can be together too." The waves in Yu Huan's eyes rippled and seemed to sink deeper, becoming intense and profound. "Ruan Ruan, we can do everything except have children."
Yu Huan lowered his head, his cool nose tip brushing against Ruan Qiuping's cheek, his expression ambiguous: "...Does Ruan Ruan want to try it with me?"
Ruan Qiuping's entire body froze.
As Yu Huan drew closer inch by inch, his warm breath falling on Ruan Qiuping's skin, his mind went blank as if frozen, but his chest felt as hot as magma. His heart began to race uncontrollably, almost bursting through his throat.
At the last moment, he closed his eyes tightly in helplessness—
One.
Two.
Three.
Ruan Qiuping only felt a weight on his body as Yu Huan's head fell down.
Ruan Qiuping: "..."
Ruan Qiuping opened his eyes in confusion, only to see Yu Huan sleeping on top of him with his eyes closed, while not far away, Qi Yue stood to the side with a dark expression.
Ruan Qiuping: "..."
For some reason, Ruan Qiuping felt his face suddenly grow hot. He quickly pushed Yu Huan up to lean against the sofa, then stood up himself, hurriedly straightening his clothes.
"Ahem... Senior Qi Yue, why are you here?"
"The wristband detected that you used a magical artifact. What was it?"
Ruan Qiuping: "...The Matchmaker God's red string. I ran into the Matchmaker God today, and he insisted on giving it to me. This time it was accidentally misused."
"Just for a mere red string, you two were lying here ready to commit improper acts?" Qi Yue said, almost gnashing his teeth, and emphasized the words "improper acts" with particular force.
Ruan Qiuping: "..."
Ruan Qiuping frowned and explained: "It was just an accident, and Yu Huan was controlled by the red string. I couldn't push him away..."
"You couldn't push him away?" Qi Yue sneered, "Ruan Qiuping, you're an immortal, and you're telling me you couldn't push away a mortal?!"
Ruan Qiuping: "...I didn't have time to react at that moment."
"You didn't have time to react so you closed your eyes?! Ruan Qiuping, remember clearly, this is a practical course at Fate Academy, not a place for you to engage in romance!"
Ruan Qiuping felt his entire face burning hot. He looked at the confrontational Qi Yue in front of him and shouted with a red face: "Where am I engaging in romance? Who did you see me engaging in romance with? Don't slander me here. I told you this was just an accident. Why do you have so much to say? If you have the guts, report it to the teacher! It's just writing a self-criticism, who's afraid of that? I'll write it! Do you need to stand here criticizing me endlessly?"
After all, through these days of practical courses, he had finally figured out that among all the courses in heaven, the Fate course was the most superficial. No matter what mistake was made, it was just writing self-criticisms, writing self-criticisms, and more self-criticisms. What was there to be afraid of?!
Qi Yue took a deep breath, seeming to calm down as well.
He looked up at Ruan Qiuping and said coolly: "Ruan Qiuping, there's something I think you need to know."
Ruan Qiuping glanced at him, his expression quite disdainful: "What is it?"
"The record assignments for this course - you seem to be the one in the whole class who has completed them most seriously, but your grades will be the worst."
Ruan Qiuping was stunned for a moment: "Why?"
Qi Yue glanced at Yu Huan on the sofa, slightly curling his lips, with a hint of sarcasm in his words: "Because they don't match the facts."
...Don't match the facts? How could they not match the facts?
Ruan Qiuping suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
"There's one more thing." Qi Yue waved his right hand, and the red string that had disappeared from Ruan Qiuping and Yu Huan's wrists reappeared, floating lightly into Qi Yue's palm.
"What else?"
The Matchmaker God's red string only works on mortals, not on immortals, nor on immortals descending to the mortal realm for trials.
"Never mind."
Qi Yue didn't tell Ruan Qiuping about this. He pinched the red string with his index finger, turning it to ashes, and then left Ruan Qiuping with the words "Take care of yourself," before turning and leaving.
Ruan Qiuping watched his back, his brows furrowing tightly.
...How bizarre.
Ruan Qiuping looked at Yu Huan sleeping on the sofa, feeling increasingly uneasy.
He scratched his head in frustration, then rummaged around trying to find some ice water to drink.
But when he opened the refrigerator, he found that Yu Huan's fridge wasn't plugged in and didn't contain any food, but was full of miscellaneous items.
That made sense. Yu Huan was a student, and although he rested in this apartment at night, he ate all his meals in the school cafeteria, so naturally didn't need a refrigerator.
Ruan Qiuping casually moved some of the items around and discovered a dice cup in the innermost compartment of the fridge, its edges looking somewhat polished from use.
Could it be that Yu Huan liked to roll dice for fun in his spare time?
Ruan Qiuping truly didn't understand. Given little Yu Huan's luck, he would surely roll sixes every time. What was fun about that?
Feeling that he didn't quite understand Yu Huan's thought process, Ruan Qiuping put the dice cup back in its place. Seeing that he couldn't find any ice water here, he put on his coat and went downstairs to buy some water himself.
After buying the ice water, Ruan Qiuping drank most of the bottle on the spot.
The ice water was too cold, instantly making his head ache a bit.
He closed his eyes and rested for a moment, still feeling unable to calm the irritation in his heart.
Suddenly, Ruan Qiuping thought he heard Yu Huan calling him.
Ruan Qiuping opened his eyes and heard another call.
It turned out he hadn't misheard.
Ruan Qiuping turned his head towards the source of the sound, only to see Yu Huan running out wearing slippers and a thin shirt, his face deathly pale.
Upon seeing Ruan Qiuping, Yu Huan let out a sigh of relief and rushed over in a panic. Yu Huan's face was terribly pale, but his eyes were rimmed with red.
Yu Huan seemed to want to hug him, but hesitated for some reason and didn't move. Instead, he asked anxiously, "Ruan Ruan... where did you go?"
Ruan Qiuping held up the water bottle in his hand. "I went out to buy some cold water. What's wrong?"
"I thought... I thought you had left."
Seeing that Yu Huan's lips were turning blue from the cold, Ruan Qiuping quickly took off his own coat and put it on him. "What are you thinking? How could I suddenly leave?"
"I thought you hated me," Yu Huan smiled with relief. He was clearly smiling, but tears suddenly fell. He said in a hoarse voice, "I thought... because of what I did to you... you hated me..."
Ruan Qiuping's heart melted at the sight of Yu Huan's tears, as it had always done since childhood.
He hurriedly reached out to wipe Yu Huan's tears. "I will never hate you, never ever. Besides, you were just influenced by the enchanted red string earlier. It's all fine now, the red string has been untied."
"The red string... has been untied?"
Ruan Qiuping nodded.
Yu Huan's eyes flickered for a moment before he said, "Ruan Ruan... if... if I wasn't influenced by the red string, if I did those things to you of my own accord... would you hate me then?"
"How could I?" Ruan Qiuping said, "What did you do to me? You didn't do anything."
"But I almost... almost..."
"Almost kissed me?" Ruan Qiuping smiled.
He suddenly reached out, cupped Yu Huan's face, and kissed him on the cheek, smiling warmly. "That's nothing."
Yu Huan covered his cheek with his hand and smiled at Ruan Qiuping.
Suddenly, a white snowflake fell on Ruan Qiuping's head. Yu Huan reached out his hand and looked up at the sky, his smile purer than the snowflakes. "Ruan Ruan, look, it's snowing."
Ruan Qiuping looked at the clean, bright smile on Yu Huan's face, and the uneasiness in his heart expanded inch by inch, almost engulfing him.
The nights in the Celestial Court were mostly clear. Ruan Qiuping sat at his desk, flipping through the thick record book.
It was only then that Ruan Qiuping realized that in the records of the past dozen days, the Fate God had only written "reviewed" each time, never giving him a score or writing any comments.
...Where exactly had the problem occurred?
.
When Ruan Qiuping descended to the mortal world the next day, it was the height of summer, and it happened to be the evening before Yu Huan's college entrance exam.
Yu Huan's grades had always been at the top of the city, and there was no doubt he would be admitted to A University, the best in the country.
Even so, when Yu Huan suggested going out to play with Ruan Qiuping, Ruan Qiuping refused.
Ruan Qiuping tapped Yu Huan's head. "What are you thinking, exam taker? The test is tomorrow, what are you playing for today?"
"But I've waited a year, finally waiting for you to come," Yu Huan seemed a bit depressed.
"But I come every year, while the college entrance exam only happens once."
"...Can't I retake it?" Yu Huan muttered in a low voice.
"You want to retake it?" Ruan Qiuping narrowed his eyes.
Yu Huan: "No, I just think not studying for one day won't affect my exam."
"The closer to the exam, the less you should relax," Ruan Qiuping tapped on the desk a few times and said, "Start studying. I'll watch you here. I want to see how good students study."
"Isn't Ruan Ruan good at studying?" Yu Huan took out his notebook from his schoolbag.
"Not only am I not good at studying, but sometimes... when others say I've made a mistake, I just can't figure out where I went wrong."
"Is it math problems?"
"No, it's other things." Ruan Qiuping looked at the photo of A University on Yu Huan's desk and asked, "Why do you like A University?"
Yu Huan looked up at the photo and smiled, "Because it's the best school in the country."
"Is that the only reason?"
"It's the most important reason. After all, I want to prove myself to some people." Yu Huan paused, looked at Ruan Qiuping, and said, "Also, I heard there's a very good bakery in A University. Ruan Ruan, when you come next year, I'll take you there to eat."
"Okay." Ruan Qiuping felt a bit excited.
Yu Huan sat at the desk and started studying, while Ruan Qiuping also took a book and sat next to him to read.
Time flowed quietly.
Cicadas were chirping outside the window.
The room was very quiet, with only the sound of pen scratching on paper.
Ruan Qiuping felt everything was good.
.
Although the weather was still clear yesterday, it suddenly started pouring on the morning of the college entrance exam.
Ruan Qiuping called a taxi to take Yu Huan to the exam site, but the taxi broke down halfway.
Fortunately, Yu Huan's exam site wasn't far from here, and there was plenty of time, so they didn't have to worry about being late.
Ruan Qiuping and Yu Huan got off the taxi and walked towards the exam site, sharing an umbrella.
Yu Huan suddenly leaned close to Ruan Qiuping's ear and said, "Ruan Ruan, I'll be 18 next month."
Ruan Qiuping's eyes brightened. "Then when I come next time, you'll be an adult. We can go drinking together then! I've never tried the alcohol here!"
"Besides drinking, I have something more important to do," Yu Huan's eyes sparkled.
"What is it?" Ruan Qiuping was very curious.
"You'll know next year."
When Yu Huan smiled, his eyes seemed to be filled with starlight.
The downpour became even more violent, mixed with fierce winds. The large umbrella was blown crooked by the wind, almost completely blocking their view ahead.
The raindrops hit the umbrella, making a noisy pitter-patter sound.
"Yu Huan, are you getting wet? Should we find another taxi?"
Ruan Qiuping looked up at Yu Huan, only to find that Yu Huan's face had suddenly turned deathly pale, his pupils contracting in an instant. With a sharp screech of brakes, Yu Huan suddenly reached out and pushed Ruan Qiuping away—
The sound of pouring rain, screeching brakes, and screams.
Blood was washed away by the water, turning into a red river.
.
"Oh, I heard he was an exam taker. How unlucky to have an accident on this very day."
"Such a wide road, and only these two were walking on the side within a hundred meters. How could they be hit? It's such a pity..."
Two nurses were whispering near the operating room. Seeing Ruan Qiuping approach, they hurriedly stopped talking.
Ruan Qiuping was soaked from head to toe, with blood and rainwater dripping onto the floor. It left a puddle of pink water on the hospital's white tiles.
His whole body was trembling slightly, with his right arm shaking more noticeably. The bracelet had been flattened by a rock, and there was a long gash on his wrist. Blood had corroded the bracelet black, sticking tightly to his flesh.
At that time, he wanted to use magic to heal Yu Huan, but his weak magic was useless against Yu Huan's injuries.
He wanted to break the bracelet, to use all his power to save Yu Huan, but he couldn't break it.
He cut his wrist, trying to corrode the bracelet with his own blood, but that failed too.
It was the first time Ruan Qiuping knew so clearly what a useless waste he was.
The operating room door opened, and the doctor came out to inform them of the situation.
Ruan Qiuping hurried over. "...Doctor... how is it?"
"The patient's condition is very bad. There's infection and tissue necrosis in the leg, amputation is necessary."
Ruan Qiuping stood frozen, almost unable to believe what he had heard. He stammered, "...No, no, please look again... This isn't right... He... He's not an ordinary person, he's always been lucky, he can't suffer something like this..."
"You say Yu Huan is lucky?"
With a sneer, a somewhat familiar young man suddenly walked over from the end of the corridor.
It was Yu Fan.
Yu Huan's younger brother.
"What kind of joke are you making? How could he be lucky? Don't you know that this bringer of misfortune was kicked out of the house by my grandfather when he was young because his evil aura was too heavy and his luck was too bad?"
Ruan Qiuping's whole body stiffened, as if dozens of thunderbolts had struck him at once.