She liked how her brother-in-law was gentle with her sister, but she didn't quite like her sister's kids. The eldest was impatient, easily impulsive, and defiant; the second was clever but full of little schemes; and the littlest niece cried at the drop of a hat, loved to tattle, and was vain—a trio of little nuisances.
Lyu Juncheng searched for a long time before finally finding Lyu Xiangyang on a big tree: "You're really something, aren't you? Don't even know it's time to come home."
Lyu Xiangyang mimicked adults by rolling his eyes and turning his head, "No one likes me. What am I going back for?
Besides, they say stepmothers are wicked, and I think my aunt isn't any better. I'm not going back to be scolded and bullied."
Lyu Juncheng looked at his son's small face, so much like his own: "That's your home; nobody dares stop you from going back. Your aunt says things for your own good. You're still so young, yet your temper is already so big."
Feeling a bit sad, he took his son's hand: "Come on, let's go home for dinner."
*
Yu Xinyan finished washing her clothes and hung them to dry, waiting until dusk without seeing Lyu Juncheng come to find her.
She sneered inwardly: Look, he's probably waiting for her to give in first, so he can control her later.
It's fine; he didn't come, so she can have some peace today. Tomorrow morning, she'll head to the union to find someone and think about what to do.
Before she could figure it out, her stomach inconveniently grumbled.
Having skipped lunch, and knowing no one's coming by with dinner, she only had five bucks left and no coupons; she'd have to think of another plan.
Standing in front of the guesthouse door, she thought about the Space Stream Water and suddenly wanted to test her theory, so she headed towards the Yuquan River.
Earlier, she had found a few chili seeds in the corner of the guesthouse backyard while washing clothes, and had kept them.
While waiting for Lyu Juncheng in her room, she tried planting them in the space, watering some with Space Stream Water.
Upon leaving earlier, she used her mind to check them, but nothing had changed. However, she had a feeling that the stream water was different from ordinary water, and she longed to test it.
Since the planting didn't result in anything extraordinary, she'd see if it affected other living things.
Once she reached the Yuquan River, her anticipation made her a bit nervous, fearing she was overthinking.
After taking a deep breath, she found a flat spot to squat down, staring at the wide water surface with some trepidation, not daring to dip her hand in the river, instead using her mind to release a bit of Space Stream Water, and then waited for a miracle.
As time passed, her heartbeat quickened, eyes fixed unblinking on the water.
Suddenly, there was movement on the river surface, and upon closer inspection, she saw things gathering in the water, her palms sweating from excitement.
Indeed, heaven didn't treat her unfairly; the stream water was truly extraordinary.
Before long, plenty of fish gathered, luckily because dusk had fallen and there was no one by the river, or else it would have scared the hell out of people.
After the delight, she tried collecting the fish into the space, and it worked, making Yu Xinyan so excited she felt like yelling into the Yuquan River.
With her consciousness, she glanced into the space and her joy blossomed.
The little stream in there had fish swimming happily, clear to her eyes: there were mandarin fish, Big White Fish, Jihua Fish, Yalu Fish, copper fish, Grass Carp, carp, Crucian Carp, Black Fish, mandarin fish, Old Man Fish, Catfish, pseudorasbora parva, Fat Head Fish—although there weren't many of each, the variety was rich.
She also took some crabs and shrimps in.