Girls from Different Eras

Qian Ning and Lu Yuan were also staring at Liu Chang'an with gnashing teeth. Although they thought that Liu Chang'an had caused Bai Hui to lose face, and given Bai Hui's strong-willed and vain nature, she certainly held no shred of affection for him, Liu Chang'an always gave off a sense of being full of threats.

When Lu Yuan brought lunch to Bai Hui at noon, Bai Hui even asked him if Liu Chang'an had gone out to eat with An Nuan. Bai Hui believed this was absolutely a form of provocation. Although she emphasized that she didn't like Liu Chang'an at all and that An Nuan's provocation was meaningless, it still made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

Liu Chang'an stacked his books high and then began to work on his exercises earnestly. He had read a bit of Gao Dewei's notes and found them quite inspiring.

Although Liu Chang'an possessed a special state of mind brought about by the years he had experienced most of the time, he had never rested on his laurels when it came to learning. The natural scientific knowledge accumulated by humanity over the last few hundred years far exceeded the sum of the previous several thousand, and the entire learning and education system was even more efficient—a leap forward in levels.

For the entire afternoon, Bai Hui did not pay any attention to Liu Chang'an.

After school, Liu Chang'an seemed to ignore Huang Shan's warning and still ran to the gymnasium to watch An Nuan practice.

Chen Changxiu was also in the gymnasium. He noticed that An Nuan was expressionless, completely different from the way she usually chatted and laughed with Liu Chang'an. Chen Changxiu was certain this was his own doing; the photo he posted had exposed Liu Chang'an's true colors and made An Nuan wake up.

However, Liu Chang'an still ran over, and Chen Changxiu said to him with his nose in the air, "You really have no shame!"

Liu Chang'an looked at Chen Changxiu with an expression that said, "I feel the same way," and "The feeling is mutual."

"I'll beat you to death sooner or later." Chen Changxiu ran off clutching his basketball. Because there were teachers in the gym, he didn't dare to be too presumptuous, nor did he want to attract the attention of the PE teacher. Ever since Liu Chang'an's long-distance shot that day, the PE teacher had been wanting to find him to check on his situation, and Chen Changxiu didn't want to let Liu Chang'an show off again... even though Chen Changxiu insisted and firmly believed that Liu Chang'an had just gotten lucky.

Liu Chang'an remained sitting in his original spot, watching An Nuan.

After An Nuan shot Liu Chang'an a glare, she ignored him. Earlier in the locker room, other teammates had teased her about her and Liu Chang'an, which was very different from her mood in the morning. An Nuan felt wronged and a bit aggrieved, but she had observed Liu Chang'an many times throughout the afternoon, and apart from that chrysanthemum-like disgusting smile at the beginning, he hadn't made any intimate or ingratiating gestures toward Bai Hui. This made An Nuan forgive him for 1 percent of her 100 percent anger; otherwise, she wouldn't have even given him that eye-roll just now.

Sitting in the stands, Liu Chang'an thought of Qin Yanan—or more accurately, he thought of Qin Yanan's great-grandmother, Ye Sijin. In some respects, Qin Yanan only resembled Ye Sijin in her first impression and appearance, but sitting here, Liu Chang'an saw the shadow of Ye Sijin in An Nuan.

In 1913, the American Presbyterian Mission, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South, the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, and the Disciples of Christ decided to establish a women's college. In November of that year, the board of directors was formed, and the site was chosen in Jinling. In 1915, Ginling College opened at the former site of Li Hongzhang's garden on Xiuhua Lane in southeastern Jinling.

It was a very successful school, offering sixteen four-year disciplines at the time, including Chinese, English, history, sociology, psychology, physical education, chemistry, biology, home economics, and medical specialties. From 1919 to 1951, nine hundred and ninety-nine students graduated, and they were known as the "Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Roses."

Ye Sijin was one of them. Perhaps she wasn't so much like a rose, but rather more refined and elegant.

Liu Chang'an felt she was more like bamboo—swaying crisply and clearly, seemingly delicate but possessing its own integrity.

As a women's college, under modern teaching concepts, sports also flourished. Ye Sijin loved playing volleyball, a sport invented in 1895 that had been introduced to China by Americans coming to the country a few years later.

Back then, Ye Sijin would often wear black athletic shorts, white sneakers, and a white short-sleeved top, running and jumping on the court.

"Brother! You haven't come to see me in a long time!"

"Brother, Qin Peng snuck off again today, I don't know where he went!"

"Brother, it turns out our school's Mr. Zhong Yi helped with the design!"

"This is our school's athletic uniform, isn't it pretty?"

"We can live peacefully here, but whenever I think of our country, my heart aches! Brother, why are we being bullied like this?"

"Qin Peng went to the factory to deliver explosives; let's go support them!"

"I met Mr. Ziren today. He's so tall! He said we must have confidence. Although there are few Party members, we will grow! He said a single spark can start a prairie fire!"

"I am a Party member today, Brother!"

Time was like that single spark, inadvertently burning through an entire life.

Over thousands of years, having met countless people and experienced such things countless times, emotions should have grown thinner, nearly non-existent, eventually facing warm, cozy, sweet, and intimate feelings with indifference.

It was nothing; just something from a very, very long time ago.

"Alright, I'll pay attention to you."

A soft voice rang in his ear. An Nuan sat down beside Liu Chang'an and wiped the corner of his eye with her finger.

"Ah... what are you wiping? There's nothing there." Liu Chang'an came back to his senses and realized that An Nuan was no longer on the court but sitting beside him. Liu Chang'an was very surprised by his own emotions.

"I'm going to change; my mom told me to go home early today." An Nuan was seeing a Liu Chang'an who wasn't laughing or being nonchalant for the first time. Her eyes flashed with a magical light, her long eyelashes fluttering.

"Go ahead."

By the time An Nuan finished changing, Liu Chang'an was no different from his usual self. An Nuan liked the way he looked at her with that dazed expression earlier, but later, she felt a bit of heartache.

"Your mom telling you to go home early is probably about what happened at school today." Liu Chang'an composed himself after the first excessive emotional fluctuation he'd had in years.

This made An Nuan worry, but she couldn't help but tentatively ask Liu Chang'an, "What should I say?"

For a girl of this age, parents are sometimes like the barrier between a virgin and a non-virgin regarding her life and feelings—they don't have much actual control, just a warning that exists.

"Just say he's a fool with a one-sided crush, that you don't even want to pay attention to him, that in your heart there is only volleyball and studying, and you have no interest in things like romance... High school boys are full of hormones; they only think about breasts and long legs, like the ducks in Ya Bi, always trying to flap their tails at them, making thrusting motions, and they won't leave even when beaten..."

"I hate you, I won't let you talk about yourself like that!" An Nuan blushed in anger. Liu Chang'an was still so vulgar, and she was a bit suspicious, "Did you talk to Bai Hui like this today too?"

"You were staring at me and monitoring me from behind the whole time; do you think I dared to talk to her?" Liu Chang'an asked back strangely.

"Who was staring at you and monitoring you!" An Nuan was even angrier, her cheeks flushed red. She stomped her feet several times, then realized, "So you still like her a lot, and you still want to talk to her!"

Before Liu Chang'an could respond, An Nuan pointed at him with a sudden realization, "Boys only think about breasts and long legs... Heh, then let me ask you, for boys, which one is more attractive?"

"Breasts." Liu Chang'an answered with a firm expression.

"Liu Chang'an!" An Nuan jumped up behind Liu Chang'an, unable to bear it any longer, and wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to pin him to the ground.

Sigh, when I was still a monkey, the female monkeys must have liked to frolic and act out like this too, right?

"What are you two doing? What kind of behavior is this!" The voice of their homeroom teacher, Huang Shan, rang out from behind, full of fury. These two had completely treated his warning from noon as a breeze in their ears!

An Nuan jumped down immediately and pulled Liu Chang'an away, running without looking back, pretending she hadn't heard Huang Shan's voice at all.

If one doesn't act recklessly now, one will soon leave this cage. If one is not in the cage, what fun is there in being reckless?