Telling Stories
An Nuan carefully avoided discussing Liu Chang'an's family issues. Even though girls may appear cheerful on the outside, they ultimately possess a delicate heart that warms others.
She didn't know that Liu Chang'an didn't mind at all, so Liu Chang'an couldn't understand her thoughtfulness. But that didn't matter. A girl like An Nuan would naturally exude a cuteness that Liu Chang'an could feel. As for why she was cute, whether there was any detailed evidence from her every move, it was simply a matter of the heart, without asking why.
Liu Chang'an ate the roasted pig's trotter, and at the same time offered his opinion that the pig's trotter should be steamed to remove the oil, then marinated to absorb the flavor, and then slowly roasted over charcoal. An Nuan, as usual, turned a deaf ear. So much talk about eating a pig's trotter. If it were roasted suckling pig, wouldn't he start talking about the selection of breeding sows? Maybe he would even talk about his views on the domestication of prehistoric wild boars.
An Nuan doesn't eat roasted pig's trotters. The fact that her mother has a full bust and hips but a slim waist and no belly makes her feel that she must control her appetite. She's been training every day these past few days, and her appetite is too good. She doesn't want to have a chubby little belly when she wears a cheongsam in the future.
But whenever Liu Chang'an rambled on and on, even if An Nuan didn't care where he was going with the conversation, she couldn't help but smile slightly.
After finishing their meal, the two found a trash can to throw away their gloves and packaging. They strolled around Baolong Center but didn't buy anything. Then they went upstairs and ate some Japanese food. With nothing to do in the afternoon, they walked back to the Xiangtan University faculty residential area. Liu Chang'an noticed that Liu Yuewang hadn't called or texted An Nuan today. It was probably because Liu Chang'an had said yesterday that her cheongsam was a bit tight, which had made this cute young girl a little angry. Of course, she cared more about what others thought of her than An Nuan, just like older men who like to prove they're still got it.
When Liu Chang'an returned home, he found that Zhu Juntang had been quiet for a few days after being scolded by Liu Chang'an last time, had reappeared. She was wearing a cheap-looking dress made of gauze and casually dyed floral patterns, with only short lace-trimmed petal stockings and a pair of black calfskin wedge heels underneath.
The dress is decorated with white clouds, which is probably the aesthetic and taste of a fairy. Liu Chang'an had seen Bai Hui's shopping cart with a dress of this style, called a Lolita dress.
At least today I'm not radiating the dazzling brilliance of jewels and diamonds.
At this moment, she moved the small stool that Liu Chang'an had placed outside the door, sat under the sycamore tree, looked around, and when she saw Liu Chang'an, she stood up and showed a slightly embarrassed but polite smile.
Liu Chang'an nodded, set up the awning, then moved out a deck chair, covered his face with a book, and prepared to sleep.
It was going to rain in a little while. Lying under the awning while it rained, feeling the cool and damp air, and drifting off to sleep with the faint sound of rain in my ears, was the perfect way to enjoy the afternoon.
"You haven't come to borrow books from me in a long time."
Zhu Juntang moved a small stool over and sat down next to Liu Chang'an.
It's as if Liu Chang'an used to borrow books from her often, but thinking about Zhu Juntang's library does make one quite tempted.
"Besides ancient Chinese books, I also have many rare overseas editions, and even miscellaneous Tocharian scrolls," Zhu Juntang said softly to Liu Chang'an.
Liu Chang'an removed the book from his face.
"You don't come here unless you need something. Just say it." Liu Chang'an had no interest in showing off or intimidating Zhu Juntang every day. Since she still came running over to curry favor, Liu Chang'an wouldn't hold it against her.
"I just want to chat with you." Zhu Juntang chuckled twice. It was absolutely impossible for her to lose interest in Liu Chang'an after that night.
"You find a topic to talk about, and I'll chat with you all afternoon. In return, you lend me a book to read tonight." Liu Chang'an thought for a moment, a fair trade.
"Then let's talk about Longevity," Zhu Juntang said happily.
"This topic is pretty boring."
"Were you really imprisoned by Qin Shi Huang? I remember you said it was a story you made up. So, if you were asked to make up a more realistic version of history, do you have any other version?" Zhu Juntang asked skillfully and subtly.
Liu Chang'an looked at Zhu Juntang. The fairy was not beyond help. At least she did not give up after suffering a setback. She was still trying to make efforts and made visible changes and adapted to the person she was talking to. This was also a kind of potential.
"Another story that's closer to the truth and logic is that he did indeed have some interaction with Ying Zheng, but only because he had once been his enemy. After being captured, he wasn't imprisoned in an ordinary jail, but in Ying Zheng's underground palace. Escaping from that place wouldn't be easy." Liu Chang'an thought to himself, "Thank goodness he got out, otherwise, those scenes from movies and TV shows where someone visiting the Terracotta Army suddenly notices a terracotta warrior move would actually happen."
"So he's still locked up." Zhu Juntang said disappointedly. She couldn't tell if Liu Chang'an was continuing to make up stories, but that didn't matter. A story told by a superpowered person, even if its truth or falsehood couldn't be discerned, still had an extraordinary appeal.
"It's not so bad. Who can be invincible and undefeated for a lifetime?" Liu Chang'an said nonchalantly.
"But why go against Ying Zheng? He's known as the First Emperor of All Time, and people call him the Ancestral Dragon. In online novels, he's someone who can sweep across the ages. No matter how powerful the protagonist is, they still have to give him some face," Zhu Juntang continued to ask.
"Unless someone is a time traveler, no matter how powerful they are, their thinking will still be limited by the era they lived in. Just like Ying Zheng couldn't have imagined that Confucianism would criticize him for two thousand years." Liu Chang'an suddenly laughed twice, then, realizing that Zhu Juntang didn't understand his joke, he stopped laughing and continued, "Ying Zheng was indeed powerful, but this ruler acted as if he was going to sweep across all the states and restore order to the world. There will always be people who are not convinced, or perhaps because of close friends, confidantes, or other reasons, it's quite normal for them to stand on the opposite side of him."
"A confidante?" For girls, this is undoubtedly the key point.
"I don't remember."
Zhu Juntang felt a little regretful. If it had been a while ago, she probably would have pressed him on this question, but now she decided to avoid this sensitive topic to prevent him from remembering how she introduced him to her mother.
"Then you said later that Liu Bang found you, Xiang Yu couldn't find you, so he burned Xianyang... Do you have any other version that's closer to the truth?" Zhu Juntang continued, "And Consort Yu really that beautiful?"
Have I ever told you that I don't like Liu Bang as a person?
"No."
"Liu Bang was also a very capable person, but being capable doesn't automatically make someone likeable. His luck was extraordinary; I ran into him right after I escaped from the underground palace. As for the story of Xiang Yu burning Xianyang... whose version is that? What do you think?" Liu Chang'an shook his head, not directly answering Zhu Juntang's question. "I'm talking about stories. History books are stories too. You can believe whichever story you want, because these events don't affect the past or the future."
Zhu Juntang nodded thoughtfully. She didn't want to sit in school simply because she felt that she wasn't interested in what the school could teach her. However, chatting with Liu Chang'an always gave her the feeling that she had learned something from him... even though Liu Chang'an was just telling stories.