As Lin Zhusheng was about to close the big door, a message prompt suddenly popped up, causing him to pause in confusion. The little cat that had slipped onto his shoulder began to tug at his neck, urging him to turn his head. Following the direction of the pull, he looked back and saw the still fence and the yard that had only seen preliminary work done.

In the mountains, the clouds and mist swirled, and a breeze blew in from afar, bringing with it a faint scent of peach blossoms that was surprisingly pleasant. The little cat gazed at the petals blowing this way, opened its mouth, and said, “Just now…”

It was looking at the flowers, and the person on its back was also looking, or more accurately, looking at the flowers on the trees. Lin Zhusheng gently stroked his chin and said, “By summer, we won’t lack peaches to eat.”

The snack recipe that Manager Meng had sent along with the seeds included two main ingredients that were peaches, so by summer, he could try them out to his heart’s content.

Such different points of focus. Then, as if realizing that the little cat had just seemed to say something, he lowered his head and asked, “What were you going to say?”

The little cat replied, “…”

The little cat said, “It’s nothing.”

Nothing? This person would just wait to eat peaches by himself, huh? If the little cat said it was nothing, then it was indeed nothing. Lin Zhusheng rolled the brick he was holding and returned to his room, sitting cross-legged by the desk to continue reading.

While reading, his hands weren’t idle; he slowly twirled a wooden sword in his hand, like someone absentmindedly spinning a pen while thinking. After the previous experience of being ambushed, the little cat no longer snuggled up to him, instead curling up on a nearby mat, keeping a cautious distance.

The lie he had casually thrown out while absorbing the nearby spiritual energy wasn’t entirely false; regardless of whether it was out of subjective will, he indeed tended to overlook changes around him when he focused on something, like the passage of time.

While munching on fruit and flipping through pages, he absentmindedly petted the cat. By the time he remembered that there was such a thing as rest, the sky had already turned completely dark.

Tomorrow would mark the official start of sword practice. He had already agreed with his neighbor to go to the training ground together, and the other party had sworn not to take shortcuts again. They would have to wake up early to practice swordsmanship. He had originally planned to sleep early tonight, wake up early tomorrow, and strive to be the healthiest person.

But a small lapse in attention had led to the time creeping close to midnight.

The good news was that it had started to rain. The spring rain fell endlessly, likely continuing until morning. With the rain falling, sword practice was canceled, and he didn’t have to rush to wake up early for the training ground.

This was the first time he encountered rain since coming to this world. He paused his reading, lifted the lamp slightly, and shone it out the window.

“Pitter-patter—”

The rain was quite heavy, falling on the leaves and roof tiles, creating a symphony of sounds. The warm yellow light illuminated the fine strands of rain, and splashes of water rose up. A breeze carrying the scent of grass and trees blew into the room, dropping the temperature by a couple of degrees.

Before his sleeves and hands got wet, Lin Zhusheng quickly pulled back the hand holding the lamp.

The little cat, who had already woken up from a nap, jumped onto the desk after confirming that he was no longer playing with that broken sword. It stretched lazily and yawned before asking, “Aren’t you going to sleep yet?”

Lin Zhusheng had originally planned to sleep, but with the rain falling, he felt he could manage another round. He grabbed the little cat and playfully ruffled its fur, stuffing a piece of snack into his mouth, and continued flipping through the book.

The little cat was forced to stay up late with him, struggling for a moment but ultimately giving in and flopping down.

Sure enough, the rain continued until the next morning.

The sky was dim, shrouded in mountain mist and rain fog, making it hard to distinguish between day and night. In such weather, most disciples would choose to stay indoors and meditate quietly, but Lin Zhusheng did not. After sleeping until he naturally woke up, he prepared the things he needed to take outside and set out with an umbrella that the sect had generously gifted to each disciple.

The incident with the Xichun flower had led him to deeply reflect on himself and realize the dangers of being illiterate, so he was off to the library to read.

Before heading to the library, he didn’t forget to boost his favorability. Passing by his neighbor’s house, he noticed the lights were on inside. He knocked on the door to deliver the fruits and snacks he hadn’t been able to give yesterday, and only after they were accepted did he leave satisfied.

In this kind of weather, there were no shortcuts; he could only walk the main road honestly, meandering up the mountain at a leisurely pace.

As expected, there were hardly any people on the rainy road, as if he had the place to himself. He passed by the training ground and headed straight for the library.

Although it was called a “pavilion,” the library actually covered a vast area. It wasn’t just a few-story building but rather a grand courtyard with multiple entrances and exits, looking quite impressive at first glance.

After leaving his umbrella at the entrance, Lin Zhusheng pushed open the big door and stepped inside. The moment he entered, the jade pendant hanging at his waist seemed to react, glowing faintly for a moment.

On either side of the door, two miscellaneous workers were on duty, dozing off in the just-right temperature and the soothing sound of rain, their heads bobbing as their eyelids grew heavy.

Choosing not to disturb them, Lin Zhusheng patted the water off his umbrella and stepped away in a chosen direction.

The area he could freely move around in was the outer part of the library; only certain inner disciples and elders could enter the central area.

Having already seen the internal structure in a game before, he wasn’t too curious and headed straight for the section where the book he was looking for was located.

“Tap—”

Playing with the umbrella in one hand, he walked past the corridor by the courtyard, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the quiet space, blending with the sound of rain hitting the leaves.

Amidst the mixed sounds, he also heard a faint, irregular sound coming from the ground, a sort of scraping noise, punctuated by pauses.

Stepping out from behind a tree that blocked his view, Lin Zhusheng followed the sound and saw a gray-white figure standing in the middle of the courtyard.

It seemed to be a man. He was quite tall, with a slightly hunched figure, his long white hair almost touching the ground, soaked by the rain. He wore a thin gray outer garment and held a bamboo broom, the sound coming from him.

A cleaning worker, still working in the heavy rain. Leaves were constantly being knocked down by the rain, and he swept them away, only for more to fall, an endless cycle.

Lin Zhusheng remembered this person; he had previously unlocked a full-level favorability storyline with him, but like with Song Ming, he had furiously skipped through it, leaving no impression behind.

The other party seemed to have noticed him but showed no intention of looking up, only staring at the leaves falling to the ground, lifting his thin hand to sweep them away.

His hands were thin, but surprisingly bony; under normal circumstances, a single punch could probably send ten of him flying.

The little cat nestled in his clothes felt that the temperature in this place was inexplicably low and urged him to move along.

Lin Zhusheng didn’t leave. Not only did he not leave, but he also opened his umbrella and walked into the courtyard.

The rain pattered against the umbrella, creating a crackling sound.

The rain that had been falling on him suddenly ceased, and the area above his head darkened. The cleaning worker finally lifted his drooping head slightly, meeting Lin Zhusheng’s eyes hidden in the shadow of the umbrella.

Lin Zhusheng held the umbrella high, tilting it to shield the drenched worker from the rain, and asked, “Why aren’t you hiding from the rain?”

The worker’s white hair obscured his face, making it hard to see his expression, and he didn’t speak, just stared quietly, like a silent puppet.

The little cat moved slightly, quietly tugging at Lin Zhusheng’s clothes. Following its gaze, he noticed a chain extending from beneath the gray long garment.

The other end of the chain was in the center of the courtyard, and its overall length was rather short, limiting his range of movement.

Though short, it seemed long enough to take shelter under a tree from the rain, yet the person didn’t move, letting the rain drench him as if he felt nothing.

Clearly, he was a diligent worker with a story, but that had nothing to do with Lin Zhusheng.

Lin Shifu was just an ordinary disciple passing by to deliver snacks, boost favorability, and was bold enough to do so. With one hand holding the umbrella, it was difficult to reach into his pocket. He wedged the umbrella handle into the worker’s hand, unilaterally asking this worker to help hold the umbrella while he successfully pulled out a warm little cake from his backpack.

This was something he had originally planned to eat while reading today, but remembering that this library worker seemed to like it too, he decided to sacrifice one, asking, “Do you want to eat?”

The worker still didn’t respond, continuing to look into his eyes, slowly moving. Good, let’s take that as a silent agreement.

With one hand holding the umbrella and the other holding the broom, the worker had no extra hand to take the snack. Lin Zhusheng thought for a moment, temporarily moving the broom from the worker’s hand and resting it in the crook of his arm holding the umbrella.

Let him do whatever he wanted, like a large toy.

The hand that was freed was soaked with rainwater, which would ruin the beloved plump little cake. He carefully wiped the worker’s hand with the clean sleeve of his recently changed clothes, ensuring there was no residue left.

The spring chill was biting, and the rain was icy. A bit of warmth spread from his fingertips, and the person who was treated like a large toy slowly began to move his vertical pupils, droplets of rain hanging from his eyelashes.

Looking down, all he could see was a drooping head and the hand that was diligently being wiped.

That warmth faded, replaced by a plump white cake resting in his palm.

The person in front of him lifted his head, his naturally smiling brows and eyes relaxing, warmly recommending, “This is best eaten while it’s hot.”

He slowly lowered his gaze, looking at the cake still giving off steam in his hand.

As his gaze fell, in that brief moment, a hint of a blue garment disappeared from the corner of his eye, followed by the sound of footsteps running away.

When he looked up, the person who had just been beside him had already run off, standing under the eaves of the corridor, patting the rainwater off himself. After finishing, he straightened up, tucked the stray hair behind his ear, waved his hand, and left while waving.