Edited—

Lin Jue, who had done something bad, was clearly feeling guilty. Her eyes and expression were somewhat evasive. Fortunately, right now she couldn’t see the little golden dragon; otherwise, she probably would have shrunk back even more.

“I really don’t remember.” Lin Jue said this. “I went out traveling at eighteen and didn’t return to the Lin family until I was almost thirty. During that time, I entered Sichuan several times. How could I remember every single thing?”

When she said this, the little golden dragon’s eyes actually looked a bit aggrieved, but it still maintained its tsundere expression: “She’s lying. She definitely remembers.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Shibo, the little golden dragon says you definitely remember…”

Lin Jue was a bit anxious. She took out a cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and after exhaling a puff of smoke, said with a face full of vicissitudes: “Give me a hint?”

Zhou Jiayu looked at the little golden dragon.

The little golden dragon said, “Hint: golden!”

Zhou Jiayu relayed the message for it.

“Golden?” Lin Jue scratched her head. “Wow, there are so many golden things. How would I remember?”

Zhou Jiayu cast a condemning gaze at her.

Lin Jue was also a bit embarrassed and said, “Don’t look at me like that. You’re making me seem like a scumbag who toys with others’ feelings and then abandons them.”

Aren’t you? Zhou Jiayu noticed that when Lin Jue said these words, the little golden dragon’s expression grew increasingly ugly. Finally, it couldn’t maintain its composure anymore and burst into loud wails: “Liar, you liar—”

The man who had brought them here panicked the moment he saw the little golden dragon crying and said, “Don’t cry!”

Zhou Jiayu was still wondering why he was so nervous when in the next moment, he heard a sudden rumble of thunder in the sky. The sky, which had been clear just now, was instantly covered with dark clouds. Lightning circled within the dark clouds, and a torrential rain was about to fall.

Zhou Jiayu: “Shibo—”

“I remembered!!!” Lin Jue immediately spoke, “Are you the little golden dragon who lives in the jar!”

Everyone: “…”

Zhou Jiayu painfully covered his face, thinking to himself, Shibo, if you’re going to be perfunctory, can you at least be perfunctory seriously? Who here doesn’t know he’s the little golden dragon who lives in the jar.

As expected, Lin Jue’s lie was immediately seen through. The little golden dragon wailed loudly, and instantly heavy rain fell. They all became drenched chickens. Even Lin Zhushui, who had always been aloof, was no exception.

If Lin Zhushui’s aura when they arrived here was close to zero degrees, then at this moment, his temperature was heading straight below zero. Even Zhou Jiayu could feel that he was very, very angry right now.

“Lin Jue.” Lin Zhushui directly called her name.

Lin Jue’s cigarette was extinguished, her makeup was ruined, and she looked extremely wretched. But at this moment, no one sympathized with her. After all, it looked like she was the one who had toyed with the little golden dragon’s feelings and then abandoned him.

“I’m not, I didn’t.” Lin Jue said with a grief-stricken face, “I really don’t remember—”

The little golden dragon cried even harder.

The man had a face full of pain. He wiped the water off his face with his hand and said, “Now you know why I had to help it send express deliveries, right? If I didn’t send them, every time I went out it would rain, and it would be thunderstorms. My home Wi-Fi has been struck and broken three or four times.”

After hearing this, Zhou Jiayu showed him a sympathetic look. But right now, he didn’t seem to have too much time to sympathize with others. After all, the four of them standing in the rain didn’t look much better.

“Golden, golden—wait, I think I remember!” Who knew what suddenly gave Lin Jue inspiration. A flash of insight suddenly came to her, “Are you the little golden carp from the Golden Bamboo Palace?”

The little golden dragon’s crying stopped abruptly. In an instant, the originally overcast sky immediately cleared up. It stopped its tears and happily circled around Lin Jue: “You finally remembered me.”

Zhou Jiayu heavily wiped his face, wiping away the water: “The answer is right.”

Lin Jue let out a long breath of relief.

“Let’s go back and dry our clothes first.” Because of that sudden downpour, they were all soaked through. Lin Jue wrung out her sleeve and suggested.

“Okay.” Zhou Jiayu said, “Little golden dragon, are you coming with us?” He saw the little golden dragon wagging its tail and flying in circles around Lin Jue. Its tail was wagging non-stop. If one didn’t know better, they would have thought it was a puppy.

“Yes, yes.” The little golden dragon agreed.

So they returned to the man’s place to change clothes. Only when they got back did Zhou Jiayu learn that this man’s surname was Tan, his name was Tan Feixing, and he was twenty-five this year. He had grown up here since he was little and basically never been outside.

“The Golden Bamboo Palace is a local legend here.” Tan Feixing said, “I didn’t expect it to really exist.”

“What exactly is this legend about?” Zhou Jiayu sneezed.

“Isn’t our place by the river? At one pier, there are stairs going down into the water. It’s said that if you’re a person of destiny, and you follow those stairs all the way down, you’ll arrive at a palace. That palace is the Dragon King’s residence. It’s filled with bamboo made of gold everywhere, so it’s called the Golden Bamboo Palace.” Tan Feixing explained with a smile.

“Shibo, have you been there?” Zhou Jiayu asked Lin Jue.

“Not really.” Lin Jue sighed, “When I was traveling, I just got close to those stairs. On the stairs, I encountered a little golden carp. It seemed to be caught in a fishing net. I thought it was cute, so I quietly released it. But I had heard the legend of the Golden Bamboo Palace.”

“Just that?” Zhou Jiayu was a bit unconvinced.

“Haha.” Lin Jue let out two dry laughs. “Then that night I had a dream. I dreamed that I went to the Golden Bamboo Palace and even met the golden dragon inside who thanked me. He gave me a dragon scale for protection and told me to return here in a few years…”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Then did you return?”

Lin Jue coughed dryly: “I was quite the wild one back then. I didn’t take that dream to heart at all, so of course I didn’t come back.”

Zhou Jiayu: “…Then what about the dragon scale?”

Lin Jue’s eyes wandered, not daring to answer Zhou Jiayu’s question.

The little golden dragon had been slightly happy just now, but after hearing their conversation, it started sulking again. Its two little paws were crossed over its chest, and its cheeks were puffed up with anger. Fortunately, at least it wasn’t crying anymore. Otherwise, Zhou Jiayu suspected they would be drenched by another downpour.

Shen Yiqiong and Yu Xiaomian, who were repairing the door in the house, were shocked when they saw the four of them in such a wretched state: “Shibo, did you all go swimming in the river?”

“Shen Yiqiong, don’t talk.” Lin Jue said, “Zhushui, hurry up and help us dry off.”

On the short walk back, Lin Zhushui’s clothes were already almost dry. Hearing Lin Jue’s words, he ignored her and instead waved at Zhou Jiayu: “Come here.”

Zhou Jiayu ran over to Lin Zhushui with a big smile.

In the next moment, a string of flames leaped out from Lin Zhushui’s body and directly jumped onto Zhou Jiayu. White mist rose from Zhou Jiayu’s clothes, and they immediately became dry and crisp. The only slight imperfection was that the dried clothes were a bit too stiff… But this was still much better than being wet.

Lin Jue also knew Lin Zhushui was angry, so she could only wait beside him. Lin Zhushui helped her dry off last.

After Shen Yiqiong and the others clarified the situation, they exclaimed: “So it really was the jars forcing him.”

“That’s right.” Tan Feixing said with a bitter face, “Otherwise, where would I have so much spare money to send you guys express deliveries…”

“Then little golden dragon, where did you find those strange things?” Mentioning the express deliveries, Zhou Jiayu remembered those strange things in the boxes.

“They’re not strange at all.” The little golden dragon said, “They’re everywhere in the water. I just randomly picked them up.”

“Then whose eyeballs were those eyeballs?” Zhou Jiayu said.

“Fish.” The little golden dragon said very seriously, “Those eyeballs are delicious. Did you guys eat them?”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” No, thank you. Not only did we not eat them, we even sacrificed our dinner that day.

In this house, the only ones who could see the little golden dragon were Zhou Jiayu and Tan Feixing. After Lin Jue got her clothes dry, she quickly set up a formation so she could see the one she had wronged.

After the formation was laid down, everyone could see the cute little golden dragon. Stars appeared in Lin Jue’s eyes as she directly praised it for being cute.

The little golden dragon said, “Hmph, of course I’m cute. Did you like those eyeballs?”

Lin Jue said, “I liked them to death.”

Shen Yiqiong, standing nearby, had a gloomy expression. It was unclear what exactly he was thinking. Zhou Jiayu guessed he was having an internal struggle. After all, just now he had been rolling up his sleeves intending to get rough with the perpetrator. Now he discovered that the one causing trouble was actually a small dragon. Clearly, he was having a bit of trouble accepting it.

“Then why did you put curses and such in the gifts?” Shen Yiqiong asked.

The little golden dragon said, “If I didn’t put curses, would you guys have come?”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” Actually, even if you put them, we might not have come.

“I waited for you for so long.” The little golden dragon complained to Lin Jue, “You never came. Fortunately, I met him.” It glanced at Tan Feixing.

Tan Feixing’s expression was a bit pained. Zhou Jiayu guessed he was probably harassed by the little golden dragon every day.

“Mm… so you were waiting for me to thank me?” Lin Jue said.

“No, I was waiting for you to marry me.” The little golden dragon said seriously.

The moment these words came out, the entire room fell into silence.

Lin Jue stared at the little golden dragon: “You’re so short, and you still want to marry me—”

Little golden dragon: “…”

“The three of them very tacitly covered their mouths with their hands, pretending not to laugh. However, their shaking shoulders gave away their current expressions.”

The little golden dragon instantly flared up: “You think I’m short??”

Lin Jue said, “No, no, no. What I meant is, you’re still so small.” She used her fingers to indicate the little golden dragon’s length. The little golden dragon really wasn’t long—maybe about ten centimeters or so. It looked exquisite and quite cute.

The little golden dragon said: “You think I’m small??”

Lin Jue: “…” Can’t we talk properly? Why does it always sound like we’re telling dirty jokes? And you three, laugh laugh laugh, laugh my ass.

The little golden dragon was clearly very angry. It directly turned around and flew out the window. Zhou Jiayu didn’t know what it was going to do at first. But after a moment, he saw the little golden dragon’s body in the air growing bigger and bigger, bigger and bigger, accompanied by frenzied dragon roars—

This was the first time Zhou Jiayu had seen a dragon. The little golden dragon’s body was incomparably massive, almost covering the sky. Its voice also changed from tiny and small to the deep and resonant tone of an adult man: “Lin Jue—”

Lin Jue shuddered: “Why do I seem to hear someone calling me?”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” It’s over, Shibo. You’ve poked a dragon’s nest.

Lin Jue hurriedly looked at Lin Zhushui and said, “Shui, what do we do?”

Lin Zhushui’s expression was extremely indifferent: “What else can you do? Marry him.”

Lin Jue: “…”

Zhou Jiayu kept telling himself not to laugh.

The golden dragon circled outside for a round, demonstrating that he was both long and thick. Only then did he satisfactorily return to the room. Lin Jue lit another cigarette and started smoking.

“What do we do.” Lin Jue asked again. This time, she turned her gaze toward Shen Yiqiong and Zhou Jiayu.

Shen Yiqiong and Zhou Jiayu silently averted their eyes. Lin Jue let out a long sigh and exhaled a puff of smoke: “Gold, I’ll be honest with you. I already have someone I like.”

Hearing this, the little golden dragon flew into a rage: “Who do you like? I’m going to eat him—”

Lin Jue said: “Wow, then I dare even less to tell you. But matters of the heart have to follow first come, first served. Although you’re very cute, humans and demons walk different paths…”

The little golden dragon started grinding its teeth.

Lin Jue said: “And I’m not as good as you think. I smoke, drink, have tattoos, and even go to nightclubs.”

Zhou Jiayu cast a condemning gaze at Lin Jue, feeling that she was corrupting a child.

The little golden dragon fell into silence.

“So, you deserve someone better.” Lin Jue said the line that every scumbag must have, “Forget me. I don’t deserve you.”

However, the little golden dragon said: “You’re right.”

The moment it said this, everyone else was shocked. They hadn’t expected it to be so easily fooled. It said: “I should think about this properly.”

Lin Jue let out a long breath of relief, feeling that she had finally resolved this matter. Only Lin Zhushui had a cold smile hanging at the corner of his mouth, as if he had already anticipated something.

After saying this, the little golden dragon turned around and flew out the window. Everyone watched its departing figure and fell into contemplation.

“Shibo.” Shen Yiqiong said, “Did we forget something important? Will it still send you gifts?”

Lin Jue said: “How would I know?”

This matter seemed to be resolved just like that, so easily. The little golden dragon, innocent in the ways of the world, was tragically rejected by Lin Jue and returned once again to that jar, waiting for a destined person who would never come.

Lin Jue sighed as she asked Tan Feixing, saying, “Young man, I see you have extraordinary bones. Do you want to come with me? In the future, you will surely achieve great things.”

Tan Feixing very practically said: “If he couldn’t also see the little dragon, I might have thought you guys were running a pyramid scheme.”

Lin Jue: “…”

“But I’m really not a lunatic.” Tan Feixing was quite happy. It’s just that what he said inexplicably made people feel a bit heartbroken. He smiled, “Ever since I was little, I could always see things that others couldn’t see. They always said I was a lunatic. Now it turns out there are actually people like me in this world…” He looked at Zhou Jiayu, his eyes full of excitement.

Zhou Jiayu patted his shoulder and said that people like him actually existed in large numbers. It was just that his luck was bad and he hadn’t encountered them before.

“Someone like you would be fought over in our circle.” Lin Jue said, “If you trust me, come with me. We can open the doors to a new world for you.”

Tan Feixing hesitated for a moment, but in the end still agreed to leave with Lin Jue. He seemed to be alone right now, with no relatives and no friends. Although he had already gotten used to it, he would still occasionally feel lonely.

Being able to meet people like himself was, in a certain sense, also a kind of happiness.

Having sent away the little dragon and also gained a new person to bring back, this trip could be considered worthwhile.

But Zhou Jiayu noticed that although Lin Jue had been smiling the whole time while looking at the little dragon, after getting in the car, her face carried a bit of weariness. Her eyes also seemed somewhat dim. Perhaps it was because seeing old scenery made her think of old times.

A long time later, Zhou Jiayu learned that Lin Jue’s former boyfriend had passed away from illness. The two had been in love for many years and should have become a married couple. But alas, things in this world don’t always go as one wishes.

After everything was taken care of, they prepared to go back.

Yu Xiaomian bought them several packs of local hot pot base, reluctantly telling them to come play again next time when they had time.

Zhou Jiayu sniffled and said okay.

“Guan’er, you caught a cold?” After getting on the plane, Shen Yiqiong noticed that Zhou Jiayu’s voice didn’t sound right.

“Seems like a bit.” Zhou Jiayu’s throat had hurt since he woke up this morning, and his nose was also a bit stuffed. “Maybe from getting rained on yesterday?”

“Go back and take some medicine. Don’t let it get serious.” Lin Jue urged.

Zhou Jiayu didn’t take it seriously either, thinking it was just a small cold. Who knew that by the second day after returning home, he wasn’t doing so well anymore. Headache, stuffy nose, swollen and painful throat—his head seemed to have grown several sizes larger.

Originally, he had planned to make breakfast to improve their lives. But after getting up, he was even floating a bit when walking, let alone making breakfast.

“Guan’er, what’s wrong with you?” Shen Yiqiong was startled by Zhou Jiayu’s appearance.

“Cold.” Zhou Jiayu said. His voice was hoarse, and he was struggling to sniffle.

Shen Yiqiong said: “Did you take medicine?”

Zhou Jiayu shook his head.

Shen Yiqiong hurriedly went to get medicine and fed it to Zhou Jiayu. Today they had finally returned. They had originally planned to have a big meal together. As a result, the main chef Zhou Jiayu had collapsed. The remaining few people in the house, who were all disliked by the Kitchen God, had no way either. In the end, Zhou Jiayu proposed that he could wear a mask and guide them from the side.

“Just half a spoon of salt is enough. Mm, don’t add too much water…” Zhou Jiayu wore a mask and a thick sweater, wrapping himself up like a ball.

Lin Jue was worried about his health and told him not to overexert himself. Zhou Jiayu said it was fine, just a cold, no big deal.

But facts proved that some things really can’t be ignored. That afternoon, Zhou Jiayu’s cold worsened. He curled up on the sofa in the living room, drowsy. Shen Yiqiong saw that his complexion didn’t look right and touched his forehead. Only then did he discover that Zhou Jiayu was running a fever.

“Guan’er, why is your forehead so hot?” Shen Yiqiong was startled.

Zhou Jiayu said: “Mm… headache.”

Shen Yiqiong pulled down Zhou Jiayu’s mask and discovered that his entire face was flushed red from the fever. “I’ll call and have the doctor come over. Wait a moment.”

The family doctor came quite quickly. One temperature check directly showed 39.8 degrees. The doctor said that in this situation, it was best to get a fever-reducing shot directly. Otherwise, he was afraid the temperature wouldn’t come down.

Zhou Jiayu could only say okay.

So he got shots in his butt and the back of his hand. Zhou Jiayu’s entire brain was burning into a daze. When lying in bed, his entire expression was one of stupidity and blankness.

Between sleeping and waking, Zhou Jiayu felt someone sit down by his bedside. Then, something cool pressed against his forehead, alleviating the heat in his body.

Zhou Jiayu opened his eyes in a daze and saw a figure he hadn’t expected: “…Sir.”

Lin Zhushui sat by Zhou Jiayu’s bedside, his head slightly lowered. Although his eyes were closed, he gave Zhou Jiayu a feeling of being gazed at.

“Mm.” Lin Zhushui said, “I’m here.”

“Sir.” Perhaps when people are sick, their emotions are somewhat fragile. When Zhou Jiayu saw Lin Zhushui, an inexplicable feeling of grievance welled up in his heart. “I don’t want to have a fever.”

Lin Zhushui said: “Be good. Bear with it.”

“I don’t want to have a fever.” When Zhou Jiayu spoke, his voice was nasal. His nose was completely stuffed, and he felt that his brain was becoming somewhat unable to think due to oxygen deprivation. “It hurts.”

Lin Zhushui gently pinched Zhou Jiayu’s cheek, his voice light: “How about I keep you company?”

Zhou Jiayu was a bit stunned by Lin Zhushui’s pinch. His sluggish brain hadn’t yet reacted to what Lin Zhushui’s words meant when he saw him lower his head at an extremely slow speed and press his cool lips lightly against Zhou Jiayu’s own.

The moment their lips met, Zhou Jiayu widened his eyes. His brain, which had already been struggling to think, completely shut down now. Before his eyes, it was as if large fireworks were exploding. His body stiffened into a block of wood because of Lin Zhushui’s sudden action.

“Zhou Jiayu.” Lin Zhushui’s voice was right beside his ear, so close and clear. He said, “I don’t want to wait anymore. Let me take care of you, okay?”

Zhou Jiayu didn’t speak.

“Zhou Jiayu?” Not hearing Zhou Jiayu’s voice, Lin Zhushui’s tone carried a bit of confusion.

Zhou Jiayu still didn’t speak.

Lin Zhushui: “…” Just as he began to suspect whether Zhou Jiayu had fainted, the little stupid fish on the bed finally gave an excited response. Zhou Jiayu hugged Lin Zhushui tightly, trembling with excitement: “Sir, Sir, I like you. I especially like you.”

“Mm.” The corners of Lin Zhushui’s mouth curved into a smile. He kissed Zhou Jiayu’s soft hair whorl.

“I especially like you.” Zhou Jiayu was incoherent, “I’ll do anything you ask, Sir. Do you mean… you also like me?”

Lin Zhushui said: “Yes, I also like you.” He said it cleanly, without any拖泥帶水, giving Zhou Jiayu the greatest confidence. “You’re very good, very cute. I like you very much.”

Zhou Jiayu’s heart was filled with an indescribable emotion. For the first time, he knew that being confessed to by the person you liked was such a blissful thing. So blissful that his head spun and his words became incoherent.

“I’m not dreaming, right? I’m not dreaming, right.” Zhou Jiayu said, “Sir…”

“No.” Lin Zhushui said, “I’m right here.”

Zhou Jiayu happily jumped up directly from the bed. He felt that his waist wasn’t sore anymore, his legs didn’t hurt anymore, and the fever didn’t exist at all. Right now, he could rush out and run ten thousand meters.

Lin Zhushui let Zhou Jiayu be happy. He could actually also feel that in terms of emotions, Zhou Jiayu seemed to have no confidence at all. He was very careful in everything he did. This kind of Zhou Jiayu made Lin Zhushui feel heartache. But while feeling heartache, he also thought. He thought about what exactly his feelings for Zhou Jiayu were.

Was it pity? Was it tenderness? Or was it simply the fondness between master and disciple? Lin Zhushui didn’t want to cause Zhou Jiayu even greater harm because of a momentary impulse. So before he was certain of his own feelings, he had always been restraining himself.

Until this trip, when he heard Lin Jue say that there was a certain person’s photo in Zhou Jiayu’s phone.

From that moment on, Lin Zhushui knew that he didn’t want to wait anymore. Zhou Jiayu was the person he protected. He didn’t want to see his little stupid fish being touched by other people. Since this was the case, marking the little stupid fish as his own was imperative.

Lin Zhushui calmly thought out the answer he wanted and acted even more calmly.

Zhou Jiayu had no idea what Lin Zhushui was thinking and sat on the bed foolishly smiling. There was only one thought in his mind—Sir confessed to him, Sir also likes him, Sir, Sir, Sir. He was filled with joy, wishing he could announce his happiness to the whole world.

__

Author’s Note:

Confession today, no mini-theater.

Qixinggang, Shangqing Temple, Bus 711, and Golden Bamboo Palace are all real folklore from Chongqing. Qixinggang was originally called Qixinggang (Seven Star Jars), named after those few jars. Later, they felt the character for “jar” (缸) was inelegant and changed it to Qixinggang (Seven Star Ridge).