Vacation

Sunshine Residential Complex.

"Achoo!"

Having just finished dinner, Shen Qing, who was lying on the sofa like a corpse with his hand bandaged, suddenly sneezed several times in a row.

He rubbed his nose and looked around.

"Who is talking about me?"

Muttering to himself, he looked at the message Xie Chong had just sent to his phone.

Not only had he helped him take leave for today, but because the day after tomorrow was Saturday, he had been given Friday off as well; although he would need to submit a medical certificate upon returning, the message also mentioned that he had performed a great service this time.

Though Shen Qing was more concerned about how much of a bonus he would get.

"However, since I have nothing to do tomorrow and don't need to patrol..."

Shen Qing tilted his head and looked at Shen Qingtang, who had just walked out of the kitchen. "You haven't been out for several days either. Do you want to go for a stroll tomorrow?"

The next day, morning.

"Are you not ready yet?"

Shen Qing sat on the sofa in casual clothes, looking at the tightly shut bedroom door. The swordswoman had been changing for nearly twenty minutes.

Are girls from ancient times really this troublesome when going out?

"I-it's ready."

Shen Qingtang said as she opened the door and stepped out, moving inch by inch. She looked at her attire uncertainly, not knowing where to put her hands.

"Is, is this appropriate?"

Shen Qing looked up, his eyes lighting up instantly.

"It's very appropriate."

She wore a green shirt on top, beige shorts with a brown belt on the bottom, and her hair was tied up with a thin hemp rope.

This perfectly matched the intention behind the clothes Su Xiaoxiao had bought; it made her look tall and exuded a youthful aura. Aside from that hemp rope, she looked exactly like a modern person.

It was just that she was keeping a straight face.

For Shen Qingtang, exposing her entire lower legs still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"W-what are you looking at?!"

Seeing Shen Qing's gaze lingering on her calves, Shen Qingtang felt a sudden flash of shy annoyance.

Even though they were shorts, they were so short and the leg openings were so wide that she felt the wind blowing in, which felt very awkward.

"They're very fair."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Qing wanted to slap himself.

"Scoundrel."

Hearing the swordswoman's label, he was powerless to refute it, though he wondered if that word even existed in ancient times.

Shen Qing reached for his phone to look it up.

The word did indeed exist, though it hadn't originally been a derogatory term.

Liu (flow) referred to a floating population, and mang (vagabond) referred to those without houses, land, or property. Together, they formed liumang (scoundrel). Was he really a scoundrel?!

But which dynasty was the swordswoman from, anyway?

"Alright, let's go. We might as well have lunch outside today."

Shen Qing stood up, walked to the door to change his shoes, and turned back to add one more thing.

"But one thing: when we're out, you have to listen to me. Don't act on your own, don't go around asking questions, and stay close to me."

Shen Qingtang nodded unhappily, feeling as if he were treating her like a child.

Bus stop.

Because the residential complex was quite remote, they needed to take a few bus stops to get to the shopping area.

A gentle breeze blew by. Shen Qing looked at the clear sky, the corners of his mouth curling up involuntarily as he glanced at Shen Qingtang, who was following closely behind with a vigilant expression.

Taking an ancient person out for a walk was quite a peculiar feeling.

He took a step, and Shen Qingtang followed with a step.

"This is a road. If you go out by yourself in the future, you can't just cross it randomly. You have to watch the traffic lights and use the crosswalk."

Shen Qing looked at the vehicles passing by and began to explain the basics.

"Road? Crosswalk?"

Shen Qingtang was puzzled. What did this have to do with horses?

She looked at the metal boxes speeding by; they were even faster than a BMW.

"Uh... it's just called that. Also, a big metal box will pull up in a moment. You can think of it as a carriage, though it doesn't need horses to move."

He felt the need to provide a preemptive warning.

"And this is a traffic light. That thing above it? That's the Heavenly Eye. Don't be nervous, just stay calm."

Shen Qing pointed at the surveillance camera on the traffic light and glanced at the heroine's tense posture. "If you keep acting this nervous, you're the one who's going to attract its attention."

Hearing this, Shen Qingtang fell silent for a moment, then lowered her head and suddenly said:

"If I get caught, don't come to bail me out."

"?!"

Shen Qing's eyes widened instantly, his voice rising. "No, what do you mean by that, little auntie?"

Is this that rebellious child psychology, where the more you tell them not to do something, the more they want to do it?

Fortunately, this area was remote and the bus stop was empty, otherwise, that shout would have drawn attention.

Only after listening to Shen Qingtang's explanation did Shen Qing realize she was worried that the Heavenly Eye had already spotted her earlier.

"You can rest easy on that. It's been several days; if it wanted to catch you, it would have come for you already. But don't even think about tearing it down—these things are everywhere."

Shen Qing's concern was not without reason.

The heroine still kept her face taut, occasionally glancing at the camera, though it was only meant to snap photos of cars, not people.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine came from afar, and a green bus pulled up.

"The carriage is here."

"Don't be nervous. Remember what I said? This is the carriage."

Shen Qingtang followed Shen Qing onto the bus. There weren't many people inside, just a few elderly folks, and the two sat in the back.

"Do we not need to pay?"

The heroine curiously examined the interior of the bus.

"Already paid. There's money in the mobile phone."

Shen Qingtang looked at the black brick that Shen Qing almost never let out of his hand. "Where is the money?"

Shen Qing fell silent. If he had to explain this clearly, they probably wouldn't make it to the shopping district.

"Just think of it as being stored in a bank. When you need to use it, you just tell them. Let's see about buying you a phone today, too."

Shen Qingtang nodded thoughtfully.

The bus started moving, and the scenery outside the window began to change rapidly. Her mouth parted slightly, and like a child, she pressed against the window to look out.

So fast.

Shen Qing was right; the Heavenly Eye really was everywhere.

After a few stops, the two got off at the nearest small commercial street.

From the moment she stepped off, Shen Qingtang's gaze never stopped moving. Everything here was incredibly novel to her.

It felt like if he didn't stop her, she might even start rummaging through the trash cans.

"Aside from looking around, there's actual business to attend to today," Shen Qing suddenly said. "I need to buy you some clothes."

"Clothes? Don't I already have some?"

Shen Qing scratched his head, not saying a word.

When they reached their destination and saw the sample garments hanging in the display cases—which Shen Qingtang had already seen on the phone—her face flushed red, and she glared at him.

"What can I help you two with?"

A sales assistant walked over, well-accustomed to couples shopping for lingerie.

"I'm buying... inner garments for her."

Shen Qing half-covered his face as he gestured toward Shen Qingtang. The assistant nodded and looked at her, but her expression was no better, her earlobes burning red.

"Miss, may I ask what your usual size is?"

But Shen Qingtang didn't understand what that meant at all, so she had to go get measured on the spot.

After the two walked away.

Shen Qing stood where he was, feeling very uncomfortable. It was his first time in a shop like this; everything around him was colorful, and some even had lace.

He had absolutely no idea where to rest his eyes.

Time felt like it was moving very slowly. After staring at the ceiling for a while, Shen Qing walked to the entrance of the fitting room and began to blankly watch the curtain, waiting for Shen Qingtang to emerge.

Beneath the fabric curtain, Shen Qingtang's canvas shoes were visible.

Then, a long white bandage slid out from under the bottom of the fitting room.

"What's this?"

Shen Qing bent down to pick it up, curiously comparing it to the bandage on his own arm. "Is the heroine injured too?"

Though the material was clearly different.

Then, he saw Shen Qingtang poke her head out from the fitting room, her ears bright red. She snatched the bandage away and whispered through gritted teeth:

"Lecher!"

Shen Qing froze instantly, pointing at himself in disbelief. How did he get upgraded to a lecher again?

At this rate of escalation, he feared that in two days, he'd be labeled a "notorious bandit."