They looked at each other.
It was a secluded place, but precisely because it was secluded, it gave one the feeling of being spied on. Li Changzhou even thought that the banana leaves outside the corridor were alive and staring at the two of them.
The light wasn't very bright; it was just the right amount of dim, hazy and indistinct.
Yang Qinglan wore a short jacket with wide sleeves and a black floral gauze skirt, just like in an advertisement from 1928, and looked somewhat like a female student of that era.
Her short sleeves revealed her fair forearms, and her low collar revealed her swan-like neck. Her long, black hair was still coiled at the back of her head and secured with the Emerald Bee Sword.
Simple yet beautiful, elegant and refined.
Yang Qinglan was also sizing him up. His suit hadn't changed much compared to 100 years later, but this was the first time Li Changzhou had ever worn a suit.
She laughed first, a warm and endearing smile.
"What are you laughing at?" Li Changzhou laughed along with him.
"Looks like a respectable man." She nodded and smiled as she commented on his attire.
Li Changzhou was overjoyed: "You agree to let me be your lackey?"
"...It seems that seeing me has excited you."
Aren't you excited to see me?
"Not excited," Yang Qinglan denied with a smile.
"Then why did you keep laughing? And you even used the idiom 'looking like a human but acting like a dog,' which you would never have used before."
"Silly, I only laughed because you look so respectable."
"Alright, alright," Li Changzhou said. "I've missed you so much I'm going crazy, and all I get in return is this 'silly'? I'm about to cry."
"Really?" Yang Qinglan asked.
"No, I never cry. I want to be a strong man."
"Stop," Yang Qinglan said. "Call Qianxia over."
Li Changzhou looked at her for a while, wanting to ask if he could hug her.
He's like a virgin hugging his girlfriend for the first time; even such a normal thing can trigger a reaction in him. He couldn't stand being apart for just two days.
But in the end, I didn't ask.
He put his walking stick into his backpack.
The two waited quietly for Li Qianxia to arrive.
Yang Qinglan stood with her hands behind her back, looking down and kicking the tips of her shoes, which were narrow, thin-soled black velvet shoes.
Li Changzhou leaned against a pillar in the corridor, gazing at her, recalling the image of her barefoot, dangling her sandals on her toes—that was a summer 100 years later.
"Haven't you seen enough yet?" she looked up and smiled.
Li Changzhou wanted to say he hadn't seen enough, but what came out was, "I miss you so much."
Yang Qinglan smiled silently and said, "I miss you too."
"Really?" Li Changzhou asked doubtfully. "Why don't you think so?"
"A day apart feels like three autumns."
"You're nothing like me. A day apart feels like three years. It's been six whole years since I last saw you!"
Li Changzhou asked again, "Do you only think of me, or do you only think of me and my sister?"
"I saw Qianxia yesterday, why would I miss her?" Yang Qinglan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said casually.
"That's why I don't miss her." Li Changzhou was discouraged, his body seemingly collapsing.
"......"
Yang Qinglan stopped herself this time, feeling that she had nothing to say to Li Changzhou for the time being—she would only speak directly when their relationship progressed further.
But seeing Li Changzhou again two days later gave her a feeling of warmth, like riding a train alone at night and seeing the lights of a distant village.
In the time it takes to say a few words, an owl landed from the night sky.
"Are you two having an affair?! Hiding so well! How am I supposed to find you?!" The snowy owl landed on Li Changzhou's shoulder and complained.
Before Li Changzhou could say anything more, Yang Qinglan spoke first: "Let's end our reminiscing here; time is precious."
“Changzhou.” Her gaze was fixed on Li Changzhou alone.
"Um?"
"Now that you have status and position, you can consider opening a pawnshop and a bank. You don't need to open a herbal medicine shop, but you should be careful."
“I can understand pawnshops and herbal medicine shops, but what would I do with a bank? I already have enough money, and I can’t take any more back with me,” Li Changzhou asked, puzzled.
This is the limitation of the poor, just like when he had to print his photo on his business card.
“Banks offer safekeeping services for valuables,” Yang Qinglan explained softly. “Although the chances are slim, you might still find something unexpectedly good.”
"Isn't that for storage? Taking a customer's things is theft, isn't it?" Li Qianxia asked, while the owl tilted its head.
“It was theft,” Yang Qinglan nodded. “That’s the second thing I want to talk about.”
She sensed her surroundings and, after confirming that no one was approaching, continued, "From now on, when we do things, we shouldn't care too much about our surroundings. This place may be real, or it may be fake, but it won't affect the true history. Just do it."
Completely opposite to Li Changzhou's idea, he didn't want to do anything because he couldn't influence the real history.
He only wanted to complete the task and collect various insights along the way.
“Completing tasks can certainly increase your abilities,” Yang Qinglan continued, “but doing things you would never have done before, or were never able to do, in a different capacity can also increase your abilities.”
Li Changzhou and Li Qianxia seemed to be deep in thought.
Yang Qinglan paused for a moment, as if deliberately giving the two of them time to think.
"While doing my best to complete the task, I plan to seriously learn to sing opera and perform on stage once before the task is completed, to experience the life of a female opera singer," she said.
Her eyes flickered, and she turned her gaze to Li Changzhou, adding, "Sun Xiaoyun's troupe is all female performers, and even the male roles are played by female performers."
“Yes, I know.” Li Changzhou nodded.
"Brother, your smile is disgusting."
"Did I laugh?" Li Changzhou stretched his lips into a straight line.
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