Upon hearing her, Ye Zi’an shot her a glare, "You’re not allowed to be alone with him in the future."
"Pff..." Yang Chuxia burst into laughter, "What jelly beans are you eating? I’m just doing business with him. Besides, there are so many people around."
Ye Zi’an, seeing her laughter unstopping, decided not to leave. He put the small bucket down, leaning in to bite her lips.
He only spoke then, "I just don’t like you in contact with him too much."
"I got it, I’ll be careful next time." Yang Chuxia responded but quickly felt something was off, "I haven’t been alone with him that often. You were pretty much always around weren’t you?"
Ye Zi’an chuckled softly, "I’m just giving you a heads up in advance, so you’ll be more careful in the future. I didn’t say anything about the past."
"Ye Zi’an, quite thoughtful aren’t you?" Yang Chuxia circled him, then stood on her toes, playful hand lifting Ye Zi’an’s chin, teasing him.
Ye Zi’an caught her teasing hand, gave it a loving kiss, and responded leisurely, "The extra thoughts are because of you."
"Ha, ha," Yang Chuxia burst into hearty laughter at his comment.
Ye Zi’an glanced at her laughing so proudly, gave her a few stern looks, and then picked up his bucket and started walking again. After a few steps, seeing her still laughing behind him, he extended his hand, "Let’s go."
Yang Chuxia, still giggling, reached out her hand, they walked along together smiling and laughing.
"Do you think that old sea turtle will appear today?"
"I’m not sure, maybe."
"How old do you think it is?" Yang Chuxia asked curiously, "Last time we saw it, it looked very spirited, almost as if it could talk."
"A thousand-year-old is mythical!" Ye Zi’an pondered and spoke, "Given its large physique, even if it’s not a thousand years old, it must be close."
Remembering the incident last time when the sea turtle stepped on Yang Chuxia’s foot, he advised, "That sea turtle doesn’t seem to have a good temper. Be careful not to provoke it. It doesn’t seem to harm people intentionally, but if you push it too far, who knows? I should have stopped you before, why did you even go to see it?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia gave him a sideways look, "Before? Weren’t you just being jealous? You didn’t think about this then."
Hearing this, Ye Zi’an blushed and felt slightly embarrassed, but still held her hand.
"Don’t worry, I won’t provoke it this time, I’m just curious to see it again." Of course, she also had a ridiculous thought in her mind. It was like watching those fantasy dramas and fairy adventure TV series, where everyone had a powerful pet creature.
Now that she had indeed encountered such a spirited creature, she wondered if she could make it her own pet. Even if she didn’t show it off, it would make her happy to have it.
Thinking this way speeded up her pace a bit, and Ye Zi’an had no choice but to match her speed.
When they arrived at the evil river, the large turtle at the bottom seemed to sense their presence, immediately opening its pair of eyes, but closing them again soon after.
Standing by the riverside, Yang Chuxia stirred the seemingly calm river with a fork.
First she pricked a few fish, but seeing no movement in the river, it seemed the big fellow had no intention of coming out.
She asked Ye Zi’an, "Should I call it? Does it know we’re here?"
"I’m not sure about that."
After thinking for a bit, Yang Chuxia shouted at the river, "Oh great tortoise, Great tortoise, I’ve come to see you."
"Great tortoise, Great tortoise...."
Her voice was deliberately suppressed to a whisper, reminiscent of a séance.