"Zhouzhou, are you asleep?" Ye Qiuqing gently knocked on the wall, their rooms as siblings were next to each other, they often played in their childhood.
"Not yet, is something the matter, Sister?"
"Come to Mom and Dad’s room, I have something to tell you both."
"Oh." Hearing that Ye Qiu’s tone was steady, Ye Zhou didn’t know what was so important that it had to be discussed at night, but he always listened to his sister’s words and got up to wait for Ye Qiu in the hallway.
"Dad, Mom, can you open the door?" It was now ten o’clock at night when couples usually prepare everything for the next day before going to bed. Ye Qiu obviously picked the timing right, catching them at the moment of their nightly routine.
"It’s so late, why haven’t you kids gone to sleep yet?" Madam Shen looked at her children with a mix of reprimand and heartache.
"Sister said she has something to talk to us about."
"What could be so urgent that it can’t wait until morning? You just took an overnight train and haven’t rested yet. Don’t push yourself just because you are young." Madam Shen rarely lost her temper, and only did so when her children neglected their health.
"Hold your remarks, let the children come and talk about what they have to say," Ye Fu said as he saw the children obediently receiving the scolding, unable to resist making peace.
Madam Shen sighed, letting Sister Ye Qiu and Ye Zhou in: "Now, tell us what it is, and you can rest early once it’s done."
"Do you still remember the jade pendant Grandpa gave me?" Ye Qiu took out the leaf-shaped jade pendant, which had been kept in her personal space ever since the fake one was destroyed by Lian Lan. Although originally the pendant served as a carrier for the personal space, after Ye Qiu refined it, the pendant ceased to function and now was just an ordinary ornament.
"Yeah, Grandpa said that this jade pendant was fated to be with you, and insisted on you keeping it. What about it?" Ye Fu asked puzzled.
"There is a space inside this jade pendant." Ye Qiu had never intended to hide it from her family.
"What do you mean?" Madam Shen and Ye Fu were both clueless, staring at Ye Qiu in bewilderment.
Ye Zhou, being young and having read some online novels, naturally understood what Ye Qiu was referring to by ’space’.
"Sister, you’re joking, right?" Ye Zhou looked astounded at his sister, but seeing the serious look in Ye Qiu’s eyes, his initial absurdity slowly turned into disbelief, "Are you serious?"
At that moment, although Ye Zhou was excited, more than that, he was moved—such a miraculous thing as a personal space, and his sister just openly admitted it in front of him? Even though their sibling bond had always been strong since childhood, what if he had ulterior motives? What if things changed after he got married and started his own family?
"Sister..." Ye Zhou’s words stuck in his throat, not knowing what to say.
"If it were you, would you tell me?" Ye Qiu looked at Ye Zhou calmly.
"I would." Without any hesitation, it was completely instinctive.
"Then that’s settled." Ye Qiu smiled gently, while Ye Zhou’s eyes slowly reddened.
"What on earth are you two talking about?" Madam Shen and Ye Fu were still confused.
"Close your eyes, I’ll take you to a place." Ye Qiu knew it was hard to explain to her parents in a short time, going there would be more convincing.
"Can you actually take people inside?" Ye Zhou was excited now, this was the legendary personal space!
There was no other feeling, it was just like an elevator suddenly plummeting, a sense of weightlessness, and when they opened their eyes, the Ye Family, the four of them, arrived at a completely different place.
"What is this?" Madam Shen and Ye Fu were stunned by the scene before them.
What caught their eyes was a lush green vegetable garden, almost every vegetable available on the market was here, surrounded by several fences, inside which chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, sheep, and cattle were separated and bred. Around the fences, many roses and rose bushes were planted, blooming splendidly. A few spots had been dug into pits, apparently the flowers in their yard today must have come from here.
Not far away was a golden rice field, heavy with crop, and behind it was a fruit orchard, where southern and northern fruits were intermixed, bearing full fruits on the branches. Between the vegetable garden and the rice field, a spring was visible, from which a channel had been dug connecting to a small lake; likely, fish were bred in the lake, the water rippling. Around the spring, some medicinal herbs were planted, others Madam Shen and Ye Fu didn’t recognize, only knowing ginseng, the plants were not big but were thriving well.
In the distance, continuous mountains stretched far, Madam Shen and Ye Fu couldn’t see clearly. In fact, just the things before their eyes were enough to stagger them, but Ye Zhou adapted much better. After the shock, he strolled around the small farm opened by Ye Qiu, and casually picked some ripe fruits.
"Sister, the strawberries you sent me were grown here, right? They taste just , both fragrant and sweet." Ye Xiaodi was extremely satisfied.
"Drink some of that spring water, it’s good for your health."
"Is this the legendary Spiritual Spring?"
"It’s not as miraculous as in the novels and TV, but drinking it over time can indeed improve one’s physical condition. Do you think I agreed to let you study biology for no reason?" Ye Qiu said with a laugh, "But you shouldn’t rely too much on it, the body is your own, maintaining good habits is key to health."
"I know." Ye Xiaodi smiled and scooped up some spring water to his mouth, "It’s sweeter than our well water at home, really refreshing!" He sighed contentedly.
"Dad, Mom, come and drink some too." Seeing the couple still not snapping out of it, Ye Qiu called them.
"How did we come in here?"
"Is this the space you were talking about?"
"Is it really inside that Jade Pendant?"
One question followed another, but Ye Qiu was not annoyed. She patiently explained: "This space is real, and indeed obtained through the Jade Pendant given by grandfather, but this space has recognized me as the master, it can only let others in with my permission."
"Daughter, promise Mom, never let anyone else know about this space." Latest content published on novel·fiɾe·net
"You shouldn’t have even told us." Ye Fu seriously educated Ye Qiu.
"You are my closest family." Ye Qiu replied incontrovertibly, "But don’t worry, aside from our family of four, there won’t be a fifth person who will know."
"You’ve always been decisive, just remember the saying, the man who carries the jade commits no crime but possesses its blame."
"I understand, don’t worry about this anymore." Ye Qiu was both touched and amused inside. Perhaps not every parent in the world is perfect, but her parents are definitely the ones who love their children the most in this world.