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

A while later.

Cang Yao suddenly stood up, walked to Lin Chu, and looked up at him.

"Lin Chu."

"Um."

"Have you grown taller?"

Lin Chu put down the book and looked down at her.

Three years ago, he was about half a head taller than her; now he is more than a head taller.

From this angle, Cang Yao's face is small, and the way she tilts her head up makes her look like a curious cat.

Lin Chu reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head.

"It's because you haven't grown."

Cang Yao's eyes widened instantly.

"I've grown!" She jumped back a step, gesturing to the top of her head with her hand. "Look, I've clearly—clearly grown just a little bit!"

There was about half an inch between her thumb and forefinger.

Lin Chu glanced at it and said indifferently, "I can't tell."

"You—you have bad eyesight!" Cang Yao huffed and puffed as she walked around to face him, standing on tiptoe and trying to reach his chin with the top of her head. "Look again, I'm taller, I'm really taller!"

Lin Chu looked down at the head that was trying to push upwards, her lips twitched slightly, and then she reached out and pressed down on the top of the head, pushing it back down.

"Hmm, too high."

"You're lying! Your tone clearly shows you don't believe me!"

"letter."

"Your face doesn't look believable either!"

Cang Yao chased after him, circling around him, constantly saying, "I will grow taller," "I will grow very, very tall," "taller than you."

Her voice was crisp and loud, startling a bird in the locust tree, which fluttered away.

Unable to resist her pursuit, Lin Chu turned around, reached out and grabbed her shoulder, freezing her in place.

"How old are you this year."

Cang Yao blinked: "...It's very big."

"How big is 'very big'?"

"Anyway, it's really big," she mumbled, her gaze drifting elsewhere as she drew circles on the ground with her toes.

Lin Chu looked at her for a while, then let go of her hand without asking any further questions.

Taking the opportunity, Cang Yao stood on tiptoe again and compared herself to him, then realized with a look of frustration that she hadn't grown much at all.

"That's not fair," she muttered softly. "I've been eating properly every day."

These past three years have been very peaceful.

Sometimes Cang Yao would arrive early and sit on the swing under the locust tree, not saying a word, waiting quietly.

As he paced, she sat there, her small feet dangling from under her skirt, her toes tapping the ground rhythmically, as if she were playing some kind of beat that only she knew.

She looked at the white clouds in the sky, the grass outside the yard, and the leaves falling from the locust tree.

Then I looked at him in front of me.

Sometimes, when Lin Chu was halfway through reading, she would feel a gaze behind her and turn around to look.

Cang Yao would smile at him and wave her hand, meaning "You continue, you continue."

As she learned more characters, she would come over and peek over his shoulder when he was reading.

Since Cang Yao appeared, Lin Chu has spent much less time fishing by the stream.

It wasn't because he didn't want to fish anymore, but because Cang Yao would always run to the stream ahead of time, herd a lot of fish to a certain spot, and then excitedly pull his sleeve and run to the stream when he arrived.

"Lin Chu, Lin Chu, come quick! I've found so many fish! A ton!"

Lin Chu was pulled to the stream and looked into the water—sure enough, a large group of fish were crowded together in a small area of ​​water near the bank, densely packed, like they were going to a market.

He remained silent for a moment, then turned to look at Cang Yao.

Cang Yao was looking at him with a smug expression, her face practically screaming, "Praise me! Praise me!"

"Did you find these fish?"

"Yes!" Cang Yao nodded vigorously, "They swam over by themselves, maybe they like me."

Among the fish in the stream, a large blue carp seemed to roll its eyes—if fish can roll their eyes.

Lin Chu squatted down, looked at the group of fish that were unusually quiet, then looked at Cang Yao, and finally sighed, taking out the fish basket from her bosom.

"Only arrest two."

"Why? So many!"

"Enough to eat is fine."

"Oh." Cang Yao squatted down next to him, resting her chin on her hands, watching him put the fish basket into the water.

After this happened several times, Mr. Chen noticed something amiss.

One evening during dinner, he casually remarked, "Have there been more and more fish in the stream lately?"

Lin Chu paused for a moment as she picked up some food.

Cang Yao was engrossed in eating fish when she heard this. She looked up, a grain of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth, and said innocently, "Really? I didn't know."

Mr. Chen glanced at her, smiled, shook his head, and said nothing more.

Besides herding fish, Cangyao also frequently slipped other things into Lin Chu's house.

Sometimes it's a few round pearls, sometimes it's a small bag of beautiful seashells, and sometimes it's a piece of coral of excellent quality.

She gave these things very casual excuses—"I picked them up by the stream," "I saw them by the roadside," "I don't know when they fell into my pocket."

Lin Chu knew these things couldn't possibly be by the stream, the roadside, or in her pocket.

But he didn't ask.

Cang Yao handed the pearl shells to Mr. Chen, saying they were for Lin Chu's tuition.

When Mr. Chen accepted the gift, he picked up a pearl and examined it against the light. A complex emotion flashed in his eyes, but in the end he just smiled and said, "Yao girl is really lucky; she always manages to find good things."

"Yes, yes," Cang Yao replied with a smile, completely without any guilt.

Every summer, Cang Yao would start to worry.

The sun grew hotter each day, the ground became scorching hot, and waves of heat surged through the air, even the cicadas in the trees seemed to be chirping weakly.

Cang Yao lay on the seashell bed in the Dragon Court's bedroom, her face pressed against the cold seashell, and let out a long wail.

"It's so hot outside—"

Xiao Xiao sat next to her and rolled her eyes.

"Sister, please don't go ashore in the summer. It's so hot, you're just asking for trouble if you, a fish, try to go ashore!"

"But I want to go." Cang Yao turned her face and looked up at the coral dome above her. "If I don't go for a day, I feel uncomfortable all over."

"That's called heatstroke," Xiao Xiao said bluntly.

Cang Yao turned over, buried her face in the pillow, and said in a muffled voice, "You don't understand."

"I don't understand." Xiao Xiao put her fan aside, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Sister, you're a fish, you're born to stay in the water. What's so great about that Lin Chu that makes you want to run ashore in this sweltering heat? Aren't you afraid of getting roasted like a fish by the sun?"

Cang Yao lifted her face from under the pillow and thought about it seriously.

"He's not much better than me," she said slowly, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. "It's just... I want to see him."

Xiao Xiao looked at the smile on her lips and sighed deeply.

She has given up trying to persuade her.

In those three years, she tried to persuade him more times than the tides of the East China Sea, but she never succeeded.

My sister usually seems quite smart, but she becomes silly whenever Lin Chu is mentioned.

"Alright, alright." Xiao Xiao stood up, rummaged through the closet and pulled out a thin gauze dress, tossing it to Cang Yao. "Wear this, at least it'll block out the sun. Also, keep that water-condensing bead you brought back last time with you, in case you get too hot, it'll cool you down."

Cang Yao took the gauze dress and hugged Xiao Xiao with a smile: "You're the best."

"Come on." Xiao Xiao turned her face away, but her ears turned red. "I'm just afraid you'll get roasted."

Cang Yao changed her clothes, tucked the water droplets into her sleeves, and picked up the well-worn copy of the Book of Songs from the table, holding it close to her chest.

As she reached the door, she turned back and waved to Xiaoxiao, saying, "I'm leaving."

"Come back soon," Xiao Xiao said, then muttered, "Anyway, that human won't notice anything wrong with you."

She spoke very softly, but Cang Yao heard her.

She smiled, said nothing, and turned to swim into the azure waters of the East China Sea.

Xiao Xiao stood at the entrance of the bedroom, watching the red figure swim further and further away.

She sighed and muttered to herself, "That human is really stupid. Three years have passed, and he still hasn't realized my sister is a demon. What kind of respectable girl goes to the stream every day and gets so close to the fish?"

She thought for a moment, then added, "But it's better to be a little silly; if you're too smart, it'll just cause trouble."

On the sea, Cangyao broke through the water and landed on the rocks on the shore.

The sun was shining brightly overhead, making her squint immediately.

She shielded her eyes from the sunlight, took a deep breath, and then walked along the path she had walked countless times into the mountain village.

Her steps were quick and light, like a bird eager to return to its nest.

She held the Book of Songs to her chest, a dried locust leaf tucked between the pages—something Lin Chu had casually slipped in last autumn.