According to Yao XinYue, Yao Zixian had spent a year living with his maternal grandmother before returning to his mother's courtyard.
"It would be bad for Mother if I continued staying with Grandmother," Yao Zixian says without explaining much.
But RenJie understood well enough. Zixian's mother was not someone who possessed outstanding cultivation skills, which meant that her standing in the cultivation world was average. Her divorce is damaging enough to her reputation. Imagine having rumors of being abandoned by her maternal family, as well as by her biological son, she would never be able to raise her head again. RenJie, no stranger to the whispers that followed his own mother, almost felt sympathy seeing the resemblance between their fates.
Almost.
"Have you met her yet, RenJie?" Yao XinYue turned towards him with a curious gaze.
RenJie grimaced at the memory.
Their first encounter had been brief. Zixian's mother had returned early one evening, finding RenJie practicing his writing. The moment her gaze fell upon him, cold and scrutinizing, he felt as if her eyes could strip flesh from bone.
Zixian had stepped in, introducing them.
"Picking up strays again, are we?"
RenJie didn't react. He had been called worse. Compared to the others, stray was practically a compliment.
"I guess birds of the same feather tend to flock together," Zixian said with a smile that came too easily.
His mother's lips tightened. "It's not the same."
"How would you know?" Zixian's tone remained light. RenJie was so focused on her expression that he missed the sharp flicker in Zixian's eyes.
She faltered. "Fine. Just stay out of trouble."
Her gaze swept over RenJie one last time, cold and dismissive, before she turned and disappeared into her chambers.
RenJie's eyes lingered on the closed door. There had been no affection in her gaze, only indifference wrapped in frost. He couldn't understand it. How could a mother look at her own child like that?
His own mother, though often weary and burdened by worry, had never once withheld her warmth. She was not a cultivator, just a runaway servant with no status to her name, yet her care had always been unwavering. Even in hardship, she smiled for his sake. Her love, imperfect and quiet, was the one certainty in his world.
The difference between them left a bitter taste in his mouth. Watching Zixian receive such coldness unsettled him in a way. A mother should never look at her son like a stranger.
"Our good boy RenJie doesn't get into trouble, does he?" Zixian teased suddenly, reaching out to ruffle his hair and pulling him from his thoughts.
"My hair," RenJie tried to protest half-heartedly.
"You're still handsome."
RenJie's cheeks flushed slightly at the unexpected compliment. Zixian's praise always came so easily, and RenJie wasn't used to such words or sure how to receive them, but the genuine warmth in Zixian's eyes made him want to believe it all the same.
Yao XinYue had scowled when she heard her aunt call RenJie a stray.
"Just because he doesn't have a surname," she gritted her teeth, fists clenched in anger.
"It's fine, Ran Jie. I'm used to it." RenJie tried to calm her with a gentle pat on the shoulder.
"You shouldn't have to get used to it," she snapped.
"There, there." Yao Zixian interrupted, stuffing a piece of cake into her mouth. Though they weren't being loud, it was still a public courtyard with servants flitting in and out. It wouldn't do them any good if the servants were to start gossiping.
Yao XinYue glared, ready to spit fire, but caught the subtle look in Zixian's eyes. Following his gaze, she sighed and sat back down, lowering her voice.
RenJie nudged her teacup toward her in thanks. She eyed it as though it had offended her before grabbing it and downing it in one gulp.
"How ill-mannered. Who would marry you like this?" Zixian teased as he refilled his tea.
"Marriage?" XinYue scoffed. "I'd rather eat dogshit."
"So vulgar." Zixian shook his head with a helpless smile.
"Even so, I'm still your adorable little sister." XinYue grinned, puffing out her chest proudly. She was about to launch into more boasts when her gaze drifted past Zixian and her expression turned sour.
"And here comes your not-so-adorable younger brother."
All eyes turned.
The boy was well-dressed, the fabric looked better than what Yao Zixian was wearing. A pendant that hung around his waist was eye-catching, bearing the Yao Clan's symbol, which indicated his identity as a direct family member of the Yao Family.
RenJie glanced at Yao XinYue's waist to see the same pendant dangling from her pouch that hung around her waist, tied with an intricate belt. It was the same pendant that the boy was wearing.
Sensing his gaze, Yao XinYue looked a little embarrassed as she hastily explained in a low whisper. The pendant is only given to the children of the main bloodline. As Yao XinYue and her brother were children of the current head of the family, they were given this pendant as proof of their identity as the heirs of the Yao Clan.
Yao Zixian was born from the current head's sister and was considered an outsider. That was why he was not given the pendant. As the old saying goes, daughters who marry out are discarded water. When Yao Zixian's mother got married, she was considered a member of her husband's family and no longer part of her maternal family. Hence, on her wedding day, she returned the pendant to her parents.
RenJie's fingers curled into fists beneath the table.
He didn't understand all the customs of great clans, but something about it twisted his chest. He couldn't explain it, only that it felt wrong. Although he understood why Yao Zixian wasn't given the family pendant, it still angered RenJie that they couldn't make an exception to give him one. Yao Zixian deserved a pendant. He should have one.
RenJie hadn't realized his shoulders had gone stiff or that his hands had curled into tight fists on his lap. Then a warm hand settled gently over his own, smoothing the tension away with quiet reassurance.
He looked up to find Yao Zixian watching him, brows drawn in quiet concern. The sight brought a wave of guilt. Forcing the tension from his body, RenJie managed a small smile.
Meanwhile, the boy who had been approaching finally reached their table. His eyes landed on the half-eaten cakes, and his expression twisted into a frown.
"Ling ge, you bought cakes for Ah Ran again." His tone was edged with complaint.
But Yao Zixian only offered him a lazy, unbothered grin.
"Yes, I did."