Let's Learn to Crow Like Roosters Together

Delicate clouds weave patterns, shooting stars convey sorrow, the Milky Way shines brightly yet secretly. A single meeting in the golden autumn breeze and dewy night surpasses countless encounters in the mortal world. Tender feelings flow like water, the auspicious day is like a dream, how can one bear to look back on the road to the Magpie Bridge! If two hearts are truly bound for eternity, why should they be together every day and night?

Qixi Festival is just around the corner, and there should be some festive atmosphere, since it is a big festival in Liu Chang'an's mind.

Liu Chang'an placed a large bowl of water in the sun. By noon, a thin layer of dust condensed into water vapor, forming a film on the water's surface. Liu Chang'an placed a needle on the film and observed the reflection in the water.

At the bottom of the white porcelain bowl, there were shadows of clouds, flowers, birds, and beasts. Within this small space, the interplay of light and shadow created the atmosphere of a world unto itself. A needle-like shadow stretched across it, upright and imposing, before finally breaking through the thin membrane and falling to the bottom of the water. Liu Chang'an nodded in satisfaction. This was the Qixi Festival divination technique, capable of predicting... just for fun.

Liu Chang'an was about to catch a spider and put it in a box to divine the future by observing the web it would spin the next day when he saw Bai Hui walking over.

"What a rare guest." Liu Chang'an gave up catching the spider and looked at Bai Hui with surprise.

"I was just passing by," Bai Hui said casually, tugging at the shoulder strap that was pressing against her chest.

"Oh, goodbye then."

"Passing by means taking a look around, not leaving immediately!" Bai Hui said, so angry that she told the truth.

"Then you can see." Liu Chang'an went to hammer bricks; he'd been so busy making umbrellas lately that he'd forgotten to hammer bricks.

Bai Hui walked up to Liu Chang'an, her eyes darting between the brick and Liu Chang'an. How could this guy be so boring? Wouldn't chatting with a pretty girl be more appealing than hitting a brick?

Aren't you going to ask me what I came to see?

"What are you looking at?" Liu Chang'an was very cooperative even in this situation.

"I asked my cousin if you were home, and she looked through her binoculars and said you were staring at a bowl of water. I think you're incredibly boring," Bai Hui said smugly, as if she had the ability to see a thousand miles.

So you came?

Bai Hui nodded and hummed in agreement.

"Then you've come specifically to see me, not just passing by," Liu Chang'an corrected her misuse of words.

Bai Hui took a small step back with light, hurried footsteps. "I... I was just passing by."

"Whatever."

"Hey, have you seen that dance I sent you?" Bai Hui wanted Liu Chang'an to know that she was quite popular now. Among the graduating class of the Affiliated High School high school, An Nuan wasn't the only one with a lot of online popularity.

"Show it to me." Liu Chang'an said helplessly. "Isn't it that dance called 'Single Dogs Jumping and Bounce on Qixi Festival'?"

Bai Hui happily took out her phone, placed it on the brick in front of Liu Chang'an, and squatted down next to him to watch it together.

It wasn't originally called "Single Dogs Jumping and Bounce on Qixi Festival"; the video was actually titled "Learning to Meow."

The dance was recorded in the Baolong Center shopping mall. Bai Hui wore a pair of black strappy high heels, and the angle made her look much taller than she actually was, with her legs appearing exaggeratedly long. She wore a black and white checkered short skirt, an off-the-shoulder white embroidered tiger head T-shirt, and instead of her usual pigtails, her long hair was draped over her shoulders. She exuded youthful energy and liveliness, and her movements were gentle and cute, as if she were the embodiment of a cat.

"How about it?" Bai Hui looked at Liu Chang'an's expression, which seemed to be captivated, and felt a little smug.

"Why meow like a cat?" Liu Chang'an asked, somewhat puzzled.

"This dance music is also the song title!"

Why not imitate a rooster's crow?

"Ah?"

"Let's imitate rooster crows together, 'Cock-a-doodle-doo...' It's quite uplifting, reminding us of roosters crowing at dawn."

Bai Hui put her phone away. Liu Chang'an is a lunatic.

"Look at cats these days, what can they do besides poop? Imitating a chicken's clucking, a duck's quacking, or a pig's squealing would be more meaningful than meowing like a cat."

Bai Hui patiently explained to Liu Chang'an, "The key is that it's cute, meow meow meow, how cute is it?"

Bai Hui performed a dance move that imitated a cat.

"It's cute for little kids to do that, but you're so old, it's really affected. Girls your age shouldn't force themselves to be cute, it's an eyesore," Liu Chang'an commented objectively.

That's how he sees it! Bai Hui thought Liu Chang'an's taste was really... well, he just doesn't understand what's so cute about a beautiful girl like her, and don't expect him, a social butterfly and a video website otaku, to see a beautiful girl casually acting cute and exclaim, "Oh no, it's Heartbeat sight!"

When Bai Hui met Liu Chang'an, she repeatedly felt like she was having a heart attack.

"Actually, I came here to ask you..." Bai Hui circled around Liu Chang'an's brick, "What are your plans for An Nuan Festival tomorrow?"

Liu Chang'an gave her a strange look. "What's it to you?"

"I'm just asking, I'll take it as a reference..."

"You're planning a date too?" Liu Chang'an pointed at Bai Hui's phone in surprise. Oh, wait, that dance isn't called "Single Dogs Jumping and Bounce on Qixi Festival," I misunderstood.

Seeing Liu Chang'an's expression, Bai Hui raised her head demurely and nodded, "Of course."

"We have no plans or arrangements." Liu Chang'an shook his head.

Bai Hui was surprised.

"When two people feel awkward and uncomfortable together, or even unsure of what to do... that's when they need planning and arrangements to overcome that awkwardness. True lovers only need to meet," Liu Chang'an said nonchalantly.

Bai Hui pursed her lips. This wasn't the answer she wanted at all, even though what he said made a lot of sense... She had originally planned that if she found out, she would just secretly go and see how Liu Chang'an and An Nuan went on their date since she had nothing else to do tomorrow... She didn't mean anything by it, she was just bored.

Just then, Zhou Dongdong, who had seen an unfamiliar older sister talking to Brother Chang'an, came downstairs. She ran behind Liu Chang'an and looked Bai Hui up and down for a while before trying to climb onto Liu Chang'an's back, but failed.

"Little friend, what's your name?" Bai Hui was feeling a bit awkward, unsure how to continue the conversation with Liu Chang'an, when someone stepped in to ease the tension, noticing that the little boy and Liu Chang'an seemed to have a good relationship.

My name is...

"Her name is Zhou Dongdong, and she's a silly child."

"He's a clever and brave kid," Zhou Dongdong exclaimed.

Bai Hui giggled, looking at Zhou Dongdong's chubby cheeks and how adorable he looked, and remembered what Liu Chang'an had said earlier: only children are suitable for acting cute.

"Zhou Dongdong, don't play with the bricks, you'll get your hands dirty." Seeing Zhou Dongdong pick up the bricks to play with, Bai Hui quickly said, showing the awareness of an adult who should discipline a child.

"If your hands never get dirty, then what's the point of washing them every day?" Zhou Dongdong said dismissively.

Bai Hui was stunned for a moment; Zhou Dongdong's words left her speechless.

Liu Chang'an chuckled twice and gave Zhou Dongdong a small hammer. Like other children her age, Zhou Dongdong liked to imitate what adults did. For example, when Liu Chang'an buried a hen, she buried a plastic chick; Liu Chang'an lit a fire, she threw a small stool into the fire.

"I'll teach you to dance!" Bai Hui had a sudden inspiration, thinking of an opportunity to showcase her talent and let Liu Chang'an see her friendliness. Girls who can win over children are more charming, which is why kindergarten teachers and primary school teachers find it so easy to find boyfriends.

Zhou Dongdong smashed the bricks with a small hammer, remembering the airplane dance that won her the "Most Humorous Talent Award".

Bai Hui, holding Zhou Dongdong's hand, stood under the sycamore tree. "Come on, let me dance for you first."

Bai Hui sang and danced for Zhou Dongdong, secretly noticing Liu Chang'an concentrating on smashing bricks, but she couldn't be bothered with this blockhead boy.

"How is it? Does it look good? Let me teach you."

"I've already learned it!" Zhou Dongdong exclaimed.

"Ah?"

"Meow meow meow meow... meow meow meow..." Zhou Dongdong imitated a cat's meow, then twirled her arms and ran off like a little airplane. Unlike the other older sisters who would give Zhou Dongdong treats, this older sister only brought up Zhou Dongdong's painful memories. So Zhou Dongdong didn't want to play with her at all and ran to find her mother.

"She..." Bai Hui pointed at Zhou Dongdong's back, feeling somewhat aggrieved by Zhou Dongdong's reaction, her good intentions and enthusiasm dampened by Bai Hui's. Bai Hui turned to look at Liu Chang'an.

"Since you're so free, why don't you help me break some bricks?" Liu Chang'an picked up the small hammer Zhou Dongdong had dropped and held it out to her.

Bai Hui glanced at her cute white lace socks, her fair hands, and her Hermès bag, hesitated, then took the small hammer and, as if possessed, sat down next to Liu Chang'an and began smashing bricks.

Bai Hui hadn't expected that she and Liu Chang'an would spend the whole afternoon breaking bricks. By the time they finished, her arms were sore, but seeing a pile of broken gravel gave her a great sense of accomplishment.

"Labor makes people happy, labor makes people fulfilled, and labor makes people healthy." Liu Chang'an was slightly impressed with Bai Hui's performance and nodded in satisfaction. At least she was much better than that fairy. If it were that fairy, she would probably just pick up her phone and call someone to smash it, acting like she was so powerful.

"Is that even a question?" Bai Hui rubbed her wrist, a little smug.

"Since you helped me with the work, I'll treat you to dinner tonight." Liu Chang'an pointed to the faucet. "Wash your hands first."

Bai Hui leaned over to wash her hands. There was only one faucet. When she reached out, Liu Chang'an touched her palm. Bai Hui involuntarily flinched, her cheeks flushed, and her heart skipped a beat... She was too shy. Perhaps it was because she was a girl who didn't know how to get along with boys.

Liu Chang'an didn't cook for Bai Hui at home. He went to Baolong Center with Bai Hui. On the way there, he called All-Star, who had previously eaten rice noodles at a breakfast stall. Quan Mingxing gave Zhou Shuling a business card, saying that Baolong Food Center would very much welcome Zhou Shuling's rice noodle shop to open.

When Liu Chang'an and Bai Hui arrived at the food center, All-Star was already waiting. They brought a business plan for Liu Chang'an to look at. The decorations here are all uniform, so it's impossible for individual merchants to be free to do as they please. However, the plan also mentioned that some store elements can be designed and proposed by the merchants themselves. The remaining shops are located in relatively remote areas, but Liu Chang'an is not going to be in the breakfast stall business anyway. Besides, the Baolong Food Center has enough foot traffic, so he doesn't mind if it's a little remote.

"You're going to be a boss?" Bai Hui looked at Liu Chang'an in surprise.

"We happen to be short of capital, would you like to invest some shares?" Liu Chang'an said with a smile.

"No..." Bai Hui shook her head repeatedly, "I want to buy a house, buying a house is the most profitable thing... But how much do you need? I can lend it to you."

"No need for that," Liu Chang'an declined.

Bai Hui looked at Liu Chang'an's expression, "I'm not investing... Are you a little unhappy? Or do you think I'm ungrateful?"

"No."

"You have..."

"No."

"You definitely have it!" Bai Hui couldn't help but pout and stomp her foot.

Liu Chang'an gave Bai Hui a strange look.

"I'll order." Bai Hui coughed awkwardly, holding up the menu to hide her flushed face. She had been secretly watching Liu Chang'an and An Nan before, and had inadvertently started acting like An Nuan.

I've had a slight fever for the past few days, and I always have that headache I get when I wake up in the morning, like when I have a cold. Ugh, please give me some monthly votes! I'll unleash my power once I feel better.