After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

Cang Yao ran through the woods for quite a while.

Branches brushed past her, and fallen leaves rustled at her feet.

She ran until she could no longer hear the sound of the stream before stopping, leaning against an old pine tree, panting heavily.

Tears streamed down my face.

She wiped it with her sleeve, but it kept falling off, so she wiped it again.

"Stinky Lin Chu."

She sniffed.

"Big liar."

He took another breath.

"Just got back... and now they're saying they're leaving again..."

She squatted down, picked up a dry twig, and drew circles on the ground with force.

"What's so great about the capital?"

I threw the dead branch far away and watched it disappear into the bushes.

Then he stood up and continued walking towards the sea.

The barrier of the East Sea Dragon Court parted before her, and the seawater automatically receded to make way for her.

Cang Yao walked in with her head down, passed through the coral corridor, and pushed open the door of the bedroom.

Xiao Xiao was sitting cross-legged on the low couch, eating grapes one after another, his mouth dripping with juice.

When she saw Cang Yao come in, she was about to say, "Sister, you're back," but she closed her mouth halfway through.

Cang Yao's eyes were red, with tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, and she looked as listless as seaweed dried by the sun.

"Sister?" Xiaoxiao spat out the grapes and jumped off the tatami mat. "What's wrong? Who bullied you?"

Cang Yao didn't speak.

She walked to the seashell bed, threw herself on it, and buried her face in the blankets.

The quilt was made of silk gauze, thin and with a faint sheen.

Her voice came from under the covers, muffled.

"He's leaving again."

"Huh?" Xiaoxiao leaned closer. "Who's leaving?"

"Lin Chu."

Xiao Xiao blinked: "Is he back?"

"Yes." Cang Yao lifted her face slightly from under the covers, resting her chin on the blanket. "She just got back and said she's going to the capital again in the spring."

She emphasized the word "capital city" very heavily, as if she were biting something she couldn't bite.

"It will take several months, maybe longer."

She buried her face back down.

Xiao Xiao sat down next to her, tilted her head, and thought for a moment.

"Sister, I think about this—"

"Don't make sarcastic remarks," Cang Yao interrupted her in a muffled voice from under the covers.

"I'm not just saying that lightly." Xiao Xiao crossed her legs. "I mean, this might actually be a good thing."

Cang Yao peeked out from under the covers with one eye, staring at her.

Xiao Xiao calmly analyzed, "Look, he's going to the capital to take the exam; that's to do something legitimate. Think about it, if he becomes a high-ranking official, wouldn't you have even more support on the shore?"

Cang Yao remained silent.

Xiao Xiao continued, "Besides, humans and demons are different—"

Cang Yao's lips immediately pursed.

Seeing her like this, Xiao Xiao swallowed back what she was about to say.

The bedchamber was quiet for a while.

Xiao Xiao suddenly clapped her hands.

"Sister, I've thought of a way."

Cang Yao lifted her head from under the covers, looking at her with red eyes.

"Since he won't leave until spring, there are still several months until then." Her small eyes shone brightly. "Instead of running to the shore to wait for him every day, why don't you just move in with him?"

Cang Yao was stunned.

"Anyway, he's back now. You can move in there and see him every day, right? You can come back when he goes to the capital, okay?"

Xiao Xiao felt more and more convinced of her point as she spoke, "Didn't you say you go to him to study every day? You can use that as an excuse to say you want to study with him, since it's more convenient since we live close by."

Cang Yao slowly sat up from under the covers.

"Live with him?"

"yes."

"You see him every day?"

"See you in the morning, see you at noon, see you in the evening." Xiao Xiao counted on her fingers, "See you at meals, see you while reading, see you while taking walks, see you as many times as I want."

Cang Yao's eyes gradually brightened.

She suddenly jumped off the bed.

"Xiaoxiao, you're right."

Then he ran out like a gust of wind.

Xiao Xiao watched the figure disappear at the end of the corridor, shook her head, and then picked up a grape and popped it into her mouth.

Realizing she couldn't change her sister, she could only accept it.

By the stream.

The sky was already mostly dark, with only a last glimmer of grayish-orange light remaining in the west.

Lin Chu hadn't left yet.

He sat on the rock, with a few pebbles he had picked up beside him.

After Cang Yao ran away, he stood there for a long time before slowly walking to the stream and sitting down.

Lin Chu's feelings were very complicated at this moment.

Lost in thought, I heard very light footsteps behind me.

It was very light and slow, as if the owner of the steps was hesitantly shuffling forward.

Lin Chu turned around.

Cang Yao stood at the edge of the forest, her hands behind her back.

Her fingers were clenched tightly behind her back, so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Her head was lowered, her chin almost touching her chest, showing him only the top of her head.

The toes rubbed against the ground little by little, creating a small crater.

She took a step forward, then stopped.

He took another step, then stopped again.

It's like having to make a decision for every step you take.

Lin Chu looked at her.

After a long while, she finally raised her head slightly and peeked at him from under her bangs.

Then it quickly dropped down again.

"I……"

She swallowed.

"I...I want to—"

It stopped again.

Lin Chu didn't urge her.

He looked at the little girl in front of him.

Her cheeks still bore traces of tears that hadn't been wiped away, her nose was red, and her eyelashes were wet and clumped together.

She was just running away angrily, calling him a big liar, but now she's standing here like a child who's done something wrong and wants to be forgiven.

"I want to move in with you."

She finally said it.

The voice was soft, a little hoarse, and tentative.

After saying that, she immediately buried her head again, her ears turning as red as if they were about to bleed.

Lin Chu was taken aback upon hearing this.

"Move in with me?"

"Mmm." Her fingers twisted behind her back. "You'll teach me to read. It's close by...convenient."

She pronounced the word "convenient" very softly, as if afraid that the word would be too heavy and would overwhelm her.

Lin Chu remained silent for a while.

"What about your family?" he asked. "Will they agree?"

Cang Yao's fingers froze for a moment behind her back.

Then she slowly raised her head.

"My parents passed away a long time ago," she said. "I only have one younger sister left, who is about the same age as me."

She paused, then added, "She can take care of herself, it's okay."

Lin Chu looked at her for a long while before speaking.

"Is your sister really okay?"

"No." Cang Yao shook her head vigorously. "She's very capable; she can cook, do laundry, clean the house, and do everything."

She silently apologized to Xiaoxiao in her heart.

Lin Chu didn't ask any more questions.

He threw the pebbles in his hand into the stream and watched the ripples spread out in circles.

He reached out and ruffled her hair, then smiled helplessly.

"Can."

Cang Yao's eyes lit up immediately.

"You're not allowed to stuff any more pearls and seashells into the house."

"Oh," Cang Yao obediently replied, then muttered softly, "What about coral?"

"None of them will work."

"All right."

She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then looked up and smiled.

"Then I'll move in tomorrow."

"Um."

"Come first thing tomorrow morning."

"Um."

Cang Yao turned around and walked briskly towards the woods.

After walking a few steps, she turned back to look at him again and waved to him.

It skipped and hopped away, disappearing into the depths of the forest.

The Dragon Court of the East Sea.

When Cang Yao swam into the bedchamber, Xiao Xiao was lying on the couch flipping through an old book.

"Sister, how are you?"

"He agreed!" Cang Yao hugged Xiao Xiao tightly and spun her around the bedroom. "We're moving in tomorrow!"

Xiao Xiao was dizzy from being spun around, and finally managed to break free and straighten her disheveled collar.

"Okay, okay, I'll move it, but don't make me fall apart from all that moving."

Cang Yao released her and paced back and forth in the bedchamber, muttering incantations.

"Which garment should I bring? I'll bring the blue one that was made last time."

Also, bring a comb; you absolutely must bring a comb.

There's also the Book of Songs, and—"

She suddenly stopped, turned around and ran towards the door.

"Where are you going again, sister?"

"Go find the teacher!"

Cang Yao passed through the coral corridor and several barriers, arriving at a standalone palace.

Qianyuan Pavilion.

This is a place where the Dragon Court specifically trains genius demon cultivators, accepting only young sea creatures with special bloodlines and outstanding talents.

Before meeting Lin Chu, Cang Yao was just an ordinary koi fish demon.

Once, while playing around, I accidentally fell into a forbidden area.

Deep within the forbidden area lies an ancient stone pool, at the bottom of which lie several dull beads.

She swam over and accidentally touched one of them with her tail.

The bead transformed into golden light and flowed into her body.

Then she was knocked unconscious by that force.

When I woke up again, I was already in the main hall of the Dragon Court.

Several elderly dragons with white hair surrounded her, their expressions a mixture of shock and complexity.

She later learned that the bead was a drop of true dragon blood.

Since the war between humans and demons ended ten thousand years ago, the demon race has retreated to the Demon Realm.

The dragon bloodline has been declining for tens of thousands of years, and the inheritance of true dragon essence blood has been severed for a long time.

The most powerful creature in the Dragon Court now is a jiao (a type of dragon), and true dragons have not appeared for a long time.

She, an inconspicuous little koi, was actually recognized by the essence of a true dragon.

That's why she was able to take human form in just a few years.

This was even while he was often slacking off with Lin Chu.

Because of this incident, Longting made an exception and admitted her into Qianyuan Pavilion.

Xiao Xiao was her best friend since childhood, so she naturally followed her into the Dragon Court. Although she was a maid, she never treated Xiao Xiao like a servant.

That's her sister.

Inside the main hall of Qianyuan Pavilion, a woman was sitting on a coral chair, flipping through jade slips.

She wore a dark blue robe, her hair was casually tied back with a jade hairpin, and there was a hint of languor in her eyes.

"Teacher." Cang Yao stopped in front of her.

The woman raised her head, glanced at Cang Yao, and put down the jade slip.

Cang Yao felt a little guilty under her gaze and lowered her head.

"Teacher, I came to tell you that I want to go into seclusion for a while."

"Seclusion?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "You usually find even cultivation boring, so this is the first time you've voluntarily applied for seclusion."

Cang Yao blushed.

"I want to cultivate diligently and don't want to disappoint my teacher."

The woman stared at her for a long time.

"Alright, but you must remember that although you have the essence of a true dragon in your body, you are not a born dragon. Cultivation cannot be rushed; a steady and methodical approach is the right way."

Cang Yao nodded seriously.

The woman glanced at her again, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just waved her hand.

"Go."

Cang Yao bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

She walked out of Qianyuan Pavilion, her steps as light as if she were walking on clouds.

There was only one thought in my mind.

Tomorrow, I'll be able to live with him.