The young man hesitated, standing in front of the potted plant, torn between conflicting thoughts and unable to make a decision.
Yan Zhen suddenly stood up.
The young man was startled.
Yan Zhen said, “We’re closing.”
The young man was taken aback. “It’s still so early. Why are you closing already?”
Yan Zhen replied, “I need to go home and cook.”
The young man eyed Yan Zhen suspiciously, utterly unable to associate him with the word “cooking.”
Yan Zhen ignored him, first tidying up the items on the table. As he passed the young man, he pressed a finger lightly against him.
The young man didn’t understand at first, but then he watched in horror as Yan Zhen walked to the door—he couldn’t move! What was happening? Just now… the shop owner had touched him. Could it be—?
Yan Zhen had already turned around and was about to close the door.
The young man opened his mouth, relieved to find he could still speak, and hurriedly pleaded, “Shop owner, I was wrong! I didn’t mean to doubt you. Please don’t be angry! I’ll leave right now. Just—just give me a chance, let me go!”
Yan Zhen glanced up. “Now you’re ready to leave?”
The young man nodded frantically. “Yes, yes! I’m leaving now. I just didn’t react fast enough earlier—”
Yan Zhen flicked his fingers, and the young man could move again. Gulping, he pulled out his phone and said, “Shop owner, I was blind not to recognize your greatness. Look, I think that potted plant and I have a connection. How about I buy it right now?”
If he wanted to buy it, then fine.
Yan Zhen nodded, processed the payment, and handed over the potted Zhichu grass.
The young man carefully cradled it and hurried out without delay.
Yan Zhen locked the door and left Jade Accumulation Studio.
Outside, the young man wanted to say something more to Yan Zhen, but before he could approach, he saw Yan Zhen move leisurely—then vanish half a street away in the blink of an eye.
The young man took a deep breath and turned to leave.
Damn, this place was way too creepy. Time to scram.
Yan Zhen, already far away, was in a hurry to get home and cook for his Dan Zai. He had no idea about the young man’s dramatic inner monologue. As for the young man’s indecisiveness, Yan Zhen hadn’t been angry at all. Freezing him with a touch wasn’t a punishment—just a way to ensure the young man could observe the Zhichu grass without disturbing him while also protecting the shop’s merchandise.
·
Over twenty dishes covered the table, and Lin Yangfeng devoured them all like a whirlwind.
Yan Zhen sat across from him, watching while knitting an undershirt, using a crochet hook to weave subtle patterns into the fabric.
Lin Yangfeng finished quickly, set down his chopsticks, and looked at Yan Zhen.
Yan Zhen asked gently, “What’s the matter?”
Lin Yangfeng said, “I need to go out for a while.”
Yan Zhen was puzzled. “You go out every day.”
Lin Yangfeng: “…I mean, I’m going on a business trip.”
Yan Zhen thought for a moment, then understood. “Then I’ll go with you.”
He guessed it must be some nonsense from that so-called Special Affairs Bureau. He had to stick with Dan Zai—what if someone bullied him?
Lin Yangfeng: “What I mean is, don’t come with me.”
Yan Zhen smiled at him.
Lin Yangfeng’s tone turned irritable. “Don’t mess around. Just listen to me, got it?”
Yan Zhen sighed softly. “But I’m worried.”
Lin Yangfeng: “…”
I’m not some weakling. What’s there to worry about?
Yan Zhen gazed at Lin Yangfeng with a pitiful, unwavering look.
Lin Yangfeng: “The answer’s still no!”
After saying this, he didn’t dare look at Yan Zhen’s face again. He stood up and rushed into the bathroom—if he stayed even a second longer, he was afraid this pervert would start crying at him again. Cry, cry, cry—what the hell was there to cry about?!
Yan Zhen watched as Lin Yangfeng entered the bathroom but didn’t cry. He didn’t cry all the time, after all. Since Dan Zai wasn’t looking at him, why should he cry? He was just a little frustrated. He had thought he and Dan Zai were already quite close, yet when Dan Zai went on a business trip, he still didn’t want Yan Zhen to follow. Sigh.
After some thought, Yan Zhen put down what he was holding and turned to leave.
Thus, when Lin Yangfeng—after an unusually stifled half-hour shower—stepped out, he was surprised to find Yan Zhen gone.
Lin Yangfeng roughly toweled his hair, his brows furrowing unconsciously.
“He just left?” he muttered. “Is he… angry?”
The rest of the words died in his throat, stubbornly unspoken.
·
After returning, Yan Zhen didn’t go back to the dorm that night. Instead, he circled the small hill in the inner courtyard several times. Suddenly, he reached out, plucked a “blade of grass” from the mountain, and tossed it to the ground.
The next second, the “grass” abruptly expanded, resembling a dark-barked paper mulberry tree. But upon closer inspection, its trunk emitted a bright glow—clearly not a paper mulberry at all.
Yan Zhen muttered, “Wearing a branch of this Mi Gu tree seems to prevent getting lost? Better stock up…”
Then he reached into the emerald-green halo again and grabbed a yellow-feathered, red-beaked bird that looked somewhat like a quail—though it definitely wasn’t one. One wasn’t enough; he swiftly grabbed two, three, and soon a dozen, all trapped in his grasp, unable to fly away.
Deeming it sufficient, Yan Zhen took the birds to the kitchen, plucked their feathers, stuffed them whole into a mortar, and pounded them into a paste with a stone pestle before packing it into a bamboo tube.
“Fei Yi’s meat is mediocre, but it works as medicine—good for killing all sorts of nasty bugs…”
He also gathered things like herbs that prevented parasites, rodent-killing plants, filling foods, and Five-colored Jin Yu to ward off evil—basically anything useful he could think of, assembling a large bundle of odds and ends.
Finally, he even fished out several fish, dried them over a fire, and stuffed them in as well.
Once everything was ready, he hoisted the large bundle and headed back to South Lake University.
·
Lin Yangfeng stared quietly at the empty dorm room for a while, his face briefly blank.
After the blankness passed, he snapped out of it, scoffed, and ran a hand through his coarse hair before heading toward the bedroom.
His room was no different from any other day—just him alone, climbing into bed and leaning against the large pillow behind him. Normally, he was perfectly content in solitude, but tonight was unusually quiet. So quiet that he couldn’t help but feel a little dazed. How to put it? With one person’s aura distinctly missing, he actually felt… slightly unaccustomed.
Well, it had been many years, and Yan Zhen was still the first person to get this close to him.
Lin Yangfeng tossed aside the pillow behind him and lay flat, ready to sleep.
But the moment he closed his eyes, that face—radiant as spring blossoms—suddenly flashed in his mind, making his brows tighten. He opened his eyes again.
Lin Yangfeng stood dazed, unsure of what he was thinking—or perhaps not thinking at all.
Suddenly, he seemed to hear a noise. In the blink of an eye, he leaped up and was already at the bedroom door.
The key turned once in the lock, and the door swung open.
Lin Yangfeng found himself face-to-face with the very person who had been haunting his thoughts moments ago.
“You didn’t leave?”
Yan Zhen smiled gently. “I did leave.”
As he spoke, he stepped inside and turned to close the door.
A sharp whoosh of wind!
Lin Yangfeng hastily wheeled his chair backward, narrowly avoiding the heavy blow.
It was only then that Lin Yangfeng noticed the enormous bundle slung over Yan Zhen’s back—the kind of large cloth-wrapped parcel commonly used in ancient times.
Lin Yangfeng’s eyelid twitched. “What did you go back for?”
Yan Zhen had already locked the door and now flashed a broad grin. “Aren’t you going on a long trip? I went to prepare your luggage.”
Lin Yangfeng’s face darkened.
So… this massive bundle was all… his luggage?
“You’ve delivered the luggage. You won’t go back and cause more trouble, will you?”
“Ah.”
“What do you mean ‘ah’?”
“Nothing much.”
“Give me a definite answer!”
“Oh.”
“Don’t just ‘oh’ me!”
“Mm, then I won’t ‘oh’ anymore.” Yan Zhen smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. “Come quickly, I’ve prepared many useful things for you. This one is really good for killing mice…”
Lin Yangfeng suppressed his frustration.
So, why exactly did he need to kill mice?
Author’s Note: Yes, some of you guessed right—it’s Jishi Mountain!