Chapter 35

It was not yet four o'clock, and a few people, who were already suffering from sore backs and waists, each carrying the affection of a few mosquitoes, fled back to the courtyard in a sorry state. Upon arrival, they saw two elderly men and one middle-aged person chatting enthusiastically.

The time was still early, and if they returned to the city now, they would likely get stuck in traffic halfway. Besides, Zhong Qi didn't want to go back so early; he wished to stay longer and would be happy to stay overnight if possible!

After a quick tour of the small garden, Zhong Qi had a plan. He pulled Chang Linlin aside and whispered to her for a while. Chang Linlin, blushing, pulled Yang Yanzi into the house. Zhong Qi, taking Wu Di with him, ran to the car, opened the trunk, lifted the mat, and took out a small bag.

"Damn, Fourth Brother, are you Doraemon? How can you have so many things in my car?"

"Better to be prepared! A luxury car, as the top weapon for flirting, must be well-prepared. Look, swimsuits, swim caps, and goggles. Here, let me show you another top weapon."

Zhong Qi fumbled around for a bit, looked around to make sure no one was around, and then handed a cardboard box to Wu Di. Wu Di took it and nearly fainted; it was a box of ultra-thin strawberry-flavored condoms!

Zhong Qi snatched the box back from Wu Di and stuffed it into the car, grinning mischievously.

"Bring an umbrella when it rains, hehe."

Wu Di, furious, tried to grab it back.

"How can you put such things in my car? If someone sees it, they'll think I'm a pervert like you."

Zhong Qi, pushing Wu Di away, mumbled,

"It's not my car anyway."

Wu Di was speechless.

The small, ancient house by the lake was the changing room. Zhong Qi, clearly not a first-time swimmer here, knew the routine well. After changing, he walked out of the wooden house, and there were already two mermaids floating in the water. Zhong Qi smiled.

"Uncle Chang often swims here and can keep it up until it snows."

Wu Di tested the water, which was quite cold, and couldn't help but shiver, wondering how cold it would be when it snowed.

The lake was shallow near the shore, with a sandy bottom and many pebbles buried in it. Wu Di walked step by step to the deep water area, where a water fight was already underway. Immersing himself in the icy water, the heat was gone, and Wu Di let out a comfortable moan. Suddenly, he felt his ankle tighten, and he was dragged into the water, swallowing a few mouthfuls of water and almost shouting for help! After a struggle, he returned to the shallow water area, where two onlookers were already laughing. Yang Yanzi, like a mermaid, swam to a distance and taunted Wu Di.

Faced with this girl's repeated provocations, Wu Di could no longer bear it and chased after her, splashing water at Yang Yanzi.

After playing for a while, everyone was tired. Wu Di lay in the shallow water, his head above the surface, looking at the branches overhead, thinking:

"If I could have a place like this in the future, living with my parents and children, how happy would that be?"

The more he thought about it, the more he missed home, wishing he could return to Yudu immediately. He decided to hand over the project for one more day and then go home for a while.

His right hand unconsciously felt around in the water, picking up a pebble. Upon closer inspection, Wu Di couldn't help but sit up. Zhong Qi, lying nearby, lazily asked,

"What's up?"

Wu Di, surprised, said,

"Fourth Brother, this seems to be a piece of Hetian seed jade."

"Let me see."

Zhong Qi lazily took the pebble from Wu Di, which was about the size of half an egg. It felt smooth and greasy in his hand. He held it up to his eyes, and with a splash, he jumped out of the water.

"Damn, it's a sprinkled gold skin!"

Zhong Qi held the stone up to his eyes, examining it repeatedly, rubbing it with his fingers, his face filled with delight.

"Even if this piece doesn't reach the level of mutton fat jade, it's not far off! Wu Di, you're a treasure hunter!"

Hearing Zhong Qi's exclamation, the two girls swam over. Yang Yanzi, curious, took the seed jade from Zhong Qi, played with it for a while, and then tucked it into her chest, saying,

"It's mine now!"

Zhong Qi laughed, rubbing his fingers, while Yang Yanzi's face turned red. She took the seed jade out and threw it at Zhong Qi's leg, shouting,

"Pervert!"

Wu Di quickly picked up the stone from the water, confirmed it was the same one, and, seeing Yang Yanzi's murderous look, tightly hid it in his hand, asking,

"Fourth Brother, how can there be seed jade in the water?"

"Hehe, you'll have to ask Linlin."

"When this house was built, Uncle Han from Xinjiang came to visit. At that time, the lake hadn't been filled with water and was covered with sand. Uncle Han said, 'Where there's sand, there should be pebbles. I'll send the old man a truckload of pebbles.' Later, he really did bring a truckload of pebbles."

"Uncle Han from Xinjiang? Bringing pebbles from Xinjiang? Wow, could he be the Jade King? Was that truckload of pebbles all seed jade?"

"How could that be? Even if he wanted to give them, my grandfather wouldn't accept them. Uncle Han just dug a truckload of pebbles from the river where seed jade is found. It's not surprising that some of them are seed jade."

Chang Linlin smiled, but Wu Di felt there was something else in her smile.

Zhong Qi laughed,

"Who knows how many pieces of seed jade Uncle Han mixed in. Many of them are top-quality. I heard that after they were brought, Uncle Chang scolded him and made him take half a truckload back. During dinner, Uncle Chang even made the Jade King drink three large glasses of wine! Linlin, I remember Uncle Chang said that anyone who swims in this pool can take a stone. Does that still count?"

"Of course, I heard that you've been looking for years and haven't found a satisfactory piece. Are you too greedy or just unlucky?"

"Hehe, I always thought the good pieces would be in the deep water, but it turns out the shallow water has the best. I'll definitely take one today and won't stop until I find a piece of mutton fat jade!"

Yang Yanzi called out,

"Great, Linlin, I thought you were my good sister, but you didn't even tell me this. I know in your heart, I'm far behind your..."

Chang Linlin pounced on Yang Yanzi, who resisted fiercely. The two girls wrestled, both equally fair and smooth, making Wu Di's eyes dazzle. They were clearly two human-shaped pieces of mutton fat jade!

Zhong Qi slowly walked along the lake, occasionally picking up a stone to examine it and then angrily throwing it into the center of the lake. Chang Linlin watched the stones' landing points nervously, as a mermaid was diving up and down to pick up stones.

As the sky grew dark, Zhong Qi plopped down next to Wu Di, holding a stone, a piece of yellow wax skin seed jade, about the size of an egg.

"This stone really has a connection with me. In five years, this is the third time I've found it. I was originally looking for a red date skin, but forget it. Thinking about how it has been waiting for me all this time, maybe it really has a connection with me! Jade and connection, it's all about fate."

Chang Linlin stood in the water up to her waist, listening to Zhong Qi, and couldn't help but be lost in thought. Around her neck hung a yellow wax skin mutton fat jade carved into a ruyi, a gift from Han Zhenbang. She was only six years old then, but she would never forget what Uncle Han said in her ear:

"There's another piece of yellow wax skin mutton fat jade in this lake. Whoever finds it might be Little Linlin's destined person."

At that time, she didn't understand what a destined person meant, but now she did. However, was the piece in Zhong Qi's hand the one Uncle Han mentioned?

Yang Yanzi's luck wasn't bad either. After diving up and down more than thirty times, she found a piece of sprinkled gold skin seed jade, much larger than Wu Di's. She proudly showed it to the three of them, making Chang Linlin's heart even more restless. Was the Jade Lake a lake of destiny?