Innocent and Lively

Liu Chang'an squeezed orange juice and poured four glasses to share with everyone.

After finishing their orange juice and barbecue, Zhou Shuling and Shangguan Dandan were still chatting. Liu Chang'an listened and realized it was just a conversation between newbies.

Shangguan Dandan knew nothing about modern cosmetics, and Zhou Shuling had only started wearing makeup more recently... This was a requirement of the mall's unified management, but Zhou Shuling didn't know much about it either.

In comparison, Zhou Shuling obviously knows more.

Newbies love to exchange ideas, and if everyone is more inexperienced than the last, the atmosphere can get quite lively.

Liu Chang'an couldn't get a word in edgewise and had no interest whatsoever, so he drank his orange juice while watching TV.

After a while, they suddenly stopped talking. It turned out they had agreed to go to the small counters in the discount mall to practice their skills.

Making plans to visit some affordable supermarkets, cheap shops, and secluded little stores is a symbol of genuine friendship among women.

If An Nuan and Bai Hui really went shopping together, Liu Chang'an believed they would specifically choose to browse high-end brand counters to show off their taste and sophisticated aesthetics.

Zhou Dongdong had already fallen asleep on the sofa, hugging her toys. Liu Chang'an picked her up and put her back in her little bed to sleep.

"What do you want to eat tomorrow morning?" Zhou Shuling asked, leaning against the door as she saw Liu Chang'an to the door.

"Whatever."

"Then I'll make meat buns?"

"I don't want to eat."

"That rice noodle?"

I ate too much today.

"Then let's make porridge."

"Okay... then!"

"How annoying, I did whatever I wanted." Zhou Shuling said gruffly.

Liu Chang'an nodded and went downstairs.

Shangguan Dandan was still watching TV. This young girl liked to watch late-night dramas, which were mostly melodramatic plots about mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships, infidelity, and marital ethics.

"I've finished watching." Before Liu Chang'an could urge her, Shangguan Dandan stood up and walked to the television.

"Wait!" Liu Chang'an quickly called out to her, "This is my television; you already have one downstairs!"

"I forgot!" Shangguan Dandan declared loudly, "Do you think I'm going to take both of your TVs?"

Liu Chang'an remained silent.

"I already have two TVs, one big one and one small, bulging one. The big one is better than yours..."

Shangguan Dandan turned around, grabbed the thermos, and went downstairs muttering to herself. She just thought she had brought the TV up to watch, but he thought she wanted to take his TV away. He was really judging the Empress Dowager by his own petty standards.

Liu Chang'an believed she didn't mean it, but he couldn't let his guard down against Dan Dan trying to steal the TV.

Before Zhou Shuling went upstairs, she had already cleared the dining table. Liu Chang'an brought in the clothes that were drying on the balcony and then went to alter a sweater.

Liu Chang'an sat on the bed altering a sweater. Before he finished, he fell asleep while touching the soft sweater. The next morning, he felt that the temperature was lower than the day before. He opened his eyes, touched the knitting needles, and continued altering the sweater.

Actually, if someone is good-looking, they can look good in anything. If it doesn't fit well, for example, if it's a bit too big, it will only make them look cute.

Liu Chang'an stopped after making half of the changes, got up and took Lu Si'en for a run outside. When they came back, they bought some frozen chicken breasts, some pork bones and corn kernels from the market, intending to make feed for Lu Si'en.

Liu Chang'an not only wouldn't eat his own dog, but he would also take good care of it and give it extra food.

Back home, Liu Chang'an set up a cutting board under the sycamore tree, preparing to break the bones and chop the chicken breast into smaller pieces. Just as he started working, Zhou Dongdong ran downstairs.

"Brother Chang'an, what delicious food are you making?" Zhou Dongdong asked, biting her finger.

"You want to eat what's meant for dogs?" Liu Chang'an slapped her hand. She's a six-year-old child, and she's still biting her nails.

"If it tastes good, why wouldn't you want to eat it?"

"Go stand over there." Liu Chang'an pointed to the stairwell, not wanting to talk to this foolish child anymore.

Zhou Dongdong ran to the stairwell, stood there for a few seconds, looked around for a while, and then ran back.

"Why are you here again? You're shameless." Liu Chang'an continued chopping bones.

Zhou Dongdong reached out and tugged at Liu Chang'an's face, then pinched her own face, comparing the two.

"Your skin is thicker than mine!" Zhou Dongdong concluded, "As thick as the pigskin Mom bought!"

"I'll make you eat with Lu Si'en from now on," Liu Chang'an threatened.

Zhou Dongdong looked at the pork bones and chicken breast, then lay on Liu Chang'an's back expectantly.

"What a foolish child." Liu Chang'an sighed, looking back at Zhou Dongdong's expression, and knew that she hadn't interpreted it as a threat, but rather as a pleasant expectation.

"I'm clever and brave," Zhou Dongdong immediately retorted.

"You're a stupid child."

"I am resourceful and brave."

"Foolish child."

"I'm clever... clever..." Zhou Dongdong hesitated for a moment, "But... the teacher praised me for being innocent and lively."

"Then be innocent and lively, go find Sister Egg to play." Liu Chang'an pointed to Shangguan Dandan's door.

The door opened a crack just now and then quietly closed again. Liu Chang'an knew that Shangguan Dandan had gotten up. She opened the door and peeked out, only to find Liu Chang'an working outside. She then decided not to come out.

Zhou Dongdong then went to find Shangguan Dandan to play.

Liu Chang'an continued making dog food and fed it to Lu Si'en, but not to Zhou Dongdong.

After breakfast, Liu Chang'an, who had no classes in the morning, continued to watch TV and alter his sweater at home. Shangguan Dandan was led by Zhou Shuling to Baolong Center... After Zhou Shuling opened her shop, she had more free time, so Zhou Shuling Shangguan Dandan to stroll around Xiahe Street.

Liu Chang'an received shocking news: An Nuan and Bai Hui had returned to school together.

"Together" does not mean that two independent actions occurred at the same time, but rather that two people truly traveled together.

Liu Chang'an looked up at the ceiling, not trying to figure out what the girls were thinking. There was no need to try to analyze what they were thinking unless necessary.

At this moment, Bai Hui and An Nuan had just arrived at the bottom of Baolong Center.

"Are you texting Liu Chang'an?" An Nuan was texting when Bai Hui glanced at her casually and asked. It's normal for good friends to look at each other's messages. If it's a private message, people usually avoid it, so it's no problem.

"Yeah, I told him we went to school together," An Nuan said casually, indicating that it was just a normal thing.

Bai Hui didn't want to say anything that would surprise or astonish him; it was just an ordinary thing.

After they finished speaking, the two looked at each other and laughed.

Bai Hui put her fingers together, pursed her lips, and looked around.

An Nuan brushed her hair aside, then picked up her phone, turned on the screen, looked at it, and then turned it off again.

"Let me see if he's replied to my message," An Nuan said, pointing to her phone.

"He rarely checks messages, and sometimes he does but doesn't reply." Bai Hui knew this without a doubt; her classmates all knew it too.

"Yeah, it's pretty annoying." An Nuan didn't indicate that she received any special treatment as his girlfriend.

"Let's go." An Nuan pointed ahead.

Bai Hui took the first step, then suddenly felt that An Nuan must be looking at the back of her head from behind, so she turned around and looked back, and sure enough, she met An Nuan's gaze.

The two smiled at each other, the atmosphere was natural and harmonious, and there was no awkwardness at all.

Bai Hui went back last night. She felt that since they were staying at the same hotel, it wouldn't be appropriate not to say hello or make arrangements to go back to school together tomorrow if they had classes at the same time.

They're good friends after all.

So she knocked on the door. An Nuan was clearly a little surprised. Bai Hui had said she wanted to go back to school together, and it didn't seem right to refuse, so she agreed.

"It seems like this is the first time we've gone back to school together," Bai Hui said with a touch of emotion.

"Yes, after all, one used to live on the River East and the other on the River West."

Bai Hui smiled and said, "One River East, and the other River West. It seems to have some symbolic meaning."

The two chatted casually, gradually easing their discomfort and awkwardness. After all, they were old classmates and had a lot in common... As long as no one started a fight, things remained peaceful.

Liu Chang'an had already altered the sweater by then. Since Shangguan Dandan had already been taken away by Zhou Shuling, Liu Chang'an left the sweater at home.

"Little Liu, you are truly multi-talented! Not only are you a scholar, but you also know needlework," Old Man Qian said leisurely as he walked over.

"You want to take pictures of the tree?" Liu Chang'an pointed to the sycamore tree.

"I'm not going to photograph the trees today. I have some good news for you." Old Man Qian raised his head slightly, pursed his lips, and looked at Liu Chang'an with an expression that said, "Guess what it is."

"You're doing a good deed." Liu Chang'an turned and left.

"Don't go!" Old Man Qian quickly pulled Liu Chang'an back. "Let me tell you, my granddaughter also got into Xiangnan University. I'm planning to introduce you to her as her boyfriend."

Liu Chang'an glanced at Old Man Qian's appearance and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"My granddaughter is quite pretty!" Old Man Qian said, pulling Liu Chang'an along. "You two go to the same school, why don't you get to know each other first..."

"I think you old man just want me to be several generations below you so you can boss me around at the mahjong table later." Liu Chang'an saw right through Old Man Qian.

"Don't say that!" Old Man Qian laughed awkwardly to cover it up.

Liu Chang'an ignored him and prepared to go to the hotel to check on Liu Yuewang and Professor Ling's condition. Professor Ling should recover today.

Liu Chang'an arrived at Baolong Center, rang the doorbell, and waited patiently.

After a minute of silence, Liu Chang'an pressed the button a second time.

This time, the door opened in less than a minute; it was Professor Ling who opened it.

"You've recovered." Liu Chang'an smiled with relief.

"Yes... I just sent you a message, and I suddenly feel a little anxious. I wonder if there will be any aftereffects or anything," Professor Ling said, touching her face.

I've always wanted to get back to normal, to restore my life, my family, and my work, or rather, to restore my entire life.

But if it were truly restored, that fleeting experience of youth would leave one feeling somewhat melancholic.

"Okay, let me check for you." Liu Chang'an walked in.

Sitting down on the sofa, Liu Chang'an examined Professor Ling's wrist. Having already prepared himself, Professor Ling didn't react much to the slight burning sensation on his skin, only looking at Liu Chang'an with a hint of nervousness or anticipation.

"If there are any side effects..." Liu Chang'an smiled, looking at Professor Ling's expression, "Then your skin will improve, especially your detoxifying organs will be rejuvenated. For the next period of time, you will have a youthful and healthy feeling, but you won't experience any exaggerated reverse aging."

"That's great." Professor Ling held up her phone, looked at herself through the front-facing camera, and indeed felt that her skin had improved a lot. She then asked Liu Chang'an to take a look as well, tentatively asking, "Is your skin much better than before?"

"Your camera has a built-in beauty filter," Liu Chang'an reminded her.

"I feel much better now." Professor Ling turned off the screen, feeling embarrassed.

Liu Chang'an noticed that many women, after taking more selfies and using more beauty filters, became more confident... This is a good thing; confidence is a good thing.

However, if confidence turns into a lack of self-awareness, or even a sense of superiority, leading to a mindset like, "Look how good my selfies are, am I prettier than that female celebrity? My boyfriend must be a heartthrob on par with hers," then there's something wrong with your thinking.

Women are prone to becoming engrossed in fantasies and finding it difficult to extricate themselves. They may even fail to distinguish between the feelings evoked by their fantasies and the gap between reality and reality. This is one of the reasons why some women in the fandom exhibit particularly extreme and irritable behavior.

Professor Ling, compared to Liu Yuewang, is quite good-looking. Unlike many people who are more beautiful when they are young, Professor Ling's current figure and temperament are much more attractive, making her more charming than she was in her youth.

"Where is Professor Liu?" Liu Chang'an asked.

"She went to bed too late last night and is still half asleep." Professor Ling stood up. "I'll go wake her."

As they were talking, Liu Yuewang came out of the bedroom.

Liu Chang'an turned his head instantly, staring out the window at the city and river view that was seven or eight parts shrouded in morning mist.

"Go back quickly!" Professor Ling waved his hand to shoo Liu Yuewang away when he saw her in her pajamas.

Liu Yuewang saw Liu Chang'an, but Liu Chang'an seemed not to notice her coming out of the room. He kept turning his head in another direction without looking back, seemingly lost in the view of the high-rise building outside the window.

Liu Yuewang quickly covered her mouth and ran back to her bedroom.

Liu Chang'an then turned around, "Did Professor Liu just come out? I think I heard a sound."

"Yes, she went in again." Professor Ling smiled gently. What a thoughtful and good girl, she knows how to avoid embarrassing others and understands the rules... Especially her self-control and quick reflexes. If it were an ordinary man, he would probably have stared at her until his eyes popped out of his head.

He only said he heard a sound, meaning he didn't see anything.

Professor Ling realized that Liu Chang'an was faking it mainly because Liu Chang'an had been staring out the window motionless for a long time, and there was nothing to see outside the window because of the fog.

Moreover, Professor Ling knew that Liu Chang'an was an extraordinary expert with superb skills and keen eyesight; how could he not see him? It was just that his instantaneous reaction was too clever.

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Because I wanted to write a long chapter, instead of something short and weak, I've been writing until now. As a writer prone to sudden death, I'm asking for a minimum of monthly votes at the beginning of the month.