Yujing

Another day passed.

Shortly after seven in the morning, Qi Chuan sent Su Mian a message on his phone saying he was already on his way.

However, the youth lying on the bed stared lazily at the ceiling, wondering if he should make up an excuse to decline the invitation.

Yes, he had turned back into a boy again.

But Su Mian did not feel happy at all.

This was because his body had undergone four or five consecutive changes throughout the previous night!

First, he changed from an adult female back to his male appearance, then from the male appearance to a teenage girl form, followed by a transition from the teenage girl to a young boy form; only after waking up did he recover his original self.

Su Mian had no memory of whether more changes occurred in between, but he was truly starting to lose his mind.

Will this ever end!

Although his other self told him that this situation was actually uncommon, and he had indeed maintained his current appearance since waking up this morning, he still felt a wave of mental exhaustion, and his interest in the exhibition—which he had been looking forward to—instantly vanished by more than half.

He was mainly afraid of shifting back and forth at the exhibition; although he had the Stone of the Lost, who knew if this kind of event would attract some “special” individuals.

Yet, he felt conflicted about giving up; on one hand, he was genuinely interested, and on the other, Qi Chuan was already on his way. Rejecting him now felt a bit unethical, and he didn’t know what excuse to use.

Should he say he was sick and felt unwell?

Then the other guy would probably immediately drag him to the hospital.

“Sigh.”

With a sigh, Su Mian crawled out of bed to brush his teeth, wash his face, and change into a set of clothes to prepare for heading out: “Whatever happens, happens.”

Yes, he had become somewhat self-destructive.

Because his state was so poor, when Qi Chuan picked him up downstairs a short while later, the latter sensed something was wrong immediately.

“What is it?”

Seeing Su Mian’s lifeless eyes and a face written all over with mental exhaustion, Qi Chuan felt strange and somewhat worried: “Did you pull an all-nighter? You couldn’t have been so excited that you stayed awake all night, right?”

“…No.”

Shaking his head, Su Mian didn’t bother explaining because he didn’t know how; he closed his eyes after getting into the passenger seat, radiating a low-pressure aura that screamed ‘do not disturb’.

Seeing him like this, Qi Chuan could only scratch his head and focus on driving.

The venue for the exhibition and auction was called Shengri Manor, one of the top residential areas in Yujing. It was said that every famous billionaire in Yujing owned property here, and this place was also originally developed and built by the Yuansheng Group.

Shengri Manor was located in the northwest of Yujing, a location that was actually away from the city center, but consequently far from the noise, making the environment very elegant.

Further to the west was the famous Yujing Lake. It was said that the reason Yujing was originally called Yujing (Jade Capital) was because of the existence of Yujing Lake (Jade Mirror Lake).

A thousand years ago, an emperor built his capital here. While touring in his carriage, he saw the lake surface was as flat as a mirror, and under the sunlight, the emerald green water looked like fine jade, hence the name Yujing Lake.

Because the capital was built by the lake, and over the following millennium, several emperors chose this place as their capital, people became accustomed to calling it Yujing.

This was the more reliable version in official records, though there were many legends about the origin of Yujing, the most famous being the ‘Jade Lake Fairy’.

It was said that a Jade Lake Fairy lived in the lake, holding a jade mirror. She spent her years in a White Jade Palace within the lake and occasionally appeared on the water; if one was lucky enough to see her, they could make a wish.

Some wished for and obtained eternal youth, while others gained inexhaustible wealth through her; there were even legends that she could resurrect the dead.

The most exaggerated rumor was that the jade mirror the fairy always held was the gateway to the immortal realm; as long as one passed her test, they could go to the immortal realm to enjoy eternal riches and glory.

There were also legends that this fairy loved saving people, appearing specifically in harsh weather to heal those who accidentally fell into the water.

In short, there were all sorts of stories.

Regardless, the Jade Lake Fairy was indeed very famous in this world. Yujing Lake was called Fairy Lake by many for this reason, and the Lake Fairy Temple currently beside the lake was the most famous scenic spot in Yujing.

Of course, legends were just legends; at least since the dawn of the modern era, no one had ever seen a fairy on Yujing Lake. Instead, the local specialty, the Jade Scale Fish, attracted countless foodies every year just to taste that ultimate freshness.

“Speaking of Jade Scale Fish, it’s making me hungry.”

In the car, Su Mian was still leaning against the seat looking a bit listless. Qi Chuan, who was focusing on driving, glanced at him and asked in confusion: “When did we talk about Jade Scale Fish?”

“Just pretend you said it, alright?”

“Fine…”

The young man with the androgynous appearance was a bit speechless, but mentioning the fish did make him crave it: “That thing is indeed delicious, it’s just too picky about the season.”

The Jade Scale Fish was a specialty of Yujing, named because it came from Yujing Lake and had scales as smooth as jade. Its meat was exceptionally fresh and springy, called by many gourmets the freshest fish in the world and the top of the ten must-try fish in a lifetime.

But this fish also had many drawbacks. First, it could not be artificially farmed; for unknown reasons, once they left Yujing Lake, they would die rapidly. Even with screened fry, once they grew up elsewhere, they would completely lose that flavor.

Furthermore, it could not be farmed on a large scale; even within Yujing Lake, once the population exceeded a certain range, there would be mysterious mass deaths, and no one had been able to find the cause to this day.

However, it was precisely because the Jade Scale Fish was difficult to raise and had low yields that it was pushed onto the throne, attracting countless tourists to Yujing every year as autumn approached winter, just to taste what this legendary fish was like.

As a local, Su Mian had naturally eaten it a few times. It was indeed delicious, but as Qi Chuan said, it was also far too picky about the season.

It could basically only be tasted around October each year. At other times, even if you could buy frozen ones, the point of eating Jade Scale Fish was its freshness; it died quickly out of water, and once it died, the quality of the meat changed rapidly.

Anyway…

“How about finding some time next month to go taste it?”

“No problem.”

Qi Chuan naturally nodded readily to Su Mian’s suggestion. After they chatted for a while longer, the car turned onto a tree-lined boulevard.

Moving west of Yujing, the skyscrapers immediately decreased. There were still some, but one could clearly feel the surrounding greenery becoming more abundant; even the air seemed much fresher.

Qi Chuan opened the car window, smelling the faint floral fragrance lingering in the air, and his whole body felt much more relaxed.

In the passenger seat, Su Mian was also observing the outside curiously. Although he was a local, it was impossible to say he completely understood Yujing.

Yujing University was located toward the southern end, and the place where he lived as a child was in a town near the east, so his familiarity was mostly centered around the southeast area; he had rarely been to this northwest part.

Ultimately, Yujing was simply too big; the city gathered a population of over ten million, and the urban area had undergone multiple expansions, with many places still under development.

Let alone Su Mian, even the elderly who had lived here their whole lives couldn’t be expected to be familiar with every single place.

Of course, none of that was important.

Watching the scenery and feeling the wind, the journey wasn’t boring. At around nine in the morning, they finally arrived at their destination, Shengri Manor.

The name was not an exaggeration; Shengri Manor was truly a collection of manors, each occupying an extremely vast area.

“How much does it cost to buy one place here?”

Looking at the various swimming pools, golf courses, picnic grounds, and even helipads along the way, Su Mian had to admit that his imagination regarding the lives of the rich was still lacking.

He originally thought buying a large flat in the city center was extravagant enough, but these people directly installed golf courses at home and traveled by helicopter!

Any random spot here probably represented wealth that ordinary people couldn’t earn in several lifetimes.

To this, the “wealthy dog” Qi Chuan’s expression was very flat; he glanced around while continuing to drive and said indifferently: “A few hundred million for an ordinary one, I guess. For the one Yu Fu lives in himself, it’s said he spent over a billion.”

“Holy cow…”

Su Mian stopped talking.

He definitely didn’t have any envy, jealousy, or hate. Definitely not.

Amidst the envy—oh no, amidst the conversation—the car finally stopped in front of a giant milky-white building after passing through area after area.

Su Mian couldn’t quite name the architectural style; it felt like a mix of Roman and Baroque styles from his memory. The front featured a row of thick Roman columns, but in all other aspects, it was extremely ornate, with various reliefs and paintings.

However, what he saw first was actually the giant fountain in the plaza before the door. It was the image of an angel with a graceful posture but a determined expression, six wings spread freely. Combined with the mist from the fountain, it seemed to be shrouded in a layer of holy light under the sun.

The overall feeling here, compared to the luxurious yet low-profile nature of domestic architecture, was more flamboyant—one might even say a bit exaggerated.

Qi Chuan stopped the car on the plaza, then turned to Su Mian and said: “Take a look around here and wait for me for a bit, I’m going to park the car.”

“Sure.”

Su Mian naturally had no objection. He stretched after getting out of the car, watched Qi Chuan drive the car into the underground parking entrance, and then began looking around with interest.

It was already past nine in the morning, so they naturally couldn’t be the first to arrive; there were already quite a few people around.

A rough count revealed about a dozen. Besides five or six men and women who were clearly guests dressed in suits or formal gowns, there were some maids in servant uniforms, and some patrolling security guards could be seen in the distance.

Compared to them, Su Mian appeared a bit out of place. First, he was too young, and second, he was dressed very casually.

Others at least looked like they were dressed formally, whereas he still wore his usual habit of a shirt, jeans, and sneakers. If one didn’t know better, they might think he was here for a work-study program.

However, reality isn’t a movie or a TV show, so although he stood there for a good while, no cliché incidents like being mocked by other guests or driven away by bodyguards occurred.