“I still want to collect seashells…”
After sunset, the beach amusement park closed, and Qiu Wuji held a handful of seashells reluctantly.
“Why does the beach have to close?” the ancient lady couldn’t understand.
“The risk of accidents increases at night. If someone gets swept into the sea or swims too far and gets exhausted, the rescue team may not be able to find them in time, and the difficulty of rescue also increases… So it’s reasonable to close.”
Chu Ge looked at her with a smile. She had shown no interest before but ended up doing the same things as the children. Even her reluctance to leave without collecting seashells was no different.
Didn’t we agree you have a calm heart?
What’s the use of those seashells in the end… Chu Ge was too experienced with this. He used to love collecting them, but they ended up cluttering the house with no place to put them and didn’t look good, so he eventually got rid of them all…
Qiu Wuji guessed what he was thinking and snorted, “There’s a trick to the seashells I collect! It’s different from what you think!”
Chu Ge realized, “Could it be that they have spiritual energy?”
“Yes, I pick the ones with a little bit of spiritual energy,” Qiu Wuji said. “The underwater world must have treasures to be discovered. I’ll explore it tonight.”
Chu Ge’s first reaction was concern. “You, as a clone, diving into the deep sea at night… Isn’t it dangerous?”
His second reaction was a sarcastic thought in his mind. Since they were going to search for real treasures underwater, wouldn’t these ordinary seashells with a bit of spiritual energy be worthless?
He decided not to say it. Speaking up would just get him in trouble.
Qiu Wuji was indeed satisfied with his concern and smiled, saying, “We’ll see when the time comes. This isn’t the deep sea, so there shouldn’t be any major issues. If it really doesn’t feel right, I won’t push myself. It just means you’re not fortunate enough.”
Chu Ge said, “If there are monsters in the sea, with so many people playing on the beach…”
“So it shouldn’t be monsters, just objects,” Qiu Wuji said. “It’s likely to be rocks, pearls, and similar things buried in the muddy seabed… I’ve encountered such situations many times.”
Chu Ge pondered for a moment. “Since humans have supernatural powers, could animals also become spiritual beings….”
Qiu Wuji asked, “?”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Chu Ge thought. Human superpowers couldn’t turn animals into mutants; it wasn’t the concept of becoming a monster. It wouldn’t make sense for a fish to be able to hit someone through an internet connection. Most likely, monsters didn’t exist.
But if there really were places with highly concentrated spiritual energy and rarely visited by people, it’s hard to say.
However, at least in these populated areas, it was unlikely for monsters to appear. They should have been cleared out a long time ago, so no one had ever heard of such occurrences… His mother’s department wasn’t just idling around; otherwise, why would they be too busy to come home?
With this thought, Chu Ge suddenly felt a little proud. So, his parents were guardians.
“Ah…” Chu Ge stretched lazily. “I thought that by practicing, I could become like Ultraman and fight small monsters, but in the end, I’m just chatting online and talking nonsense. Even when I go out with a beautiful woman, I haven’t encountered situations like being approached and getting into fights. It makes me doubt whether the charm of the woman around me is lacking…”
Qiu Wuji’s eyes became dangerous. “Do you want to switch?”
Chu Ge: “…”
“In today’s society, there aren’t many bullies publicly harassing women. It’s not like the books you write where the protagonist gets into trouble because someone takes an interest in the women around him,” Qiu Wuji sneered. “There was a handsome man who was just harassed, though. He’s quite fortunate.”
Chu Ge said, “So you’re saying, why is it considered bullying when a man harasses a woman, but good fortune when a woman harasses a man?”
Qiu Wuji stroked her chin and fell into deep thought. It seemed to be a philosophical question.
But the result was more or less the same: the man would get beaten up, and so would the woman! If that woman just didn’t know her place, she would have been beaten to death. By her!
She huffed in anger. “Are you going to keep wandering around like this? Where are you going? Are you looking for that woman from earlier?”
Chu Ge helplessly replied, “I’m going to eat. It’s dark now, and if you’re not hungry, I am.”
“Oh… What are we eating?”
“Since we’re by the seaside, it’s seafood, of course.”
Chu Ge wasn’t sure if eating seafood in Nanjiang was the same as in other places, but it was quite different from Japanese-style seafood. Raw fish slices and the like were not common; instead, they mainly served cooked dishes. Steamed, boiled, and lightly seasoned preparations were more common, where you would dip fish, shrimp, and crab in some well-prepared sauce, and with one bite, it would be tender and melt in your mouth, making it an exquisite experience.
It was a pity that despite living in a coastal city, they rarely had the opportunity to eat seafood. Qiu Wuji had been here for quite a while but hadn’t eaten… Oh, she had bought some so-called “sea fish” from the market and pan-fried it once. Did that count?
Qiu Wuji had never eaten seafood in that world either. When her cultivation was low and she needed to eat, she didn’t go to the seaside, and when her cultivation was advanced, she mainly consumed immortal grass and elixirs, so she didn’t touch regular food. This was her first time eating seafood, and she savored it with a mouthful of dipping sauce, her face glowing.
“It’s delicious, this is delicious. Chu Ge, try this… What kind of shrimp is this?”
“We call this shrimp ‘xiagu.’ It’s known as ‘pipi shrimp’ elsewhere… I haven’t written about these things, but naturally, they should exist.”
“I’ve heard of pipi shrimp. It seems to refer to someone being mischievous.”
“Haha, that’s the origin of the name.”
“This white-boiled dish is delicious. I’ll have to get some later… It’s just a bit tricky to peel, but it won’t stump me.” Qiu Wuji used her immortal technique and placed a whole piece of shrimp meat on Chu Ge’s plate. “Try this, try this.”
Seeing her enthusiastic appearance, Chu Ge felt warm and satisfied in his heart. It was really nice.
He picked up the shrimp meat from his plate and handed it back to Qiu Wuji. “If you like it, have more. I’ve had these before.”
Qiu Wuji looked up at him, still eating the shrimp with small movements. There was still some dipping sauce on the corner of her mouth.
Instinctively, Chu Ge grabbed a tissue and reached out to wipe the sauce off her mouth.
Qiu Wuji continued to watch him as her mouth moved, but she didn’t pull away, allowing him to wipe it.
On a nearby table, a young girl took out her phone and snapped a picture. She felt envious and thought the scene was beautiful.
Qiu Wuji, who used to disable cameras with her spells when being secretly photographed, didn’t stop this time. She just turned her head and looked at the girl taking the picture. “Send me a copy of the photo.”
Feeling nervous when the person she had photographed spoke to her, the girl let out a sigh of relief. “You two have such a good relationship, sister.”
Qiu Wuji glanced at Chu Ge and her expression turned serious.
Chu Ge smiled but didn’t say anything.
The girl sent the photo and asked cautiously, “Can I post this on social media?”
Qiu Wuji looked at the side profile of herself in the photo, along with Chu Ge’s gentle actions and expression. She thought for a moment and suddenly chuckled. “Go ahead, do as you like.”
I am no longer someone who needs to hide and have no identity. Whether my photos are seen by everyone in the world, what does it matter?
The only annoying thing is that people might misunderstand our relationship… Oh well, being misunderstood is nothing new.
The young girl happily posted the photo and also scolded her boyfriend, “You never help me wipe my mouth.”
Even the boyfriend lying down felt targeted and muttered, “That guy has ulterior motives. He wipes her mouth now, but later he’ll…”
The young girl didn’t hear clearly, but Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji heard it.
However, the two of them weren’t angry. Instead, Qiu Wuji chuckled, “Do all men say the same things behind closed doors?”
Chu Ge recalled the last time when someone said that thing about small balloons and laughed, “Perhaps.”
Qiu Wuji smiled faintly. Similar situations each time might not necessarily prove that all men say strange things behind closed doors, but it did demonstrate that in the eyes of other girls, Chu Ge was good and they envied her.
In her entire life, Qiu Wuji had never been envied for such things. Others only envied her for being powerful and strong.
But in the modern world, she had experienced it several times, and this feeling was truly peculiar. There was an unusual sense of pride.
She regained her elegant posture and leisurely peeled the shrimp. “There should still be staff cleaning up the beach at this time. When should we go there?”
Chu Ge said, “Let’s wait until people fall asleep. Even if someone is on night duty, it will be easier to avoid them.”
“In the meantime, where should we go after finishing our meal? And how should we go back…” Qiu Wuji was starting to understand now, “The bus doesn’t operate at night, right?”
Chu Ge blinked his eyes, meeting Qiu Wuji’s questioning gaze.
They locked eyes for a full three seconds before he slowly spoke, “Of course, we’ll stay at a hotel.”
His voice wasn’t lowered, and the man and woman nearby overheard. The man blurted out, “See, see! I knew it! What good intentions can a man have?”
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