Wu Sicheng felt no remorse for betraying his classmate in order to get to spend time with An Moxue next Sunday. After all, comrades are meant to be used in crucial moments, right?
Even though they only spent a week together, aren't they comrades-in-arms?
The two chatted about everyday things and soon arrived at Wu Wendao's house.
Upon seeing Wu Wendao, Wu Sicheng immediately stated his purpose: "Uncle, do you have any remittance certificates? Could you give me some?"
Wu Wendao glanced at him, then at An Moxue, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes. He used to always go and find things himself; when had he ever asked him?
This time they were polite and even asked him. It seems it's because of his little apprentice.
"Go get it yourself in the study, it's in the usual place." Wu Wendao didn't expose him, but smiled from an angle where the two of them couldn't see. It seems he really cares about this disciple! He's even learned to be polite in front of him.
"Thank you, Uncle. I'll take Mo Xue to see my collection after I get my things. We're going out to buy some things later!" After he finished speaking, he took An Mo Xue's hand and left. An Mo Xue turned around and said to Wu Wendao somewhat shyly, "Master, Cheng and I will go out first."
Wu Wendao smiled and said, "Go ahead! Young people should take advantage of the time off to have fun and relax."
After the two went outside and walked a distance, he said to Wu Sicheng, "Could you please not hold my hand in front of Master in the future? It makes me very embarrassed."
Wu Sicheng readily agreed, "Okay." Next time they hold hands, he'll say he forgot and will be more careful next time; that way, she can't do anything about it.
Wu Sicheng skillfully went to Wu Wendao's study. In a bookshelf, there was a box locked with a small lock. He took out a small key from the desk drawer, unlocked it, and revealed a thick stack of tickets and vouchers of all kinds.
"Does Master put things away so casually?"
"No, these were put here by my uncle because they were easy for me to get when I was little. I just got used to them and they've been sitting here ever since. Otherwise, you see, there are only tickets, no money! Because I don't need money, I often don't have enough tickets. See what you need, let's get some more, otherwise my uncle will exchange them before they expire."
“Hmm.” An Moxue was speechless; this alone made her realize how close the uncle and nephew were.
The two men looked through the coupons. "This is a coal coupon. Should we ask the foreman?"
Wu Sicheng said nonchalantly, "No need, just take it. He keeps his own things in another place, that's how it's always been."
The two took out the coupons they needed, and Wu Sicheng also took a few extra remittance coupons, saying, "Besides buying the bicycle, I'll buy you some more food. And a few more nice clothes. China still can't compare to other countries."
After the two of them got their tickets, Wu Sicheng led An Moxue to his room.
As soon as An Moxue entered, she smelled a faint woody fragrance. The style was simple, but all the furniture was made of the finest small-leaf sandalwood. From the bed to the table and chairs, everything was made of the same wood and all had a tenon-and-mortise structure. It was made using traditional old techniques and was painted with clear varnish, which preserved the wood's texture and color very well.
Wu Sicheng watched as she looked at the furniture, her eyes lighting up, and asked with a smile, "You like it?"
Without hesitation, An Moxue blurted out, "I love it! Sleeping on a bed made of wood like this every day makes my body relax naturally, and my sleep is much better. Over time, my health will improve! Most importantly, I love the smell. It's calming and soothing."
"Do you prefer vintage carvings or a minimalist modern style?" He already had an answer in mind, but he needed to confirm it before starting to prepare a surprise for her when she moved into her new home.
"Anything is fine, the key is that it needs to be compatible."
"Come on, I'll take you to find the pen holder." Wu Sicheng led her into the small study next door, where some books were textbooks, but most were military-related books. The bookshelf was full.
An Moxue looked at them and asked, "You've seen all of these?"
"Yes, I've read them all and made detailed notes." He said, handing her a book.
An Moxue opened the book and saw detailed notes inside; some pages showed notes from three different times.
An Moxue asked curiously, "How many times have you read this book?"
"I don't remember, but I watched a lot of it anyway."
“I’m curious, why didn’t Master join the army?” An Moxue put the book back in its original place.
"Perhaps it was out of guilt! It's said that before my eldest uncle was even born, my grandfather went to war. When my grandfather saw my eldest uncle again, he was already married. My grandfather asked him about it, but my eldest uncle said that his heart wasn't in it. After that, my grandfather didn't bring it up again and just let my eldest uncle be." Wu Sicheng said as he opened the mechanism.
The mechanism was activated, revealing a step on the ground large enough for one person to descend. Wu Sicheng opened a drawer, took out a flashlight, and said, "I'll go first, you follow behind. There are no traps down there, so just walk without worry."
As you descend, the interior becomes dry and clean.
"This place must be where my uncle comes down regularly to check and clean."
A basement more than three meters high, with rows of display shelves, displaying many cultural relics and antiques.
"You can come down and study these things when you have time. If you don't understand anything, just ask my uncle. Combining practice and theory should help you learn faster."
Wu Sicheng led An Moxue inside and stopped at an antique shelf specifically for displaying porcelain.
"There are quite a lot of porcelain and weapons here."
"Yes, I was obsessed with porcelain for a while, and then I was obsessed with cold weapons for a while."
Wu Sicheng rummaged through a box full of small porcelain pieces. Suddenly, he said, "Found it! This is it. This is what I found at a ghost market when I was young."
As Wu Sicheng spoke, he handed the pen holder to An Moxue.
An Moxue took it, and it overlapped with the pen holder in her memory. "It's the pen holder with this pattern. I still remember clearly where you bought it. I've searched everywhere since then but I haven't been able to find this pattern again."
"In the ghost market of Shizi Hutong, Beizhimen."
“It’s you.” An Moxue leaned closer to Wu Sicheng, looking him over from left to right. “Back then, you were wearing a Pigsy mask?”
"Yes." Then his eyes widened. "I didn't expect we'd cross paths so early!"
An Moxue remained silent; she couldn't say that it was her!
However, she really liked this pen holder and played with it carefully. In her previous life, she had a pen holder that was very similar to this one, but she had accidentally broken it. Holding this pen holder in her hand, she felt a sense of having lost it and found it again.
Seeing that she liked the pen holder, Wu Sicheng said, "See if there's anything else you like, and I'll give it to you as well."
"No need, this is fine. Let's go out! We can come down and look around again when we have time. But you've really found a lot of things."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com