Battle Through the Heavens: Oh no, I've become the succubus Xiao Yan!

In early winter, the Nalan family arrived.

Nalan Su, accompanied by his granddaughter Nalan Yanran, arrived at the Xiao family under the guise of a "visit." Xiao Zhan personally greeted them, but felt a vague unease in his heart—the Nalan family had not taken the initiative to visit for many years.

In the living room, the two families sat on opposite sides.

Nalan Su was a shrewd man; after a few pleasantries, he got straight to the point.

"Brother Xiao," he put down his teacup, "there's something I wanted to discuss with you today."

"Brother Nalan, please speak."

Nalan Su paused for a moment, then glanced at Nalan Yanran beside him.

Yanran lowered her head and bit her lip, but her back was very straight.

"It's about the marriage agreement between our two families," Nalan Su said. "Yanran...she doesn't want to accept this marriage."

The reception room fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Zhan's face darkened.

"Nalan Su, what do you mean?"

"Brother Xiao, please don't be anxious," Nalan Su sighed. "This isn't my idea; it's Yanran's own."

"What are your thoughts?" Xiao Zhan's voice lowered slightly. "What's wrong with my Xiao Yan being worthy of your daughter?"

Nalan Su gave a wry smile and didn't reply.

At this moment, Nalan Yanran raised her head.

"Uncle Xiao," her voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear, "it's not that Xiao Yan is bad. It's that I have someone else in my heart."

Xiao Zhan was taken aback.

  

"You have someone in your heart?"

"Yes," Nalan Yanran said, "seven years ago, I met a boy."

She didn't go into details. She only said this: "I have someone in my heart, a boy I met seven years ago."

Nalan Su sighed, "Yanran, that was just a boy you met when you were little. You don't even know his name."

"I know his name is Little Fire," Nalan Yanran said. "That's enough."

The reception room was so quiet you could hear the ripples in your teacup.

Xiao Zhan's expression was very unpleasant. No matter the reason, an annulment is an annulment—in the Jia Ma Empire, a woman annuling an engagement is equivalent to slapping the man in the face.

"Nalan Su," Xiao Zhan stood up, "Are you sure?"

At this moment, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Xiao Yan walked in.

He had just come from the backyard, changed into clean training clothes, but still carried a trace of the smoky smell of grilled fish.

The first time Nalan Yanran saw him—

It wasn't amazing, but rather a vague sense of familiarity.

Looking at the fifteen-year-old boy, she suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen him somewhere before. It wasn't a vague feeling of "I think I've seen him somewhere before," but a deeper, more ingrained familiarity.

His eyebrows and eyes, his posture, the unhurried pace with which he walked in—

Nalan Yanran frowned, unable to recall.

She looked away.

Xiao Yan entered the reception room, first bowed to Nalan Jie, and then stood next to Xiao Zhan.

"Father, I heard that the Nalan family came to annul the engagement."

Xiao Zhan glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Nalan Yanran glanced at Xiao Yan again. This time, she looked at him for a little longer—she felt that this person's temperament was somewhat similar to the boy in her memory. But seven years had passed, and her memory was too hazy; she couldn't be sure.

Xun'er sat in the corner, watching Nalan Yanran.

When Nalan Yanran said, "I have someone in my heart," Xun'er's fingers clenched slightly at the hem of her clothes. When Nalan Yanran looked at Xiao Yan, Xun'er's gaze followed her.

She saw the look in Nalan Yanran's eyes—not scrutiny, not curiosity, but a searching with anticipation.

Xun'er didn't like that kind of gaze.

"Brother Xiao Yan is really lucky with women," Xun'er said softly, sensing something. Her tone was calm, but there was a hint of sourness in her voice at the end.

Xiao Yan glanced at Xun'er and reached out to take her hand.

Xun'er's ears turned red, but she didn't pull them away.

Nalan Su was still negotiating with Xiao Zhan, and the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense. Xiao Zhan refused to budge, and Nalan Su didn't know what to do—on one hand, he had to protect the Xiao family's reputation, and on the other hand, it was his daughter's own choice.

"Xiao Zhan, I'm not here to humiliate you today," Nalan Su said. "Yanran, she—"

"Enough," Xiao Zhan's voice was deep. "Nalan Su, your coming to annul the engagement today is a slap in the face to the Xiao family. No matter the reason, the result is the same."

Nalan Yanran bit her lip, her eyes slightly red.

She didn't want to hurt anyone. But she also didn't want to marry someone she didn't love—she already had someone in her heart, even if that person only existed in her memory.

Xiao Yan stood beside Xiao Zhan, looking at Nalan Yanran.

She has grown much taller than she did seven years ago, and her features have matured, but her eyes are still the same—stubborn, proud, and unwilling to bow her head.

He suddenly said, "Miss Nalan, would you like to go for a walk with me?"

Everyone looked at him.

"Some things," Xiao Yan said, "are more convenient to say outside."

Nalan Yanran paused for a moment, then nodded.

Xiao Zhan wanted to say something, but was stopped by a look from Xiao Yan.

The two walked out of the living room, through the corridor, and into the garden in the backyard.

The garden was a bit desolate in early winter, but a few winter plum trees in the corner had already bloomed, and there was a faint fragrance in the air.

Nalan Yanran walked beside Xiao Yan, and that familiar feeling welled up again. She stole a glance at Xiao Yan—his profile, his habit of slightly tilting his head when he walked, the occasional unconscious rubbing of his fingers—

I feel like I've seen this somewhere before.

But she couldn't remember. Or rather, she wasn't quite sure.

"Miss Nalan," Xiao Yan began, "you said you have someone in your heart. That person—do you still remember what he looks like?"

Nalan Yanran shook her head: "I don't remember. I was only eight years old then, so I don't remember very clearly. But I remember the fish he grilled for me, I remember him turning into a little spark, I remember him saying—"

She paused.

"What did he say?"

Nalan Yanran looked at Xiao Yan, hesitated for a moment, and said, "He said, 'Maybe.' I asked him if I would ever see him again, and he said, 'Maybe.'"

Xiao Yan remained silent.

The two walked along the garden path for a while. The more Nalan Yanran walked, the more she felt something was wrong—the sense of familiarity grew stronger, as if something was stirring deep in her memory, but she just couldn't grasp it.

Then, Xiao Yan stopped.

There was a small pond in the corner of the garden, with a few rocks beside it. Xiao Yan sat down on one of the rocks and took out a bamboo skewer from his pocket—he always carried it with him, sometimes going to the back mountain to catch fish and grill them.

"Wait a moment," he said.

He walked to the pond and reached in—a fish was forced out of the water by his fighting spirit. He skewered the fish on a bamboo stick, and then—

Pinch the stick with three fingers of your left hand, flip it over with your right hand, and gently twist your wrist.

Flames emerged from his fingertips, not from fighting spirit, but from pure, warm flames that seemed to dance in his palm.

That technique.

The color of that flame.

that--

Nalan Yanran was startled.

She stared at Xiao Yan's hands, at the flame dancing at his fingertips, at the movement of his left hand pinching the skewer with three fingers while his right hand flipped it over—

Seven years.

She searched for seven years.

-

Memories flooded back like a tide.