Qin Mingyu was playing on his phone. When he saw his old-fashioned, strict grandfather walking over with a stern face, he immediately hid the phone behind his back and sat on the sofa pretending to be spacing out.
His grandfather was the typical stubborn elder, always saying that playing on the phone was bad for the eyes, bad for the body, that young kids who played too much would let entertainment ruin their ambition, that they didn’t pay attention to exercising, were addicted to the internet, and didn’t care about real life around them. Every time he caught Qin Mingyu on his phone, he would lecture him endlessly, making Qin Mingyu’s head ache.
“Grandpa? How come you have time to come over today?” Qin Mingyu asked, half putting on an act, half genuinely surprised. His grandfather usually lived alone in a villa in the suburbs and couldn’t be bothered to live with these juniors. He rarely came over without a reason.
“Came to take a look at you all.” The old man said with a stiff face, extremely serious. His features were severe, the habit of serving as a chief judge for decades. Sitting beside his youngest grandson, he looked even more upright and imposing than the boy himself.
Qin Mingyu subconsciously straightened his back to imitate him, afraid of being scolded. Then, right in front of him, a brand-new, oversized-screen phone appeared. The grandfather who despised phones more than anything was holding the phone he had coveted for so long. Without saying a word, he stared at him.
An electrifying guess surged up in Qin Mingyu’s heart. Could it be… was this a gift for him?! Damn! This was a real biological grandfather!
“You teach me how to use this thing.” Grandpa finally spoke.
Qin Mingyu: “Thank… huh!?”
He finally understood why Grandpa had suddenly come over—he wanted him to teach him how to use a smartphone! The sun must have risen from the west. Was Grandpa possessed? Though suspicious inside, he still had to smile on the surface like the humble grandson he was, unlocking the phone and teaching Grandpa step by step.
Seeing Grandpa—who had always looked down on phones—studying so seriously, his curiosity couldn’t be held back. “Old man, why do you suddenly want to learn to use a phone? Weren’t you always disgusted with them?”
Grandpa held the phone and clumsily operated it, adding several contacts. Now he was looking with interest at a contact whose profile picture was a red camellia. Qin Mingyu glanced over. The profile name was “Clan Deity,” and he immediately snorted.
“What the heck, who’s bold enough to use that name? Aren’t they afraid Clan Deity himself will strike them down for justice?” He laughed, but when he saw the look of disdain on Grandpa’s face, he suddenly realized something. He jumped up from the sofa.
“Th-this isn’t actually Clan Deity’s contact number, right?!”
Now that was truly seeing a ghost! Did Clan Deity even use a phone?!
“What are you yelling about? You’re already this old and still so immature!” Grandpa completely forgot how he had dropped two fine teapots in shock when he first received the news, and began to scold him. “At the beginning of the first lunar month, we told you to prepare offerings for the family. And what did you do? You prepared a whole pile of snacks. If not for your parents stopping you, and if Clan Deity had blamed us, I would’ve beaten you myself! Back then, Clan Deity blessed you and your spiritual sense was decent, and what happened? At your age you still haven’t contributed anything to the clan. Every day you just eat then sleep then eat again and only know how to play on your phone. You’re completely letting Clan Deity’s expectations down! What use is a grandson like you?!”
“Grandpa… I haven’t even graduated yet. I’ll contribute after that.” Qin Mingyu spoke while his eyes kept drifting toward that Clan Deity contact. An audacious idea suddenly popped up.
Clan Deity was so powerful, guarding the Qin family descendants for generations. What if he prayed to him for luck in card draws?
Thinking of how he had failed to get even a single gold card after five hundred pulls, Qin Mingyu felt the need to test the ancestor’s power. When Grandpa took a nap, he secretly took the old man’s phone, opened the Clan Deity contact page, bowed twice to it, and even lit three sticks of incense from the house.
“I beg Clan Deity to bless me so that I can get a gold card in a ten-pull!” After bowing, he was about to draw but then felt this seemed disrespectful. Asking Clan Deity for help without offering anything wasn’t sincere. On impulse, he picked up the phone and sent a two-hundred-yuan red envelope to Clan Deity.
“Ancestor, please bless me—just two gold cards from a ten-pull. I’m not greedy at all!” Kneeling on the sofa, he nervously tapped the draw button, eyes wide open, waiting for a miracle.
The merciless bronze card’s white light stabbed his eyes. When the fifth bronze card appeared, Qin Mingyu was already in despair, believing fully that mysticism couldn’t change fate. But the next second—
The supreme golden light flashed—one card, two cards, three cards… five cards! The last five were all gold! In this game known for its near-zero gold card rate, when had something this terrifying ever happened! It was his most glorious moment!
“Holy crap! Clan Deity is awesome!” A loud, excited roar burst from the living room. While Qin Mingyu danced around in ecstatic joy, he suddenly heard a ding from the phone. He looked down and saw that the two-hundred-yuan red envelope had been claimed.
Coming down from his frenzy, he froze for a moment, then slowly realized—
“Ah… so someone really is using this Clan Deity account?”
───♡───
Luo Yuan was sorting through the many new contacts on her phone—figures from the Qin clan who were influential, notable, or elderly. She classified and added notes one by one, occasionally saying a few words to Clan Deity. When she suddenly received the red envelope, she was especially surprised. “Er-ge, someone sent you a red envelope. Look.”
After witnessing how these elders treated the Qin clan’s ancestor Clan Deity with such deep respect—ever since adding his contact, everyone stayed completely silent, not daring to disturb—this first person who sent a red envelope stood out dramatically. Truly courageous and bold.
Clan Deity suddenly let out an “Mm,” and said, “The child is too mischievous.”
The child is too mischievous? Luo Yuan looked at the sender’s profile picture—an extremely upright and serious-looking elderly man in a very proper half-body portrait. This… child? Well, in Clan Deity’s eyes, he indeed counted as a child.
Clan Deity coldly uttered two words: “Draw cards.”
Luo Yuan was confused. “Draw cards? Draw what cards?”
The expressionless Clan Deity asked her, “Do you want to draw cards?”
Luo Yuan said, “I don’t. Why are you suddenly asking this?”
Clan Deity: “The child is very happy when drawing cards.”
With no context at all, Luo Yuan didn’t quite understand his meaning. But she still followed her heart, gently tugged his white sleeve, and said, “I’m happiest when I’m with Er-ge.”
The two shinu who had just stepped into the shrine happened to hear this sentence, and for a moment, didn’t know whether they should enter or quietly retreat. Broad daylight, open and clear—could the lady not have a bit more restraint? She said such intimate words so casually! These young people nowadays were truly too improper!
The two shinu looked at the lady and the several phones and tablets before her and clearly felt that they really should retire. The reason they had come today was precisely to request retirement.
For the Qin clan, becoming a shinu was a lifelong occupation. They could not marry and had to remain here year-round serving the Clan Deity. In return, their families received compensation, and their status within the clan became very special—respected by all. Their food, clothing, and housing were naturally well-provided, and by staying at the Clan Deity’s side, they would enjoy the health and longevity most people dreamed of. After they became elderly and retired, they would be properly cared for.
In the past, many young clan women begged for the chance to serve the Clan Deity. But over the years, as society changed, fewer and fewer young people volunteered, because most were unwilling to endure decades of solitude. Even the two they had selected now no longer possessed the devotion of the former generation.
Thinking back to their own youth, when they had just arrived as shinu, the two elders felt a faint ache and sorrow. They also felt ashamed and uneasy, believing they had failed in their responsibility—unable to teach and shape qualified successors.
“We two are already old and can no longer continue serving the Clan Deity. From now on, these two children will uphold our duties.”
The two young girls dressed in shinu robes respectfully stepped forward to kowtow. They were about just-adult age, perhaps only a year or two older than Luo Yuan’s younger sister. Luo Yuan remembered both of them.
She had often seen them in the outer courtyard memorizing prayers while following the shinu. One was very gluttonous and especially loved eating small cakes. When Luo Yuan tugged the Clan Deity’s sleeve to sneak off for food, she had caught that girl secretly eating many times. The other secretly played on her phone—the same kind of girl-raising game her sister used to play—making her impression of them even deeper.
The two young girls rarely saw the Clan Deity, and now being handed such a heavy responsibility, they were uneasy yet trying hard to remain composed.
Clan Deity raised a hand toward the two elderly shinu. Their duties were now lifted; in another two days, they would leave. Their eyes were already red as they gazed reverently at their deity. Clan Deity gently tapped twice upon their time-worn foreheads, as though comforting children.
This was his blessing. In his long, endless life, there had never been anyone who could accompany him forever. Even these girls’ entire lifetimes were only a few short decades to him. He had already witnessed countless such lifetimes.
“These decades, thank you for taking care of us. But we couldn’t take good care of you… we truly feel ashamed. We hope you will be happier in the future.” The two elderly women finally shed tears. They glanced at Luo Yuan, who stood quietly at the side watching. For the first time, they showed no critical expression—only relief and peace.
The two shinu retired, and the new shinu took over. Since every generation of shinu was required to be dignified, steady, and unsmiling, these two eighteen- or nineteen-year-old girls—who privately liked to laugh and chatter—immediately straightened their faces the moment they stepped into the shrine, imitating the solemnity of the two former elders.
But to Luo Yuan, they still looked very much like children. Watching them always reminded her of her younger sister, so she treated them with extra gentleness.
The two young shinu had grown up hearing all kinds of terrifying legends about the Clan Deity. Compared to him, Luo Yuan seemed warm and approachable. Her temperament was simply too harmless, so before long, the two girls were already able to chat and laugh with her—at least when Clan Deity wasn’t “present.”
But that “not present” actually meant “the two shinu couldn’t see him.”
The two girls would sit in the outer courtyard watching Luo Yuan play games, discussing the game with her, chatting about anything. Completely unaware that the Clan Deity they respected and feared was floating right beside them.
Though wearing an expressionless face, Luo Yuan always felt that Er-ge liked staying near her more than before… or maybe it was simply the charm of the smartphone. Whenever she came to the outer courtyard to charge her phone, he would follow—just concealing his form so no one could see him.
“Sister An, it’s pretty troublesome for you to come outside to charge your phone every day. Why not have someone install an outlet inside the shrine?” the young girl named Minghui suggested. Of course, if Luo Yuan weren’t here, she would never dare make such a “blasphemous” suggestion—any change inside the shrine was terrifying.
Luo Yuan said, “Forget it, it’s not that troublesome.” In truth, she found Er-ge’s slightly internet-addicted behavior—silently following her outside whenever his phone ran out of battery—extremely adorable.
“Sister An! I brought the takeout back!” Minghuang returned carrying a huge pile of takeout bags. She swiftly laid out all the snacks, drooling as she worked. “Back in school, I could sometimes sneak a few bites, but ever since coming to the old residence, there’s no way to eat these. No takeout delivers here, and it feels too bothersome to make people go out every day just to buy food. Hehe, now I can finally mooch off Sister An and eat!”
“Sister An, can you still taste these now?”
“I can. It’s just that I don’t feel full. Eating them is the same as not eating them.”
“This is amazing! You won’t gain weight, and you can eat whatever you want without worrying about stomachaches. Truly the supreme enjoyment.”
Luo Yuan smiled at them, but when she glanced at Er-ge floating beside her, her heart tightened again. If only he could taste these flavors.
A cool hand gently touched her cheek in comfort.
“Sister An, I’ve always had a question—can you answer it for me?” Minghuang suddenly leaned in, sneaky and quiet.
“What is it?”
“I swear, absolutely no offense! I’m just really, really curious!”
“Alright, I won’t get mad. Go ahead.”
“You and…” Minghuang carefully pointed toward the shrine, eyes filled with the thirst for knowledge and the glow of gossip, “you two are husband and wife… so do you… have that kind of married life? The same way humans do?”
Kids these days really dared to ask anything.
She didn’t know how to respond. She only felt Er-ge’s sleeve drape over her shoulder, his fingertips brushing her neck as he softly called her, “An.”
Her heart stirred at that one word. Luo Yuan inhaled, then placed the chicken wing in her hand in front of Minghuang. “Eat more.”
Minghuang still wanted a clear answer and hummed in protest. Luo Yuan pressed down on the invisible sleeve on her shoulder, smiled, and scared the child: “If you keep asking, you’ll be cursed.”
Minghuang immediately shrank into a ball and kowtowed twice toward the shrine. “I was wrong, I was wrong, please spare me!”
