The person who came to pick them up was a middle-aged man with extremely short hair driving a black car. Lin Qingyu could tell that this car was cleaner and more refined than most other cars on the road. Just as there were bad horses and good horses, there were also good cars and bad cars.
Lin Qingyu saw a circular sign erected at the very front of the car; a circle that was evenly divided into thirds. Did this have some profound meaning?
Jiang Xing has always gotten along with their family driver. Their driver didn’t need to come down and open the door for them. They were normal people, there was no need to put on any sort of show. Jiang Xing opened the door to the back seat and made a gesture of invitation. “Go on in. Didn’t you want to ride one of these?”
Lin Qingyu bent over to get in and then sat up. Jiang Xing then got in and greeted the driver, “Uncle Chen.”
The driver grinned. “It’s been a long time.” The driver saw Lin Qingyu from the rearview mirror and said in surprise, “A’Xing, is this your classmate?”
The driver and Jiang Xing spoke Cantonese, but Jiang Xing answered him in Mandarin. “No, he’s not.”
He wasn’t a classmate but the driver tacitly understood that he was a friend. The driver also switched to Mandarin. “Why is your friend wearing ancient clothes? Is he a celebrity?”
Jiang Xing smiled and said, “No, we just came back from the Hanfu Fair.”
“Hanfu? Oh, I know, it’s very popular among young people nowadays.”
“Yes.” Jiang Xing replied casually, “Uncle Chen, please turn down the temperature of the air conditioning. We walked around outside and it was so hot.”
The driver lowered the temperature by two degrees and complained, “At this rate, it won’t be cold until November.”
Lin Qingyu listened to the conversation between Jiang Xing and the man. In his estimation, the man should be someone like a groom but Jiang Xing had called him ‘uncle’ and he talked as if they were equals.
Jiang Xing did the same when he was in the Dayu. When Xiao Songzi brings him tea and water, he would occasionally get a “thank you” from the emperor and it made Xiao Songzi feel was if his life were about to end. He begged Jiang Xing to let him go, crying bitterly. Only then did Jiang Xing restrain himself.
The corners of Lin Qingyu’s lips quietly ticked up.
This Jiang Xing, who was gentle and courteous to others, had another kind of cuteness that couldn’t be seen in the Dayu.
With Jiang Xing by his side, Lin Qingyu was finally in the mood to appreciate this strange world. He looked out the window and saw all kinds of shops lining the road. He knew every word on the shops and didn’t know what it meant when they were connected together. There were also tall buildings rising from the ground. They went up so high, how were people about to go up?
As the sky gradually darkened, lights went on in every building, lighting up Lin Qingyu’s eyes.
This was Jiang Xing’s hometown, so bright, so colorful. There were air conditioners and mobile phones; there were generous girls working outside, cars that run faster than thousand-li horses and sweet milk tea and egg tarts.
Jiang Xing grew up in such a world.
It was so nice.
The driver drove the car directly into the community’s underground garage. Before getting out of the car, Jiang Xing said, “Thank you, Uncle Chen.”
“No need to be so polite. Your family pays me.” The driver smiled and said, “Call me anytime you need anything.”
After the driver left, Lin Qingyu asked, “Is the person who drove a servant of your family?”
Jiang Xing choked then said with lingering fear, “That was a close call.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t ask me this question in the car.” Jiang Xing toes curled in mortification just imagining that scene, “Or it would have definitely meant my social death.”
Lin Qingyu asked, “What does social death mean?”
“Human death is divided into two types. One is normal death and the other is social death…”
Lin Qingyu was extremely intelligent and he immediately understood with just this hint. He snorted coldly and said, “I’m not stupid. Of course, I wouldn’t have asked in front of the driver. However, your driver seems to speak differently from us.”
“Oh, that’s because he’s lived in a Cantonese-speaking area his whole life. Naturally, he’d have a bit of an accent when speaking in Mandarin.”
“Then why don’t you have such an accent?” Lin Qingyu then remembered, “Ah, that’s right. It’s because you only came back to Guangzhou when you entered high school. You told me that when you were in the Dayu.”
Jiang Xing made a “tsk” sound. “I used to tell you everything, huh? Am I that much of a chatterer in front of you? Conan says ‘my father taught me this in Hawaii‘ while you come here to Guangzhou and say ‘my husband taught me this in the Dayu’?”
“There are still many things you haven’t told me. For example, how do we go up this building soaring into the sky?”
“Thank you for finally acting like an ancient and allowing me my dignity as a person of modern times.” Jiang Xing led Lin Qingyu to a strange door, “We’ll take the elevator up.”
Lin Qingyu said, “Elevator?”
No matter how much Jiang Xing talked about it, he couldn’t cover everything. For example, the elevator, Jiang Xing never mentioned it to him.
Jiang Xing briefly introduced the principle behind the elevator, “The elevator uses a traction drive method and the core of the drive mechanism lies in…”
Lin Qingyu interrupted him, “In short, we can go up when we ride this box.”
Jiang Xing snapped his fingers. “That’s a good summary.”
Aside from the door in front of them, there was another one not far away. Lin Qingyu asked, “Is that other one also an elevator?”
“En, that’s a housekeeper’s elevator.”
“Housekeeper?”
Jiang Xing described to him a housekeeper’s duties. Lin Qingyu nodded. “I understand. A housekeeper is a servant.”
Jiang Xing explained patiently, “A housekeeper is not a servant. They are employed on an equal footing with us. So, when you interact with our housekeeper in the future, you can’t treat her like a servant, just treat her like an ordinary elder. When you’ve got nothing to say, just say ‘thank you’ a few more times and the food she cooks will taste even better.”
Lin Qingyu was puzzled, “Since you’re equals then why don’t the housekeepers and owners take the same elevator?”
Jiang Xing was stumped by his question. In order to maintain his omniscient image in front of Lin Qingyu, he could only come up with a universal answer, “Why are the elevators separate, you say? Well, I believe you are familiar with elevators, but elevators have to be separated. Why must they be separated, you say? Housekeepers must take the housekeeper’s elevator and the owners must take the –…”
Lin Qingyu’s eyes twitched. “Fine, shut up.”
Entering the elevator, Lin Qingyu watched the number gradually increase from -1, finally stopping at 26. Lin Qingyu heard a “ding”, and the elevator door opened. Jiang Xing began to change his shoes. “We’re here.” He helped Lin Qingyu take out a new pair of indoor slippers, “I’ll get you some clothes. You can sit wherever you want. Do you want to take a shower first?”
Lin Qingyu looked around curiously, “Yes.”
Jiang Xing went to his wardrobe, picked out a T-shirt and a pair of shorts he’d only wore once, took out a new bath towel and placed them in the bathroom. Back in the living room, he saw Lin Qingyu leaning over and touching the sofa, his expression looking a little wrong.
Jiang Xing asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Qingyu hesitated to speak. “It’s nothing.”
“Then should I show you to the bathroom?”
Lin Qingyu said, “There’s no rush.” Jiang Xing’s house must also have air conditioning since he didn’t feel hot at all now. “Show me around your house first.”
Jiang Xing was a little confused. “Okay.”
Starting from the living room, Lin Qingyu followed Jiang Xing to see the dining room, the entertainment room, the L-shaped balcony, the kitchen, the master’s bedroom, the elders’ bedroom, the guest bedroom, the study room and even the housekeeper’s room.
“Auntie’s on leave. I’ll be the only one in this house for the whole holiday—well, now you’re here too.”
Lin Qingyu frowned, “Your house is really…”
Jiang Xing was very self-effacing “It’s a little big for just one person but you just need to get used to it.”
“Your house is really small. It’s so small, is it enough for you to live in? There’s not even a garden or a pond. If you want to fish, you’ll have to go out.” Lin Qingyu looked at Jiang Xing lovingly and sympathetically, “You really have such a tough life here.”
Jiang Xing went silent for a long time. He then said hesitantly, “Might I ask, what did you do before you married me?”
Lin Qingyu said, “Originally, I was the son of the imperial medical office’s panyuan. Later, I became an Imperial Physician and finally, I was prime minister of the imperial court.”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Turns out you’re the Lord Prime Minister, hahaha.” Jiang Xing gave a sheepish smile, feeling awkward at having been rude. “This place of ours really isn’t fit to house the third in command of a nation. I’ve wronged the Lord Prime Minister.”
“There’s no need for that. I’m your wife. Naturally, I won’t dislike you over something like this.” Lin Qingyu thought for a while and asked, “Is there a pawn shop in Guangzhou?”
“A pawnshop? When I was young, I occasionally saw one or two but it’ll probably be difficult to find one now.” Jiang Xing said, “Lord Prime Minister, why are you asking this?”
“Find a pawnshop and sell these clothes. The money can help cover our living expenses.”
Jiang Xing said with a complicated expression, “Um, thank you?”
“If it’s not enough, there’s still this jade pendant.” When Lin Qingyu transmigrated, he’d been wearing around his waist a beautiful jade pendant of the finest quality, a tribute from the north. “And if that’s still not enough, the only thing left to pawn is our wedding ring.”
“Wedding ring?”
“En, you specially designed it.” Lin Qingyu took off the ring and showed it to Jiang Xing. Jiang Xing carefully inspected it inside and out. It really did look like his design style.
Jiang Xing was at a loss. “What about my wedding ring?”
Lin Qingyu said, “It should still be on your body in the Dayu.”
Jiang Xing became unhappy. “A wedding ring is such an important thing, how could you even think of selling it?”
“It’s because I don’t want you living in such poverty.” Lin Qingyu has always paid little attention to things outside of him. The reason why this ring was significant was because it was given to him by Jiang Xing. To him, Jiang Xing was more important than anything else. “We still have one ring. You gave this to me when we were married for the third time. If you think it’s a pity, you can give me another later.”
Jiang Xing laughed, “Okay, okay.”
Jiang Xing took Lin Qingyu to his en suite bathroom. Lost memories aside, he and Lin Qingyu have only been together for a few hours, but he can already understand Lin Qingyu’s thoughts about all these modern things just from his expression. For example, Lin Qingyu’s slightly inquisitive eyes meant that he didn’t know how to use the things in the bathroom.
“This is for hot water and this is for cold water.” Jiang Xing demonstrated to Lin Qingyu how to adjust the water temperature, “Then apply this on your body. You can use the stuff in the blue bottle to wash your hair. I’ll put away your clothes for you and then I’ll go out. Call me anytime you have any questions.”
Lin Qingyu asked, “You’re going out?”
Jiang Xing choked but quickly recovered. He said with a smile, “If I don’t go out then should I stay here and watch you?”
Although Lin Qingyu wanted Jiang Xing to recover all his memories as soon as possible, he didn’t want to push him too hard. As the saying goes, haste makes waste. He nodded and said, “Then you can go out.”
Jiang Xing walked out of the bathroom, closed the door and suddenly felt like he’d just missed out on a million dollars.
Everything that happened today was too fantastical. If this was before, Jiang Xing would think it nothing but a low-end scam. But he couldn’t explain the feeling Lin Qingyu brought to him. Nor could he explain the scenes that flashed in his mind. Pity that the scenes were just scenes and didn’t show the whole plot. He wants to remember what happened in the Dayu as soon as possible. He didn’t want to disappoint Lin Qingyu.
Jiang Xing stood in front of the French windows and thought for almost half an hour, but he still couldn’t remember any useful information.
“Jiang Xing.”
Jiang Xing turned around and the newly bathed beauty came into view. Jiang Xing quickly looked away. He took a sip of ice-cold cola before turning his gaze back to Lin Qingyu.
What he brought to Lin Qingyu was a pure white T-shirt. The fabric was pure cotton so it easily turned translucent when wet. At this time, Lin Qingyu’s wet long hair already turned it half-wet.
Under the lights of the living room chandelier, Lin Qingyu’s porcelain-white skin exposed no blemishes—except for the original teardrop mole. His long lashes were also wet, the tip of his nose, a little red and his lips were smudged into a bright color by the steam. He didn’t know if he was bent or not but it didn’t seem to matter as if he weren’t already bent, he quickly was becoming one.
When Jiang Xing saw Lin Qingyu wearing fancy clothes, he thought him noble and dignified, a lonely unmatched existence at the peak. Now in modern clothes, Jiang Xing only just realized how long and straight Lin Qingyu’s legs. He was about six to seven centimeters taller than Lin Qingyu and his T-shirt was obviously a little too big for Lin Qingyu. It obviously had a standard-sized ordinary collar but with the Lin Qingyu wore it, it was quickly slipping off his shoulder.
Lin Qingyu was a little thin, tiny fishes could swim in his collarbones. Coupled with his long hair that reached his waist, viewed from the back or side, he looked a little like a girl. Few men could look so delicate, but Lin Qingyu’s appearance wasn’t feminine. If he cut his hair short, no one would mistake his gender.
To distract himself, Jiang Xing handed him what he had in his hand and said with a smile, “You’re done with your bath? Come on, try this. I’ll get the hair dryer.”
“The hair dryer is for drying your hair? No, I’ll just wipe it dry.” Lin Qingyu looked at the bottle of black water and asked, “What is this?”
“It’s soda, a kind of water that can make people happy. It’s best for drinking after taking a bath in summer.”
“But isn’t it October?”
Jiang Xing shrugged. “October here is no different from midsummer.”
Lin Qingyu took the soda. He first lowered his head and sniffed it, then took a sip. His expression froze.
Jiang Xing asked with a smile, “Is it good?”
“It’s a bit sweet and it also has a stimulation that’s hard to describe. I don’t like it very much.” Lin Qingyu raised his head, “Jiang Xing, I want to drink milk tea.”
Jiang Xing said, “Don’t anymore. You’ve already had one today and you’ve eaten so many desserts. You won’t be able to sleep at night if you drink anymore.”
Lin Qingyu wasn’t very happy. Jiang Xing has always been responsive to his requests but now that he was in his own territory, he dared to refuse him. He asked Jiang Xing, “Is milk tea expensive? So you can’t afford too much?”
Jiang Xing couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, I suppose it is kinda expensive but it’s not that I can’t afford it. Don’t be angry, let’s drink it again tomorrow.” Without Jiang Xing knowing it, his tone had already turned coaxing, “That shop today was one that I just found randomly. To be honest, the taste was so-so. Tomorrow I’ll buy you milk tea that is a hundred times better.”
Lin Qingyu asked doubtfully, “Really? A hundred times?”
Jiang Xing assured him. “Really, a hundred times better.”
Lin Qingyu reluctantly accepted this plan, temporarily letting go of his obsession with milk tea. He pointed to the irregularly-shaped glowing cylindrical building very close to them outside the floor-to-ceiling windows and asked, “What’s that?”
Jiang Xing said, “That’s Canton Tower. Because it looks like a human waist, it’s also nicknamed ‘Slim Waist’.” “Slim Waist is a landmark building in Guangzhou and one of the must-see attractions for tourists.” Seeing it just outside their window, Jiang Xing had long grown numb to it. “If you like it, I’ll take you to see it tomorrow night. But it’s a holiday now, so there must be a lot of people going there.”
Lin Qingyu asked, “Who was the person who designed and built Slim Waist?”
Jiang Xing said, “We can look it up on the internet. Why do you ask?”
“I want to see him. It might prove rewarding.” Lin Qingyu pondered, “Dayu’s Minister of Public Works recently took leave to mourn the passing of his parent. We are in urgent need of someone to succeed him. Since this person was able to design Slim Waist, he must be a very talented person. If we can seek his advice…”
Jiang Xing almost spit out his mouthful of Coke. He suppressed a smile and said solemnly, “Don’t make your decision too rashly. Next time, I’ll take you to Beijing and Shanghai to have a look around. You might find a better candidate for the ‘Minister of Public Works’. Oh, would you like to read the financial news and select the Minister of the Revenue while you’re at it.”
Lin Qingyu asked, puzzled, “What are you laughing at?”
Jiang Xing had on a serious expression. “I’m not laughing.”
Lin Qingyu looked at Jiang Xing as if he was looking at a fool. “You’re obviously holding back your laughter.”
Jiang Xing: “…” He thought he had pretty good acting skills. How was Lin Qingyu about to see through him?
Lin Qingyu saw through Jiang Xing’s thoughts again. “We’ve been in a relationship for more than four years. I can tell what you’re thinking just by your expression.”
“More than four years?” Jiang Xing grasped the key point, “You mean we’ve been dating for more than four years?”
“Yes, we just had our fourth anniversary not too long ago.”
After such a long time, they could be regarded as old married couple. Four years, a lot could be done in four years.
Jiang Xing couldn’t help looking at Lin Qingyu’s lips. He asked, “Then Qingyu, have I… kissed you?”
Lin Qingyu said lightly, “What nonsense. You kiss me every day.”
Jiang Xing: “…”
With a wife this beautiful, it would be strange not to kiss him everyday.
“Then have we…?” Jiang Xing cleared his throat, and said as casually as he could manage “Have we had…”
Lin Qingyu looked up at him and said, “Does Laogong wish to ask if we’ve slept together?”
When he was in Dayu, if there were other people around, Lin Qingyu would always call Jiang Xing “the emperor”. If the two of them were alone, he would usually call Jiang Xing’s name directly. The number of times he’s called him Laogong can be counted on his fingers. But now he’s had an epiphany. When Jiang Xing called him “Baobei”, at first, he wasn’t used to it and even felt it was a little unnatural. Later, as Jiang Xing called him that more and more often, he seemed to form a misconception – Obviously, he was supposed to be Jiang Xing’s Baobei all along.
It could be deduced from this that if you wanted to turn a person into your husband, you should call him ‘Laogong’ every day.
A tingle went through Jiang Xing’s whole body at being called ‘Laogong’. He steadied his breathing, turned his eyes away and pretended to be calm as he said. “en”.
Lin Qingyu smiled, “What do you think?”
The heat on Jiang Xing’s body rose uncontrollably. He lowered his eyes and laughed lowly, “Don’t laugh at me like that.”
Lin Qingyu looked at him. “Why?”
Jiang Xing was quiet for a while. Then his hand holding the iced soda suddenly tightened. He raised his head and drank it all in one gulp.
The author has something to say:
Having written stories set in ancient times for so many years, I suddenly realized how fun writing modern Chinese can be! ! !
Me writing ancient Chinese: How should I gracefully describe the protagonist’s shock (joyful, indignant, sorrowful) mood… (So painful.. just 500 words per hour)
Me writing modern settling: F*ck it all! We’ll do it however I want!
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