Plain Wealth, Acting Wealth

In the past, taking a wife was often a casual affair, and one could take many; it was like buying vegetables at a market—as long as they were pleasing to the eye and one possessed "wealth and status," it was sufficient.

The Book of Rites records Confucius saying: "If one is wealthy and noble, one acts according to wealth and nobility."

Consequently, some believed that if a man were wealthy and noble yet failed to purchase a concubine or two for his own amusement, he was acting like a man of poverty and lowliness despite his status. They argued that the Kingly Way is rooted in human nature, so why bother with such affected displays of purity and frugality?

In modern terms: if you have money and power but don't seek out several women, you are a fool, a hypocrite.

The "concubines" mentioned here are quite different from the "wives" of today. The status of women has changed significantly; if Liu Chang'an were to eat a dog, he would be criticized by Zhou Dongdong. If he were to spout nonsense about "acting according to wealth and nobility," he would likely have to master the art of wiping spit from his face without complaint—assuming he even had time to wipe it off.

If An Nuan heard such talk, she would likely jump onto his back to make a scene.

Liu Chang'an returned to the classroom and found Bai Hui standing in the corridor. For once, Qian Ning and Lu Yuan were not by her side, as she was speaking with An Nuan. The tallest girl in the class wore black calfskin wedges, enough to make the vast majority of boys feel inferior.

An Nuan would probably look beautiful in high heels too, preferably white ones with white mid-calf socks and square heels—none of those sharp, thin ones. There would surely be a striking radiance between her skirt and the socks. Liu Chang'an recalled the outfit Zhu Juntang had worn that night.

"I can't believe you have such a beautiful cousin; An Nuan said she'd never heard you mention her." Bai Hui seemed to be re-evaluating Liu Chang'an. "I heard some female teachers gossiping that your cousin's watch is called something like Vancleef, and that model costs eight hundred thousand."

Bai Hui had the type of slightly chubby, cute cheeks, and her face still held an expression of exaggerated disbelief. Her mouth was rounded, her eyes were wide, and her chest bounced as she spoke, a sight that made the word "gossip" spring to mind.

He would never use such a word to describe a beautiful young girl, so he smiled and said, "Hello, Gossip-Granny."

"Gossip-Granny?" Bai Hui was baffled.

An Nuan understood Liu Chang'an better; she couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter. Bai Hui looked at An Nuan, then back at Liu Chang'an, sensing it wasn't a compliment but feeling like a fool left in the dark. Unable to save face, she glared at Liu Chang'an and returned to the classroom.

An Nuan tilted her head to watch Bai Hui enter the classroom before whispering a reproach: "She was just curious, why call her a little gossip?"

"When two people gather together, you are one too."

"Offending both my former desk-mate and my current one? Just wait and see how we talk about you behind your back! Hmph!"

"Come here, I want to show you something good." Liu Chang'an beckoned.

"What?"

An Nuan looked left and right, then glanced back at the classroom. Seeing Bai Hui peering out, she stretched her arms, stood up, and walked slowly toward him with the gait she had grown accustomed to from Liu Chang'an.

Liu Chang'an sat on the pool table in front of the classroom. A black fabric backpack lay on it—no one knew whose it was. A manga magazine cover peeked out from the pocket, depicting a Japanese anime girl. Aside from eyes that occupied half her face, her legs—straight and taut like bamboo shoots stripped of their husks—and her waist, as slender as a willow branch dipping into a river, looked exactly like An Nuan's figure.

"We may be able to bravely face the laws of humanity, but we can never resist the laws of nature." Liu Chang'an looked at An Nuan and said earnestly. He rarely tried to persuade anyone; if he decided to do so, he would cite classics with great seriousness, for the reason classics are classic is that they often contain profound and correct truths.

Girls can be reasoned with too, right?

An Nuan frowned, stunned for a moment. "1870, Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. This was another of his great works after Journey to the Center of the Earth. From the center of the earth to the bottom of the sea, Verne's works allowed later generations to gradually expand the exploration of science fiction from the Earth to the vast universe."

"Are you reciting a book report? The point is what I said. What is the 'human law' you and Bai Hui are facing together?" Liu Chang'an continued to reason.

An Nuan already felt something was off, especially with the specific mention of Bai Hui... What were Bai Hui's characteristics? The first impression was, of course, a well-developed high school girl. She didn't share anything in that regard with her, did she? An Nuan nodded, "Oh," and said, quite willing to indulge him: "Classmate Liu Chang'an, you're provoking me again."

"No," Liu Chang'an denied. "I am simply reasoning with you. You and Bai Hui are both girls, and the current law of humanity is that the development of a girl's secondary sexual characteristics is highly scrutinized. The irresistible law of nature is this: males therefore believe that females with better-developed secondary sexual characteristics are more suitable to be pursued as mates. Thus, females cannot resist the need to cope with this law of nature."

An Nuan's eyes were now as wide as the anime girl's on the magazine cover.

"Last time, your blood stasis caused..."

"I used sponge pads!" An Nuan said, huffing.

"That works?" Liu Chang'an seemed surprised that such a simple measure could rival the method he had spent all morning tinkering with.

An Nuan angrily reached out to push Liu Chang'an off the pool table. Not far away, Huang Shan walked over and pointed forcefully. An Nuan didn't continue to provoke Huang Shan, as Huang Shan liked to report news about her and Liu Chang'an to her mother whenever he had the chance. This was normal, and An Nuan could understand; a great beauty like her mother was someone every man liked to curry favor with.

"I don't think sponge pads are the best method. The weather is getting hot, and if you get heat rash, it won't look good." Liu Chang'an thought for a moment and handed An Nuan a few pages he had torn from his notebook.

An Nuan was watching Huang Shan turn the corner and was about to push Liu Chang'an off when she took the papers and flipped them open. Her cheeks turned crimson instantly.

"I'm going to bite you to death later!" An Nuan bit her lip, the blush on her face blooming as brilliantly as the Belia flowers in season. The figure Liu Chang'an had drawn was unclothed; he hadn't carefully depicted the face, but how could the figure be an exact replica of her own?

"Practice according to this; it will definitely have an effect." Liu Chang'an looked forward to it earnestly. "I spent all morning drawing it."

"But what if I can't do it?" The shyness on An Nuan's cheeks remained a lovely pink, but her eyes held a charming smile. "Do you want to come and teach me?"

"Let me think..."

"Think your head! Liu Chang'an, I'll knock you flying!"

After school, Liu Chang'an left the fastest, because An Nuan had been looking for trouble all afternoon. Based on his understanding, if he went to the gym to watch her practice, she would keep spiking the volleyball at him.

Walking to the bridge, the warm breeze brushed his face, and Liu Chang'an slowed his pace. Looking into the distance, the giant statue of the great man still stood in the posture of a guardian, gazing deeply at the mountain roads in the distance, the city nearby, and the land beneath his feet.

Seeing Qin Yanan today inevitably made him think of Ye Sijin; these two seemed to make it difficult for Liu Chang'an to separate them.

Standing here, Liu Chang'an's memories and emotions began to churn once more.