Chapter 118: It’s getting dark
The atmosphere between Xu Qing and Jiang He had undergone a significant transformation. From initially feeling guilty and wanting to escape, to teaching Xu Qing martial arts and becoming unable to resist, to even looking forward to being deceived by him—it was like a tightly wound string, getting tauter and tauter until, with a snap on New Year’s Eve after drinking, it finally broke.
The shift from passively waiting to actively taking action happened in a single moment, yet it marked a qualitative change. Survival isn't humanity's only need.
Jiang He hugged a throw pillow and fell into deep thought after Xu Qing finished speaking. On the other side, Xiao Yan was ignoring her homework, instead playing with Winter Melon's tiny paws.
“Xiao Yan, do you want to be a big star in the future?”
Xu Qing stood up, brushed his teeth at the sink, then returned and took Jiang He’s small hand, playing with it while continuing to talk to Xiao Yan, who was engrossed with the cat.
“Yes! I want to be a star and be on TV!” Xiao Yan declared confidently, pointing at the TV. “One day, you’ll see me on it!”
“That’s amazing… To be a star, you have to study hard, or you’ll embarrass yourself by misreading things,” Xu Qing teased while tracing random strokes in Jiang He’s palm with his finger. Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Hey, both our names have fourteen strokes!”
“Huh?” Jiang He, feeling ticklish in her palm, didn’t quite understand.
“Fate~” he sighed dramatically before finally letting go of her hand and sitting on the other side to help Xiao Yan with her homework.“How many strokes does my name have?” Xiao Yan asked.
“Your name…” Xu Qing paused for a moment, calculating. “It has more strokes than the two of ours combined.”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
“Yes, it really is,” Xu Qing chuckled, then teased, “Have you ever been punished by a teacher to write your name repeatedly?”
“Nope.”
“Well, if that happens, you’ll find out just how ‘amazing’ it is,” he joked.
Xiao Yan blinked her wide, innocent eyes, thought for a moment, and shook her head firmly. “I don’t want to be punished to write my name!” The idea of writing such a complicated name a hundred times was terrifying—much harder than her winter break homework.
“What does it take to become a star?” Jiang He listened to their conversation and began to wonder if there was anything she could learn to do.
Here, she had nothing to rely on except martial arts, which were of little practical use. She lacked knowledge, skills, and experience—she was someone left behind by the times.
The only thing she could do was take Xu Qing’s advice and try to gain some online presence. Like the craftsman Geng she’d heard about, she could post videos of herself practicing swordplay. Success wasn’t guaranteed, but the potential was there.
‘Most likely, it will work…’ Xu Qing had said that.
‘Whether you choose to do it or not is up to you. I won’t interfere. Just think it through carefully—you don’t know enough about this place yet. There’s no rush to decide. Fate is a curious thing for both of us.’
Within his capabilities, Xu Qing gave her great freedom. She could use the internet to verify anything he said and make her own choices.
After the initial adjustment period, she had learned enough about this society to recognize that she could still turn herself in to the authorities, clearly articulate that she was from the Kaiyuan era, and avoid the hostility and conflict that might arise from misunderstanding her as a mentally unstable and dangerous individual.
Had she gone to the police right away, even if there had been no conflict and they had bizarrely believed her story, what came next would still have been dictated by others. This was the key difference.
One path allowed flexibility to change directions at any time, with Xu Qing merely providing guidance but not dictating her choices. Turning herself in was always an option, one she could decide on later.
The other path, once chosen, would mean committing entirely, with no chance of returning to her current lifestyle.
That was her greatest freedom: the ability to take her time to understand this era without worrying about basic needs and then decide.
Of course, freedom came with a price—Xu Qing's attempts to connect emotionally were part of the deal. No one owed her anything, and enjoying freedom meant bearing certain costs.
And Xu Qing had not forced her.
This was the best situation among all possibilities, and she had long realized it.
Fate truly worked in strange ways.
Jiang He’s gaze lingered on Xu Qing’s lips. Everything had started because of them.
‘It’s getting dark, and the rain doesn’t seem like it will stop anytime soon…’
Late at night, she often thought of Xu Qing’s words and his image holding an umbrella back then.
“Stars are people who appear on TV!” Xiao Yan pointed to the TV, puzzled that Jiang He didn’t seem to know this.
“Stars sing, dance, and act. Like Cheng Dieyi, they’re adored. Without fans, they’re nobody,” Xu Qing added, elaborating much more than Xiao Yan. “The main actors in the movies we watch are all stars.”
He paused and turned to Xiao Yan. “Can you sing?”
“…No.”
“Can you dance?”
“I can wiggle my butt!” Xiao Yan announced.
“Jiang He can do that too,” Xu Qing joked.
“No, I can’t!” Jiang He glared at him, frustrated. She stared at his lips, suddenly wanting to bite them.
“If you can’t sing or dance, then you’ll have to act…” Xu Qing trailed off as he noticed Jiang He’s gaze. He reflexively touched his lips and awkwardly turned his face away.
He hadn’t heard of anyone getting addicted to this kind of thing.
“What if you can’t act either?” Jiang He asked.
“Then you become an idol.”
“I want to be an idol!” Xiao Yan loudly declared her dream.
“What about you?” Xu Qing turned to Jiang He.
“Me… me what?” Jiang He stood up, put down the pillow she’d been hugging, and shuffled off.
It suddenly felt like he was teasing her like one would a child, and she didn’t want to talk to him anymore.
The afternoon passed with Xiao Yan playing with Winter Melon and doing homework, while Xu Qing browsed the sections of a small online platform, contemplating whether to test the waters with a new account.
Jiang He tidied up the living room, taking the laundry to the washing machine on the balcony. She paused when she saw Xu Qing’s straw sandals near his bed, then glanced at him and quietly took them to the balcony to wash again.
“What are you doing?”
“I… I’m washing your shoes.”
“Why are you washing my shoes?”
“They’re mine,” Jiang He answered, holding the sandals in confusion.
“You gave them to me, so they’re mine.” Xu Qing found her sneaky behavior amusing. “Put them down.”
When he woke up on the morning of the second day of the New Year to find the sandals back under his bed, he’d given up trying to explain.
“They’ll be cleaner if I wash them,” Jiang He muttered, speeding up and carefully scrubbing with a brush, afraid of ruining them and having Xu Qing aim for the pair she was wearing.
“I ordered some socks for you, and they’ll arrive soon. I’ll get you a pair of high heels too. Do you like white or black? I prefer ones with red soles…” Xu Qing said, glancing at his phone.
“I don’t like any of them.”
“Then I’ll just order randomly—one pair of white and one of black,” he replied cheerfully.
“…”
Jiang He’s lips moved slightly, but no words came out.
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