Chapter 514: Picking Up Memories

The two of them each held a cup of milk tea, walking slowly.

The milk tea was hot, which kept their hands very warm in this winter.

Chen Shu turned his head to look at his surroundings, occasionally exchanging a few quiet words with Qingqing, talking about which places still looked the same, which had changed, and where he used to play at certain ages in his memories. Qingqing acted as a quiet listener, yet she could grasp the indifferent yet complex emotions in his heart.

The indifference was because it had been a long time, because he had seen through things, and because of his detached personality.

The complexity was the sentiment of revisiting an old place.

"Heh heh heh~"

Chen Shu lifted his milk tea to take a look; it was already at the bottom. He shook the bottom of the cup, then bit the straw and took a sip, and the remaining toppings at the bottom strangely and automatically gathered in front of the straw, being sucked into his mouth.

"Clang..."

The milk tea cup spun as it flew into the trash can.

"Hiccup..."

Chen Shu let out a hiccup: "I'm almost full. The milk tea nowadays has more and more toppings added; drinking one cup of milk tea is about equivalent to eating a bowl of porridge."

Ning Qing lowered her head to drink, not responding to his silly words.

"When I was in high school—high school is the academic system for fifteen to eighteen-year-olds, equivalent to somewhere between the Talent Academy and Qingxue..." Chen Shu pointed to a river and the bridge crossing it ahead and said, "Back then, when I was on break at home, I would often come to the riverside with classmates to hang out, to take a walk, either in the morning or at night. Sometimes after playing games all night, I would also come home from here in the morning, or go to school."

"Mm..."

Ning Qing raised her eyes to look over.

There was a plaza by the river with a stone statue standing in it, and many people were playing and dancing in the plaza.

The riverside was filled with tables and chairs, packed with people drinking tea.

"Our place here has a basin climate, the weather isn't very good, especially in winter; most of the time the sky is overcast, and it looks like it's dark by the afternoon. And this world's ability to adjust the weather is very poor, so whenever the sun comes out, it's like celebrating the New Year. Everyone will come out to drink tea and soak up the sun, photosynthesis... People here are all very greedy for comfort, big or small, they are all salted fish."

"Playing mahjong..."

"Mm, many people love playing mahjong. Back in the day, Shengzu was likely also an expert at building the Great Wall."

"What about you?"

"I don't really like it."

"Always losing?"

Ning Qing squinted at him sideways.

"My luck is bad."

Chen Shu didn't bother to argue, looking happy as he pointed upstream: "Let's go, let's walk up along the river. There's a shop over there that makes rabbit; I used to often invite classmates to go eat there together. It had already been open for many years back then; I don't know if it's still open now."

"There are so many shops making rabbit here."

"It's a province that loves eating rabbit."

"No wonder you love making it so much..."

"Found the reason, haven't you!"

"Mm..."

Ning Qing continued drinking her milk tea as she walked forward.

The plaza was packed with people, and the music blended into one.

There were dynamic dance tracks for square dancing, elderly people showing off their talents, singing, and socializing, and even young people doing street dance.

Near the river, folding tables and chairs were set up everywhere, from teenagers to elderly people in their sixties or seventies, people of different ages gathered here. Everyone used beer mugs to steep a large cup of tea, either playing mahjong or cards, or simply sitting together chatting and cracking free sunflower seeds. The originally wide riverside walkway was occupied to the point where only one or two people could barely squeeze through, but no one complained about it. At this moment, everyone reached a rare harmony and tolerance; everyone was just smiling and enjoying the winter sunshine, enjoying a leisurely day gathering with friends.

Chaotic sounds drifted through the air.

This was winter, there were no Cultivators here, and everyone was wearing winter clothes; the two of them had also followed the local customs.

Ning Qing wore a pair of dark gray leggings, her legs long and straight, stepping in a pair of snow boots. Her upper body was a long white down jacket, and her long hair was scattered messily over the fur-lined hood. Her skin was snow-white and flawless; even the most exquisite makeup could not compare to her.

Chen Shu's down jacket was the same style as hers, only the color was changed to black, and he was only a little bit taller than Ning Qing.

Chen Shu bought her a bowl of sweet and sour potatoes, and while she was eating the potatoes, he took her milk tea and started drinking it, his eyes looking left and right.

"What is it?"

Ning Qing used a toothpick to stab a piece of potato, squinting at him sideways: "Looking for your ex-girlfriend... s?"

"!!"

Chen Shu immediately turned into a boxer and punched her arm twice.

This woman, with her personality, even if she were interested in such things, it was unlikely she would go looking for trouble; it was purely that she wanted to tease him.

"If you hadn't transmigrated, how old would you be now?"

"22 years old, I've always been 22 years old."

"Old man..."

"Old woman!"

"Bang!"

"That's not fair!"

"You just hit me twice, and I only hit you once," Ning Qing said lightly, then glanced at him again, "Your ex-girlfriend... s already have children."

"You are so annoying!"

"?"

"..."

Chen Shu shook his head, too lazy to pay her any mind.

"Want to drink tea?"

"Up to you."

"Let's go drink up ahead, there are too many people here."

"Fine."

"Finish your drink and let's go find that place! I hope it hasn't gone out of business!"

"Don't use the local dialect."

"No, I want to."

"……"

Walking further ahead, away from this square, the tea stalls became a bit more sparse, and among the people drinking tea, there were more anglers, with both sides coexisting harmoniously.

The two found a tea stall; Chen Shu ordered a cup of jasmine tea, and for Qingqing, he ordered a cup of Tieguanyin.

Both were ten yuan a cup, with unlimited refills and unlimited free sunflower seeds provided.

Never mind whether the tea was good or not; what was good was the sunshine and the leisure.

Chen Shu cracked sunflower seeds while turning his head to watch people fishing.

Someone walked over carrying a fishing rod and asked a man who looked quite decent and had a mature air: "Old Zhou, how long have you been here?"

"Just arrived, just arrived..."

"How many did you catch yesterday?"

"I'm just playing around, not doing it for the fish."

"What about the day before yesterday?"

"The day before yesterday, I did land one."

"How heavy was it?"

"Less than a jin."

"Old Man Liu had a huge haul the day before yesterday!"

"Him? Three at most..."

Chen Shu, listening from the side, gathered that this Old Zhou hadn't retired yet, but his work must be quite leisurely, as he came to fish every day; unfortunately, his technique wasn't refined, and he had sat here until now without catching a single one today, nor had he caught anything yesterday, though he had caught one the day before yesterday, estimated to be around three taels.

And he was still being sour about others...

These anglers, really...

Chen Shu shook his head on the surface, but was chuckling inside.

After finishing a cup of tea and a plate of sunflower seeds, Ning Qing also finished her sweet and sour potatoes; the two settled the bill and got up to continue walking along the river.

Familiar music drifted from somewhere.

It was "Flower in the Water," which Chen Shu had once sung; a female voice was singing it, and Chen Shu couldn't help but hum along softly.

Ning Qing listened quietly, a smile on her lips.

She suddenly remembered their school days. Chen Shu had always been someone who loved to sing; it was like that when he was at the Qingxue Talent Academy, and he would always hum songs that no one had heard before, and often spout poems that no one had heard before; most people probably thought he was very talented, right? Most likely, there were some ignorant little fan girls who were infatuated with him because of this unfounded "talent," right?

Ning Qing was sometimes moved by the songs he sang, but she clearly had enough understanding of him; it had been like that since they were small.

Even without the memories of the other Ning Qing, even if she were the other Ning Qing, she had never thought these songs and poems came from Chen Shu himself. Of course, Chen Shu had never tried to claim these things as his own either. Therefore, whenever she revealed a knowing smile, it had nothing to do with his "talent," but was merely being moved by his actions; this was what truly belonged to him.

That was why this touch of emotion and love seemed even more pure.

"This flowing water passes by in such a hurry..."

The singing gradually drifted away, and Chen Shu also stopped.

Ning Qing could feel his footsteps becoming much lighter; he walked slightly ahead of her, facing the sun, stretching, and seeming very at ease.

Ning Qing's mood also became a bit more pleasant.

For Chen Shu, every step was a memory, so every step he took meant picking up those memories and savoring them carefully once more, a long and lingering aftertaste. And for Ning Qing, this was also a process of understanding Chen Shu more deeply; the past was where he came from, and by listening quietly to his past, she knew where he originated.

……

The two stayed in this small city for a few days.

Chen Shu didn't avoid anything; he walked the paths he had walked before, ate the delicacies he had eaten before, and went to see the family and friends from before.

But he didn't go looking for trouble either; it had been nearly ten years since he disappeared from this world, and he might have already been cremated long ago, and he was destined to leave here and return to Dayi; there was no need to add unnecessary worries, he should be more open-minded.

Better to go back and embrace Chen Jiaoshou and Wei Lvshi, to embrace Xiaoxiao, to embrace Brother Jiang and Brother Meng, to embrace Zhang...

Forget that one.

In short, this trip was to fulfill wishes and resolve obsessions, not to look for trouble; having said goodbye to the past, it was time to leave.

……

Chen Shu and Ning Qing returned to Chunming, back to the small inn that the Station Master had opened to receive Space-Time travelers and pass the time. Having spent a few days together and often chatting with the Station Master on WeChat recently, he was already very familiar with this manager and greeted him with a smile:

"Station Master, we're back!"

"The room is still being kept for you."

"Many thanks, Station Master." Chen Shu paused, "How much longer until my Crystal and Wooden Bead finish charging?"

"The Crystal itself has about 80% energy, so it should take another half a month. The Wooden Bead charges faster than the Crystal; it should come from a more mature Jiedian Kongjian or Space-Time Master, but you used it all up when you came, so it should take about a month."

"That fast?"

"Charging inside a Jiedian Kongjian is fast by nature, plus I used a little trick I figured out myself to accelerate the process."

"Thank you."

Chen Shu revealed a bright smile; this must be the benefit brought by the gift.

The universe is also about human relationships and worldly wisdom.

"Are you in a hurry to go back?"

"Not exactly..."

Chen Shu shook his head and said to the Station Master: "I need to find a planet in this universe first that is suitable for life but has no civilization; my Crystal carries the seeds of a civilization that has already been destroyed, and I want to place them there."

"That sounds amazing..."

"This concerns a war lasting tens of thousands of years between the 'deities' of our Plane; the winner survives, and the loser perishes; let me tell you about it slowly..."