At that moment, in Gu Xingzhao’s eyes, Lu Xingyao was just a big, naive fool, starved for affection. Despite his age, he still seemed rather simple-minded.

She stood up, dusted off her hands, and returned to the present time.

Lu Xingyao, with gloves on and scarf in hand, was so excited that his face was flushed and his ears red. He grinned like an idiot all night. Even when Lu Yang got up in the middle of the night to take over his watch, he still found his nephew grinning like a fool.

Lu Yang waved his hand in front of Lu Xingyao’s face, puzzled, “Big brother, what’s up with the kid? Has he frozen his brain?”

Lu Zhou, still half-asleep and reluctant to leave the warmth and comfort of the tent, didn’t even open his eyes. “Well, if you’re so concerned, why don’t you let him keep standing watch while you go back to sleep.”

After all, young people could endure more.

Realizing that even the boy’s own father wasn’t concerned, Lu Yang shrugged, thinking, If his dad doesn’t care, why should I? With that, he crawled back into the tent and went back to sleep.

The next morning, the Lu family noticed that, despite staying up all night, the young master was in better spirits than those who had actually slept. Someone remarked, “Ah, the resilience of youth!”

But Lu Xingyan noticed something different: his nephew now had something wrapped around his neck and was wearing a pair of finely crafted gloves. He realized that last night, their ancestor must have appeared again.

Lu Xingyao, eager to show off, removed one of his gloves to eat a biscuit, all while tugging at his scarf as if to make sure everyone noticed it.

His actions were so obvious that the family couldn’t help but ask, “Xingyao, what are you wearing?”

Feigning nonchalance, he replied, “What do you mean?”

“That thing around your neck.”

“Oh, this? It’s called a scarf. The ancestor saw me standing watch last night and gave it to me.”

As he spoke, he deliberately tugged at the scarf with his gloved hand, making sure the gloves were also in full view.

The family gasped. “Are those gloves from the ancestor too?”

Lu Xingyao nodded, trying to appear casual, as if the ancestor’s gifts were no big deal, though inside he was bursting with pride, eager for everyone to know he’d been specially blessed.

Those who had gone to bed early were instantly filled with regret. If only I’d stayed up a bit longer, maybe I would’ve been blessed by the ancestor too!

Meanwhile, the others who had stood watch alongside Lu Xingyao were utterly confused. “???”

They exchanged bewildered glances: Wait, did the ancestor really come by last night?

Weren’t we all keeping watch together!?

Lu Yang, overhearing, finally understood. “So that’s why! I woke up and saw him grinning like an idiot. I thought he’d gone mad from the cold!”

It turned out the ancestor had come again, and this kid had hoarded the blessings for himself!

Looking at his nephew, who acted as if this was all routine, Lu Yang couldn’t help but silently grumble, What a show-off.

Mrs. Song laughed, “The ancestor sure is festive!”

The bright red scarf wrapped around his neck gave off a festive vibe, like something you’d see during the New Year celebrations. It lifted everyone’s spirits just looking at it.

Lu Xingyan, however, silently reached into his coat and touched the protective jade pendant he had been gifted. Somehow, he wasn’t as envious anymore.

Once Lu Xingyao had finished his biscuit, he carefully put his gloves back on in front of everyone, feeling immensely pleased with himself.

The others: “…” What a show-off.

After breakfast, the Lu family quickly packed up the tents they had slept in and stored them away. The five tents were shared among the younger men, who took turns carrying them, and since they weren’t very heavy, it wasn’t much of a burden. The thought of setting up the tents again that night made them excited and helped them endure the day’s journey with ease.

Lu Xingyao carried one tent himself and passed the bamboo basket to his now-healthy third uncle. No matter what, he was determined to secure a spot inside a tent tonight.

Meanwhile, in the modern world, Gu Xingzhao slept in until noon, recovering from her late night. Just as she was getting ready for the day, brushing her teeth and washing her face, the doorbell rang.

Lin Ting stood at the door, holding a large bowl. When she opened the door, he cheerfully announced, “My mom made soup and asked me to bring it over.”

But before he could finish his sentence, he caught a glimpse of Gu Xingzhao coming out of the bathroom, and he froze, his face turning bright red.

Having just woken up, Gu Xingzhao hadn’t had time to change out of her pajamas, and the neckline was a bit low. Water droplets from her face had trickled down her pale neck and into the hollow of her collarbone.

Just seeing her neck and collarbone was enough to fluster Lin Ting. He hurriedly averted his gaze and carefully placed the lotus root and pork bone soup on the table, standing awkwardly as if he’d done something wrong.

The aroma of the soup made Gu Xingzhao’s stomach growl. She grabbed a spoon and sat down to eat, then noticed Lin Ting still standing there awkwardly. “Why aren’t you sitting down?”

Only then did Lin Ting sit on the edge of the sofa, but he kept his gaze firmly on the TV, afraid to let his eyes wander.

It was then that he noticed something unusual on the TV screen. The characters, who were supposed to be wearing prison uniforms from ancient times, were dressed in modern down jackets. “?”

Is this a time-travel drama? he thought.

One of the characters on the TV even had a red scarf around his neck and was grinning like a fool.

The more Lin Ting looked at the scarf, the more familiar it seemed. His expression grew puzzled. “Sister, doesn’t that scarf look just like the one you bought last year?”

Gu Xingzhao froze for a moment and followed Lin Ting’s gaze. Sure enough, on the TV screen, Lu Xingyao was wearing the very scarf, tugging at it now and then, making sure everyone around him noticed. In the middle of the desolate wilderness, with snow falling heavily, that bright red scarf stood out starkly.

“…”

She remembered only wearing that scarf once last year. Lin Ting actually remembered it—impressive for someone at the peak of his memory abilities.

She smiled awkwardly. “Really? What a coincidence.”

Lin Ting pressed his lips together. A coincidence?

What Gu Xingzhao didn’t know was that Lin Ting also had the same scarf. The shop had sold it as part of a couple’s set, which is why it had made such an impression on him. That little coincidence had made him happy for a whole month. But while he still wore the scarf, Gu Xingzhao never wore hers again.

Could it be that she noticed they had matching scarves and decided to stop wearing hers?

The thought darkened Lin Ting’s mood.

Meanwhile, Gu Xingzhao had no idea what Lin Ting was thinking. She was too focused on the fact that the scarf had shown up on the TV. Feeling flustered, she wanted to turn off the TV but worried that Lin Ting might become suspicious. Instead, she buried her face in the bowl, slurping down the soup.

When she finished the lotus root and pork bone soup, she quickly took the bowl into the kitchen, relieved to escape Lin Ting’s “scrutiny.”

Kids these days are way too observant.

Back in the living room, Lin Ting took out his phone and snapped a picture of the man on the TV. He used an image search to try and identify the actor, but to his surprise, there was no information—no actor profile, no drama details, not even a single still image.

He stared at the TV, confused. What’s going on here?