Edited—

Joy consumed most of Zhou Jiayu’s strength. He quickly became drowsy, lying in bed with his eyes closed and falling into a deep sleep.

If Lin Zhushui could have seen Zhou Jiayu’s expression at this moment, he would have discovered that the corners of his mouth were curved in a smile, his face full of happiness.

Zhou Jiayu slept for a very long time. After waking up, he lay in bed for a while and said in a hoarse voice, “How long did I sleep?”

Jiba stood on the turtle shell humming a song: “A few hours. It’s almost dinner time.”

Zhou Jiayu sat up in bed, feeling limp in his hands and feet, his entire body without strength. But he was still quite funny, saying, “I’m so happy. I had a dream.” When he spoke of the dream, his face was rosy, the tip of his nose dotted with a bit of sweat, and the corners of his eyes and brows were all joy.

“What did you dream of?” Jiba thought to himself, the thing you look forward to most has already come true, what else is there to be so happy about? With that stimulated look on your face, could it be you had a wet dream?

Then Jiba heard the foolishly smiling Zhou Jiayu say, “I dreamed that Sir confessed to me.”

Jiba: “…”

“He even praised me for being cute.” Zhou Jiayu said, “But is it a bit strange for a grown man to be called cute?” As he spoke, he put on his clothes. “The dream was too real. I almost thought it was true.”

If Zhou Jiayu had been looking at Jiba right now, he probably would have discovered that the little bird in his mind was frozen like a statue. But at this moment, he was in a hurry to put on his clothes and go downstairs, so he didn’t pay attention to Jiba’s expression.

If Jiba had a human face, then at this moment his face would definitely be flushed red from holding it in. But unfortunately he didn’t, so he nearly suffocated himself to death: “Zhou Jiayu, if you could go back in time, I must give you a sincere suggestion.”

Zhou Jiayu asked, “What suggestion?”

Jiba said, “I suggest you find an opportunity to have an early romance when you’re in high school…”

Zhou Jiayu listened, baffled.

He thump-thump-thumped down the stairs and saw that a table full of good dishes had already been laid out downstairs. Judging from the quality of the dishes, it definitely wasn’t made by the people in this house. It was probably takeout that Lin Jue had ordered.

“Guan’er, you’re awake? Feeling a bit better?” Shen Yiqiong was playing Fight the Landlord with Xiao Zhi and the others. Seeing Zhou Jiayu come downstairs, he opened his mouth to ask.

“Much better.” After getting shots, taking medicine, and sleeping, Zhou Jiayu felt refreshed and full of energy again. Especially since he had dreamed of such a beautiful thing while sleeping.

“Then eat something first.” Shen Yiqiong said, “Everything on the table was ordered by Shibo for you. She said you need to be nourished.”

Zhou Jiayu nodded. He was already a bit hungry and sat down by the table.

The food on the table was all suitable for a patient—mild in taste and very nourishing. Zhou Jiayu was in a good mood, and his appetite also increased greatly. He hummed a little tune as he stuffed rice into his mouth.

Jiba said, “Zhou Jiayu, I have something to tell you. Mentally prepare yourself.”

Hearing Jiba’s tone so solemn, Zhou Jiayu casually said, “Why are you so serious? Could it be you’re going to tell me that Sir really confessed to me?”

Jiba: “????”

Zhou Jiayu said, “This joke is too fake. I know myself that I was burning up with fever.”

Jiba’s eyes widened roundly, so angry that even his tongue stuck out, looking like he was about to pass out.

Zhou Jiayu was startled by his ferocious appearance and carefully called out, “Jiba, are you okay?”

Jiba said, “Zhou Jiayu—I must seriously tell you, Lin Zhushui really did confess to you. You were not dreaming.”

Hearing this, Zhou Jiayu laughed heartily and said, I already guessed this joke, can’t you change to another one?

Jiba fell into silence. In fact, if he had a physical body right now, he probably would have rushed to the top of Zhou Jiayu’s head and pecked wildly, wanting to peck this fool awake.

Zhou Jiayu ate his meal with a smile. Shen Yiqiong, playing cards nearby, saw him and asked why he was in such a good mood.

Zhou Jiayu said he had a beautiful dream.

Shen Yiqiong said, what did you dream of?

Zhou Jiayu said he dreamed of the person he liked.

Hearing these words, Shen Yiqiong immediately sat up straight, stars flashing in his eyes, saying, who do you like?

Zhou Jiayu glanced at him and said, you guess.

Shen Yiqiong said, do you like me?

Zhou Jiayu said, it’s getting late, go wash up and sleep.

Earlier, while Zhou Jiayu was sleeping, Shen Yiqiong had been afraid Xiao Zhi would disturb him and had been holding him the whole time. Now Xiao Zhi could finally climb onto the top of Zhou Jiayu’s head again and be affectionate with him. Xiao Zhi rubbed the hair on top of Zhou Jiayu’s head, and Zhou Jiayu rubbed the yellow weasel in his arms. The entire room was filled with a happy and warm atmosphere—except for Jiba in Zhou Jiayu’s mind, who was so angry he had started pulling out his own feathers. Everything was so peaceful and serene.

Lin Jue came in from outside and said she had sent Tan Feixing to the Lin family. Lin Zhushui had already taken in his full quota of disciples and couldn’t take another one. Although Tan Feixing was a bit older, fortunately his talent was outstanding. After entering this profession, he would definitely be fought over by everyone.

“It wasn’t easy for him to support himself to this age alone.” Lin Jue said, “Usually, people who can see dirty things also easily attract dirty things. Without protection, it’s very easy for accidents to happen. It’s probably because a dragon lived in that area that it suppressed those evil auras.”

Speaking of the word “dragon,” Lin Jue’s expression was inexplicably somewhat unnatural.

Zhou Jiayu and Shen Yiqiong both saw it, but neither mentioned it, continuing to pretend to focus on their own matters.

After eating, Zhou Jiayu went for a stroll in the garden, then returned to his room to prepare for sleep. Who knew that when he entered the room, he would see a beautiful glazed lamp placed on his table.

Zhou Jiayu was very familiar with this glazed lamp. It was the one Shen Yiqiong had won at the Ye family auction back then. Zhou Jiayu saw that a short stick of incense had been inserted into the lamp, slowly burning. The scent of this incense was very familiar to Zhou Jiayu—it was the unique sandalwood scent that belonged to Lin Zhushui. Beside the lamp was also a white slip of paper with beautiful handwriting in pen: To Zhou Jiayu. The signature was Lin Zhushui.

Zhou Jiayu knew the price of this lamp. His first reaction was that he couldn’t accept such an expensive thing. But right now the sky was somewhat late, and it didn’t seem appropriate to go find Lin Zhushui. Zhou Jiayu thought he would explain to Lin Zhushui tomorrow morning and refuse this overly expensive gift.

But although he couldn’t accept the lamp, Zhou Jiayu still liked the incense. Especially this scent so similar to Lin Zhushui’s, which gave Zhou Jiayu the illusion that he was in Lin Zhushui’s embrace.

“It smells so good.” This incense seemed to have a sleep-inducing effect. Zhou Jiayu lay in bed and quickly closed his eyes. This night he slept extremely soundly and even dreamed of some rather ambiguous scenes, causing Zhou Jiayu to sneak downstairs to wash his underwear the next morning.

Early in the morning, Zhou Jiayu saw Jiba lying on the turtle shell with disheveled feathers, looking half-dead. He was startled and asked while washing his underwear, “What’s wrong with you, Jiba?”

Jiba said, “What did you dream of last night?”

Zhou Jiayu hummed and hawed: “The person I like…”

Jiba said, “Can’t you be more direct? Still ‘the person I like’? Who is the person you like that you need to speak in riddles? I’m the bird in your brain.”

Zhou Jiayu said honestly, “Fine, I dreamed of Lin Zhushui.” He laughed again while washing his underwear, “I dreamed he confessed to me again and even kissed me.”

Jiba’s mentality completely collapsed. He said, “So if I tell you now that Lin Zhushui confessing to you wasn’t a dream, you won’t believe me, right?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Wow, you’re too much. Who would believe that kind of joke?”

After he said this, he saw Jiba crazily drilling his head into the turtle shell, looking like he wanted to perish together with the turtle. Zhou Jiayu was startled and hurriedly asked what was wrong, why he was so unable to think things through.

Jiba said, “Don’t talk to me!!”

Zhou Jiayu suspected Jiba had hit puberty; otherwise, why would his emotions fluctuate so wildly?

At lunch time, Zhou Jiayu, as usual, went to deliver food to Lin Zhushui. Originally, seeing that he wasn’t feeling well, Shen Yiqiong wanted to accompany him, but Zhou Jiayu refused. After all, if he let Shen Yiqiong see the glazed lamp Lin Zhushui had given him, he was afraid Shen Yiqiong would overthink things.

Zhou Jiayu carried the food basket and arrived at Lin Zhushui’s door. Before he even knocked, the wooden door before him opened.

Lin Zhushui stood in the doorway and said, “Come in.”

Zhou Jiayu entered the room.

Lin Zhushui didn’t speak to Zhou Jiayu and directly went into the study. He seemed to be painting something. On the table were pigments and a scroll.

Zhou Jiayu stood at the doorway and didn’t walk too far inside. After placing the food on the table nearby, he called out, “Sir.”

Lin Zhushui said, “From now on, just call me by my name.”

Zhou Jiayu was stunned the moment he heard this. Why would Lin Zhushui say such a thing? He didn’t quite understand. But calling Lin Zhushui by his name was somewhat uncomfortable. He struggled for a while, then mustered his courage and said, “But… I still feel it’s more appropriate to call you Sir.”

The pen in Lin Zhushui’s hand paused. He slightly tilted his head, his brows furrowing: “You don’t need to address me as ‘you’ either.”

Zhou Jiayu felt uneasy in his heart, wondering what exactly had happened to cause Lin Zhushui’s attitude to change so drastically.

He felt that today’s Lin Zhushui looked somewhat strange. But the focus of his visit here wasn’t the issue of address. Zhou Jiayu took out that beautiful glazed lamp from the basket and carefully placed it on the table. He said, “Sir, this thing is too expensive. I can’t accept it.”

Lin Zhushui directly put down his pen. His chin slightly lifted, and his lips pressed into a rather unpleasant arc.

Seeing that Lin Zhushui was clearly unhappy, Zhou Jiayu hurriedly said, “Sir, you…” He had originally wanted to say “you” (您), but then remembered what Lin Zhushui had said earlier and quickly changed his phrasing. “Your good intentions I appreciate, but I really can’t accept this lamp. It’s too expensive.”

“Why can’t you accept it?” Lin Zhushui turned around, his tone a bit cold.

Zhou Jiayu was startled by Lin Zhushui’s expression. He hadn’t expected his refusal to provoke such a strong reaction from Lin Zhushui, leaving him somewhat at a loss: “I’m just afraid I’ll break the lamp…”

“Do you regret it?” Lin Zhushui asked a sentence Zhou Jiayu didn’t understand.

Zhou Jiayu looked at the lamp, then looked at Lin Zhushui. For some reason, his heart felt a bit hollow. Lin Zhushui’s expression was too cold, simply like frozen solid ice, making Zhou Jiayu involuntarily shrink back. He said, “Sir…”

“Take it away.” Lin Zhushui said, “If you don’t want it, go throw it away. There’s no need to return it to me.”

Zhou Jiayu swallowed. From this sentence, Zhou Jiayu finally clearly realized that Lin Zhushui was indeed angry, and currently in a very, very, very angry state.

Zhou Jiayu didn’t know what he should say either. He was afraid that in a fit of anger, Lin Zhushui would really throw the lamp into the trash can. So holding the lamp, he slowly walked outward.

“Zhou Jiayu.” Just as he was about to go out the door, Lin Zhushui suddenly called out to him.

Zhou Jiayu raised his eyes: “Sir.”

Lin Zhushui said, “Forget it. You can go.” He seemed to have many things he wanted to say, but in the end chose silence.

Zhou Jiayu passed through the corridor with his head hanging dispiritedly. The tiger hanging in the corridor once again tried to scare him, but this time he had no reaction at all, leaving with a terrible mood.

Zhou Jiayu had brought the lamp over, and now he brought the lamp back. The people at home saw his dejected appearance and were all a bit surprised. Lin Jue said, “Guan’er, what’s wrong? Why do you look like you’ve been deflated?”

“I seem to have made Sir angry.” Zhou Jiayu told the truth.

“You? Made him angry?” Lin Jue was a bit incredulous. “You can still make Zhushui angry? No way, is there some misunderstanding?”

Zhou Jiayu told them about Lin Zhushui giving him the glazed lamp.

After hearing this, Shen Yiqiong’s face was full of incredulity: “Sir gave you the glazed lamp?” He thought for a moment and seemed to somewhat understand. “But this lamp does indeed suit you quite well. Didn’t Sir also tattoo you with a swimming fish and lotus pattern before? The tattoo and the lamp are quite similar.”

“But this lamp is too expensive. I feel I can’t accept it.” Zhou Jiayu said.

Lin Jue said, “Don’t worry. Let me first go ask what exactly is going on. Zhushui’s temperament usually isn’t very prone to anger. Unless his bottom line has been touched.”

Hearing this, Zhou Jiayu felt even worse.

Then Lin Jue went out, leaving Shen Yiqiong with a face full of deep thought and Zhou Jiayu wilted like a pickled cucumber.

Lin Jue directly went to Lin Zhushui’s residence. When she entered, she saw her younger brother sitting in the room angry. Before him was placed a half-finished painting. Although only half was painted, Lin Jue still recognized that the person in the painting was Zhou Jiayu.

“What’s wrong? Why are you throwing a tantrum with Guan’er?” Lin Jue casually found a chair to sit down and also poured herself a cup of tea. “His temperament is gentle and slow. Don’t bully him.”

Lin Zhushui’s expression was cold, and he didn’t speak.

Only then did Lin Jue discover that he was truly angry. Puzzled, she said, “What exactly happened between you two? When he came, he was quite happy. When he left, he was like a deflated ball. It’s just a lamp. If he won’t accept it, then don’t give it. Why go this far?”

Lin Zhushui’s thin lips parted lightly, spitting out words Lin Jue hadn’t expected. He said, “I confessed.”

Lin Jue: “Pfft—” She directly sprayed the tea out of her mouth and then started coughing wildly.

Lin Zhushui moved away from Lin Jue in disgust: “He agreed.”

Lin Jue was still coughing, saying between coughs, “Isn’t this a good thing? Weren’t you two just one layer of window paper away? Besides, you should have long known he’s your destined person?”

Lin Zhushui said, “If I tell you right now that that little golden dragon is your destined person, what would you do?”

Lin Jue: “You’re kidding—” Her expression stiffened, “You’re really kidding, right?”

Lin Zhushui showed a cold smile.

Lin Jue inexplicably felt a bit hollow. But what Lin Zhushui said was right. Even if you calculated who your destined person was, the first time you saw them, you definitely wouldn’t fall in love with them at first sight. Instead, you would first enter an observation period, then think about whether you actually liked them, or what kind of like it was.

“Don’t talk about me.” Lin Jue said, “Then what? You confessed, he agreed. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Lin Zhushui said coldly, “He regretted it.”

Lin Jue: “…”

The room fell into an indescribable silence.

Lin Zhushui’s voice was light, but Lin Jue could hear the hidden exasperation: “You insisted he liked me. I clearly see that he only admires me. Tell me, if I told Shen Yiqiong I liked him, would he agree?”

Lin Jue: “…” That really was hard to say.

Shen Yiqiong was definitely straight. But if the person confessing to him became Lin Zhushui, the result would be hard to predict. A person he extremely admired expressing love to him—Lin Jue had reason to suspect that this guy Shen Yiqiong would cruelly bend himself straight into being gay.

Lin Zhushui said, “Lin Jue?!”

Lin Jue: “…But he really does like you.”

Lin Zhushui said, “He won’t call me by my name.”

Lin Jue: “…He really likes you.”

Lin Zhushui said, “He still calls me ‘you.’” (您)

Lin Jue said, “He…”

Lin Zhushui’s voice was cold as ice: “He even wants to return the love token to me!!”

Lin Jue stopped talking, silently taking out a cigarette from her pocket: “Want one too?”

Lin Zhushui accepted it.

The two of them started smoking in the room.

Finally, Lin Jue suddenly remembered something and opened her mouth to ask: “Guan’er started having a fever the moment he came back, so when exactly did you confess? It couldn’t have been when he was burning up into a fool, right?”

Lin Zhushui gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Lin Jue painfully covered her face.

“A confession—do you know how important a confession is?” If Lin Jue had a teaching pointer in her hand, she probably would have already started rapping on the blackboard to make Lin Zhushui pay attention to the key points. “You must mutually confirm your feelings while both are sober. It’s best to also let the people around you know about your relationship.” She spoke with heartfelt sincerity, “How could you confess while Guan’er was about to burn into a fool…”

Lin Zhushui fell into contemplation.

“Is this the result you came up with after thinking for several days?” Lin Jue said, “Come, let me give you an idea. Let’s go out and play, rent a cruise ship or some other special place, then decorate it, and then make a grand confession. Please, please tell the whole world that you like him.”

Lin Zhushui’s brows slightly furrowed: “What if he rejects me?”

Lin Jue said, “Wow, if Zhou Jiayu doesn’t like you, I’ll livestream myself eating Shen Yiqiong, okay?” Such an obvious thing, yet only these two emotional idiots in front of her could make it so complicated. If it were her, the kid would probably already be three years old and able to fetch soy sauce.

Lin Jue rolled up her sleeves and began analyzing actual combat tactics with Lin Zhushui. Lin Zhushui was given a serious lesson by Lin Jue.

Zhou Jiayu was still feeling sad about Lin Zhushui being angry at him. But that night, after Lin Jue returned from Lin Zhushui’s place, she announced that they were going to an amusement park.

“Why suddenly go to an amusement park?” Zhou Jiayu found this news baffling.

“It’s nothing. It’s just that your Sir wants to go himself.” Lin Jue said, “Which specific amusement park hasn’t been decided yet. The time is set for the night after tomorrow.”

Everyone in the house found it quite strange. An amusement park was completely incompatible with Lin Zhushui’s style. Why would he want to go there? Could there be some reason he had to go?

But since Lin Jue said it was Lin Zhushui who wanted to go, they could only obediently follow. So two nights later, they went to an amusement park in the nearby suburbs.

When entering the park, Zhou Jiayu noticed that all the facilities in the entire amusement park were running, but there wasn’t a single tourist. It looked rather bizarre.

“Shibo.” Shen Yiqiong’s reaction was about the same as Zhou Jiayu’s. He asked tremblingly, “What exactly are we here to do?”

Lin Jue said, “Guess?”

Shen Yiqiong: “…”

Lin Jue smiled and said, “Alright, since we’re here, naturally we want to have a good time. Sir is waiting for you at the Ferris wheel. Hurry over.”

Looking at Lin Jue’s smile, Zhou Jiayu suddenly broke out in a cold sweat on his back. But since they had come, they couldn’t just go back like this. The few of them walked into the park, looking at the neon lights around them and the various operating facilities. The feeling that there were dirty things here grew increasingly strong.

The merry-go-round was playing Für Elise. Zhou Jiayu faintly heard children’s laughter, but looking carefully, he didn’t see any children at all.

“W-why is this amusement park so scary.” Shen Yiqiong’s hair stood on end.

Zhou Jiayu’s spiritual sense was much sharper than Shen Yiqiong’s. He could even feel that something in the darkness around them had been staring at them the whole time. This feeling was too terrible, making him involuntarily want to quicken his pace.

“This amusement park had a murder case.” Shen Musi was holding his phone and had looked something up. “At the time, the pendulum ride had an accident, and over a dozen tourists died on the spot. After that, this amusement park had accidents one after another…”

They walked toward the Ferris wheel. Before they reached it, Zhou Jiayu discovered a terrifying scene: “Why do I see the Ferris wheel seats filled with people?”

Shen Yiqiong raised his eyes upon hearing this and actually also saw what Zhou Jiayu described. Indeed, on the Ferris wheel they were heading to, almost every compartment was filled with people. The most terrifying thing was that these people had pressed their faces against the glass, their gazes seemingly fixed on the direction they were coming from.

“I’m getting goosebumps.” Shen Yiqiong said very honestly, “I suspect Sir wants to train our courage…”

Zhou Jiayu didn’t speak, swallowing a mouthful of saliva: “Are we still going on the Ferris wheel?”

Shen Musi said, “Since Shibo said Sir is at the Ferris wheel, it should be fine, right?”

Shen Erbai and Shen Chaosan clearly didn’t quite believe this and began silently taking out talisman papers.

But when they reached the bottom of the Ferris wheel, the terrifying scene they had imagined didn’t appear. Zhou Jiayu saw Lin Zhushui standing at the entrance. He called out, “Sir!”

Lin Zhushui said, “Come here.”

Zhou Jiayu ran over with a big smile.

Lin Zhushui pointed at the nearby moving Ferris wheel cabin: “Get in.”

The few disciples looked at each other. In the end, they still chose to trust Lin Zhushui’s words, sitting into the Ferris wheel before them one by one. Zhou Jiayu had originally wanted to go in first, but Lin Zhushui held him back.

“You’re last.” Lin Zhushui said this. “Sit with me.”

Zhou Jiayu could only obediently say okay. But in his heart, he was thinking, were those densely packed human figures he saw sitting on the Ferris wheel earlier really something he saw wrong?

__

Author’s Note:

Lin Jue: Choose a beautiful, romantic location, then create a space for just the two of you, and you can confess.

Lin Zhushui thought about it and chose a haunted amusement park: Either agree to me, or keep these things company.

Zhou Jiayu: Wuwah, I agree, I agree, Sir, I agree—save me—