Lin Yuan propped his chin on his hand, sitting by the window. His right hand idly fiddled with the handle of the stirring stick as he watched the time flicker again on his phone screen, letting out a faint sigh.
“Head is really slow this time,” Lin Yuan muttered to himself in complaint. “He didn’t used to be this bad with punctuality, did he?”
After another sigh, the “long-awaited” young man finally arrived, trailing behind him a cute little shadow.
“Who’s ever late when they’re the one doing the inviting?” Lin Yuan grumbled, then asked, “I thought you’d bring Rong Yu out with you.”
“He went back to the orphanage. It’s rare for him to reunite with family, so I didn’t want to disturb him,” Zhou Xun said as he pulled out a chair and sat opposite Lin Yuan.
He then scooped the little girl beside him into his arms. “Sorry, we ran into a bit of trouble on the way here.”
He lifted the girl’s right hand and waved it at Lin Yuan, using a playful tone fit for teasing children: “Say ‘Hello, Brother Lin Yuan.’”
The petite, delicate girl in his arms showed no shyness and sweetly called out, “Brother Lin Yuan.”
Few people could dislike a well-behaved and adorable child, especially a group of grandpas with mental ages long past a hundred.
Lin Yuan’s face immediately blossomed into a warm smile, looking kind and gentle. “Hey, little sister, you’re really cute. What’s your name?”
“My name’s Mo Mo,” the girl’s voice was bright and clear.
“What ‘Mo’ is the Mo in Mo Mo?” Zhou Xun prompted like a supporting actor, and the girl quickly replied, “It’s the ‘Mo’ from ‘people on the path like jade,’ not the ‘Mai’ from ‘tender feelings’!”
Only then did Zhou Xun add, “This is my sister, Zhou Moran.”
Lin Yuan blinked. “…So, are you planning to name your future siblings Zhou Lanshan?”
“Can’t say for sure,” Zhou Xun said with a sigh. “They just opened up the three-child policy.”
Lin Yuan expressed some admiration. “Your parents really get along well then. My parents can barely handle raising me and my brother.”
“Handle?” Zhou Xun didn’t hold back his critique. “They hardly ever stayed home growing up. When it comes to being parents, Yu Zhi’s way better.”
Lin Yuan frowned. “…Watch your words, we’re just teacher and student, not mother and son!”
Then he couldn’t help but add, “You call me your teacher, but you basically treat Rong Yu like your son.”
Zhou Xun replied, “…That’s the responsibility of being a Head! Taking care of your team members isn’t strange.”
“Taking care?” Lin Yuan scoffed. “I’m on your team too. Why don’t you take care of me like that?”
“Brother, what’s a Head?” Zhou Moran suddenly stopped eating her cake and looked up curiously, breaking the tense atmosphere between the two.
Zhou Xun patted her head. “When Brother plays games and goes on raids, the one leading the team is called the ‘Head.’ Your Brother Lin Yuan and I play games together.”
“Oh,” Zhou Moran said, biting her spoon. “Is Rong Yu Brother the same?”
Zhou Xun nodded. “He’s way cuter than your Brother Lin Yuan. In a couple of days, I’ll take you to school to meet him, okay?”
Lin Yuan: “…No personal attacks!”
He raised his coffee cup and took a sip. “Enough with the boring stuff. Why exactly did you ask me out?”
Zhou Xun pointed across the café. The four large characters “Boxing Classroom” instantly caught Lin Yuan’s eye through the glass.
Lin Yuan: “Are you serious?”
Seeing Zhou Xun nod earnestly, Lin Yuan forced a bitter smile and rubbed his temple. “…Head, we have rehearsals these days, we’re preparing for Sports Day, and we have to squeeze in study time. When would we find time to practice boxing?”
“No rush for these two days,” Zhou Xun said slowly, sipping his hot tea. “We’ll start by registering first, then practice after the Sports Day.”
“We?” Lin Yuan caught the keyword precisely. “You and me?”
“You and me.”
Lin Yuan: “……”
“Rui Teacher was right. We never know what the future holds; we have to prepare for everything,” Zhou Xun said seriously. “I don’t want to waste all these years of combat experience. Without magic support now, if I don’t train every day, I get rusty. The Earth’s martial arts techniques, which have evolved for thousands of years, aren’t without merit. If we ever return, at least our combat awareness and reflexes won’t deteriorate. If we can’t go back, I’m thinking of applying to the Police Academy.”
“You’ve already planned your future path?”
“More or less,” Zhou Xun said. “What about you?”
“Still thinking,” Lin Yuan sighed bitterly. “I’m like this everywhere— more worried about others’ futures than my own. My brother is in the Entertainment Industry, right? He said he wanted to watch our class performance. I thought Lin Lang is quite talented in that area, so I might use this opportunity to get her signed with my brother’s studio. With his eye for talent, he can’t miss Lin Lang’s potential. I’ve checked with her too— she’s interested.”
Pausing, Lin Yuan sighed again. “It’s just a pity I haven’t decided what I want to do myself.”
“Take your time. No rush anyway.” Zhou Xun wiped the cream off Zhou Moran’s mouth, then stood up holding her. “Instead of worrying about the future, come box with me.”
……
The boxing gym was bustling with noise on the weekend. Zhou Xun was busy with the registration, so he handed Zhou Moran to Lin Yuan. “Your turn.”
Lin Yuan: “…I get it now. So you invited me today just to babysit your kid!”
“You usually volunteer at the orphanage, right? You must be good with kids,” Zhou Xun said without a hint of guilt.
Lin Yuan rolled his eyes but efficiently took Zhou Moran into his arms. He found a rest area to sit down and watched from a distance as Zhou Xun finished signing and was led into the boxing ring to try boxing for the first time.
Seriously, is the Head this carefree? Is this the kind of place to bring a little girl to?
It’s way too violent, right? Isn’t she only about five? Hopefully, she doesn’t get scared and cry.
Worried Zhou Moran might be frightened by the environment, Lin Yuan racked his brain to change the subject. “Hey… Mo Mo, want Brother Lin to tell you a story?”
“Okay, okay.” Zhou Moran didn’t blink as she stared at Zhou Xun’s figure, giving a very half-hearted answer.
Lin Yuan: “……”
Should he tell the story or not? He felt like it might spoil her watching Brother Zhou.
But when Lin Yuan stayed silent, Zhou Moran urged, “Brother Lin, your story?” Then added, “I want to hear a princess story.”
Lin Yuan: “……”
He had only planned to tell the Three Little Pigs to get by.
Princess stories… Growing up, all he’d ever heard were Two Tigers or Three Little Pigs. He’d never really heard a princess story.
Clearing his throat, he searched his memory for material and began: “Once upon a time, there was a princess whose skin was as red as snow, and her lips as white as blood…”
“Brother, I’ve heard Snow White’s story.”
Lin Yuan: “Once there was a girl bullied by her stepmother and two stepsisters…”
“I’ve heard Cinderella’s story too.” Zhou Moran wriggled on Lin Yuan’s lap, mocking, “Brother Lin, your knowledge is so limited.”
Lin Yuan: “……”
Was this a challenge?
He silently repeated the word “princess,” and an image gradually formed in his mind. Before he could think further, a story started spilling out almost unconsciously.
“A long, long time ago, there was a small island with a lighthouse, and in the lighthouse lived a princess—”
When the princess was born, the island experienced a rainstorm lasting three days.
A wicked witch told the King, “Your daughter is cursed. You must lock her away, or the curse will destroy the whole kingdom.”
So the King believed her and built a tall tower to imprison the princess inside.
But the rain kept falling, the sunny days became fewer, and the farmland was flooded.
The witch then told the King, “This is the goddess’s punishment— a punishment for your kindness, for leaving a cursed child behind. We should sacrifice her to the Goddess of Calamity to let her take away the evil and pray for forgiveness.”
The King agreed once again.
They sealed every exit of the tower and set it on fire.
The princess’s cries floated from inside. She cried and cried until her tears ran dry and her voice grew hoarse.
The wind howled, clouds churned. For thirty days and nights, the unprecedented downpour drowned the royal city.
The princess emerged from the ruins, covered in scars. The survivors then realized the princess was not cursed. She was the Saintess bestowed by the goddess upon the king to ensure the kingdom’s prosperity.
If people loved her, the sea breeze would blow away the clouds and sunlight would shine. If people hated her, their fear would call forth the rain.
“Poor princess,” Zhou Moran’s eyes welled with tears. “What happened after that?”
“Well…” Lin Yuan’s gaze grew nostalgic as he gently stroked Zhou Moran’s head. “The people rebuilt the tower, but not to imprison her again. Instead, they honored her as a goddess and worshipped her for generations.”
“…That story?” Zhou Xun appeared beside Lin Yuan, his expression complex. “Legends of the Goddess of Calamity are everywhere in Parnaki, but no one really knows what she suffered. The only thing I know is that Rui Teacher stopped that great rainstorm, and ever since, it’s been a burden on her heart.”
Lin Yuan pursed his lips and said nothing.
He didn’t know why he had told that story. Even though it was cited in the Holy Scriptures of the Goddess of Calamity, as a Temple Knight of the Goddess of Calamity, he always avoided speaking of it.
The “fairy tale” he spun was cruel enough, yet still a beautified version of reality.
He couldn’t forget the shock when he first heard it. Nor the suffocating truth he heard directly from Yu Zhi.
Yet Yu Zhi recounted those past events with a calmness devoid of pain, sorrow, or relief, as if narrating someone else’s story.
That day, he suddenly realized that his past indulgence in pain and torment was meaningless compared to true despair. He had enjoyed the love of parents and brothers, had no shortage of food or clothing.
Even after crossing into Parnaki and becoming a homeless orphan, he hadn’t truly experienced the pain of losing parents.
Before awakening memories from Earth’s era, Yu Zhi had already adopted him as her unregistered student.
His life had been smooth sailing, making all his struggles seem like whining without cause.
But the smoother the path, the more lost he felt about the future.
If he were in Parnaki, he’d have work and battles to occupy him. But once detached from that world, he fell into idleness again, confused about what lay ahead.
No one could be certain of the future. Was he really going to live each day foolishly, with an empty head, all for a Parnaki that might never return?
Yu Zhi had fought for her art all her life. The Head chose the police as his direction.
I once thought I’d inherit my parents’ business or leverage classmates to become an investor and thrive in the Entertainment Industry.
But none of that seems to be what I truly want.
What exactly am I meant to do with my future?