Middle-Aged Women Can't Possibly Be This Cute

Chapter 23: Middle-aged Women Can't Be This Cute

June 28, 2017, evening.

The young girl Yu Dian diligently offered to work an extra shift so Cheng Yun would have time to cook.

Dinner was four dishes and one soup: three meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a preserved egg and cucumber soup. Since Cheng Yan wasn't coming home for dinner, Cheng Yun called the Old Mage and Heroine Yin down, and the four of them ate together.

Although Yu Dian was surprised, she didn't say anything. She just silently noted the old man living in room 202 without registering.

After dinner, Cheng Yun started his shift.

A certain heroine, full from her meal, leaned back against the sofa with a satisfied, listless expression.

"Station Master," she suddenly called out.

"Hmm?" Cheng Yun was sitting behind the counter, playing on his phone.

"How many meals do people here eat in a day?"

"Three meals a day," Cheng Yun replied without looking up.

"Oh." Heroine Yin looked a bit dazed. "The common folk where I'm from only eat twice a day, and it's just thin porridge. For people like us who don't have a fixed abode, one full meal a day is already good."

"But you must have times with plenty of meat and fish, right? You guys."

"Very rarely," the heroine sighed. "When we eat well, we eat like there's no tomorrow. When we're hungry, we're starving. You tell me, why is there such a big difference between us humans?"

"Different eras, maybe."

"Then why were you born into such a good era?"

"That wasn't up to us," Cheng Yun said, then asked, "What era are you from?"

"Bandits rampant, locusts crossing the land. No grain in the fields, bones littering the plains. Corrupt officials, a world that devours people." Heroine Yin's voice was filled with emotion. "If it weren't like this, who would want to wander the martial world!"

"Natural disasters?"

"Partly natural disasters, partly man-made disasters."

"Was there fighting?"

"Minor border skirmishes, not really a war." Heroine Yin rubbed her forehead. "But the country is quite chaotic internally. I remember there used to be a martial arts organization that swept through the entire martial world, called something like 'The Alliance.' They were overconfident and caused a huge commotion. Later, the officials got serious and sent iron cavalry to encircle and suppress them across the land. Many innocent martial artists lost their lives because of it, including my parents."

"That does sound quite chaotic," Cheng Yun commented, not offering much else. "How old were you then?"

"Very young," Heroine Yin said, pursing her lips. "I was raised by my parents' sworn brothers in the martial world. I called him Uncle, but later he was killed by his enemies."

"I thought people in your world, with such strong martial power, wouldn't be afraid of officials," Cheng Yun said.

"Wishful thinking." Heroine Yin scoffed. "I also thought people in your world had Transformers and Decepticons, so the officials must have just cowered like turtles!"

"Uh... those are fake."

"What?"

"Nothing," Cheng Yun shook his head.

"It's said that the Imperial Guards with swords in the palace, if they were in the martial world, none of them would fear those famous experts. And they always move in teams." Heroine Yin sounded a bit helpless. "If they wanted to kill someone, who could stop them?"

"I think I understand what you mean. The ruling structure is always built upon the foundation of the world; the water carries the boat. The higher the martial arts level in this world, the higher the level of the ruling structure."

"No, no, no, I just meant..." The heroine slumped back on the sofa. "Those Imperial Guards have their ways. Even if they're ordered around, they don't want to roam the martial world! If they could eat their fill and drink their fill, who would want to risk their lives!"

"So, it was because your parents died, and your Uncle died, that you decided to wander the martial world?" Cheng Yun became interested.

"Something like that," the heroine said with some emotion. "I have nothing but my martial arts skills. I can't even wander the martial world properly, going from starving to feasting. And for people like me, if I don't wander the martial world, the only option is to marry some honest, hardworking man and serve him like a maidservant all day, taking his orders and being his plaything. I'd rather die than do that!"

Hearing this, Cheng Yun fell silent.

He had studied history in university and naturally had some understanding of the eras China had experienced.

Even in the so-called golden ages of the Great Tang and Great Ming, praised and longed for by everyone, as long as restraints remained, the people at the bottom were always in a state of enslavement. And women were at the very bottom of the bottom. They should even be classified into a separate stratum. If they encountered an era of war and chaos, they weren't even considered people!

In this regard, he actually admired this heroine.

"What about the scar on your face?" Cheng Yun pointed to the long, narrow scar on her face.

"I was young and foolish back then. I challenged an old senior in the martial world and got cut by the tip of his sword," Heroine Yin said with a smile. "That slash almost split my head open. Luckily, I dodged quickly."

"So, did you win or lose?" Cheng Yun felt that since he was idle anyway, he might as well chat with this heroine.

"I won." Heroine Yin's voice became somewhat low for some reason. "He was very famous in his youth, but he was old by then. I severely wounded him and then left leisurely. I heard he died not long after."

"Oh." Cheng Yun also fell silent.

In this era, even the most heinous criminals weren't easily sentenced to death. They even changed executions from firing squads to lethal injections, and still, a large group of people clamored for the abolition of the death penalty. He truly couldn't understand that chaotic world where life and death were decided so easily.

Heroine Yin remained silent for a long time before looking up at him, her eyes narrowed. "You might not know, but that old senior had no past grievances with me, nor any recent ones. In fact, it was the first time we met, and I almost killed him."

Cheng Yun was taken aback.

The heroine paused before continuing, "After killing him, I found a temple to bandage my wounds and recuperate. I didn't eat or drink for three days and three nights, nor did I sleep. At that moment, I thought, if one day I make a name for myself in the martial world, and when I'm old and can't compare to the younger generation, and my disciples aren't promising, perhaps that will be my fate."

She stared blankly at the ceiling. "That's why I fought desperately for the Void Arrow, with no other thought but to escape."

"Did you kill him for fame?" Cheng Yun asked.

"Yes!" the heroine answered crisply. "Defeating a once-famous senior in the martial world is the fastest way for an unknown junior in the martial world to prove their abilities. But in reality, even if those seniors were strong in their youth, once they pass their prime, they start to decline. How could they possibly defeat a young person?"

"A stepping stone?"

"Pretty much. That battle was indeed the start of my fame, but it didn't help me all that much. After that fight, I went silent for a whole year before re-entering the martial world. By then, the fame from that battle had pretty much worn off."

"What did you do for that year of silence?"

"I set up a stall to sell fruit, worked as a waiter in a restaurant, delivered messages for people, I even almost went to farm!" Heroine Yin got angry just thinking about that period, slamming her hand on the sofa. "It was either losing money or people owing me wages, it pissed me off to no end!"

"What I mean is, why were you silent for a year? Didn't you crave fame before? And why did you abandon the fame you'd so hard-earned?"

"Because I… after the fight, I realized I didn't know why I did it." Heroine Yin said blankly, then looked at Cheng Yun. "I only knew… everyone else was doing it that way."

"It's not your fault," Cheng Yun said what he felt he should now. "It's the fault of that era, that world, that treacherous martial world. The fact that you woke up early proves you're already beyond most people."

As he spoke, he took a lollipop from the counter and tossed it to Heroine Yin. "Have a candy, Heroine."

Seeing Heroine Yin holding the lollipop, lost and not knowing how to eat it, Cheng Yun smiled, took out another lollipop, and demonstrated how to eat it before asking, "So, how old are you this year?"

"Th… thirty-something."

"How much?" Cheng Yun's lollipop dropped from his mouth.

"Thirty-something," Heroine Yin said dazedly, looking at him, then counting on her fingers. "I don't remember exactly, it's approximate. Four seasons make a year, is it the same in your world?"

"How could you be thirty-something! Are you confused?" Cheng Yun's eyes widened in disbelief. "You look… at most twenty-two or twenty-three!"

"Then how old are you?" Heroine Yin asked back.

"Twenty-two."

"So young!" Heroine Yin was also surprised.

"Wait." Cheng Yun froze for a moment. "In your world, how many years can a person live if they don't get sick?"

"Over a hundred years, I guess." Heroine Yin said, then seemed to realize something. "What do you mean? Is your world different?"

"……" Cheng Yun began to understand.

If people in ancient times could naturally live over a hundred years, wouldn't they approach two hundred if they developed to modern times? So, either people in her world lived longer, or their planet's orbital period was shorter.

They chatted for a long time, and Cheng Yun gradually came to understand her, her world, and that martial world.

When there was nothing left to talk about, Heroine Yin still had no signs of sleepiness.

Cheng Yun poured her some water to moisten her throat. This time, she drank it, seemingly having let down her guard.

The sky had already darkened. Heroine Yin sat on the sofa at the counter, staring blankly out the glass window.

The nights in the 'Songshi World' were mostly dark and dead, with no gaze able to penetrate the distant darkness. The nights in the martial world, however, were bloody and terrifying, filled with death and slaughter, assassinations and ambushes, vendettas and wiped-out sects happening one after another.

She heard that the prosperity of Jiujing could illuminate the night, with colorful lanterns and candlelight by the river burning all night, but Yin Dan had never seen it.

Even the nights in Hengzhou Prefecture were terrifyingly dead. At night, those who dared to disregard the curfew and walk the streets were either martial artists carrying knives to cause trouble or patrolling soldiers in teams.

But how could those rumors compare to here!

Yin Dan's gaze became somewhat lost.

The headlights and taillights of cars seemed to form lines on the highway. Streetlights illuminated the world, making it exceptionally dreamlike. Neon signs and the lights from shops along the roadside shone brightly, and pedestrians walked calmly along both sides of the road, as if it were daytime.

I, Golden Jasmine, would rather die and jump from here than give you my recommendation votes!

… Sniff So fragrant!