The Celestial Master’s Choice

Lin Lan froze for just a few seconds, a strange, sudden restlessness welling up within his heart. He felt a powerful craving—a desperate desire to see the countenance of the person behind that screen, even if it were only a single glance.

Thus, with a heart hammering with anxiety, Lin Lan approached the screen step by step. He could hear his own heartbeat now, thumping rhythmically, carrying with it endless fantasies.

Just as he was about to step around the partition and see the woman behind it, Zi Qingyan’s voice rang out from within.

“Very well, Your Excellency need not advance any further.”

Lin Lan’s footsteps ground to a halt, completely unsure of whether he should continue forward.

“Do you currently have any funds left to return home?” the voice behind the screen inquired.

“This humble scholar… no longer possesses the travel funds required to return,” Lin Lan scratched his head, feeling rather embarrassed. He heard what sounded like a couple of soft giggles from behind the screen. Before he could even ask why the fairy was laughing, two items came flying out from behind the partition.

“I happen to have a vacant courtyard in the northern part of the city. I shall temporarily lend it to you. This silver should be more than enough to cover your daily expenses,” Zi Qingyan said casually.

To her, gold, silver, and jewels were merely worldly possessions; giving them away didn’t pain her in the slightest. But in Lin Lan’s eyes, it was a completely different story.

To receive such kindness when he was at his most desperate, at the absolute end of his rope, was an act of grace as profound as granting him a second life. Even though Lin Lan still desperately wanted to see the fairy’s true face more than anything, this kindness overwhelmed him.

“The fairy’s grand benevolence… I, I am unworthy of it, and I have no way to repay you. I can only…”

As he spoke, for some bizarre reason, an trope from the romance novellas he used to read flashed through Lin Lan’s mind—the action the female protagonists often took when indebted.

Pledging one’s body in marriage. Hiss… could it be that I am destined to offer myself in marriage today?

“Do not overthink it. I merely find our meeting congenial, so it is nothing more than a casual gesture,” the maiden behind the screen cut in, clearing up his delusion.

Meanwhile, outside the flower shop, Long Miaoming had arrived exceptionally early in the morning.

Around midnight the previous night, Luo Xiaoxi had finally found a spare moment. Staring at her phone screen, she had hesitated for a good while before sending Miaoming a text, asking her to come pick her up the next day. Because it was already midnight, Xiaoxi had been slightly worried about disturbing Miaoming’s rest. But on second thought, she figured that if Sister Long truly wanted to sleep, she would at least put her phone on silent.

Xiaoxi comforted herself with that thought.

Little did she know, Miaoming had pinned her chat to the very top and set it to a special high-volume notification tone. Consequently, a mere two seconds after Xiaoxi put her phone down, she received Miaoming’s reply:

[OK, I’ll be there on time!]

Xiaoxi: “…”

By the time Miaoming entered the shop, Xiaoxi had just finished cooking. Three portions of food were laid out on the dining table, one of which was carefully covered with a mesh food tent. Nearby, the television was broadcasting a wedding scene from a drama.

“Sister Long, you arrived just in time. Hurry up and eat while it’s hot.” Xiaoxi had guessed that Miaoming would rush over so fast she wouldn’t have eaten breakfast, so she had simply prepared three portions.

Miaoming sat down at the table, looking a bit sheepish.

“Mama Qianluo, breakfast is ready!” Xiaoxi habitually shouted toward Hua Qianluo’s bedroom door, receiving the same mumbled, incoherent response as always.

“Forget it, Sister Long, let’s eat first,” Xiaoxi said.

Miaoming nodded and picked up a scallion pancake with her chopsticks, preparing to stuff it into her mouth. Suddenly, her eyes caught the television screen, where the male lead, under the prompt of the master of ceremonies, wrapped his arms around the female lead.

“I love you,” the handsome male lead said, his eyes filled with deep affection.

“I love you too,” the female lead replied.

Miaoming clicked her tongue in wonder. “Do humans get married in such flashy ways nowadays?”

“Married?” Xiaoxi shot a skeptical look at Miaoming, suddenly remembering that since Miaoming wasn’t human, she probably wasn’t very familiar with modern marriage customs. “Sister Long, that’s just the surface-level flashiness.” Xiaoxi used her spoon to slice through the savory tofu pudding in her bowl.

“Oh? Then what else is there?”

“When two people first meet, they obviously have to go through a period of emotional bonding. Then comes dating, being deeply in love, discussing marriage, and finally, registering for a marriage certificate.” Xiaoxi counted each step off on her fingers one by one, before concluding with absolute certainty: “Only after they receive that bright red marriage certificate do they truly belong to each other.”

“A marriage certificate?!” Miaoming’s voice suddenly boomed, her eyes locking onto Xiaoxi with immense intensity.

Xiaoxi shuddered. Just now, she felt a sudden sensation akin to being targeted by a hungry wolf.

“Do you have this marriage certificate, Xiaoxi?” Miaoming asked, a deeply vigilant note in her voice.

Xiaoxi nearly choked on the tofu pudding she had just swallowed. “Sister Long, what on earth are you thinking?! I’m still a month and a half away from turning eighteen! I’m still a minor!”

“Oh, right, right.” Miaoming nodded frantically, subconsciously letting out a sigh of relief. Then, she asked another question. “Then… then Xiaoxi, have you ever been in love before?”

The moment the words left her mouth, a bizarre, incredibly awkward silence descended upon the room.

“Ha… haha, love? Someone as beautiful as me… how could I possibly… not have been in love?!” Xiaoxi’s tone sounded incredibly strained. It sounded less like an answer and more like she was desperately trying to convince herself.

“What?! Who was it?!” Miaoming bolted upright instantly, a spark of pure, unadulterated fury igniting in her eyes. In her mind, this was someone poaching her territory. Anyone who dared to poach what was hers—no matter who they were—deserved to die.

“Ah! Sister Long, don’t get so worked up!” Xiaoxi was startled. Just as she was about to explain, a sound came from Hua Qianluo’s bedroom door.

“Exactly, don’t get so worked up.” Qianluo, dressed in her pajamas, walked out with a massive smirk, watching the completely unhinged dragon. “That poor kid was just trying to gather his courage, bringing his friends along to confess his feelings, only for a certain someone to mistake them for highway robbers and beat them to a pulp.”

Qianluo walked over to the table, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and began to eat, ruthlessly exposing her adoptive daughter’s embarrassing past without a shred of hesitation.

To be fair, this had always been a dark stain on Xiaoxi’s life. Back in high school, even though the school strictly forbade romance, a girl like Xiaoxi still secretly yearned for a sweet, innocent relationship. Yet, while even Cuihua from the class next door had cycled through three or four boyfriends, Xiaoxi remained stubbornly single.

Xiaoxi had frequently reflected on herself, wondering why this was the case. She wasn’t ugly; calling her a class beauty was an understatement, she was easily school beauty material. Furthermore, her grades were excellent, and she handled people with a very gentle demeanor (or so she believed). She truly couldn’t figure it out.

Finally, during the first semester of her senior year, a boy who was widely considered the heartthrob of the neighboring class couldn’t hold back any longer. He dragged his buddies along to bolster his courage, waiting on her path home to confess his love.

In the end, Xiaoxi mistook them for a gang of muggers, gave them a severe beating, and sent the boy straight to the hospital. It ultimately required Qianluo to visit the school for a disciplinary parent-teacher meeting.

From that day forward, no one ever dared to approach Xiaoxi again, let alone confess their love.