If a few minutes ago, fish fans across the universe were still marveling at whether the person who first asked the question was truly a genius…
Then at this moment, if a time machine existed, the one thing everyone would want to do most was go back and shut that person’s mouth.
Why did you have to ask that question?
And now, look what’s happened, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles officially announced it, everyone has broken down, and none of us are happy anymore!
[Impossible, this is absolutely impossible! I refuse to believe it, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles actually has a lover, wuuu]
[How did this happen? So it only takes a few minutes to go from one-sided love to complete heartbreak?]
[As long as I pretend I didn’t see it, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles has not been taken away yet!]
Many fans were still in the first stage of shock, grief, and self-deception, completely shattered.
But even more netizens had already swarmed to Huo Ting’s StarBlog, trying to confirm whether this was real.
So it was you who secretly decided Teacher Fish Soup Noodles away behind our backs? [Wailing.jpg]
Before many could even leave comments, Huo Ting’s StarBlog updated with a repost.
[Huo Ting: Hmm, first time being raised, still learning. // Repost: ……]
The attached picture was also a photo, but it was an exquisitely translucent golden scale resting in the palm of a hand, as dreamlike as a fragment of gilded moonlight being held.
The entire interstellar community: ???
Anyone familiar with Fish Soup Noodles’ short story would find this scene eerily familiar, especially knowing the significance of a mermaid giving away a scale.
Before this, many interstellar readers had assumed it was just a fictional romantic plot.
And now reality was telling them, not only was it real, but someone actually received one!?
[Deep breaths… I can’t take this anymore. Boss Huo Ting, are you flaunting the scale!? You’re so mean!]
[I can’t do this. I’m uninstalling StarBlog. This man is showing off!]
[Stop announcing it! I’m going to snatch it right now! Why is the scale Teacher Fish Soup Noodles gave me in your palm?! Stretch out your hand, don’t make me beg you for it TwT]
The already heartbroken cries of fans exploded like fireworks.
And the worst part? It seemed impossible to snatch it back from this infuriating guy!
The hot search topic #FishSoupNoodlesOfficialAnnouncement# unsurprisingly overtook all mermaid-related discussions and skyrocketed to the top.
Countless netizens who had just fallen into a one-sided love after watching the live broadcast of the press conference suddenly refreshed their StarBlog, only to be hit with this latest hot search.
It was like their emotions had taken a nosedive straight off a cliff.
[StarBlog, you despicable thing! Aren’t you always full of bugs and crashes? When are you going to fix the bug where Teacher Fish Soup Noodles didn’t announce it with ME?!]
The volcanic eruption of traffic pushing this topic to the top had left the StarBlog maintenance team numb.
“Fine, let it crash. Maybe we should actually thank Fish Soup Noodles, at least both hot searches happened on the same day…”
“But not announcing it with YOU, what does that have to do with our StarBlog bugs?!”
And as the two official announcements hit one after another, more and more sleepless fans started digging for clues.
Only then did they realize that the more they dug, the more they found?!
From the synchronized dish-washing during the live broadcast that debunked the identity rumors, to the mysterious figure assisting in the haunted house challenge, to the unwavering gaze throughout the entire press conference…
The deeper they dug, the more convinced they became, and the louder their wails became.
[So why did none of us notice this before?! (Holding head in despair)]
[That’s not a normal look in his eyes! That’s the gaze of someone looking at their wife, damn it!]
On this night that was destined to shatter countless hearts, the engagement announcement posts from both parties reached terrifying levels of engagement.
Even outer star system IPs were flooding the comments, and it was no exaggeration to say that this had become the hottest topic in the entire universe.
[A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles V: Hmm? I thought you guys would’ve figured it out? Doesn’t anyone want to compliment how nice the rings look? It took me a long time to pick them out. [Frowning gaze]]
Fish Soup Noodles’ latest response only made fans cry even harder as they repeatedly admitted that the rings were indeed beautiful.
There was no way the wedding rings chosen by Fish Soup Noodles could look bad.
It was just that seeing them on someone else’s hand made it especially glaring. TwT
Failing on one’s own was sad enough, but witnessing someone else’s success was even more devastating!
[If it weren’t for Boss Huo Ting’s high combat power, I swear he would have been killed by tonight!]
[The grudge of stealing my fish is irreconcilable! Wuuu!]
“I told you they looked good.”
Yu Mian smiled as he let Huo Ting pull him down onto the sofa. He subconsciously extended his hand to carefully examine the wedding ring on his palm with curiosity.
“But since we have two sets, we’ll have to switch them out often.”
Because right there on the table were two boxes of wedding rings.
One set was something Yu Mian had secretly customized using his royalties, originally planning to present them as a surprise after today’s press conference was successfully concluded.
However, when Huo Ting received them, his expression became rather strange.
Yu Mian blinked, quickly guessing something…could it be that Huo Ting had also secretly bought a set!?
Sure enough, looking at the two sets of rings, Yu Mian couldn’t stop laughing, and Huo Ting also joined in.
At this point, it truly felt like a mutual exchange. A fish raising a human, and a human raising a fish.
Just thinking about it, Yu Mian reached out and touched Huo Ting’s face, while Huo Ting allowed himself to be touched. He lifted his gaze toward the mermaid staring at him intently.
Mmhm, well, no matter what, this human was his now.
He liked him so much.
As Yu Mian grinned and hugged him, Huo Ting tightened his arms slightly, catching the mermaid in his embrace.
Just like before, he was so light.
But the weight was heavy enough to make his heart sink with emotion.
No matter how much heartbreak echoed across the universe tonight, seeing Fish Soup Noodles happy left everyone with no choice but to tearfully acknowledge:
As long as Teacher Fish Soup Noodles is happy, we are happy too!
It was just that every day after Fish Soup Noodles posted his updates, a certain someone would, as always, send extravagant starship gifts in the comments, turning what was once a warm welcome into a flood of envy, jealousy, and resentment.
[Okay, okay, I always wondered, it turns out this guy was after our Teacher Fish Soup Noodles all along! And he actually succeeded in stealing him away! (Wailing. We even welcomed him when he first started throwing gifts!)]
[Boss Huo Ting, you are NOT allowed to keep sending gifts! Do you know how cruel it is to remind me of my heartbreak every single day?!]
[So this is the human Teacher Fish Soup Noodles is raising? I don’t care, I’m taking a screenshot with him for luck! T^T]
[Today marks the XXXth day of training hard to become stronger and steal a scale. Next year, I’m definitely getting into the Central Star’s First Military Academy!]
Huo Ting saw these comments and even chose to reply to one:
[I look forward to it. // Today marks the XXXth day of training hard to steal a scale…]
All the Fish fans who had failed to provoke him and instead got provoked: !!!
We’re really going to lose it!
We have to go complain to Teacher Fish Soup Noodles!
Someone is bullying us, and we can’t even fight back! [Crying a sea.jpg]
When Yu Mian found out that Huo Ting was sneakily interacting with fans in the comments during his busy schedule, he couldn’t help but facepalm.
How could the human he was raising be this childish!?
So starting the next day, while Huo Ting continued throwing starships, he stopped responding to the lively comments altogether.
And somehow, this made the fans feel even more unsettled.
At first, they thought Huo Ting was aloof, but later, they realized he was actually quite approachable and even replied to their messages. Now, why did he suddenly seem so distant again?
They still wanted to get little updates about Fish Soup Noodles from him every day.
[Did he hand his account back to his secretary? Damn it, how could he not personally throw his own gifts! Strongly condemning this behavior!]
Before the outrage could begin, Huo Ting, ever the man of few words, replied:
[I got restricted. Not allowed to reply anymore.]
All the Fish fans choked up: …Oh.
So their complaint to Fish Soup Noodles actually worked? He got punished?
But wait, thinking about it carefully, who even had the power to restrict him? Why did this suddenly feel like another mouthful of dog food being forced down their throats?
[I’m crying, I want to be controlled by Teacher Fish Soup Noodles too. Do I have an unhealthy tendency?]
[No, but seriously, has anyone ever seen Teacher Fish Soup Noodles get angry? Wouldn’t an angry mermaid be a breathtaking sight?]
[Probably, it’d be the kind of scolding that makes you think, ‘He’s absolutely right, I totally deserve this!’]
[Wait, stop. This guy is subtly flexing again. Brother, if you keep this up, I’m really blocking you!!! (Breaks down)]
And so, the daily fan battles in Fish Soup Noodles’ comment section became just as entertaining as the serialized updates themselves.
It was odd, this version of General Huo Ting didn’t quite match their previous impression of him.
Every time he teased the fans, he could remain completely calm while effortlessly inciting chaos in the comments.
“Now the entire universe knows, right? This is exactly how I was bullied growing up!”
Only Huo Yan felt as though he had finally been vindicated.
His parents had always been fooled by his cousin’s harmless appearance! Meanwhile, he had always been made to seem unreliable.
And in this lively atmosphere, the serialization of “The Vast Immortal Path” officially approached its grand finale.
In the ending, Lin Shuyi altered the original plot and, together with Qi Hanzhou, defeated the seemingly invincible scumbag father in the climactic battle.
It was not until the man was kneeling in a pool of his own blood that he finally recognized Qi Hanzhou’s true identity and his normally emotionless eyes revealed a flicker of disbelief.
Faced with this scene, Lin Shuyi remained silent, choosing to leave this final moment for the father and son of the original novel.
After all, even he was curious, did Qi Hanzhou’s villainous father ever regret the sins he committed on his path to ruthlessness and ultimate power?
Just as Qi Hanzhou stared at the culprit who had caused his mother’s death with an extremely complicated gaze, attempting to ask whether the man had ever regretted it or even thought about his mother, the man suddenly burst into eerie laughter.
So it was his momentary negligence back then that had allowed Qi Mei to escape Haizhou with this child, leading to everything on the fate chart today.
On his path of ruthlessness, he had failed to sever the last lingering thread, Qi Hanzhou!
There was not a trace of remorse in his words; instead, he looked at Qi Hanzhou with a chilling malice.
“But without your mother back then, you wouldn’t have made it this far. Do you truly feel no guilt or regret?”
Qi Hanzhou, unable to suppress his fury, reached out and tightly grabbed the collar of the man he was supposed to call father, trying to get one last answer.
Had it not been for his handsome looks, gentle temperament, and extraordinary talent, his mother, the sole daughter of the Tianyan Sword Sect’s master, would never have chosen this man.
And yet, after granting him all the resources, she had instead brought ruin to the entire Tianyan Sword Sect.
“Regret? My only regret is that I let her escape back then. You would have been the same. The path of cultivation is meant to be this way…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the man had already closed his eyes as his primordial spirit shattered and vanished entirely.
Even as Qi Hanzhou rushed forward in an attempt to grasp something, all that remained in his hands was an empty void.
The grand and solemn Tianyan Sword Sect Hall remained, but the people and things of the past had long since changed.
As Qi Hanzhou stood in silence, a hand gently patted his shoulder.
“How about we go and prepare a final resting place for Auntie? Beneath the plum blossom mountain at the back of Tianyan Sword Sect?”
Lin Shuyi asked softly.
Perhaps at that moment, Lin Shuyi suddenly understood why, in the original story, Qi Hanzhou had ended up alone, fading into nothingness.
Because the passion of revenge that had once burned so fiercely had, in the end, only resulted in the man’s soul dissipating and an apology that would never come.
If he were Qi Hanzhou, he might have ended up the same way.
Fortunately, this life was different. Because by Qi Hanzhou’s side, there were still many companions and mentors standing with them.
At the foot of Meihua Mountain (Plum Blossom), Qi Mei’s tomb was restored, and Qi Hanzhou finally buried that jade pendant deep in the soil.
Not far away, Ancestor Li Xiao, leading the newly established sect disciples, had also helped clean up the remnants of Tianyan Sword Sect and had quietly come to see these two children.
“So, are you two planning to break through the void and ascend to the Immortal Realm? If the Immortal Realm is full of bastards like that guy, I…”
‘I would rather have you two stay in the Spiritual Realm.’
The always cheerful ancestor looked at them seriously for the first time.
Lin Shuyi and Qi Hanzhou exchanged a glance. This scene felt oddly familiar, it was just like when the sect master had asked if they wanted to head to the Upper Spiritual Realm.
“I will show that man that the path of cultivation is not like this.”
Qi Hanzhou held Lin Shuyi’s hand and said solemnly.
The so-called brutal path to cultivation was not their way.
Hearing this, the ancestor finally smiled cheerfully again.
It seemed he had been worrying for nothing. How could these two little ones ever follow in that bastard’s footsteps?
In the final chapter of the next volume, Qi Hanzhou and Lin Shuyi ultimately became the first pair of cultivators in thousands of years to simultaneously break through to the Great Ascension Stage and ascend to the Upper Realm.
This event naturally became a legendary tale passed down in the Spiritual Realm.
From the Mortal Realm to the Spiritual Realm and finally to the Immortal Realm, would they continue to create new miracles? Would they embark on even more thrilling adventures?
Would we get to see more of their story? Teacher Fish Soup Noodles!
As countless cultivation fans sobbed while frantically pre-ordering the physical book, the star network was also flooded with demands for more updates. No one was willing to accept that they had to say goodbye to the two protagonists like this.
Who knew how long “The Vast Immortal Path” had accompanied them? Now that it was ending, it felt incredibly empty, as if a vital piece of life had suddenly gone missing.
[A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles: Don’t worry, the physical book’s extra chapters will include daily life in the Immortal Realm. I’m sure everyone will love it~ Also, Huanyu seems to have prepared a mysterious surprise for next month. Look forward to it. OvO]
Yu Mian quickly responded to everyone’s expectations on StarBlog.
It did bring some comfort to the fish fans.
In fact, Huanyu had indeed been planning something mysterious lately.
Huo Ting clearly knew about it as well.
But not only Huo Ting, even Secretary Hals was uncharacteristically tight-lipped, making it impossible for Yu Mian to find out anything.
So what exactly was this surprise?
[Fish resting chin in hand, curious.jpg]
At this moment, the staff at Huanyu’s editorial department were looking at the latest batch of top-secret merchandise, overwhelmed by its cuteness.
“So can we really use these as the anniversary event rewards? The Q-version cotton mermaid plushies are definitely going to send the entire interstellar community into a frenzy!”
A soft and fluffy Q-version mermaid plushie with a fishtail was held in Editor Shaxs’ hands.
