Yang Yaozu wandered around the store one more time, finally grabbing a 2.5-yuan pack of instant noodles and a 1-yuan sausage before heading to the checkout counter.

“Ready to pay,” he said.

Gu Xingzhao glanced at the items and scanned them. “That’ll be 3.5 yuan.”

Yang Yaozu pulled out a 10-yuan bill from his wallet and handed it over.

Gu Xingzhao quickly gave him his change, looking up at him as she did. “Here’s your 6.5 yuan in change. Do you need a bag?”

The supermarket was quiet, and though Yang Yaozu had been sizing her up with a condescending attitude, he was momentarily stunned when she looked up at him. His heart skipped a beat, and he involuntarily swallowed.

The soft, bright lights of the supermarket cast a gentle glow on the woman before him, giving her an almost ethereal aura. Her eyes were bright, her lips full and red, and her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, making her skin appear as white as jade.

Yang Yaozu was mesmerized. This woman was stunning! It was a pity she was wearing a bulky hoodie, so he couldn’t make out her figure. But from her face, she looked slim—her body was probably just as perfect.

Thinking about the previous women he’d met on blind dates, none of them even came close to how beautiful this woman was. Suddenly, he felt like this trip had been worth it after all.

He grinned and pulled out his phone, showing her his WeChat QR code. “No need for a bag. How about adding me on WeChat? I’ll be shopping here again.”

As he spoke, he casually flashed his car keys, which were for a new car he’d bought just before the New Year. It had cost him 180,000 yuan—not much in the city, but it was top-of-the-line for this small, remote town. Surely, this would seal the deal.

Gu Xingzhao didn’t even glance at the car keys. She paused for a moment, thinking about how this guy had spent 15 minutes wandering the store just to buy 3.5 yuan worth of noodles and sausage.

“Alright,” she said.

She picked up her phone from the table beside her, opened WeChat, and scanned his code. Under his watchful eyes, she added him as a friend.

Seeing the friend request pop up on his screen, Yang Yaozu felt a surge of confidence. Wanting to seem composed in front of her, he didn’t immediately accept the request. Instead, he took his noodles and sausage and left the store.

It wasn’t until he got into his car and drove away that he eagerly accepted the friend request. But when he looked at the profile, he was met with the name “Good Luck Supermarket,” and the entire WeChat Moments feed was filled with supermarket promotions and daily specials.

Yang Yaozu wasn’t stupid. No woman’s WeChat Moments would look like this. It was obviously a work account. Did she really not notice his car?

Feeling embarrassed by how he’d shown off in front of Gu Xingzhao, he angrily hit the steering wheel, but then quickly calmed down, worried about damaging it. He convinced himself that it was just too dark for her to see his car. Next weekend, in broad daylight, she’d be much easier to win over.

As soon as Yang Yaozu left, Gu Xingzhao tossed the backup phone onto the table and got up to close the store.

In a small town like this, the majority of the population was either elderly or children, so she didn’t really need a work WeChat. But during the New Year, when young people returned home, she’d been asked for her WeChat several times. After a few instances of polite refusals, she found some people still persisted. So, she simply created a work WeChat on her backup phone. Now, whenever someone asked for her contact, she just gave them that.

She’d even started regularly posting supermarket promotions to her Moments and added some of the older customers as friends. It turned out to be pretty convenient, allowing her to keep business and personal life separate. As for messages from these people, she didn’t even bother reading them, let alone replying. Eventually, they’d get the hint and stop trying.

After getting ready for bed, it was already 10 p.m. Gu Xingzhao hesitated for a moment but decided to check on things in the ancient world.

Ten o’clock might not be late by modern standards, but in the ancient world, especially during their exile, it was already very late. They had to travel during the day, so they needed to rest early at night to regain their energy.

When Gu Xingzhao arrived in the ancient world, most people were already asleep, except for a few who were on night watch. Seeing how tired the guards looked, occasionally yawning, she decided to return to the supermarket.

Tonight, one of the guards on duty was Lu Xingyao. Fighting off sleep, he yawned several times, pulling his red scarf tighter around his neck against the cold wind.

The other guards, also feeling the chill, huddled closer to Lu Xingyao, their eyes green with envy at his warm scarf. They scooted closer to him, afraid that the ancestor might show up again and give all the benefits to Lu Xingyao.

Lu Xingyao shook his head and sighed. “What’s the point of all this? If the ancestor were coming, he would’ve shown up by now. Spread out; it’s too hot with all of you crowding me.”

But the others didn’t believe him, their faces stern. They were sure that Lu Xingyao just wanted to get rid of them so he could enjoy the ancestor’s favor all to himself.

“It’s not hot at all. It’s freezing, and I’ve been sneezing all night. Let’s stay close and keep warm.”

“You can warm up; I’m not cold,” Lu Xingyao said, trying to get up. But when he looked to sit down somewhere else, he was forcefully pushed back into place.

Lu Xingyao sighed, “You guys are just afraid of missing out on the ancestor’s visit. I promise, if the ancestor does show up, I’ll let you know!”

But the others didn’t trust him and wouldn’t let him leave.

Frustrated, Lu Xingyao exclaimed, “Do you really think I’m the type of person who would hog the ancestor’s favor for myself?!”

They all stared at him, “You don’t know that yourself?”

Lu Xingyao: “…”

He silently tightened his scarf, thinking to himself, Sigh, trust between people really is too fragile.

Who in their right mind would stay up this late? Even my old man’s gone to bed. Sure, the ancestor might be a god, but he’s gotta rest too.

Just then, Gu Xingzhao returned with a pot of hot water and several teapots and cups. She sat down and began brewing tea, then passed the cups along with a few boxes of snacks to the guards on night duty.

The night was long, and without something to keep them awake, it would be too difficult to endure.

The first to notice was the guard sitting next to Lu Xingyao. His eyelids were heavy with sleep, but as he rubbed his eyes, he caught a faint whiff of tea. Groggily, he saw something in front of him. When he fully realized what it was, he blinked in shock.

Tea and snacks!

Speechless with excitement, he nudged the guard next to him, pointing at the tea and snacks, struggling to find words.

“What’s wrong?”

“!!!” When the other guards saw the treats, they were instantly wide awake.

It was the ancestor! The ancestor was here!

Lu Xingyao was still a bit dazed. Had the ancestor really come?

Despite their excitement, the guards didn’t forget their manners. They bowed their heads in gratitude before carefully sipping the tea and nibbling on the snacks.

As the warm tea flowed through them and the snacks melted in their mouths, they couldn’t help but shed tears of joy.

Oh, the ancestor’s gifts are always the best! This tea is fragrant and warms you right up, and these snacks—they just melt in your mouth!

The guards couldn’t help but give Lu Xingyao a side glance, humming to themselves. We knew this guy wanted to hog the ancestor’s favor. Good thing we didn’t let him go; otherwise, he would’ve taken everything for himself!

Lu Xingyao, who was eating his snack: “…”

He felt wronged. He honestly didn’t know the ancestor was going to show up!

Sigh, the water’s too hot to drink, and people’s hearts are too cold to touch.