BB | Chapter 10

If You Can’t Sell the Bromance, You Don’t Have to Sell It…

In the end, Shen Canglan still had no idea how he fell asleep.

When he woke again, it was not yet noon.

By the clock, he had only slept for less than an hour and a half, yet he felt full of energy.

Li Yaochen was not in the room, but he had left a note for Shen Canglan, saying he had gone to the notice board to check today’s lottery results.

Shen Canglan stared at the note for a long time, then sincerely sighed—his brother’s handwriting was actually pretty nice.

Taking advantage of the time, Shen Canglan carefully checked his body.

The spiritual energy in his dantian had become even more abundant, shimmering with a firefly-like pale golden glow. Shen Canglan tried a few spells in turn, and each felt as though his heart moved before his will did; his control over spiritual power had become far smoother and more fluid than before.

Besides that, his senses—his hearing and sight—had improved by a noticeable margin as well. Standing by the window, Shen Canglan could even clearly hear the shop assistant and the kitchen help in the teahouse two storefronts away whispering, “Just put in the cheapest tea leaves. They won’t be able to tell the difference anyway.”

Sigh! Truly, no merchant is ever honest!

–

Li Yaochen had also left one quarter of a fasting pill on the table. Shen Canglan forced himself to eat it despite the nausea, but he did not rush to cultivate. Instead, he rested his arm under his head and began savoring last night’s spar with Li Yaochen.

It had been truly intense, and very satisfying.

That feeling of giving everything he had to challenge something that was nearly impossible—it was really intoxicating.

…If only he had remembered earlier last night to channel spiritual power into his sword…

Or if, when Li Yaochen attacked, he had first done this, then that…

The more Shen Canglan thought about it, the more awake he became. Just as he was thinking with full concentration, he suddenly heard a rustling sound by his ear, like birds flapping their wings.

Following the sound, Shen Canglan saw a… paper crane?

The paper crane was small and crooked, as if folded carelessly by a child. Flapping its wings, it flew straight into the room, then dived headfirst into Shen Canglan’s arms.

Shen Canglan pinched its wings and stared at it.

A demon? Or something else?

While he was still studying it, the crane’s pointed beak opened and closed, and Li Yaochen’s voice unexpectedly came out.

“Brother, come to the notice board.”

Shen Canglan asked, “What is it?”

But the paper crane lay still in his palm, and no matter how he shook it, it gave no response.

Having spent so much time with Li Yaochen, Shen Canglan knew he had all sorts of strange little tricks, he just didn’t know where he had gotten this one.

He tucked the paper crane into his pocket and walked briskly toward the notice board.

After turning the corner, Shen Canglan spotted Li Yaochen from afar.

He was standing under that crooked old tree, leaning against the trunk with his arms folded across his chest, looking as if he were lost in thought.

Dappled shadows fell across his high bridge of a nose, and his high ponytail, bound with a red ribbon, swayed gently in the wind. Shen Canglan called out, “Brothe—”

The moment he made a sound, Li Yaochen turned back at once and almost lunged in front of him, clapping a hand over his mouth: “Shh, shh. Don’t call me brother.”

Shen Canglan: “?”

With his mouth covered, he mumbled, “Why not?”

Li Yaochen pulled Shen Canglan into a corner. Looking around to make sure no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice. “We got it.”

“Got it? Got what?”

“The auction number. Your number was among today’s announced results.”

Shen Canglan clapped his hands in delight. “Looks like my luck isn’t too bad.”

But even though he was happy, he still didn’t understand why Li Yaochen was being so mysterious. Was he afraid someone would steal their number? But the number was bound to a cultivator; even if someone else took it, they couldn’t use it.

And then there was—

Shen Canglan asked, “You didn’t draw one?”

Li Yaochen shook his head without hesitation. “No. I probably wouldn’t have gotten one anyway. My luck has always been terrible.”

Shen Canglan let out an “oh,” then remembered something. “Didn’t they say each person can bring one person in?”

Li Yaochen said, “I already went to ask about it before you came.”

“The one you bring has to be either a spirit pet or a partner.”

Shen Canglan blinked.

He said, “But you’re neither my spirit pet nor my partner. Then wouldn’t you not be able to get in?”

He suddenly felt a little disappointed, and his head even dipped slightly.

Li Yaochen looked at the top of his head and reached out to pat it. “Hey, I wanted to tell you that.”

Hearing the lightness in his tone, Shen Canglan lifted his head again to look at him. Li Yaochen smiled. “We can pretend.”

Ah.

Li Yaochen was going to pretend to be his spirit pet?

That didn’t seem right, and it would be very easy to be exposed.

Wait.

No.

Oh, he got it.

Shen Canglan suddenly realized and asked, “So we’re going to pretend to be daoist partners?”

Li Yaochen snapped his fingers. “Exactly. So now you know why I didn’t let you call me brother just now, right?”

Shen Canglan said, “Absolutely clear.”

He and Li Yaochen raised their hands and bumped fists, exchanging a smile over their own cleverness.

[…uh… uh…] The System inside Li Yaochen’s mind hesitated, then hesitated again.

Li Yaochen asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

[This is what happens when you ship straight men.] The System said, [Whether it’s chocolate that tastes like shit or shit that tastes like chocolate, you still have to swallow it through tears.]

Li Yaochen: “.”

“What are you talking about?” he frowned. “You still like eating that kind of thing? Your hobby is really strange.”

The System let out a long sigh with tears in its voice. […I told you, and you still wouldn’t understand, host.]

–

There were still five days until the auction.

For the first four days, Shen Canglan cultivated, took quests, and earned money. Every night, he sparred once more with Li Yaochen. He was busy from morning to night, extremely fulfilled, and improved at a rapid pace.

On the fifth day, Shen Canglan and Li Yaochen arrived at the auction venue.

The Yun family was indeed worthy of being the wealthiest family in Yunjian City. Just the main gate at the entrance was already lavish beyond measure, and even the stone lions had eyes made of gemstones.

Shen Canglan wanted to pry one out, but relying on his sense of justice, he forcibly held back.

Single-entry and double-entry guests were split into two separate lines.

Those attending alone could go straight into the inner hall, while those entering as a pair had to first go into a room, where their identities would be checked by staff. Only after confirmation could they enter.

Before Shen Canglan and Li Yaochen, quite a few people had already been caught trying to bring someone in for a fee and were thrown out; the screening should have been extremely strict.

Although they had already discussed their plan with Li Yaochen last night, at this very moment Shen Canglan still couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

Li Yaochen knew what he was thinking and said, “If it works, great. If not, forget it. We’re only going in to take a look anyway, broaden our horizons.”

Shen Canglan nodded.

When it was finally their turn, Shen Canglan closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then pushed the door open with Li Yaochen and stepped inside.

Inside was a large solid-wood table, with two people sitting behind it. They said to Shen Canglan and Li Yaochen, “Sit.”

[I’m nervous for you both.]

“Don’t be nervous.” Li Yaochen tried to comfort it, but clearly failed.

Compared with the System, Li Yaochen was actually quite relaxed.

In truth, the plan he and Shen Canglan had worked out was very simple—since neither of them was particularly good at lying, they would just tell the truth selectively. Being oneself was always more trustworthy than lying.

The person on the left said, “Let’s start with a self-introduction.”

Shen Canglan cupped his fists. “I’m Shen Canglan. My relationship with Brother Chen is quite good.”

Li Yaochen reached out and patted Shen Canglan’s shoulder. “In the next one, Li Yaochen. I’m Xiao Shen’s elder brother whom he met out in the world.”

System: […]

Anyone who came in here would definitely act all clingy and sweet, just to prove how good their relationship was. So why did these two still look like they wanted to bleed together and swear brotherhood on the spot?

What kind of daoist partners were these??

The two sitting behind the table were also stunned.

They exchanged somewhat blank looks, unsure what attitude they should take. The person on the right chose to follow procedure and asked, “When did you meet? And how did you meet?”

Li Yaochen said, “Thirteen days ago, he moved into the room next to mine. I went to knock on his door.”

The person on the left asked, “And then?”

Li Yaochen’s tone was like he was reciting from a textbook, with not a trace of fluctuation: “Then I went in, then I stayed half the night, then I left. Ah, what a pleasant night.”

Shen Canglan said, “Yes, yes. That’s right, that’s right.”

System: [………]

If you can’t sell the bromance, you don’t have to sell it.

It really wanted Li Yaochen to see how the people in its world who worked as celebrities handled their public image.

At this rate, if those people marketed themselves the way Li Yaochen and Shen Canglan did, forget being accused of fake chemistry—within three days the fans would probably be saying the two of them actually had a blood feud.

The person on the right asked again, “How is your relationship normally?”

Shen Canglan laughed, and Li Yaochen’s eyes curved.

The two of them moved in perfect understanding and reached out to high-five each other. Shen Canglan said, “What do you think?”

The System closed its eyes in despair, unwilling to look anymore.

After asking a few more questions, the two behind the table fell silent.

Shen Canglan asked, “How is it? Can we go in?”

The two of them said nothing.

Actually, from the expressions in these two people’s eyes, the System could feel the same confusion it had.

It guessed that the two of them were probably having a frantic mental debate along the lines of: “These two don’t look like daoist partners at all, but they’re both so unlike daoist partners that maybe they really are daoist partners after all.”

After a delicate stretch of silence, the person on the right said, “Let us discuss this first.”

Li Yaochen lifted a hand very generously. “Please, discuss away.”

After a discussion that lasted a full stick of incense, the person on the left looked at Shen Canglan and Li Yaochen with eyes that were still just as bewildered. “All right, you may go in.”

Li Yaochen curled the corner of his mouth and lightly bumped Shen Canglan’s shoulder, meaning: see? I told you this would work.

Shen Canglan also let out a breath, his face brightening as he patted Li Yaochen’s arm.

The two behind them watched as the pair walked away.

The person on the left said, “What a strange couple.”

The one on the right said, “Say what you will, they do have a certain charm.”

In Li Yaochen’s mind, the System silently lit two incense sticks for them both—

The world had gained two more people toyed with by straight men.

How pitiful.