Another Version
Liu Chang'an and Zhou Dongdong finally got to eat goose that night. Liu Chang'an put the leftover goose skeleton together and made something that looked like a dinosaur specimen in a museum, which he named Cygnus.
While Liu Chang'an was taking a shower, Zhou Dongdong occupied Liu Chang'an recliner and lay there lazily, hugging her belly.
Zhou Shuling returned and was surprised to see the chubby Zhou Dongdong. "How much did you eat tonight?"
"Oh... I don't know..." Zhou Dongdong remained motionless, blissfully happy.
After taking a shower, Liu Chang'an came out shirtless, wearing only a pair of shorts, with a towel draped over his shoulders drying his hair. He saw that Zhou Shuling had put on light makeup and was wearing jewelry.
"Aren't you afraid she'll burst her belly?" Zhou Shuling said reproachfully, taking out a few peaches and placing them in front of Liu Chang'an.
When Zhou Dongdong saw the peach, she stretched out her hand with difficulty, then withdrew it.
"I knew in my heart that she could actually eat another bowl, but I didn't let her eat any more." Liu Chang'an wiped the peach clean and started eating it.
Zhou Shuling didn't really blame Liu Chang'an. Life is tough, and it's normal to encounter mean and rude people. It's the occasional kind and gentle neighbor that makes life more warm and prevents one from completely losing faith in humanity.
"I'll bring you a late-night snack later, fresh chilled crayfish." Zhou Shuling smiled as she picked up the heavy Zhou Dongdong.
"Thanks," Liu Chang'an said without hesitation.
In the evening, I bought a bottle of wine from Auntie Xie and ate it under the sycamore tree with the crayfish that Zhou Shuling had given me.
Liu Chang'an was very focused on his food; of course, he wouldn't play on his phone while eating crayfish. He turned on the radio and listened to the broadcast while eating his late-night snack, a scene that Ren Changhong once described as representing eight or nine out of ten aspects of a happy life.
The radio was found in a rattan bookcase that I got from Boss Lan. It was a Tecsun brand, a well-known name. It still worked after I put in the batteries. Junsha already had a few radio stations that were doing quite well, so there was no need to worry about not having any channels to listen to.
Last time, Liu Chang'an asked Boss Lan for information, but he didn't receive any news. Liu Chang'an felt a little regretful. If he could record everything in detail, big and small, like a computer, as long as the hard drive wasn't destroyed, that would be wonderful... But then Liu Chang'an thought about it carefully. Forgetting is also a self-protective mechanism of the brain. It doesn't seem like something worth looking forward to if he really remembered everything.
Liu Chang'an wasn't in a hurry. He could just urge him again later. When it came to patience, Liu Chang'an was quite confident in his ability to reach the top. He wouldn't easily give up on anything, even if it took decades to complete or wait for him.
After finishing the lobster and cleaning up the scraps, Liu Chang'an squatted down and poked around in the puddle with a twig. Many loaches had slithered into the puddle, but they couldn't escape far. At most, it would just take a few more digs to catch them. Thanks to Zhou Dongdong's feeding them morning and evening these past few days, these loaches had actually become quite plump, showing no awareness whatsoever that "if they are fat, they will surely be offered to the butcher, leaving none behind."
Liu Chang'an wasn't raising loaches for fun; Liu Chang'an was simply offering sacrifices to the little hen every day to ensure that nothing else in the surrounding area would be affected.
A few days ago, the falling leaves of the sycamore leaves were a minor matter. The elderly people were weak and had insufficient qi and blood, and some of them were frequently sick. Needless to say, it was related to this coffin... Liu Chang'an couldn't just let the coffin do whatever it wanted. If all the old men and women passed away, there would be no one to play cards or mahjong with. That would be too serious.
These loaches were still innocent and lively, which meant that the coffin was content with eating a small hen every day. Liu Chang'an went to look at the small red dot on the edge of the coffin lid, which was still as small as a needle prick.
Liu Chang'an thought for a moment, then gently bit his fingertip without drawing blood, and placed it on the small red dot. He immediately felt a sharp, thorn-like sensation coming from the red dot, as if he had been stabbed by something real. Liu Chang'an quickly withdrew his finger.
"Looks like you know what's best, you're not a fool after all... But do you know that whether it's a centipede, a hen, a goose, or even crayfish and loach, they all taste best when cooked?" Liu Chang'an said to the coffin.
The coffin was deep and silent, and naturally ignored Liu Chang'an.
"Wouldn't we know each other? Throughout history, if you were even slightly famous, not to mention ancient kings, I'd know many historical figures from various dynasties. And if you were a beautiful and lovely woman, that would be even better..." Liu Chang'an thought for a moment, then shook his head to himself, "Your coffin is strange, but judging by its imposing presence, it doesn't even match Zeng Yi's. I don't know Zeng Yi..."
You can't judge someone's status just by their appearance. It's not uncommon for important figures to be buried in thin coffins due to special circumstances, let alone this guy who has undergone a "soul-sealing" ceremony.
The coffin remained silent and still, seemingly unchanged since time immemorial, having witnessed countless delusions and the vicissitudes of time, simply absorbing the surrounding life force and vitality.
Liu Chang'an didn't find it boring. After talking to himself, he closed the carriage door and, taking advantage of the quiet of the night, dismantled his own door panel again. He rushed through the night to finish the dress he was going to give to An Nuan.
Making anything exquisite requires a great deal of time and manpower, just like the frog buttons on this cheongsam, which were all meticulously sewn by Liu Chang'an stitch by stitch.
After working on it all night, it was finished just as dawn was breaking. Liu Chang'an didn't wash it again; he simply put it in a plastic bag, put it in his bag, and took it to school.
Liu Chang'an arrived at the school gate first to wait for An Nuan.
Upon seeing Liu Chang'an, An Nuan's face showed a shy expression as she slowly walked over, step by step, on the paving stones.
Liu Chang'an smiled.
An Nuan laughed too, then turned her head and slapped Liu Chang'an, saying, "What are you laughing at!"
"Actually, I think your mother's idea is quite good. She understands the situation of high school students quite well. After all, after graduating from high school, many people relax, both physically and mentally, and then enter a life of indulgence and recklessness, leading to all sorts of accidents..." Liu Chang'an shrugged, "Accidents, you know what that means, right?"
"If you bring this up again, you'll understand what 'accident' means." An Nuan calmly, looking at Liu Chang'an with a smile.
She already knew this; if Liu Chang'an didn't take the opportunity to make fun of her today, he wouldn't be Liu Chang'an.
"Actually, there's another version, did you know?"
An Nuan wanted to know, but she was also afraid that Liu Chang'an harbored ill intentions and was setting a trap for her, something that had happened far too many times before.
"Some mothers will let their daughters have some kind of minor cosmetic surgery during the summer vacation, like nose or eyelid surgery, just to make them stay at home willingly."
There didn't seem to be any problems. An Nuan thought about it carefully and then nodded. This was indeed a much more reliable method than having someone else get a circumcision.
"Your mother probably thought of that too, but she couldn't do anything about it. Her daughter is perfect, there's nowhere to operate, she can't fix it, so she had to make me get a circumcision." Liu Chang'an sighed. "It's all because you're too perfect, making your mother only able to cause trouble for me."
An Nuan bit her lip, not wanting her smile to spill out. She raised her fist, but gently brought it down. She remembered the sweet and happy moment she felt leaning on his shoulder that day. She leaned closer, gently resting her head on Liu Chang'an's shoulder, and said reproachfully, "Liu Chang'an... how can you be so annoying?"