I won't be a loser.

"I'm sorry, my father must have made things difficult for you."

After entering his wife's room, the virtuous man, feeling a little more relaxed, slowly walked to the edge of her bed, gently sat down, turned his head to look towards the door of the room, and rubbed his eyebrows with his hand.

"It's not really a problem, just a disagreement on some points. He seems to be very eager to have an heir..."

"Refused?"

Feng Xiaochun, who had also talked about this matter with Xianren, looked at Xianren.

"..."

He remained silent. He did not want to answer this question, but this question was right in front of him. Even if the wise man did not want to answer it, he had no other choice.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Xiaochun. You...your body isn't suitable for pregnancy right now, but I'm not completely done with having children. So, after you graduate from university, I'll get a physical checkup. If there's nothing wrong, I'll have a baby. That's my idea."

He was prepared to give his child a complete childhood with both parents by his side, instead of the current situation where he gave birth to a child in a hurry and had no time to be with the child all the time. Even when the child grew up... would he be close to him?

"But didn't that woman named Fujiwa give birth to a child when she was very young?"

"The reason is that I didn't know she gave birth to the child without my knowledge. The child is already quite old, but I have a very vague idea of what happened. I don't want to be an irresponsible father."

He reached out and gently rubbed his eyebrows. He felt a little tired. Feng Xiaochun looked at the sage who lowered his head. He quietly came to him, opened his arms, and gently hugged his head.

"I want to have a child with the virtuous man, a child that belongs to the virtuous man and me. I know the virtuous man cares about my health, but please also care about my mood."

"..."

Xianren sat silently on the bed, feeling the arms around him and the gentle heartbeat in his chest. He bit his lip and closed his eyes.

"I understand."

In the evening, at the Feng family's dinner, the family sat at a table. Feng Xiaochun's mother looked at Xianren with a slightly softer look, no longer as strongly dissatisfied as before, but a hint of rejection could still be seen.

As the head of the family, Feng Wulang showed his majesty in front of his daughter and son-in-law, comforted his wife, and consoled Xianren.

"She cares too much about Xiaochun, so she still can't accept the fact that her daughter is getting married. Don't take it too seriously."

In this regard, what other answer can the wise man sitting next to Feng Xiaochun give?

"Of course, I understand what Mother is thinking. In the new year, Xiaochun and I will come back often."

"It's enough for him to think of us two old people."

Feng Wulang smiled and nodded, then his expression suddenly became serious again as he looked at his wife. Feng Xiaochun's mother could only suppress her emotions.

"Next year, Koharu will graduate from high school, and it seems you, Kento, will also go to university? Well, Chiba University isn't bad, but it's a little far from Tokyo. If Koharu stays in Tokyo, is it okay for you to live alone in Chiba?"

As the topic turned to university matters, Xianren, who was eating quietly with his head down, felt a little annoyed, but he still had to smile and nod.

"Yeah, no problem."

"Xiaochun will be lonely if she stays in Tokyo alone, so at this time, if you get pregnant as soon as possible, even if you go to Chiba, Xiaochun will still have something to think about, right?"

"..."

When the topic came to this point, even Xianren began to get angry.

It was as if he was just a tool, and he only needed to let Xiaochun give birth to the child, and he didn't care about it. What kind of "thought" did he have?

He is still alive.

Even Xianren couldn't keep the smile on his face for a moment, and his facial muscles became a little stiff.

What had been discussed in the study was now discussed again at the dining table, and the tone was even more excessive than when they had been in the study.

This was completely a way of showing disrespect to him and insulting his personality.

When getting married, you should not look for a family that is stronger than your own. The ancients really had no problem summarizing this point about being well-matched. The wise man sitting at the dining table lowered his head quietly without giving any answer, and he was also very emotional.

"It won't take long for Chiba to return to Tokyo. We may not be together during the day because of classes, but we can still see each other at night, so Dad doesn't need to worry about me being lonely."

Putting down the chopsticks in his hand, Feng Xiaochun looked at his father with a calm expression and his voice was flat.

How could she not react at all when faced with such humiliation of Xianren?

"...Xiaochun, you are not young anymore. It's time to think about having children. If I were you at this age..."

Xiaochun's mother, who was about to speak for her husband, attracted Feng Xiaochun's attention as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Didn't my mother get pregnant and give birth to me when she was 22? I've just graduated from high school. Even though I'm married to Xianren, I'm not yet of legal age. I'll seriously consider things like having children, but not for boring reasons like loneliness."

A calm voice sounded at the dinner table, and the whole atmosphere became silent. Koharu's mother was about to say something else, but Hougoro was looking at his daughter quietly, causing Koharu's mother to fall into silence all of a sudden.

The father and daughter looked at each other for a moment, and after a while, Hougoro ate quietly.

"As you wish."

In the depressing dining atmosphere, Hougoro left the living room soon. Xiaochun's mother watched her husband leave the table, looked at her daughter, sighed, and got up and left the living room.

Soon, only Xianren and Xiaochun were left, with two middle-aged maids standing around them. Under such circumstances, even Xianren had no appetite for dinner. He looked at Feng Xiaochun for a moment, and the two sat in the living room for a while before saying goodbye to Feng Xiaochun's mother and leaving the Feng family.

"right--"

"You don't need to apologize to me. This has nothing to do with you, Xiaochun. This is all my fault."

"but……"

After leaving the Feng family, the atmosphere suddenly became relaxed. Xianren seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden. He turned his head to look at his wife beside him, stretched out his hand, placed it on her shoulder, and gently hugged her to his side, their bodies pressed against each other.

"I'm already very happy that you can speak up for me."

"A wise man."

After walking for a while, the two hailed a taxi and returned to their home. Xianren walked to the refrigerator, took out some ingredients, prepared some dishes by himself, and had a dinner for the two of them with Xiaochun.

While waiting for the New Year's Eve, the two sat in front of the TV and watched the Red and White Song Festival. They also chatted with Feng Xiaochun and sent some greeting text messages to people they knew.

Mitsuha from Itomori took a picture of the party at home and sent it to him by email.

Looking at his family gathered around the table, Xianren, who was sitting on the sofa, felt a little complicated. Thinking of what had just happened at Feng's house, he stretched out his hand and gently hugged Xiaochun beside him, then raised the screen in front of her.

"Sanye and the others are celebrating at home."

"They look very happy... Xianren's family seems very kind."

"Ok?"

Xianren tilted his head and slowly looked down at the picture on the screen, which showed his father's expression.

"This person doesn't look gentle at all, does he?"

"He must be the wise man's father."

"Ah."

"You look a lot like Xianren. When you're silent, your expression is a bit similar to this."

"Is it ugly?"

Xianren was not completely without complaints about his father. He was quiet and well-behaved in front of his father, but when he was not around, he did not care so much. The expression on his face was full of deep disgust.

But when Feng Xiaochun saw this expression, he felt a little envious.

The two chatted for a while, and after a moment of silence, the wise man slowly stood up.

"I'm going to make a phone call."

"Ah."

Xianren stood up, was silent for a moment, then walked towards the bedroom, entered the bedroom, gently closed the door, and casually dialed Sanye's number.

beep--

beep--

"What? You're calling me at this time? Are you trying to tell me that you missed home so much that you bought a ticket in the middle of the night and are planning to return to Itomori?"

A familiar voice sounded in his ears, and the wise man standing in the bedroom couldn't help but smile slightly.

"If we were to return to Itomori, you would hug me and cry, right?"

"No way! Slightly~"

She stuck out her tongue with an expression of disgust, but there was some expectation in her eyes.

"You're back?"

"No, I'm in Tokyo."

"Tsk, it's just New Year's Eve in Tokyo, what's the big deal? I can celebrate New Year's Eve in Tokyo next year too!"

"No, I will go back for the New Year next year. I will take you back with me on the way."

"Huh? I'm just—wait, Yotsuba!"

There was a burst of noise, and Sanye seemed to have her phone snatched away. Then, Yotsuba's childish yet energetic voice rang in her ears.

"You won't be back this year?"

"I won't be back during the New Year, but I'll definitely go back to Itomori when I have time."

"Without my brother at home, it feels a lot colder."

"Am I not home?!"

"You're useless at home, why not have your brother stay at home instead!"

Sanye and Yotsuba started arguing again. Even if Xianren was not at home, he could imagine the scene at this moment.

There was another round of noisy noises, and then it soon quieted down.

"Tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? Will you come back?"

Judging from Mitsuha's voice, it seems that Yotsuha is not yet a match for Mitsuha.

"It's not that easy. I have a lot of things to deal with, too. Don't think too much. You should take care of your own affairs first."

"I'm fine!"

"If you have nothing to do, find something to do, or read more books."

"Ah! This is so annoying! Can't you say something lighthearted right now?!"

"The New Year is coming, I wish you a happy New Year first."

The sudden blessing made Sanye, who was about to quarrel with Xianren, silent for a moment. She grumbled for a while before squeezing out a word.

"Um...ah, you too."

- - - -

Thank you all for your monthly tickets and blades! Thank you all for your recommendation tickets!

Everyone's Sage: 399. New Year and Red Envelopes

After contacting Sanye, he heard the voice from home. Xianren, who was standing in the bedroom, frowned and was silent for a moment. He rubbed his cheek with his hand, then went back to the living room, prepared some New Year's supper, watched the Red and White Song Contest, and watched the time slowly come to 0:00.

"Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year."

He lowered his head and gently kissed his wife. As they watched the show that had ended, they felt more empty and complicated in their hearts. They didn't know what mood and attitude they should have to face the new year.

After looking at each other for a moment, they returned to the bedroom together and lay quietly on the bed.

There were no sounds of firecrackers, nor much cheering and applause. Those are scenes that can only be seen on the streets of Shibuya and Shinjuku.

Feeling empty and lonely with nothing to do and not knowing what to do, Xianren gently hugged his wife and lay on the bed with Xiaochun, falling into a deep sleep. Compared to his usual sleep time, he had stayed up a long time tonight, so he fell asleep quickly.

Countless faces seemed to appear before me, and I felt as if I were communicating with some of them. In a trance, it seemed as if cherry blossoms were falling before my eyes. I was drowsy and couldn't see clearly...

When I woke up, the sun was already shining brightly outside.

"Is it this time already?"

Xianren picked up the cell phone under the pillow next to him, confirmed the current time, then sat up and looked at Xiaochun beside him.

"Haru, it's already eight o'clock, time to get up."

"Hmm... well, I'm a little sleepy. Let me... sleep a little longer..."

The hazy and vague answer made the wise man realize that the girl had not fully woken up yet, so he did not continue to disturb her. He quietly got up and left the bedroom, put on his clothes, washed up, and then sat in the living room to watch the program that was currently being broadcast.

"I need to make some plans for this year. It's January 1st now, and exams are usually around February. University admission is in April. By April, I'll be heading to Chiba, and Koharu will also have to prepare for the entrance exam."

While thinking about something related to himself, Xianren's eyes couldn't help but look towards the bedroom.