Clan Building System: I'm not the Protagonist?!

Chapter 423: Qingyue:1, Zhaoyue:0

Fang Yuan rubbed the center of his brows."...Zhaoyue."

"Mhm?" Lin Zhaoyue looked at him gently while still holding onto his arm.

After a brief silence, Fang Yuan finally said carefully,

"Qingyue is our daughter."

Lin Zhaoyue blinked once.

Then she smiled softly.

"Of course she is."

"..."

For some reason, Fang Yuan felt even less reassured.

Meanwhile, Fang Qingyue looked between the two of them before suddenly tugging lightly at Fang Yuan’s sleeve.

"Father."

"What is it?"

The little girl hesitated briefly before asking in a small voice,

"...am I not allowed to hug Father anymore?"

Fang Yuan immediately answered,

"You are."

At the exact same moment—

"Only with permission," Lin Zhaoyue added calmly.

The hall became silent and Fang Yuan turned his head to meet Lin Zhaoyue who merely smiled back peacefully.

Fang Qingyue looked slightly confused.

"Then... whose permission do I ask for?"

Lin Zhaoyue gently placed a hand against her own chest.

"Mother’s."

"Zhaoyue."

"Husband?" she replied innocently.

Before Fang Yuan could continue, Fang Qingyue suddenly lowered her head seriously as though receiving important cultivation instructions.

"I understand."

"...you understand too quickly."

The little girl looked up at him obediently.

"But Mother is usually right."

Lin Zhaoyue’s smile instantly became noticeably warmer.

Fang Yuan: "..."

He suddenly felt that in the future, this household would become extremely difficult to manage.

Then Fang Qingyue tilted her head again before asking curiously,

"But Mother hugs Father whenever she wants."

Fang Qingyue continued innocently,

"And Mother sleeps beside Father every night too."

"..."

"And just the other day when father came back from the higher realm, Mother— mmph?!"

Fang Yuan instantly covered the little girl’s mouth.

A blush finally appeared across Lin Zhaoyue’s usually composed face.

For the first time since earlier, her calm expression genuinely cracked.

"Q-Qingyue!"

The little girl blinked innocently beneath Fang Yuan’s hand, completely unaware she had nearly exposed several things children absolutely should not casually mention.

Fang Yuan immediately changed the topic.

"You should stabilize your soul first."

"Mhm!"

The little girl nodded obediently before happily sitting down cross-legged nearby.

Lin Zhaoyue remained completely silent.

Only after Fang Qingyue closed her eyes to cultivate did Fang Yuan slowly glance toward Lin Zhaoyue.

"..."

"..."

For once, neither of them spoke first.

Then slowly, Lin Zhaoyue lowered her gaze and quietly moved closer until her forehead rested lightly against his shoulder.

Her earlier jealousy had mostly faded.

"...you scared me earlier," she murmured softly.

Fang Yuan’s expression paused slightly.

When he opened his eyes earlier, all he saw was Qingyue’s weakening soul.

But for Lin Zhaoyue—

She had watched him cough blood immediately after forcibly tearing himself away from the refinement.

Fang Yuan’s gaze softened.

He gently placed a hand atop hers.

"I’m alright now."

Lin Zhaoyue remained silent for several moments before speaking quietly again.

"...next time, look at me first too."

Her voice sounded calm but somehow, that soft sentence carried more weight than all her jealousy earlier combined.

Fang Yuan stared at her briefly before finally sighing helplessly.

"...Alright."

Only then did Lin Zhaoyue finally look satisfied.

Just when silence finally settled, a cheerful voice echoed from outside the meeting hall before Fang Mei hurried inside excitedly.

"Brother! Ah, there you are!"

"Look, look!" she said happily holding a little baby in her arms. "Fang Da’ai spoke his first words!"

Fang Yuan looked toward her and immediately smiled slightly.

"That’s great."

He extended a hand naturally.

"Bring the boy here. Let me hold him."

The instant those words fell, a terrifying wave of killing intent silently surged from behind him.

Fang Yuan’s expression changed instantly.

Without even turning around, he immediately reached back and pulled Lin Zhaoyue directly into his arms.

The killing intent vanished as abruptly as it appeared.

"..."

Fang Mei froze on the spot.

Her eyes slowly widened as she stared blankly at the scene before her.

Of course, by now she was already used to strange things between the Patriarch and Matriarch.

The Patriarch carrying the Matriarch, the Matriarch clinging to the Patriarch.

The Matriarch being ready to kill anyone who stood too close to the Patriarch.

All of that had long become normal within the clan.

But just now, that killing intent had clearly been directed toward a child.

"..."

Fang Mei suddenly felt a complicated expression forming on her face.

Is she actually insane?

She genuinely could not help thinking that.

Meanwhile, Fang Yuan held Lin Zhaoyue quietly against his chest while calmly changing the topic as though nothing had happened.

"Little sister Mei’er," he asked naturally, "how is Fang Da’ai?"

Fang Mei finally snapped out of her thoughts.

"Ah— I think he... he’s doing alright."

Her voice sounded noticeably less energetic now.

"But I still need to check on him with Aunty Jingyi."

After speaking, she turned around almost immediately.

"I’ll go first!"

She left so quickly it almost looked like she was fleeing.

The meeting hall fell silent again.

Fang Yuan watched Fang Mei disappear before lowering his head helplessly toward the woman currently resting peacefully in his arms.

"...Look what you’ve done."

Lin Zhaoyue blinked lightly.

"I did nothing."

Fang Yuan stared at her.

The woman in his arms merely returned an innocent gaze without the slightest trace of guilt.

Just as Lin Zhaoyue was about to continue speaking, a small figure suddenly climbed directly onto her from the side.

"Hold me too! Hold me too!"

Fang Qingyue wrapped herself around Lin Zhaoyue happily while looking up expectantly.

Lin Zhaoyue lowered her gaze toward the little girl hanging from her robes.

The hall became quiet.

Fang Yuan instantly became alert again.

For several long seconds, Lin Zhaoyue simply stared at Fang Qingyue silently before answering.

"...Fine."

Though her voice still sounded calm, Fang Yuan could somehow hear the reluctant defeat hidden within it.

Fang Qingyue immediately brightened.

"Hehe!"

The little girl happily climbed into Lin Zhaoyue’s arms without hesitation.

Lin Zhaoyue’s body stiffened slightly the moment the child hugged her neck naturally.

"..."

Fang Yuan watched the scene carefully.

Surprisingly, this time Lin Zhaoyue did not push her away.

Although her expression remained composed, one could clearly see she had no idea how to properly hold a child.

Her arms looked unusually stiff.

Fang Qingyue, however, seemed completely comfortable.

She even rubbed her cheek lightly against Lin Zhaoyue’s shoulder before smiling brightly.

"Mother smells nice."

Lin Zhaoyue froze completely as a faint blush silently crept onto her face at terrifying speed.

Fang Yuan immediately looked away and covered his mouth.

Because at this moment he couldn’t help but fall in love at the woman who forced herself into his life and stayed.