Chapter 136: What I Know
The curtains were drawn, blocking the sunset's afterglow outside the windows, leaving the living room cool but not particularly dim even in broad daylight.
"If you learn how to make milk tea, we can prepare it at ho, stroll around the complex for a bit, then co back, have milk tea, watch a movie, and eat dinner," Xu Qing said.
He left the window and headed to the fridge, grabbing so snacks. He placed two cartons of yogurt on the table alongside so dried fruits.
"The key is a sense of ceremony. Life needs that—it’s not just about muddling through. Experiencing different lifestyles creates mories to look back on. Otherwise, you’d have nothing to think about later. Imagine if we did everything at ho. When we reminisce or if our son asks about how we dated, would we say we just stayed in all the ti? That’s not right. Going out brings morable monts, like last ti when we saw that couple sneaking kisses in the corner of the theater. It’s a small story but creates a mory point—sothing harder to forget."
"What son?" Jiang He’s attention imdiately fixated on the word "son."
So this guy's true intentions were finally slipping out.
"The son isn’t the point. The point is mories. How does that song go?
‘The saddest thing isn’t being unable to forget painful mories but starting to forget even the sadness itself…’”
Xu Qing humd softly while searching for a movie on the computer. Teaching an ancient soul how to date wasn’t troubleso at all—it was rather entertaining.
If watching a movie was only about the movie, then yes, location wouldn’t matter. But in modern society, activities often carry added aning. For young people, that aning can sotis outweigh the activity itself.
Take festivals, for instance—Mid-Autumn, Dragon Boat, Double Ninth, Spring Festival—they’re about family reunion and shared longing, not just mooncakes and dumplings. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s—they’re about giving gifts or romantic dates. Even Halloween is about dressing up for a party. These anings carry weight and need to be gradually taught.
"Want to watch a story about a giant gorilla standing atop the Empire State Building fighting planes for a woman?" Xu Qing suggested.
"?" Jiang He, still hung up on the son comnt, visualized a question mark above her head.
"Well… the foreign setting doesn’t hit ho, and it’s interspecies, so never mind."
Sitting at the computer, Xu Qing browsed through movie options. By now, Jiang He had a clear understanding of what movies were—watching Journey to the West no longer left her marveling at gods, monsters, or underworld lords. With broader options, she still preferred mythological films for their novelty over slapstick codies that failed to resonate.
Jiang He cracked sunflower seeds on the couch, eventually shifting her posture. Finding it uncomfortable, she slipped off her shoes, folded her legs under her in a cross-legged ditation-like position, and continued snacking. It felt far more comfortable than sitting with her legs stretched out.
At ho, she typically wore slippers and often sat this way. Xu Qing never corrected her. In modern tis, many people sat however they liked—whether sprawled out or cross-legged. So long as she maintained decorum when guests were around, there was no need to fuss over her posture.
Jiang He was mindful during visits, sitting properly with her knees together and hands on her lap, looking every bit the demure lady. Only when alone or with Xu Qing would she sit cross-legged, even then tucking her feet neatly beneath herself.
"Icebound: Rebirth’s Gateway!" Xu Qing finally settled on a movie. Getting up to announce the title, he turned back to find Jiang He sneakily bending down, hiding her shoes under the couch.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Uh… watching a movie?"
"It hasn’t started yet." Xu Qing gave her an expressionless glance before retrieving the shoes from under the couch. Holding them up in her flustered gaze, he asked, "What do you think I’d do with your shoes?"
"I… I don’t know."
Xu Qing held her white sneakers, while Jiang He’s heart raced. Her toes curled and relaxed nervously, wondering what strange plans he might have.
Would anyone really have such peculiar preferences?
Relief washed over her as Xu Qing placed the sneakers back on the rack by the door and brought over her slippers. If he truly had so bizarre shoe fetish, she wouldn’t know how to fulfill it—buy dozens of pairs to wear every day?
"I’ll reiterate: I don’t like shoes. Please stop imagining nonsense."
"Mm, I know."
"You don’t know sh*t!"
Xu Qing plopped down beside her, annoyed, but refrained from over-explaining to avoid looking guiltier. Better to let Jiang He discover on her own that he wasn’t a shoe fanatic. Buying heels for her was just about seeing her wear them, not about the shoes themselves.
Winter lon, full on cat food, lazily sprawled by the computer. Xu Qing picked it up and handed it to Jiang He to hold, keeping the cat from blocking their view or stepping on the keyboard mid-movie.
Rebirth’s Gateway told a story of ti-jumping—strictly speaking, not jumping but being frozen like Captain Arica. After over 400 years of being iced, the protagonist awakens in modern tis, transported from the Ming Dynasty to the present.
Four centuries wasn’t that long, really. The rapid developnt was impressive.
The film was your average popcorn flick. Apart from Donnie Yen’s codic portrayal of He Ying, the other characters were clever, adapting quickly to modern life, unlike Jiang He. Even Wang Baoqiang’s character managed to pick up so English.
Simon Yam’s brooding role as the leader of the Ming Dynasty’s secret police stood out—he quickly grasped his situation and, by a twist of fate, encountered a modern cop who looked just like him. The story took a dark turn when he eliminated his doppelgänger to assu his identity, using his skills to rise through the ranks and beco a modern inspector.
Compared to them, Jiang He was far too naïve.
"This thod…" Jiang He’s eyes widened at Simon Yam’s tactics.
"It’d be hard to find soone who looks like you. Even if you did, you can’t just kill them and take over their life," Xu Qing preempted her thoughts.
"Cris you committed in the Tang Dynasty don’t apply here, but now that you’re in the modern world, you can’t go around killing people…" He earnestly warned her. "And anyway, movies naturally gloss over details. In real life, there’d be too many variables."
"Oh." Jiang He abandoned the idea, refocusing on the movie’s rooftop chase scenes. She reminded herself that movies were movies, and reality was sothing else entirely.
If she tried brawling like Donnie Yen’s character, the police would intervene quickly. Xu Qing’s scuffle with that loafer Liang Zi hadn’t even been a real fight, yet it still attracted police attention. Anything more serious would have far worse consequences.
If she fought the police?
"Bang!" Wang Baoqiang’s character kicked an officer in the movie, then charged forward to land more blows.
"If that happened in real life, would they shoot him?" Jiang He asked.
"…"
Xu Qing imagined Jiang He kicking Qin Hao, a cop in uniform, three ters away and the aftermath.
"They wouldn’t shoot him imdiately, but jail ti would be inevitable. If you didn’t want to get arrested, you’d have to keep fighting, which would eventually get you shot."
"I don’t want to go to jail."
"Then you’d end up getting shot."
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