The Ring

"I bought it myself," Bai Hui said, lifting her bag. "If you don't believe me, ask Liu Chang'an; he went with me that day."

"Where did you get the money?" Qian Ning looked at Liu Chang'an, then looked at Bai Hui suspiciously.

"It's mine."

"Are you a short video streamer? Selling your services? Or are you being kept?" The girl scoffed, her tone full of sarcasm.

Bai Hui trembled with anger. She glanced at Qian Ning and Lu Yuan, noticing the doubt in their eyes, and stood there motionless. Bai Hui felt an indescribable disappointment and pain. She picked up her bag and threw it hard at the girl.

The girl winced in pain and rushed over. Liu Chang'an casually picked her up and tossed her onto the sofa, where she ended up doing a split while hanging on the armrest.

"Her cousin knows very well what her money is like; it's not what you think." Liu Chang'an calmly watched this farce come to an end. "Goodbye."

Qian Ning and Lu Yuan were filled with remorse, but thinking about the way Bai Hui had looked at them earlier, they hesitated and didn't dare to chase after her, unsure how to face her.

Liu Chang'an went out. It was getting late, and he needed to go back to sleep early. There was no need to teach Shangguan Dandan anymore, so he could finally return to his usual peaceful sleep schedule until dawn.

Stepping outside, Liu Chang'an saw that another pair of breasts had grown on the wall next door, and Bai Hui was leaning against the doorframe again.

Bai Hui lowered her head and was sobbing softly.

Liu Chang'an walked up to her and looked at her.

Bai Hui looked up at Liu Chang'an, her heart ached, and she could no longer hold back her resentment and humiliation. Her body trembled slightly, and she hesitated before raising her hands and leaning into Liu Chang'an's arms.

Liu Chang'an reached out and pressed her face, slowly pushing Bai Hui away, letting her still lean against the door frame.

"You..." Bai Hui looked at Liu Chang'an in disbelief. She hadn't meant anything by it; didn't he understand that a girl seeking comfort at this moment? She just felt wronged, and he actually pushed her away by pressing her face against his?

"It's no big deal. It's normal for friendships between opposite sexes to end like this. There aren't that many perfect platonic friendships," Liu Chang'an said dismissively. "I'm already giving you a lot of face by comforting you over such a trivial matter. I won't offer you a shoulder to lean on or a chest to cry on."

Bai Hui stared at Liu Chang'an in disbelief, only to find that his eyes, tone, and expression were all so self-righteous and indifferent. Bai Hui laughed in exasperation, realizing that she must be crazy to want to lean on him for comfort... But this was the Liu Chang'an she knew.

"Alright, that settles things." Bai Hui wiped her eyes, then casually wiped them on Liu Chang'an's clothes, before looking at Liu Chang'an with a smug expression, who hadn't expected her to do that.

"Boring," Liu Chang'an said.

"I'm not going to carry this bag anymore," Bai Hui said resolutely.

"The more someone insults you, the more arrogant you should be. That will make them grit their teeth in hatred, filled with resentment and helplessness. If they slander you behind your back, find evidence and sue them for defamation." Liu Chang'an turned around. "In this life, what you like is far more important than what others dislike."

Bai Hui nodded with a sense of understanding. Looking at Liu Chang'an's back, she suddenly understood the jealousy of the girl who had mocked her. If you know that there are things you really want but are destined to never get, seeing the person who has them must make you feel the same way.

Liu Chang'an returned home late at night. He took the oil-paper umbrella down from the roof of the carriage and brought it home. He planned to air it out again the next morning, and then it would be ready to paint.

Liu Chang'an took a cold shower and then slept in the storage room downstairs. He could move the books and some other odds and ends upstairs tomorrow morning. He still needed to buy a new bed... Oh well, he'd just make one himself. He could buy some wood. It wasn't very convenient to go to the mountains to cut down trees these days. Most of the trees suitable for making furniture were already planted by other people.

In the middle of the night, Liu Chang'an's phone rang.

Liu Chang'an hadn't planned to answer the phone and remained lying motionless. Although the ringing was noisy, Liu Chang'an could have remained unperturbed if he didn't want to be disturbed.

After a while, the phone stopped ringing, but then it rang again immediately.

Liu Chang'an remembered a comedy movie called "The Ring," so he got up, took his phone out of his pocket from the clothes rack, and glanced at it. It was a call from Qin Yanan.

So Liu Chang'an accepted the order.

"Elder brother..."

In the quiet of the night, a gentle, plaintive female voice echoed from the phone, each note seemingly close at hand, making one's hair stand on end from her presence.

"Elder brother..."

This was noticeably different from the "Brother" Qin Yanan called out to him yesterday... or rather, the day before yesterday. This time, Qin Yanan was under the sunlight, truly right beside him, and her voice carried Qin Yanan's essence.

But this woman's voice in the dead of night was clear and ethereal, quiet and lonely. You could only hear her voice but not see her, yet it gave you the feeling of having traveled through time and space.

"Brother... I miss you..."

The call ended abruptly. Liu Chang'an looked at the call end time on his phone screen and then dialed back.

This call, of course, couldn't reach back to the beginning of the last century; it was simply a return call to Qin Yanan.

After dialing twice, Qin Yanan finally answered the phone, "Hello... in the middle of the night..."

Qin Yanan's voice was a little groggy, and it also carried the grumpiness of being disturbed in the morning. She lazily hummed unhappily.

"Your posture is wrong, get up and sleep again."

After Liu Chang'an finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

Qin Yanan called again, but Liu Chang'an didn't answer and hung up and turned off his phone.

Liu Chang'an went back to sleep, and slept until there was a loud knocking on the door. Only then did Liu Chang'an realize that he had slept longer than usual, and it was probably around 6:30 in the morning.

"Who is it?" Liu Chang'an grabbed his hair, squinted, and got out of bed.

Reaching the door, Liu Chang'an opened it and saw Qin Yanan looking displeased. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Good morning."

"Pah... Hurry up and get dressed." Qin Yanan closed the door, her cheeks flushed, because Liu Chang'an had run to open the door wearing only a pair of boxer shorts.

It's normal for men to act like this, so why should I blush? Besides, I've already seen him without clothes on, so Qin Yanan convinced herself that she shouldn't blush.

"What's wrong?" Liu Chang'an asked from inside the room.

"Are you crazy last night? You called me in the middle of the night and woke me up, saying my posture was wrong and I had to get up and sleep again!" Qin Yanan said angrily. "After you woke me up, I couldn't fall back asleep, so I decided to come and settle the score with you!"

Is that really the case? Liu Chang'an slowly put on his clothes.