After they left the neighborhood, An Nuan checked the time and called a ride. The two of them waited by the roadside while she carefully examined the driver who'd accepted the trip. She was taken aback. "He's driving a Bentley for a rideshare."
Liu Chang'an glanced at the car. It was a Bentley Bentayga. An Nuan tried to cancel, but the car was already nearby. Liu Chang'an smiled, and she gave up. She was with him, after all. What could anyone do?
Most people who drove several-million-yuan luxury cars as rideshare drivers weren't doing it to experience life or earn money. Their intentions were usually quite obvious. Plenty of girls knew what these drivers were after: either they canceled the ride outright or got in with their eyes open.
The car pulled up soon after. An Nuan had already seen the driver's name in the app: Ma Benwei. He leaned out and looked at her and Liu Chang'an. His gaze lingered on Liu Chang'an, and he frowned. "There are two of you?"
"Then I'll cancel the ride," An Nuan said, more than happy to do so.
"Don't. There aren't many cars around at this hour. Get in." Ma Benwei glanced at An Nuan.
Liu Chang'an got in first, and An Nuan followed.
"East Gate of Juyuan at Xiangnan University, right?"
"Right."
The car pulled away. An Nuan noticed Ma Benwei glancing back at them in the rearview mirror from time to time, so she quickly hooked her arm through Liu Chang'an's.
"Keep your eyes on the road," Liu Chang'an reminded him.
"To be honest, I'm a streamer. My fans told me this young beauty is an internet celebrity too?" Ma Benwei turned to glance at An Nuan. Seeing that she and Liu Chang'an were a guy and a girl, he figured it would be hard to follow the usual script and make entertaining content, so he decided to be blunt.
At that, An Nuan tugged Liu Chang'an's jacket up and hid her entire face behind it, ignoring Ma Benwei completely.
"Isn't that a little inappropriate? You're violating her privacy and portrait rights," Liu Chang'an said with a smile.
"Fine, I'll turn off the stream."
Only then did An Nuan lower Liu Chang'an's school uniform.
"Seriously, a bare-faced beauty like you is prettier than any internet celebrity I've ever seen. They all rely on filters and makeup." Ma Benwei couldn't help praising her again.
"Of course. There are five hundred guys at our school who take turns protecting him every day. I waited in line for a whole year before it was my turn," Liu Chang'an said, delighted. Then he felt An Nuan pinch the flesh at his waist.
"Haha, that's a bit exaggerated, a bit exaggerated," Ma Benwei said with a laugh. "Is that true, beautiful?"
An Nuan continued to ignore Ma Benwei. She didn't say another word for the rest of the ride.
After watching the car drive off, An Nuan stamped her foot. "What rotten luck... But how did anyone recognize me? When I'm walking down the street, nobody points at me and calls me the volleyball beauty or anything."
"The impression you get in person is completely different from seeing photos and videos on a screen. I think the key was the school uniform. Your mom posts plenty of pictures of you in uniform on Weibo, so people could compare them. Once they saw the uniform from Xiangnan University High School and how pretty you are, they'd immediately put two and two together... We should still give him five stars."
"So it's my fault for being good-looking?" An Nuan asked, swaying proudly.
"Let's head back."
"It's all your fault for refusing to walk home with me. This wouldn't have happened if you had. I hate streamers like that."
"It's not like anything happened. I was there with you, and he didn't even get a word in with you. Besides, he wasn't wrong. It's hard to find a car at this hour."
"Mm. See you tomorrow..."
"See you tomorrow..."
An Nuan stayed where she was.
"Are you going to walk me home?" Liu Chang'an asked with a smile.
"I'm waiting for you to turn around so I can kick you!"
Liu Chang'an turned and walked away. An Nuan watched him reach the corner, then stuck her hands in her pockets and hopped all the way home.
Liu Chang'an didn't walk home this time. He found a bike and rode back. As usual, he stopped by the mahjong parlor, watched people play beneath the grapevine, then went over to the parasol tree.
Most of the leaves had fallen from the tree, leaving its branches bare. Lately, most of the talk about it had revolved around Liu Chang'an's original explanation: that a treasure buried underground was absorbing its essence.
The most popular theory was Old Man Qian's claim that an earth dragon had sucked water up and left a pearl behind. That had given him quite the authoritative air and the upper hand whenever he chatted with the elderly these past few days.
Liu Chang'an opened the coffin. That morning, he had put a dog's head inside. The summer heat hadn't made the inside stuffy. He picked up the basin and still smelled blood. The dog's head hadn't turned black or spoiled, or changed in any other way. It was just as it had been when he put it in that morning.
"So dead things don't work?"
Liu Chang'an muttered to himself. Lately, leaves had been falling from the parasol tree, an entire nest of ants had died, and some of the elderly had developed minor health problems. All of it had happened after the coffin was brought here.
There was no way the coffin had nothing to do with these things.
Liu Chang'an closed the coffin and went to see Old Lady Liu. He bought a young hen from her, a little over three pounds.
If he hadn't made over a thousand yuan selling dog meat, Liu Chang'an wouldn't have splurged like this.
He put the hen in the coffin to see what it would be like the next morning. After that, Liu Chang'an showered, brushed his teeth, and lay in bed looking at his phone. He had a lot of unread messages on WeChat.
"Today I shared a ride home with a classmate and got a rideshare driver who was streaming. Someone watched his stream, took a screenshot, and posted it on Weibo."
"Actually, that classmate is just a regular friend. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not that kind of girl. I told you I wouldn't date in high school."
"You didn't go on Weibo today, did you? I thought you usually liked my posts. I checked your page and saw that you hadn't liked my two latest posts... I thought you were mad."
"Are you really mad?"
"It's really a misunderstanding! People online are talking nonsense!"
Liu Chang'an thought it over and replied.
"You should focus on explaining things to your mom. But I think she's understanding, gentle, considerate, and kind. Just tell her clearly and it'll be fine."
"Ha ha, my mom really is like that. I explained everything, and she stopped being mad. She's always been a very gentle person." The reply came almost at once.
So it ran in the family... Whenever Liu Chang'an complimented An Nuan, she accepted it without hesitation or false modesty. For example, if he said she was cute, she'd reply, "Yeah, I'm really cute." Unlike other girls, she wouldn't demurely deny it or put herself down by pointing out her flaws.
"I was a little busy today, so I didn't go on Weibo. You weren't sitting around with your phone, waiting for me to reply, were you?"
"No! I just happened to turn my phone on. It was off before."
"Ah, that's a little disappointing."
"Actually, I was a little nervous too. You're a lot older than me, but why should age matter between friends? Of course you should care about your friends. I didn't want you to think I was that kind of girl."
"You're right. You're so considerate and kind because your mom raised you well."
"Why do you keep talking about my mom tonight?"
"Do I?"
"You do!"
"..."
"..."
After chatting for a while, Liu Chang'an messaged An Nuan and learned that her mother had chewed her out. She'd also recognized Liu Chang'an as the classmate who'd confessed to An Nuan in the video last time. Her mother was so furious that she practiced belly dancing for over an hour before she finally calmed down.
The mother and daughter were both pretty adorable. Liu Chang'an smiled and said good night.
Before you continue