Northwest, Shuocheng.
After suppressing the news of his rebellion, Shang Shaoyan led the Shang army to resist the invading Mongols.
The Mongols were brave and skilled in battle, and even Shang Shaoyan, with his superhuman strength and deep knowledge of military strategy, found it difficult to fight them. For a time, the two sides were evenly matched, and the stalemate lasted for a whole month. In the end, the Shang army emerged victorious.
The first thing Shang Shaoyan did upon returning to Shuocheng was to take a hot shower and change into new clothes—after spending a whole month on the grassland, she felt like she was going to rot.
She lay in bed, half-asleep, feeling as if she had returned to the 21st century.
Shang Shaoyan saw himself collecting discarded plastic bottles. He did this every day, and once he filled a bag, he would hand it over to Uncle Feng, who collected recyclables, and he could earn several dozen yuan. He slowly saved up and saved until he had accumulated a thousand yuan.
She excitedly ordered a pair of sneakers for Shang Yunlan online, and then prepared to pick them up at a physical store—she had read online that boys all liked sneakers.
As soon as she entered the store, she saw Shang Yunlan. He was slender and handsome, wearing the uniform of a top high school, and was smiling as he said to the shop assistant, "I want to buy my sister a pair of chunky sneakers. She always says she's not tall enough. Those kinds of shoes have a height-increasing effect, and she should like them... Yes, size 37."
She saw Shang Yunlan's hands behind her back, the rough calluses cracked and some blood was visible. Shang Shaoyan didn't know what Shang Yunlan had gone to do, but soon she heard Shang Yunlan answer a phone call.
Her brother, who was always proud and high-spirited in front of her, spoke humbly on the other end of the phone: "...Yes, Engineer Li, don't worry, I will move for an extra hour tomorrow."
Shang Shaoyan covered his face and quietly slid to the corner of the wall outside the store. It took him a long time to realize that his hands were covered in tears.
Why do we have to work as bricklayers?
Shang Shaoyan looked up blankly at the magnificent shopping mall dome—what if his brother's grades were so good and moving bricks interfered with his studies?
She didn't know how long she cried, only that her heart felt a mix of sourness and joy.
She wiped away her tears and was about to go into the store to buy sneakers when she bumped into Shang Yunlan, who was rushing back.
Shang Yunlan didn't realize she had bumped into Shang Shaoyan. She hurriedly apologized and walked into the store in a few steps, saying, "I forgot my phone, my sister is looking for me later..."
Shang Shaoyan couldn't hear what he said after that. She barely managed to suppress the tears welling up again and called out, "Brother!"
Shang Yunlan froze, then turned around and saw Shang Shaoyan with bloodshot eyes.
Upon seeing this, Shang Yunlan was startled and quickly ran over, hugging Shang Shaoyan in her arms. She patted her back and coaxed her, "What's wrong? Who bullied you? Tell me, and I'll get revenge for you!"
Shang Shaoyan burst into tears again. She broke free from Shang Yunlan's embrace, grabbed his hand, and sobbed, "You're not allowed to go back to carrying bricks anymore, do you hear me?"
Shang Yunlan was stunned for a moment and tried to pull her hand back, but Shang Shaoyan was so strong that she couldn't break free.
As if she had done something wrong, Shang Yunlan lowered her head and promised, "Okay, brother won't go."
He paused, then asked with some confusion, "How did you end up here?"
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
Her eyes darted around for a moment, and just as she was about to make up an excuse, she heard a shop assistant speak up: "Why hasn't the customer with the last four digits of their number 7583 come to pick up their order yet?"
Another salesperson yawned: "That order of size 40 sneakers? Something must have delayed it."
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
艹 (a type of plant)!
Shang Yunlan overheard the conversation and immediately looked at Shang Shaoyan with a forced smile: "Size ending in 7583? Size 40 sneakers? Which random guy did you buy them for?"
Shang Shaoyan was enraged by these words: "What kind of wild man is this? I bought this for you by picking up plastic bottles!"
Then she looked up and saw Shang Yunlan's "I knew it" expression. She couldn't help but widen her eyes: "Well, Shang Yunlan, you actually used reverse psychology!"
Shang Yunlan didn't say anything, but patted her head. After a long while, she said in a muffled voice, "You shouldn't pick up plastic bottles either."
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
She lowered her head, muttering somewhat dejectedly, "I've heard them say that boys like sneakers—you love playing basketball, don't you..."
Shang Yunlan stared at her intently, then smiled helplessly: "This is a one-time deal. You collect bottles to buy me sneakers, and I'll carry bricks to buy you chunky sneakers—pinky promise! Whoever goes to collect bottles or carry bricks again is a pig!"
Shang Shaoyan's eyes were still red, but he quickly sniffed and then hooked his little finger with Shang Yunlan's little finger: "Okay, pinky promise!"
Shang Yunlan looked at Shang Shaoyan, smiling as she thought—if he can't move bricks, then he can paint, right?
Shang Shaoyan looked at Shang Yunlan, smiling as he thought—if she can't pick up bottles, then she can pick up old books, right?
The two looked at each other and smiled.
...
When Qiao Xiuyu brought in the soup, she saw Shang Shaoyan crying in his sleep, his nose red, looking particularly pitiful.
He put down the hot soup in his hand, gently covered Shang Shaoyan with the blanket, and then focused on looking at the quiet girl in front of him.
Shang Shaoyan is a very good sleeping posture, not moving at all. Even though he is crying now, he just silently curls up into a ball, looking very scared.
Qiao Xiuyu felt a pang of pain in her heart. After thinking for a moment, she simply lay down on the bed as well, gently holding Shang Shaoyan in her arms and patting her back reassuringly.
Shang Shaoyan was sleeping soundly, but seemed to be caught up in some bad memories. Qiao Xiuyu looked at her delicate eyebrows and eyes and couldn't help but wonder - what was An'an like in the past?
They must have suffered a lot, and perhaps been bullied a lot.
He had heard his elder brother say that this sleeping posture was a sign of strong defensiveness and a weak sense of security.
Thinking of this, Qiao Xiuyu silently hugged Shang Shaoyan tighter: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Shang Shaoyan, seemingly lost in a dream, suddenly slapped Qiao Xiuyu, muttering, "Go to hell with the paint!"
Qiao Xiuyu: "...?"
He took a hard slap from Shang Shaoyan. Although it didn't hit his face, Shang Shaoyan was very strong. He groaned in pain, looked down, and saw that the culprit was still fast asleep. He immediately rolled his eyes and asked, "Who am I?"
Shang Shaoyan, still half-asleep, smacked his lips and said, "Shang Yunlan."
Qiao Xiuyu: "...?"
He stared at Shang Shaoyan in shock—could it be what he was thinking?
He suppressed his shock and asked again in a trembling voice, "Do we often sleep together?"
Shang Shaoyan mumbled in a daze, "There's only one bed in the house, do you expect me to sleep on the floor?"
Qiao Xiuyu: "!!!"
艹 (a type of plant)!
He wanted to ask a few more questions, but Shang Shaoyan opened his eyes at that moment. His eyes, which were still a little sleepy, suddenly became much more awake after seeing the face of the person in front of him.
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