I followed him into the temple. Inside, a couple stood lighting incense, their prayers offered to the gods with bowed heads and reverent wishes before they retreated with quiet respect.
As Shen Yuan and I entered, the woman's gaze found us, her expression softening with sympathy. Passing by, she murmured, "Little girl, be sincere, it will definitely work."
My face soured instantly, but Shen Yuan merely smiled, extending the bundle of wildflowers and weeds he'd been carrying toward her. "This lady is kind-hearted. I'm giving you these flowers I just picked from the mountain. May your wish come true."
The woman's smile gentled further as she accepted them, thanking Shen Yuan alongside her husband before they departed the temple together.
Only the two of us remained, and I shot Shen Yuan a look of pure dissatisfaction. "You don't explain either?"
"Aren't you here to make a wish?" Shen Yuan countered smoothly. "I want true love, is her blessing wrong?"
"This is a temple for childbirth!" I jabbed my finger toward the clay statue on the altar. "It's obviously not you being worshipped—it's a female fairy!"
"Hey, Xiao Guoxian, why do you say that..."
He spoke, but when I turned from examining the clay statue, Shen Yuan's face had vanished. I searched up and down, left and right, until finally I spotted a sliver of his pink robes peeking from behind the petition box beneath the altar.
Rustling sounds emerged from the petition box. He'd opened someone else's offering box and was extracting all the copper coins inside.
I pointed at him, my reminder sharp. "This isn't for you..."
Shen Yuan remained crouched, gathering coins with elegant efficiency as he spoke. "Zi, it's the result of love. Cause and effect are inseparable..."
"I don't want to hear your nonsense. I only know how to take people's money and solve their problems. You really need to help them!"
"I've solved everything that can be solved." Shen Yuan had already filled an entire purse with the petitions, yet continued his work. "From the looks of that couple just now, they might be getting married soon. Little Fruit Fairy, there's no backlog of work in my Acacia Palace in the Nine Heavens."
Yes, he was exceptionally diligent.
Without his diligence, the Nine Heavens wouldn't be in their current state.
I wouldn't be in mine...
"Besides, in the mortal world, you can't get anywhere without money. If I don't find some money to dress you and me up properly, how can we find true love?"
I curled my lips skeptically. "True love also depends on appearance?"
"First, look at the face, then the heart." Shen Yuan collected two purses, displaying remarkable restraint. He locked the petition box again and pushed it back into place before extending one purse toward me.
I blinked, momentarily stunned. "Is there still a share for me?"
"Little Fruit Fairy, I told you, as long as you're on my side, I'll use all my evil intentions on others." He smiled gently, his expression resembling that of a truly benevolent god of love, cherishing everyone and everything equally.
But I knew this man had just verbally crushed me without a single blink, at least eight hundred times...
I reached out my hand, pausing before accepting, and emphasized, "Stealing offerings from other fairies—that's what you did. If there's retribution, it's on you."
Shen Yuan laughed and thrust the purse into my hand. "If there's retribution, I'll take it."
After securing the money, Shen Yuan escorted me to an inn where we washed up and changed into clean clothes. Then...
we settled in.
Shen Yuan announced, "I'm going to start looking for candidates for you."
He positioned himself in a corner, ordered tea and pastries, then began meticulously observing the people passing by. He seemed more reliable and attentive this time, so I supervised him for half an hour. Growing tired, I returned to my room and waited patiently, hoping he'd bring me someone I was truly destined to meet...
And then, when night fell, he finally arrived...
He arrived, bringing a dog with him to my room...
The creature had iron-gray brows, a somewhat foolish face, thick fur, and oversized paws. It was quite pretty, but...
I looked at the dog. The dog looked at me. Then it retreated behind Shen Yuan, turning its head away with an expression of wariness, as if afraid of me.
Of course it should be.
I could feel the resentment and anger radiating from me now. Not only would a dog, but even a ghost would fear me.
"What do you mean?" I asked Shen Yuan.
He gestured toward the dog cowering behind his heels. "The fate you wanted."
I stared at him. "Aren't you going too far? This is what you've been scouting for all day!"
The more I spoke, the angrier I grew!
I seized the stool beside the table, fully intending to strike this frivolous butterfly right then and there.
He caught the bench with one hand and scooped up the puppy with the other, shoving it unceremoniously into my arms.
"Awoo..."
"Mmm..."
The puppy's startled cry followed immediately by my own involuntary gasp...
The puppy was frightened, and I was somewhat frightened too.
Shen Yuan deposited the dog in my arms and released it. I caught it instinctively, first with one hand, then both, then...
then I felt as though I'd been placed under a spell, frozen completely in place...
The puppy was a soft, warm, furry bundle, so small I felt I could accidentally crush it with the slightest pressure.
The puppy seemed to sense the same danger—it feared dying in my hands, and I genuinely feared killing it.
I... as a fruit, I'd never encountered a life so soft and fragile.
The Mountain and River Fruits on the Hidden God Tree were all remarkably resilient, as were my seven thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine brothers and sisters. We competed with one another for the nourishment of our mother tree. The winds and rains of the divine realm showed no mercy, and we all had to rely solely on ourselves to grow strong.
And this little dog...
it was so tiny, so soft and fragile—how could it possibly survive on its own?
It seemed... it required my most cautious protection to preserve its life.
"Take it... take it away," I told Shen Yuan.
But Shen Yuan remained unmoved. "Don't be so stiff, Little Fruit Fairy." He dragged over the bench I'd been about to use as a weapon and seated himself across from me. He raised his hand, fingers slightly curved, and with a deft touch, scratched the dog's head.
The dog yelped softly, and then, having been completely motionless, began stretching its limbs and moving its head.
I gasped in alarm, uncertain what to do with it. I feared it would shift and fall, so I stiffened my fingers even more and applied greater pressure.
The dog whimpered in pain, making a thin, high-pitched sound, as if crying.
My panic intensified.
Just when I'd reached my limit, another pair of larger hands gently retrieved the dog from mine.
The puppy immediately ceased its whimpering upon leaving my grasp. I exhaled in relief, but Shen Yuan had no intention of letting me escape. He cradled the puppy and stroked it soothingly twice, then taunted me softly, "The God of Law isn't even as gentle as the fingertips of an old tree!"
He placed the puppy on my lap again.
My eyes widened fractionally, and I immediately pressed my legs together, stiffening my entire body, keeping myself as rigid and level as a bench, terrified the puppy would tumble from my lap.
The puppy trembled uncomfortably in my hold as well.
"It's scared!"
I was scared too!
I stared at it, afraid to move, when suddenly someone grasped my wrist.
I startled, but didn't dare struggle much because the puppy remained in my lap.
Shen Yuan took my rigid hand and, like manipulating a puppet, placed it on the puppy's furry back.
My fingertips twitched, but Shen Yuan's hand covered mine. "Don't hide. Touch it, like this." He guided one of my fingers along the puppy's back. "It won't hurt. A puppy's life isn't that fragile."
He instructed me in the art of petting a puppy.
Like teaching a puppet. I felt my finger joints gradually relax from their stiffness, and the trembling, frightened puppy did likewise. It slowly relaxed, its body losing its tension, gradually stretching out until finally it settled on my lap, finding its own comfortable position and drifting to sleep.
Then Shen Yuan released my hand, and I could stroke the puppy as he had—gently and slowly.
I felt I'd learned how to touch a fragile life.
I sensed its pulse and breathing.
Extraordinary.
"It's asleep," I whispered to Shen Yuan in wonder. "Look, its back is rising and falling. It's kicking its legs. It dreams, too."
I looked up, instinctively sharing my amazement with Shen Yuan.
And that glance, instantly, met Shen Yuan's eyes.
In the flickering candlelight, he rested one hand on the table, gazing back at me...
His eyes...
how should I say... the way he watched me petting the dog at that moment resembled... the way I now looked at the dog:
"Right? Puppies are amazing, aren't they?" he asked me.
Me: "..."
Facing Shen Yuan like this, I found myself momentarily speechless.
Suddenly, I recalled why the dog had arrived, and the confusion induced by the puppy cleared somewhat.
I fixed Shen Yuan with an increasingly sharp stare. "The dog is wonderful, but I remember you said you were looking for a destined partner for me. You'd better have an explanation right now..."
"I'll explain," Shen Yuan said. "I've been sitting downstairs all afternoon, observing everyone coming and going..." He sighed, shaking his head. "None of them are suitable. They're either too old or look dreadful..."
"Is that all that true love is?"
"True love is true love, but it requires a foundation," Shen Yuan said, regarding me seriously. "How can such a 'foundation' develop so easily between people? It requires similar temperament, compatible appearance, and harmonious conversation to discover that glimmer of connection. But you... the God of Law, correct?"
He spoke, and though I despised admitting it, I detected a hint of mockery in his words.
"Finding a mortal in this small town to create that glimmer of connection with you is genuinely difficult. I've pondered all day and finally discovered a solution."
He gestured toward the dog in my arms, as if introducing someone of great importance.
"If you can't find a lovable person, find a lovable dog? Is that your solution?" I asked him.
He smiled gently, reassuring me. "This species is inherently loyal and trusting. Only such sincerity is worthy of your true love."
I narrowed my eyes. "I'm increasingly convinced you're insulting me, but I can't identify a flaw in your logic."
Shen Yuan didn't answer directly, only continuing to smile.
"In any case, solving the problem is our top priority right now. A dog represents the quickest possible solution. How about this? I'll accompany you for two days so you can develop a bond with this dog. Even if you fail in the end, it'll only cost two days. Two days to eliminate a wrong path—it's efficient. Right, Little Fruit Fairy?"
I looked from Shen Yuan to the sleeping puppy in my arms.
It snored softly in its sleep, its breath warming my dress.
My heart softened unexpectedly.
I nodded. "That's acceptable, at least this dog's mouth won't confess feelings to me carelessly." I looked up, met Shen Yuan's gaze, and asked him, "Right, Butterfly?"
Butterfly's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "The God of Law, you're quite skilled at conversation."
"Thank you for the compliment. I'll keep the dog, you can go."
Butterfly was driven from my room by me.
I gazed at the dog in my arms, and for inexplicable reasons, even though it merely slept, I found myself smiling.
As a fruit, I experienced the preciousness of a life for the first time.
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