Trouble Within the Walls
After chatting for a while, the announcement came that it was almost time to board. Liu Chang'an and Qin Yanan left the business class waiting room. The huge station was very deserted, and it felt so empty that even the slightest footstep could echo everywhere.
There were more staff members maintaining the station's operation than passengers. There were fewer than ten people at the ticket gate for the train Liu Chang'an and Qin Yanan were on. The business class seats for this train were at the front of the train. Liu Chang'an looked at the smiling train attendant with a silk scarf tied around her neck standing inside the train door, then turned her head to look at the other end of the platform. A few rays of sunlight peeked through the sky, but it felt particularly cold. The heavy snow that had blanketed the area for the past two days had almost completely dissipated in just one morning.
The two sat down, and the flight attendant brought them hot orange juice and snacks. Liu Chang'an opened the snack box, ate the chocolate inside, and looked out the window. Although the high-speed rail was convenient, being in a confined space for a long time was not as comfortable as walking.
Liu Chang'an squinted. He wasn't sleepy; although he had only slept for three or four hours last night, it had no impact on his energy. He just felt that taking a nap would help pass the time.
"I didn't sleep well last night, and I feel sleepy now," Qin Yanan said to Liu Chang'an beside her.
"Let's sleep together." Liu Chang'an closed his eyes. There were only the two of them in the carriage. The conductor would naturally remind them when they arrived at their stop, so there was no need to worry about missing their stop... Liu Chang'an thought of the old green trains that used to clatter and rattle. Missing their stop was a common occurrence. Once, he fell asleep and woke up to find that the old farmer who had been sitting opposite him with a snakeskin bag of mountain goods had gotten off the train, replaced by a little girl with thick braids and a green military cap. She was a bit thin, but her eyes were big and bright.
I had a great chat with that girl back then, but a few years later I saw her on TV, singing folk songs from South Hunan and showcasing her beautiful voice to the people of the whole country.
Having not watched the Spring Festival Gala in a long time, Liu Chang'an was lost in thought when he felt his arm being embraced. Turning his head, he saw that Qin Yanan had closed her eyes, her cheek pressed against his arm, showing a comfortable and peaceful expression.
"How am I supposed to sleep like this?" Liu Chang'an tried to pull his arm away, but couldn't. It seemed she had already expected him to do this, as her arm was held tightly by her.
Although the two seats were next to each other, unlike second-class and first-class seats where there was only an armrest between them, Liu Chang'an couldn't help but ponder a trivial question: which experience is better, being punched with a small fist the whole way or being held by the arm while sleeping the whole way?
"Let me hold you!" Qin Yanan still had her cheek pressed against his arm, looked up at him and blinked, then lowered her head and hugged him even tighter.
Acting coquettishly is becoming more and more natural; all women know how to act coquettishly, it just depends on whether there's someone they're willing to act coquettishly with.
Once a woman has such a partner, she will be happy to act coquettishly, and the person being coquettishly treated will often be happy as well.
"Go to sleep." Liu Chang'an reached out with his other hand and patted her head, then closed his eyes.
Qin Yanan nodded. Sometimes she felt that the feeling of wanting to rely on him and act coquettishly towards him when she saw him was probably a remnant of past memories. Those emotions represented the intimate past between Ye Sijin and him.
"Brother," Qin Yanan called softly.
"Um?"
"What do you feel when you're with your Jin'er?" Qin Yanan asked with her eyes closed.
"Forgot."
Qin Yanan raised her head slightly, looking at him in disbelief. That night, when he carried her all the way from Mount Lu to the top of Baolong Center and looked down at Junsha, his moist eyes and the longing that had been buried in his heart for so long without anyone to tell made her believe that Ye Sijin was the person he loved the most.
"You are Ye Sijin. When you remember, you won't need to ask me anymore." Liu Chang'an smiled. "Didn't you want to sleep? Do I have to imitate a little train clattering before you'll sleep?"
"Was Ye Sijin like this before?" Qin Yanan asked sweetly. If so, then she wanted to be like that too.
"No, it's An Nuan."
Qin Yanan rolled her eyes at him, dropped the arm she was holding, and turned her back to him.
Liu Chang'an patted her shoulder, ran his fingers through her hair, and scratched her scalp. Just as he was about to close his eyes, Qin Yanan turned around, pouted, glared at him fiercely, then snatched his arm and hugged it, continuing to sleep with her head on it.
Liu Chang'an also went to sleep.
They arrived in Jinling in the evening. Liu Chang'an woke up a moment before the train arrived. The flight attendant came to wake him up. Liu Chang'an took the blanket off Qin Yanan and returned it to the flight attendant, and then woke Qin Yanan up.
Qin Yanan's cheeks flushed slightly. She found sleeping comfortably in his scent and even had a wonderful dream. This made Qin Yanan feel a little jealous; that little girl An Nuan had probably slept with him countless times.
After exiting the station, it took a while to meet the driver who was supposed to pick him up. Unlike the last time Liu Chang'an came, the car drove around the house and then headed east.
Qin Yanan explained to Liu Chang'an that only part of the Qin Family's old house was usually in use, while most of the other courtyards and pavilions were closed off. During the Spring Festival, Qin Peng would stay in the backyard, leaving the front yard for receiving guests. It was completely separated from the backyard, so ordinary people had no idea that they could not see Qin Peng by going through the front yard.
The car stopped in front of the screen wall. Qin Yanan saw Liu Chang'an get out of the car and stand still, just staring at the carved and simple screen wall. She couldn't help but ask, "What's so interesting about it?"
"When you and Qin Peng were little, I taught you the Analects of Confucius, specifically the Analects 'Ji Shi,' right here," Liu Chang'an said with some emotion. "Back then, you didn't want to study with the old master, so I took you around to see the world. When we came across places where we could tell stories, I would tell you the stories and the lessons within them. You were willing to learn and progressed quickly, so later I had the old master teach the children of the collateral branches, and I taught you to read, write, and understand principles myself."
"Why are we discussing the 'Ji Family' here?" Qin Yanan leaned closer, took Liu Chang'an's hand, and tilted her head back with an obedient look of anticipation for the explanation.
Was this how I looked when I was little? Back then, I must have been a much smaller girl, with the honest and sturdy Qin Peng beside me.
"Because of the screen wall, it's called the 'Xiaoqiang,' and the 'Xiaoqiang' in 'trouble arises within the Xiaoqiang' refers to the screen wall. Originally, the Xiaoqiang was a screen used by the ruler of the State of Lu. When ministers came before the screen, they had to straighten their clothes and be respectful. The character 'Xiao' is related to 'Su,' so it actually means 'Suqiang.' There's a sentence in this chapter of the Analects: 'Those who govern a state or a family are not worried about scarcity but about inequality; they are not worried about poverty but about instability.' This sentence has had a great impact on you and Qin Peng... Let's go." Liu Chang'an patted Qin Yanan on the shoulder. The important significance of education lies in the fact that much knowledge may not be taken to heart or remembered, but often it is a single sentence that begins to guide a person's thinking, leading them to think, to change, to strive, and thus changing a person's life.
Qin Yanan nodded, feeling a little regretful. If Qin Peng had found Liu Chang'an when she was five or six years old and sent her to live with her, that would have been wonderful.
Thinking about this, Qin Yanan thought of Zhou Dongdong. However, it would be especially difficult for Liu Chang'an to replicate his teaching process in front of Zhou Dongdong, because Zhou Dongdong seemed uninterested in anything other than eating, and she didn't know how he usually taught Zhou Dongdong.
Thinking that such a powerful person could be helplessly controlled by Zhou Dongdong, Qin Yanan couldn't help but smile... Oh right, there's also Shangguan Dandan, who always wants him to call her "Mom," who is also someone he doesn't know how to deal with.
The two stood in front of the screen wall for a while before continuing forward. There was still a stretch of road ahead, a long bridge, and a brick and stone platform. Just as Liu Chang'an and Qin Yanan reached the bridge, they saw the gate open ahead. An elderly man with white hair and beard was standing on the platform, craning his neck to look in their direction, his eyes filled with anxious anticipation. Several guards stood beside him, looking on high alert for the old man, who was over a hundred years old, still insisting on climbing onto the platform.
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I've had a bit of a cold these past few days, just a routine cold, not COVID-19. The rice noodle shop isn't doing well, and I don't know what to do with Meituan and Ele. me. The group has already updated <Bai Hui 1, 2, 3, 4, 5>, as well as other girls' side stories. Feel free to read them. I only need about 500 more donations to update another side story.
With no business and no income, the only way to make ends meet is by writing side stories.