Chapter 93 Taicheng - 7 Tang Bufan is hugged by Lu Yi...

Tang Bufan was carried out of the Cloud Top Building by Lu Yi, and after walking for more than ten minutes, he was carried back to the RV. During this time, he felt very embarrassed, but with people watching, he could only play the part completely, keeping his head down and pretending to be weak the whole way.

After the two got into the car, Lu Yi gently placed Tang Bufan on the bed. Lu Yi then reached out and drew the curtains. Only then did Tang Bufan raise his reddened eyes and let out a long breath.

"Will my acting be exaggerated?" Tang Bufan asked Lu Yi with concern, while nervously glancing outside through the car window.

Lu Yi sat down next to him and said with concern, "No, teacher, you acted very well."

After he finished speaking, he reached out and gently touched Tang Bufan's eyes.

"Luckily, I really did lose my memory, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to fool that AI," Tang Bufan said with lingering fear.

Lu Yi recalled Pei Zhishu's reaction and frowned slightly: "That Pei Zhishu is not simple. I feel that he does not completely trust the teacher."

After he finished speaking, he thought for a moment and then said, "After we visit Guo Wen and ask about the Rebooters, we will leave immediately."

"Aren't you still looking for Fang Yue?" Tang Bufan asked him.

“Fang Yue won’t be here until May,” Lu Yi said. “After spring, the wild beasts will migrate back, and the beast tide will cause great destruction. The Federation will need at least a month to clean up the aftermath before the humans in the underground city can bring this year’s criminals here.”

This year, there are also mutated poisonous people causing trouble; it's hard to say what will happen then.

"May..." Tang Bufan pondered. It wasn't even February yet; there was still a long time to go.

Tang Bufan has now become a sub-beastman, so he can no longer enter the East District dungeon. He also doesn't know where the Rebooter is. After thinking for a moment, he made a plan.

“Then let’s rent a small house in Taicheng and stay there until May. In the meantime, we can do some investigations among the people,” Tang Bufan said. “Didn’t Wan Qi’s wife say that Lu Xiaofeng joined the resistance faction? Maybe we can get some clues from him.”

"Should we have Wan Bing act as matchmaker?"

"Yes, hasn't he always wanted to move to Taicheng?"

Lu Yi thought for a moment. During these three months, he could take the opportunity to observe the operation and management of the Eastern Federation and see if there was anything he could learn. So he nodded.

Just then, there was a knock on the door; it was Pei Zhishu.

The two people in the carriage exchanged a glance, and then Tang Bufan turned over and lay down on the bed, turning his back to the door and rolling up the blanket, immediately exuding an aura of depression.

"..." Lu Yi looked at him curled up into a ball and realized that he didn't really understand Tang Bufan yet.

He couldn't let himself down. So Lu Yi straightened his face, got up, and walked towards the door.

The alloy car door opened, and only Pei Zhishu was outside.

"Is Madam Tang alright?" Pei Zhishu asked with concern, seeing Tang Bufan's depressed figure lying on the bed through the car door.

“I was a little upset, but I’ve calmed down now,” Lu Yi said in a low voice, looking at Pei Zhishu with mixed feelings. “I hope the Eastern Federation will stop making things difficult for my fiancée. She’s a very fragile person.”

“…I’m sorry.” Pei Zhishu formally apologized to the two of them, and replied in a low voice, “After all, Madam Tang originally belonged to our Eastern Federation. It is our job to investigate and find out the truth. Since he has forgotten about the escape, we will not bother him again.”

Hearing this, Lu Yi's expression softened, and Pei Zhishu then extended an invitation to him: "Let me take you both to your courtyard."

Pei Zhishu's black sedan was still parked in front of the RV. Lu Yi nodded, and the two of them went back to their respective cars.

The two cars started one after the other and slowly drove along a driveway in the garden. Tang Bufan, lying on the bed, first raised his head to look around, and then lifted the blanket off his body.

"Wan Bing hasn't even gotten on the bus yet!"

"Pei Zhishu's female assistant is entertaining him; she should lead him to our courtyard later," Lu Yi told Tang Bufan not to worry.

Although Tang Bufan couldn't let go of Wan Bing, he had now unwittingly adopted a "vulnerable" persona, so he couldn't very well go out and look for her.

Oh well, Wan Bing is such a big person, he can't possibly get lost.

Tang Bufan then looked through the curtains at the already dusky outside and asked Lu Yi, "How many days are we going to stay here?"

He didn't understand diplomacy between the two federations very well, but he felt that he wouldn't be leaving in a day or two.

Lu Yi thought for a moment and said, "If Guo Wen doesn't have much useful information, let's stay for three days."

Three days? Tang Bufan understood. He got up, put on his shoes, and went to the kitchen to eat. He had just been mentally exhausted and was starving.

Tang Bufan hadn't eaten more than a few bites of sausage when the RV arrived at a parking lot. He immediately threw away the sausage, wiped his mouth, and ran back to bed to continue pretending to be down.

"Let me carry you." Lu Yi wanted to continue carrying Tang Bufan in a princess carry.

"No, that's embarrassing." Tang Bufan brushed away his outstretched hand and urged him in a low voice, "The car door is about to open, don't interfere with my performance."

Because Lu Yi would always inexplicably look at Tang Bufan and smile, Tang Bufan was afraid that if Lu Yi couldn't hold back, he would also be unable to hold back.

How awkward would it be if the two of them started laughing while acting?

The car door opened, and sure enough, Pei Zhishu appeared at the door again. Tang Bufan sat on the edge of the bed with his eyes downcast and raised his hand to tuck his hair. The corners of his eyes still had a light pink tinge from crying. Because of his slender figure, he naturally exuded a sense of fragility.

“Teacher, let me help you.” Lu Yichao reached out his hand.

Tang Bufan hesitated for a moment, but still placed his hand on it.

So he was carefully led down by Lu Yi, and then, feigning weakness, he looked up at Pei Zhishu.

"Are you sure you don't need me to call a doctor to take a look?" Pei Zhishu asked kindly.

Tang Bufan shook his head, giving him a faint smile with a hint of worry: "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Pei, but I have Lu Yi, that's enough for me."

"..." Lu Yi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but lower his head, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. He was very happy because of Tang Bufan's words.

Don't laugh. Tang Bufan gently pricked Lu Yi's palm with his fingernail.

Lu Yi immediately straightened his back and stopped smiling.

They were in a small, well-landscaped parking lot. Even though it was late winter, there were many bright plum blossoms blooming all around. The driveway no longer extended into the garden; behind it was a paved road.

Not far away, a sub-beastman dressed in a white shirt and black pants was sweeping the floor. Upon seeing the three of them, he bowed to them from a distance.

Pei Zhishu led the two onto a cobblestone path. Lu Yi was still holding Tang Bufan's hand. Tang Bufan felt that the two men were being too affectionate, but considering that she was now in the role of a "woman," she could only suppress the strange feeling in her heart.

As the three of them passed through a red archway at dusk, they came to a small courtyard surrounded by bamboo groves. A thin layer of snow still covered the bamboo and the green tiles, and classic Chinese streetlights lit up the surrounding area. The hanging lanterns swayed slightly in the cold wind on the mountaintop, creating a very picturesque scene.

Tang Bufan and Lu Yi were both captivated by the meticulously designed Chinese courtyard.

The architect who designed this garden must be a master. Tang Bufan marveled inwardly, and continued to walk hand in hand with Lu Yi, stepping along the winding cobblestone path. The three of them soon arrived at the entrance of the small courtyard.

Tang Bufan looked up and saw four Chinese characters engraved in rounded small seal script on the stone plaque above the courtyard gate.

"Green Bamboo Pavilion," Tang Bufan murmured.

He read it casually, and Lu Yi didn't understand it, but remained calm. Only Pei Zhishu frowned and turned to look at him.

"...Does Madam Tang recognize these characters?" Pei Zhishu stared at Tang Bufan.

The warm light of the lantern illuminated the man's fair face, and the mountain breeze blew through his fine hair. Tang Bufan, puzzled, looked away from the stone tablet.

"What?" Tang Bufan didn't quite understand why Pei Zhishu was looking at him like that.

“…This is ancient writing from a thousand years ago,” Pei Zhishu said. “Since the popularization of simplified Chinese characters and the subsequent 1200 years of cultural decline, very few people can understand ancient Chinese characters anymore.”

The small seal script for "bamboo" is similar to the simplified "forest", and "small" is similar to "water". Many people do not recognize the seal script for "pavilion", and even if they do, they may easily misread "green bamboo pavilion" as "green forest and water pavilion".

"!" Tang Bufan was secretly alarmed, finally realizing what was wrong with him, but he reacted quickly and immediately explained calmly, "I am a teacher, I have studied this."

Pei Zhishu looked at him intently: "Did you go to learn ancient Chinese characters on purpose?"

"...Yes, my personal hobby is calligraphy," Tang Bufan said. Before learning calligraphy, he couldn't even write traditional Chinese characters. Later, he gradually became proficient in various calligraphic styles.

“Calligraphy…interesting.” Pei Zhishu smiled slightly at him: “A very expensive hobby.”

"..." Tang Bufan's heart skipped a beat, knowing that he had given himself away again. In the 21st century, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones were not expensive, but this was the apocalypse, and the resources in the underground city had long been so scarce that they had to be traded between humans and orcs.

Tang Bufan dared not utter another word, and Lu Yi beside him wanted to help but couldn't find a suitable reason. He couldn't bear to tell Tang Bufan that the underground city had gone paperless a thousand years ago and that there was a severe shortage of trees down there.

Seeing that the two were silent, Pei Zhishu did not inquire further and stepped into the Green Bamboo Pavilion first.

Lu Yi rubbed Tang Bufan's hand reassuringly before leading him inside.

A pair of handsome twin orcs stood respectfully in the courtyard, dressed in classic Tang-style white shirts and black trousers, just like the orcs who had been sweeping outside. They were clearly servants of the Guo family.

"Mr. Pei." The twins bowed to Pei Zhishu. Their attire and the scene in the courtyard made Tang Bufan feel as if he were watching a period drama set in the Republican era.

"These are He Xing and He Yun. They are responsible for taking care of your daily lives," Pei Zhishu said to the two of them.

"Uh...no need..."

"Okay, thank you," Lu Yi replied politely.

Tang Bufan immediately shut his mouth, thinking that this might be part of the hospitality.

Pei Zhishu glanced at the two poorly dressed people and asked one of the twins, "He Xing, have Mr. Louis and Mr. Tang's clothes arrived yet?"

“It’s already been delivered and is in our room,” the Naya orc replied.

Pei Zhishu nodded, then told Lu Yi and Tang Bufan to get some rest before taking his leave.

The courtyard was suddenly left with only the four of them. Tang Bufan stared at the twins, and they stared at him in return.

"Mr. Louis, Mrs. Tang, which room would you like to stay in?" The sub-beastman who had just spoken to Pei Zhishu spoke again; he must be the older of the twins.

Tang Bufan then carefully examined the small courtyard surrounded by bamboo. There were five rooms in total, three in the front and two on the side. In addition to the green bamboo landscaping, the courtyard also had a small pond with clear water.

The twins were looking at Lu Yi, waiting for him to speak, but Lu Yi always listened to Tang Bufan, so he looked at Tang Bufan.

Tang Bufan thought for a moment and began to assign rooms: "I'll stay in the room on the left, Lu Yi, you stay in the middle, and Wan Bing stays on the right."

Lu Yi and the twins were both somewhat surprised. Lu Yi was surprised that Tang Bufan actually wanted to live separately from him, while the twins were surprised that it was Tang Bufan who spoke up.

Lu Yi is clearly the one with high position and power.

“Let’s live together,” Lu Yi said immediately.

Tang Bufan glanced at the twins briefly and refused: "No, we're not officially married yet."

Tang Bufan was afraid of being gossiped about.

Lu Yi wanted to say something, but Tang Bufan gently pricked his palm with his fingernail, so he fell silent.

Tang Bufan pulled his hand away from his and walked towards his room first. He pushed open the sturdy double wooden door, and a luxuriously decorated suite appeared in front of him.

The guest room is in the style of the Republic of China era. In the middle of the room, there is a solid wood double bed with a gauze curtain against the wall. There are glass lamps on both sides of the headboard. There is a small tea table and two single brown leather sofas by the window. In addition to the private bathroom, the room also has a small study partitioned by an arched shelf.

The small study has a spacious wooden table with a modern computer on it, bookshelves against the wall, and a dazzling array of exquisite ornaments on an arched shelf.

Tang Bufan walked into the room in amazement; it was the most luxurious guest room he had ever stayed in.

Lu Yi followed him in, and Tang Bufan ordered him impatiently, "Go next door."

“But…” Lu Yi was still unwilling.

"Be good," Tang Bufan coaxed him. "Take a shower and then come find me."

Lu had no choice but to turn around and go next door. One of the twins gave Tang Bufan a rather strange look, and then instructed his brother beside him: "Xiao Yun, you take care of Madam Tang."

“Okay, brother.” The man with bright eyes responded, and the man called He Xing followed Lu Yi away.

Tang Bufan noticed He Xing's gaze earlier and wondered if he had been too forceful with Lu Yi, which was why Lu Yi looked at him like that.

Meanwhile, the younger of the twins walked up to Tang Bufan with a smile.

"Mrs. Tang, are you going to take a bath too?" He Yun said to Tang Bufan with a smile, "I'll go get your clothes and hang them in your wardrobe."

Pei Zhishu was very well prepared. After meeting the two at the city gate, he had his AI report their height and build to the tailor at home, who quickly selected suitable clothes for them.

Tang Bufan looked down at his worn-out sweater, hesitated for a moment, then nodded to He Yun. He thought to himself that the Guo family garden was so luxurious that they wouldn't care about giving them a few sets of clothes, and that he, with his current status, should dress respectably.

"Then I'll trouble you," Tang Bufan said to He Yun.

"You're too kind." He Yun smiled at Tang Bufan, then turned and left the house, closing the door behind him.

He was now alone in the room. Tang Bufan breathed a sigh of relief and walked toward the bathroom. Sure enough, the bathroom was incredibly luxurious, with an elegantly designed ceramic bathtub.

Tang Bufan saw the bathrobes folded on the towel rack, so he happily locked the bathroom door and took off his clothes.

The bathroom has a constant temperature system, and the smart display screen is on the wall next to the door. Tang Bufan felt like he had suddenly stepped into modern society from the primitive society. While he was taking a comfortable bath, he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, the bones of those frozen to death lie." Tang Bufan lay in the bathtub, reciting this poem. He thought of the ragged scavenging beastmen he had encountered on his way to Taicheng. He probably never imagined that the people in the inner city, living on the same surface, were living such comfortable lives.

So the suffering in the apocalypse is selective. Tang Bufan looked up at the ceiling filled with billowing hot steam and felt a pang of irony.

He suddenly thought of the resistance factions, and for some reason, he couldn't shake the thought from his mind.