Chapter 281: Joy

"Has she been like this all day?" Chen Shu asked.

"Ever since I saw her this morning, and even in the middle of the trip on the flying car, she was looking at her Mobile Phone and smiling," Chen Banxia said. "It's terrifying."

"It's terrifying," the little girl said.

"I see..." Chen Shu understood.

"Are we going to stand here forever?" Ning Qing held Taozi, ignoring their exaggerated expressions.

"Oh, let's go then. I'll take you to my courtyard first to drop off your things," Chen Shu said as he walked forward. "Follow me."

The three of them followed behind him, climbing the stairs.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, drifting in wisps between the palaces of Yuding Mountain and accumulating in the gaps of the roof tiles. The Spirit Power on the mountain was so dense that any living creature stepping here would immediately feel an indescribable sense of comfort.

Ning Qing followed closely behind Chen Shu, turning her head to look at this place where he had lived on and off for a period of time, while whispering:

"Mr. Chen, how do you plan to have us enjoy ourselves?"

"There's an ancient town at the foot of the mountain you can visit. Besides, the Yuding Qunshan themselves have nice scenery, with karst landforms. The rapeseed flowers outside have bloomed recently; they entered full bloom starting yesterday, and now is the most beautiful time of the year here. Did you see them on the way?" Chen Shu said as he walked. No matter what had happened before, and no matter how boring or tiring the studies and life of these past few days had been, just being with them made him feel completely relaxed.

"We saw them," Ning Qing nodded.

"Oh my! Secretary Ning has become so talkative!" Chen Shu was a bit surprised and broke into a smile.

"I'm in a good mood," Ning Qing pursed her lips and continued, "I heard this is one of the four major rapeseed flower viewing spots in the country."

"It is."

"Have you been to see them?"

"I go see them every day; otherwise, how would I know which day they reach full bloom?"

"How is it?"

"Very beautiful, more beautiful with each passing day. It lives up to its reputation."

"What about the ancient town?"

"The ancient town... it's alright, I suppose? It's just like that; I wouldn't say it's necessarily more fun than the one next to our Jinghai," Chen Shu said. "But the snacks are decent. I can take you to look around tonight. Oh, right, there are many bars. Chen Banxia, if you're interested, you can go have a drink."

"Are the bars expensive?"

"I don't know."

"Mr. Chen is very vigilant."

"I've never been inside."

Chen Shu said this very candidly—

Indeed, one only needs to watch the bunny girls dancing from the outside; that shop has an entire side wall made of glass, so there is no need to go in if one isn't drinking.

The two walked one after the other, chatting as they went.

Chen Banxia and Xiaoxiao walked side by side behind them, both with wide eyes, occasionally glancing at each other to exchange their Surprise.

Even Taozi used its two little paws to prop itself up on its owner's collarbone, creating some distance, and looked up at her with a blank stare.

"We're here!"

Chen Shu pushed open the courtyard gate and went in first: "It's a bit simple, I haven't planted any flowers or grass, and I don't stay here often. There are exactly three bedrooms. I've tidied up the other two for you; see how you want to distribute them. The rooms are all the same size and only have one bed each, but you can lay out floor mats."

The three of them looked at each other.

The little girl revealed a puzzled expression and asked earnestly: "Why can't Half-sister Banxia and I each take a room, and you let the older sister stay in your room?"

You really are a clever little thing.

Chen Shu couldn't help but laugh.

Qingqing laughed too.

Seeing this smile of hers, the little girl subconsciously felt afraid, thinking she might be in trouble soon, yet she couldn't help but peek at her sister—

Even though the sister is hateful, she really looks beautiful when she smiles.

Two hours later, at the foot of the mountain.

The group walked through the flower fields.

The sky was blue and clear, and the vast stretches of rapeseed flowers were exceptionally bright under the sunlight. The golden flat land was dotted with bamboo-shoot-shaped mountains, immediately making the painting less monotonous and adding a touch of exquisite, delicate beauty to the grandeur.

Walking within the painting, even the air was sweet.

Chen Banxia was the most excited, using her Mobile Phone to take photos and record videos, sometimes framing the other three in them, running back and forth like a Zhang Suannai.

"Mr. Chen, where are we going?"

"Let's go to that mountain over there; there seems to be an observation deck," Chen Shu pointed in a direction. "They two can see the panoramic view."

"Okay."

"Did you smell the floral scent in the air?" Chen Shu asked. "It's light and faint, sweet, and seems a bit moist too."

Ning Qing took a breath in cooperation, then said:

"Consistent with your description."

"Have you ever eaten a rapeseed flower?"

"No, is it sweet?"

"It's sweet."

"..."

"Watch me pick one."

Chen Shu plucked a small flower from a large rapeseed stalk and looked at it carefully; the center was somewhat crystalline, as if it still held dew.

He put it in his mouth and gave it a light nibble; it was a very light, sweet taste, carrying the fragrance of the rapeseed flower.

"Is it good?"

Ning Qing looked at him sideways.

"You try one."

Chen Shu plucked another small flower and handed it to her lips.

Ning Qing stopped, looked up at him, then looked down at the flower; her lips and brows were filled with a smile, light and faint. As she lowered her head to take the flower into her mouth, Chen Shu realized that he might never be able to forget this moment for the rest of his life.

"Stunned?"

"Oh... sweet... is it sweet?"

"It's sweet."

Both of them sensed something at the same time and turned their heads simultaneously.

They saw Chen Banxia standing in front, holding her Mobile Phone up high, turning in a circle with extreme steadiness and slowness, seemingly recording this vast landscape in a video, and inadvertently, she had also recorded Chen Shu and Qingqing.

"Hey! Look!"

After Chen Banxia finished filming, she pointed to the mountain Chen Shu had pointed to earlier: "There seems to be an observation deck on that mountain over there, let's go up there!"

The three of them followed her slowly.

Bees flew chaotically around them, and there was buzzing everywhere.

In his daze, Chen Shu's brain was sluggish, so he just picked another rapeseed flower, put it in his mouth, and walked forward while savoring the sweetness of the nectar.

Until he felt a warm, soft sensation on his hand.

A hand had grabbed his.

"?"

Chen Shu looked down at his hand, then looked up at her.

Ning Qing looked straight ahead, not meeting his gaze, and continued to walk forward slowly, but each step was lighter than usual, as if she were walking on tiptoes. As her thin lips parted, she only uttered one term:

"Joy beyond measure."

"This..."

Chen Shu's brain worked even slower.

It wasn't just him—

The little girl was walking behind them holding Taozi, forced to see every move the two made, and her own self-perception could not help but receive a huge shock.

Taozi also had its eyes wide open.

10:00 PM.

Zhang Suannai lay alone in the Dormitory. The lights were off, the room was pitch black, and the light from her Mobile Phone only illuminated her face.

So boring...

Just then, she suddenly discovered that her close friend had posted a status update with nine pictures, all with a golden background, tagged at Yuding Qunshan.

Chen Banxia went to the Spirit Sect too?

If she had known, she should have gone too.

Zhang Suannai clicked on the pictures and looked at them carefully.

It was not hard to see that these nine photos were carefully selected, including two wide-angle landscape shots, one aerial shot, and a close-up of a rapeseed flower with dew on it. In the very center was a group photo of the four people and one cat on the observation deck taken by a passerby, and there were also four individual photos of Chen Banxia, Xiaoxiao, and Taozi, as well as a photo of Chen Shu and Qingqing together.

The first few were fine, but when she saw the later ones, Zhang Suannai was completely stunned.

First was the group photo of the four people and one cat.

With her sharp eyes, she saw at a glance that her goddess roommate was standing next to that silly vegetable, almost touching, and what shocked her was that Qingqing was actually holding that silly vegetable's arm, with a faint smile on her face.

"???"

Zhang Suannai rubbed her eyes and looked carefully—

Yes!

Although the smile was not very obvious, her roommate was indeed smiling!

At this moment, not a single bit of Qingqing's usual aloofness could be found; she looked just like an ordinary girl in love.

It wasn't that Zhang Suannai hadn't seen Qingqing around Chen Shu; last year on the deserted island, the two of them were almost always together, but she had never seen her show such an expression in his presence.

Is this still my roommate?

Zhang Suannai zoomed in and looked at it many times before scrolling down.

The last photo was of the two of them together.

"..."

This time, Chen Shu had his arm around Qingqing's shoulder. Qingqing's expression was calm, and she was just standing there normally, not smiling anymore, but Zhang Suannai could still feel her joy, and could also feel the difference in her compared to usual. It was an indescribable sense of tranquility and gentleness, which left her very confused.

She zoomed in and looked at it carefully many times, even finding photos of her roommate from before to compare, and she finally figured out the reason—

Her brows and eyes were softer.

But Zhang Suannai was still completely baffled, so she exited the status and found her friend's Feixin.

Zhang Suannai:???

Zhang Suannai: You went to the Spirit Sect too?

Chen Banxia: Yeah.

Chen Banxia: It was so much fun.

Zhang Suannai: That photo...

Zhang Suannai: You edited it, right?

Chen Banxia: No, the original image has no filters. It's just that beautiful on-site. If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself. Highly recommended.

Zhang Suannai: Then why is Qingqing smiling?

Chen Banxia: Oh, you mean that? I'm also confused. From the moment we set off this morning, she has been very happy and joyful. Both Xiaoxiao and I were stunned. On the way, Xiaoxiao did something stupid, and not only did Qingqing not scold her, but she even smiled at her, which almost scared her to death.

Zhang Suannai: Are they together?

Chen Banxia: I don't know.

Zhang Suannai: What the hell.

Chen Banxia: 【Video】

Zhang Suannai: What is this?

Chen Banxia: A horror movie.

Zhang Suannai tapped to open it; it was a very long video.

The opening scene was an endless field of rapeseed flowers, vast and boundless, with the furthest reaches obscured in mist. Yet the scene was not monotonous; the bamboo-shoot-shaped mountains dotting the ground drew one's gaze.

At the same time, the frame slowly panned to the right.

It turned very slowly.

There was no sound.

The scenery was truly beautiful, though.

Zhang Suannai had seen similar videos before—

It looks ordinary at first, but as you watch, a ghost suddenly pops out from the bottom, as ugly as can be, accompanied by a terrifying sound.

Unfortunately, this was useless against her.

Who is Zhang Suannai? She is someone who, on a whim, dared to swear brotherhood with the Sword God Statue; would she be afraid of such ghosts and monsters?

What a joke!

At most, she would just be grossed out by their ugliness.

However, as the frame rotated, two figures appeared.

Her roommate was wearing a light pink long-sleeved shirt, the hem tucked casually into her jeans, possessing a gentleness and sweetness not usually seen. She kept her hands behind her back, following beside Chen Shu, walking very slowly, instantly drawing one's gaze away from the magnificent spring scenery and onto her.

Then, a scene even more terrifying than ghosts appeared.

Chen Shu was seen plucking a small rapeseed flower from the roadside and handing it to her roommate, who lowered her head to gently nibble on the petals; that moment of tenderness stunned the entire picture.

"Stunned?"

"Oh... is it... is it sweet?"

"It's sweet."

Zhang Suannai's expression was one of extreme Fear.

No! This is not my roommate!!

If it is, there is only one possibility—

Her roommate has a terminal illness and not much time left, which is why she wants to enjoy the rest of her life in these final moments and leave behind beautiful memories for those around her!

Or maybe it's not a terminal illness!

Maybe her roommate has foreseen her own death! That's it! She is an Esoteric Sect Cultivator, after all!

The more Zhang Suannai thought about it, the more she felt it was possible.

Looking at this video...

She probably only has half a year left to live, right!?

At this moment, her little friend sent another video.

Zhang Suannai tapped to open it.

The scenery was still infinitely beautiful; the two figures walked side by side, and her roommate very calmly reached out her hand and took the initiative to hold Chen Shu's hand.

"Holy crap!!!"

Zhang Suannai couldn't help but scream out loud!

Half a month!

Half a month at most!!

At this moment, she received a third video and opened it reflexively; an extremely ugly female ghost instantly popped out, accompanied by a terrifying sound.

"Ah!"

Caught off guard, Zhang Suannai even threw her Mobile Phone away.