Yellow Sand Village's economic situation was quite poor, the kind where a thief would break in, burst into tears, and leave a bag of rice before departing.
But no matter how poor or bitter life was, it still had to be lived.
In the end, Xu Fan managed to convince his parents to let Ji Hanyue stay at their home to spend this cold winter.
Of course, the price was that the amount of work Xu Fan had to do every day increased significantly.
Waking up earlier than a rooster, sleeping later than a dog, eating worse than a pig, and possessing a mental state worse than a corporate slave—this was the daily routine of the model worker, Xu Fan.
Ji Hanyue watched all of this silently, her heart tightening time and again.
She was not a heartless person and desperately wanted to share these heavy burdens with Xu Fan, but how could Xu Fan allow a princess like Ji Hanyue, whose fingers had never touched dishwater, to do such grueling work? Thus, every time, he would say nothing and simply smile.
Ji Hanyue tried to help Xu Fan with the housework, but every attempt only resulted in her making things worse.
Her beautiful large eyes gradually began to lose their luster.
Xu Fan noticed the disappointment in Ji Hanyue's heart and, after a thought, said, "Sister Hanyue, if possible, I hope you can tell me about the world outside."
There was no choice; he had to give Ji Hanyue something to look forward to. Otherwise, whenever she was idle, she would fall into a silent melancholy. At this rate, she would eventually be driven mad by her own thoughts.
The world outside?
Hearing Xu Fan's words, Ji Hanyue suddenly saw the light, feeling as if life had a purpose again.
Xu Fan's words reminded her: she wasn't completely empty-handed right now.
For instance, she could still Cultivate properly and then take Little Xu Fan out to see the world together.
Thinking of this, a strange sense of anticipation grew in Ji Hanyue's heart. She happily rested her fair, smooth hand gently on his shoulder, soothing the fatigue he had accumulated during the day while telling him about that wonderful and diverse world outside.
Xu Fan listened silently as Ji Hanyue described a world he had already traversed countless times. His eyes were filled with nostalgia, involuntarily recalling the streets and windmills of his childhood.
Ji Hanyue wanted to take Xu Fan out to see the world.
But Xu Fan only wanted to go home... Spring returned to the earth, and all things revived.
The accumulated snow outside began to melt quietly. Wisps of gentle spring breeze softly sought out every corner of the world, bringing renewed vitality to all things while quietly ushering away that cold winter where so many stories had unfolded.
Watching the melting snowdrifts outside, Ji Hanyue felt a sudden panic for some reason. She stumbled all the way to find Xu Fan, who was busy feeding the chickens. "Xu Fan! Xu Fan!"
Xu Fan was a bit puzzled to see Ji Hanyue so flustered. After casually kicking away a noisy old hen at his feet, he looked up. "Sister Hanyue, why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen?"
"I..."
Meeting Xu Fan's clear and serious gaze, Ji Hanyue was momentarily stunned.
Did something happen?
Not exactly.
It was just that, according to their previous agreement... it was time for her to leave... At the entrance of Yellow Sand Village.
Xu Fan's parents had taken advantage of the good planting season and rushed off to the fields for farm work, so Xu Fan was the only one there to see Ji Hanyue off.
"Xu Fan..."
Ji Hanyue looked at the youth's clear and pure face. After hesitating for a moment, she finally voiced the thought she had hidden in her heart for a long time. "Don't you want to see the world outside?"
"How about I take you out to see it, okay?"
Looking at Ji Hanyue's beautiful eyes, which were like autumn waters brimming with anticipation, Xu Fan's expression was slightly startled, but he still refused her.
The reason was simple.
He had the System; finding Ji Hanyue again later would be a very simple matter.
But his parents in this life were different.
The System said their lifespan had less than ten years remaining at most.
This was destined by heaven and could not be changed by human effort.
Although Xu Fan was a Reincarnation, he was not a heartless person. He treated the relationships in every lifetime with true sincerity.
Precisely because of this, he wanted to properly accompany his parents of this lifetime during these final ten years.
But he couldn't tell Ji Hanyue this reason directly. So, Xu Fan just smiled, his eyes as pure and beautiful as obsidian, yet as calm as a still pond at the edge of a forest. "Sister Hanyue, my family needs me."
Ji Hanyue seemingly hadn't expected Xu Fan to refuse. Her pearly teeth lightly bit her lower lip, her expression a mix of infatuation and annoyance as she looked at him with a hint of resentment. "I can help you become a Cultivator, and then you..."
Xu Fan felt strangely guilty under Ji Hanyue's gaze. He gave a light cough and interrupted her. "Sister Hanyue, it's getting late. You should head out."
Ji Hanyue stomped her foot in anger.
With a melancholic expression, she looked into Xu Fan's eyes, which were so pure they contained not a single trace of Impurities. Although her heart was full of reluctance, she still said, "Then it's a promise: you must come find me when you grow up!"
"Mhm."
Xu Fan's response was very flat, so flat that Ji Hanyue felt a strange, aching discomfort in her heart, as if a thousand-pound boulder were pressing against her chest.
Little Xu Fan... isn't well-behaved at all.
Ji Hanyue muttered to herself.
But she wasn't the type to dilly-dally. She took a deep breath, gave Xu Fan one last deep look, and prepared to turn and leave.
However, at that moment, Xu Fan's voice rang out, "Wait!"
Ji Hanyue stopped immediately, her face instantly lighting up with a smile. A hint of smugness flickered in the corners of her eyes, and her expression was full of joy. "Little Xu Fan, you really can't bear to let me go, can you?"
But when she turned around and saw a bundle in Xu Fan's hand, her smile froze.
Xu Fan's expression remained nonchalant as he handed the bulging parcel to Ji Hanyue. He said calmly, "I was afraid you wouldn't be used to eating coarse grain buns on the road, so I went to the village landlord's house to do some work in exchange for these."
"This bag is full of white flour buns. Take them with you to eat on the way."
Ji Hanyue was stunned.
Thinking of Xu Fan working himself to the bone just to get her some buns, her heart soured. She felt as if she had swallowed a mute pill; her throat was so tight she couldn't speak.
Ji Hanyue didn't take the bag of white flour buns. She just stood there like a fool, biting her lip and staring blankly at Xu Fan like a wooden statue.
Xu Fan's eyelid twitched as he sensed something was wrong. He stuffed the bag of buns directly into Ji Hanyue's hands and tried to push her away.
However, Ji Hanyue didn't budge. She took a deep breath, her voice carrying a tremor she hadn't even noticed herself. "Xu Fan... I'm not even anyone to you. Why are you so good to me?"
Xu Fan thought to himself, 'You're my last hope of going home. If I'm not good to you and you decide one day that life is boring and just kick the bucket, what will I do?'
But he couldn't say that directly.
Seeing Ji Hanyue's determined look—as if she wouldn't leave without an answer—Xu Fan could only scratch his head, trying his best to weave an answer she could accept.
Ji Hanyue didn't speak; she just stared at Xu Fan with a melancholic gaze, looking like a resentful wife abandoned by her husband, bitterly waiting for an explanation.
She had actually thought about how Xu Fan might answer this question.
Most likely, he would say it was because she was beautiful or had a good figure—answers related to her appearance. After all, those were the usual flatteries she had heard in the palace.
Ji Hanyue hoped Xu Fan would say that. Then she could leave in peace and comfort herself by thinking: 'Actually, Little Xu Fan is just like everyone else; there's nothing special about him. There's no need for me to be so persistent.'
But Xu Fan didn't say that.
Xu Fan said, "Because I feel like you're always unhappy. I just want you to be a little happier."
...Ji Hanyue walked along the winding mountain road. Her eyes felt sore, her chest felt tight, and her head felt dizzy.
In short, nothing felt right; she felt miserably uncomfortable.
As a pampered princess, when had she ever suffered like this? She could only walk for a bit and then rest for a bit.
She found a large tree to lean against and sit down. Looking at Yellow Sand Village a few hundred meters away, she fell into deep thought.
Strange. She remembered that while her physical stamina wasn't great, it shouldn't be this bad.
So why had it taken her nearly an hour to walk just a few hundred meters?
Ji Hanyue thought for a moment. Perhaps she was hungry and lacked energy, so she walked slowly and felt miserable.
So she opened the parcel Xu Fan had given her and saw the white flour buns packed to the brim.
Ji Hanyue picked one up and took a gentle, elegant bite, chewing carefully.
It was sweet, much better than the coarse grain buns.
While eating, Ji Hanyue kept glancing back toward Yellow Sand Village. "Little Brat, at least you have some conscience and know how to care for someone..."
But she wasn't the type of person to be indecisive or fond of looking back.
After finishing the white flour bun, Ji Hanyue felt her strength return. She stood up elegantly once more and murmured, "I can't delay any longer. It's time to leave. This constant dawdling is even starting to annoy me..."
Yet, for some reason, just as she was about to truly make up her mind, she took one more look toward Yellow Sand Village as if possessed.
She saw that at the village entrance where she had stood before, Little Xu Fan was unexpectedly still standing there.
But unlike before, there was now a young girl with braided hair beside him. The two of them stood there like a match made in heaven, talking about something and looking very well-suited for each other.
At that moment, Ji Hanyue suddenly realized she was wrong.
She wasn't the type of person to be indecisive or fond of looking back—except when it came to that Little Brat...