"Xiao Mo, how do you pronounce these two characters?"

"Yaotiao."

"What about this character?"

"Qiu."

"Yaotiao shunu, junzi hao qiu. Xiao Mo, what does this sentence mean?"

"It means that beautiful and virtuous lady is a good match for a gentleman."

"Then how do I become a virtuous lady?"

"By reading books."

"I am reading books."

"It's not enough. You need to read more books."

"Then how many books do I need to read?"

"When you've read enough, you'll know for yourself."

"Oh..."

Bai Ruxue responded, then raised her delicate head to look at the top of Xiao Mo's head.

"Eh? Xiao Mo, you seem to have grown taller."

"Have I?"

"Yes." Bai Ruxue stood on her tiptoes to measure, "Before you were as tall as me, now you're a whole head taller than me."

"It seems so." Xiao Mo looked at the girl in front of him, "But why haven't you grown?"

"That's right," Bai Ruxue blinked, "Why haven't I grown?"

"Maybe this is just how tall you are." Xiao Mo patted her head, leading the cow while reading, continuing to walk forward.

"That's impossible." Bai Ruxue caught up with Xiao Mo's figure, "Xiao Mo, I will still grow! I'll definitely grow very, very tall, and my legs will definitely be very, very long."

Xiao Mo smiled, "Alright, then I'll wait and see."

Every time Xiao Mo went up the mountain, he would encounter this girl.

The girl never said where she came from, and Xiao Mo never asked about her residence.

When Xiao Mo rode the cow and read, the girl would sit sideways behind him, her small feet under her skirt swaying back and forth, watching the white clouds, watching the grassland, watching him in front of her.

Ever since the girl appeared, Xiao Mo's time gathering medicinal herbs had decreased considerably.

This was mainly because Bai Ruxue would collect those herbs and bury them in the ground.

Every time Xiao Mo came, she would excitedly pull him into the mountains, saying, "I discovered lots more purple sun grass and blue waterfall flowers."

Xiao Mo taught her to read and recognize characters, and Bai Ruxue would collect broken silver to pay Xiao Mo tuition fees but no matter how good Bai Ruxue's luck was, it was impossible to find money every day.

When Bai Ruxue couldn't find money, Xiao Mo would comfort her, "It's fine. You can pay tuition with rabbits or wild chickens someday."

After that, every time the girl came to see Xiao Mo, her fair little hands would be carrying a rabbit or wild chicken.

"You should have said so earlier. Rabbits and wild chickens are much easier to find than silver," the girl said.

However, Bai Ruxue still collected silver every day.

For no other reason.

Bai Ruxue heard Xiao Mo say that reading was very expensive, and she wanted to collect money for his studies.

In summer, the weather gradually became hot.

Snakes prefer cool places.

Bai Ruxue stood at the cave entrance, and upon seeing the blazing sun, didn't want to go out.

Bai Ruxue even felt that if she crawled out, her belly would be burned, and she would turn into roasted snake but today Xiao Mo said he would go up the mountain to herd cattle.

Looking at the time, Xiao Mo should have finished lunch and was already riding the cow up the mountain.

"Little Green, sister is going out." Bai Ruxue said courageously.

Little Green, lying lazily on the cool stone, raised her head, "Sister, come back early."

Over this period of time, Little Green no longer wanted to say much about her sister going to find that human.

Anyway, sister wouldn't listen even if she spoke.

Moreover, that human seemed quite foolish too, still not realizing that sister was a demon.

"Mm, I'm leaving."

Bai Ruxue transformed into human form and specifically checked her small feet.

They were indeed not a tail. Bai Ruxue happily jumped out of the cave.

Sure enough, on the small path where he often went up the mountain, Bai Ruxue saw one person and one cow.

"Xiao Mo..." The girl waved her hand happily.

As usual, the two rode the big black cow, swaying through the mountains but this sun was really harsh.

Bai Ruxue felt her eyes were going to blur, and her head was dizzy.

Just then, a shadow covered the girl's face.

Bai Ruxue looked up to see an oil-paper umbrella.

"Hold this. The weather is hot, don't get heatstroke." Xiao Mo handed the umbrella to the girl.

"How considerate of you."

Bai Ruxue happily took the umbrella, leaning it against her shoulder and gently rotating the handle like a child.

On the cow's back, the girl sat sideways holding the umbrella, while the boy sat astride reading his book.

The bird songs and insect chirps in the mountains blended and mixed together.

A gentle breeze blew past, ruffling Xiao Mo's hair.

The girl took a deep breath, her eyes comfortably narrowing. The wind carried the scent of earth and his smell.

It seemed that summer wasn't so detestable after all.

Deep autumn.

The weather gradually turned cool, and the leaves became increasingly withered and yellow.

Many of the medicinal herbs in the mountains had also withered and died.

Sitting on the rock along his necessary mountain path, the girl's fair palm supported her chin, looking somewhat melancholy.

Compared to summer, Bai Ruxue found she disliked autumn even more.

Because in autumn, he rarely came up the mountain to herd cattle and gather herbs.

Although he would come to play with her every few days, it was ultimately not as frequent as before.

Gazing and gazing, gazing and gazing.

The girl would sit on this rock every day looking out, from sunrise to sunset.

Without realizing it, it was already evening.

In another half hour, the sun would set.

Just when the girl thought he wouldn't come today, a familiar figure appeared on that small path.

The girl's eyes suddenly brightened.

"Xiao Mo..." The girl ran over happily, "Why are you coming up the mountain so late today?"

"I happened to have some free time today, so I came to take a look. I thought if I met you, I'd tell you something. I didn't expect you'd still be on the mountain." Xiao Mo smiled.

"I, I was about to go down the mountain too," the girl's eyes darted around, "What did you want to tell me?"

"The village chief said I've learned quite well these past few years and should be able to pass the county examination. I've already registered. Next spring I'll go take the exam. The village chief told me to prepare well and strive for a good ranking. Since winter is approaching, I probably won't be coming here anymore."

"Oh..." Bai Ruxue lowered her head, a flash of disappointment in her eyes.

"Sorry, I won't be able to teach you to read during this time."

"It's fine, it's fine." The girl quickly waved her hands, "Then next spring, you'll definitely come back, right?"

"Mm." Xiao Mo nodded.

"Then let's pinky promise." The girl extended her slender little finger.

Xiao Mo also extended his finger.

"Pinky promise, hang yourself, don't change for a hundred years."

The two fingers hooked together, the girl swaying their fingers, her cheerful voice spreading throughout the mountain forest.

"Xiao Mo, next spring, I'll wait for you here. You must not lie to me."

The girl raised her beautiful eyes, looking at Xiao Mo reluctantly.

"What if I do lie to you?" Xiao Mo joked.

"You're not allowed to lie to me."

The girl pouted, "Because... I really will keep waiting."