Chapter 61: Qixi Festival

In anticipation of possible romance in the evening, Chu Ge spent the afternoon diligently writing, his fingers flying across the keyboard, aiming to finish the designated chapters before dinner.

Holding a warm cup of tea, Qiu Wuji leisurely turned on the air conditioner and leaned back in the chair, opening her laptop.

Her posture became even more refined.

As the computer booted up, Qiu Wuji casually searched for “places to take a girl for a date.” The answers were mostly similar: movie theater, amusement park, park.

Qiu Wuji pondered for a moment and then searched for another query: “What does it mean when a man takes you out?”

The answers still overlapped, with responses like “He likes you,” “He wants to take the relationship further,” “To develop into a romantic relationship.”

Although the idea of “taking the relationship further” with Chu Ge always seemed dubious, likely not as pure as these answers implied, it didn’t deviate from Qiu Wuji’s judgment overall. So she lazily closed the web page.

What is it about experiencing things that modern girls are supposed to experience? It sounds so flowery.

Isn’t he just trying to court me?

Going out to have fun is fine; Qiu Wuji also wants to see what’s interesting. As for taking the relationship further and such, dream on! You won’t even have a chance!

Qiu Wuji, full of confidence, entered the reader’s chat group, ready to set up blocks and wreak havoc on Chu Ge’s plans.

However, at that moment, no one in the group was discussing the previous conversation.

Chatting in the group was always chaotic, with different people talking about three or more different topics at the same time. Qiu Wuji observed for a while before figuring out who was discussing copper mines in Afghanistan, who was discussing a League of Legends match, and who was talking about which school gained admission points.

After searching for keywords for a while, Qiu Wuji finally learned what Afghanistan was, what League of Legends was, and what it meant to gain admission points.

Modern things, indeed, I still don’t understand…

The knowledge base of this reader group is so extensive, covering astronomy, geography, politics, economy, entertainment, and games. They seem to know everything.

But they never discuss Chu Ge’s books.

It seems that discussing codes is not the norm either. Perhaps it’s just a small part of everyone’s daily entertainment, and only I, this ancient old lady, am nervous for no reason.

She couldn’t help but type and ask, “Don’t you discuss Chu Ge’s books here?”

“This is a LOL (League of Legends) group,” came the matter-of-fact response.

Qiu Wuji said, “I remember you discussing it before.”

“Oh, except when we were cursing the author for the incomplete chapter and criticizing the short male lead. Hey, Master Qiu, let me tell you, with Brother Chu being so short, there’s no happiness with him. Why not consider me instead?”

Lulu was banned by Qiu Wuji, the administrator, for one hour.

Qiu Wuji banned the person on impulse and then realized, why did she ban him? Could it be to defend Chu Ge?

Sure enough, someone already said, “Hey, isn’t this defending Brother Chu? Does that mean Brother Chu isn’t actually short?”

Qiu Wuji lifted the ban.

Lulu asked, “Oh? The ban is lifted. Does that mean you’ve had a change of heart? Do you really want to be with me?”

Lulu was banned by Qiu Wuji, the administrator, for one hour.

Everyone laughed. The banning and unbanning seemed to reflect an amusing reason. Could this female fan really like Chu Ge?

No wonder Chu Ge encouraged everyone to discuss codes. He had ulterior motives.

But on second thought, when there’s a female administrator, people naturally have more restraint. After realizing that there was indeed a girl present, people would maintain their manners and not engage in explicit discussions. Chu Ge’s plan was doomed to fail.

Instead, an older administrator invited Qiu Wuji to a chat group focused on feminine interests: “Master Qiu has unlocked three stars in the Stardust system, which means you can use cartoon avatars. I was just going to suggest going with the Character Meow.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Everyone treated this as Qiu Wuji cosplaying and called her “Master,” finding it quite amusing. Qiu Wuji felt a bit strange but simply said, “Thank you.”

She casually picked up her phone, took a selfie, and was about to send it to the Character Meow. Her finger hovered over the mouse but then shook her head and gave up. She ran outside and picked up brushes and ink to paint a portrait of herself.

The venerable Sect Master still had some awareness. She thought it wouldn’t be a good idea if her photo was leaked. But a painted portrait would be fine. The important thing was the symbolism.

It had to be beautiful, stylish, and dignified!

Confidently, Qiu Wuji painted a full of charm portrait, took a photo with her phone, and sent it to the Character Meow, saying, “Use this as the Q version avatar.” ((TL Note: “Q version” refers to a simplified or cute version of a character.))

The other person replied politely, “Received. We’ll find the best artist, Madam.”

Qiu Wuji felt that this should be a safe choice. She left QQ with a sense of relief and opened the downloaded PDF of the “The Scripture of Supreme Clarity” to read.

The scriptures of this world were quite interesting…

Although even she felt that what she had been doing recently seemed quite far from cultivation… Watching movies and going to amusement parks in the evening… Well, it’s just experiencing worldly matters, nothing more.

………

“Where are we? Isn’t this an amusement park? Uh…” Walking along the pedestrian street, Qiu Wuji looked at the crowd around her and blurted out the question.

Why is it so different from the amusement park she imagined?

Chu Ge’s cheek twitched twice. “Do you understand the process of a date?”

“What kind of date? Who’s going on a date with you?” Qiu Wuji said. “Wasn’t it said that you would take me to experience things girls enjoy?”

“There’s a park just around the corner… but we haven’t had dinner yet. Let’s start with a candlelight dinner.”

Qiu Wuji’s eyes widened. She hadn’t come across that in her research. What’s a candlelight dinner?

“It’s just a fancy dinner, no need for lights. Why would we light candles? Nobody died in our family.”

“… Never mind, it was just a suggestion,” Chu Ge looked up at the sunset on the horizon and smiled. “Let’s talk about dinner later. There are many snacks here that you haven’t tried before, which is a shame. Come on, let’s try an ice cream cone first?”

In the bustling commercial street, the ten-thousand-year-old girl dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans, newly bought white sneakers, and a high ponytail licked an ice cream cone as she followed the man. Her eyes squinted with delight.

This thing is delicious, cold, sweet, and soft. It’s like the heavenly ambrosia of the immortals, but it’s just a mortal treat that brings a taste of the divine.

Chu Ge hid this from her for a whole month… How do you make this at home?

Chu Ge expressed some remorse and told her, “Before, I only took you to nearby malls and supermarkets a few times, we didn’t venture further. It was mainly because of my profession. I was too much of a nerd…”

“How to make this at home?”

“Do you remember those machines that make these? I don’t know much about it, but it seems quite troublesome. It’s not necessary.”

“Why isn’t it necessary?”

“Because if you want to make everything delicious at home, our house might not have enough space for all those machines…”

After Qiu Wuji finished licking the ice cream cone, Chu Ge bought two cotton candies and gave one to her.

Both of them held their cotton candies and took a bite in perfect synchronization. Then, they looked at each other diagonally and saw the candy threads at the corners of each other’s mouths, resembling two playful kittens.

“Big brother, big brother.” A little girl next to them held a rose and tugged at Chu Ge’s clothes. “Your girlfriend is so beautiful. Buy her a flower, okay?”

Chu Ge was momentarily stunned. “Do they usually sell flowers here?”

The little girl was taken aback by his response. “Big brother, today is the Qixi Festival.” (TL: The Qixi Festival, also known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day, is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar.)

Qiu Wuji: “…”

Chu Ge broke out in a cold sweat. Was it really such a coincidence? Being single for twenty-eight years without ever remembering lunar dates, he didn’t see it any group chats today or hear anyone mentioning it… No wonder the pedestrian street was unexpectedly lively today.

“Um…let me buy one… no, nine…”

“Boom!” Fireworks suddenly burst in the night sky.

Chu Ge looked up at the sky. The dazzling fireworks illuminated the night, as if he could see the distant Milky Way faintly shimmering in the dark sky.

Turning his head, he saw Qiu Wuji also gazing at the sky, her stunning beauty shining brighter than the fireworks.

In the bustling pedestrian street, amidst the surging crowd, as if separated by dimensions, only her profile reflected in his heart.

When golden wind and jade dew meet, it surpasses countless worldly encounters.