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

When Lin Zhaoyue stretched her hand out. Fang Yuan noticed the slightest tremor in her fingertips.

A tiny, violent betrayal of the calm facade she wore so impeccably.

It was a tremor of excitement at having him so close yet so clearly upset.

In a split-second decision, Fang Yuan moved.

He didn't just take her hand, he grabbed it, lacing his fingers through hers in a firm, grounding hold.

The effect was instantaneous. Lin Zhaoyue's breath hitched.

A violent blush exploded across her cheeks, sweeping from her neck to the tips of her ears.

Her carefully constructed composure cracked, and for a moment, she looked utterly disarmed, her knees seeming to buckle slightly.

Seizing the moment, Fang Yuan swooped in, pulling her into an embrace.

This one was different from the performative one he'd given the crowd. It was tighter, more genuine, an anchor in the sudden chaos.

"Thank you," he said, his voice low, meant for her alone. He hesitated, the next word feeling foreign yet necessary on his tongue.

He resolved himself and added, the title feeling like both a key and a lock. "...Wife."

The word was a catalyst. The trembling in her hands became a full-body shiver of raw, euphoric excitement.

Her arms snaked around him in return, clutching at the back of his robes with a desperate, possessive strength.

She buried her face in his shoulder, hiding the dizzying, ecstatic smile that she couldn't and wouldn't let anyone else see.

For this one moment, the Third Princess, his brother's idiocy, and the watching clan faded away.

There was only him, and the word she craved to hear.

The walk to the main family hall was a surreal procession.

Fang Yuan, with Lin Zhaoyue permanently affixed to his side like a possessive, blissed-out barnacle, led the way.

Fang Tian followed, looking like a man marching to his own execution, while a confused but obedient Fang Lian trailed behind them.

The grand doors of the family hall were already open, and a murmur of anxious discussion fell into a dead, stunned silence the moment Fang Yuan crossed the threshold.

The room was filled with the clan's core elders, their faces etched with days of worry and frantic planning.

The sight of their supposedly deceased Clan Head, very much alive and walking towards them, was a shock too great for some to bear.

Elder Fang Sun, who was mid-sip of tea, choked. The porcelain cup clattered to the floor, shattering as he stared, his face turning ashen.

Elder Fang Joshua, standing beside him, simply swayed on his feet, his eyes rolling back into his head before two younger disciples lunged forward to catch him before he hit the ground.

But the most dramatic reaction came from the young Elder Fang Ruì. Her eyes bulged, he pointed a trembling finger at Fang Yuan, and let out a piercing, shrill scream that echoed through the vaulted hall.

"GHOST!!"

And with that, her eyes fluttered shut, and she crumpled into a heap on the floor in a dead faint.

Fang Yuan stopped in the center of the room, utterly taken aback by the sheer pandemonium his entrance had caused.

He looked down at the woman whose arms were still tangled around his torso, her head pressed firmly against his chest as if listening for a secret rhythm.

"Lin," he said, his voice a low rumble of confusion and slight accusation. "Didn't I specifically ask you to inform the family that I was alive? The whole point was to avoid a situation exactly like this."

Lin Zhaoyue tilted her head up, her expression one of beatific innocence.

A soft, slightly hurt smile played on her lips.

"I did,husband," she said, her voice sweet and clear. "I told them all. I even repeated it multiple times during clan meetings. They just... wouldn't listen to me."

A wave of pure exasperation washed over Fang Yuan.

He gently, but firmly, pried Lin Zhaoyue's arms from around his waist, though she kept a possessive grip on his sleeve.

He took a commanding step forward, his presence immediately filling the hall and cutting through the panic.

"Enough!" His voice, laced with a sliver of the profound power he'd used against the Saberfang, rolled through the room.

The remaining jittery elders flinched and fell completely silent. "Look at yourselves! The esteemed elders of the Fang Clan, fainting and screaming at shadows. I am no ghost."

He strode over to where the young Elder Fang Ruì had collapsed.

A few disciples were hesitantly fanning her face. Fang Yuan crouched down, his expression softening from stern authority to one of slight amusement.

He placed two fingers on her wrist, checking her pulse. It was racing, but steady.

"Someone fetch a calming pill and a blanket for Elder Ruì. And I suppose one of you should also go and call doctor Mu, be respectful."

As he stood, his gaze swept over the assembled elders, his expression hardening once more. "Let me be perfectly clear. I am Fang Yuan. I am your Clan Head. I am made of flesh and blood, and I have returned."

He paused, letting the statement hang in the air, a direct challenge to their fear. None dared to question it.

Fang Yuan gave a single, sharp nod. "Good. Now, if you will all excuse me, my brother, my wife, and I have urgent clan matters to discuss. Please see to Elder Ruì."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned.

Lin Zhaoyue instantly reclaimed her place at his side, her fingers intertwining with his.

As they walked towards his private chambers, Fang Tian and a curious Fang Lian in tow, she leaned her head against his arm.

"See?" she murmured, her voice a contented purr. "They just needed to hear it from you."

Her tone suggested she had known this would be the outcome all along, and that the elders' earlier panic had been a mildly entertaining prelude to his triumphant return.

For her, the only audience that ever truly mattered was him.