On the way back from the supermarket, passersby noticed a well-matched young couple heading home. The man was handsome, and the woman was pretty; they were a pleasing sight. The man was carrying large and small bags, seemingly filled with pajamas, cooking oil, and other necessities—he was covered in stuff. The woman, on the other hand, was neatly dressed and carried only a bag of rice.
At first glance, everything seemed normal. But upon closer inspection, something was amiss…
Who was carrying the rice?
And it wasn't a small bag of rice; it looked like a large 10-kilogram bag. Could the man's entire load possibly weigh that much?
Before people could ponder this further, the couple had already sped into the residential area and disappeared from sight.
"Aren't you ashamed?" Qiu Wuji said, looking straight ahead.
"Anyway, you already said I'm weak," Chu Ge said, unfazed. "Twenty pounds of stuff is like lifting a needle for you; it's called 'the capable do more work.'"
Qiu Wuji asked, "Does having strength, or being able to fight, earn money? And does that require status?"
"Yes, you can earn money and even become a big shot, but that requires status. Unless you cross borders to war-torn areas, which is difficult and unnecessary right now." Chu Ge hesitated, actually wanting to say he'd support her without work, but remembering his boastful words from a few days ago, he couldn't take them back and remained silent.
Of course, Qiu Wuji herself didn't want to be dependent on others. She was about to break free from the "bindings of fate" of the "Creator God," and naturally, she needed equal exchange to exist as an independent individual.
Therefore, cooking counted as labor, which could be used to pay rent. Teaching him cultivation didn't count, because the cultivation method was given to her by him; she was simply returning it. Qiu Wuji had her own stubborn, personal boundaries of judgment.
Of course, cooking for someone else was incredibly embarrassing for Qiu Wuji… He could only tell himself that it was food he also needed to eat, and since the other person was a creator god, he was qualified… so he reluctantly accepted it.
The two of them carried bags and bags to the rarely used small kitchen. Chu Ge's face darkened slightly, and he quietly slipped away. Qiu Wuji looked at the filthy kitchen, so dirty even a dog wouldn't dare crawl there, with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. The spice box, which looked like it contained salt, was clumped together; he wondered which previous tenant had left it behind.
Speaking of which, Chu Ge and Zhang Qiren's own rooms were fairly clean and tidy, and the living room and balcony were also alright, seemingly cleaned from time to time. He wondered why the kitchen was in such a state… Perhaps it was because neither of them had ever used it?
Seeing Chu Ge run away, his face flushed, a sly smile, like that of a little fox, appeared in Qiu Wuji's eyes. With a flick of her slender finger, a flash of white light appeared, and the entire kitchen suddenly became sparkling clean.
"I cultivate immortality... Cleansing is just a minor spell."
This creator god is adorably silly.
Outside, Chu Ge was on the phone ordering a gas delivery, peeking into the kitchen. The spotless kitchen only slightly surprised him, but he quickly understood. His gaze, however, was more fixed on Qiu Wuji's back in her office attire. She was busily separating seasonings into spice containers, and her back looked very...
Chu Ge hated himself for being such a poor writer, unable to describe the scene and his feelings.
It was like a small stone thrown into a still lake, creating ripples.
Qiu Wuji turned and asked, "Who were you talking to?"
"Ordering a gas delivery."
"Then why did you stop halfway through?"
"Because I was looking at you."
Qiu Wuji gave him a look that suggested she wanted to hit him, and Chu Ge ran away in a flash.
Qiu Wuji snorted and continued working.
After tidying up, Qiu Wuji found Chu Ge sitting on the sofa, engrossed in his phone, seemingly doing nothing. Qiu Wuji peeked over and saw it was Chu Ge's book review section on his app.
Qiu Wuji tried to say, "Since...since getting criticized so badly, why don't we just..."
"No way!" Chu Ge looked up at her seriously. "It's because I don't want to write it that way."
Qiu Wuji pursed her lips and straightened her face. "What are you thinking? I said, why don't we just stop reading the comments?"
"We still have to read them." Chu Ge smiled. "Someone's started arguing."
"Hmm?"
"The single-female-lead/no-female-lead faction has arrived, saying that's how it should be. 'Haven't you ever seen a woman?' 'Such losers who take every woman they see.'"
"..." Qiu Wuji shook her head speechlessly. "I don't understand your world. Arguing about how others write their books. Are they also subject to a predetermined fate like me? Why care so much?"
"You also argue because of different interpretations of the Dao. Actually, it's pretty much the same. Everyone has their own ideas; it's difficult to reach a consensus."
Although Qiu Wuji found it hard to accept conflating novels with interpretations of the Dao, she understood the reasoning. She had only one thought: People in this world are really idle. Chu Ge stared blankly at the book review section, muttering to himself, "This is strange. My book is relatively unknown, only recently becoming a 'featured' book. Where did this sudden surge in popularity come from...? Logically, without a female lead, readers shouldn't even know about my book. Why is it that just after writing about a controversial point, and not even a serious one, suddenly so many people are arguing about it?"
Qiu Wuji immediately reacted: "Someone's helping you?"
"This shouldn't be happening..." Chu Ge curiously checked his in-app messages. There were no recommendations, meaning it wasn't from a recommendation slot. He also checked third-party forums, but there were no related discussions. This was normal; he only wrote about self-rescue from poisoning without any romantic subplots. Such a trivial matter should be tolerated in his own book review section, not enough to cause a forum debate.
But this was even stranger. Where did these people come from?
"This is really strange," Chu Ge shook his head, still puzzled.
Qiu Wuji asked, "Is this good or bad for you?"
"It's good. If the original readers stop reading and there are no new readers, we're doomed. But these new readers have come, haven't they? Although I don't know how many will convert." Chu Ge put down his phone, turned around, and smiled. "Anyway, whether it's a blessing or a curse, I can't escape it. I'll just keep writing."
Qiu Wuji nodded without saying much, still feeling a little guilty.
She had indeed caused him a lot of trouble… but there was nothing she could do.
Chu Ge, on the other hand, had long since stopped worrying about it: "By the way, why are you reading my book reviews? The history book you asked for a couple of days ago has arrived. That's the one you should be reading."
Qiu Wuji followed Chu Ge's gaze and, sure enough, saw a neat stack of books in the corner. She picked one up and looked at the cover: "Five thousand years of history… your civilization is so young."
Not even as old as me.
Chu Ge hesitated for a long time with a strange expression: "Alright, alright, I know you're an old lady."
Qiu Wuji's eyes turned dangerous. Chu Ge said, "That stuff you guys made up was just something our writers made up, a bunch of nonsense about tens of thousands of years, and that's how they portray the vicissitudes of life. If you really want to be serious, the cultivation world tens of thousands of years ago is still exactly the same as it was tens of thousands of years ago, civilization hasn't changed or developed at all—that's really unreasonable… But that's not important. The theme of cultivation novels is cultivation, not social change. If you want to see social change, there are other works; there's no need to look for something like that."
Qiu Wuji seemed thoughtful.
Chu Ge stood up: "I should get back to writing… I'll write, you read—this scene is picturesque."
Just when he thought he'd made a grand and evocative statement, the doorbell rang: "Gas delivery!"
The evocative scene shattered instantly, and the mundane realities of life rushed in.
Seeing Chu Ge's embarrassed expression, Qiu Wuji chuckled.
On the other side of the city, Zhang Qiren closed a post on a forum Chu Ge hadn't followed: "Brother, that's all I can do for you."