Continuation 23: Zhou Dongdong, Whom No One Likes

Qin Yanan woke up in the morning, listening to the steady breathing and smelling the familiar scent. She opened her eyes and saw Liu Chang'an lying next to her, and couldn't help but think of Niu Jiao's poem "Bodhisattva's Charm".

Jade incense burner, ice-cold mat, mandarin duck brocade, powdery fragrance, sweat flowing down the mountain pillow.

The sound of a well pulley outside the curtain startled her; she lowered her brows, a smile playing on her lips.

The willow shade is light and indistinct, her hairpin falls loosely behind her lowered temple.

We must dedicate our lives to making the most of today's joy.

This poem describes a private rendezvous, but it is actually somewhat different from the actual situation. Last night, she simply chatted with Liu Chang'an for a long time, listening to him recount her childhood memories, and eventually fell asleep fully clothed without realizing it. When she woke up, it was already dawn with a light mist.

She certainly didn't have "fragrant sweat flowing down her pillow," so this poem would have been more fitting for the occasion, since he was at An Nuan's house the night before last.

Qin Yanan blushed slightly, saying, "I must dedicate my life to making you happy today." This line was extremely intimate, yet it made one's heart pound and face flush. It was a perfect match for "I have grown thin and haggard for her sake, but I will never regret it."

She could "fight her whole life to make you happy today," but it would be even better if he could "grow thin and haggard for her sake, yet never regret it."

The room was warm and cozy in the morning, so comfortable that Qin Yanan sighed softly. He was lying beside her, and her heart was pounding. She couldn't help but let her mind wander. The allure of that mature woman was as deep and lingering as smoke. Gradually, she felt her skin getting warm and quickly sat up, no longer wanting to linger in his embrace.

Last night, nothing transgressed between us. I wonder if Qin Peng will overthink things. If it were said that a man and a woman spent the night together without anything happening, no one would believe it. If some unscrupulous novelists found out, they might even make up some fabricated stories and spread them around.

Just like the story of Cui Yingying and Zhang Sheng, Wang Shifu only wrote a little bit about it, but many idle people filled in and arranged it into countless erotic poems and songs.

Qin Yanan went to the bathroom to wash up. The room temperature was actually a bit high last night, and she might have sweated a little, so she needed to take a shower.

When she finished washing up, she saw that Liu Chang'an had already woken up and was leaning against the headboard, fiddling with his phone.

Liu Chang'an looked at Qin Yanan. Her cheeks were flushed and her skin was soft and supple. Even though she was dressed neatly after her bath, she still exuded a fresh and delicious feeling, like a fruit sprayed with water mist, with a fragrant aroma and an alluring color.

"You agreed to sleep on the floor, so why did you stay on my bed all night?" Liu Chang'an pointed to the mattress and pillow still on the floor.

"Nonsense! You clearly promised to sleep on the floor, but then you kept me chatting, and then you fell asleep and refused to sleep on the floor anymore," Qin Yanan said coquettishly. "What kind of brother are you? I'm not going to sleep on the floor. It's my bed anyway, and you're the one who's sponging off me."

"Is that so?" Liu Chang'an thought about it with great skepticism, then gave up. "I'm getting old, and I'm prone to forgetfulness. Whatever you say."

"You're just talking nonsense." Qin Yanan changed into a cheongsam, pushed open the balcony door and looked out. Her hair was neatly combed and hung down her back, with the ends falling on her hips.

The gap between her hair, waist dimples, and hip line resembles a crescent moon. Looking through the gap, one can see the mist surrounding the attic outside the window, like a fairyland.

A beautiful woman standing quietly by the window on the waterfront in the morning is a stunning sight.

"I'll go check the kitchen. I'll make something for Ziqing to eat today. Didn't he want to eat lychee pork?" Liu Chang'an stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

"Wait a minute..." Qin Yanan quickly grabbed Liu Chang'an, her cheeks slightly flushed, "I'll go get ready."

Liu Chang'an nodded, indicating that he had changed his clothes inside and out.

Liu Chang'an stayed in Jinling for two days to help Qin Peng recover. Feeling that this was not the last Spring Festival he would spend with Qin Peng, Liu Chang'an returned to Junsha on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

Junsha remained damp and chilly, even a bit colder than Jinling. The snow here had melted completely, and occasionally someone would find a few specks of dusty snow in a secluded corner and post them on social media to commemorate the occasion.

After arriving at the high-speed rail station, Liu Chang'an did not exit the station. Instead, he followed the flow of people through the subway turnstiles, thus avoiding the need to exit the station and go through the subway security check.

There weren't many people; the passageway was still rather deserted, with only a few scattered individuals. Many seemed to have just returned home at this time of year, their faces still bearing a weary anticipation, while others looked solemn, as if they had left home and had no idea when they would return.

Liu Chang'an scanned the code to enter the station, placed his hands on his knees, and sat opposite him an elderly man with a slightly hunched posture but a vigorous spirit, who was also sitting in the "preferential treatment for the elderly, weak, sick and Liu Chang'an" seats.

The subway was empty, so I could just sit anywhere.

Liu Chang'an glanced at the old man, and the old man also glanced at Liu Chang'an. Neither of them spoke, but the old man reached into his pocket, without taking anything out.

Liu Chang'an maintained a quiet and composed demeanor.

After seven or eight stops, the old man said to Liu Chang'an with a hint of appreciation, "These days, it's really rare to see young people on the subway who aren't using their phones."

"I'll play now." Liu Chang'an took out his phone and checked the messages.

The old man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and took out his phone as well.

Liu Chang'an smiled. This old man probably thought that there were very few people sitting on the subway who didn't use their phones, so he also wanted to act like he didn't use his phone and stand out from the crowd. He even started competing with Liu Chang'an to see who could resist taking out their phone.

Struggles are everywhere in life, and Liu Chang'an was defeated.

What made Liu Chang'an feel even more defeated was that he saw the WeChat Zhu Juntang sent him.

Sometimes Zhu Juntang would send Liu Chang'a WeChat, and sometimes text messages. Liu Chang'an swiped through them. The last WeChat he saw from Zhu Juntang was some selfies. He didn't look at it carefully before closing the chat.

Looking at them again today, I realized that those weren't Zhu Juntang's selfies. That style, as vast and boundless as the sky and snow, and that pure, warm confidence, are qualities that Zhu Juntang doesn't possess.

This is Bai Hui.

Although she didn't show her face, Liu Chang'an could still recognize her. Bai Hui had shown off her figure to him a few times, and although Liu Chang'an didn't remember it vividly, he still had an impression of her.

Why did she send him a close-up photo of Bai Hui's body? Liu Chang'an frowned, but didn't think much of it. He would deal with her slowly after she returned to Junsha... The latest message from Zhu Juntang was a full-body photo of her wearing a pair of stockings that looked a bit unusual, with her legs apart and her hands on her hips, looking very powerful.

Ever since Su Mei revealed the birth process of the special species Zhu Juntang, Liu Chang'an has felt frustrated every time he thinks of her.

She is not his daughter, a fact that Liu Chang'an resolutely refuses to acknowledge.

Back in the neighborhood, Liu Chang'an ran into Old Man Qian, who was accompanied by a young woman who was holding his arm. Old Man Qian looked at Liu Chang'an and revealed an extremely proud expression.

"Looking at me like that, do you dare to come play cards tonight?" Liu Chang'an retorted.

"Afraid of you? I'll make you lose from the beginning of the year to the end." Old Man Qian, with his granddaughter by his side, naturally couldn't lose face and said without any fear.

"Prepare more money, don't just bring ten yuan and say you'll go back to get more, then never show up again." Old Man Qian Liu Chang'an had seen it all before, with all sorts of little tricks up his sleeve.

"Don't worry, if I don't have enough cash, I can easily transfer it to you via WeChat. You're getting more and more stingy now that you're a boss." Old Man Qian pointed to the girl next to him, "This is my granddaughter, the one I said I'd introduce you to."

"Hello." Liu Chang'an smiled. In the past, in order to take advantage of him and make it easier to suppress Liu Chang'an at the card table, Old Man Qian did not hesitate to introduce his granddaughter, who had been admitted to Xiangtan University in the same year as Liu Chang'an, to Liu Chang'an.

"Y-you... hello... I heard from my grandpa that he lives in the same neighborhood as you, but I can't believe it." The girl was clearly excited, her face flushed as she waited to speak.

Do you know me?

"Of course I know him... He's the most famous handsome guy in our school." The girl nodded vigorously.

"How did he become famous? In a mahjong tournament, or Pao Hu Zi tournament?" Old Man Qian asked skeptically. "It certainly wasn't through studying."

"You're just teasing me." Liu Chang'an shook his head and went home.

Back home, Liu Chang'an felt the warm atmosphere and let out a long breath. This small place, with its electric heated table, gave him an incredibly strong sense of "home."

Shangguan Dandan, holding a thermos, squinted at the TV. Her eyes slowly drifted to Liu Chang'an, and then she opened her arms, gesturing for Liu Chang'an to come into her arms so she could pat his head.

Liu Chang'an ignored her. He saw Zhou Dongdong slowly peek out from under the electric heater, and once she saw Liu Chang'an, she quickly climbed out and happily shouted, "My Chang'an brother is back!"

"Didn't we have guests at home? Why are you still downstairs?" Liu Chang'an knew that Zhou Shuling had many guests at her home today, and it was mealtime, so Zhou Dongdong should be sitting at the table waiting to eat.

If she's downstairs, how could Shangguan Dandan possibly cook? She doesn't even know how to use a microwave... she has to press every single button.

"My uncle said the guests didn't like me and told me not to go upstairs until they left." Zhou Dongdong put her hands in her slightly dusty pockets and took out a few broken firecrackers. "I collected a lot of firecrackers. I'll go downstairs and set them off after they all leave. I won't play with them."

"Dongdong, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Shangguan Dandan put down the thermos and sat up with a grim expression.

She glanced at Liu Chang'an and noticed that Liu Chang'an face was even more unpleasant, so gloomy that it seemed as if a thunderstorm had descended upon the entire room.

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