The village chief's eyes widened the moment he heard, then his face crinkled into a grin. "Good lad, you've really done it. You even brought our young miss Bing'er home."
"Dachui's really living the good life. In all these villages for miles around, you're the most promising one!"
Wu Changkong felt a little embarrassed by the praise. "You're flattering me, Village Chief. I just got lucky that Bing'er doesn't mind me."
"This isn't luck—this is skill!" The village chief chuckled as he patted Wu Changkong's shoulder, then said to Shui Bing'er, "Miss Bing'er, don't stand outside. Hurry and go sit at Dachui's place."
"If his father finds out you've come, he'll definitely get a shock."
"Surely it won't be that exaggerated?"
"Not surely—it absolutely will."
After praising him a few more times, he finally left in high spirits.
Once the village chief had gone far enough away, Shui Bing'er asked, "Were you... not nervous just now?"
"With you by my side, what would I be nervous about?"
Shui Bing'er pursed her lips in a smile and let him lead her home.
After walking for more than ten minutes, Wu Changkong pushed open the courtyard gate and called out, "Dad."
Footsteps soon sounded from inside. Wu Dachui lifted the curtain and came out, his hands still stained with a little charcoal ash.
When he looked up, he first saw his son, then noticed the lovely young girl following behind him. He froze at once, not knowing where to put his hands.
"Th-this young lady is?"
"Her name is Shui Bing'er. She's my classmate at the academy, and also my girlfriend." Wu Changkong introduced her openly, then said to Shui Bing'er, "This is my dad."
Shui Bing'er? Her surname was Shui—was she from the Shui Family of Skywater City?
He was just