"I'm short, but I'm still better than you reaching for the sky," Mu Anxiao said, picking up a dish.
Feng Qishi, watching Mu Anxiao's profile, curved his lips upwards. He deliberately sat next to her, saying, "I also think I'm tall. Thanks for the compliment."
Uncle Chen looked at Feng Qishi's childish behavior and said, "Qishi, don't crowd her. Come over here and sit."
"I won't," Feng Qishi replied, snatching the bowl from in front of Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao was stunned. She put the dish she was holding into Feng Qishi's bowl and said, "Give it back to me."
"Thank you," Feng Qishi said, becoming even more audacious as he grabbed Mu Anxiao's chopsticks and started eating.
Mu Anxiao lowered her eyes, staring at Feng Qishi's domineering manner. She sighed, took the bowl and chopsticks Uncle Chen handed her, and said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Um," Uncle Chen glanced at Feng Qishi. "Don't take it personally with Qishi."
"I won't. I never bother with imbeciles," Mu Anxiao said, then started eating.
Uncle Chen smiled faintly, looking at Feng Qishi, who was glaring at Mu Anxiao, and said, "Eat. Why are you looking at her?"
Feng Qishi licked the rice grains from his lips and asked, "Who are you calling an imbecile?"
Mu Anxiao cast a sideways glance at Feng Qishi, remaining silent.
"I'm talking to you, can't you hear me?" Feng Qishi asked.
Mu Anxiao took a bite of her rice and said, "I'm talking about you. If you're not convinced, come fight me." As she spoke, she turned her head to meet Feng Qishi's eyes.
Feng Qishi's gaze flickered slightly. He said, "A good man doesn't quarrel with a fool." Then he continued eating.
Mu Anxiao glared at him and also continued eating.
Uncle Chen watched Feng Qishi and Mu Anxiao interact and couldn't help but smile. "Qishi, how come I never noticed how mischievous you were before?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Qishi choked instantly. He coughed dryly a couple of times, cleared his throat, and looked past Mu Anxiao at Uncle Chen, asking, "Uncle Chen, what are you thinking about?" As he spoke, he coughed twice towards Mu Anxiao's side profile. Unexpectedly, he sprayed rice grains onto her face.
In an instant, Mu Anxiao stopped eating and looked at Feng Qishi with displeasure, saying, "Brush them off for me."
"I didn't mean to," Feng Qishi said, reaching out to brush the rice grains from Mu Anxiao's face.
Mu Anxiao ignored him and lowered her head to continue eating.
Feng Qishi swallowed and looked at Uncle Chen, saying, "Uncle Chen, you taught me not to talk while eating, so you shouldn't talk either."
"Alright," Uncle Chen said, genuinely intimidated by Mu Anxiao's earlier glare.
After lunch, Mu Anxiao and Feng Qishi arrived at the sports field.
"Don't they need to rest?" Mu Anxiao asked, looking at the boys playing basketball and the girls handing out water.
Feng Qishi looked down at Mu Anxiao and smiled faintly. "You wouldn't understand this. We don't like napping in the afternoon."
"I see," Mu Anxiao said, turning to walk towards the shade of a tree and sit down.
Feng Qishi turned and walked in front of Mu Anxiao, looking down and asking, "Why are you sitting? Let's go for a walk."
"Walk for what? Your Uncle Chen's office is not suitable for sleeping, so sleeping here is fine, right?" Mu Anxiao said, lying down on the ground.
"Don't you find it dirty?" Feng Qishi expressed his disgust.
"No," Mu Anxiao closed her eyes.
Feng Qishi sighed, stepped forward, and sat beside Mu Anxiao, saying, "Are you still getting used to life here?"
"No, I'm not," Mu Anxiao said, opening her eyes and looking up at Feng Qishi. "Didn't you find it dirty? Why are you sitting down?"
"This is my school uniform, it's fine," Feng Qishi said, looking down at Mu Anxiao. He paused and asked, "If you had to live here forever, would you be willing?"
"No," Mu Anxiao replied without hesitation.
"Why?" Feng Qishi asked.
Mu Anxiao squinted at the sky and said, "I don't belong here. Besides, I only came here to find the wolf demon. After the matter with the wolf demon is resolved," she looked at Feng Qishi, "we will say goodbye forever."
"Why not 'see you again'?" Feng Qishi asked.
Mu Anxiao lowered her eyelids slightly and said, " 'See you again' means we might meet again. 'Farewell' means we won't," she curved her lips upwards. "Don't worry, I'll clear all your memories. It won't hurt at all."
Feng Qishi gave a bitter smile and turned to look at the male students playing basketball ahead. He said, "You say it so lightly. All separations are this easy for you. My memories will be gone, but yours..." He looked down at the ground. "Also, won't you be in pain then?"
"Why would there be any pain? At least you'll still be alive," Mu Anxiao said, closing her eyes.
"Saying things like this now, I feel a bit melancholic."
"You brought up the topic, it has nothing to do with me," Mu Anxiao said indifferently.
Hearing this, Feng Qishi turned to look at Mu Anxiao's peaceful sleeping face and asked, "Have you ever experienced separation?"
"Yes, I have. That feeling is quite peculiar," Mu Anxiao said.
"Peculiar?" Feng Qishi's mouth twitched.
Mu Anxiao sighed, opened her eyes, pulled Feng Qishi to sit up, and said, "You are so annoying. You've completely ruined my sleepiness."
"Why did you say 'peculiar'?" Feng Qishi didn't disengage from the topic and asked.
Mu Anxiao stared directly at Feng Qishi's face. Her mind flashed back to Shen Yan's gradual aging. Her eyes darkened, and she said, "What I like to say is my business. Don't ask." Then, she shifted her gaze away.
"Just take me to become an immortal," Feng Qishi suddenly said.
Mu Anxiao turned to Feng Qishi impatiently and said, "You are human, and you don't have..." She paused. "Immortal destiny. You can't become an immortal. Besides, I'm here on a mission. If I take you back, it's a violation. If I get punished, you'll be responsible."
"I'll be responsible," Feng Qishi said firmly.
"You're a strange person. Didn't you say you didn't want to before? Why are you saying this now..." Mu Anxiao's lips twisted.
"I originally thought Feng Feng could only rely on me. But today I realized that Feng Feng doesn't just have me as an older brother; she has a second older brother and a third older brother. Last night, I also saw how concerned her two older brothers were about her. In this family," Feng Qishi gave a wry smile, "I might truly be superfluous."
"No matter what your mother thinks of you, she is your biological mother after all. If you leave, she will surely be sad."
"She doesn't think highly of me at all. If I leave," Feng Qishi glanced at Mu Anxiao, "she won't be sad at all."
"But don't you care about her very much?"
"I do care about her, but I'm tired of this kind of caring," Feng Qishi said bluntly.
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi's profile. She felt the pain in his heart. She reached out and grabbed Feng Qishi's arm, saying, "Try again. I believe your mother does care about you."