In the evening, as night became deeper.
The hustle and bustle of the market fell silent with sunset, and household lights gradually flickered on in the twilight.
Chen Ye, after a busy day, finally clad in chills, pushed open the gate of his small courtyard.
The yard was quiet; Qing Jun was probably tired from playing with Yuanyuan and had been coaxed to rest early by Granny Li.
The paper on the windows cast a dim yellow light, faintly revealing Zhiwei’s small silhouette hunched over the table.
"This girl, hard at work again?"
Chen Ye felt relieved, took off his cloak, and quietly returned home.
But when he opened the door, the sight before him caused his heart to sink sharply.
Zhiwei was not reading or cultivating.
Her small body was curled on the chair, back facing the door, with her shoulders trembling slightly.
The thick cotton coat that Chen Ye had just bought for her was casually thrown aside; she wore only a thin inner garment.
Her waist was slender, with clearly defined ribs under the thin clothes.
Although she had grown taller, she seemed to have become even thinner.
What shocked Chen Ye even more was seeing several new, fine bloodstains on Zhiwei’s exposed slender arm, as if slashed by something sharp.
And before her, some broken ice shards were scattered on the ground, with traces of dark red.
"Zhiwei!" Chen Ye rushed over in a few large strides.
At the sound, the girl’s body froze abruptly, like a startled young deer, frantically trying to hide her arms behind her.
But due to the sudden movement, she tugged on the wound, letting out a suppressed groan of pain.
"Zhiwei, what... what are you doing?" Chen Ye’s heart sank.
He was not surprised by the scene.
Zhiwei possesses the Purity Glaze Body, especially as her constitution has gradually awakened recently...
In his presence, Zhiwei certainly wouldn’t harm herself.
But away from him, it was hard to say.
Zhiwei kept her head down, her long dark hair covering her face, making it hard to see her expression, visible only was her pale, delicate chin.
She remained silent, abandoning the attempt to hide her injured arm, merely sitting there silently.
Nonviolent noncooperation, huh...
Chen Ye remained silent as well.
Comforting was too feeble, stopping her was even useless.
In the past,
When Zhiwei played snow games, he tried to dissuade her, but this girl soon repeated the same trick...
Alas,
Problematic children are truly troublesome to care for.
Chen Ye suddenly smiled gently, "Zhiwei, Master has something fun, do you want to play? This thing could make Zhiwei happy..."
Zhiwei remained silent, yet her small body suddenly tensed like a tightly drawn bow.
She felt somewhat uneasy.
Chen Ye did not mind.
He took out a smooth wooden board from the storage bag, and some evenly sized black and white stones.
Then, he swiftly drew a simple grid on the board using a charcoal pen.
Well, this was indeed Five-in-a-row!
The rules of this game are simple, easy to get started.
But infinitely varied, it captures one’s attention, allowing immersion.
In his past life,
Back in elementary school, Chen Ye loved using graph paper to secretly play Five-in-a-row with his desk mate.
He still cherishes those carefree times.
Chen Ye figured it out.
Ultimately, Zhiwei’s age, in his past life, was still in elementary school.
Even though she matured early, she remains a child.
Children... always enjoy playing and mischief.
Keeping Zhiwei at home daily to cultivate without stepping out at all,
Even without the influence of the Purity Glaze Body, she’d eventually develop psychological issues.
Better to think of entertaining things.
So the two little girls can relax well in their cultivation breaks.
To prevent Zhiwei’s idle time from leading her to hurt herself.
...
The charcoal pen traversed the rough wooden board, making a slight "rustle" sound.
Chen Ye, one hand on the board, the other holding the charcoal pen, focused on outlining the intersecting lines.
He slightly bowed his head, hair falling over his forehead, leaving just a solemn and warm side profile.
The dim lamplight like a warm ball of yarn enveloped him.
It also reflected onto Zhiwei, curled on the chair, subtly lifting a corner of her eyelids quietly.
Ultimately, the older girl couldn’t resist.
The sound of charcoal scraping the board, combined with the man’s calm aura, worked like invisible hooks, stirring her to steal glances again and again.
He was no longer the Steward Chen in Granny Li’s words, who was fierce and striking in the examination hall.
Calm and unfazed, facing doubt and interrogation from many loose cultivators, he remained composed, relying on his superb Spirit Plant Technique to awe medicinal farmers all around alone.
At this moment, he seemed more like a clumsy yet extraordinarily patient father preparing a slightly crude surprise.
The focus in his brows no longer served to tame others, nor for survival calculations, but a pure desire to do something for the small figure before him.
Zhiwei couldn’t help but recall the thrilling Spirit Plant Master trial Granny Li mentioned that evening.
Chen Ye finished the last line, satisfied as he admired this simple chessboard.
Fifteen horizontally, fifteen vertically; a standard Five-in-a-row board.
He patted the charcoal dust from his hand, looked up, meeting Zhiwei’s eyes that were quietly scrutinizing him, cool with a hint of confusion.
"Ahem."
Chen Ye cleared his throat, pushed the board towards Zhiwei, and placed two piles of black and white stones on each side,
"Zhiwei, you see, this is now drawn."
Zhiwei’s gaze slowly shifted from Chen Ye’s face to the board with the grid. Her small hand moved slightly, seemingly wanting to touch it, yet hesitating a bit.