Hiding It

Lu Mingyuan's home.

Looking at the familiar, greedy look on little Jing Yue's face, Lu Mingyuan said with exasperation, "You little glutton. All you ever think about is eating."

Jing Yue didn't take it to heart.

To her, tasty food was the most important thing.

Lu Mingyuan continued, "If I'd known you two were coming, I would've prepared in advance."

As he spoke, he pointed to the bamboo tray stacked with pancakes and the basin of prepared dough beside it.

When Jing Yue, who had dashed over to the pancakes, heard that Lu Mingyuan had prepared them for her and her sister, her face lit up with delight. She felt that she hadn't made a mistake in recognizing him as her big brother, and that calling him "brother" all these years hadn't been for nothing.

Just then, Jing Yue suddenly felt that something was off. She looked at the pancakes and the basin of dough before her, silently did the math, then said, "Wait, no, Brother Mingyuan! You can only make about six or seven pancakes with all this. That's not enough for us!"

Jing Yue estimated how much everyone could eat. It really wasn't enough. Last time, they'd each eaten three. So why did it look like there was just enough for two people this time?

Wait. Two people...

"Hey, Brother Mingyuan, you didn't only prepare enough for you and my sister, did you? There's none for me?"

Jing Yue looked utterly incredulous. Then she remembered what her big brother Mingyuan was like, and she was already sure that was exactly what had happened. Putting on an aggrieved look, she complained, "You really do treat me like an outsider. So you two are family, and I'm the only outsider. You're both picking on me."

Seeing that she was about to cry, Lu Mingyuan hurriedly explained, "It's just that you don't come over often, so I didn't expect you'd be here. How about this? I'll mix some more dough in a bit, and we'll fry a couple of dishes too. How's that? Don't worry, I won't let you go hungry."

After hearing his explanation, Jing Yue rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a moment. "That'll do. I'll magnanimously forgive you, then."

Jing Yue didn't press the matter any further. After all, she knew she really didn't come over often.

Just then, Lu Mingyuan glanced at Jing Zhi nearby. Since arriving, she had quietly sat down to tend the fire, rather than going to find food with her younger sister, Jing Yue.

Seeing this, Lu Mingyuan said to Jing Yue, "Look at your sister. She came over and got right to work. Unlike you, who only cares about eating. Go pick some vegetables in the yard. We'll fry them in a bit."

"How can my sister and I be the same? I came as a guest, and she came as the lady of the house. There's a big difference. Guests are only supposed to eat. Why should I have to work?"

Though she said that, Jing Yue still picked up a basket and obediently left the kitchen to gather vegetables.

Once the little girl had gone out, only Lu Mingyuan and Jing Zhi remained in the kitchen.

One tended the fire while the other cooked pancakes. They made a picture of domestic harmony.

And it wasn't wrong to call them husband and wife.

Their fathers had been comrades-in-arms and were close, so they'd arranged a childhood betrothal for the two of them when they were young.

Lu Mingyuan and Jing Zhi had grown up together, childhood sweethearts who'd shared a happy childhood.

As they grew up, they'd fallen for each other and their feelings had been mutual. Since Jing Zhi's parents didn't oppose their relationship, it had continued uninterrupted. They often visited one another, and now all that remained was to make things official.

Only after her younger sister had gone out did Jing Zhi casually ask, "Mingyuan, how did your awakening go last night? Did everything go smoothly?"

"It went fine, don't worry. It was only an awakening. Nothing was going to go wrong."

"Oh! Good, good." Only then did Jing Zhi feel relieved.

She'd never heard of anyone having problems during an awakening, but she was still a little worried, so she'd come over first thing that morning.

To be honest, if Lu Mingyuan hadn't awakened so late the previous night, at an inappropriate hour, Jing Zhi would've wanted to come over that very night.

Now that she'd heard from Lu Mingyuan that nothing had gone wrong, the tension in Jing Zhi's heart finally eased completely.

After a moment of silence, Jing Zhi asked curiously, "Have you decided what divine ability you want to create? I heard you're going to join the Agricultural School."

"I have a general idea, but I haven't decided yet."

For some reason, Lu Mingyuan didn't tell Jing Zhi the truth—that he had already created a divine ability. Yet when he said that just now, his expression had remained perfectly calm, without the slightest hint of anything amiss. Who knew how long he'd been practicing?

"You have an idea already? That's good!"

Jing Zhi clearly had no idea he was hiding something from her. She still thought the man she loved hadn't created a divine ability and only had a general idea.

But that was understandable. Most people couldn't settle on a goal that quickly. Besides, there were Qi Luck Points to consider. Those weren't easy to come by.

Lu Mingyuan had created a divine ability that was practically the cheapest one to make, and it had still cost him two thousand Qi Luck Points. He'd saved up for years, from childhood to adulthood, and even without counting the nearly one thousand Earth Luck, he'd only just had enough Qi Luck Points.

As for everyone else, most people had less saved up than Lu Mingyuan when they first awakened. So even if they wanted to create a fairly ordinary divine ability, they'd have to wait another two or three years.

"Then take your time, Mingyuan. Don't rush. Creating a divine ability is something that affects your whole life. You absolutely can't rush it."

"Don't worry. You know what I'm like."

"True! You always think things through and have a plan." Jing Zhi nodded slightly.

After saying that, Jing Zhi fell silent for a moment, turning it over in her mind. Then she finally worked up the courage to say, "Mingyuan, if you don't have enough Qi Luck Points later, tell me. I still have my dowry. If that's not enough, I'll ask my father. He dotes on me, so he'll definitely give me some."

Suddenly, Lu Mingyuan's hand paused slightly as he flipped a pancake, then resumed its motion.

A powerful urge surged through him to tell her the truth—that he had already created a divine ability. But in the next instant, Lu Mingyuan forced the urge down and buried the secret in his heart.

The fewer people who knew about the divine ability "Mathematics: Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage," the better. Ideally, only he, Lu Mingyuan, would know. In fact, he'd already made that decision when he chose the name "Anonymous."

Telling her now might put both her and himself in danger. After all, Lu Mingyuan was preparing to use that account to do something big—something earth-shatteringly big. So he absolutely couldn't reveal that he was Anonymous. Otherwise, he might not have more than a few days left to live.

Just then, Lu Mingyuan glanced at the girl in the white dress tending the fire beside him and made a quiet decision. In this life, as long as she didn't betray him, he wouldn't betray her either.

Though he'd thought all that, it had only taken an instant. Jing Zhi had just finished talking about her dowry when Lu Mingyuan replied, "Then it's a deal. I'll be counting on your dowry. Don't go back on your word later, or I'll be in trouble."

"I won't! Should I bring it over to you today?"

"No, no need! If I really need it later, I'll have to go talk to your parents myself—and settle things between us while I'm at it."

"Us? Settle what?"

Jing Zhi looked at Lu Mingyuan with an utterly puzzled expression, as though she really didn't know.

"You don't know? Then forget it. We won't make it official."

Seeing her familiar expression, Lu Mingyuan knew exactly what she was thinking and couldn't help teasing her.

"You wouldn't dare! If you said we'd make it official, then we have to. How can you give up halfway?"

As she spoke, Jing Zhi raised the fire poker in her hand and brandished it a few times. White smoke curled and coiled from the poker through the air, as if threatening Lu Mingyuan.

Seeing this, Lu Mingyuan hurriedly shielded himself from Jing Zhi. "Careful. Don't get ash in the pancakes. If you dirty one, you'll have to eat it. I won't, and Yue'er probably won't either."

"Fine, I'll eat it. Who's scared? It's not like I've never eaten one before."

Though she said that, Jing Zhi still put down the fire poker and let Lu Mingyuan go.

But Lu Mingyuan still wouldn't let it go. "A-Zhi, I've told you before: girls should be ladylike, ladylike, understand? Don't go around shouting and chasing people with a stick all day. It looks terrible."

"Please! You're the one who provoked me. In everyone else's eyes, I'm a gentle, kind girl."

Jing Zhi rolled her eyes. She knew Lu Mingyuan didn't care about any of that.

Lu Mingyuan smiled. He really didn't care whether she was ladylike or not. As long as this girl before him kept him, Lu Mingyuan, in her heart, that was all that mattered. As for everything else, as long as she was normal, he wouldn't make any demands.