Lambis

Early the next morning, gentle dawn light streamed through the window and spilled across the room. Chen Rui slowly opened his bleary eyes.

The first thing he saw was the little phoenix's warm body. Ordinary birds slept standing up, their heads tucked beneath their wings, but Miss Dodo slept lying down, pressed against her daddy's face. Her sleeping posture was utterly adorable.

Chen Rui gently stroked Dodo's feathers and sat up from the bed. The room had a peculiar style; rather than a guest room, it felt more like a miniature garden.

The room appeared natural and casual, yet every corner, every flower and blade of grass, every ornament had been arranged with ingenious care. The whole room was a work of art that seemed artless in its mastery. Only elves possessed such refined taste and attentiveness. Elves were born artists, and at times their demand for perfection was almost harsh. In their comparatively long lives, enjoying life and feeling nature were among their defining pursuits. Just as elves could not understand why humans hurried about so busily, humans likewise could not understand why elves would "waste" so much time on seemingly unbelievable things—such as spending an entire month carving the patterns on a window, or sitting by a brook all day listening to its babbling waters...

Chen Rui pushed open the window and felt a fresh breath of nature rush toward him, leaving him utterly at ease. Every city he had seen was either filled with towering buildings, ornate carved beams and painted rafters, or even a jungle of steel. Any greenery was only occasionally planted by human hands. This was the first time he had seen a city where nature itself was the main body.

Beneath the pale blue sky stood one exquisite house after another, many of