Chapter 405 - 404: Finale

Chapter 405: Chapter 404: Finale

Shi Lan took the little ones by the hand and walked them to her bedroom.

The bed wasn’t very big. Her sons had all shifted into their beast forms, with San San sleeping in the middle while the boys sprawled out and curled up in every corner, each claiming their own spot.

In the end, Shi Lan dug through her Space Chain until she found a few handkerchiefs to drape over her sons’ little bellies, then pulled out a small blanket to tuck around her daughter. Only once she was satisfied did she ease the door shut and leave.

Black Star actually had quite a few guest rooms, so any visitors who didn’t want to head home right away were welcome to stay the night and leave in the morning.

That said, they had chartered several spaceships for guests to use, and plenty of attendees had brought their own Teleportation Spaceships, so most of them said their goodbyes in high spirits and dispersed after the banquet.

Lai Yilian left with her mother, and Shi Lan pulled her into a hug before they parted, with both of them making plans to visit each other’s planet sometime. Lai Yilian was absolutely thrilled at the idea. "Definitely! I’ve got a whole collection of gorgeous diamonds back home — I’ll show them all to you, and if any catch your eye, just take a few home."

"Hahaha, that’s so sweet of you, Yilian, but I couldn’t. I’ll be perfectly happy just feasting my eyes on them."

Shi Lan smiled and gave a playful wink. Lai Yilian found herself momentarily transfixed by that face. "Oh, sweetheart, you are absolutely stunning. It almost makes me wish I were male so I could marry you."

Lai Yang, standing nearby, pulled a face and cleared her throat pointedly. "Watch what you say."

As she spoke, she flicked her gaze toward the other side of the room, signaling her daughter to be careful. Shi Lan’s Beast Husbands were all watching, and the Monarch in particular looked like he was about two seconds away from grinding his teeth to dust.

Lai Yilian sobered up quickly and said her goodbyes to Shi Lan like a proper young lady.

After she left, Bai Rao came over.

Ever since Ye Yan had been executed, Bai Rao had married another 2S Beast Husband and made it official. She’d invited Shi Lan to the wedding and expressed her deep gratitude for Shi Lan’s help back at the underground base. Since Bai Rao had included her back then, Shi Lan had returned the favor and invited her today.

Since leaving the Bai Family — and given everything that had since fallen apart within it — Bai Rao carried herself with a much quieter, more measured air now. But at her core, she was still the same proud woman she’d always been.

Now, she lifted her gaze with a faint smile and offered her congratulations, then added with a teasing lilt, "I’m pregnant too, actually. If it’s a boy, I’ll raise him right. Who knows — maybe one day he’ll have a chance to marry your daughter."

She hadn’t managed to climb into the Imperial Family herself, but her son might still have a shot.

Shi Lan had no intention of meddling in her children’s love lives, and she didn’t have any objection to Bai Rao’s suggestion either. As long as the boy turned out to be genuinely good and her daughter liked him, that was all that mattered.

So she simply smiled. "Congratulations. Take good care of yourself."

With that, their conversation wrapped up, and Bai Rao left too.

Gradually, the guests thinned out.

Jiang Yan was still there, though. It was her best friend’s wedding, and she’d been even more worked up about it than the bride herself — she’d had quite a lot to drink. Her parents had other things to attend to and had already headed out, leaving her Beast Husband by her side to keep her company.

Shi Lan went over, and Jiang Yan let out a tipsy hiccup and threw her arms around her. "Lanlan, this is just so wonderful — you’re married, I’m married, hehe, we’ve both got such bright futures ahead of us."

"We really do. Bright futures, both of us."

Shi Lan caught her and said gently, "Yanyan, you’re drunk. Why don’t you go lie down for a bit?"

Jiang Yan was well and truly gone at this point, looping back to "we’ve both got such bright futures ahead of us" on repeat.

Shi Lan gave a helpless little smile and looked over at the Beast Husband standing nearby. "Go ahead and take her to a room to rest."

He looked a little uncertain — mainly because he worried Shi Lan wouldn’t be able to hold Jiang Yan up.

But looks could be deceiving. With her spiritual power behind her, Shi Lan was far stronger than she appeared, and she hoisted her friend up without even straining.

She didn’t say another word and simply headed off with Jiang Yan in tow, the trailing hem of her wedding gown doing nothing to slow her easy stride.

Then again, that dress had cost a fortune for good reason — for all its sweep and volume, it was surprisingly light, and she hadn’t felt the slightest bit uncomfortable wearing it all day. All in all, it really was something.

Jiang Yan’s Beast Husband barely had time to get another word in before Shi Lan was already gone. He moved to follow, but He Hanshi and the others caught him and pulled him back to drink.

They could tell their wife seemed to have something she wanted to say to her friend in private. No need for outsiders to go sticking their noses in.

Even if they were just a little bit jealous.

Shi Lan got Jiang Yan settled in one of the spare guest rooms, guiding her onto the bed and helping her lie down.

Jiang Yan blinked her eyes open in a daze. When she saw it was Shi Lan, she broke into a loopy grin. "Lanlan, you’re so beautiful."

"Be happy forever, okay?"

Even drunk off her feet, she didn’t forget to say things like that.

Shi Lan looked at her, something warm and aching rising behind her eyes. She almost felt like a thief.

He Hanshi and the others had only come to know the version of her that existed now — but in the original story, Jiang Yan had been the original host’s best friend from the very beginning. And here she was, walking around in the original host’s body, having claimed that friendship for herself.

Maybe, in Jiang Yan’s heart, the girl she truly considered her closest friend had always been the original host.

Jiang Yan was warm and generous and had done so much for her. When Shi Lan had first come back to Imperial Capital University, it was Jiang Yan who had carried her through those disorienting early days — like running into an old friend after crossing an impossible distance, helping her find her footing in this new world.

Shi Lan had never found the words to say it out loud, but she was genuinely, deeply grateful that Jiang Yan existed.

She blinked against the sting in her eyes. Jiang Yan looked like she was drifting off again, and Shi Lan couldn’t help murmuring, "If I’m not the Shi Lan you remember... would you still want to be my friend?"

Jiang Yan was thoroughly drunk, but she caught the sound of Shi Lan’s voice and cracked her eyes open again, mumbling, "Friends... they’re all temporary, aren’t they? Nobody can promise forever. But right now, the person beside me is you."

People change. Friendships fade with distance. But when two people click in the present, it means something real exists between them that brought them together.

What Jiang Yan was really saying was that Shi Lan had no reason to get tangled up in what came before. The fact that they’d found each other, stayed close for years, and built something genuine — that was proof enough that they were simply compatible, that something in each of them had recognized something in the other.

If they’d been too different at heart, they probably would have drifted apart long ago.

Jiang Yan was drunk and not making the most coherent sense, but the words came tumbling out all the same.

Shi Lan quietly leaned down and hugged her, the corners of her mouth curving up. "Thank you. I get it now." She paused. "Let’s start over, then. I’m Shi Lan — the ’shi’ for time, the ’lan’ for mountain mist. I’m a traveler from far away. It’s really nice to meet you."

Jiang Yan rallied herself with visible effort. "Hehe... I’m Jiang Yan. From Capital Star. Lanlan — I’m really glad I met you too."

And with that, she finally lost her battle with the alcohol and slipped into a deep sleep.

Shi Lan smiled softly and pulled the blanket up over her.

She opened the door and stepped back out into the night, lifting her gaze to the rose petals still drifting through the air in the distance, breathing in the cool, clean breeze. The last knot in her chest came loose and floated away, leaving nothing behind but open sky.

How wonderful. How truly wonderful it was, crossing over to this world.

Grateful for every moment. Grateful for every person she’d found along the way.