No Time Like the Present

Qin Yanan invited Liu Chang'an to take a walk.

The night was beautiful, the streets were bustling, and people were walking at all sorts of paces.

"Power outages are rare now. In the past, it was normal for the power to go out every few days, or even every day, during the summer. Power outages usually happened after meals. People were used to rushing to eat and shower, then they would gather in twos and threes under the grapevines in cool places to chat, talking about family matters and reminiscing about their youth. Children would play happily nearby, and there would always be elderly people silently gazing at the Milky Way. There were also men and women on dates under the melon trellises. Back then, the melon trellises, always standing alone in the fields, were actually good places for dates..."

"Actually, apart from the power outage, the lives of ordinary people have been largely like this for thousands of years, generation after generation. It's just that the development in the last one or two hundred years has been too rapid, while for us, it has only been a few decades, yet everything has changed dramatically."

Liu Chang'an seemed to be merely describing the history of ordinary people's lives that he had witnessed, rather than expressing any sentiments.

"So old-fashioned," Qin Yanan, already used to her younger cousin's tone and sighs. "Didn't you go to Taiwan? But I inquired and the Su Family said that Old Madam Su didn't receive any guests."

"What are you asking about, young lady? It's normal for older generations to keep their meetings private." Liu Chang'an waved his hand. "Let's not talk about Taiwan anymore. Didn't you say you were going to introduce me to someone?"

He kept switching between calling her old and young, and Qin Yanan seemed to enjoy the latter comment, appearing more delicate and unconcerned about his tone. "Yes, she's the great-granddaughter of Old Madam Su, about your age. Since our families have a connection, it's only natural for the descendants to get to know each other. Who knows, it might just be the beginning of a romantic relationship."

Qin Yanan now realized she had absolutely no intention of pushing Zhu Juntang to take the fall. Aside from being a little poor, this younger cousin was actually quite outstanding compared to his peers. But what kind of shortcoming was it for an eighteen-year-old to be a little poor?

Forget about the old saying "don't underestimate a young man's potential." The realistic and predictable truth is that since his great-grandfather valued Liu Chang'an so much, and with the Qin Family looking after him, Liu Chang'an would inevitably rise to prominence.

Even if someone is utterly hopeless, Qin Yanan is confident she can turn him into concrete, let alone Liu Chang'an is clearly not hopeless.

"Let's skip the romance and poetry; there's no time like the present, let's do it now." Liu Chang'an looked up at the Baolong Center in front of him.

"Today is perfect, we can go directly to her. Her mother came to Junsha, but she's attending a party with my dad tonight, so she's free right now."

"Aren't the two of you going to attend this event?"

"They're all old acquaintances, no need for any family socializing, I have no interest in going."

Zhu Juntang rarely carries her phone with her. Qin Yanan called Zhong Qing and learned that Zhong Qing was with Third Mistress Zhu. So she and Liu Chang'an went directly to Baolong Center to find Zhu Juntang.

I called Zhu Juntang on the way, but she didn't answer.

"Zhu Juntang actually very cute. She's beautiful, has a great figure, and isn't very old, just like you. Most importantly, she loves reading, just like you. You'll definitely like her library." Qin Yanan unconsciously took on the role of a matchmaker, showering her with compliments.

"I'm pretty sure I'll like her library, but does she like reading as much as I do?" Liu Chang'an didn't believe it at all; he vividly remembered Jing Ke stabbing Crown Prince Dan three times.

Just because someone likes reading, like Zhu Juntang, is that really an insult implying they're ignorant and incompetent?

"Yes." Qin Yanan showed Liu Chang'an photos of Zhu Juntang on her phone, eagerly awaiting his reaction. "Look, isn't she exceptionally beautiful? You see, many of these photos were taken by her assistant while she was reading."

Liu Chang'an felt that if Qin Yanan and Zhu Juntang were very familiar with each other, then she shouldn't have described Zhu Juntang like that, but she did. If she wasn't familiar with Zhu Juntang, then describing Zhu Juntang like that was just nonsense. In short, Qin Yanan was irresponsibly playing matchmaker... When she said she wanted to introduce them, her real intention was to solidify her own neutrality and let Liu Chang'an find another girlfriend.

Liu Chang'an didn't care; women, after all, have one little scheme after another.

Upon arriving at the top floor of Baolong Center, Qin Yanan asked Liu Chang'an to first visit Zhu Juntang's library. She had already noticed that Liu Chang'an had no desire for a luxurious material life and enjoyment, and his tastes were completely different from those of most young people.

Liu Chang'an saw some rare and unique books in the library, some of which he had kept at Su Mei's house before the liberation. They were probably taken to Taiwan and then brought back to the mainland by Zhu Juntang. Su Xiaocui really doted on Zhu Juntang. These magnificent treasures of human history were used as props for Zhu Juntang's photos... Although they were all taken using professional collection standards, it was still a waste in the end.

Of course, the most important thing is the content itself; there are just too many interesting books that have been lost to time throughout human history.

Seeing that Liu Chang'an was already flipping through a book, Qin Yanan went upstairs to find Zhu Juntang.

Zhu Juntang was lying in the pool watching a movie, with a fruit platter and drinks floating in front of her, and a pink balloon tied to her finger with a string.

"Look at my balloon, Zhong Qing bought it for me. It was priced at twenty yuan, but she bought it for five yuan," Zhu Juntang said proudly to Qin Yanan.

"I brought my cousin." Qin Yanan had absolutely no interest in balloons; she wasn't a child anymore, and she certainly didn't like pretending to be one... Zhu Juntang was the one who liked them.

"Out of courtesy, shouldn't I leave my comfortable heated pool, dry my hair, change my clothes, and then put on a beautiful smile, sit in front of your cousin, and let him see if a beautiful fairy can replace his devilish cousin who's the embodiment of lust?" Zhu Juntang looked Qin Yanan up and down, then suddenly chuckled, "Or we can ignore your cousin and you quickly change into your swimsuit and come watch a movie with me."

Qin Yanan has a really beautiful figure. I'm the only one who has the chance to admire it often. I've seen her completely naked from head to toe many times, but I still never get tired of looking at her.

"Yes, it's necessary out of politeness." Qin Yanan knew what she was thinking, of course. When they slept together, Zhu Juntang was always very clumsy. Even when they were in the pool together, she had to snuggle into Qin Yanan's arms.

"Didn't your great-grandfather say he wouldn't force you anymore? You don't need to send me out to take the fall." Zhu Juntang became serious, looking at Qin Yanan strangely. "I'm still a fairy who hasn't grown up yet. I'm not in a hurry to have someone introduce me to a boyfriend. If you have the time to be a matchmaker, go find a boyfriend yourself."

"It's just to introduce you two, you're overthinking it." Qin Yanan urged impatiently, "Hurry up, he's reading in your library. It's good that you have so many books you never read. Once you two are more familiar, he can come here to read more, and you'll have another friend to hang out with."

Is he fun?

"It's quite fun."

"That's no fun. The most interesting people are all too clever. I like boring, dullards who drive you crazy until they kneel down and beg for mercy. That's what's fun."

"Hehe, why don't you give it a try?" Qin Yanan was quite certain that with Liu Chang'an's skills and intelligence, it was hard to say who would mess with whom.

"Fine, I'll give you face." Zhu Juntang lazily climbed out of the pool, suddenly remembering the dolphin show she had seen at the ocean park. She imitated the dolphins jumping onto the shore and swaying their bodies a few times before standing up.

Qin Yanan just rolled her eyes at her. Was there such a thing as a fairy who looked like a dead fish struggling for its last breath?

"By the way, what's your cousin's name? I can't just call him cousin like you do," Zhu Juntang said listlessly. Actually, whether it was funny or not, Zhu Juntang wasn't interested. She had someone else she was focused on targeting.

Liu Chang'an.

"Is his phone number 133XXXX0932?" Zhu Juntang cleverly found the fastest way to confirm.

"Yes."

As soon as Qin Yanan finished speaking, she realized that Zhu Juntang had disappeared before her eyes, leaving a series of carefree footprints on the floor.