Night.
A little after eight.
Stars dotted the sky, scattering their brilliant colors across the heavens.
After dinner, Zhang Longjuan happily reclined in a lounge chair in the courtyard, gazing at the sky, though who knew what she was thinking. Seeing this, Dong Xuebin carried the dishes to the back and scrubbed them clean. When he checked the time, he saw it was getting late. He was truly exhausted today.
"Sister Zhang?"
"Mm."
"When are you going to bed?"
"You tired, kid?"
"I hadn't stopped all day. Of course I'm tired."
"Ha, I know you did a good job today. Go get some rest."
"Alright. I'll take a bath first. Are you bathing too? If you are, you go first."
"Look at those stars. Aren't they beautiful? The weather's nice today. It's rare to see such a lovely night sky. Ha, your Sister Zhang wants to bathe in the courtyard. Bring out the Bath Tub for me?"
"Huh? How are you going to bathe out here?"
"What's wrong with that? It's so romantic."
"Uh, there aren't any tall buildings around, but what if someone climbs over the wall..."
"Isn't that why you're here? With my little bodyguard around, what does your Sister Zhang have to fear? The wooden tub is in the East Room. I just bought it. Bring it out."
"This..."
"Hurry up."
"Alright, then."
Dong Xuebin got to work. He carried the wooden Bath Tub out of the East Room and placed it beside the Toona sinensis tree in the middle of the courtyard. Then he turned on the electric water heater and began carrying out basin after basin of water. Naturally, he set it rather hot. If the temperature were just right, it would become unpleasant after sitting for a while. It had to be as hot