Bare Your Weapon, Girl!

Liu Chang'an and An Nuan went up to the viewing platform. Liu Chang'an put down the two glasses of orange juice in his hand, took An Nuan's hand and walked to the edge of the balcony. Looking at the bleak autumn scenery, they could see the outline of Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain in the distance from the highest point of Mount Lu. They hadn't paid much attention to it last night, but they must make time to go there again tonight.

"Ascending to a high place, I gaze afar. It is late autumn in my homeland, and the weather is just beginning to turn crisp. The clear river stretches for a thousand miles like a ribbon, and the emerald peaks stand like clusters. Returning sails disappear into the setting sun, against the west wind, and wine flags flutter askew. Colorful boats float on the misty clouds, and egrets rise like stars in the Milky Way—a scene too beautiful for any painting to capture."

Liu Chang'an casually glanced at the scenery and recited half of the poem "The Fragrance of Osmanthus".

In this day and age, if an ordinary person suddenly bursts into poetry while looking at a beautiful scene, it always feels a bit awkward and pretentious. However, An Nuan did not feel that Liu Chang'an would give people that feeling. The verses that came out of his mouth were plain and natural, as if he were just talking casually.

Without deliberate inflection or cadence, it actually gives people a more apt feeling of describing the scenery and the poetic atmosphere.

An Nuan, however, recalled a line from the second half of the poem, "Even now, courtesans still sing the lingering melodies of the Imperial Courtyard."

To prove her innocence, An Nuan quickly regained her composure and said, "The brilliance of Wang Anshi's poem lies in his perspective on the Six Dynasties from the viewpoint of the Milky Way. It conveys a profound sense of 'the people suffer when the dynasty prospers, and the people suffer when it falls.' It far surpasses the despicable literati who 'sing of 'The Song of the Rear Courtyard' across the river, oblivious to the nation's fall,' in terms of both intellectual level and artistic achievement."

"Du Shisan comes from a prestigious family with a history spanning hundreds of years. His thinking is inevitably limited by his class background, far inferior to ours who received Marxist education and uphold socialist core values. It's inappropriate to call him a 'despicable' intellectual. Besides, he has so many fans; spouting off like that is bound to cause trouble." Liu Chang'an shook his head with a smile. Du Mu would be the protagonist template in a romance novel! His family was described as. "An old mansion with vermilion gates, in the center of Chang'an; the mansion is empty, but filled with ten thousand scrolls; his family collection has two hundred volumes, covering the reigns of emperors..." He already had the "Great Epang Palace Rhapsody" as his signature piece in his early twenties. He's certainly not despicable... It's just that An Nuan is inevitably speaking from a woman's perspective. The country fell, wasn't it you noble families who ruined it? A poor girl trying to make a living—do you have the right to criticize her?

"But why should we talk about poetry? We should talk about love and showing affection, so Qin Yanan's camera can record it. Maybe she'll watch it later," An Nuan said, glancing at the camera installed in the corner.

"She has not only cameras here, but also sound recording... See that black radar-like thing? That's the sound recording equipment for noise filtering," Liu Chang'an said with a smile, pointing.

An Nuan was immediately embarrassed. If Qin Yanan had heard what she just said, it would have been truly shameful. She quickly stomped her foot and complained, "It's all your fault! Why didn't you remind me sooner?"

"Who told you to always be plotting bad things?"

"I call this protecting love."

"You think you can protect me? If I really wanted to cheat, even a hundred of you couldn't stop me."

"If a hundred of me were to form several Bagua formations and take turns guarding, do you think I could hold out?"

"The Eight Trigrams Formation is completely useless."

"Are you really planning to cheat on me?!"

"Speaking of infidelity, Du Mu was quite pitiful. All his lovers were courtesans, and they all cheated on him... Don't say that courtesans don't count as infidelity. Later, he took a fancy to a girl of about ten years old, offered a betrothal gift, and promised to marry her when he became a prefect in ten years. This man really worked hard and finally got transferred to become a prefect, but by then, that girl already had a child." Liu Chang'an laughed. So many years have passed, and other people's suffering is no longer something that others can truly empathize with.

"My God, he took a fancy to such a young girl... Isn't that perverted?" An Nuan exclaimed.

"This is called raising a girl, except he didn't take her with him. He raised her at home, paying for her to be his wife," Liu Chang'an corrected An Nuan's view. "Can raising a girl be called perverted? Look at me, I'm raising you, raising you from scratch."

"I've noticed you're being particularly filthy today..." An Nuan blushed, pointed at Liu Chang'an, and forced him to retreat to the railing. "Explain to me clearly what you mean by 'raising him single-handedly'."

"After all, I experienced the fruits of my labor today and felt somewhat inspired, so let it be dirty." Liu Chang'an didn't explain, just smiled, "You, the master of this sewer, don't need me to explain, do you?"

"What 'drainage ditch master'! You are! No, you're the head of the thirty-six drainage ditches in Junsha." An Nuan reached out and grabbed Liu Chang'an's chest, chuckling as she quickly took a few steps back, as if afraid he would retaliate in kind, and said, "I'll raise yours too."

After all, today's intimate contact was a substantial step forward, and An Nuan no longer pretended to be shy all the time; she just wanted to tease her boyfriend.

"You don't have that ability," Liu Chang'an said dismissively.

"It's because you're not good enough."

"Who are you calling incapable?" Liu Chang'an rolled up his sleeves, striking a pose. Who told her to test the waters again?

An Nuan smiled and stepped back, then reached out and grabbed Liu Chang'an's chest, before screaming and running away.

"Thump!"

An Nuan fell into the swimming pool.

Liu Chang'an stood on the shore watching her and laughed heartily.

"You... you..." An Nuan slapped herself as she stood up, looking utterly disheveled. Seeing Liu Chang'an still laughing, she felt both amused and angry. "Look at me, I fell into the water, and you didn't even come to save me!"

"The water's only a meter deep, not even as long as your legs. I don't want to get my clothes all wet." Liu Chang'an squatted down, looking at An Nuan, who was emerging from the water soaking wet.

An Nuan had already steadied herself. She looked around and saw that the water wasn't deep. She splashed water with her hands, frowned, and pouted, "What do we do now? I can't go home all wet like this, can I?"

"Come on up first." Liu Chang'an handed her over. Although An Nuan was wearing a short skirt with black gauze pleats at the hem, she was only wearing safety shorts underneath. Apart from her two long, shapely legs and the skin showing through the sleeves of her clothes clinging to her arms, there was nothing revealing, so she was not particularly attractive.

After pulling her up, the back of her skirt clung tightly to her skin, creating a rather alluring and pleasing sight.

"Ugh! Ugh! It's all your fault!" An Nuan grabbed Liu Chang'an's hand, stomped her feet, and complained coquettishly. She couldn't blame herself, so she blamed him. That's how boyfriends are always used.

Liu Chang'an led An Nuan downstairs. Qin Yanan came out of the kitchen and couldn't help but laugh in surprise, "What's going on?"

"I wasn't paying attention, I bumped into her, and she fell into the swimming pool," Liu Chang'an said.

An Nuan quickly nodded, indicating that was the case.

"You're so careless," Qin Yanan said reproachfully to Liu Chang'an. Even in his normal state, Liu Chang'an was quite strong. He turned to An Nuan and said, "Come with me."

An Nuan glanced at Liu Chang'an, feeling a sweet warmth in her heart. She tugged at her skirt to reward his gaze, then followed Qin Yanan into the dressing room.

There are two walk-in closets in total. Qin Yanan naturally didn't take An Nuan to her own closet. She looked around in this one and took out a set of pajamas and a set of underwear. "Zhu Juntang usually sleeps here. You should be able to wear her underwear. I have some that she left here unworn, so you can make do with those. The pajamas are mine, and they're new too. We're about the same height, so they should fit you."

"You've gone to so much trouble," An Nuan said, feeling embarrassed.

"Put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket. The left side is for outerwear... the right side is for undershirts and underwear. These might not dry quickly if you wash them, and my dryer is malfunctioning today." Qin Yanan finished speaking, then thought for a moment, "Change your clothes first, dry your hair, and let's eat first."

"Thank you, I'm so sorry to have troubled you so much." An Nuan looked at Qin Yanan's generous, warm, and just-right gentle attitude in her own home, and almost thought that she and Qin Yanan had always had such a comfortable relationship.

"No trouble at all, hurry up and change it, I'll just stir-fry some vegetables and we can eat right away." Qin Yanan said, then walked out and closed the door behind her.

An Nuan frowned slightly as she held her pajamas. Qin Yanan was being too agreeable today; her attitude made it seem as if there had never been any unpleasantness between them.

She was the woman who held the key and waved it in front of An Nuan... This level of cruelty was clearly like a knife stabbing An Nuan in the heart.

Should I lower my guard when someone is being so gentle and kind?

Let's change clothes first. These pajamas are Qin Yanan's size, and they're only slightly loose on An Nuan. But as for the underwear, only the briefs fit. The bra is Zhu Juntang's own size, An Nuan can't wear anymore... after all, she's grown up a bit now.

An Nuan had no choice but to go braless. It wasn't a big deal, since there were no other men around. The pleats on her pajamas were just enough to cover up some of the marks.

An Nuan's skirt can't be machine washed, so I gently wrung out the water and hung it up with her safety shorts and underwear... It won't dry anytime soon, which is really worrying.

After dinner, An Nuan was about to ask Liu Chang'an to help her get some clothes from home when Qin Yanan took out a deck of cards and said she wanted to play Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game) for a while.

Qin Yanan had always been so warm and hospitable, and An Nuan felt bad about sending Liu Chang'an away when they wanted to play cards; that would be too much trouble.

Moreover, with Liu Chang'an gone, it was quite awkward to leave only An Nuan and Qin Yanan staring at each other. So An Nuan decided to play cards for a while.

An Nuan had a great run of luck tonight. Whenever she became the landlord, she could win by bidding three points. In a short while, she won all of Liu Chang'an's two hundred yuan in cash, forcing him to take out his phone to pay.

Qin Yanan had both wins and losses, but what she won was all Liu Chang'an's money; she only got the money in his phone, and she lost all her own cash to An Nuan.

An Nuan hadn't expected to have such good luck with cards today. She proudly declared that she rarely played cards and that she would make Liu Chang'an lose his pants.

As they played, Qin Yanan started yawning, while An Nuan was still somewhat reluctant to stop. Liu Chang'an was the first to say they were done playing. He hadn't intentionally tried to lose, but for some reason, An Nuan's luck was exceptionally good today, and there was no stopping her... Actually, the key reason was that Qin Yanan played terribly.

"That's all for today, hehe, I'll send you two red envelopes to appease you." Because she had to receive and send money, and it felt a little awkward not to add Qin Yanan as a friend even though they had known each other for a long time and were sitting together, An Nuan and Qin Yanan tacitly added each other as friends.

An Nuan did not set restrictions on Qin Yanan's WeChat Moments; she simply changed the visibility of her Moments posts from three days to six months.

Qin Yanan didn't block An Nuan from seeing her Moments; she could post later, such as when Liu Chang'an came over for dinner.

An Nuan sent red envelopes to Qin Yanan and Liu Chang'an, a privilege reserved for the ultimate winner, which would further enhance her sense of accomplishment in victory.

"Let's play mahjong or 'Pao Hu Zi' another day." Liu Chang'an glanced at Qin Yanan. He and Qin Yanan played as peasants and landlords together, and they almost always lost. He couldn't have a teammate like that.

Liu Chang'an felt that Qin Yanan was deliberately letting An Nuan off the hook. Why would she want to please An Nuan? Liu Chang'an suspected that Qin Yanan wanted to cause trouble, but he had no evidence.

"Hmph, I'm also very good at mahjong and Pao Hu Zi!" An Nuan was feeling quite smug.

"It's getting late... Shall we go back to get you some clothes, Chang'an?" Qin Yanan walked to the window, looked out, and then turned back to An Nuan.

An Nuan was taken aback. She checked the time; the card game had gone on until after ten o'clock! Moreover, Qin Yanan's words were carefully worded. She first pointed out that it was very late. If An Nuan still asked Liu Chang'an to help her get her clothes, wouldn't that show that An Nuan was too willful and self-centered, and didn't consider others at all?

"It's alright, there are men, women, and children wandering around in their pajamas all day and night in Junsha," Liu Chang'an said nonchalantly, then said to Qin Yanan, "You should get some rest too, I'll take her home."

"Walking in your pajamas?" An Nuan had never done this before, let alone walked this far. There were no taxis on the mountain, and the cable car had stopped running so late.

"How about I give you a ride?" Qin Yanan said, yawning as she went to get her car keys. She yawned three times in a row, looking so sleepy she was almost tearing up. She explained to Liu Chang'an, "I've been having these recurring dreams lately, and I haven't been sleeping well."

Of course, she wanted Liu Chang'an to understand that she wasn't deliberately acting like this... People with her physical condition rarely get this sleepy; it was just because of her past sleepwalking and dreams about Ye Sijin and the like, so that he could understand.

"No need... no need to trouble you..." An Nuan quickly said. She had insisted on coming with Liu Chang'an, and it wasn't his invitation. Now that he was so tired, how could she ask him to take her home? How could she be so unreasonable?

"How about... how about you stay here tonight? Chang'an can sleep in the guest room, An Nuan, you can sleep with me, and we can have a good chat about Liu Chang'an." Qin Yanan wiped her eyes and smiled as she tried to persuade the guests to stay.

It was a casual suggestion, delivered in a relaxed manner, as if you could accept or not. We're already quite familiar with each other, so there's no need to force you to stay. And surely you don't really want to leave?

"Alright." Liu Chang'an thought for a moment. He had originally planned to go to Elephant Nose Hollow Mountain tonight, and it was closer from here... He had just wanted to go with Qin Yanan, so that if there were any other mutated wild boars or anything like that, Qin Yanan could practice her skills.

Let's forget about it for now, lest An Nuan wakes up and finds Qin Yanan missing. She'll definitely run to Liu Chang'an's room to check, and then it'll turn into a case of accusation... If both Qin Yanan and Liu Chang'an are missing, it'll be strange if An Nuan doesn't accuse them of infidelity.

Since Liu Chang'an had already nodded, An Nuan didn't have the habit of making things difficult for others, so she could only smile apologetically and say, "I didn't mean to completely disturb you."

"It's alright, I just installed a hot spring system, it's so relaxing to soak in, let's go for a soak together." Qin Yanan warmly invited An Nuan.

"Why don't we go together?" Liu Chang'an suggested.

Qin Yanan and An Nuan's expressions changed, and they looked at Liu Chang'an in disbelief, unable to believe that he would flirt with someone else in front of his girlfriend.

"Isn't it a hot spring? Of course there will be hot spring swimsuits, what's the big deal?" Liu Chang'an laughed, "What are you thinking?"

"Who brings a swimsuit to a hot spring at home... Go away! Go to your room!" Qin Yanan shoved Liu Chang'an.

Liu Chang'an cracked his neck, unconcerned about the unfair treatment. "Have you ever soaked in water near an underwater volcano? That's way more exciting. What's this compared to that?"

Liu Chang'an entered the guest room, An Nuan smiled sheepishly, "He's just a smooth talker, but he's actually a very serious person."

Let's just pretend what happened in the kitchen at noon today never happened. An Nuan was calm and composed. When a girl is protecting her boyfriend's image, she will lie to his face with a straight face.

"Yeah, I feel like he's the kind of person who can talk about major events since the War of Resistance against Japan even if he sees a beautiful woman who isn't wearing clothes." Qin Yanan agreed with a smile.

After all, he's my older brother. How could I possibly say anything bad about him? Family scandals shouldn't be aired in public.

"He hasn't told me any major events, but he does tell dirty jokes from time to time, which always makes people want to scold him... But his greatest virtue is that he would never tell dirty jokes to other girls to make them laugh." An Nuan looked like she hadn't had enough when talking about her boyfriend, and her smile was sweet.

"He's incredibly knowledgeable and erudite. What's truly remarkable is his interpretation of the allusions, historical figures, and background information contained in many poems and songs. Especially when I'm cooking, he can explain the intricacies of many state banquet dishes in great detail, often leaving me completely captivated and amazed." This young girl is really shameless, Qin Yanan could almost say, adding the phrase "a beautiful woman without clothes." As Qin Yanan spoke, noticing An Nuan's expression, she quickly and gracefully turned around, brushing a strand of hair aside with her finger, a gentle smile on her face. "You have such an excellent boyfriend; he's truly worth cherishing."

An Nuan's smile was slightly shy; after all, someone was praising her boyfriend... But, it really is something to take seriously... Are you saying I should take a little more seriously, or are you planning to take a little more seriously yourself?

That's right, this is the normal Qin Yanan. An Nuan understands. A storm is brewing. This afternoon and evening, a gentle breeze has been blowing, but this gentle breeze has filled the building, and now a storm is brewing.

"I'll keep an eye on him. Actually, I'm keeping a pretty close eye on him. Although I haven't gone through his chat history or checked if he's liked or interacted with other girls, as long as we call and text each other frequently, that's enough. After all, it's not uncommon for a guy like him to have a few little vixens eyeing him." An Nuan's shy smile faded. "I am, after all, his girlfriend, so it's perfectly legitimate. As long as it's not too outrageous, he doesn't mind me keeping an eye on him."

"Little vixens are easy to deal with, their skills are shallow... It's those old demons who have lived for countless years who are the real threat. Who knows what tricks they might use? They'll catch you completely off guard." Qin Yanan didn't mind giving An Nuan a heads-up. This little girl is too naive. What's a little vixen? Su Nanxiu, that old fox, really has some tricks up her sleeve. Qin Yanan doesn't believe Su Nanxiu will always be well-behaved.

Anyway, she's just the younger sister. If Su Nanxiu and An Nuan start fighting one day, she'll just sit back and watch the fox spirits battle it out.

How many years has she lived? Could Qin Yanan also sense something ambiguous between Professor Liu and Liu Chang'an? Or does she know about their past? But... what right does she have to call her mother an old hag? An Nuan can be jealous, but she absolutely cannot tolerate others insulting her mother!

"There are advantages to being young and advantages to being old. The worst thing is someone who's neither here nor there but still insists on joining in the fun." An Nuan smiled and crossed her arms. "By the way, Teacher Qin, it seems like quite a few male teachers at school are pursuing you, some young and some old, right? I really envy Teacher Qin, you're so charming."

An Nuan didn't want things to escalate too much, so she tried to smooth things over.

"I like older men," Qin Yanan smiled shyly, "But this liking... is quite complicated, more like admiration, a feeling of kinship."

An Nuan was somewhat surprised. Did Qin Yanan have a father complex? But why did she say it was Ru Mu, and even mention a familial feeling...? Are you looking for a boyfriend or a godfather?

"You go in first, I'll go get your clothes." Qin Yanan pointed to the hot spring room and said to An Nuan. It was connected to the original bathroom, but the newly renovated hot spring room was larger. Soaking in the hot spring in autumn and winter is more nourishing than just taking a bath.

An Nuan went in first, took off her clothes and rinsed herself off, then stepped into the hot spring pool. Qin Yanan had already turned on the hot spring, which was filled with steam and felt no different from those natural hot springs.

After a while, Qin Yanan walked in. It wasn't until Qin Yanan stepped into the pool that An Nuan could clearly see Qin Yanan's face and figure.

At that moment, An Nuan suddenly understood why Qin Yanan had insisted on letting her stay overnight, and that she had fallen into a trap!

War, in essence, is a contest of various resources, such as logistics, manpower, and military talent. Only by fully utilizing advantages in all aspects and targeting the opponent's weaknesses can victory be achieved.

Just as Qin Yanan once used the advantage of "keys" to attack An Nuan and won a great victory, An Nuan later used "property certificates" to fight back and severely damage the opponent.

Today, Qin Yanan unleashed her ultimate weapon... which is her greatest advantage over An Nuan, and she did so while An Nuan hadn't yet closed the gap—a despicable and shameless move!

At this point, even if An Nuan shouted "Thirty years River East, thirty years River West," or "Don't underestimate a young girl," it would be useless! After all, the enemy wouldn't give her that much time to draw her weapon!

A deadly weapon.

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By the way, I recommend a friend's book, "Weapon Master," which you can check out if you're interested.

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