Winter break passed faster than they had imagined.
The three girls went up the mountain on the fourth day of the New Year and stayed with Chen Shi'an, living like immortals, until they came down on the ninth.
The four of them accompanied Wen Zhixia back to Shangping for New Year visits along the way. On the tenth, they went to Sister Wanyin's home for a meal and brought Xiao Yue, whose new term was about to start, back to the city with them.
On the eleventh, they paid Uncle Lin a New Year visit. Chen Shi'an cooked a tableful of dishes, and by the time the four finally had a moment to sit drinking tea in the courtyard of the renovated old house, it was already the twelfth.
At some point, the winter jasmine beside the courtyard wall had quietly bloomed, its pale yellow petals shimmering in the afternoon sunlight.
Li Wanyin said the winter jasmine had been moved away before the renovations and replanted by the gardener afterward. It had looked so wilted that she had thought it would die, but who knew it would perk up after Shi'an replaced the soil?
"Taoist, your magic is so powerful!! You even brought this back to life?!"
"No, I just replaced the soil. Once its roots reached deeper, it naturally perked up. Plants are like that, and so are people."
"Uh-huh, yes, you do go deep."
Chen Shi'an: "..."
He really couldn't discuss Daoist arts at all with these three filthy-minded creatures!
Classes started on March 1, and it was already the last day of February. It was a shame they couldn't stay until after the Lantern Festival, but a winter break lasting over forty days was already something high school students could only envy.
That afternoon, the four packed