Deep Sisterly Bonds

"With the final exam over, this year's national exams officially concluded this afternoon. No attacks occurred anywhere in the country during the exams, bringing them to a successful close. Yuanzhou TV spoke to the first student to hand in their paper at Bai City's third examination center. Let's hear what Student Ning had to say—

"Skip all that...

"It was too easy. Even a dog could've done it...

"Why hasn't Princess Zhusha been showing her thighs when she dances lately..."

Chen Shu sat cross-legged on the sofa, watching the interview with a grin. He turned to Professor Chen beside him. "This person's pretty funny..."

Professor Chen gave him a calm glance and said nothing.

Chen Shu didn't mind. He raised his wrist to check the time, then looked at the weather outside. The rain showed no sign of stopping. According to the forecast, it would last until at least next week.

It was April thirtieth, with May just around the corner.

The calendar used throughout this world was Yi Nation's calendar, created by Emperor Shengzu:

A year had twelve months, each exactly thirty days long, except that the first month gained an extra day every five years. There were also twenty-four solar terms and a string of festivals that felt familiar to Chen Shu, including the Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Qingming Festival. Overall, it resembled the lunar calendar from his previous life.

May was already midsummer.

Autumn would begin in July.

"The evening of the sixth..."

That was still several days away.

After some thought, Chen Shu opened Feixin and pulled up his chat with Qingqing. The chat background was a photo of her taken years ago, when she'd still looked so young and green—

Chen Shu: Qingqing, want to go on a trip?

Qingqing: Student Ning? /smile

Chen Shu: Hm? I want to go to Sea Beast Harbor and see the ocean.

Qingqing: Show your thighs? /smile

Chen Shu: Everyone says there's nothing more romantic than seeing the ocean.

Qingqing: Freedom to wear what you want? /smile

Chen Shu: I don't know what you're talking about...

Qingqing: You're about to go viral. /smile

Chen Shu: Are you going or not? I've got a graduation party tomorrow, then we can fly out the next morning. I've already checked the tickets.

Qingqing: Let's discuss it in person. /smile

Chen Shu: In rain this heavy? No need.

Qingqing: The exams are over. You worked hard, so dinner's on me.

Chen Shu: The rain's too heavy.

Qingqing: It won't rain tomorrow morning.

Chen Shu: How do you know?

Qingqing: A guess.

Chen Shu: What about the evening?

Qingqing: It will.

Chen Shu: And you know that too?

Qingqing: A guess.

Chen Shu: Send me your ID number first. I'll buy your ticket. It'll be cheaper if I book early.

Qingqing: [image]

Chen Shu: Why'd you blur out your photo?

Qingqing: You only need my ID number.

Chen Shu: ...

Chen Shu put away his phone, took a shower, cultivated in his room for four hours, then went to sleep.

Four hours might not sound like much, but cultivators in this world weren't immortals who could sit down and forget everything else. As a student, Chen Shu already faced intense pressure from studying all day. He still had to tease Qingqing, then cultivate at night. His life was truly miserable.

Not studying wouldn't have been much better. Then he'd have to work.

Still, cultivating at night had one advantage: once he was tired, he could fall straight asleep and sleep exceptionally well.

April brought locust blossoms; May brought birdsong.

Sure enough, it wasn't raining that morning. When Chen Shu drew back the curtains and poked his head out, he even heard the faint chirping of cicadas. Perhaps once this spell of rain ended, sunny days would follow without a break, and the weather would soon turn as hot as summer ought to be.

He got up and headed out.

An hour later.

The three of them walked down the street, each holding a cup of milk tea. Chen Shu kicked at a pebble on the ground and said with a sigh of relief:

"Finally, I'm free. Not having classes feels amazing. I should've entered that competition back then. Getting admitted early would've been great."

"You didn't want to leave your school days behind." Ning Qing glanced at him coolly.

"Maybe."

"You had your art exam the day before yesterday. You had to sing, right?"

"Yeah, and play an instrument."

"What did you sing?"

"'Rice Field.'"

"'Rice Field'? Who wrote it?"

"Jay Chou."

"Who sang it?"

"I forget."

"Are Princess Zhusha's legs pretty?"

"Not as pretty as yours."

Trying to test my reflexes? Not a chance.

After speaking, Chen Shu secretly glanced at the person beside him—

Ning Qing remained expressionless, milk tea in hand, her steps steady.

Xiaoxiao, walking beside her, kept her head down and concentrated on chewing her milk-tea straw. She couldn't hear the conversation between her sister and brother-in-law.

Princess Zhusha was an entertainer at the height of her popularity.

Chen Shu had been rather fond of watching this young woman lately.

He couldn't help it. She was youthful, beautiful, and adorable, and she always liked wearing short skirts or shorts when she danced. Those long, fair legs were hard not to like. But the celebrities Chen Shu followed never held his interest for more than a few months. After that, he moved on to someone else.

After all, there was an endless stream of pretty young women.

He really did love the new and tire of the old.

As for Jay Chou's "Rice Field"...

He had no choice. Cultivation cost too much. There was always one thing or another to buy, and where was a student like Chen Shu supposed to get the money?

He could only sell out a fellow countryman.

If circumstances allowed, he might even become an online singer and earn more money without interfering with his cultivation plans. The more, the better. Of course, he would still credit the original names for the lyrics and music. At most, he would sing anonymously.

Even Emperor Shengzu hadn't copied poems and lyrics.

Unfortunately, circumstances didn't allow it—

This world's Yi Nation was simply too formidable. Its culture led the world, and the songs from his previous life's Chinese music scene couldn't compete at all.

He could only sell a few of the very best songs from his previous life to scrape together some cultivation funds.

Whatever the case, he was grateful to his fellow countryman.

Xiaoxiao seemed to grow interested too. After a while, she turned to Chen Shu and said:

"Brother-in-law, you've gone viral."

"What?"

"You've gone viral."

"How?"

"Didn't you watch any videos this morning?"

"No."

"Look."

The girl freed a hand, took out her student phone, found the relevant video, and handed it to Chen Shu.

After a night's sleep, Student Ning had indeed gone viral.

Yuanzhou TV's official account had posted the clip of his interview, and it had already hit the trending list. At least several million people had watched it, and it had hundreds of thousands of likes alone. Official media and independent accounts from all over had reportedly reposted it too, many of them with millions or even tens of millions of followers.

"Lots of people online are looking for you, Brother-in-law."

"That's not me."

Chen Shu handed the phone back to Xiaoxiao. What Student Ning said had nothing to do with him, Chen Shu.

The girl fell silent too and lowered her head to sip her milk tea.

"When do your classes start again, Xiaoxiao?"

"Tomorrow."

"Your sister and I have decided to go to the seaside tomorrow. If you can get leave, come with us." Chen Shu thought for a moment. "The Dragon Boat Festival falls in the middle, so you won't need many days off. We'll probably be back in about a week, or as soon as the Shengzu Cube is confirmed to be opening. How does that sound?"

"I can get leave."

The girl hesitated before answering.

The truth was, she loved going out with her brother-in-law.

He'd taken good care of her since she was little. He was gentle and considerate, and going out with him was the most fun. She could learn lots of useful things from him too.

She also loved going out with her sister.

Although her sister seemed cold and sometimes frightened her, she made decisions quickly. Whenever Xiaoxiao wanted something to eat or wanted to buy something, she only had to say so, and her sister would get it for her.

But she didn't much like going out with her sister and brother-in-law together. Then she became an emotionless photo-taking machine.

"Oh, right—"

Chen Shu glanced at Ning Qing again. "Are you going to the graduation party tonight?"

"No."

"You..."

Chen Shu shook his head.

The three of them then saw a movie and went their separate ways after lunch. The national exams might be over, but they still couldn't slack off on cultivation or studying.

That evening, Chen Shu happily attended a graduation party, bringing four years of study to a satisfying close.

The morning of May second.

The three of them boarded the plane, stowed their luggage, and sat in the same row.

Ning Qing glanced at Chen Shu. He wore nothing more than shorts, flip-flops, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap. He looked utterly casual.

Flip-flops for a trip away...

Ning Qing said nothing.

But when she turned the other way, her younger sister was dressed almost exactly the same: little shorts, little flip-flops, and a T-shirt, though without the cap.

A fifteen-year-old girl, and she's already like this...

Ning Qing frowned slightly.

The girl seemed to notice her gaze and turned toward her, asking timidly:

"Wh-what is it?"

Ning Qing frowned. "Stop copying him all the time."

"Who?"

"Him."

"Brother-in-law raised me."

"..."

"You don't like it, Sister?"

"..."

Ning Qing couldn't be bothered with her anymore. She was beyond saving.

The plane began to taxi.

Destination: Sea Beast Harbor Airport.

Sea Beast Harbor lay on the coast of Cangzhou.

According to legend, sea beasts had roamed its waters a thousand years ago. Before setting sail, people had to worship the sea beasts and prepare enough offerings for them aboard their ships to ensure a safe journey.

That was how Sea Beast Harbor got its name.

Nowadays, sea beasts were almost never seen.

Cangzhou bordered Yuanzhou, so the flight took only about an hour. Most of the journey was spent on the ground.

The plane landed.

Xiaoxiao pressed herself against the window, straining to look outside.

The weather in Sea Beast Harbor was the complete opposite of Bai City's.

Heavy rain had fallen in Bai City again that morning, but Sea Beast Harbor had blue skies and white clouds. The airport stood on a vast plain, with no mountains rising even in the far distance. Only long strips of white cloud hung at the edge of the sky. The sight entered Xiaoxiao's eyes and made her heart feel suddenly expansive. She opened her eyes wide, trying to take in even more of it.

"Time to get off."

Xiaoxiao came to her senses. Her sister was already taking down the luggage, and her brother-in-law had just withdrawn the hand he'd used to pat her shoulder. She quickly unfastened her seat belt and stood up.

Chen Shu asked Ning Qing and Xiaoxiao, "The sun's strong. Did you put on sunscreen?"

"No."

"You brought some, right? I reminded you."

"We did."

"Go put some on in the restroom."

"Okay."

Chen Shu waited outside the restroom. A few minutes later, the sisters came out.

Chen Shu took a closer look. The sunscreen on Xiaoxiao's face hadn't been spread evenly; streaks of it showed on her slightly chubby little cheeks. So he said to her older sister, "Xiaoxiao's sunscreen isn't spread evenly."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"What kind of older sister are you?"

"..."

Ning Qing said nothing. She let Chen Shu push her by the shoulders until she stood in front of her younger sister.

Xiaoxiao blinked, looking a little lost.

Ning Qing reached out with both hands, expressionless, pressed them to Xiaoxiao's face, and rubbed outward, gradually spreading the sunscreen evenly. Xiaoxiao stood perfectly still and let her older sister do as she pleased, stealing glances at her but not daring to move or speak.

Chen Shu watched and nodded to himself—

Such deep sisterly affection.