Lin Xiao felt distressed after seeing the beauty battling the heat.
Then an idea came to his mind.
"I have a solution," Lin Xiao said dramatically. "Wait right here. I'll give you something better than ice."
He turned and practically ran.
Back home, he rummaged through his belongings until he found it: a fan. Not just any fan. A beautiful bamboo fan given to him by Widow Zhao. It had a phoenix painted on one side and a very bold love poem on the other, which he wisely ignored.
Returning to the forest with the fan in hand, he found Ling'er still there, fanning herself lazily.
"I've returned, fair maiden," he declared. "With the gift of wind."
She raised an eyebrow. "A fan? You dashed off for that?"
He ignored her skepticism.
Instead, he activated his talent.
Supreme Enlightenment Talent: Activated.
Golden patterns shimmered before his eyes as he observed the shade under the tree. He could see the swirling eddies of cooler air, how the leaves filtered heat and created microcurrents. He analyzed them all, every twist, every pressure point, every gentle shift in temperature.
It was beautiful.
"I see the rhythm… the language of coolness…" he whispered reverently, holding the fan like it was an ancient artifact.
Ling'er tilted her head. "Are you okay?"
"Shh! Genius at work."
He tweaked the bamboo angles of the fan. Shifted the curvature. Used grass threads to adjust its tension. Every change followed the logic of air movement under the trees. He even added leaf pieces at specific angles to channel the air flow like vents.
It took nearly an hour.
Ling'er watched him with increasing confusion… and curiosity.
Finally, Lin Xiao stood. "Behold! The first-ever Manual Air Cooler!"
He fanned once.
A cool breeze surged forward—not the dry kind, but genuinely refreshing. Ling'er's eyes widened.
"Try it," he said, handing it to her.
She took it suspiciously and gave it a casual wave.
A rush of cool air hit her face. She gasped.
"This… this is amazing!"
He leaned against a tree, smug. "Yes. I have crafted the divine wind. You're welcome."
She fanned again and sighed in bliss, her face flushing from both heat and excitement. "You… actually made this?"
"I have many talents," he said with a wink. "Want to know what else I can make?"
Ling'er looked at him for a long moment.
Then she smirked. "A shame you don't use those talents to do something useful."
Lin Xiao clutched his chest. "Wounded! I bleed, maiden! I am an artist!"
"You're a freeloader with a good face."
"Details."
But her smile was real, and her cheeks were still red as she fanned herself again, clearly enjoying the cool air. For a moment, Lin Xiao felt… proud. Not just because he made something useful—but because this world was starting to change.
Lin Xiao leaned against the tree, watching Ling'er sway the fan with delight. Her cheeks were flushed, her collar loose, and her laughter sweeter than chilled honey on a summer day. He couldn't help it—he smirked.
"If you like this fan so much…" he drawled, voice thick with mischief, "how about a kiss as payment?"
Ling'er's hand froze mid-swipe. She looked at him, wide-eyed. "W-What?"
Lin Xiao tapped his chin. "Just one. On the cheek will do. I'm a fair merchant."
Ling'er's eyes darted away for a second, her blush rising like a tide. She looked at the fan, then at him. Her lips quirked into a smile that was both shy and challenging.
"Fine," she whispered.
She took a hesitant step forward, then another. Her fingers tightened slightly on the fan handle, and her eyes locked with his.
But in her nervousness, she forgot—her dress was still loose from earlier. As she leaned up toward him, her collar slipped a little more. Lin Xiao's eyes widened as two snowy mounds came into view, soft and flawless under the dappled sunlight, with the faintest hint of pink peeking through like cherries crowned on moonlit hills.
His breath hitched.
Self-control?
Gone.
Before Ling'er could finish her careful motion, Lin Xiao's hand slid gently behind her neck, and he pulled her in—straight to his lips.
Her eyes flew open in surprise for a heartbeat, but then… they softened.
Ling'er kissed him back.
It wasn't fierce, but slow, exploring, full of hesitant heat. Her lips trembled against his, like she wasn't sure if she should, but wanted to. The scent of summer sweat and jasmine blossoms wrapped around them.
For a moment, time slowed.
When they finally parted, Ling'er stood there stunned, lips slightly parted, chest rising and falling gently. Then reality crashed in like a wave.
Her face turned crimson.
She tugged her collar closed with both hands, adjusted her dress in flustered panic, and practically spun on her heels.
"I—I'm going home," she muttered, not meeting his eyes.
She took a few steps, then turned slightly over her shoulder, holding up the fan.
"This… is my compensation."
And just like that, she disappeared between the trees, her figure swaying slightly with every step.
Lin Xiao stared after her, dazed.
"Worth it," he whispered, grinning like a rogue who had just stolen heaven itself.
Ling'er nearly tripped on the threshold as she burst into her home, heart still drumming like a village festival drum. Her lips tingled, her face felt like it was cooking over the blacksmith's forge, and her mind replayed that moment over and over—the kiss.
That scoundrel Lin Xiao!
She bit her lip, hugging the fan tightly to her chest as if it could cool not just the summer heat, but the firestorm inside her as well.
Her father, Old Man Tie, was sitting shirtless by the window, a large wet cloth slapped across his forehead. His chest still shimmered with sweat from hammering iron all morning. The poor man looked like he had been roasted over his own forge.
He blinked at her suspiciously.
"…Why is your face redder than a fire lotus?" he asked, raising one bushy brow. "Did a mosquito army attack you on the way back?"
Ling'er jumped slightly, her foot bumping into a stool. She quickly pulled the fan in front of her face to hide her blush. "N-No! It's just—it's so hot outside! I nearly fainted!"
Old Man Tie squinted at her like a man inspecting a suspiciously bent sword.
"Mm." He wiped his sweat again, then noticed the fan in her hands. "Wait a minute... This isn't ours." He leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Where did you get that?"
Ling'er looked at the fan. Oops.
Too distracted by the kiss, she had walked in like a girl returning with a treasure. Now there was no way out.
She cleared her throat and straightened up. "Actually… this isn't an ordinary fan, Father! It's amazing!" Her eyes lit up with genuine excitement. "Lin Xiao made it!"
"…Lin Xiao?" Her father looked like someone just told him a fish was baking bread. "That lazy… that no-good rice scavenger Lin Xiao?"
Ling'er pouted. "He's not that bad! He made this fan himself using… um… something he figured out from tree shadows and wind. It blows cooler air than normal fans! Try it!"
She shoved it into his hands and waved it in front of his face.
Old Man Tie blinked again as a breeze cooler than expected brushed his face. "Huh… this is cooler than the usual fans."
Ling'er nodded eagerly. "Right?! I told you!"
Her father stared at the fan again, then at her, then back at the fan. His expression shifted from suspicion to confusion, then to total dumbfoundedness.
"That kid really made this?"
"Yes!"
"...With what? His face?" he muttered, still fanning.
Ling'er nearly choked on her breath.
Old Man Tie fanned himself a bit more, muttering under his breath, "What's next? He's going to invent ice with a smirk?"
Ling'er turned away to hide her smile. She touched her lips again, the memory of the kiss sneaking back, making her cheeks red all over again.
"Too hot," she mumbled, fleeing to her room before her father asked why her lips were red too.
Old Man Tie stared at the door she vanished behind.
"…Definitely something fishy going on," he said, then glanced at the fan.
He paused.
"…But I'll be damned. This is a good fan."
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