Live Again, Love Anew

Chapter 21- Story Time: Part 2

Summary

The rest of the facts to a story you think you know.

Beginning Note

Okay guys, we're getting real on this one.

TRIGGER WARNING

chapter contains: sexual assault, attempted rape, mild blood and gore

If any of this triggers you, the warnings start at: "She stills at the unfamiliar man" and end at "She looks up to see A-Yuan, shock written on his face"

This is important to the plot, so I will summarize in the end note for those who want to skip over it.

I will update the tags in a few days to make them relevant but avoid spoilers.

No editing today. I'm tired. If there's anything bog, just point it out in the comments and I'll change it.

(And if I need to adjust the trigger warnings or the start or end of the triggering section, just let me know)

Shen Yue

Shen Yue loved the stars. She thought they looked kind of lonely, but at the same time, they looked free. They glowed as bright as they wanted to, and always appeared in the sky night after night, no matter what happened in the world. So they were free, but also looked lonely with how spread out they were across the sky, fated to never touch.

Shen Yue liked to apply this same problem to her own life. Her and A-Yuan had made leaps and bounds in their relationship from when they were shy teens. They were adults now, which meant more time for night hunts (dates) and more freedom to do whatever they wanted.

But that also meant they now had to deal with adult problems. Shen Yue loved A-Yuan, and has told him as much since she was 19, but love couldn't solve everything. A-Yuan was Sect Heir. He was expected to get married, but because of the Lan curse of only loving once, they were opposed to arranged marriages. Otherwise, A-Yuan would have been married off as soon as he reached 18 like any other Sect Heir. A-Yuan had spoken to her on the quiet nights where it was only the two of them. His Clan was putting more and more pressure on him, using veiled words and hidden meanings to make his unmarried status painfully aware, citing duty and loyalty to make not so quiet comments about the declining state of the Clan.

The Lan Clan has been having less and less children, and now the Clan has only two main descendants where there used to be dozens. And yet the Sect Heir was 21 and had yet to mention marriage, much less a lover. Oh, what a monumental burden this is for the Sect Elders, not knowing if the future their forefathers built with their bare hands is secured, or whether the Lan Clan will be able to live on.

Just look at the Jiang! Their newly crowned Sect Leader has known his wife since they were children and are expected to get pregnant soon. And the Wen! Why, they have so many cousins from the main Clan and side branches that the branches could be a Clan on their own. Even the Jin have contributed somehow. While Sect Leader Jin may be going against his marriage duties, he has the right idea securing the Clan's future with so many possible spare heirs should the legitimate ones perish or refuse to have children. And the Nie Sect Leader has not one wife, but two! A pair of sworn sisters who have already born him a son.

But look at the poor, poor Lan. One heir is turning out to be a celibate scholar, perfectly suited to teaching the new generation but fated not to have any children of his own. And the Sect Heir has refused even meeting any prospective matches. The Lan believe in love, but you have to meet someone to be able to make it happen. And this would be fine if the Sect Heir were to find the matches on his own, but it seems even that hasn't happened!