Chapter 93: If I were a weak woman
Farewell My Concubine depicts the story of that era.
Even though it's so distant from now, the customs and the sense of change in the times carry an indescribable feeling.
Xu Qing slurped his congee, occasionally picking at some pickles, watching alongside Jiang He until the end, where Cheng Dieyi drew his sword and ended his life.
An era, a story.
"The performances in these kinds of plays are outdated, just like kung fu. Hardly anyone dedicates themselves to it anymore, and even if they do, there’s no real future in it. It just becomes a niche art form, a piece of cultural heritage. To put it simply, times have changed."
He let out a sigh, not even sure why he did. Watching movies like this always touched something deep inside him. That’s why he loved watching films, and why he loved being an up (content creator).
A good movie can stay with you for years, even a decade, making you want to watch it again.
Jiang He watched the credits thoughtfully. She didn't understand it as clearly as Xu Qing, but the clash between eras conveyed itself through the screen. Understanding the plot didn’t matter.
That is the power of art. Human joys and sorrows might not connect, but art creates a bridge of empathy."Times have changed," Jiang He sighed as well.
"Huh?"
Xu Qing glanced at her. Hearing those four words from her felt oddly strange.
"What does ‘Men Fear Night Escapes’ mean?" Jiang He asked, ignoring his surprise.
"A ‘night escape’ is like a kiss. It's something men fear the most. If you ever get annoyed with me, you can just—" Xu Qing trailed off, seeing Jiang He’s fists clench.
"It’s just a play," he relented.
Giving up on teasing her, he collected the bowls and chopsticks and headed to the kitchen. "There's also ‘Yearning for Worldly Desires’. It tells the story of a young nun who falls in love and leaves her temple to chase after a man. It's a great play, but I doubt you'd get it.
"These performances demand solid fundamentals. It's a one-person show where there's no scene change or break. You can't even sneak a drink of water. Drink too little before going on stage, and you're thirsty; drink too much, and you're desperate to pee. Once you're on stage, you just have to power through. If you can pull it off, it means you've truly mastered your craft. Whether you become famous, though, depends on luck."
"That night escape play is about Lin Chong, the Panther Head. He was around hundreds of years before you and me, escaping to Liangshan in the snow. That master in the movie just sang Night Escape before his death. You can imagine how hard it was."
Xu Qing shook the water off his hands as he came back out. Drinking the congee made him feel better, lifting his mood. "Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing… That movie was set in the late Qing and early Republican era. Just look at how much things changed. We’re even further apart from that… it’s wild."
Thinking about Lin Chong felt distant, but looking at Jiang He made it feel oddly close.
If one day he stumbled upon Lin Chong outside… well, at this rate, he'd do nothing but pick up strays.
"The power of time is unbeatable. Things that were once unforgivable are now commonplace. Things people used to enjoy might now be considered crimes."
He tossed out the thought and headed to the bathroom with his pajamas, leaving Jiang He to her thoughts.
After every movie, she liked to ponder for a bit. That was good—it was better than not using her brain at all.
The longer Jiang He stayed here, the more she thought. About the past, the present, and the future. As her understanding grew, she realized how precious it was to have a place to belong.
She remembered wandering the streets with her sword when she first arrived. If it hadn’t been pouring rain and keeping people indoors, someone would have noticed. If she’d stolen food out of hunger, she’d have been arrested.
The more stable society was, the more dangerous it had been for her in the beginning.
If Xu Qing had acted differently that day, things could have turned out very differently.
She sat cross-legged on the couch, inspecting the rough patches on her hands. She scratched at them with her fingers, then looked towards the bathroom.
Times had changed.
Maybe what Second Boss said was outdated… right?
When Xu Qing came out, he saw Jiang He wrestling with some inner dilemma, her hands nearly twisting together.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
She stood up casually and walked straight into her room, closing the door behind her.
"Go shower; it's nice and warm in there, not cold at all," Xu Qing called after her.
"Okay!"
Hearing her reply, Xu Qing sat at the computer, moving Winter Melon aside. He clicked around aimlessly, hearing the door open and Jiang He’s footsteps heading to the bathroom. He checked his Baidu search history.
Empty.
Thinking he’d made a mistake, he closed it and reopened it. Still blank.
She… learned to clear her history?
He glanced towards the bathroom, a bit surprised.
Ten minutes later.
The bathroom door opened with a soft creak.
Xu Qing stayed in his lazy sprawl on the couch and looked back. Jiang He no longer dressed neatly after her showers. She wore an oversized pajama set, tilting her head to let her hair fall to one side. She held a towel in both hands, drying her hair. The hem of her pajama top revealed her smooth calves, and she shuffled towards him in cotton slippers.
As she got closer, Xu Qing noticed her cheeks were flushed from the steam, droplets of water clinging to her forehead. She looked nothing like the fierce woman who could snap trees with a single blow.
"What are you looking at?" Jiang He muttered, a bit uncomfortable. Instead of handing him the hairdryer, she plugged it in and started drying her hair herself.
"If you couldn’t crush me with a single slap, I might be committing a crime right now."
"Huh?"
"Too bad there’s no ‘what if.’" Xu Qing didn’t move, closing his eyes instead.
The hairdryer whirred to life. Jiang He sat in a chair, drying her hair. A sudden thought crossed her mind. "If I were… a weak girl with no fighting skills, what would you have done back then?"
"Called security to send you home."
"Why?"
"Because some people dress in ancient costumes these days. If you hadn’t thrown that dart, I’d have thought you were just a lost girl."
Jiang He felt a bit guilty about destroying his TV when they first met. "Just because of that dart?"
"And the broken straw shoes showing your toes. And your aura, your eyes, your expression… it all added up. That dart was just the trigger, but an important one. Without it, I’d have just thought you were weird."
Xu Qing recalled their first meeting. "Normally, I wouldn’t have trusted you. But with all those odd things combined—and that dart—I just… acted on impulse and let you in. If I’d had time to think, none of this would’ve happened. You holding a sword was pretty terrifying."
Jiang He glanced at him while drying her hair. "So if I’d been weak, you might still have let me in, but then handed me to the police?"
"No, to security. Then they’d give you to the police."
"You wouldn’t have… thought of committing a crime?"
"I’m not a criminal!" Xu Qing snapped. "I—ugh, forget it. You wouldn’t get it."
"Three years minimum," he muttered. Only an idiot would do something like that.
Jiang He stayed silent, the sound of the hairdryer filling the room.
They each drifted into their own thoughts. Being alone together in a room was something they’d gotten used to.
Everything was innocent and pure. Nothing else happened.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter