The fourth day, may God grant your wish.

Grandma Zhao invited the two to stay for lunch, saying it was a local specialty she had eaten since childhood in Taoyuan Village, simple and convenient.

Lin Chaoying's lucky bag was less than half finished, while Jiang Chuangu's looked almost done. She sat in the courtyard, playing with his work in her hands, and said, "Jiang Chuangu, why don't you embroider one for me too? I'll buy it for fifty."

He was about to agree when he remembered what Granny Zhao had said: it would be better to embroider one's own wishes. He strongly refused, saying, "No, you have to embroider it yourself."

Lin Chaoying pouted unhappily, darted into the kitchen, and saw her mother-in-law rolling out dough. Eager to help, she said, "Grandma, let me help you! I'm strong!"

Grandma Zhao saw right through her and said with a smile, "Can't you sit still?"

Lin Chaoying was a little embarrassed.

Grandma Zhao brushed the flour off her hands and said, "I'll be done soon. You can have some fruit and tea."

Jiang Chuan Gu followed and leaned against the door frame on the other side, asking curiously, "Grandma, I've noticed that many villages or small places have their own local beliefs. Is the Yuan God you just mentioned the original belief of Taoyuan Village?"

Grandma Zhao picked up a knife and quickly cut the dough into long strips. She said, "Yes, I remember when I was little, the Temple of Wishes stood by the river. Every year during festivals or birthdays, my parents would take us to the temple to express our wishes so that the God of Wishes could hear them."

Her tone was wistful and nostalgic, "But back then, our ancestors had rules: we couldn't make too many wishes, only one at a time, so as not to disturb the peace of the wishing gods. The village was poor then, and every family wished for a good harvest and for their children working away from home to be safe..."

"Rules passed down from our ancestors?" Lin Chaoying found it absurd. "Can they be replaced by the river god at will?"

Grandma Zhao sighed, lifted the pot lid, and saw the boiling water bubbling and steaming. "Like this pot of water," she said, "when I'm burning firewood and covering it, you can't tell that the water has been boiling for a long time. When people are tormented by hardship, they naturally feel more resentment and bitterness. But when someone opens that lid, the true state is revealed..."

The appearance of gods is often due to human desires.

But a god who cannot satisfy his desires will eventually be dragged down from his high position.

The noodles tumbled and floated in the water. Grandma Zhao stirred them with chopsticks, then took out three bowls, smeared sesame oil on the bottom of each bowl, and took out a jar of seasoning from the cupboard, saying, "This is the seasoning my mother taught me to make. Back in Taoyuan Village, every family had a jar of it."

The seasonings and sesame oil are mixed at the bottom of the bowl, and a spoonful of light white noodle soup is poured over it, instantly filling the entire kitchen with aroma.

Lin Chaoying exclaimed, "I thought salted noodles were just noodles with a little salt, but I didn't expect them to be so delicious!"

Jiangchuan Valley diligently tidied up the table in the yard, helped to get chopsticks and bowls, and the aroma and sunshine in the yard warmed people's hearts.

Grandma Zhao said, "Every time tourists come, I make a few bowls of salted noodles. Xiao Mei used to love eating them too."

Lin Chaoying placed her hand on the rough, tree-bark-like back of Zhao's hand and said, "Grandma Zhao, Xiao Mei must be happy when she's with you."

"Okay." Granny Zhao grasped her hand in return and asked, "You haven't said your names since you came in?"

Lin Chaoying said, "My name is Lin Chaoying, and his name is Jiang Chuangu!"

Grandma Zhao was clearly taken aback for a moment, then pointed at Lin Chaoying and said, "Lin." Pointing at Jiang Chuan Valley, she said, "Gu."

The two men didn't understand what she meant, but obediently nodded.

Grandma Zhao stood up and walked back to her room on her own. When she came out again, she had two red lucky bags in her hands, embroidered with the characters "Forest" and "Valley".

She said, "This was embroidered by Xiao Mei. She was halfway through when that incident happened... Later, I helped finish embroidering the rest of the fabric. I thought it should be for the two of you."

Xiao Mei loves doing handicrafts. Since entering Taoyuan Village, she faces different problems every day, which happen to be between her and Wang Ge. Only when doing handicrafts with Granny Zhao can she feel inner peace.

So Grandma Zhao listened to her talk about her family, her friends, her previous job in the entertainment industry, and what she wanted to do in the future.

This includes the story of fighting alongside Egawa Valley against villains in the entertainment industry.

Grandma Zhao was terrified when she heard this and said, "Little girl, it's not safe for little boys to be out there. What happened to the little boy who was bullied?"

Xiao Mei said, "They both went back to their hometowns to work. Although they didn't manage to get the bad guys imprisoned, at least it made his life a little more difficult, and we're happy about that."

Grandma Zhao took her hand and asked, "If you are bullied outside, be sure to tell Wang Ge. He is a good boy and will definitely help you."

Xiao Mei smiled and said, "Grandma, I'm pretty amazing too, don't worry! Actually, I really want to thank my friend for this, I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to meet her in this lifetime?"

Grandma Zhao: "People who are destined to meet will always meet."

Xiao Mei found it difficult to explain, saying, "Mother-in-law, she's not an ordinary person... she's a bit special, she's someone we can't see..."

Grandma Zhao understood what she meant and nodded, saying, "It's all a matter of fate."

Afterwards, she specially took out new fabric and asked Xiao Mei to make lucky bags with her name on them. Since Xiao Mei had only heard the name once and was not sure which characters it was, she finally chose to embroider the surname "Lin".

When Lin Chaoying took it, she was a little dazed, as if it were the first time Xiao Mei had reached out to her in the air. Eight years had passed, and they would never have the chance to truly get to know each other again.

Grandma Zhao suddenly grabbed her wrist and said, "Come with me."

Jiangchuan Gu obediently took his lucky bag, sat in the courtyard, and continued eating his salted noodles.

Grandma Zhao's room was very clean, with a pleasant scent of soap. Lin Chaoying noticed that there were many landscape and portrait paintings hanging in the room. Grandma Zhao was bending over and rummaging through the cabinet. Lin Chaoying stood there and noticed the character "临" (Lin) at the bottom of the paintings.

"Come here." Granny Zhao opened the box, inside were two red woven bracelets, each about the thickness of a finger. She took one out and said, "Hold out your hand."

Lin Chaoying stretched out her arm, and the red rope wrapped around her fair arm twice before Grandma Zhao neatly tied a knot at the end.

Grandma Zhao said, "Xiao Mei mentioned that she has an invisible friend, and I think it must be you. Although I don't know what happened to you, this rope can prevent you from being disturbed by ghosts and monsters, and it can also help people guard their souls. My mother prayed for it at the Temple of Wishes back then."

Overwhelmed with emotion and surprise, Lin Chaoying stammered, "Grandma Zhao... thank you."

Grandma Zhao patted her back affectionately and said, “I know you young people have your own plans and choices, but I’m already an old woman buried in the ground. I’ve seen a lot and understand things better than you do. That young man outside likes you, but you haven’t realized it yet. I’m here today to break the ice for him. One reason is to tell you that I’ve waited for someone for decades without ever having the chance to say those words. Xiao Mei and Wang Ge’s love lasted less than a quarter of their lives. You two are clearly not ordinary people, and the things you face won’t happen in ordinary people’s lives. So, you need to make plans early…”

This passage was so rich in information that Lin Chaoying didn't even have time to react; her hand was still frozen on the table.

Grandma Zhao continued, "On the other hand, if you don't like him, you must take the initiative in your feelings. Regardless of whether you care or not, you need to distinguish and know what the other person's feelings are for you, so as not to let him use other relationships to blur the boundaries between you."

Lin Chaoying couldn't describe her feelings about this inappropriate remark from an elder; her mind went completely blank.

Since her brother's death, her world has changed drastically. She has been physically and mentally impacted, which has disrupted and reshaped her previously positive attitude towards relationships.

Whenever the topic of love comes up, whether it's friendship, family, or even romantic love, she feels a strong resistance to actively trying to understand it, and then her brain freezes.

Just like now, Qian Fei, Kong Yue, Qin Ming, and Jiang Chuangu are all very important to her. If Qian Fei were to step forward and want to spend his life with her, she would be stuck in a daze.

The root of it all was the last thing her brother said as he died for her:

"Sister, I love you."

So much so that every day in the future, whenever someone talks to her about love, Lin Chaoying's mind will flash back to the image of her brother's death. Even when her parents say, "Mom and Dad still love you," she will freeze in place.

Through the window, she watched Jiang Chuan Gu earnestly eating his noodles, sunlight illuminating his back. She said, "Grandma, don't worry, he won't cross the line... But he and I... we spent a period of time together that no one knew about... But..." Lin Chaoying's eyes darted around, a hint of confusion in them, and she said to herself, "Love? Does that mean... he's willing to die for me?"

Like...a younger brother?

Grandma Zhao was a little surprised and quickly said, "Child, listen to me. Every relationship requires mutual sacrifice. Just like you and your parents tolerate each other's different ideas because of love, you and your friends accept each other's different habits because of love, and lovers make concessions for each other. It is never about giving up everything, including life, to prove love."

"Never mind..." Lin Chaoying laughed, deliberately skipping the topic, and said, "Thank you, mother-in-law, for taking the initiative to help me. Did you often talk about these things with Xiao Mei and Wang Ge before?"

Grandma Zhao: "Yes, it's usually Xiao Mei who tells me funny stories. She has a clear-headed and open-minded personality. Wang Ge, on the other hand, has been coming to my place since he was little, since his environment has been constantly changing."

"Then..." Lin Chaoying said, "Mother-in-law, did Wang Ge come looking for you when he came back this time?"

Grandma Zhao fell silent unexpectedly.

Lin Chaoying had a premonition that the other party must know where Wang Ge was. Almost pleadingly, she said, "Grandma, Xiao Mei is dead. Only Wang Ge knows the truth about what happened back then. We've only been here four days, and people are dying and disappearing in the village. All sorts of things are happening. I even suspect that the police not being able to get in is related to the villagers. Right now, I just want to know if Wang Ge is still alive..."

"I don't know if what I did was right." Granny Zhao took out a bunch of keys from under the pillow by the bed and placed them in Lin Chaoying's palm. She said, "There was a secret passage under the God of Wishes before. After the villagers smashed the God of Wishes, they directly built the golden statue of the River God. They didn't know about the existence of the space below."

Lin Chaoying gripped the key tightly.

Grandma Zhao said helplessly, "I told you what I said and gave you the key because I believe you are Xiao Mei's friend..." She gripped Lin Chaoying's wrist tightly, her hands trembling uncontrollably. "Some people, some things, don't judge a book by its cover... May God bless you!"