Liu Chang'an and An Nuan's Tragedy

The afternoon sun in Junsha was still dazzling, radiating intense light and heat. Stepping out of the cinema, the images of Europe's ruin and filth from the movie still lingered in my mind. The contrast between the bustling city and the sunlight before me was striking, leaving me in a daze.

In any era, the cleanest and purest are always the young girls after bathing, just like in the movie, the only brightly colored thing is the singer's body after she has cleansed herself.

"Once, in an English exam, there was a question about 'to be or to be,' that's a question, and you wrote 'A different kind of feeling is in my heart,' which got you scolded by the teacher for being too clever for your own good." An Nuan chuckled, always happy to talk about Liu Chang'an's embarrassing moments.

"It really has nothing to do with translation; I just wrote it down randomly. This line comes from Act III of Hamlet. Hamlet feigns madness for revenge, is suspicious and wary, and is filled with inner conflict, hence this lament. When Li Yu wrote 'Meeting Joy,' he was wary of the Song emperor, yet he also had to be respectful to his former Southern Tang ministers Zhang Ji and Xu Xuan, regretting killing Pan You, Li Ping, and others... Hamlet is a prince, Li Yu is the last emperor of the Southern Tang. Hamlet's mother was abducted, and Li Yu's wife was abducted—isn't that similar?" Liu Chang'an bought two bottles of orange juice, took one for himself, and gave one to An Nuan.

An Nuan was about to unscrew the bottle cap when she gave it a quick twist and groaned twice that the cap was too tight. She then took the bottle that Liu Chang'an had already opened and gave him hers.

"You remember the things I did when the teacher scolded me, and the sentences I translated. Did you like me a long time ago?" Liu Chang'an said with certainty.

"No way! I was reading classic literature to improve my English at the time, and I happened to have read it before, so I remember it. I don't remember anything else about you," An Nuan said firmly.

"Oh, that's great. So you probably don't remember me confessing my feelings to you. Then I won't need to prepare a gift for our anniversary." Liu Chang'an said happily.

An Nuan walked up to Liu Chang'an and showed him her fierce expression, with her lip biting and two small tiger teeth showing.

"It's okay, you can forget about it all, I remember everything anyway." Liu Chang'an didn't take An Nuan's fierce expression seriously at all, and simply stated the objective facts.

An Nuan nodded, quite satisfied.

Speaking of memories and profound recollections, An Nuan said with some emotion, "The movie we just watched was a tragedy. She was immortal, but the person she was searching for vanished without a trace, from Europe to the South Asian subcontinent, and then to East Asia."

If Liu Chang'an were that Easterner and she were that singer, she would definitely dig up the whole earth to find him. That's what An Nuan thought when she watched the movie.

"What kind of tragedy is this... If the singer had died when she was stabbed in the chest, and the male protagonist hadn't come back to save her... that would fit Lu Xun's definition of tragedy. Lu Xun believed that tragedy is about destroying something beautiful for people to see, and the reason why something beautiful is destroyed is mostly because of the hands of bad people," Liu Chang'an said dismissively.

"You seem to have a strong objection to Mr. Lu Xun's definition?"

"Of course I have objections. What kind of tragedy is this? Oedipus was prophesied from birth to kill his father and marry his mother. He was abandoned by his father at birth, yet fate still pushed him to commit a grave mistake, ultimately blinding him and forcing him to wander aimlessly. Achilles ignored his mother's warnings, knowing he would die on the battlefield, but for honor and dignity, he still went to war, his Achilles' heel becoming the end of his life... And Hector, knowing he was no match for Achilles, did not surrender or flee, but went to the battlefield and to his death amidst the sorrow of his father and wife." Liu Chang'an smiled. "True tragedy is never achieved by destroying anything beautiful. That's a very superficial approach, like many novelists today who lack profound meaning, sufficient writing skills and thought, and are only good at killing off a beautiful character, especially a female character, and then relishing the achievement of their plot's sublimation or profound meaning. It's ridiculous. This kind of thing, which any author could write, is not a tragedy. What's so profound about it? It's shallow and boring."

"I don't know much about tragedies, but I only like to read works with happy endings." Most of the romance novels that An Nuan reads are about the male and female protagonists overcoming countless obstacles to be reunited. Professor Liu, on the other hand, sometimes gets sad while watching TV dramas and insists on dragging An Nuan to watch those Korean dramas about life and death, natural disasters, man-made calamities, terminal illnesses, and car accidents.

"Aristotle said tragedy is a serious and complete imitation of behavior. Tragedy is very serious; it's not thriller, much less tearjerker. True tragedy is knowing that one is facing an insurmountable fate, yet still resolutely going against the tide. It's the confrontation between man and fate, from resentment to action, and then to the magnificent and noble destruction—that is tragedy." Liu Chang'an sighed softly. "So, what I'm thinking now is that even if love and marriage are a test, even torture, in the endless course of life, I will pull you along to face such fate and fight against it."

"Are you saying our future is a tragedy?" An Nuan looked at Liu Chang'an, who seemed to have lost his mind, with disbelief.

Liu Chang'an nodded solemnly.

An Nuan tiptoed and wrapped her arms around Liu Chang'an's neck. Her eyes held a quiet yet serious light, her long eyelashes slowly lowered, and her breath was as warm as the sunlight at that moment. She gently bit Liu Chang'an's lips and said, "Tragedies are always bitter, but remember, my kiss with you now is sweet."

Liu Chang'an held An Nuan's slender waist tightly. People came and went in front of and behind them, as if it were a scene of time passing by. He smelled her warm and sweet scent. Even if this kind of love was a tragedy, it was a tragedy in his own eyes, and it was by no means something about destroying something beautiful for others to see... The beauty in his arms must be carefully protected, and he would not allow anyone to destroy it. Otherwise, it would not be a tragic plot, but a plot of hell on earth.

It seemed like a long time had passed. An Nuan's cheeks were burning hot, and red marks were left on her fair waist by Liu Chang'an's hands. Only then did An Nuan put down her heels, grab Liu Chang'an, and run away from the movie theater entrance.

"Someone must have taken a picture and uploaded it online," An Nuan complained, but she didn't regret it. It's normal for a relationship to be as fresh and serene as a willow branch touching a river. Occasionally, things can be passionate and crazy, but that's fine too. It made her heart pound and her whole body radiate sweetness.

"It's nothing. You're beautiful, and the photos will turn out beautifully. While others might laugh at you, they'll mostly envy your beauty, and I, on the other hand, have such good luck with men, having plucked the most beautiful flower from a thousand trees." Liu Chang'an said nonchalantly, then sighed, "It's a pity we're not in a secluded place, so I can't continue to be moved by the scenery."

"Ugh, you're so naughty!" An Nuan raised her little fist and punched Liu Chang'an, her cheeks flushed. Actually, she was also thinking about it. It had been a while since their first kiss, and although they had kissed several times, it still felt incredibly beautiful and alluring. But when would Liu Chang'an take the next step?

He keeps bringing up the idea of being reminded of past memories; he must have a plan, right? So how is he going to deal with Professor Liu? She won't willingly offer excuses like staying out all night! Or will he climb over the wall? Knock on the door in the middle of the night?

Lost in a jumble of thoughts, An Nuan's expression turned serious, lest she give herself away and let him know. She suddenly realized and asked, "Where's our orange juice?"

"Come kiss me, and I'll just let go."

"I'll put it down first before I kiss you."

"Let's go buy two more bottles and drink them."

"Okay!"

The two went to buy orange juice again. As usual, An Nuan twisted the cap, but since she had lost the ability to open the bottle when she was with Liu Chang'an, An Nuan hummed and handed the bottle to Liu Chang'an to open.

"You've lost the ability to open bottle caps?" Liu Chang'an asked, somewhat puzzled. "Don't you usually help me open them?"

"I didn't! You're mistaken! I don't have that much strength!" An Nuan slapped him, then dragged him to buy clothes.

I'm so confused... The last chapter was practically filler, it was practically the origin story of Liu Chang'an and the vampires! Did I really have to explain everything like an instruction manual, what was the point of that? Are many readers brainwashed by internet memes about reading comprehension, actually believing reading comprehension is brain-dead? Have they completely lost their reading ability? This is just a very simple online novel. I'm worried, Liu Chang'an said love is a tragedy, will many people think An Nuan will die or break up with Liu Chang'an? Damn it.