Noise-Canceling Headphones and Super Hearing Evolution

At night, the insects outside the window had gone silent. A blackbird mimicked the call of a collared scops owl nearing breeding season, while a flock of Asian koels seemed to sense some astonishing, persistent rhythm and flew past crying, "Woo-oh."

The male Asian koel's call was rather interesting. It always sounded as though it were cheering someone on, accented and rhythmic, with the syllables speeding up continuously as the pitch rose.

The glass pane secured to the lattice window with nails had stopped shaking as well. Unlike an old married couple who would fall asleep separately after going through the motions, the young lovers were still awake. Holding Liu Chang'an in her arms, An Nuan wanted to talk to him some more.

"When I was coming back, I watched a movie on the plane. There was a female assassin in it who slept with her target, then killed him while he was mentally and physically weak afterward," An Nuan said, cradling the back of Liu Chang'an's head.

"Do you think this is an appropriate thing to bring up right now?" Liu Chang'an looked at her doubtfully. What a great topic for setting the mood.

"Hehe, it just occurred to me... Besides, are you afraid I'll kill you? Aren't you Superman?" An Nuan poked Liu Chang'an's cheek.

"If I stood still, you still couldn't kill me after a hundred years."

"Not necessarily... I'd seduce you. When you couldn't hold back and pounced on me, I'd slide right under your legs and grab your weak point." An Nuan could not help laughing after she said that.

Liu Chang'an merely looked up at her, then shifted over to lie beside her. Many girls were like this: once they had truly become intimate, and done it many times, they no longer maintained the