The Superiority of Men (3-in-1)

Zhong Qing walked in and directed people to lift the robot girl onto a small cart and put her into a van in the parking lot.

Several men and women in jeans and short-sleeved shirts got out of the car, looked at the robot girl holding her head, shouted and yelled for a while, and then moved the robot girl into the van and started fiddling with her.

It looks like a dedicated maintenance team.

Zhong Qing glanced at it a few times, smiled slightly, and turned to go upstairs.

As an ordinary woman, she never liked playing with Transformers when she was young, and she has even less interest in robots as she grew up. Even AI robots with realistic appearances and artificial intelligence don't interest her. Just like Siri on her phone, it's mostly turned off.

Zhong Qing was even more unable to understand why that beautiful lady would create a robot that resembled her description, a robot that was mostly artificially stupid rather than artificially intelligent.

Isn't it terrifying to see a robot that looks almost like yourself, constantly uttering foolish, chilling, and seemingly self-aware words?

This beautiful young lady, with her dazzling golden hair that shines like the most radiant glow under the sun, will also be studying at Xiangnan University.

Why "also"? Because Miss Takezo will also be attending Xiangnan University, for which Baojun Group has funded many projects at Xiangnan University.

Zhong Qing, however, keenly sensed that both the Third Miss and the young lady who was always playing with Gold Coin had something to do with Liu Chang'an when they came to Xiangnan University.

What exactly is it about Liu Chang'an that makes him so noteworthy to these people with such prominent backgrounds? Is it merely because of his ancestors? Zhong Qing couldn't quite imagine it for a moment, but she wasn't foolish enough to think that Liu Chang'an was truly ordinary. Thinking back to when she thought Liu Chang'an was a migrant worker living with a brothel madam, it was quite laughable.

Zhong Qing returned upstairs. The standard price of the best suite in the hotel, excluding taxes, was only a little over 30,000 yuan. Baojun had gotten an even better deal on the long-term lease agreement. The Third Mistress didn't make any excessive demands; it was just a place to rest temporarily. As the Third Mistress's assistant, Zhong Qing was spared a lot of work. However, thinking about the telescopes in Miss Zhu's room and the Third Mistress's room, and how the mother and daughter were spying on Liu Chang'an from the two most prominent high-rise buildings in the center of Junsha, Zhong Qing found it utterly absurd.

When he entered the room, the Third Mistress was still by the window, bending over to adjust the binoculars. From behind, this beautiful woman had a mature figure that would make even women blush. Zhong Qing walked over, bent down, and knelt in front of the Third Mistress, placing the slippers at her feet. He gently untied the thin straps on her slippers, pulled out her soft, fragrant little feet, and pinched a few delicate, green toes before putting them back into the slippers.

The Third Mistress was very pleased with Zhong Qing's thoughtfulness. She instructed her to massage her toes before putting on slippers, a habit known only to the servants in the Zhu Family's Taiwan residence. No one had taught Zhong Qing, yet she was still able to notice it so carefully.

"I'll give you a couple of days off. A relative of yours has passed away, and you're going to hold a funeral. You'll go and visit on behalf of your family. Don't think that just because you and your daughter have made your fortune in Taiwan, you can disregard your relatives here." The Third Mistress patted Zhong Qing's hair and said softly.

"I don't know?" Zhong Qing said, puzzled.

"Don't be afraid anymore." The Third Mistress hugged Zhong Qing. "Go run the water, I want to take a bath."

Zhong Qing was stunned for a moment, but then hugged the Third Mistress even tighter. Tears soaked the Third Mistress's shoulders, and her soft arms trembled.

The Third Mistress didn't speak, but gently stroked Zhong Qing's soft, long hair, calmly looking out at the brightly lit city.

Zhong Qing recalled her childhood in Junsha with her mother. Those men, reeking of alcohol, would huddle at the foot of the bed, their cries of pain echoing through the night. Countless nights, the little girl would tremble, clinging to her mother's shoulders, or even being kicked off the bed. They'd think she was in the way, a burden, a money-loser... For money for her school uniform, for envying her cousin's candy, for her timid eyes, for her thin frame, anything could bring a brutal beating. If it weren't for her mother's even weaker body protecting her, would she have survived until today?

Are they... are they all dead?

"Yeah, all clean. Apparently, it was drunk driving, and he died a horrible death... The scoundrel will get his comeuppance!"

Zhong Qing hugged "Tian" tightly, her body gradually going limp. She lowered her head and kissed the back of her foot. She was willing to kiss this woman's toes, even the footprints she left behind as she walked by.

It was just a minor matter, and the Third Mistress didn't pay much attention to it. In a city as big as Junsha, it was common for drunk driving accidents to happen. Besides, drunk driving accidents weren't that tragic; the deaths were deserved, weren't they?

Liu Chang'an woke up early the next morning. Besides moving, he also needed to make some rice noodles, so he had to get up early to get busy.

Liu Chang'an's current soup noodles feature rice noodles as the base. The rice noodles from Green Mountain Town are thin and dense, with a great chewy texture, making them exceptionally refreshing to eat, unlike the soft and mushy noodles from other provinces and cities.

The broth is also crucial, simmered for over three hours with pork bones and other ingredients. A new pork topping is made entirely from lean pork hind legs, first stir-fried, then deep-fried, and finally soaked in freshly made chili oil. The preparation time for the rice noodle stall is actually no less than that of Zhou Shuling's breakfast stall, but the sales volume and profits are better.

After Liu Chang'an finished his work, he put the soup, rice noodles, and toppings on the noodle stall. Zhou Shuling was busy with the stall all day, as he needed to tidy up his old house, where Zhou Shuling and Zhou Dongdong had moved in yesterday.

The house has two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The living room connects to a small balcony. Liu Chang'an first moved all the flowers and plants from outside his original storage room up there. Then he thought about demolishing one wall of the small balcony so that he could bring over the branches and leaves of the sycamore tree and create a shady effect.

Liu Chang'an thought about it and decided it was feasible. He raised his fist and tore down a wall from the balcony. As for the details of the repairs, he would need tools. Using his fist to smash or his fingers to pry would not be efficient and would feel more like the barbarity of primitive humans. Liu Chang'an was a modern man who was good at using tools.

The awning roof has also been removed, and Liu Chang'an feels that he can spend the rest of the summer vacation tinkering with this little house.

Bricks from the demolished wall fell downstairs. Liu Chang'an went down to pick them up, smashed them into small pieces with a hammer, and spread them on the balcony. He naturally had no aesthetic taste in things like tiling or setting ceramic tiles.

After sprinkling water on the broken bricks and stones of the balcony, which became damp and reddish-brown, Liu Chang'an arranged the flowers and plants, then placed his recliner on the balcony and used a clothesline to tie a few sycamore branches above his head.

After doing all this, Liu Chang'an lay down on the balcony and took a comfortable nap. After lunch, he went to the mahjong parlor and saw Old Man Qian and Old Man Qin arguing. Apparently, Old Man Qian had won twenty yuan from Old Man Qin two years ago, Old Man Qin hadn't paid him back. Today, Old Man Qian lost twenty yuan and wanted to use that debt from two years ago to settle the score. Old Man Qin didn't remember and refused to accept it, so they started shouting and arguing.

Liu Chang'an watched with great interest, but in the end, Old Man Qian gave in, counting out twenty yuan to settle the matter, since the debt was from two years ago.

Old Man Qian continued to mutter curses, saying things like "I'm angry," "Mom, don't," and "You bastard." When he saw Liu Chang'an, he complained angrily, "I can't be bothered with this twenty yuan. I can't even win an argument with him. Ever since that Old Man Qin was dragged to square dancing by Granny Tan last year, his health hasn't improved. He's always fighting for space, but his voice has gotten louder. I can't even argue with him anymore."

"All you ever say is 'I'm angry with your mother,' what kind of impact can that have?" Liu Chang'an shook his head. "Next time, try a different phrase, 'I'm angry with your third aunt.' He'll be surprised and wonder, 'Why are you cursing like that? What's wrong with my third aunt? Why are you angry with her?' He might even start wondering, 'What does my third aunt look like again?' That moment of distraction will leave him completely bewildered, weakening his resolve and leaving him extremely frustrated. You'll win then."

"That makes sense." Old Man Qian immediately perked up, lifted his arms, and jogged back to find Old Man Qin.

"Even swearing requires instruction! You're a disgrace to your ancestors, you're just spouting nonsense at their graves!" Liu Chang'an cursed a couple of times in Shaanxi dialect and then left, lest Old Man Qian, defeated later, want to consult him. Was Liu Chang'an such a vulgar and lowly person?

The reason he suddenly spoke Shaanxi dialect was, of course, because he thought of Shangguan Dandan. Liu Chang'an knew that simply promising to exchange his phone for a coffin with her was useless. Although Shangguan Dandan was young, the palace intrigues she had experienced were far more intense than those depicted in Qing Dynasty dramas.

Don't say that palace dramas often use phrases like "You wouldn't survive three episodes" to make them seem sinister. However, most palace dramas are set in the Qing Dynasty. Compared to the heroes of previous dynasties, what outstanding figures in the Qing court can be compared to them? In terms of both quality and quantity, they are incomparable. No matter how sinister they are, they are just the filthy stench of stupid pigs rolling around.

Your opponent's skill level determines your skill level.

Although Liu Che, Huo Qubing, Wei Qing, these peerless geniuses, were no longer around during Shangguan Dandan's time, their legacy could still subtly influence and cultivate her. Moreover, the one who had been trying to control her and was directly instilling treacherous ideas in her palace was Huo Guang, the top meritorious official of the Unicorn Pavilion and a powerful figure who truly eradicated the threat of the Xiongnu Han Dynasty.

Not to mention the two emperors who brought about the restoration of the Ming dynasty during the reigns of Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan, and the person she deposed by imperial edict.

Liu Chang'an being incredibly naive; he doesn't even want to buy a cell phone, yet he thinks he can trick Shangguan Dandan out of her coffin or steal her coffin.

So Liu Chang'an went to buy a cell phone. Just as he reached the entrance of the residential area, he saw Zhu Juntang get out of the car, holding a pure white lace parasol and looking at Liu Chang'an.

"Long time no see." Liu Chang'an greeted Zhu Juntang, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, as if he were meeting a long-lost acquaintance, and then continued walking forward.

"Wait." Zhu Juntang came to see Liu Chang'an; how could she let him get away?

"I thought I would wait another month before saying 'long time no see' to you. Thinking about Eason Chan's song of the same name, isn't it filled with emotional satisfaction and anticipation for our 'long time no see' a month from now?" Liu Chang'an said regretfully. Clearly, this satisfaction and anticipation could not be realized, and Zhu Juntang had no intention of coming to see him again in a month.

"We're not a couple, why would I say I haven't seen you in a long time, you Eason Chan?" Zhu Juntang stared wide-eyed as she followed Liu Chang'an.

"Oh, it was my mistake," Liu Chang'an sincerely apologized.

Do you know why Zhong Qing isn't with me today?

How could Liu Chang'an know? He didn't care either. Besides, it was normal for Zhong Qing to be with the Third Mistress most of the time and not with Zhu Juntang.

"Because her father and uncles, who are also the two uncles of your Little White Pig classmate, were involved in a car accident while driving under the influence of alcohol!" Zhu Juntang said with lingering fear.

Who is the Little White Pig?

That's not the point!

"Okay, none of that matters. I care less about two dead people."

"Little White Pig is Bai Hui, don't you think she's chubby and fair-skinned?"

Liu Chang'an didn't think so, but he didn't object either. Bai Hui was just a nickname because a certain part of her body was white and chubby. It wasn't entirely unfounded. Zhu Juntang liked to give people nicknames, and they were all based on physical characteristics. It was really low-class and lacked manners.

"I suspect my mother killed them," Zhu Juntang suddenly said in a slightly trembling voice, trying to infect Liu Chang'an and startle him.

Liu Chang'an nodded in agreement. Even if Zhu Juntang suspected that he was the killer, he would agree with her, because questioning and denying would only give Zhu Juntang more opportunities to talk nonsense.

Seeing Liu Chang'an's reaction, Zhu Juntang felt bored. She only had suspicions and no evidence. Of course, her casual remarks wouldn't have any impact on the Third Mistress.

"I suspect my mother has killed other people." Zhu Juntang's voice trembled slightly.

Liu Chang'an glanced at her. "It's nothing. Killing people, pigs, chickens, and dogs—these things happen every day in this world. It's nothing special."

Even when Liu Chang'an responded, Zhu Juntang didn't continue. After looking around, she casually asked, "What are you planning to do? Let's go together."

"I'm going to the restroom," Liu Chang'an said, pointing to the public restroom.

Zhu Juntang stamped her foot and watched Liu Chang'an enter the public restroom. She quickly moved further away, but then worried that the wind would blow over and she would smell the stench, so she walked to the other side of the street.

She had just crossed the street when Liu Chang'an came out, so she quickly ran back and looked at Liu Chang'an with envy.

Boys can be this fast, but girls can't. I remember last time we went to Miyin Temple, Zhu Juntang regretted not bringing the RV with us. When we went to the public restroom, there were very few men, and they came and went very quickly and efficiently, while the women had long queues. Fortunately, women have this experience and habit, so when they really have to queue for the restroom, they can hold it in longer.

"Should I show off my superiority?" Liu Chang'an looked into her eyes and knew that the little fairy was thinking about what was going on under her skirt.

"Pah!" Zhu Juntang didn't expect Liu Chang'an to be able to see through what she was envious of, and quickly denied it.

Liu Chang'an continued walking.

"Why are you boys so fast?" Zhu Juntang couldn't help but ask.

"Use the internet to search, thank you."

"So, are you going to wipe it with a cotton cloth? Or rinse it in the sink?" Zhu Juntang often thought about this question. As for searching for it online, that was out of the question. How could a fairy like her search for such a lewd question online?

Liu Chang'an stopped in his tracks. Would the zombies avoid Zhu Juntang?

"I can accept the cotton fabric issue, but rinsing it in the sink? Do you think it's as long as an apron?" Zhu Juntang's question was very vivid, and Liu Chang'an couldn't help but picture the sink. The sink faucet was at least forty or fifty centimeters long from the edge of the basin.

"Then why don't you wipe or wash?" Zhu Juntang looked at Liu Chang'an with disbelief.

"We rely on shaking."

Zhu Juntang imagined it for a moment, then looked at Liu Chang'an with disdain, "That must be so dirty, you have no sense of hygiene."

"You're such a fairy." Liu Chang'an scoffed, too lazy to pay her any attention.

"Of course, a fairy must first be hygienic to avoid being stained by dust," Zhu Juntang said smugly.

Liu Chang'an still went to the old mobile phone market to buy a phone. Twenty years ago, this place was quite prosperous. From the era when everyone carried a pager on their waist, to the extreme prosperity of the era of counterfeit phones, and then slowly declining, it's only been twenty years. Liu Chang'an shook his head. The world has developed so fast. Even Liu Chang'an, who was used to living a slow life, has to speed up his pace of life.

Unlike before, when one could spend a hundred years absorbing the achievements of civilization from the last hundred years without any qualitative changes or feeling outdated, things are different now. You can spend a hundred years acquiring a little knowledge, but the knowledge that explodes during that hundred years can leave you feeling like a primitive man.

Liu Chang'an is someone who needs to keep up with the times.

Zhu Juntang followed Liu Chang'an, looking around curiously. She didn't exaggerate her abilities; she just seemed a bit ignorant. She even went over to the old man sitting by the roadside with a white paint board to see what was written on it and what it meant.

"This is a place for the poor." Finally Zhu Juntang concluded, "I don't mean any sarcasm. The poor are an objective reality, and in a sense, they are equal to the rich in concept."

Liu Chang'an didn't care what she meant at all. He bought a low-end phone from Oppo and Vivo. This phone had an optimized front camera with a beauty effect and was optimized for some apps commonly used by women, making it smooth to use.

"Let me tell you, the chip industry in mainland China has actually made some progress, and our Zhu Family has also contributed. In some cases, we acted as a go-between," Zhu Juntang said with a hint of pride, because the phone's selling point was actually some kind of chip.

"That's normal. Investing in multiple political fronts is in the nature of capitalists." Liu Chang'an paid, took his phone, and went back.

"Yes, that's the direction I'm studying. I want to be able to dance between capital and politics with ease." Zhu Juntang tiptoed and mimicked a ballet move.

Liu Chang'an didn't even smile.

"Oh, right, I just remembered what I wanted to talk to you about today." Zhu Juntang smiled slightly, "I went to the United States with Qin Yanan during the summer vacation. While she was getting treatment for sleepwalking, I visited a famous magician. He's much easier to talk to than you are. He's basically very open and honest. I asked him a lot of questions, and he answered all my doubts. I now know all the secrets of your jumping magic trick."

Liu Chang'an looked up at the Baolong Center in the distance.

Looking at Liu Chang'an's expression, Zhu Juntang felt incredibly pleased. Let him continue to play mysterious, let him pretend. Doesn't the world naturally tend to operate to Zhu Juntang's satisfaction? So she will eventually make herself content.

"Go perform! Jump down, and I'll applaud you!" Liu Chang'an looked at Zhu Juntang with great anticipation.

"I only know the theory, I didn't say I'd perform it myself. Anyway, this master will be coming to Junsha soon to perform, he says he wants to have a match with you." Zhu Juntang looked at Liu Chang'an provocatively, "So, dare you agree?"

"I wouldn't dare."

Zhu Juntang stomped her foot in anger. She had originally wanted to intimidate Liu Chang'a Zhu Juntang her reputation as a great magician, but his attitude left her feeling unsatisfied.

Forget it, since Liu Chang'an doesn't have superpowers and can't be my personal bodyguard, what's the point of targeting him like this? Maybe fairies and mortals are just not meant to cross paths; the generation gap between them means their daily interactions will never be pleasant.

As Zhu Juntang was thinking this, she saw Liu Chang'an suddenly stop by the roadside, lost in thought. She quickly ran over and asked curiously, "What are you looking at? Do you want to buy crystals? Actually, these are all artificial crystals. They don't have any astrological force, and they don't have any mysterious power at all."

"This year, Qixi Festival is on August 28th. No one has ever called Qixi Festival Valentine's Day before, but it's not uncommon for customs to change." Liu Chang'an stopped in his tracks after seeing a merchant's poster about Qixi Festival.

I heard that we used to make and eat dumplings on Qixi Festival.

"Are you using your brain to make the dumpling filling?"

"Do you think I don't know about the Qixi Festival? I'm just saying that in some places and in some eras, there's a custom of making dumplings on the Qixi Festival, not that the Qixi Festival is a festival for making dumplings!"

"Which places, which eras?"

"... I... anyway... yes, I forgot!"

Liu Chang'an walked home, and Zhu Juntang still followed him the whole way. Liu Chang'an wasn't an impatient person, so he wasn't in a hurry to use his phone to tempt Shangguan Dandan. He sat down on the newly decorated balcony upstairs, ignoring Zhu Juntang, and started working on his new phone. For example, he set the phone screen to a cartoon image of a little empress, used "Shangguan Dandan" as his QQ and WeChat names, and the nickname "Empress Dowager Xiaozhao of the Han Dynasty." Then he registered a Weibo account and prepared to post his first Weibo post, typing. "This is my selfie."

Shangguan Dandan obviously didn't take a selfie, so Liu Chang'an sent her a picture of a coffin to upload, which would have to do.

The entire phone was branded with Shangguan Dandan's name in every detail. This was a very strong psychological suggestion, making Shangguan Dandan realize that this was her phone, even though it was still in Liu Chang'an's hands. This would make her desire to get the phone incredibly strong, leading her to consider or even accept Liu Chang'an's conditions or demands.

Various Requests.