Striving for Science C99 pt2

Zhang Gu secretly pulled out his phone, which he had hidden under his robe. Domestic phones are truly robust; even in this freezing weather, they haven't frozen up.

As soon as he opened his phone, he saw the message Shen Chang'an had sent.

Thinking about how Shen Chang'an was snuggling with his beloved in bed, dreaming sweet dreams in this cold weather, while he was standing on the rooftop, exposed to the biting wind, Zhang Gu felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

"What are you looking at?" Uncle Zhang saw Zhang Gu hiding in the shelter playing with his phone and walked over to pat him on the shoulder. "When elders are discussing important matters, even if you can't understand, you should at least pretend to listen. What kind of behavior is it to hide here playing with your phone?"

"It's not that I want to play with my phone, it's that Chang'an sent me a message." In such a situation, Zhang Gu didn't hesitate to throw Shen Chang'an under the bus.

Shen Chang'an's constitution is unique. Putting the blame on him is the best option.

"What's wrong with that kid Shen Chang'an?" Hearing that it was Shen Chang'an who was in trouble, Uncle Zhang's tone softened considerably. "Did he encounter some difficulties?"

"No, he has a lover now, and he's showing us off." Zhang Gu pulled up Shen Chang'an's lovey-dovey post on his Moments. "It was so cold last night, and he was still building a snowman with his girlfriend."

"He has a girlfriend?" Uncle Zhang's expression turned somewhat strange. He took Zhang Gu's phone and glanced at it twice before walking silently to Yunfeng and Yan Yin.

Zhang Gu put away his phone. Seeing his master and several other masters whispering amongst themselves, causing them to glance at him from time to time, he dared not continue playing with his phone and tried his best to look obedient.

Unfortunately, the masters were too preoccupied with the sudden surge of spiritual energy and Shen Chang'an's romantic relationship to notice his attempt at being well-behaved.

"Can a ten-life merit body have a partner?"

"No." Yan Yin shook his head. A ten-life merit body possesses boundless love but is also devoid of romantic attachments. It was precisely because of this that Yan Yin had always hoped to persuade Shen Chang'an to join the Buddhist order.

But now Zhang Gu was saying that Shen Chang'an had a lover.

"He might not be a ten-life merit body." Yunfeng remained silent for a long time before uttering the words everyone had tacitly assumed but dared not speak aloud. "We were wrong from the start."

"He's not a ten-life merit body, but he can speak with divine authority, summon gods, and has a golden aura of merit. What is he then?" Uncle Zhang asked. "Could he be a reincarnated immortal?"

He just said it casually, but everyone looked at him thoughtfully.

"What are you looking at me like that for? I was just saying it casually. Don't take it seriously."

"It's not impossible." Yunfeng pondered for a long time. "In the past, there were immortals who reincarnated and became mortals. After going through trials, they returned to the immortal realm. If it happened before, why can't it happen now?"

Uncle Zhang: "..."

Wake up, everyone! All those things were just rumors. Who knows if they're true or not?

"You once said that Shen Chang'an brought back vegetables with abundant spiritual energy, even better than the tea leaves our major sect cultivates, right?"

Uncle Zhang nodded.

"Have you considered that maybe these are gifts from his immortal friends from his past life?"

"Those immortals saw how hard Shen Chang'an's life was in the mortal realm, so they couldn't help but lend a hand. They sent him some spiritual vegetables and rice. Don't you think that's normal?"

Uncle Zhang: "..."

It seemed to make sense, but somehow felt off.

"So, you've been talking all this time, but have you considered inviting Shen Chang'an and his lover to dinner?" A master who had been silent for a long time finally spoke, unable to bear it any longer. "You're just guessing, and you won't get anywhere. Why don't you meet his lover? Maybe you can figure out the truth."

"That makes sense," Yun Feng nodded. "Daoist Zhang, you're closer to Shen Chang'an. You should be the one to talk to him."

Uncle Zhang: "..."

***

Shen Chang'an was still unaware of the change in the weather outside. He was lazily leaning against the headboard, the blanket resting on his chest, feeling warm and cozy.

A spoonful of porridge was brought to his lips.

"It's hot."

Dao Nian blew on the porridge and brought it to his lips again.

Shen Chang'an stared at him for a long time, and finally opened his mouth to eat the spoonful of porridge.

"Why are there beans?" Shen Chang'an chewed, frowning as he swallowed the porridge, "I don't like eating beans."

"Old Zhao insisted on saying that beans are good for protein, I'll tell him to stop putting them in next time." Dao Nian scooped another spoonful of porridge, "But it's too late to make him cook a new batch now, just eat a little."

"Alright." Fortunately, Shen Chang'an wasn't too picky about his food, and with Dao Nian's help, he managed to finish the bowl of porridge.

"The sun is shining brightly today, do you want to go out and see it?" Dao Nian patiently wiped the corner of Shen Chang'an's mouth, "The snowman we built hasn't melted yet."

"Is the sun out?" Shen Chang'an squinted at the tightly drawn curtains, rolling over and getting out of bed. But his legs were sore, and he almost stumbled and fell.

***

"It's almost noon sir, aren't you two going to have lunch?" Yu Lei whispered to Shen Tu, "Or are you…"

While he could understand the Master's excitement after being single for countless years and finally finding a lover, Shen Chang'an was a mere mortal, and might not be able to withstand the Master's relentless affection.

There's plenty of time in the future, can't you just hold back a little?

After a while, they saw the master and Chang'an finally come down. The wheelchair, abandoned by the master for so long, seemed to have found its use again, only this time, it wasn't the master sitting in it, but Shen Chang'an.

Who would have thought, the master with a stoic face, when he does things, he's overly enthusiastic, making Shen Chang'an unable to even stand.

Ignoring the strange looks from others, Dao Nian wrapped Shen Chang'an tightly in a scarf and coat, pushing him out the door.

Perhaps because of the strong wind last night, many petals from the flowers in the courtyard had fallen, lying on the snow in a riot of colors, creating a starkly beautiful contrast.

Shen Chang'an took a deep breath, letting Dao Nian push him to the flower bed.

It was strange, considering how much snow fell last night, these flowers weren't frostbitten at all, still blooming beautifully.

"These flowers..." He picked up a flower that had fallen onto the snow, placing it in Dao Nian's hand, a mischievous smile on his face. "You worked hard last night."

Ice crystals clung to the flowers, cold to the touch. Dao Nian didn't mind Shen Chang'an's prank, tucking the flower into his coat pocket. "Since you like it, shall we continue tonight?"

Shen Chang'an: "..."

"Dao Nian, you've gone bad. You used to be so pure, but after just one night, you've become a greasy old driver."

"It doesn't matter what kind of driver I am, what matters is that I, as your driver, want to make you, my passenger, satisfied." Seeing that the scarf around Shen Chang'an's neck was loose, Dao Nian reached out to fix it. "I wonder what score the passenger would give me for my driving skills last night?"

"Out of a hundred points, you can only get 50 at most." Shen Chang'an looked up and saw Dao Nian looking at him pitifully. He retracted the five fingers he had extended, leaving only one thumb pointing upwards. "But considering your looks, I can give you an extra ten points, barely passing."

"So you weren't satisfied last night?" Dao Nian nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. I'll work harder tonight."

"If you dare to keep working hard tonight, I'll deduct fifty points from you!"

"Are you really that strict, Passenger Shen?"

"Humph."

"It seems I need to think carefully about how to get a perfect score." As soon as he finished speaking, Dao Nian suddenly bent down and picked up Shen Chang'an.

"What are you doing?!" Shen Chang'an quickly turned his head to look around. He was a grown man, being held like this, what kind of image was that?

"I'll hold you," Dao Nian lowered his head and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "A cold wheelchair doesn't suit you, my embrace is much warmer."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

It was just a few rounds of exercise, why did Dao Nian seem to have broken some kind of seal, opened his Ren and Du meridians, and become so alluring?

But men, you know, if they dare to fall in love, they dare to be shameless. Shen Chang'an, seeing that Dao Nian had already hugged him, simply wrapped his arms around Dao Nian's neck and asked, "Since you're not human, and none of us in this entire villa are human, then this entire apartment complex..."

"None of them are human."

"The pool in your apartment complex that automatically emits steam…"

"There's a spirit-gathering formation inside, what you saw wasn't steam, but concentrated spiritual energy."

"So, all this artificial fog, all this talk about improving greenery, it's all a smokescreen?"

"Chang'an, the mainstream belief now is in science. We're respecting human faith and maintaining world peace." Dao Nian gave a bitter smile. "You should know, humans no longer need gods. If they were to discover our existence, what awaits us wouldn't be genuine worship, but endless greed and suspicion."

"I'm sorry for hiding these things from you, but I had to do it." Dao Nian looked at the young man in his arms and placed him on a clean chair. "Chang'an, I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Shen Chang'an smiled at him, reaching out to pinch Dao Nian's corner of his mouth and pull it to the side. "Even between lovers, you need to keep some little secrets to yourself."

"Sometimes, harmless little white lies are just a bit of fun." Looking at Dao Nian's smile, which he had forced out, Shen Chang'an couldn't help but laugh. "A wise person can forgive a lot, I'll forgive you this time."

They laughed and joked outside for a while, then Shen Chang'an's phone rang.

"Uncle Zhang?" Shen Chang'an answered the phone, his other hand playing with Dao Nian's fingers. "Did Chen Yuan want to eat something again?"

Uncle Zhang: "Chen Yuan doesn't want to eat your food, I want to treat you to dinner."

"You want to treat me to dinner?" Shen Chang'an thought for a moment. "Uncle Zhang, I'm not going to become a monk, nor am I going to become a Daoist."

"Who told you that?" Uncle Zhang said, annoyed. "I heard you're dating someone?"

Shen Chang'an looked down at Dao Nian and hummed in response.

"You young people are so clueless, I, as your elder, can't be ignorant of the rules," Uncle Zhang coughed dryly. "Tonight, bring your lover over, come to my place for dinner. It's a chance to introduce your lover to family and friends, and it shows your sincerity. Do you understand?"

Shen Chang'an: "Uncle Zhang, you're a monk, why are you worrying about these things?"

"What do you mean by that? Are you discriminating against monks?"

"No, no, I'm just afraid of bothering you."

"I'm not afraid of being bothered if I dare to call you." Uncle Zhang paused for a moment, "Bring the person over, I'll help you take a look, and give her* a red envelope, which is considered a formal recognition."

TN: of course, the "she/her" and "he/him" in chinese is the same sound

"I'm just afraid you'll regret it..." Shen Chang'an hesitated.

"What, are you afraid I can't afford a red envelope?" Uncle Zhang's voice rose eight octaves, "As long as you dare to bring her here, I dare to give it."

Shen Chang'an secretly glanced at Dao Nian, who nodded slightly.

"Alright, you have to keep your word."

"Tsk, I've always kept my word!"

Shen Chang'an thought, how many times have you said "If you're not good enough, you won't be surnamed Zhang," and now you're still surnamed Zhang?