Transmigration:The Villain Wants A Happy End Without His BeastHusbands-Chapter 62: Our Family

It was a rainy morning at the Celestial Beast Academy.

Thunder and lightning clashed again and again, rain hammering against every surface as if the heavens themselves were restless. Yet Ningyan merely sat there, absentmindedly twirling his flute between his fingers, lost in thought.

Too many things had happened in just a few days.

The dragon battle. The festival.

Being poisoned. Being shot.

Reaching the fourth stage of cultivation. Sunland.

And finally... that other night.

"Ningyan." Rong Chao tapped his arm, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Only then did Ningyan realize he was still trapped in the dull confinement of lectures inside the Lotus Hall, the teacher droning on while several students stole glances in his direction. He couldn’t tell if it was because they could sense his spiritual energy now or simply because staring at him had become a habit.

He glanced at Rong Chao and blinked. "Huh?"

"You..." Rong Chao studied him closely, with genuine curiosity in his eyes. "What happened to you?"

Ningyan’s heart skipped just a little. Had Rong Yue told him about the poison? The arrow?

"What... happened?" Ningyan echoed instead.

Rong Chao smiled faintly. Then he lifted his palm.

A visible silver suction glow appeared above it.

Ningyan hesitated for only a moment before copying him.

White-gold light bloomed above his own palm.

Rong Chao stared, half appalled, half impressed.

Across from them, a female student with cheetah ears and a long, swaying tail froze. Her eyes widened as she whispered urgently to her seatmate.

Ningyan immediately withdrew the glow and let out a quiet sigh.

If he calculated this properly, the next rumor spreading through the academy would be clear. The phoenix everyone believed had a damaged core... had suddenly been fixed.

Whether that would be good or bad for him, he didn’t know.

All he knew was that he would soon be returning to the Phoenix Clan, after meeting the phoenix at the Azure Dragon Manor. He needed every book and scroll related to phoenixes.

After morning classes ended, the rain finally stopped. Sunlight filtered through the thinning clouds as Ningyan sat quietly, copying the notes he had missed from Rong Chao’s.

It was useful. And for now, that was enough.

He could feel eyes on him, but he didn’t look up. Especially not at the particularly prominent set of fire-serpent eyes trained on him.

"I asked Lan Meishan this morning to be my teacher. Guess his reply." Rong Chao said excitedly.

Ningyan felt his heart tighten at the mention of that name.

He really did think he should go and apologize to Lan Meishan... but he also felt that Lan Meishan deserved space from him. At least for a long while.

"I’m bad at guessing," Ningyan said, still focused on his notes.

"He said yes."

Ningyan finally looked up, turning to the tiger beast only to see him grinning like a teenager with a crush.

Then again, they were teenagers.

Ningyan was nineteen. Rong Chao was the same age. Jun Haoxuan and Rong Yue were twenty-three, Yan Wuhen twenty-two, and Lan Meishan twenty-one. Great beasts could live for centuries, especially with high cultivation, but moments like this made their youth so.. undeniable.

"Congratulations," Ningyan said with a grin before returning to his notes.

"Thank you. It’s a dream come true. I don’t think I’ve ever felt happier than I did today." Rong Chao practically swooned.

Ningyan chuckled. "I’m sure you have. You’ve just forgotten."

"Oh, you’re just jealous. Then again, you have Yan Wuhen, and Yan Wuhen is also your—"

Ningyan immediately clamped a hand over Rong Chao’s mouth. "Shush!"

Rong Chao gave him an apologetic look just as Su Mingze approached, several lackey students trailing behind him.

"Am I interrupting you lovebirds?" Mingze sneered.

His lackeys laughed eagerly, nodding along.

Ningyan withdrew his hand at once. Neither of them replied.

Mingze frowned, then glanced back at his companions. "Why are you all still here? Go away." He snapped.

Ningyan raised a brow. "Aren’t they your friends?"

Mingze clicked his tongue. "I want a word with you, brother." He spat the word with open contempt. "Privately."

Bad. Very bad. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Every alarm in Ningyan’s head began to ring.

"As you can see, brother," Ningyan drawled just as sweetly, offering the politest smile he could manage, "I’m rather busy."

Mingze’s gaze hardened as he glanced at Ningyan’s work. Around them, students were already watching, curiosity lighting their faces.

With a smile just barely polite enough to pass, Mingze said, "I’m sure whatever you’re doing is far less important than what I have to say. It concerns our family."

Ningyan gave him a look of pure disbelief then his lips trembled as a laugh threatened to spill free.

"Did you just say our family?"

He happily closed his books and rose to his feet, wearing the brightest smile he could muster.

"What a pleasant surprise, brother. Our family. Oh, that is such a beautiful word."

Mingze clenched his teeth, shot Ningyan a glare, and stormed out of the hall.

Ningyan’s smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He followed Su Mingze out, stopping only once they were a proper distance from the hall.

Ningyan leaned back against a pillar, while Mingze watched him with a gaze Ningyan could only describe as predatory.

Unfortunately for Mingze, Ningyan lived with Yan Wuhen.

Compared to that, Mingze was more of a cockroach-level threat and Ningyan hated cockroaches.

"What do you want?" Ningyan asked flatly, all amusement gone.

"I wanted to get a good look at you," Mingze replied.

"You said family."

"And you actually think our family thinks about you?" Mingze scoffed. "The only thing we’re curious about is how you managed to get Yan Wuhen to become your private teacher. And there are rumors going around..."

His fiery serpent eyes narrowed as he took a step closer. "That you’re actually his lover."

Ningyan didn’t move. Didn’t flinch.

"Now," Mingze continued softly, "how did an insect like you manage to seduce Yan Wuhen? Why don’t you tell your big brother all about it?"

Ningyan simply met his gaze. "And why would I do that, hmm, Su Mingze?"

Mingze grinned. "Because you have no one, Su Ningyan."

His voice dropped, sharp and satisfied. "Our father is dead."