Chapter 190: A Dull Summer Vacation

May 27th.

Chen Shu went to assist Crown Princess Zhusha in recording a song, earning some extra money and incidentally cadging a meal.

May 28th.

Morning: Spiritual Power Studies exam.

Afternoon: Modern Spell Design Thinking exam.

May 29th.

Morning: Elementary Runes (2) exam.

Afternoon: Fundamentals of Spell Principles exam.

May 30th.

Morning: Spell Mathematics exam.

Afternoon: No exam.

Chen Shu simply went to the bottom of the Ancient Cultivation Building to further improve his Sword Light Technique and Thunder Method; during this time, he was successfully cornered by Senior Brother Zhang Yunyan, and they chatted about Spells for a while.

June 1st.

The final assessment: the Spirit Sea Test.

Chen Shu is currently at the late Fourth Stage; according to the progress bar he estimated himself, his progress is at about 85%. It cannot yet be called the peak, but the Spirit Power level measured has already reached the Fourth Rank Peak of top-tier talent, and there is no room for further improvement above that.

His summer vacation had arrived.

But Qingqing still had two days of exams; the exams for her academy were scheduled quite sporadically.

At the same time, Teacher Shi Qian's Thunder Method research was also paused because several teachers had been pulled away to serve as proctors during the exam period and had no time for the moment. Consequently, Chen Shu actually felt a bit bored these two days and had no choice but to run off to find Professor Shi again to freeload some information they had newly organized regarding the Shengzu.

June 2nd.

He had a meal with Brother Meng and Brother Jiang. After eating, Brother Jiang returned to the orphanage, and Brother Meng wanted to stay in the Dormitory to keep him company, but was politely declined.

June 3rd.

Qingqing finished her exams too.

After saying goodbye to the reluctant Zhang Suannai, she took the little girl back to the small courtyard, intending to spend two days installing an automatic watering system in the yard to prevent most of the flowers from withering after a summer away.

Chen Shu also ran over to stay for two days; during those two days, he had been joining forces with the little girl to deal with Qingqing, and gradually began to feel that something was amiss—

Is the previous basin of water almost full?

So he decided to restrain himself a little.

June 5th.

Ning Qing backhanded the courtyard gate shut.

Beside her were Chen Shu and Xiaoxiao; both were carrying backpacks and pulling suitcases, with a long-haired white cat squatting on one of the suitcases.

The June weather was exceptionally hot; it was only early morning, but the sunlight was already bright enough to make it hard for people to open their eyes. The three of them each wore a matching baseball cap, their skin possessing a translucent quality under the intense light. After exchanging a glance, they set off simultaneously, pulling their suitcases in tacit agreement.

"Clang."

The suitcase jolted as it went down the stone step, and Taozi's four paws splayed out like flowers as she struggled to keep her balance.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the airport.

Chen Banxia was also wearing a baseball cap; she sat bored on her suitcase, her two feet constantly pushing off the ground, sliding back and forth in the airport Hall until she saw the beautiful sisters and her own younger brother walking toward her; only then did she stand up:

"You guys just got here?"

"Hello, Sister Banxia." The little girl stood beside her brother-in-law and greeted her obediently.

"Hello, Xiaoxiao..." Chen Banxia said, then looked at Qingqing with a smile, "Qingqing! Long time no see!"

"Mm."

"Call me sister!"

"Sister."

Chen Banxia did not receive the respect she wanted from this, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Chen Shu's voice interrupted her: "When did you get here?"

"I've been here for a long time."

"You've been here the whole time..." Chen Shu thought for a moment, "Spinning around in circles like a toad?"

"You're the one who looks like a toad!"

"You're very likely to become material for someone else's short video like this."

"Then I'll be a viral hit!"

"A viral toad."

"You're the toad!"

Chen Banxia suddenly realized—

It must be because Chen Shu usually lacks respect for her as his sister, and under his influence, Qingqing has also lost respect for her big sister.

"Smack!"

Chen Banxia swatted Chen Shu and pulled her suitcase forward: "Let's go check in..."

"Don't you dare sleep on the plane later!"

"What are you going to do?"

"Beat your face until it's swollen!"

"Then I'll throw you off!"

"You're just bluffing! But I'm telling the truth!"

"When we get to Bai City, I'll throw you into Jinghai!"

"..."

The two of them argued, one sentence after another, while Ning Qing and Xiaoxiao walked alongside, their expressions calm, as if they could hear nothing.

After finishing the procedures, they took Taozi to board the plane.

This plane was relatively small, with only four seats in each row, separated by an aisle in the middle. They sat in the same row; Chen Banxia, fearing she would be hit, forcibly pressed her younger brother into the window seat on the far left, arranged for Qingqing to sit next to him, and sat on the far right herself, only then feeling at ease enough to put on her steam eye mask.

Secret Technique: One-second sleep.

One hour later.

Chen Banxia felt someone hitting her face; when she woke up and took off her steam eye mask, her younger brother had already sat down beside her.

"..."

Chen Banxia stretched her neck to look for a flight attendant, preparing to file a real-name complaint.

In the afternoon, the plane landed.

As soon as Chen Shu stepped off the plane, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart; the climate of Yuanzhou was truly incomparable to those flashy, cheap places outside.

Although the sun in Yuanzhou was also scorching during this midsummer season, the air was always fresh and flowing, without the slightest bit of sultriness. When a breeze brushed against his cheeks and arms, it was always cool.

The weather was also always beautiful.

The blue sky of Yujing in summer did not lose to that of Bai City, but the white clouds were slightly inferior; the clouds in Bai City could always reveal a certain aesthetic beauty.

The four of them hailed a taxi to go home.

Naturally, it was the home of Chen Shu and Chen Banxia.

It was now summer vacation, so Chen Jiaoshou was no longer teaching, and Wei Lvshi was also at home. When Chen Shu returned home, he only saw Chen Jiaoshou sitting quietly on the sofa, with his Mobile Phone playing an analysis of the main force's market trend, while Wei Lvshi stood up from the window to welcome them, holding a document in her hand.

Everything was the same as before.

The house was even cooler than outside, and the cross-breeze carried the scent of the Mirror Sea, which immediately made him feel very at ease.

Then, Chen Banxia's loud shouting rang out beside him:

"I'm home!"

Chen Shu turned his head to glance at her; it was not hard to see that this person really wanted to win the attention of her father and mother.

However, her father's attention was only on online charity; he just glanced at them faintly, gave a greeting, and buried his head again. Meanwhile, her mother's attention was mostly on Qingqing and Xiaoxiao, and she was slightly perfunctory toward her.

"Sigh..."

Chen Banxia let out a long sigh.

Only then did Wei Lvshi glance at her and ask with concern, "What are your plans after graduation?"

"..."

Chen Banxia looked down and saw that she was still holding Xiaoxiao's hand, feeling somewhat helpless: "I plan to stay in Yujing and continue my studies at school, so you should cherish your precious daughter well. Later, I will also keep Chen Shu in Yujing, and you two old folks will be left to grow old alone in Bai City."

"Hehehe..."

"Hehehe??"

Chen Banxia seemed to have suffered great damage.

Chen Shu, meanwhile, ate watermelon and watched the show.

Actually, today was still fine; after all, it was Chen Banxia's first day back, and Wei Lvshi still missed her a little. Once that longing was exhausted in a few days, it would be good enough if Wei Lvshi didn't give her a cold shoulder, considering she was a daughter who slept in every day, didn't do chores, and didn't want to get married.

Chen Shu was different—

Chen Shu could cook a good meal, could help Wei Lvshi mock Chen Jiaoshou, and could bring Qingqing and Xiaoxiao back for the old couple, so he had significant utility value.

"How miserable."

Chen Shu ate his melon, the summer heat completely gone.

The light outside the window was still blindingly bright, the Mirror Sea River looked like a jade belt, and the Bai Bridge was so bright; listening to the casual chat between Wei Lvshi and Chen Banxia, he had a premonition that this entire summer vacation would also pass by just as blandly.