Happy cooperation

Today is December 31st.

As the year drew to a close, Jiang Chuan looked back at the traces he had left on his mountain climbing journey, perhaps feeling a little sentimental, but this was quickly ruined by the grumbling count.

"You're crazy to say you want to climb a mountain to watch the sunrise."

"Who would want to suffer outside in the dead of winter instead of resting in a warm room?"

Muttering curses, they followed him up the mountain. It was a dark mass, indistinct in the darkness, yet it formed a clear image on the white snow.

A typical example of someone who says one thing but does another.

The little plum blossom followed the people's footprints, step by step, moving forward.

"Life needs a little ritual." Jiang Chuan paused. "Didn't you say that the success rate of making a wish is highest when you see the sunrise at its highest point?"

"I was just doing it for work."

What could the count say? He could only shut his mouth.

He wanted to teleport directly, but a certain vicious employee wouldn't allow it. How come in other places it's the boss exploiting the employee, but here it's the other way around?

Jiang Chuan bought a full range of equipment for this long-awaited mountain climbing trip and made reasonable plans for rest time and direction of travel.

The count was already exhausted from going empty-handed, but this man was not only wearing heavy mountaineering clothes, but also carrying a large device, which he called photography.

With wind and snow swirling around, the world seemed exceptionally harsh.

If you gently sweep your gaze further into the distance and look at the contours of a mountain, you will see its outline, which resembles the coldness of metal, with a faint silver edge etched on it under the moonlight.

This is a cross-section from a human perspective.

According to the mathematical concept of coordinate axes, once the horizontal and vertical axes are identified, the position can be determined.

So, looking up, with no ceiling obstructing the view, the vertical position was also confirmed.

This is within the territory of Central China, specifically Mount Gongga.

Jiang Chuan deliberately chose a different route today, so he could avoid the tourists who were also there to see the sights, although it was a little more difficult to walk.

You can tell by the count's barely breathing manner, even as he's dying.

However, the long journey has come to an end.

"How much longer until we arrive?" The count, seeing that he could finally stop and rest, hurriedly caught up with the others.

"We've arrived."

Jiang Chuan chose a good spot to sit down, leaning against the rock behind him to rest, and casually announced some good news that would make the Earl ecstatic.

The coal ball immediately climbed up the pole and snuggled into Jiang Chuan's arms to warm itself.

Because it was a snow mountain climb, protective gear was worn on the face, which was completely covered, with only the eyes visible through the goggles.

"I have something to ask you."

The count, seeing Jiang Chuan's warmth, felt displeased and wanted to maliciously tear off the things from Jiang Chuan's face. However, Jiang Chuan quickly pressed down on him, changing the subject.

"After making this wish today, my mission is complete, right?"

Earl Meow nodded.

"So, our contract has expired?"

The Earl winked where Jiang Chuan couldn't see, and began to think about how to get by with his charm. Adhering to the basic principle of "use people to the fullest if they are useful", he knew that Jiang Chuan was a talent that had to be retained.

"Hmm... This, making the world a better place is the inescapable responsibility of every human being. You're only fifty-something, how did you manage to complete it?"

“This is just the beginning. It seems you’ve only completed the work in the big city. There’s still a lot to do, look…” The count paused slightly, looking for evidence to support his point, counting off the items with his paws.

What about workplace issues in third- and fourth-tier cities?

"We can't pretend we don't know just because they're rarely seen on the internet; it's not common there yet."

"Furthermore, consumers and workers are two sides of the same coin. It's not fair to only consider the workers' side; you can't apply double standards."

"The Central Plains are so vast and have such a large population; it's not something that can be changed so easily. The road ahead is long and arduous; you should search high and low for the truth."

This is different from what was agreed upon when we met and signed the contract.

Jiang Chuan, however, did not feel deceived. In fact, he was in such a good mood that the Earl began to suspect that the man was secretly laughing.

"Okay, I understand," he said calmly.

Watching over in the hazy darkness.

It was almost sunrise, and the wand was ready. The starry sky layer within it had been extracted separately as instructed by the Earl, turning it into a semi-transparent prototype sphere.

The count fiddled with the ball, afraid it would run away.

Instead of making a wish right away, Jiang Chuan simply went to set up his equipment.

The count crouched behind, watching Jiang Chuan walk forward and still fiddling with the camera, and further away, the wildflowers that began to burn from the crevices of the mountain.

He suddenly recalled that in the first half of this year, not long after they had gotten to know each other, Jiang Chuan had dragged him to the beach at four in the morning to watch the sunrise.

It begins with the sea and ends with the mountains.

It's strangely poetic.

This must be what Jiang Chuan meant by a sense of ritual.

Jiang Chuan sat down next to the Earl, and the prototype ball immediately rushed towards its master.

The count glanced at him sideways, a hint of displeasure in his eyes, and remarked: "A greedy wretch who forgets all principles for personal gain."

Then my attention was drawn to Jiang Chuan's face.

Jiang Chuan was looking straight ahead, while the Earl was looking at his side.

He had striking features, but his expression was extremely indifferent. His eyes were slightly lowered as he gazed at the rising sun. He was looking at the sun, and the sun was looking at him in return.

A glimmer of light shone in his dark eyes.

The eyelashes drooped naturally, and occasionally snowflakes stirred up by the wind would fall on them, creating an illusion of being far removed from the world, all in harmony with the snowy scenery.

The count, being talkative, couldn't help but ask, "Have I ever told you that your soul is special?"

Jiang Chuan didn't reply, because the sun was gradually rising. He gently closed his eyes, his lips moving slightly, broken by the wind, and only a few words reached the Earl's ears.

He rearranged the words and seemed to have come to some extraordinary conclusion: "Why make such a wish? I thought you would hope that the new policy could be successfully implemented nationwide."

Because that's what Jiang Chuan, as the representative of the magic side, should be doing.

Jiang Chuan's actual wish was: "To make everyone feel happy."

This sounds like a grandiose and empty slogan, not something that Jiang Chuan, as an adult with a mature mind, would want to achieve.

The prototype sphere gradually rose into the air, defying the human visual theory that objects appear larger when closer and smaller when farther away; in fact, it appeared larger the farther away it was. This continued until its already translucent body completely disappeared into the air.

This means your wish has come true.

Because Xu's wish was so grand, the prototype sphere now covers the entire sky above Zhongxia.

The Earl had previously told Jiang Chuan about the limitations of using this wand, which is usually most effective when used in directional events.

That's kind of a waste.

The count felt sorry for the wealthy family: "Why?"

Jiang Chuan didn't feel that such a precious opportunity had been wasted. He calmly said, "In this world, everyone's objective conditions are different. Before the objective conditions change, the only thing a person can change is their own subjective will."

"As long as subjective will begins to change, it will inevitably generate its own initiative, and begin to change the surrounding environment like the butterfly effect."

"If all goes well, this will be a virtuous cycle."

"You should praise me for making a wish that is 100% guaranteed to come true and will make both the real world and the magical world a better place."

The count listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion, only knowing that it was a good thing, even though it was different from his initial plan.

Speaking of which, I've forgotten what the big boss told me to do again... I haven't stopped thinking about getting information out of Jiang Chuan lately.

However, this person was too vigilant, and coupled with severe mysophobia, the count couldn't make a move during the brief time he could get close.

Out of a little bit of... magical pride, the proud little cat was unwilling to expose her ignorance to Jiang Chuan, so things remained awkwardly in a stalemate.

However, after listening to Jiang Chuan's long speech, the Earl suddenly had a guess, which he predicted would be very accurate.

Judging from the pictographic character "人" (person) that Jiang Chuan first extracted from the eyes, the historical context at that time was that his thoughts or feelings happened to resonate with the masses.

See all living beings.

The second is the pattern on the hand.

What was completely extracted while doing the summoner's side job was the meaning of "light, sun." If we were to translate that into the literary definition of the human world, it would be hope.

Look up at the sun.

Thirdly, the surface of the tongue... doesn't glow. If it did, the Earl could fool Jiang Chuan into sticking out his tongue to show him something.

Such a subtle, oral manipulation technique is undoubtedly a form of incantation.

Furthermore... considering Jiang Chuan's character, the Earl reasonably speculates that the last word should be: kindness.

Speak kind words.

It was indeed very grand and sophisticated, a far cry from the typical magical girl setting. The count was quite pleased with his judgment and, without bothering to verify the accuracy of his conjecture, planned to simply report it to his superior.

Jiang Chuan was busy fiddling with his camera and didn't notice what the Earl was thinking.

No matter the price of the camera, it can never reproduce the image formed on the human retina after light is refracted—this is Jiang Chuan's regret.

So besides the camera recording, he also looked to the future, knowing that every sunny day would have such a scene, but that every day afterward would never be like today.

The mountains are blue, and their boundaries are marked by sparse and dense snow.

These are the waves that the mainland throws into the sky, enduring and difficult to destroy. They may only sink down and rise again the next time, or the time after that.

This perspective inevitably appears somewhat pessimistic.

From another angle, the mountains are blue, while the sky is multicolored, as if the two are reversed.

The mountains are bathed in clear, cloudless sunshine, clearly in the dead of winter, yet spring colors are spreading fiery and vibrant around the red sun, not content with the existing canvas, but also craving the sunlight shining on the mountains.

Sunrise comes quickly, and time seems to fly by at this moment.

Jiang Chuan had a dazed feeling that the gears of his life, which had come to a standstill, were finally starting to turn slowly again.

He turned around and finally remembered that he had a friend beside him, so he scooped up the count and they admired the sight together.

"Thanks."

"What?" The count didn't hear clearly and asked again in a loud voice.

I said, "Thank you."

Suddenly emboldened by his newfound vanity, the count became proud and sincerely thanked him, saying, "I should be the one thanking you."

"Wishing you a happy new year and continued success in our cooperation."

"Happy to cooperate!"

-END-

[Author's Closing Remarks]

I'll just write a short closing statement as is customary.

I actually started experiencing burnout around 250,000 words for this novel, which was related to poor data at the time and the uncertainty of its future. I don't know why the data was quite good before the paid chapters, but it started to plummet after the paid chapters, which was quite alarming.

Moreover, given the increasingly favorable comparative situation during the same period...

I spent a short time adjusting my mindset, and thankfully I had a lot of drafts saved up, so it didn't affect the content of the articles.

Returning to the article itself, it now seems more like a practice piece, still with many areas for improvement. I'll definitely review it thoroughly this time and strive to achieve the results I desire in the next one.

Let me talk about some minor, unimportant scene descriptions. Subscribers will definitely notice that every time I write about the protagonist going out to play, I suddenly start focusing on describing the scenery the protagonist sees.

Throughout the entire text, I've lost count of how many sunsets and sunrises the protagonist witnessed. I also enjoy challenging myself; for each different scene he saw, I had to describe it in different ways, racking my brains to translate the actual scenery from pictures and videos into words.

This isn't actually important in online novels, and probably no one would bother to look into it.

These are some of my own quirks.

This book doesn't have much angst, which really feels a bit unlike my style. I was ready to unleash my rage several times, but I held back in time... After all, this is a lighthearted and silly story!

Therefore, there is a side story for the main character, "Jiang Chuan Xing," which is a friendly reminder: readers in a good mood should not read it, and readers in a bad mood should also not read it (see "Sculpture" for details). It is full of angst, some obvious and some subtle, and it runs throughout the whole story.

I'm simply satisfying my own fantasies.

However, I also support those who dare to try.

Because I really love that extra chapter, and it's because of that extra chapter that Jiang Chuan became Jiang Chuan.

Finally, thank you to all the readers for your continued support. Perhaps we can meet again in the next book if we have the chance. As expected, this epilogue is a mess, but the most important thing to emphasize is thank you.

On a side note, the pre-order has been renamed. It was previously titled "[A Guide for Gen Z Parents on Raising Their Children]" and "[If You Became the Lazy Parent of the Protagonist's Child]", and is now titled "[A Pure-Hearted Girl's Painless Motherhood]".