White Jade

Besides grocery shopping, Qin Qin also took Zuozuo and Caicai to the bank to open accounts, depositing some spending money for them as well. She knew Qin Luming doted on them and did not need her to overstep and raise the two little girls for him, so she merely gave each of them one hundred thousand as a token gesture.

It was also customary for adults to give children red envelopes. When Qin Luming returned to his hometown in Qingshan Town for the New Year, his elders still gave him lucky money, despite him already being in his twenties.

He accepted it all without hesitation. It was the thought that counted, and more importantly, it made his elders happy. If he refused, they would genuinely get upset.

Now that material life was abundant, children working or studying away from home often lacked nothing. If elders wanted to care for and spoil them, there were not many other ways to do so. If even the red envelopes were refused, they would feel that they could not help their children at all, and that would make them terribly sad.

Qin Qin left after lunch and a short rest. Her residence was beside the newly opened hotel and not far from Qin Luming's school.

Qin Luming found it difficult to accept the name "Yuanyuan Road." His former name had been Qin Yuan, and An Chacha had used that as material for all sorts of nicknames. As a teenager, he had been sensitive and reacted strongly; for various reasons, it had all eventually erupted, and he had been so angry that he begged his mother to change his name.

In short, An Chacha was especially annoying. It could be said that the psychological shadow she had cast over Qin Luming had yet to fully disappear. Otherwise, he would not have cared about something like "Yuanyuan Road."

After seeing Qin Qin off, Qin Luming thought of Fairy Jiang next door when he returned home and hurried over to take a look.

That single glance was like glimpsing a fairyland.

The Light Sprites that had appeared when Fairy Jiang descended were now dancing about the room. The Little Fire Dragon that had left a deep impression on Qin Luming was still breathing fire everywhere, yet it did not set the room ablaze. Its flames removed only inconspicuous stains and dust.

The Mother Catfish in a nurse's uniform, the one that could give injections, was spraying a stream of light particles like jets of water from a syringe. More lively and adorable Light Sprites, resembling cute creatures from cartoons and anime, ran and flew around the room, cleaning every corner.

Fairy Jiang sat quietly on the carpet in the center of the living room. Her embroidered gown held the elegance of a divine official and the splendid festivity of bridal attire. Its intricate, unfathomable symbols resembled radiant paintings, concealing meanings of an extraordinarily lofty realm. Her skirt spread around her without the slightest wrinkle, gorgeous as layered flower petals spread across the ground.

Fairy Jiang's long hair lay loose, its tips flowing over the carpet like a black Milky Way plunging from the nine heavens before gradually spreading apart at the ends. Her dark hair faintly resembled a mirror, reflecting the room's furnishings.

The tiniest Light Sprites—little butterflies, little fairies, little bees, and the like—frolicked, sang, and circled around her. Waves of notes rang out, refreshing the heart and mind, as though one could hear the call of a fairyland.

Fairy Jiang raised her head. Her exquisite face seemed as though it would never be touched by even a trace of worldly dust. Beneath clean, perked eyelashes that looked as if they had been combed one by one, her dark eyes watched Qin Luming. She set down the House Usage Manual in her hand.

"I'm hungry." After glancing at Qin Luming, Fairy Jiang lowered her head again to look at the book on the carpet.

"Okay, I'll prepare something."

Qin Luming returned to the kitchen on his side and made a bowl of instant noodles. Only when he smelled the noodles' aroma did he realize that he was being a little too obedient... Normally, shouldn't he ask what she wanted to eat, introduce her to Earth food, explain the culinary culture, and then let her choose?

The way he had immediately gone to make noodles made it seem as though he had received her orders and was handling the details himself.

Qin Luming carried over a tray: a bowl of noodles, chopsticks, a spoon, a small dish of jarred meat, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and a bottle of sparkling water.

He had intended to place it on the dining table, but seeing that she showed no sign of moving, he set it down in front of her.

So even a God King had to eat... Qin Luming could more or less accept the way she had been born: a Life Fruit on the Life Tree, life within the Life Fruit. Shouldn't she have been able to absorb sunlight and photosynthesize? Just sprinkle some water on her too.

The reason Qin Luming had not prepared any food for Fairy Jiang at all at noon was that it had simply never occurred to him that she needed to eat too... In his eyes, the title God King was about the same as a bodhisattva—something beyond worldly food and drink.

That was what he thought, but Qin Luming would not say it aloud. There was no need to provoke a God King, even if she was relatively weak at the moment.

"My constitution can absorb energy from any substance and transform it into the life force that governs all things. Feeding like insects such as yourselves is also a trait of higher life forms assimilating the abilities of lower life forms. It does not mean I have become like you." Fairy Jiang looked at Qin Luming calmly. "Any other questions?"

"No." Qin Luming was startled. "Can you read minds?"

"I can, but there is no need. The scattered, erroneous, and boring fluctuations in insects' brains are too numerous; they interfere with the purity of my divinity." Fairy Jiang shook her head. "Just as you would not try to understand the foolish, chaotic thoughts of your two avatars... If you did, you would eventually find your own logic and thinking impacted. It would not be a pleasant feeling."

Qin Luming nodded involuntarily, then realized that she had mocked him again. Why did this God King enjoy ridiculing others so much? She was probably the kind of deity people like An Chacha worshipped.

"This is a food whose ingredients are shredded, steamed, boiled, and fried to fix their shape. The seasonings are dissolved, and boiling water can reactivate their original form. The vegetables are also dehydrated and compressed into small pieces... Without the additional meat you added, this would be an excellent food for easy transport, small volume, and use as military rations." After observing it for a while, Fairy Jiang nodded approvingly.

The first thing in this world that had earned her praise was actually a packet of instant noodles? Had she not seen all the technological products along the way?

Qin Luming watched her eat the noodles. As expected of a God King, even in such mundane details, she appeared exceptionally elegant. Few people could make eating noodles seem like an act of taste, appreciation, and enjoyment.

Especially instant noodles... For example, Zuozuo would try to bite one noodle and see how far she could stretch it. If it was not as long as two pairs of chopsticks, she would try to tie two noodles together... Though she did not do that much anymore.

Qin Luming did not stand there watching her eat the entire time. He got up to observe the Light Sprites nearby. When he returned, he found that Fairy Jiang had already finished. Her little feet extended from beneath her skirt, and she kicked the edge of the tray, nudging it and the noodle bowl farther away from herself.

She was not wearing shoes. Those little feet were like white jade carved into shape, delicate and tender... Qin Luming hurriedly looked away and carried off the tray without taking his eyes off it.