Autumn Moon, Unrivaled (2-in-1) (Revised)
The chapter titles are in the wrong order, but the content has been corrected and it doesn't affect reading.
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Qin Yanan stopped mentioning Ye Sijin's wish and asked Liu Chang'an if he wanted something to eat. Liu Chang'an thought of Su Mei. Women always liked to use extremely foolish tricks when they thought something was special or when they were making some foolish plans. So Liu Chang'an refused.
Qin Yanan made a dish of stir-fried chicken with pears.
This is a perfect time to eat pear stir-fried chicken. Qin Yanan not only a great cook, but she also has a keen eye for what dishes are suitable for which seasons. The weather is dry right now, so eating something that nourishes the lungs will make you feel more comfortable.
Wealthy families pay far more attention to health than ordinary families; it seems to be a habit, even though she is currently in excellent health.
This pear and chicken stir-fry uses free-range chicken, which is nourishing and helps to alleviate the chill that gradually enters the body in late summer and early autumn. Slice the breast meat of the free-range chicken, add seasonings, coat with cornstarch, slice the pear, wash the shiitake mushrooms, tear the wood ear mushrooms into pieces, and diagonally cut the scallions. Heat the wok until very hot, heat three ounces of pork, add Sichuan peppercorns to make oil, add the chicken slices and stir-fry, then add the other ingredients. Just before serving, add the pear slices, stir-fry evenly, and plate.
Qin Yanan didn't eat rice, but sat down next to Liu Chang'an, who had previously refused, with this plate in her hand. The aroma was enticing.
Liu Chang'an was reading a book when his eyes glanced at the plate.
Qin Yanan ate slowly, sitting to his side, about a fist's width apart. But she leaned over, her knee almost touching Liu Chang'an, and then she ate small bites with her fork next to Liu Chang'an, smiling as she looked at Liu Chang'an.
"It tastes really good. This chicken was just killed this afternoon, and I kept the breast meat to make this dish. It was a gift from a resort owner to Secretary Zhao. It's hard to find this kind of food in Junsha. The key is... this is my cooking." Qin Yanan explained as she ate, forking a piece of fragrant chicken past Liu Chang'an's nose before stuffing it into her mouth.
Liu Chang'an ignored him and focused intently on the book in his hands.
Qin Yanan forked another slice, giggled, and held it to Liu Chang'an's lips. "Does it smell good? I know I don't eat it, but smell it and give your opinion!"
Liu Chang'an glared at Qin Yanan, then quickly bit into the tender, juicy chicken, his lips and teeth working together to claim it as his own.
Qin Yanan couldn't help but laugh, wiping her lips with a napkin, and then fetched another set of cutlery. "Eat up, are you still worried I'll drug you?"
Liu Chang'an ate in silence, not responding to Qin Yanan. He should just eat his food properly; wasn't he afraid of spitting into it while talking? It was disgusting.
This is one of the joys of cooking for others. A little while later, looking at the clean plates, Qin Yanan contentedly cleared away the dishes.
Liu Chang'an continued reading.
After tidying up briefly, Qin Yanan cut some fruit, arranged it on a fruit platter, and asked Liu Chang'an at the bar what he wanted to drink. Liu Chang'an ordered a glass of orange juice.
The orange juice was made with sparkling water, and it tasted like Fanta, but not as sweet. Qin Yanan also added some colorful ice cubes, making it look like a drink meant to tempt children.
Qin Yanan mixed her own drinks and sat on the sofa opposite Liu Chang'an. The woman in the cheongsam, once seated, brought out the most captivating quality of this garment for men. Qin Yanan didn't mean anything by it; did she think she wouldn't sit down just because she was wearing a cheongsam? Besides, Liu Chang'an wasn't the kind of lewd person.
Qin Yanan sent several messages to Zhu Juntang was trying to keep track of the progress, and replied with the current situation. Then she looked at the historical anthology in Liu Chang'an's hand.
"From your perspective, how do you view the 19th century?" Qin Yanan put down her phone and looked at Liu Chang'an casually.
"Not all those born in the 19th century are dead yet; it's not time to draw conclusions about the 19th century," Liu Chang'an shook his head.
"Born in 1899, so he would be 118 years old by now!" Qin Yanan had never heard of the saying that one could only comment on a period of time after all the people in a certain century had died out.
"That's how history is always commented on. Darwin met Harriet in the Galapagos Islands in 1835, and when Harriet died peacefully in Australia in 2006, the last living creature bearing Darwin's clear mark also died. That's when it's time to commemorate Darwin," Liu Chang'an replied casually.
"Why do that? Darwin has been dead for so long, and he has been commemorated countless times." Qin Yanan objected to Liu Chang'an's viewpoint, which was based on a purely time-observational perspective.
"On April 14, 1912, when a ship sank, one baby survived. He did not pass away until November 2007. Only then did this maritime disaster truly become history, rather than existing only in the memories of a few who personally experienced it."
"Why must all the people from a certain period die before it becomes true history?" Qin Yanan couldn't understand.
"This is my perspective. You don't have to accept it, and I'm not asking you to. I have no interest in arguing with you or trying to convince you." Liu Chang'an waved his hand. "Go to sleep early."
"Are you so smug when you talk to An Nuan?" Qin Yanan looked at Liu Chang'an with disbelief.
"No, when I talk to her, whatever she says goes." Liu Chang'an shook his head.
Qin Yanan grabbed the cushion supporting her waist and threw it at Liu Chang'an.
Liu Chang'an avoided it, then sniffed and frowned uncertainly.
"What's wrong?" Qin Yanan's attention immediately shifted to Liu Chang'an's expression.
"Your digestive system just now produced some gas from fermenting food residue, which overflowed," Liu Chang'an pointed to the cushion. "It stinks."
"I didn't!" Qin Yanan blushed. She hadn't farted at all, and besides, that was the cushion she used to prop up her waist! Although her waist wasn't as long as that of a girl of average height, it shouldn't have reached her buttocks with the cushion!
"Oh, I was just kidding."
"I'm laughing at you..." Qin Yanan managed to refrain from swearing and started throwing pillows from the sofa at Liu Chang'an.
Liu Chang'an looked like he wanted to avoid it, but he could feel that the force and speed of those pillows were much higher than the average girl's. If Qin Yanan was born from a coffin, just as Liu Chang'an had predicted, she would not have the physical qualities of an ordinary person.
Liu Chang'an was very interested in Qin Yanan's body.
Research-oriented, not male-oriented.
He had previously considered analyzing the similarities and differences between Shangguan Dandan and himself through biological research, but Shangguan Dandan was hiding in her coffin and wouldn't come out. Could Qin Yanan be considered to be in a similar state to Shangguan Dandan?
Take it slow. There will always be some gains. Even if there are no gains for the time being, like Professor Liu's time when nothing was gained, there will always be a point in the future when enough scientific and technological power will emerge to answer the current unsolved mysteries.
"Cousin, don't be angry. Look, your hair is all messed up," Liu Chang'an said calmly, dodging Qin Yanan's last pillow.
When Qin Yanan heard Liu Chang'an call her "cousin," she felt strangely uncomfortable. This strangeness overcame her earlier annoyance, and she glared at him reproachfully before quickly fixing her hair.
A girl's hair should never be messy except when she's alone, because messy hair will make her look like a completely different person, losing all her charm.
Men are different. Neat hair or messy hair are just two completely different styles, but both are equally handsome.
Liu Chang'an casually ran his fingers through his hair.
Qin Yanan spent more than ten minutes fixing her hair. When she came out, she was carrying a set of pajamas and placed them in the guest room. She said to Liu Chang'an, "I bought a new laptop and put it in the guest room. You can watch the surveillance footage from there. The slippers are in the dressing room, and I've put some snacks and vacuum-packed pig tails in the small refrigerator under the desk."
"You made the pig tails yourself? Why didn't you eat them while they were hot?" Liu Chang'an said regretfully. Pig tails are delicious, and Qin Yanan's cooking skills should be quite good.
Qin Yanan was a little helpless. His response focused on the pig's tail; shouldn't he have nodded and praised her for her thoughtful and domestic qualities as a woman in such small matters?
Qin Yanan ignored him. Why didn't you eat it while it was hot? Don't you know that? Foolish man.
"It tastes just as good after being microwaved," Qin Yanan said before going to take a shower.
Liu Chang'an put down his book and went to the small refrigerator in the guest room to find a pig's tail. After all, he could read the book slowly, and the feeling was the same no matter when he read it, but the temptation of food was much stronger.
Liu Chang'an felt that Qin Yanan was ultimately different from Su Mei. So when Qin Yanan finished taking a bath and changed back into her cheongsam, she saw that Liu Chang'an had already eaten a large portion of pig tail clean.
"So you can eat this much too," Qin Yanan remarked with some emotion. "No wonder birds of a feather flock together; we're all like-minded."
After a bath, a woman exudes a fresher, more alluring fragrance, with a hint of moisture, as delicate as a flower, as if she has washed away the dust of the day. Perhaps her texture is like a marbled steak sizzling in a pan?
"I only eat when it tastes good. Finishing the food is the greatest praise for the workers, and it's also basic etiquette for diners... I only heated up one serving, and I'll eat the rest after watching the security camera. Eating too much at once is too much, and the taste is quite good." Liu Chang'an now highly approves of Qin Yanan's cooking skills. He doesn't know how others would find it, but she has an amazing talent for understanding his tastes.
"You've got a sweet tongue, so here's a reward for you."
What's the reward?
"I was just saying." Qin Yanan was somewhat smug; giving someone a taste of their own medicine was actually the most satisfying thing.
Liu Chang'an waved his hand, "Go to sleep early."
Qin Yanan nodded, turned and walked into her bedroom, instructing without looking back, "I won't be sleeping for a while, so turn on the monitor later."
Liu Chang'an hummed in agreement, picked up the book and started flipping through it. As he flipped through it, he felt a bit like he wanted to close his eyes and take a nap after a big meal.
After most people have eaten, blood flows smoothly to the stomach, and the temperature of the entire abdomen rises slightly. This warm and bloated feeling can make people feel drowsy and sleepy. Sleeping at this time is very comfortable, but it is not good for the body.
Liu Chang'an wasn't worried that sleeping with a full stomach would be bad for his health, so he decided to take a nap.
Qin Yanan was in the bedroom. Although she felt that Liu Chang'an probably hadn't turned on the surveillance cameras yet, she still put on safety shorts in the bathroom.
During this summer vacation, Qin Yanan also learned a lot about psychology. She knew that psychological suggestion is very important in leading a conversation or guiding the other party. Her appearance and cheongsam were a strong psychological suggestion to Liu Chang'an, making him more likely to believe that she was really sleepwalking and had become Ye Sijin.
For Liu Chang'an, the cheongsam was a suggestive element; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to give An Nuan a cheongsam as a gift. He had also mentioned that his aesthetic sense was influenced by Dai Wangshu's "Rainy Alley." Thus, Qin Yanan selected a piece of music in the room that collected the sounds of rain—a gentle, pattering, and touching melody.
Anyone with emotions can be affected by music, and the subtle influence of music is often imperceptible, guiding emotions without them being easily noticed.
The most direct visual impact is also necessary. Qin Yanan adjusted the lights to incandescent mode. Two paintings by famous artists from the Republic of China era were hanging on the wall. People living in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas during that period would definitely know them. On the footstool at the foot of the bed were some small toys that little girls used to play with, such as cloth tigers, ceramic figurines, handkerchiefs embroidered with bamboo, and red threads for the Qixi Festival.
These preparations might not be of much use, but they might subtly hint at something and hopefully prevent any slip-ups. After observing carefully, Qin Yanan went to bed.
A cool breeze carries a message; a gentle mountain breeze blows in through the half-open window.
Qin Yanan felt her phone vibrate in the blanket. She was already preoccupied with something and was a light sleeper. After waking up, she immediately remembered her plan. Without making a sound or moving, she turned off her phone under the blanket before slowly lifting the covers.
I woke up to the sound of pattering rain, feeling perfectly clear-headed and comfortable.
Thankfully, she didn't unconsciously take off her clothes and pants while asleep today like last time, but she still carefully took off her safety shorts... She had seen previous surveillance footage, and back then, when she woke up from sleepwalking, she would take off this failed human invention that didn't conform to the clothing style of women's liberation at the beginning of the last century.
Her movements were slow and sluggish, not very agile, but this made her look more professional, because careful movements would prevent her from exposing herself... When they are not in a relationship, no woman will really be so carefree just because he has seen her before. Clothing is not a woman's bottom line; shame and modesty are.
Liu Chang'an should be watching the surveillance footage right now, right? He probably won't be watching it all the time, but he'll probably just glance at it every now and then. So I need to put on a good show of being a sleepwalker possessed by Ye Sijin before he walks in.
Qin Yanan sat on the footstool at the foot of the bed, picked up the red thread for the Qixi Festival, wrapped it around her finger, and played with it by herself.
If someone were watching a security camera and saw a woman in a cheongsam with a pale face under a low-wattage incandescent light bulb quietly get up and then start playing with the red thread, this scene would probably give people a chill from the start, an atmosphere of a paranormal event.
Why aren't you coming in yet?