It was a clear day with snowfall, without a trace of dark clouds. Pure white snowflakes danced like butterflies, disturbing her long-sealed heart.
Chu Zhishui took a deep breath, letting the crisp air fill her lungs. She felt a slight tremor in her chest, as if something was about to emerge like a butterfly from its cocoon. Suppressing this strange, dizzying impulse and trying to calm her emotions, she asked softly, "Is my happiness really that important to you?"
"Of course," Xin Yunmao replied. "When you're happy, I'm happy too."
Chu Zhishui felt warmth spreading through her chest and decided to look directly at Xin Yunmao. Her bright eyes sparkled like precious gems, radiating a power that pierced straight to the heart as she pressed further, "Why?"
Seeing her serious expression, Xin Yunmao froze for several seconds before falling into silence, as if deep in thought.
Chu Zhishui waited patiently for his answer.
After a long while, Xin Yunmao's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He sighed softly and answered honestly, "I don't know."
He truly didn't know the reason, but he could feel the emotional changes. When she was happy, his heart would race with excitement, as if infected by her joy; when she felt down, he would become listless, wanting to help lift her spirits.
His previously calm heartstrings were now easily stirred by her, like experiencing all four seasons with their varied colors. Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness each had their unique flavors, completely different from the past thousand years.
He couldn't yet pierce through that veil of haziness, but he followed his feelings, knowing that this was what he wanted to do – he wanted to make her happy.
Chu Zhishui held her breath waiting for what seemed like forever, not knowing exactly what she was expecting, only to receive his confused answer that completely missed the point. Usually even-tempered, she rarely got angry, but now she exclaimed in frustration, "Why don't you know?"
Seeing her anger, Xin Yunmao's voice became smaller out of fear as he innocently probed, "...I don't know why I don't know?"
This response, like a tongue twister, only added fuel to the fire.
"Then what do you know?" Chu Zhishui suddenly burst out in embarrassed anger, gripping her bamboo stick tightly and hitting him in exasperation, as if trying to knock some sense into him. "What else could you possibly know!?"
What on earth was in that empty head of his!?
This was the first time Xin Yunmao had seen her so angry. He stood still, letting her vent her frustration, like a foolish puppy being scolded for something it didn't understand, only able to blink in confusion and stare at her blankly.
Seeing his bewildered expression, Chu Zhishui's face grew even hotter with anger. She gritted her teeth and asked, "Do you have any methods for killing gods?"
Xin Yunmao was startled: "Killing gods?"
Chu Zhishui said expressionlessly, "Like getting rid of the God-Lord or something."
She was now on the verge of turning to the dark side, momentarily entertaining thoughts of killing him.
Xin Yunmao: "..."
Seeing her burning with rage, he nervously swallowed and carefully answered, "That's very difficult. Even if you wished for it, I couldn't do it."
Killing him through sheer power was practically impossible – even the Dragon God's siege hadn't succeeded back then, and instead ended up being quartered and sealed beneath the Observation Bureau.
Seeing his reluctant and troubled expression, Chu Zhishui felt somewhat humiliated. His expression seemed to silently convey pity, as if his face was screaming "What can we do, you're just a mortal, too weak to kill me."
Helpless in the face of her indignation, Xin Yunmao wracked his brains for a long time before suggesting, "If you really want to do it, you can experience it."
Chu Zhishui asked doubtfully, "Experience it?"
"Don't let go," Xin Yunmao held onto the bamboo stick, both of them now holding it together.
Chu Zhishui followed his instructions, confused.
Xin Yunmao guided her hand upward, then pressed the panda-decorated bamboo stick against his chest, pretending to be injured as he turned sideways, acting as if he were about to collapse and die. His movements were smooth, but his voice lacked any dramatic emotion as he flatly stated, "Ah, I'm dead."
"..."
Chu Zhishui remained silent for several seconds, then jabbed him several times with the bamboo stick, saying coolly, "You're so over-dramatic, stop being the comedy relief."
He continued his serious-faced comedy, his expression remaining calm and snow-like while his actions were completely ridiculous.
The bridge wasn't particularly long, but their playful banter had taken quite some time before they finally reached the entrance of the residential complex. The sunset glow had already faded imperceptibly, and the early winter sky had completely darkened, though the apartment buildings were lit up with warm lights.
Xin Yunmao took out the birthday gifts and arcade prizes, but instead of immediately giving them to Chu Zhishui, he stood quietly watching her, his lips slightly pursed, saying nothing.
It seemed as if he had gained some insight into human emotions at this moment, understanding for the first time the meaning of melancholy.
When you've never possessed something, you don't fear losing it.
But once you've had it, you become reluctant to let go, and that's where the melancholy comes from.
Seeing him standing there frozen, Chu Zhishui surprisingly found herself in sync with his feelings, understanding what he was experiencing at that moment. Her throat tightened, and though she wanted to speak, she didn't know what to say. After hesitating for a long while, she finally said softly, "Thank you, I was very happy today."
"Mm."
His "mm" meant "me too."
After this quiet response, Xin Yunmao finally handed over the gifts, and remembering the day's joy helped dispel some of his regret.
"See you tomorrow," Chu Zhishui said with a smile as she took the items. "Good night."
"...Good night."
Even after her silhouette disappeared through the entrance, he remained standing outside the complex, reluctant to leave.
Xin Yunmao looked up at the moon and stars in the night sky, knowing that when the brilliant morning sun appeared, it would be time for their promised "see you tomorrow."
At home, Chu Zhishui returned with her arms full of things, and upon entering, she saw Chu Xiaohe sitting on the sofa.
Chu Xiaohe was watching television. Hearing movement at the door, he asked, "Did you eat out?"
He had received a message from his daughter in the afternoon saying she'd be back late and not to wait for her for dinner.
Chu Zhishui explained, "I was already stuffed from lunch."
"You were out for quite a while," Chu Xiaohe casually remarked. "Did you meet someone?"
"...No one, just went shopping."
Chu Zhishui knew her father was just making small talk, but she suddenly felt nervous and gave a vague response before slipping away to her room.
In her room, Chu Zhishui held the bamboo wine uncertainly, not knowing where to hide it. She had never bought alcohol for herself before, and only Chu Xiaohe occasionally drank at home.
She lifted the lid and took a sniff – there was a fresh bamboo leaf fragrance mixed with a slight sweetness. Taking a small sip, she found it smooth and pleasant, with grassy notes and fruit sweetness. The alcohol was strong but not harsh, more like alcoholic fruit juice.
Where should she put this? What would she say if asked about it?
The green bamboo container was quite eye-catching. After much consideration, Chu Zhishui opened her closet door and carefully moved it to the very back. She planned to move the bamboo wine to her new apartment once the renovation was complete, to prevent her parents from finding and drinking it.
The next day, at the Huaijiang Observation Bureau, the trees in the courtyard had lost their green vitality and begun to show signs of winter's desolation.
In the office, as soon as Jin Yu entered, she saw Chu Zhishui and greeted her: "Belated happy birthday! I couldn't say it in person yesterday because of the holiday!"
"Thank you," Chu Zhishui smiled. "It's fine, you sent a message."
"We could have had mousse cake at lunch," Jin Yu grumbled. "Actually, there wasn't even any snow yesterday, we didn't need a day off, and we missed your birthday."
Chu Zhishui coughed lightly, her eyes flickering downward, too embarrassed to mention the true reason for the holiday. She quickly changed the subject, "Is everything settled with the factory?"
"Yes, there's no problem with the factory, our production capacity is good."
The Observation Bureau Company was relatively small, but they controlled the core technology of their products and collaborated with local factories in Huaijiang. Chu Zhishui and her colleagues focused on product quality, while some work was outsourced, such as providing small brushes for the scalp nourishing cream.
Despite high sales during the New Perspective promotion, costs had actually decreased. Even with previous small-scale production, they had to prepare many things, and now with increased production demands, the initial processes hadn't changed much, while net profits had risen.
Currently, among their three products, the scalp nourishing cream had the highest profit margin, followed by the ginseng foot soak powder, and lastly, the flavored ginger candy. Each product was priced differently, with the ginger candy being the lowest-priced and having the smallest profit margin.
Director Qin had lavished praise on the Observation Bureau Company, believing it had driven the development of related industries in Huaijiang, and was recently considering nominating the Bureau for an award.
Wang Yiwen was certainly pleased with New Perspective Video's success, as the more legitimate Chu Zhishui and the Observation Bureau's path became, the better their traffic promotion would work.
In Yinhai City, at Dragon Knowledge Video Company.
The conference room was filled with a tense atmosphere. Everyone sat silently around the table while the projector displayed data and analysis from New Perspective's promotional event.
As employees of Dragon Knowledge Video, they were now facing their biggest competitor yet - a company that completely mirrored their own, with nearly identical investors behind it. Even Li Longke couldn't lose his temper over it.
"Does no one have anything to say?" Li Longke asked irritably. "Are we just going to sit here?"
The atmosphere grew even more tense, with no one daring to speak for fear of becoming a target for his anger.
Some people found themselves missing Director Chu at times like these. While Mr. Li typically appeared kind and gentle, he would explode in rage when angry, especially after facing setbacks this past year. Director Chu had handled pressure much better, usually making light jokes to ease the tension until the atmosphere improved, then quietly stepping back with a smile.
But no reasonable person would dedicate themselves to Dragon Knowledge Video for long, which was why even the seemingly most stable Director Chu had eventually left.
"Mr. Li, they're just starting out and spending heavily. It's normal that we can't compete with that level of investment..."
"So you think it's normal that our numbers keep dropping?"
That person quickly fell silent.
At this point, everyone understood that Li Longke just wanted to lecture them.
Sure enough, everyone in the conference room got thoroughly berated by Mr. Li, with the storm only ending when the meeting finally concluded.
As people left the room, some whispered to their colleagues: "Has he gone mad? What's wrong with him? Can't he just talk normally?"
"If he's so capable, let him handle it himself. The new operations are terrible compared to how things were two years ago."
"Wang Yiwen left too. He never wanted to use any of Chu's old team, and now they've all gone."
Everyone vented about their crazy boss to relieve their frustration.
In the conference room, Li Longke only calmed down after finishing his tirade. He irritably flipped through documents when his eye caught an unfamiliar company name on New Perspective's sales rankings - called Observation Bureau. He decided to look up the company information.
Observation Bureau had emerged as one of the breakout brands during the promotional event, now being discussed as a key case study in New Perspective's traffic success. While established brands were already popular and couldn't demonstrate much growth, small brands gaining sudden fame naturally provided learning opportunities.
Li Longke discovered the company was registered in Huaijiang, making his heart skip a beat. When he saw the name Chu Zhishui, his whole body broke out in a cold sweat.
That name wrapped around him like an evil spirit, as if coming to collect a debt.
At the Observation Bureau, Niu Shi and Miao Li were currently working on renovations. Thanks to new income from the promotional event, they planned to allocate some money to repair the Bureau's paths, partition areas with walls, and add some greenery in spring.
The Observation Bureau was quite barren now, looking particularly bare in winter, so they wanted to add various plants to ensure there would be scenery year-round.
Chu Zhishui had already provided funds for staff dormitories, so she readily agreed to this additional expense. She was also curious to see how the renovated Bureau would look, though that wouldn't be until after Spring Festival at the earliest.
Knowing the money came from the Economic Development Department's earnings, Niu Shi took Chu Zhishui's opinions very seriously, frequently consulting her about where to build walls, what style of fencing to use, and what plants to grow in spring - considering every detail.
In the courtyard, Niu Shi gestured at the empty space near a large tree: "I plan to section this area off for tea drinking and sunbathing. We'll put up a wall here to hide the messy areas, and add some calligraphy and paintings to make it more elegant."
Chu Zhishui glanced at the stone round stools nearby, thinking this was just like the bamboo sunshine courtyard, but an upgraded version. She nodded, "Sounds good."
"Though I haven't decided what to write on the walls yet, whether it should be traditional paintings or calligraphy," Niu Shi pondered. "And if calligraphy, what poems or famous quotes to use."
Hong Ximing was passing through the courtyard on her way to the office building when she heard this and stopped to enthusiastically suggest: "If you're doing calligraphy, why not write 'Humility brings inner peace'!"
Chu Zhishui froze upon hearing this: "?"
If she remembered correctly, the preceding line of that poem was quite suggestive. She looked at Hong Ximing anxiously, unsure of her intentions.
"Calligraphy?" Niu Shi stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Might five characters be too few? Maybe we should go with paintings instead?"
Hong Ximing looked at Chu Zhishui with gleaming eyes, seeming to hint at something as she eagerly said: "If we're doing traditional paintings, why not paint some bamboo? What do you think, Little Chu?"
Chu Zhishui: "..."
Perfect. While she had been uncertain before, now she was sure Hong was teasing her.
"All species flourish together, humility brings inner peace."
If they put bamboo's name on the wall, or agreed to paint it there, what would all the Bureau's oddballs think!?
