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

into the night.

Lin Chu sat on the veranda, flipping through a book. An oil lamp sat on the windowsill, its flame flickering in the wind.

Cang Yao peeked out from the east room, looked around, and then tiptoed to him, her hands behind her back and her toes barely touching the ground.

"Lin Chu, come with me somewhere."

"Where to?"

"Oh, you'll see when we get there." She reached out and tugged at his sleeve, pulling him up from the chair. "Hurry up, hurry up."

Lin Chu was pulled away by her and walked outside.

Cang Yao pulled him by the sleeve and walked ahead, her steps light and quick, humming some off-key tune.

Lin Chu was dragged out of the courtyard, past the big locust tree at the village entrance, and onto the path leading to the stream.

"Where to?"

"Don't say anything yet, we'll talk when we get there." Cang Yao didn't turn her head, her fingers gripping his sleeve tightly.

We've arrived at the stream.

The crooked willow tree stood quietly in the moonlight, its branches already sprouting tender green buds.

Cang Yao finally loosened his sleeve.

"Stand here, don't move."

She turned and ran to the stream, squatted down, and put her hands into the water.

The moonlight shone on her profile, revealing the curve of her lips.

Then a glimmer of light appeared on the water's surface.

It was very faint, a bluish-green color, like a star that had fallen into a stream.

Then it brightened up a little more.

It got a little brighter.

Countless shimmering blue lights rose from the bottom of the stream, one after another, as if someone had lit countless lamps underwater.

The points of light swayed gently with the water flow, gathering and dispersing uncertainly, like a group of glowing little fish swimming in the stream.

A few floated to the surface, hovering in the air, drifting slowly, drifting among the willow branches, drifting to Lin Chu's feet.

Lin Chu stretched out his hand, and a point of light landed on his fingertip.

Cang Yao stood up, turned around, her back to the blue light of the stream, and raised her chin at him.

"How is it? Pretty, right?"

She used to conjure things with her spiritual power, things she often played with back in the Dragon Court, but this was the first time she had conjured so many.

From the stream to under the willow trees, there are at least several hundred tiny points of light.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked again.

Lin Chu watched the blue light on her fingertip slowly fade away, and nodded with a smile on her face.

"nice."

Cang Yao smiled and walked over to sit down on the rock next to him.

This is the same stone she moved here years ago. After sitting on it for so many years, the surface of the stone has been worn smooth and shiny.

"I was waiting for you right here, but you didn't come back, so I started talking to the river." She rested her chin on her hands, looking at the stream. "When I'm unhappy, I shout, and then I feel much better."

She turned to look at him.

"You should try it too."

Lin Chu paused for a moment.

Shout at the river.

"I'm not a child."

"What does this have to do with children?" Cang Yao stood up, hands on her hips. "When you're in a bad mood, you should shout it out. Holding it in will make you sick. When you taught me to read, you said things like, 'What kind of anger, what kind of harm will it do to your health.'"

"When emotions are suppressed internally, they can damage the internal organs."

"Yes, yes, that's it." Cang Yao tugged at his sleeve and dragged him towards the stream. "You taught me everything, but you don't follow the instructions yourself. What kind of good teacher are you?"

Lin Chu was pulled to the stream by her. She stood by the water and looked down, then looked at Cang Yao.

"What are you shouting for?"

"You can shout whatever you want."

Lin Chu opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Cang Yao couldn't help but laugh when she saw his expression.

"How come you're even dumber than me? Watch me."

She turned around, cupped her hands around her mouth like a trumpet, and took a deep breath.

"Lin Chu"

The sound traveled across the stream, struck the opposite mountain wall, bounced back, and echoed several times in the valley.

Several birds perched in the trees fluttered into the air.

"Can you please stop reading for so long every day! Spend more time going out with me!"

The echoes surged back in waves.

Lin Chu stood behind her, watching her back.

With each shout, she leaned forward slightly and raised her voice a little higher.

"Lin Chu! You never eat properly! From now on, you're not allowed to forget to eat while reading! Got it!"

"Lin Chu! You can't kick me out! I won't leave! You can kick me out, but I won't leave!"

Her voice was a little hoarse, but the volume didn't decrease at all.

"Lin Chu—you need to cheer up! Otherwise, I'll worry—"

After shouting the last sentence, she lowered her hand, stood there catching her breath, then turned to look at him, her peach blossom eyes sparkling.

"Your turn. I'm done calling."

Lin Chu looked at her.

Her cheeks were flushed from straining.

He took a step forward and stood next to her.

The stream gurgled at my feet, and blue specks of light floated gently in its wake.

He took a deep breath and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"ah--!!"

The sound was so loud that Cang Yao jumped back half a step, and then giggled.

"What are you yelling about?"

"Say whatever you want."

"Then keep going, don't stop."

"ah--!!"

"Anything else?"

"Life is so short!!"

After shouting this, he lowered his hand and looked at the mountain in front of him.

Cang Yao lowered her hands from her ears and tilted her head to look at him.

"Where is it short? Life is so long, from childhood to adulthood, from adulthood to old age, how many things can one do?"

She counted on her fingers: "A lifetime is enough to eat countless meals, see the moon countless times, and go to countless markets. It's not short at all."

Lin Chu turned to look at her, a slight smile curving her lips.

"fool."

"I'm not stupid." Cang Yao pouted. "You said a lifetime is too short, but I said it's not. You were the one who said it was short. Why are you calling me stupid?"

Lin Chu did not explain.

Looking at the girl in front of him, counting the days on her fingers, watching her earnestly calculating how many meals she would have in her lifetime, the turmoil in his heart suddenly subsided.

A lifetime may be a long time for ordinary people, so long that you can't even count it on your fingers.

For Cang Yao, it was very short.

I am but a drop in the ocean of her long life.

Looking at Cang Yao.

Lin Chu sighed inwardly again.

"Such a beautiful woman, how could one not be captivated by her?"

Cang Yao took two steps forward, turned her head, and looked up at him.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you thinking about something again?"

Lin Chu looked away and looked down at her.

"fine."

Cang Yao glanced at him suspiciously.

"You're kidding. You've been acting strange all day." She tiptoed and looked closely at his face for a while. "But I won't ask tonight. Tell me when you're ready."

She took a step back, turned around to face the blue light filling the stream, and opened her arms.

Lin Chu stood beside her, watching the deep blue light of the stream slowly drift away with the current, like a luminous river flowing towards the mountains.

"Um."