Every half-month, Heshan Academy has a three-day break.

Shen Mengzhi rarely went down the mountain, often staying in the Firefly Study to play the zither, paint, read, or play Go, quiet and lonely.

Before, he had sealed his heart and locked away his desires, unwilling to be disturbed by worldly affairs. Now, although his inner turmoil had been resolved, he was momentarily at a loss, not knowing what he should do.

Others knew he disliked crowds and naturally wouldn't try to invite him only to be rejected; Qi Yu had wanted to drag him down the mountain a few times in the past, but considering his inner conflict and fearing he might recall the pain of that time, he ultimately gave up resentfully.

Thus, he was always alone.

Shen Mengzhi sat before the Go board, raised a slender hand, and gently placed a stone.

Although he was used to playing Go against himself, it became quite dull over time. Shen Mengzhi picked up another black stone but didn't place it immediately, instead staring blankly at the board for a long time.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of flapping wings beside his ear. He turned his head to see that a blue head had appeared on the windowsill next to him at some unknown time.

Seeing Shen Mengzhi look over, the parrot cooed, hopped onto the window ledge, and called out, "Senior Brother—"

Shen Mengzhi couldn't help but laugh. "Who is your Senior Brother?"

He glanced into the courtyard but saw no one, frowning slightly. "Where's Chu Jin? Did you come by yourself?"

The parrot stared with its glossy black eyes, tilted its head, and it was unclear if it understood. After a moment's pause, it called out again, "Senior Brother."

Shen Mengzhi didn't know how to correct it. After a long staring contest, he conceded defeat.

'Chu Jin probably sent it, but I don't know for what purpose.' Shen Mengzhi said, "What message did he want you to deliver?"

The parrot understood this sentence, however. Mimicking its master's tone perfectly, it said, "Senior Brother, a trip to Xufang today, would you do me the honor?"

Shen Mengzhi was stunned.

Chu Jin asking him to travel together was something he had never imagined.

Seeing him silent, the parrot paced a few circles and repeated, "Would you do me the honor?"

Shen Mengzhi hadn't left the mountain in years and thought his heart was as still as water, not easily disturbed. But upon hearing this invitation, a dense itchiness crept up from the bottom of his heart. Before he could even react, his body had already answered a step ahead of him, "Alright."

The parrot immediately said, "Thank you, Senior Brother!" After speaking, it turned and flew back to report.

Shen Mengzhi, having realized what he had just said: "..."

How could he have agreed?

He actually agreed!

Shen Mengzhi was momentarily filled with vexation, not only for his fragile composure but also for the awkward scene that would soon follow.

If Qi Yu and the others were to find out that he had never gone down the mountain with him these past few years, only to turn around and accept Chu Jin's invitation, he didn't know what they would say.

But he couldn't go back on his word now. He sighed softly and got up to change his clothes.

On the other side, a group of people stood before the main gate of the academy, all looking up in the same direction.

"Brother Chu, you're bound to lose this time," Qi Yu said confidently while craning his neck to look. "I know Jiang Zhen better than anyone. For the past few years, no one has been able to get him to come out!"

Chu Jin didn't argue, leisurely saying, "Is that so?"

Everyone nodded in unison. "That's right, that's right. In all these years, we've never seen Senior Brother Jiang go down the mountain."

"Brother Qi is so close to him and even he can't do it, let alone you, Brother Chu. You and Senior Brother Jiang don't even see eye to eye."

"I remember one year during the break, it was New Year's Eve, and everyone went down the mountain. Only Senior Brother Jiang stayed alone and lonely in the Firefly Study..."

"Someone even spread a rumor before, saying Senior Brother Jiang is the Mountain God of Heshan and has to guard the mountain spirits, so he can't easily leave."

Qi Yu said, "Who started that rumor? Who? Show yourself!"

Everyone fell silent and looked up at the sky.

Chu Jin, however, corrected them, "Don't speak nonsense. My relationship with Senior Brother Jiang is very good."

"..." Who are you trying to fool!

Chu Jin raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe me? I think he will accept my invitation."

"Impossible!" Qi Yu snorted. "You'd better get that luminous pearl I want ready!"

"Hey!" Song Sifan's sharp eyes spotted the parrot flying back from a distance. "It's back, it's back."

Under the intense gazes of the group, the parrot landed steadily on Chu Jin's shoulder, head held high and chest puffed out, remaining silent as if to build suspense.

Qi Yu leaned in. "How did it go?"

Chu Jin gently smoothed its feathers and asked softly, "What was his answer?"

The parrot glanced at Qi Yu, cleared its throat, and replied with a single, perfectly enunciated word: "Alright."

Qi Yu burst out laughing. "What did I say? What did I say? Alright hahaha... Wait, alright?!"

His eyes widened in an instant, his voice rising as he repeated, "Alright?!"

Chu Jin chuckled lightly. "Yes, you heard correctly."

He nodded at Qi Yu. "Brother Qi, it seems you've lost."

Qi Yu looked completely crestfallen, muttering, "How could this be? Is Jiang Zhen possessed?"

It wasn't just him; the others also wore expressions of disbelief, looking at each other and seeing only bewilderment and confusion on each other's faces.

Someone whispered, "Doesn't Senior Brother Jiang always dislike going down the mountain..."

Hearing this, Chu Jin nodded, a casual smile playing on his lips. "Mm, he dislikes it. But does he know he dislikes it?"

Everyone was taken aback.

"Have you ever asked him?" Chu Jin said calmly. "If you've never asked, how do you know he dislikes it?"

"But before, he really never went down the mountain," the person retorted in a low voice.

"People change," Chu Jin said. "He has changed, but your perception of him hasn't. It was your preconceived notion that he 'dislikes' it that has trapped him on Heshan for so many years."

Perhaps one day, on a whim, he wanted to go down the mountain to have a look. But just as he was about to leave, someone might have questioned, 'Don't you dislike going down the mountain?'

That single sentence would have been enough to extinguish all his accumulated courage and anticipation.

Their constant refrain of 'dislikes' was like a curse. Gradually, he stopped having such thoughts altogether. Because he "disliked" it.

Whether intentional or not, the words of others are always the most effective shackles.

For a moment, there was dead silence. Until the parrot on Chu Jin's shoulder shouted, "Senior Brother—!"

Everyone snapped back to their senses and turned to look. Shen Mengzhi was standing behind them at some unknown time.

He was dressed in a sky-blue light robe, the cuffs embroidered with shimmering water patterns in silver thread. Under the glow of the sky, a lift of his hand would bring forth a sparkling ripple of light. His long hair was casually tied up with an ebony hairpin, cascading down like a waterfall. It seemed he had just arrived and hadn't heard their discussion. His expression was normal, a faint smile on his lips as he watched them quietly, his breathing light.

As light as a wisp of a cloud, untouchable and unattached.

Looking at him, everyone forgot how to speak for a moment.

Facing the group of stunned classmates, Shen Mengzhi asked very naturally, "What's wrong?"

The moment he spoke, it was as if he had stepped down from the ethereal, formless clouds, becoming much more real. The crowd came back to their senses and chattered, "Nothing, nothing!"

After saying that, they exchanged a tacit glance, and no one mentioned why he had accepted Chu Jin's invitation.

The awkward situation he had anticipated did not occur.

This made Shen Mengzhi feel much more at ease. He subconsciously glanced at Chu Jin, who was also looking at him without a word.

The instant their gazes met, his heart inexplicably quickened for a few beats before gradually calming down amidst a wave of confusion. Shen Mengzhi suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, averted his gaze, and looked at the group who had suddenly become exceptionally well-behaved and honest. He said with amusement, "You don't look like nothing's wrong. Did I come at a bad time?"

The crowd immediately started chattering again, rushing to explain, "No, no, of course not! It's just..."

It was just that Shen Mengzhi was usually in charge of rules and punishments. He was proper in his conduct and impartial, so everyone was used to being afraid of him. At this moment, they felt a little uneasy, worried they would be caught for some misdemeanor.

Shen Mengzhi saw through their thoughts at a glance and helplessly promised, "I won't punish you today, don't worry."

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a calming pill. The group of young masters from noble families were immediately overjoyed, shouting, "Senior Brother is wise!"

Among them, Qi Yu's voice was the loudest. Chu Jin stood right next to him, a smile gracing his face, his voice completely drowned out by the loud and exaggerated shouts of the crowd.

But Shen Mengzhi still heard him. Soft yet powerful, carrying an unquestionable certainty.

He said with a smile, "Senior Brother is wise."

For some reason, Shen Mengzhi also smiled. This smile was different from all the previous ones, which were either out of politeness or merely superficial. This one came from the heart, revealed silently, and was therefore exceptionally rare and stunning. It was like a sliver of winter snow melting, like the sudden brightening of ripples in a bay.

Qi Yu stared, mesmerized, and said in a daze, "Jiang Zhen, why have you never smiled at me like that before? So stingy..."

"If I had known a single 'Senior Brother is wise' could make you laugh," he rambled, "I would have praised you like this every day, praised you until flowers bloomed, praised you to the heavens..."

Song Sifan coughed lightly. "Wipe your drool."

Qi Yu quickly lowered his head to wipe away the non-existent drool, only to hear Shen Mengzhi ask, "You're going down the mountain, to Xufang City?"

"Yes," said Song Sifan. "It just so happens that Brother Chu has also been wanting to experience the local customs and scenery of Yanling."

Shen Mengzhi nodded. "Then let's go."

"Wait," Qi Yu reached out to stop him, as if long-planned, saying smugly, "Let's be clear first. This time you're going down the mountain, you have to listen to me and follow us."

Shen Mengzhi was puzzled. "Why?"

"Why? You tell me, in all your years on Heshan, how many times have you been to Xufang? What places have you visited?"

"..."

Shen Mengzhi racked his brain for a long time and found that the number was indeed countable on one hand. He counted dryly and unskillfully, "About three times. Once at Guiyuan Hall, once at Hibiscus Bridge, and another time..."

He paused, unable to remember.

Qi Yu had an 'I knew it' expression, saying with deep regret, "How on earth have you spent all these years?!"

Shen Mengzhi was a little uncomfortable. "Is there a problem?"

"A very big problem!" Qi Yu put on a lecturing look. "You've avoided all the most worthwhile places to visit in Xufang!"

"..."

It was unknown how many people Qi Yu had fooled with this line of reasoning. A wave of whispers and stifled laughter rose from the crowd below.

A bad premonition surfaced in Shen Mengzhi's heart. "Then where do you plan to go?"

"Naturally, I'm going to take you and Brother Chu to properly experience the famous sights of Xufang."

But Qi Yu was being deliberately mysterious now, speaking vaguely and smiling inscrutably. "No rush. Just follow us slowly."