Chu Zhishui wanted to scold him, but she was too weak to open her mouth. The bamboo wine lacked the harsh bite of regular liquor, and as the warmth in her body dissipated, she found herself blinking drowsily, feeling light and comfortable all over.
Outside, the rain fell steadily, but the room was warm as they sat quietly together, letting sleep gradually wash over them.
Xin Yunmao gazed at her tenderly as he lay beside her, watching her eyelids grow heavy. He even stopped playing with her hair, not wanting to disturb her peaceful rain-day dreams.
Surrounded by the scent of grass, Chu Zhishui had just closed her eyes when she suddenly remembered something and opened them to look at him.
Seeing her wide eyes, Xin Yunmao asked softly, "What is it?"
She hesitated: "You..."
He waited patiently.
Chu Zhishui carefully reached out and poked his abs with her fingertip: "Are you really pregnant?"
"..." Xin Yunmao raised an eyebrow, "Why are you so fixated on this?"
"Because I don't understand how it works for your kind, and you just said..." Chu Zhishui spoke in a tiny voice, "Of course I'm curious."
She felt the actual process was no different from human behavior, so naturally she wondered how the pollination actually occurred.
Xin Yunmao said irritably, "The pollination just now wasn't successful, and it's entirely your fault."
Chu Zhishui was stunned: "What does it have to do with me?"
Xin Yunmao accused: "You wanted to run away at first, so it could never have worked."
"Run away..." Chu Zhishui tried to remember. She suddenly understood his meaning - initially she had just wanted to hug and kiss him, but he had pulled her into his embrace. When she tried to get up after the hug, he said there was something wrong with him not sleeping in bed, and things escalated from there.
Xin Yunmao explained: "Spirits are born through spiritual resonance. If you don't anticipate its arrival, pollination can't succeed. I told you before - flowering doesn't guarantee seeds. Without the all-encompassing love of heaven and earth, nurturing a new spirit is very difficult."
Spirits hear the first call through the void, breaking through the primordial chaos - that's the moment of birth. If other thoughts interfere, or if you're not mentally prepared, the bamboo seeds will never form.
"I asked before if you wanted children, and if you don't have that desire, the probability is zero. Pollination with other motives will never produce bamboo seeds - it's different from humans in this way."
It was already difficult for all things to develop consciousness, so they couldn't reproduce constantly like ordinary animals and plants. It held none of the worldly human meanings of having children for old age care or continuing the family line.
Heaven and earth create spirits without asking anything in return. Only by understanding this supreme love can one create spirits like heaven and earth do. Being kind to all conscious beings was more like parental teaching - some children listen, some don't, and that can't be controlled either.
Chu Zhishui pondered this thoughtfully. She occasionally thought about his decline, and by that logic, if she hadn't let go of her psychological burden, bamboo seeds indeed couldn't form. Thinking about it this way, spirits were luckier than human babies at birth - they didn't face the bitterness and pain imposed by parents at birth. If that were to happen, they simply wouldn't come into being.
The suffering of birth was one of life's eight sufferings, and many people's hardships began there. But spirits came into the world unblemished, untainted by anything impure.
Chu Zhishui suddenly realized something and exclaimed: "Wait, if you knew pollination wouldn't succeed, why did you still..."
Why did he still do those shameless things!?
He was just a calculating bamboo spirit pretending to be innocent! And he always blamed everything on her!
"What do you mean by that?" Xin Yunmao said plaintively, "Are you saying you'll only be with me if I produce bamboo seeds? That if there's no chance of pollination, my feelings don't matter?"
Chu Zhishui: "..."
Chu Zhishui: "Don't make me sound like I'm forcing you to reproduce..."
Xin Yunmao pressed his lips together angrily: "Isn't that exactly what you're doing? You won't even sleep now, you're not hugging me, and all you talk about is pollination."
"You're already holding me so tight, how am I supposed to hug you!?" She was still wrapped in his embrace.
He remained unconvinced, staring at her sullenly.
"Alright, alright, I'll hug you." Chu Zhishui had to extend her arms and drape them over him, soothing him, "See? I'm hugging you."
Only then did Xin Yunmao give a satisfied little hum.
"But this is good too - we don't have to worry about shotgun weddings," Chu Zhishui said consolingly. "Your process avoids a lot of accidents that humans might have."
Since bamboo seeds came from their current state of mind, many messy situations would never arise.
Xin Yunmao's eyes flickered as he fell into thought: "Oh, so that's how it works."
Chu Zhishui: "?"
Chu Zhishui warned: "Your tone sounds a bit dangerous?"
Xin Yunmao said regretfully: "But that doesn't work for spirits. I can't produce seeds now because you're not up to it."
"What do you mean I'm not up to it?" Chu Zhishui's scalp tingled, "Can you speak normally?"
By human logic, that assessment shouldn't fall on her.
"It means you're not capable enough - you don't love me enough, so no seeds form."
"..."
Chu Zhishui regained her strength from his shameless words and couldn't help wrestling with him under the covers, wanting to knock some sense into his empty head. They fooled around childishly for a while, rolling around wrapped in the soft blanket, completely driving away any remaining drowsiness.
A moment later, Chu Zhishui insisted on taking a shower, earning sighs of regret from Xin Yunmao, as if she had committed some disappointing evil deed.
Outside, the rain had long stopped, and the temperature was perfect.
After bathing, Chu Zhishui gave her dripping hair a quick towel-dry before being forced to sit on the bed for service, hearing the whoosh of hot air. She asked in surprise: "Why not use magic?"
He insisted on helping her blow-dry her hair, even though he could do it with a snap of his fingers, preferring to use human methods instead.
Wearing loungewear, Xin Yunmao stood beside her holding the hairdryer, looking down as he said: "I've told you before - even without spiritual power, I can do anything."
"Fine, fine, you can be a hairstylist even without spiritual power." Feeling the hot air on her head, Chu Zhishui naturally didn't want to argue with the proud spirit lord. She casually scrolled through her phone, catching sight of his social media posts again. "Let's go back to Danshan during the holiday."
"Alright," Xin Yunmao said seriously as he continued drying her hair. "Why did you suddenly think of that?"
"Didn't we say we'd watch the rime together some winter?" Chu Zhishui smiled. "Besides, I think if we see many beautiful sights together, maybe our feelings will change, and one day it will want to come into this world."
If bamboo seeds truly came from their shared wishes, it would be a wonderful two-way choice. Longing to become parents, longing to become a child, just as Xie Yan and Chu Xiaohe had once longed for her arrival.
Without any strong ulterior motives, just hoping to share the meaning of each other's lives and become family connected by blood.
She was already starting to look forward to it all.
"Alright," Xin Yunmao softly agreed, his heart softening as well. Looking down, he said, "You really keep your promises - you remember everything about Danshan so clearly."
"Of course I remember what I promised. Not like the Spirit Lord who's always saying he can't respond to human emotions, then turns around and fills my yard with flowers."
"..."
Xin Yunmao's face reddened as he protested: "I keep my promises too."
"How so?" Chu Zhishui bluntly exposed him, "You just tried to be sneaky about pollination, taking advantage of my ignorance about spirit physiology to deceive me."
Xin Yunmao was left speechless by her accusation. He pressed his lips together awkwardly and mumbled: "But I did follow through on some things."
She questioned: "What things?"
"You wanted to use me as a bamboo chair and bamboo mat, and didn't I keep my promise by letting you sit and lie on me..."
"Stop talking!"
The best time to view rime at Danshan was from November to February. Since they needed to spend Spring Festival with their parents, the spirit and human booked their flights for the New Year holiday instead.
At the Huaijiang Observation Bureau, the bureau company was now on the right track. As long as it operated normally without taking risks, there was basically no possibility of collapse. Maintaining a healthy profit system and pursuing a steady reputation were the more important matters.
Having passed through its difficult initial phase, the Economic Development Department had entered a period of stable development, and their work pressure had also decreased.
Despite this, the rapid expansion of New Perspective Video still brought considerable traffic to the Bureau. When Chu Zhishui saw the revenue from the new activities, she went to Director Hu's office to report, informing him that money might be accumulating in their accounts, which could potentially cause sensitivity issues with the finance department.
In the director's office, upon hearing this matter, Hu Chenrui waved his hand casually and reassured her: "Don't worry, I have experience from this year. I've already had them apply for the procedures and start preparing for the staff family housing project."
"If all processes go smoothly, we'll begin building the residential complex, and once it's completely finished, the dormitory will be converted into a guest house, only accommodating outsiders in the future."
Chu Zhishui was surprised that Director Hu had moved so quickly, already considering affordable housing, and exclaimed: "Why such hurry?"
The staff dormitory was just temporary accommodation, but a residential complex would need supporting facilities, making it an entirely different concept.
Housing allocation might be the ultimate goal within the system, and in some ways, it was almost mystical - some units could never manage to build housing throughout their existence, wearing out batch after batch of employees who waited in line for fifteen or twenty years as a common occurrence, while other units would suddenly complete the project smoothly, achieving their plans without a hitch.
With unit salaries having their limits, buying a house through work alone remained difficult, and those without housing could only wait for the Bureau's arrangements.
"What do you mean hurry? This isn't hurrying at all," Hu Chenrui frowned and sighed deeply, "Chu, you don't know my troubles. I've recently heard some rumors, and we must act quickly."
Chu Zhishui asked puzzledly: "Rumors?"
"Director Huang had that safety incident, and after he deals with the aftermath, he'll likely face a demotion. Then the Kong Sang director position will be vacant, and they might hold a vote to select someone new," Hu Chenrui said worriedly. "Except for special promotions like yours, personnel movements in the Observation Bureau follow certain patterns. If Kong Sang can't promote someone internally to director, they might transfer another director."
"The original unit of that director would then promote a deputy director, and he would simultaneously serve as director of both Kong Sang and his original bureau, though he might mainly stay in Kong Sang for the next few decades."
Since Dragon Soul didn't cause any casualties, the higher-ups were thinking of demoting Director Huang for several decades as punishment, and after that period, they would decide whether to reinstate him or select a new director for Kong Sang. Another director who might be urgently appointed to Kong Sang could return to their original unit once the situation stabilizes, ending their concurrent position.
Therefore, Hu Chenrui felt precarious, fearing another unanimous selection.
Chu Zhishui seemed to understand: "Could there be news suggesting that you, Director Hu..."
"Don't say such unlucky things, they haven't even held the voting meeting yet!" Hu Chenrui burst out in distress, "We must believe in the fairness of the organization's voting!"
This was the first time Chu Zhishui had seen the old fox so anxious. Having already guessed the outcome in her heart, she consoled him gently: "It's alright, Director Hu, Kong Sang is equally a wonderful place with talented people and beautiful scenery."
"What kind of talk is that?" Hu Chenrui's eyes widened, "What do you mean by that!"
Chu Zhishui helplessly said: "But..."
Hu Chenrui thundered: "Chu, let me tell you honestly, I've already made it clear to them that I won't move unless housing is allocated. I won't make room for you, so don't fantasize about becoming deputy director without building houses!"
"..."
