That night, Sixteen and April stood under the stars, making a lifelong promise to each other.
April said she loved watching shooting stars.
Although a shooting star's life is very short, it burns all its light in such a brief time.
Sixteen said then April should also like fireflies.
April was puzzled and asked Sixteen what a firefly was.
Fireflies are born from decaying grass; their larvae need to undergo six molts and grow for about a month to develop into adults.
Adult fireflies live only a few days, and their tails can glow.
The glow is a signal for fireflies to mate, and they can only glow for 2-3 hours in their entire lives.
Sixteen said fireflies often appear on summer nights, their twinkling lights dancing among the grass, which looks beautiful.
Upon hearing this, April indeed became very interested in fireflies and asked Sixteen to take her to see them.
But Sixteen told April that there probably weren't any fireflies in this world.
April didn't ask further upon hearing this; she understood Sixteen and knew that he always came up with unprecedented new things.
The two chatted and held hands under the stars, standing for a long time.
A long time...
Zhou Chenxi walked out of the Spiritual Plant Garden, arm in arm with Zhou Fan, both talking and laughing.
After returning to Zhou Chenxi's home, Zhou Chenxi, as the Clan Chief, personally cooked a very sumptuous dinner for Zhou Fan.
After they finished eating, Zhou Chenxi told Zhou Fan to take a shower first.
Zhou Fan understood what Zhou Chenxi wanted to do, so even though his body was already free of dust, Zhou Fan still took a thorough shower.
After he came out of the bathroom, Zhou Chenxi told Zhou Fan to sit on the bed in her room and rest first.
Zhou Fan quietly waited for Zhou Chenxi to finish bathing; he watched Zhou Chenxi, whose hair was still steaming and who was only wearing a bathrobe, walk up to him and sit in his arms.
Seeing Zhou Fan unmoving like a block of wood, Zhou Chenxi became even more proactive and pushed Zhou Fan down onto the bed.
The two embraced and kissed, but when Zhou Chenxi wanted to go further, Zhou Fan stopped.
"Chenxi, if we are together, can you leave the Zhou Family with me?"
Zhou Chenxi pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then replied seriously, "Yes, the position of Clan Chief is not exclusive to me. Zhou Qing and Zhou Liwei can both serve as the Zhou Family's Clan Chief."
"Besides, being a Clan Chief is actually quite tiring; I have to consider many things for the clan members every day."
Zhou Chenxi and Zhou Fan were honest with each other under the covers; she hesitated, "It's just that the Zhou Family has nurtured me for so long; I can't just leave without giving anything back."
Zhou Fan immediately said, "Chenxi, I am already a Third-Stage Cultivator now, and I have many resources. You don't need to worry about compensation."
Zhou Chenxi and Zhou Fan held each other tightly; she also had some resources in her hand, but it might not be enough, which is why she hoped Zhou Fan could provide some resources to compensate the Zhou Family more.
After all, the Zhou Family's situation was not very good right now. Since she was leaving the Zhou Family, Zhou Chenxi still wanted to leave more things for the Zhou Family in the end.
Zhou Chenxi did not voice these words; she believed Zhou Fan would understand her.
At this moment, their eyes only held each other, and a wonderfully happy night quickly passed.
Early the next morning, they both got up. Zhou Fan wanted to make breakfast for Zhou Chenxi, but after Zhou Fan got up, Zhou Chenxi also quietly got up and came to the kitchen. The two clung together and made breakfast for each other.
After eating, Zhou Chenxi said that today was the Zhou Family's annual Spiritual Root detection day.
Zhou Fan thought that today was May 9th, and indeed, it was on this day that he was detected to have no Spiritual Root when he was eighteen.
That day, Zhou Mei seemed to have told him something...
Seeing Zhou Fan lost in thought again, Zhou Chenxi stood up and pulled Zhou Fan's head, who was sitting on the stool, into her embrace.
Under such soft stimulation, Zhou Fan quickly emerged from his memories.
He looked up at Zhou Chenxi, and Zhou Chenxi gave him a good morning kiss.
Soon, like a couple in love, they tightly held each other's hands and arrived at the Zhou Family's Spiritual Root detection site for this year.
Five Clan Elders were in charge of presiding over this Spiritual Root detection ceremony, and the detection process went smoothly.
A total of over a hundred Zhou Family members were tested, among whom 74 had no Spiritual Root, 23 had Inferior Spiritual Root, 4 had Ordinary Spiritual Root, and one Zhou Family main branch member was detected to possess a Yellow Grade Fire Spiritual Root.
Zhou Liwei, the head of the Combat Hall and also from the Zhou Family's main branch, immediately wanted to take this exceptionally talented Yellow Spiritual Root junior as his Disciple, but this person refused, saying he wanted to join a Cultivation Sect near the Zhou Family.
The five Clan Elders always supported Zhou Family Disciples going out. Joining a Cultivation Sect could provide more Cultivation resources. Zhou Liwei tried to persuade him a few more times, but later, seeing that the young man's mind was made up, he gave up the idea of taking him as a Disciple.
This year, many Zhou Family members had Spiritual Roots, and a Genius with a Yellow Spiritual Root appeared. Zhou Chenxi was in a good mood; the Zhou Family had successors, so even if she chose to leave, there shouldn't be any problems.
She held Zhou Fan's hand, preparing to go elsewhere to look around. Zhou Fan stood still, watching the Zhou Family members, who were either crying or laughing, joyful or despairing and indignant. His feet were rooted to the spot, as if he had returned to that day.
Seeing this, Zhou Chenxi showed no impatience; she just quietly accompanied Zhou Fan, standing there.
It wasn't until the crowd dispersed, leaving only a few dozen people, that Zhou Fan and Zhou Chenxi left hand in hand.
As they passed an open space, Zhou Fan suddenly stopped again.
Zhou Chenxi said softly, "Zhou Fan, do you still remember this place? That year, when we were Sixteen, the Zhou Family and the Luo Family jointly held the Cultivation Hundred Arts Competition."
"You participated in the Qin Art Competition and played an ancient guqin piece expressing love in the final — 'Phoenix Seeking Phoenix'."
"You dedicated this piece to Zhou Mei at the time. After you finished playing, she ran onto the stage and raised your hand high, as if both of you had won."
"When the judge announced you as the champion of the Qin Art Competition, that Zhou Mei even embraced you tightly, and you spun her around several times."
"At that time, I was really envious of Zhou Mei, envious that she had a childhood friend like you."
As Zhou Chenxi spoke, she leaned her body closer into Zhou Fan's embrace.
She gazed at Zhou Fan infatuatedly, her face full of happiness, "Thanks to that woman not knowing how to cherish, that's why we two lovers finally became a couple."
After a long silence, Zhou Fan extended his arms and embraced Zhou Chenxi.
"Mm, we are finally together."
...
That evening, during dinner, Zhou Fan asked seemingly casually, "Chenxi, how is that Zhou Mei doing now? I remember she was detected to have an Inferior Spiritual Root; she should still be a Qi Cultivator, right?"
"I don't know."
Zhou Chenxi said with a smile, "About forty years ago, Zhou Mei left the Zhou Family and hasn't returned since."
"I heard she ran off with some man from outside."