A luxurious business van stopped in the middle of an old urban village, completely out of place, attracting the attention of many passersby.

Soon, the car door opened and Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan stepped out.

Once the vehicle drove off, Lin Zichen immediately turned to Shen Qinghan and couldn’t help but complain, “I mean, isn’t that a bit weird? You just went for a compatibility test, so how did you end up suddenly getting a master?”

“I think it’s weird too. It was way too sudden…”

Now that Shen Qinghan thought about it, the whole thing was absurd. It was all because she was too soft‑spoken and didn’t know how to refuse, so she ended up becoming someone’s disciple without realizing it.

Lin Zichen rubbed his forehead, “Forget it, let’s wait and see. If she means no harm and her character’s decent, it’s fine to accept a ‘temporary master’ for now. But if she turns out to be untrustworthy, once you’re stronger, you can cut off that so‑called master‑disciple relationship yourself.”

“Mm.”

Shen Qinghan nodded softly, like a child who had done something wrong.

At that moment, the front door opened.

Zhang Wanxin stood at the entrance and called toward them, “What are you two still standing there for? Come in already!”

Hearing her, the two stopped talking and quickly went inside.

Shen Jianye and Xu Meng had been busy lately, so Shen Qinghan had been eating most of her meals at Lin Zichen’s house, rarely returning to her own home.

* * *

That evening, at Mingxiang Restaurant.

Both families cleared their schedules to celebrate the children’s excellent results in the compatibility test.

Lin Zichen placed second in the entire province, which came as no surprise—everyone found it perfectly reasonable.

But when Shen Qinghan became the provincial top scorer, both sets of parents were stunned, thinking the kids were joking.

It wasn’t until they personally watched Shen Qinghan check the official exam site and saw the number 16% beside her name that they finally believed it was real.

“Our daughter really is the top scorer, Jianye, I’m not dreaming, am I?” Xu Meng said in disbelief.

Her face was full of confusion, as if it were all unreal.

Her daughter, aside from being pretty and delicate, had always been ordinary in every way.

So how did she suddenly stand out like this today—surpassing Lin Zichen and becoming the provincial champion?

Even in dreams, she wouldn’t dare imagine something like that.

On the other side, Shen Jianye also found it hard to believe, but with the facts right before his eyes, he forced himself to rationalize it.

“There’ve been dark‑horse candidates like Hanhan before. Every year, some students seem average in high school, their physical stats unremarkable, yet they end up shocking everyone in the compatibility test.”

“I know, but to become the provincial top scorer out of nowhere? That’s just too much.”

Xu Meng still couldn’t believe it.

Zhang Wanxin smiled, “Oh, there’s no need to overthink it. The important thing is that the two of them can attend the same university again. That’s destiny.”

“True.”

Xu Meng smiled from the heart.

She had always worried that her daughter might not be able to keep up with Lin Zichen and that they’d drift apart after growing up.

Now, that worry was gone for good.

The childhood sweethearts—one the top scorer, the other the runner‑up—were perfectly matched, destined to become a pair of enviable soulmates no one could separate.

* * *

Around nine in the evening, dinner ended.

Both families headed home.

By half past ten, Shen Qinghan had taken a shower at home, put on her pajamas and went over to see Lin Zichen.

When Zhang Wanxin saw her showing up in pajamas late at night, she teased, “Hanhan, coming over to sleep with Xiao Chen again?”

“No, it’s not that, I just have something really important to talk to him about face to face.”

Blushing, Shen Qinghan quickly denied it.

Those words—“sleep together”—sounded far too suggestive. Just hearing them made her feel embarrassed.

“Aunt Wanxin, I’m going upstairs to find Xiao Chen.”

Leaving that sentence behind, she walked toward the stairs.

As soon as she disappeared up the staircase, Zhang Wanxin turned to Lin Yansheng, “Just finished the college entrance exams and already has something so important to say in person—do you think Hanhan’s going to confess?”

“Probably.”

Lin Yansheng was watching a kung fu soccer match on TV and replied absentmindedly.

Zhang Wanxin continued on her own, “They’re both eighteen now, real adults. It’s about time they got together.”

“Yeah, date all through university, then get married right after graduation.”

“Then she’ll get pregnant after graduation—twins, a boy and a girl.”

“It’d be perfect.”

As they talked, Zhang Wanxin’s graceful face lit up with joy as she happily imagined the blissful life of a three‑generation family.

* * *

Upstairs, in the hallway.

Shen Qinghan knocked on Lin Zichen’s door. When he opened it, she immediately said, “Xiao Chen, I have something important to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about what happened at the base earlier today.”

“The base?” Lin Zichen looked puzzled and closed the door, motioning for her to sit on the bed and explain slowly.

Shen Qinghan took off her slippers, sat cross‑legged on the bed hugging a pillow and said, “When I was at the base today, that master I somehow ended up with used her spiritual power to run a full‑body check on me. She wanted to see why my Gene Fusion Adaptability was so high. In the end, she found nothing unusual—my body’s completely normal, no different from any other person. She couldn’t even figure out why my body leaks water.”

Lin Zichen was surprised.

Even Yuan Dongzhi, who could manipulate towering ocean waves dozens of meters high, couldn’t figure out the secret behind Shen Qinghan’s body?

It seemed her body was even more mysterious than he’d imagined.

Thinking that, Lin Zichen looked at her seriously and said, “About your body leaking water and your extremely high water affinity—don’t tell anyone else for now. Let’s just observe quietly. Our understanding of this world is still shallow.

What we know is limited to what we can see—it’s safe to say we know almost nothing. If certain things get exposed, we can’t predict the consequences—whether they’ll be good or bad. So for now, let’s play it safe and keep things steady.”

He continued, “Whether it’s your body’s water leakage, your water affinity, or the strange voice you heard twice in the ocean, we can study it all later once we’re stronger and more experienced. There’s no rush.”

“Okay, I understand. I’ll listen to you.”

Shen Qinghan nodded obediently.

Then she added, “Oh, right, I forgot to tell you something.”

“When I was at the base, Master said I have a senior sister. I looked at her photo and realized she looks just like Bai Xue. You still remember Bai Xue, right? The white‑haired girl from second grade who used to play with us, then suddenly transferred away? I still have her photo. I’ll send it to you.”

Shen Qinghan pulled out her phone and sent the photo to Lin Zichen through WeChat.

‘Bai Xue?’

Hearing the name, Lin Zichen raised an eyebrow as memories long buried surfaced.

He opened WeChat and tapped the photo Shen Qinghan sent him. A white‑haired girl appeared on screen.

At first glance, she was beautiful and well‑built.

She did look somewhat like Bai Xue.

But her eyes were far sharper and her aura radiated an intimidating pressure, completely unlike the gentle Bai Xue he remembered. It was hard to tell if they were the same person.

Still, Lin Zichen didn’t really care whether this white‑haired girl was Bai Xue or not.

Unlike Shen Qinghan, to him Bai Xue was just a fleeting figure from his childhood—nothing more.

What really caught his attention was the photo’s background.

The plants in it looked bizarre, almost alien.

“Do you know where this photo was taken?”

“I don’t. I didn’t ask…”

“Then why don’t you message your master on WeChat and ask her?”

“Okay, I’ll ask now.”

Although Shen Qinghan felt awkward about contacting Yuan Dongzhi, seeing Lin Zichen’s interest, she forced herself to do it.

She sent the message, but Yuan Dongzhi didn’t reply right away—probably hadn’t seen her phone yet.

Lin Zichen wasn’t in a hurry. He asked Shen Qinghan to check Yuan Dongzhi’s WeChat Moments to learn more about her.

Unfortunately, they were set to ‘three days visible,’ so there was nothing to see.

The only visible detail was her profile picture—a lonely blue lotus blooming on the water’s surface.

About ten minutes later, Yuan Dongzhi finally replied.

Just two words: Source Site.