Petals of Eternity

 Shen Jinnian pricked up his ears and paid close attention to the old man's every move. Then he suddenly heard the old man cough and speak with mystery in his voice:  “Your destined match… guess where they are?” Shen Jinnian: “…” He immediately elbowed Gu Yan and complained to him openly and without concealment:  “I told you not to bring wine for him.” The old man had barely drunk anything and was already tipsy.  If he got fully drunk later, his mind might not be clear enough to help them calculate the child’s fate. They’d gone through a lot just to come here. Gu Yan quietly let Shen Jinnian take it out on him. When he bought the wine, he had chosen a mild, mellow kind suitable for the elderly. What he hadn’t expected was that the old man’s alcohol tolerance was so low. Now, both of them were feeling somewhat anxious. At that moment, the boy by the old man’s side spoke up, calmly comforting them, like he was used to this:  “Don’t worry. This is my master’s perso...

The old master waved his hand and asked the young boy to bring tea. “Such a young child, yet so many questions?” Shen Jinnian realized he’d just blurted out a whole string of things. He immediately felt embarrassed and ashamed. He quickly offered the master a cup of tea in apology. “I was a bit rude just now. Please forgive me, sir.” The baby tilted his head and learned on the spot, and also clasped a pair of small hands and bowed: "han~" Please forgive Daddy, Grandpa! “Haha, I just said you’re young, so there’s no need to bother with adult formalities. Just relax, treat this place like your own home.” The old man picked up the glasses on the table and slowly put them on his nose. There was no disgust in his expression, as if he was just sighing casually. He even showed concern and asked Shen Jinnian, “Have you two had lunch?” Shen Jinnian shook his head. “Not yet. We left early this morning to get here.” They had hired a car at dawn to come from the city. It had been a bumpy...

Chapter 29 – I Want to Know Who This Child Is With a sharp whoosh, the bathroom door was suddenly pulled open. Gu Yan instinctively turned around while holding the baby in his arms. The next second, he locked eyes with Shen Jinnian, who had just stepped out of the shower. Shen Jinnian didn’t say a word. He just stood in front of the bathroom door and stared at him with burning eyes. His aura was two meters high. The pressure was silent but overwhelming. Gu Yan felt like a guilty thief caught in the act. He hadn't gotten Shen Jinnian's permission before picking up the child, and now the panic was clearly written all over his face. Carefully, he bent down and placed the baby back on the bed. “PaPa…” The little one, who had just been soothed, suddenly realized he’d been abandoned again. He looked at Gu Yan, then at Shen Jinnian, stretching out both tiny hands like a kitten begging for affection. “Paopao…” He called out pitifully, again and again. The two adults had their own thoug...

Tang Mian happened to notice that the tape had run out. Since Fu Shizhao had left not long ago, he thought of catching up with him to go to the cafeteria together for dinner and then to the small supermarket there to buy new tape. After all, he had been painting all afternoon and needed a break. After dinner, he planned to take a stroll around the playground to digest his food, and then continue painting in the evening, which would make things much easier. Recently, he had been under quite a bit of pressure, painting until late for several weeks in a row, with Fu Shizhao bringing him dinner. He would stay in the studio from noon until late in the evening, only taking short breaks to go to the bathroom. Perhaps because the memories of high school from his previous life were the most vivid and unforgettable, Tang Mian felt a sense of daze after entering high school in this life. Although he had been living in this world for over a decade and had already adapted to reincarnation, just whe...

In the new semester, Tang Mian and Fu Jiacao became desk mates. Considering their habits and personal preferences, they weren’t the best match to share a desk. Tang Mian was taller than Fu Jiacao and liked sitting at the back of the classroom for a wider view, while Fu Jiacao, being somewhat nearsighted, preferred sitting closer to the front to see the blackboard better. However, in a new environment, both naturally leaned towards sitting with familiar people. At the beginning of the semester, seating was random, with a major reshuffle planned after mid-term exams. Eventually, they settled on seats in the middle row. Tang Mian still found it a bit uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to absentmindedly calling out for Fu Shizhao, only to realize his deskmate had changed. Nor was he accustomed to forgetting to refill his cup after drinking, always finding it empty. And he wasn’t used to encountering difficult problems without being able to turn to his nearby classmate for help. It was the same ...

The winter break always seemed too short, with hardly any time left after the Lunar New Year celebrations. Due to the separation of subjects in the second semester of the first year of high school, there weren’t many assignments for this winter break. Aside from the standard winter break assignments provided by the school for various subjects, there wasn’t much else. Since Tang Mian would be moving to a new liberal arts class in the next semester, he only needed to focus on the liberal arts assignments. The teacher hadn’t torn off the answers from the summer vacation assignments, so there wasn’t much pressure. Tang Mian had already completed and checked all of them before the Lunar New Year. After the Lunar New Year, during the snowy days, the temperature outside remained low. Tang Mian stayed indoors with the heater on, doing some early preparation for the textbooks he would be using in the second semester of the first year, or helping his mother draw illustrations of winter plants. H...

Girls are indeed more sensitive when it comes to emotions, and their intuition is often accurate. With Jiang Tian’s reminder, Tang Mian finally realized what was happening. Why did Fu Shizhao suddenly suggest coming to Yangchun Temple, a place known for its accurate matchmaking?  Clearly, in this life, Tang Sheng and Jiang Tian’s relationship was going so smoothly, and they were already considering marriage, so they didn’t really need any external force to push them. Instead of going to the temple, it would have been better to go somewhere else that could have enhanced their relationship, and it would have been more fun too, considering temples are solemn places. If it was because Fu Shizhao had someone he liked… everything suddenly made sense. Fu Shizhao had someone he liked, and he wanted to pray for their relationship in the temple. So, he suggested coming to Yangchun Temple that day. On the surface, it seemed like he was praying for Tang Sheng and Jiang Tian’s relationship, but...

January 4th. There was an unusual sight of a snowy-white sun in the sky, but despite the snow, it was still cold, and the temperature remained low. Tang Mian still bundled himself up like a dumpling, with gloves hanging around his neck. His hair had grown longer, reaching down to his shoulders. Instead of tying it up as usual with a small elastic band, he let it hang naturally, which would be warmer. The illness he had before the final exams made him uncomfortable for a long time. He really didn’t want to get sick again. Yangchun Temple was located on the mountain, and most people chose to visit the temple for blessings on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, so there weren’t many people on the fourth day. The road to the mountain was paved with cement, and the accumulated snow was hastily swept to the sides. However, there was still a lot of ice in the middle of the road, making it very slippery to walk on. So, the group stepped on the soft snow on the sides of the road, cl...