Dusk.
Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji walked around the neighborhood, facing the sunset.
Although they said they were going out to have dinner, they passed by several eateries without even glancing at them.
It seemed like they were just walking for the sake of walking.
“Um… about Celestial Cloud Sect’s Origin Elixir, turns out there’s more to it…” Chu Ge kicked a small stone by the roadside as he walked forward. “In that case, I should write that your sect’s Elder Yang has developed a new medicine to nourish the soul. You won’t have to go to others to buy it in the future.”
Qiu Wuji suppressed a strange feeling in her heart. “Isn’t that… a bit lazy?”
“When people openly say things that are out of place in this world, they’re not concerned about being lazy.”
“…” Qiu Wuji tilted her head slightly and muttered, “I never wanted to follow your set path in the first place.”
“You can try to change things privately, but publicly you should still be cautious. For example, if you were to mention subways and taxis in that world, it would be too… too out of place, indescribable.”
Qiu Wuji pouted, “Oh.”
Chu Ge was amused by her reaction. He lowered his head and kicked the stone, remaining silent.
A leaf gently floated down by the roadside. Qiu Wuji instinctively caught it, and the leaf fluttered in her palm, swaying in the evening breeze but not drifting away, like a butterfly dancing in her hand.
“Seeing the falling leaf makes me realize that autumn has arrived,” Qiu Wuji suddenly said. “In your world, it’s hotter than ours. I always thought it was still summer.”
“Mmm… I don’t really have a sense of it either. I thought it was late summer before, but I only realized that autumn had already begun after the Qixi Festival.”
“You… can’t distinguish the four seasons or the different types of grains.”
“I can write books.”
Qiu Wuji rolled her eyes and ignored him, still gazing at the leaf in her hand, a faint smile on her face.
She liked autumn, feeling as though it was the season that belonged to her, like her name.
What would it be like to experience her first autumn in this world?
Chu Ge secretly looked at her smiling face and mumbled, “It’s not fair. You have something in your hand, and I don’t.”
Qiu Wuji was a bit confused by his words. It’s just a fallen leaf, why don’t you pick one up yourself? You’re even kicking stones with your feet and I don’t complain… She asked, “What do you want to hold?”
“This.” Chu Ge gathered his courage and reached out to hold her other empty hand. “Now it’s fair.”
Qiu Wuji was momentarily stunned. Surprisingly, she also felt like holding hands with him. Why was he so nervous, even tensing his muscles?
The next reaction was… I should probably punch him, this is improper behavior.
But the first reaction had already passed, and it took a second for her to get angry again, which felt strange…
Qiu Wuji remained silent, holding hands like that. Both of them lowered their heads, one kicking stones and the other watching the fallen leaf, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Well, it’s not like they haven’t held hands before.
Qiu Wuji secretly listened to his heartbeat and felt that his heart was beating faster than her own, almost leaping out of his chest. It was a bit funny. Really…
“Cough, cough.” Chu Ge cleared his throat twice and changed the subject to shift their attention. “My mom introduced someone who seems capable. He might be able to help you obtain an identity.”
“Huh?” Qiu Wuji’s thoughts were completely diverted. “Can he really? I’ve searched a lot, and it seems really difficult.”
“It should be possible… He might have more knowledge about certain special procedures that others are not familiar with.” Chu Ge briefly explained what he had learned and added, “By the way, if you obtain an identity, will you still use the name Qiu Wuji?”
Qiu Wuji was taken aback. “Of course, is there any problem with that?”
Chu Ge said, “I just feel like the name sounds normal in the world of cultivation novels, but it’s a bit strange in modern times.”
Qiu Wuji raised an eyebrow. “In modern times, it would be more normal to be called Gu Ruoyan, right?”
“Huh?” Chu Ge’s face turned strange. How could a woman’s logical thinking be like this?
“I didn’t mean it that way…”
Qiu Wuji tilted her head back to look at the sky. “What’s so strange about it? You’ve survived until now even with enemies all around you.”
Chu Ge replied, “… Shall we go take a passport photo?”
Qiu Wuji was skeptical. “You’re not trying to trick me into getting married, are you?”
Chu Ge was speechless. “How do you even know about that?”
Qiu Wuji snorted. She wouldn’t tell him that she had searched a long time ago whether “living together counts as being married” and found an answer saying that only with a marriage certificate would they be legally recognized as a couple.
This world is really strange. Do couples need someone else’s permission to validate their relationship?
But it’s a good thing, it means being transparent!
Chu Ge laughed. “You don’t have an identity, so you can’t even get a marriage certificate.”
Qiu Wuji quickly retorted, “Who said I wanted to get married?”
“Mhmm, mhmm.” Chu Ge said, “Then let’s go take a passport photo?”
“Why are you emphasizing the passport photo? I feel like there’s more to your words, not just about needing a photo.”
“Because a passport photo will make you look less like a fairy descending to earth. If I showed them real-life photos of you, I wouldn’t be willing to share.”
Qiu Wuji: “…”
Chu Ge grabbed her hand and ran into the photo studio. The photographer took a deep breath, amazed, “You’ve got a good catch, young man. Your girlfriend is really beautiful.”
Chu Ge smiled and didn’t respond, while Qiu Wuji wore a sour expression and remained silent. It felt difficult to explain anything now…
“Beautiful lady, lower your head a bit… a bit lower, yes, tilt your head slightly to the left…”
Qiu Wuji swallowed her pride. She felt that the photographer was deliberately being difficult. She thought she was sitting straight, but he made it seem crooked.
Why does it have to be so troublesome? We can just take a quick picture with our magical artifact…
“Click!”
The flash went off, and Qiu Wuji felt like she was granted amnesty as she was about to escape, but Chu Ge, with a smiling face, held her back and said, “Wait, let’s take a photo together.”
Qiu Wuji looked displeased. “You said you weren’t trying to trick me into getting married…”
“No, no, who takes a full-body photo for a marriage certificate?”
“Full-body?”
“Yes, come on, stand here…”
Qiu Wuji looked over and saw a backdrop of a landscape painting that looked quite fake. She asked skeptically, “Can we actually see this in the photo?”
“Of course, we can do some post-processing too, make it look like we’re in misty clouds, as if we’re in a fairy mountain. Let’s try it, see how it turns out?”
Qiu Wuji hesitated for a moment, feeling intrigued. What would it be like to stand side by side with him in the midst of green mountains and mist? Subconsciously, she followed him and stood by Chu Ge’s side. And, without realizing it, her hand was held by him…
“Hey, get a bit closer, that’s it, even closer…” The photographer coaxed with skill, “Oh, don’t be so shy, just a bit closer… Oh, don’t separate too far, it ruins the composition.”
Chu Ge felt like giving the photographer a reward. He was so considerate.
Qiu Wuji, who was taking her first-ever photo, obviously didn’t understand all that much. Whatever the photographer said, she swallowed her pride and followed along. After all, he mentioned something about “ruining the composition.”
Who needs a magical artifact like this? What a lousy camera!
“Smile now, say cheese~”
“Click!”
In the frame, Qiu Wuji held Chu Ge’s arm tightly, pressing against him. Both of them had silly smiles on their faces, looking quite foolish.
But also pure.
“It looks awful.” After obtaining the photos and leaving the photo studio, Qiu Wuji looked at her identification photos one by one with a sour expression, saying, “They don’t look like me at all!”
Chu Ge smiled warmly, “It’s good that they don’t look like you. That’s what I wanted.”
“If it don’t look like me, how can we be sure it’s me?”
“At a glance, it don’t look alike, but if you look closely, it’s still you.” Chu Ge continued to smile warmly. He couldn’t get enough of the these photos in his hands.
The Qiu Wuji in the photo really resembled her, not only in appearance but also in sweetness.
Qiu Wuji knew the nature of those photos and felt ashamed to look at them. Seeing his expression, she kicked him resentfully and said, “Let’s go eat!”
“After processing these photos, does the background resemble your Cloud Horizon Sect a little bit?”
“Hmph, the Cloud Horizon Sect is a thousand times more beautiful than this.” Qiu Wuji said, “If you’re capable, why don’t you step into that world and take a photo there? That would be real.”
That statement seemed to have some meaning. In this world, it is real, while the world in the book is considered “fake.”
But the green mountains and white clouds in these photos are just a backdrop, they are fake. The Cloud Horizon Sect over there is real.
The Qiu Wuji over there is the true form.
The unparalleled Sect Master who dominates the world.
Chu Ge drifted into deep thought for a while, then smiled faintly, “Someday, I will step inside.”
