“Hehe, how was that, Rongrong? Following your request, your master has successfully let the two of them stay alone together~”
In another alley, Qu Linglong set down Hua Xiangrong, who was not much shorter than she was, and spoke with a beaming smile.
“Mm, thank you, Master!”
Hua Xiangrong nodded vigorously.
“As for the reward…”
“I’ll give you the reward from my pocket money!”
“Aiya, as expected of my good disciple, you’re so straightforward!”
Upon hearing this, a smile immediately blossomed on Qu Linglong’s face.
“Come, Master will take you to play with your Auntie Lin. She said she was going to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with her Xiao Li, but it seems she was stood up. We can go comfort her.”
“Mm, okay!”
Hua Xiangrong answered obediently, following behind her with small steps.
‘Wait, 099,’ she asked in her heart while walking, ‘there’s something I haven’t been able to figure out—why is there a Mid-Autumn Festival in an otherworldly realm?’
“Because we are in a webnovel world,” 099 explained.
“A webnovel is a world constructed based on the original author’s cognition; having a Mid-Autumn Festival is perfectly normal. However, these detailed settings are often not written explicitly in books, but the webnovel world itself is complete. It will derive its own corresponding background and origins based on the author’s settings. For example, in the play Farewell My Concubine that Bai Zhi often listens to, the Xiang Yu in this world is completely different from the one in your world, Host. He isn’t even a real historical figure but a fictional character created by a playwright in this world. The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival naturally has its own set of explanations here.”
“So that’s how it is…”
Hua Xiangrong was thoughtful, but she threw the question to the back of her mind in the blink of an eye, saying excitedly, “Forget it, forget it, I won’t think about that for now. 099, hurry up and connect the feed to Mother and Mom! This is their first date! If there are any scenes like kissing, I want to take screenshots and record the screen to save them!”
“Don’t store strange things in my data memory!”
…
On the other side, Hua Yan and Yun Xuechang.
…
‘So, why did that Qu Linglong person suddenly pop out and drag Rongrong away? Doesn’t this mean I’m shopping alone with this woman?!’
Hua Yan turned her head to glance at Yun Xuechang beside her, her face filled with a bit of irritation.
The other woman also quietly turned her face, blinked, and tilted her head slightly in confusion.
‘Damn it! I clearly just wanted to spend time with the child, so how did it turn out like this!’
She peeked again; Yun Xuechang was still looking at her quietly.
‘T-This… being alone with her, shopping and all… I-I’m not ready yet! We’re not even married yet!’
The red-haired girl blushed and secretly turned her head away again, but this time, she discovered that the cold face was right in front of her—
“Whoa! Yun Xuechang! Why did you suddenly get so close!”
Hua Yan jumped back.
“Sorry, Yan’er.”
A trace of apology appeared on that cold face.
“I saw you suddenly standing still with your expression changing constantly. I was worried you were suffering from Qi Deviation or were possessed by a nightmare, so I wanted to take a closer look.”
“I didn’t suffer from Qi Deviation! Besides, who would suddenly fall into a state of deviation while walking on the street? Do you actually think about cultivation while you walk?”
Hua Yan stomped her foot, annoyed.
“Yes, I do.”
“?”
Seeing the other’s stunned expression, Yun Xuechang explained softly, “However, that was in the past. Once, I was cultivating while practicing Sword Kinesis and accidentally entered a meditative trance. As a result, I crashed headfirst into the Sect Master’s tea room… After that, he never allowed me to do it again.”
“So, I don’t cultivate on the road anymore.”
“???”
Hua Yan looked at the cold woman who seemed like she didn’t eat the food of mortals, imagining her crashing into an old man’s tea room and making a mess—
“Hahahahahahaha! There’s actually such a thing! Xuechang, you’re too funny! Hahahahaha!”
She laughed loudly, clutching her stomach until tears formed in the corners of her eyes.
“Hey, at home, Grandmother always says I love getting into trouble, but it looks like you’re no different from me!”
After a while, Hua Yan straightened up and sized up the person in front of her, becoming more satisfied the more she looked.
‘Hey! I didn’t expect Yun Xuechang to be a troublemaker too! This way, when she follows me back to the Valley, Grandmother will see that she also causes trouble and won’t just beat me alone, right?’
She felt more at ease. Even the marriage issue that had been troubling her these past few days seemed less awkward.
‘At the very least, marrying this ditz means she can be scolded with me in the future. Maybe I can even pin the blame on her! Since she likes me so much anyway, I’ll just coax her a bit!’
Hua Yan snickered in her heart, and when she looked at Yun Xuechang again, she found her more and more pleasing to the eye.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you around! Ignore that girl Rongrong. Since she’s not coming, I’ll take you to play by ourselves!”
She grabbed Yun Xuechang’s hand, who was still standing dazed.
“When it comes to playing, I, Hua Yan, am number one in Shenzhou! Today, I’ll let you broaden your horizons!”
“Eh?”
Yun Xuechang let herself be led through the bustling crowds. All around them, the warm lights blurred into a hazy sea of light.
The girl’s flying red hair looked like flowing flames.
Her bright, cunning, and vibrant smile was more dazzling than the lanterns, looking so beautiful that Yun Xuechang forgot to look away.
…
“Come! Today we’ll see who can throw in more! Be serious! No using spiritual power!”
In front of a pitch-pot stall, the bright red-haired girl rolled up her sleeves and was eager to try, stuffing a handful of arrows into the white-haired girl’s hands.
The serious white-haired girl naturally gave her all. But when she won, the other girl pouted with a huff.
The white-haired girl silently handed her the jewelry she had won.
Although the red-haired girl still looked a bit reluctant, she eventually accepted it—it seemed she had forgiven her.
…
“Look! Am I amazing!”
In front of an acrobatics stall, the red-haired girl took over the performer’s work.
Her two hands each supported three long sticks, with porcelain plates spinning on the tips.
The white-haired girl could have done it too—she could even have balanced a few more on her head—but she just stood quietly in the front row of the crowd, clapping for her one beat at a time.
…
“Good! Great!”
In front of the theater stage, once the performer finished a song, the red-haired girl was the first to clap vigorously, throwing a large amount of reward money onto the stage.
The white-haired girl felt a bit of heartache over the silver, but seeing the way the other woman’s eyes curved in a smile, she forgot to calculate how many strings of tanghulu that silver could buy.
…
“Whoa—I really enjoyed myself tonight!”
Finally, the two followed the flow of people outside the city.
The crowd here was sparse, and beside them was the murmuring Jade Dragon River.
A full moon hung in the ink-colored sky, and the stars were shining brightly.
The red-haired girl rested her head on her arms, humming an out-of-tune little ditty.
That voice, mixed with the flowing water and the chirping of insects, was surprisingly pleasant to hear.
“I heard there are fireworks here. The Mid-Autumn Festival in Yunjing is actually quite well done!”
As Hua Yan spoke, she led Yun Xuechang to a good spot by the river.
With a wave of her hand, she took out a set of table and chairs from her storage pouch, along with tea and snacks.
“This is top-quality Glazed Flower Tea; I only have this little bit left.”
She picked up the teapot, poured a cup for herself first, and then gently poured one for Yun Xuechang.
“How is it? It’s good, right?”
Yun Xuechang picked up the teacup and took a sip. The tea was clear and refreshing, rippling with floral fragrance, and it left a warmth that spread through her body.
Although she didn’t understand tea, since Hua Yan said so, it must be excellent.
“Mm, very good.”
She nodded gently.
“Heh! Of course! It was made by my grandmother herself; you can’t drink it anywhere else!”
The red-haired girl squinted and smiled immediately upon being acknowledged.
“If you want to drink more, once you come back with me, I’ll find a way to get you some! Just listen to me!”
“Mm.”
Yun Xuechang nodded again.
After that, the red-haired girl chatted about everything under the sun—how crispy the ginseng spirits at home were to chew, how fragrant the tea made from new willow sprouts in the neighboring yard was, how dazed the bird Rongrong kept was…
The white-haired girl just listened quietly, occasionally nodding. Her behavior seemed to make the speaker more and more enthusiastic.
Whoosh—Bang!
Bright fireworks shot into the night sky one after another, blooming into a shower of color that dyed the sky brilliant and flowing.
“Xuechang, it doesn’t matter if you didn’t like playing before. From now on, I’ll lead you.”
The fireworks flickered, making the side of the person beside her look clear one moment and hazy the next, shifting with colorful light.
“Mm, okay.”
“Why can you only say ‘Mm’ and ‘Okay’? You’re just like how Rongrong was when she first met me.”
Hua Yan teased her with a smile. “Did that girl learn it from you since she was little?”
“?”
Yun Xuechang was slightly stunned. She then looked at her hesitantly and asked, “Yan’er, what are you talking about?”
“Didn’t Rongrong… grow up with you since she was little?”