"Little Sister Cai'Er, when did you get back?" Li Xiang grinned, revealing two rows of neat, snow-white teeth in a brilliant smile.
The young woman before him, youthful and stunningly beautiful, was none other than Jiang Cai'Er from his own village. She was also the only high school student in the village.
Other families might have had kids in high school, but they had already moved away, so they didn't count.
"Yesterday afternoon. I got back pretty late, so I didn't come over to hang out," Jiang Cai'Er said with a smile. Her bright, captivating eyes seemed to shine, and they hadn't left Li Xiang's face since she arrived.
"Have some chestnuts!" Li Xiang said, beckoning for her to sit. "Hold on, I'll go get you something special."
"Mm-hmm." Jiang Cai'Er's eyes lit up with anticipation as she gracefully took a seat.
"Wow! Chocolate! It's my favorite!"
Seeing Li Xiang come out of the house with a box of Dove chocolates, Jiang Cai'Er couldn't help but accept it happily.
Li Xiang said, "I bought this just for you."
'Among the gifts he'd brought back from the big city, how could he possibly forget one for Little Sister Cai'Er?'
He hadn't seen her since he got back, so he'd kept it in the fridge.
"Thank you!" Jiang Cai'Er unwrapped a piece and popped it into her mouth, her eyes curving into happy crescents. She then unwrapped one for Li Xiang, and another for his grandmother.
Li Xiang's grandmother, of course, was also very fond of Jiang Cai'Er. 'This girl is wonderful,' she mused. 'So pretty. It would be perfect if she became my Xiang'Er's wife. She's just a bit young… I wonder if the Jiang Family would agree?'
"Brother Li Xiang, can I go take a look at the backyard you renovated?" Jiang Cai'Er asked as she stood up, eager to see it. She was tall and graceful. Though young—still a high school student with a delicate face—her figure was already captivatingly mature.
"Of course!" Li Xiang immediately gestured for her to follow him toward the backyard.
Once they were in the backyard, Jiang Cai'Er couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "It's even prettier than it looks in your videos. Brother Li Xiang, your camera skills could use some work, you know~"
"It's mostly my phone. It's not great, and I'm just using a tripod," Li Xiang laughed. "Of course, my camera work could also use some improvement."
The two big yellow dogs, who had been frolicking in the backyard, immediately ran over to Jiang Cai'Er, wagging their tails and putting on a fawning display.
These two dogs were especially Spiritual. They roamed the village freely and remembered the scent of every villager. Moreover, they even seemed to know which families were on good terms with their master.
If someone else came by, like Li Jintang for instance, they wouldn't be nearly this friendly.
The old tabby cat remained perched lazily on the roof. Unlike the dogs, it was rather aloof. It merely cracked open its eyes to glance at the newcomer before resuming its nap.
In reality, female cats are mostly aloof; it's the toms that are clingy.
Especially female tabbies. They have a wild streak, and you have to know them very well before they'll jump into your lap for a cuddle.
Li Xiang showed Jiang Cai'Er around the backyard. She was particularly fascinated by the Overlapping Waterfall and the various flowers and plants Li Xiang had transplanted. She kept striking poses for Li Xiang to photograph—squatting beside the Copper Coin Grass with a peace sign, or cupping her hands to let the clear spring water trickle through her slender, pale fingers.
Even though Li Xiang's photography skills were mediocre and his phone was nothing special, her beauty shone through. Every photo was a delight to look at—the kind of beautiful that makes you want to lick the screen.
"Brother Li Xiang, let me take some photos of you too!"
"There's no need for that, is there?" Li Xiang demurred.
"What? Don't you trust my skills?"
"That's not it."
"Come on, don't be shy! You took so many of me. It'd be totally unfair if you don't let me take some of you!"
With no other choice, Li Xiang had to cooperate, striking poses as Jiang Cai'Er directed.
"Brother Xiang, run around the yard with the two dogs. I'll record a video for you to post on TikTok."
Sure enough, Jiang Cai'Er's skills were a notch above Li Xiang's. The resulting video was much more visually appealing!
Li Xiang didn't even bother editing it. He just uploaded it right away, without even adding music. Instead, he kept the natural sounds: the "WOOF WOOF" from the dogs, the joyful laughter, and Jiang Cai'Er's bell-like cheers.
When this video was posted, it got even more comments than his previous one.
The comment section was full of messages: "We want to see the girl who filmed this for you! Tsk, tsk, her voice alone sounds so sweet!"
"Show us the girl, and hurry up!"
Of course, Li Xiang couldn't be bothered to respond. He was busy helping Jiang Cai'Er with her homework.
Although it had been many years since he'd graduated from college (counting his past life's experience), Li Xiang had been a top student in high school. The knowledge was seared into the depths of his mind, not something he would easily forget.
Especially since his rebirth, his mind had been growing increasingly clear—though that was probably due to becoming an Extraordinary Being.
Extraordinary Beings possessed outstanding Spiritual aptitude, allowing them to recall even long-lost memories.
Jiang Cai'Er was actually a very good student; the problems she couldn't solve were the exceptionally difficult ones. She'd thought Brother Li Xiang might not be able to solve them either. To her delight, however, he tackled one problem after another for her, leaving her overjoyed.
'Brother Li Xiang is so brilliant!' Jiang Cai'Er tilted her head slightly, sneaking a peek at him, her pretty face suddenly flushing red.
During a break, Jiang Cai'Er was scrolling through videos and saw the fan comments. After a moment's hesitation, she said to Li Xiang, "Brother Xiang, I'm willing to help you get more popular. Why don't you let me be in your videos?"
"Are you sure? You're in your second year of high school now, and you have college entrance exams the year after next. You should be focusing on your studies," Li Xiang said.
"It's fine! I'd only join in during my monthly holiday or the winter and summer breaks. I don't even have my phone with me at school, so it won't be a distraction. Our teacher always tells us to balance work and rest. Making videos is a great way to relax, and I'd really enjoy it!" Jiang Cai'Er insisted, her eyes shining and limpid.
"Alright then, we'll shoot one video?"
"We should film at least three!" Jiang Cai'Er said with a laugh.
"So what should we film? I can't have you doing heavy lifting with me in the backyard, can I?" 'He couldn't bear the thought of Jiang Cai'Er doing manual labor.'
Her parents doted on her. Even at home, the most Jiang Cai'Er ever did was wash some clothes, cook a meal, pick some vegetables from the garden, or pull a few weeds. It seemed that ever since she started her last year of junior high, they hadn't even let her do that much.
They were the type of parents who wanted her to do nothing but study, all in the hope she'd get into a good university.
An idea suddenly struck Jiang Cai'Er. She waved her hand and said, "Wait here, I'm going home for a second! Give me half an hour!"
Li Xiang shrugged and watched her go. 'What's going to take half an hour?' he wondered. 'Is she going back to put on makeup?'
'But you're already beautiful without it!'
Jiang Cai'Er had indeed gone back to do her makeup. Though she was a natural beauty, she knew that makeup would make her look even better on camera.
So she applied some light makeup. But that wasn't all; she also changed into a very unique outfit.
When she arrived back at Li Xiang's house, he was utterly stunned.