My Wife Is The Final Boss

"What a pity," Li Zhibai murmured.

"Pity? Pity about what?"

Yun Qian's sudden voice made Li Zhibai's fingers tremble slightly. She turned her head and met Yun Qian's calm gaze, only then realizing... there was another girl in the room.

How could she get so lost in thought looking at a poetry collection?

She was here for Yun Qian today.

Is Xu Chang'an more important than Yun Qian?

It seems... that's indeed the case?

The momentary confusion left Li Zhibai with a fleeting sense of self-doubt.

But what baffled Li Zhibai even more was Yun Qian's gaze... it had softened significantly.

Unlike the calm look before she entered the room, Yun Qian now looked at her with a certain water-like gentleness, as deep and mysterious as a serene pool, quite captivating.

Why did the younger sister suddenly have a good impression of her?

For what reason?

Because she was lost in thought while looking at Xu Chang'an's poetry collection?

Li Zhibai was bewildered.

Yun Qian, however, ignored this astonishment.

Miss Yun's preferences are very clear, after all, Li Zhibai caters to her tastes well. Not only does she appreciate Xu Chang'an's calligraphy, but more importantly... from what just happened, it's clear that Li Zhibai focuses more on the changes in Xu Chang'an's handwriting than on the meanings of the poems.

This is what it means to walk on the "Dao."

In Yun Qian's eyes, the characters are Xu Chang'an's growth. Yun Qian finds watching the person she likes grow more entertaining than anything else.

So, someone like Li Zhibai who knows where the focus is, naturally, Yun Qian would be more gentle towards her.

It's kind of like having a bit of a good impression.

Yun Qian sat down at the table, casually opened a page of a poetry collection, and lost herself in the delicate ink characters.

"..."

Li Zhibai noticed Yun Qian spacing out again, feeling both helpless and somewhat happy... after all, the younger sister she liked showed goodwill towards her.

Although right after expressing goodwill, she became engrossed in Xu Chang'an's characters.

Still, Li Zhibai understood clearly that an "outsider" like her could never compare to Yun Qian's interests.

At this moment, watching Yun Qian's seriously absorbed face, Li Zhibai instinctively felt she shouldn't disturb her here. Before leaving, she curiously glimpsed the poem that had entranced Yun Qian.

It was a seven-character song poem. Li Zhibai glanced at a short segment, paused for a moment, then shook her head and quietly exited the study.

--

Alone, Li Zhibai walked down the corridor the way she came, intending to find Xu Chang'an for a good talk.

No wonder Yun Qian appeared so distraught.

Just look at what he wrote.

Embrace the blue sky with a drink, sharing dawn's glow with the sun and moon.

It should mean, to drink with the sky, to revel with the sun and moon amidst the morning glow... This poem already carries a hint of loneliness, but mostly, it speaks of a free and easy spirit.

But the seven-character song poem she glanced at just as she was leaving...

Sigh.

The overwhelming sense of solitude and nostalgia in the song is something any girl wouldn't like. After all, he has a wife by his side but keeps lamenting his loneliness. If one didn't know Xu Chang'an's character, they might think he was writing poetry to express a dislike for Yun Qian, even feeling lonely with her around.

--

In the kitchen, Xu Chang'an's hands were covered in flour as he diligently kneaded dough. Then he heard Li Zhibai push open the door, teasingly saying, "Chang'an, what sort of things are you copying in your study?"

"Teacher? I... what did I do?" Xu Chang'an was taken aback.

"Do you miss home?" Li Zhibai asked, leaving Xu Chang'an puzzled.

"Miss home... Isn't this my home?" Xu Chang'an was even more confused. Wherever Yun Qian was, that was home, so what was there to miss?

"Then are you homesick?"

"Teacher, I don't get homesick," Xu Chang'an became more serious.

His hometown from his past life was indeed memorable, but for the current Xu Chang'an, Yun Qian was both home and hometown.

A gentle abode.

"I figured," Li Zhibai sighed in relief. She walked over, squinting, "I knew those verses weren't original, but I wonder where you copied so many quatrains from?"

Even though she only casually flipped through, some of the life-reflection verses she saw couldn't possibly come from Xu Chang'an's hand.

The history of this world is quite fragmented. It's normal for some ancient texts to have been lost, for some quatrains not to be passed down through generations.

Xu Chang'an vaguely understood. He said helplessly, "I only copied some while practicing calligraphy. Just consider them as part of my lady's collection for now. After all... she is a young miss, but indeed, some poems I've seen a long time ago."

"If she weren't a young miss, she wouldn't be fit to manage the household," Li Zhibai nodded, suddenly realizing that the person before her was acknowledged by the sect leader as an immortal reincarnation... whatever he writes shouldn't be surprising.

"But teacher, why did you come out? If Miss made you unhappy, I'll apologize on her behalf," Xu Chang'an smiled.

"She was engrossed in her reading, and I didn't want to disturb her," Li Zhibai said.

"I'm just preparing dinner," Xu Chang'an said helplessly.

Not willing to disturb Yun Qian, but willing to disturb him here.

Though, with someone here still engrossed in reading, it was indeed his Yun lady.

"I just wanted to chat with you, so keep cooking," Li Zhibai glanced around the kitchen at the abundance of ingredients, feeling a bit tempted. She blinked, rolled up her sleeves to reveal her slightly pale wrists, and asked with some interest, "Do you need any help?"

After speaking, Li Zhibai met Xu Chang'an's gaze and immediately realized she had misspoken. After all, Yun Qian was in the house at this moment.

In Yun Qian and Xu Chang'an's home, she, as an outsider, should not be doing the cooking.

Unexpectedly, Xu Chang'an also showed some interest, "Teacher also..."

He initially wanted to say it was unexpected for the teacher to be interested in cooking, but saying it might imply doubt about Li Zhibai's culinary skills... so he began to choose his words carefully, although his curiosity about her cooking skills was evident on his face.

He refrained from letting Yun Qian cook because she had things worth focusing her energy on, but as for Li Zhibai... the teacher could do as she pleased.

Unlike Li Zhibai, Xu Chang'an never considered that there might be anything improper about cooking with her in his house.

It was not as if it were Wen Li or other senior sisters.

Clearly, Li Zhibai, in Xu Chang'an's eyes, wasn't considered a woman at all.

"Chang'an... your kid, why don't you show a bit of tenderness," Li Zhibai said with slight helplessness, wondering if Xu Chang'an considered things from Yun Qian's perspective.

If she prepared this meal, who would be seen as the lady of the house, Yun Qian or herself?

"...?" Xu Chang'an stared at Li Zhibai's serene face, slightly dumbfounded.

Tenderness?

"Teacher, you were the one who asked if I needed help..."

"Not referring to me," Li Zhibai's gaze again landed on the lingering scars on Xu Chang'an's hands. With her palm on his back, she infused a touch of Spiritual Qi until his wounds fully healed. She then remarked, "I was talking about caring for Ms. Yun. You're so unaware, no wonder she's often anxious and wants to learn makeup."

Xu Chang'an, oblivious to the notion of avoiding suspicion, acted as if it were no big deal. Being Yun Qian's husband was tough, no wonder she wanted to wear makeup to keep his heart.

Wanting to wear makeup, that was a sign of insecurity.

She initially thought Xu Chang'an loved Yun Qian so much that she shouldn't be anxious, but now she understood a bit.

"??? Xu Chang'an was even more baffled.

What's being said here...

"Didn't expect you to understand," Li Zhibai looked at Xu Chang'an's silly face, finding it hard to imagine... the broken bed in the house was caused by this wooden-head.

"You clearly love her so much, remember to express it and put her at ease," Li Zhibai glanced at the gleaming knife stuck into the cutting board beside him, and continued, "That's all I'll say, the rest is for you to figure out."

"...Teacher, and now you..."

"I'll sit outside for a while, enjoy the moon," Li Zhibai waved her hand.

"Alright."

After Li Zhibai left, Xu Chang'an looked at his hands, full of confusion.

Did the teacher get affected by being too close to Yun lady and started saying things he couldn't understand?

--

Li Zhibai sat alone on the stone bench outside the courtyard, pondering a question.

That kitchen knife... why did it seem a bit ominous?

Getting stabbed by it seemed quite serious.