Habit

Holding onto the idea that if you don't know something, you should just ask your phone, Shen Qing pulled out his mobile.

He had barely typed out a few characters before a prompt popped up: "Bandages on ancient women's chests."

"Uh..."

Shen Qing locked his screen with an expressionless face. Could he say he hadn't thought in that direction at all?

Influenced by the television dramas he watched as a child, he had subconsciously assumed that ancient women wore dudous underneath their clothes.

Shen Qingtang wouldn't be coming out for a while, and unable to bear it any longer, Shen Qing walked out of the lingerie store. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the sky with a look of utter hopelessness.

The sky was very blue, the clouds were very white, and the sun was shining brightly.

It was just that this time, even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he wouldn't be able to wash himself clean—though he had brought this upon himself.

Withdrawing his gaze, he saw a two-dollar shop directly across the street.

Shen Qing wandered in without a destination, and by the time he came back out, he had two hair clips in his hand.

Perhaps because waiting always feels so long, it felt like ages had passed before Shen Qingtang finally emerged, carrying two bags, her eyes darting away.

Shen Qing finished paying and handed the hair clips over.

"Um, I felt these would be more suitable than that straw rope of yours. After all, you have to integrate into society... consider it an apology."

Shen Qingtang paused, looking down at the two black hair clips in her hand; they were very simple.

She did not refuse.

After all, she already owed him so much that a little more didn't really matter.

She raised her hands to untie the straw rope at the back of her head, letting her black hair cascade down, then used the clips to tie it back in a half-up style. With just that small change, her entire demeanor became much gentler.

Shen Qing subconsciously took an extra look.

Gentle?

How did he come up with that word? He quickly reined in his tongue and said dryly:

"It suits you."

The two walked one after the other along the commercial street, with Shen Qing introducing the shops one by one.

"This is a supermarket, which is like a marketplace where they sell everything. That over there is a milk tea shop, which is... they sell a kind of sweet water, similar to cola. If you want to drink some later, I can take you to buy some."

Shen Qingtang followed the direction of his finger, looking at each one, her gaze lingering on every sign for a few seconds.

"May I taste it?"

A few minutes later, the two emerged, each holding a cup of milk tea. Shen Qing had lemonade; he wasn't interested in anything else.

Shen Qingtang had the shop assistant's recommended signature drink, though judging by the swordswoman's expression, she didn't seem to like it very much.

"Cola is better."

Shen Qing smiled, "Great minds think alike."

They strolled like this until noon. When they passed a national chain snack shop, he suddenly spoke up.

"Do you want to have lunch?"

A few minutes later, two bowls of signature beef ramen were served. Shen Qingtang widened her eyes as she looked at the two slices of meat in the bowl—they were so thin!

Seeing her expression, Shen Qing guessed what she was thinking and suppressed a laugh as he explained, "The thinner they're sliced, the more authentic it is."

The swordswoman glanced at him as if he were a fool and began to eat her noodles.

Both of them ate quite quickly. As it was the lunch break, the crowd gradually began to grow.

Leaving the snack shop, Shen Qingtang followed closely behind Shen Qing, seemingly very unaccustomed to the crowds.

The young, the old, the hurried, the leisurely, those holding children, those walking dogs—everyone had something on their faces that Shen Qingtang had never seen before.

The two walked to a park; the streets had been bustling, but here it was finally quieter.

Shen Qing sat down on a bench at random and patted the seat to signal the swordswoman to sit over.

"After walking around, how do you feel?"

Shen Qingtang sat on the bench, looking at the clear fountain not far away, and murmured, "A completely different world."

The people in this world all possessed a kind of matter-of-fact stability; they didn't have to worry about bandits, they didn't have to worry about food, and they certainly didn't have to worry about demons.

She looked down at her hair clips, "Auntie would probably like these, too."

Her aunt wasn't a bodyguard, just an ordinary person. If only she could live here, she wouldn't have to live in fear.

Watching the people coming and going around them, Shen Qingtang's expression became complicated.

No matter how good it was, it wasn't her world, unfortunately. She was completely out of place with everything here.

Noticing that Shen Qingtang's mood had dropped, Shen Qing didn't know what to say for a moment.

Alone and helpless, and an undocumented resident at that—she had it much worse than he did back then.

No identity, no job... no future, nothing at all. She was indeed completely out of place in this world.

"By the way, how did you end up here?"

Shen Qingtang said with a look of confusion, "A thick fog, lots of chaotic sounds all around, and everything was pitch black. I just kept walking until I ended up in an open space."

Thick fog, chaotic sounds...

Shen Qing nodded.

"Perhaps, one day you'll wake up and find yourself back home?"

To be honest, taking in a person who shouldn't exist on a whim was nothing but trouble.

What if she could never go back? What if she remained an undocumented person for the rest of her life? Was he supposed to support her forever? He doubted the swordswoman herself would even want that.

Yet, he had grown slightly accustomed to her presence over these past few days.

If he were to return home one day to find the house pitch black, the bedroom door open, and the room empty, he felt as though something would be missing.

"Heh, if you were to suddenly disappear one day, I might actually find it hard to get used to."

"Hm?"

The swordswoman instantly grew alert and scooted to the side. "That... I am only staying here temporarily. I will pay you back."

Shen Qing chuckled. "Ha, you're certainly vigilant enough. It seems you won't be easily tricked into becoming someone else's wife. I'll be waiting for you to pay me back, then."

Shen Qingtang stared at him suspiciously for a few seconds, as if trying to determine if there was a trap hidden in his words.

Deciding, perhaps, that Shen Qing's smile was far too unserious, she simply turned her head away and stopped looking at him.

Gradually, the sun began to set.

The two continued to stroll around, eventually emerging from a clothing store. The swordswoman was still more comfortable wearing long pants, and they had also picked out a couple of outfits for his older brother and sister-in-law.

There was also a second-hand mobile phone, which the swordswoman had chosen herself.

Shen Qing swung a bottle of water and said, "Come to think of it, this is the first time I've felt that shopping isn't tiring."

Shopping with his sister-in-law was always an ordeal for him.

Of course, it might also be because his physical constitution was different now than it had been before.

"Alright, let's head back. There's nothing much left to see here anyway. Next time, I'll take you to the city center."

Shen Qingtang nodded. On the way back, they passed a supermarket, and her footsteps suddenly faltered.

"Ordering takeout every day—isn't that a bit of a waste of money?"

"Can you cook?"

"No."

Shen Qingtang shook her head. She was a martial escort; she had practiced martial arts since she was a child. She was familiar with blades, but not kitchen knives.

"However, I can learn."

Shen Qing did not refuse. Having something she wanted to do was a good thing, and it would keep her from letting her mind wander.

"But," he thought for a moment, "I'm usually busy during the day, which means you'd need to go out and buy groceries on your own. Can you do math?"

The swordswoman's expression instantly froze.

She was just an ordinary martial escort; there was never any need for her to know how to calculate.

"It looks like you have an extra subject to study. Besides, you aren't ready to go out alone yet. Wait until I've taken you around a few more times."

Seeing her reaction, the corners of Shen Qing's mouth curled up involuntarily. It seemed it was time to show this person from the past what nine years of compulsory education was all about.

The next day was Saturday, a day to lie flat and do nothing.

The swordswoman began learning mathematics, though unfortunately, she didn't recognize a single Arabic numeral and had to start from the very beginning.

Then came Sunday, time to go to work. However, compared to his usual mood, Shen Qing was in high spirits today.

Because it seemed the bonus was quite substantial, and he still needed to sign for it to collect it.