TBTTSP - Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Shang Yi Has a Story (7)
Shang Yi had just pried a name from Zhang Xu's lips: Li Zhaodi.
A jolt shot from the crown of her head to the base of her spine.
To prevent herself from misunderstanding Xu Wanqing as some kind of pervert, she deliberately took the original line—"Not as repayment, but as a token of eternal goodwill"—to show Xu Wanqing herself.
She put on an act, pretending it was the first time she'd seen it, and burst through the door holding the book with feigned alarm.
"Hey, let me ask you something. What kind of feeling does this express? A gentlemanly friendship? Or… you know, the kind with ulterior motives? Someone wrote this to me recently. What do you think? You're the cultured one, I don't really get it."
Xu Wanqing read the line silently. She seemed to recall something, and her eyes softened like shimmering spring water. "To say 'ulterior motives' is not quite right. I believe this signifies a gentlemanly friendship, but one where there is a hope for the bond to deepen, not one with improper designs."
You really are a pervert.
Li Zhaodi is only twelve!
For a moment, she overlooked the fact that the Xu Wanqing who wrote that line was only sixteen herself.
"The bond… how would it deepen?" Shang Yi pressed, refusing to give up. She couldn't believe this woman with bound feet was so progressive, even more audacious than a modern woman like herself.
Of course, she couldn't call her a "woman with bound feet" anymore; it wasn't a kind term. This time, she planned to take Xu Wanqing to a hospital in Beijing to see if her feet could be unbound, and while she was at it, to check if this five-hundred-year-old immortal body had mutated into something else entirely.
But right now, she was questioning Xu Wanqing's judgment and character, and she intended to teach her that in the modern era, one couldn't have improper designs on a child that young.
If Xu Wanqing really did snap and shatter her persona as a gentle, well-read, and articulate feudal-era woman—albeit one who spoke strangely—Shang Yi might consider selling her on the black market for a high price before checking if her own brain was full of mush.
"Why is Younger Sister Shang curious about this line? Who said it to you? I can analyze it for you."
Xu Wanqing took a lock of Shang Yi's curly hair and combed it forward. Her hands didn't rest; she smoothed Shang Yi's collar and fastened the second button.
How forward! Shang Yi fell backward, sinking into the soft sofa.
She felt as if the Xu Wanqing before her was a master of romance, constantly teasing her.
Have you no sense of female propriety!
She wasn't falling for it. She replied with a cold expression, "Just answer my question."
"If no one said it to Younger Sister Shang, then it must be that you have something to say to someone. Who is so fortunate as to have earned your affection? In my view, if Younger Sister Shang feels a certain way toward someone and wishes to deepen that bond, it is best to state it plainly. Expressing oneself through poetry is somewhat roundabout, and in the process of interpretation, much of the intended meaning is lost…"
"Alright, alright, that's enough," Shang Yi said, terrified of her long-windedness.
Where did all these words come from?
"It seems you have someone in mind." Xu Wanqing apparently had no intention of letting her go. She picked up her teacup, gently blew the leaves aside, and took a sip, seemingly waiting for Shang Yi to give her an explanation.
"Hey, no. Why are you acting like… like some managing matriarch, sitting there ready to interrogate me? I just asked for a bit of advice, what's with all the chatter?"
"Truly just asking for advice?" Xu Wanqing shot her a reproachful glance before gently setting down the cup and picking up a book. "Is there really no one you fancy?"
"Really, really. No one, no one. Just speak properly."
Xu Wanqing picked up her teacup and drank again, a clearly restrained smile on her face that held three parts pride and seven parts smugness.
Shang Yi's head ached. "Hurry up and say it. Stop smiling."
"I've already said it. You weren't listening properly, so I won't say it again." Setting down the cup, Xu Wanqing circled around the back of the sofa. Just as Shang Yi was about to get up and hit her, she had already slipped into the adjoining room and turned on the faucet to wash her hands.
Shang Yi chased after her, but Xu Wanqing just raised her hands and flicked a spray of water in her face.
What kind of person was this!
Shang Yi was so angry her vision went dark, but there was nothing she could do to Xu Wanqing. She could only set the dispute aside and tentatively classify the relationship as a gentlemanly friendship.
She was the one with the dirty mind. It was her own fault. She hypnotized herself, leaning on Ugly Boy for a long while before she recovered.
When she entered the room again, Xu Wanqing was already reading a book.
Shang Yi, intending to make her life difficult, snatched the book and threw it into a corner.
The woman across from her let out a low laugh and looked at her teasingly. "Younger Sister Shang, you're being childish."
With that, she went to pick up the book herself, leaving Shang Yi with a foul mood stuck in her throat, unable to be coughed up or swallowed down, so pent up she just wanted to curse.
How had she stooped to bickering with an ancient person?
Not only was she bickering, but she had underestimated her opponent, thinking all ancient people were as stuffy as an unearthed coffin.
How could this person, after living for over five hundred years, still manage to infuriate her so much?
She stood with her hands on her hips for a while, her chest rising and falling, until she finally calmed down.
Ugly Boy knocked on the door and said from outside, "Sister, Xu Wanqing is here."
"Bullshit—isn't Xu Wanqing right—" Shang Yi started to say, then suddenly realized he meant the younger, sixteen-year-old Xu Wanqing inside Zhang Xu's body.
"Younger Sister Shang, wait." Xu Wanqing put down her book, stood up, and adjusted Shang Yi's collar. Shang Yi stepped back, feeling rather uncomfortable, but the other woman was extremely solemn. "When you see 'me' this time, it will be the last time we can ever meet. Whether you see Zhang Xu again, or the sixteen-year-old me, this is the final time, Younger Sister Shang…"
"It's not like I'm never coming back to Pingdu."
"You truly will not be coming back," Xu Wanqing said, the hand on her shoulder gently falling away.
"…"
That was actually a little sad.
"If you didn't make me so angry, I might have been in a better mood," Shang Yi relented. She was broad-minded, as vast as the ocean. She decided to wipe the slate clean and prepare to properly see her for this final time.
Xu Wanqing, in Zhang Xu's body, was sitting in the break room. The room was filled with small red chairs. The door was half-open, revealing a corner of a school uniform, washed until it was pale. Her hair was neatly combed, her legs were pressed together as she sat up straight, and her hands rested lightly on her knees. On the little red chair beside her was a small schoolbag, half-open, with a few books inside.
Shang Yi stood at the door, feeling a bit of cognitive dissonance. She adjusted her mindset and walked in. "Why the sudden visit?"
"I have an important matter to discuss." Xu Wanqing was like a child who had done something wrong, with lowered brows and a submissive air. "Please sit, Younger Sister Shang."
Shang Yi turned and closed the door tightly, then sat down across from her. Xu Wanqing took out a copy of The Golden Lotus and handed it over. "I thought this book was very good, so I transcribed a stack of manuscripts from memory at home. Unfortunately, my husband saw them and sent them to a publisher. Now, many copies have been printed… I do not know who Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng is. If Younger Sister Shang knows of his descendants, I am willing to pay them a visit…"
Shang Yi stroked the chair and pondered for a long time. She didn't know when The Golden Lotus had been circulated in history, but if it was now being spread through Xu Wanqing's hands, then this was most likely a parallel world, different from her own. For example, maybe Zhu Biao hadn't died, and Zhu Di never became emperor, or some other twist of fate had made things exceptionally different.
Xu Wanqing had either changed history or had unintentionally created a pirated copy.
"It's fine. What's published is published. Just make sure you don't get implicated because of the book. It's quite shocking to the public." Shang Yi lowered her head, mulling over Xu Wanqing's words, and realized another difference. "Weren't you divorced?"
"A few days ago, Squire Wang from the west side of the city was looking to remarry. A matchmaker came to find me, and my father and brother made the decision. I…"
"Right, another arranged marriage." Shang Yi waved her hand dismissively. "Can't you use some of that energy you use to annoy me over in your own world? Being so obedient isn't like you."
After a long silence, the other girl replied softly, "But a woman has nowhere else to go. Squire Wang likes women who can read. I thought, perhaps, he might be better than Scholar Wang."
"So you'll just be Concubine Wang Xu forever? And Xu Wanqing is no longer Xu Wanqing?" Shang Yi had a surge of anger with nowhere to direct it, so she could only grit her teeth, hating that Xu Wanqing only showed her sharp fangs and claws to her…
"Younger Sister Shang, what kind of person do you think I am?"
Shang Yi didn't answer. She felt something was off with Xu Wanqing's mood. She propped her chin on her hand and watched her for a moment, trying to formulate some clever, deflecting words. But her chest felt heavy. She was truly born to worry, now fretting over whether Xu Wanqing's marriage was suitable. When the words came out, they were tinged with resentment. "As long as you think it's good, that's all that matters. It's not my place to interfere. Is this the only reason you came to see me today?"
"Yes."
"Then that's settled. You can go back." Shang Yi pushed herself up from the chair.
An ancient person was an ancient person, after all. She had thought Xu Wanqing was on the path to free love, but it turned out she was still passively accepting the commands of her father and brother, marrying someone and happily deceiving herself that he was a good man.
Fine. It wasn't as if there were no harmonious couples in ancient times who treated each other with mutual respect. Love could grow over time, and it was none of her business anyway.
Then she thought, so was Li Zhaodi her "gentlemanly friend"?
Xu Wanqing rose gracefully, her steps as light as if she were tiptoeing on water, exactly the same gait as the real Xu Wanqing hiding beside her.
Shang Yi suddenly gripped the doorknob, blocking the way. "Hey, what do you think of Li Zhaodi?"
"Why does Younger Sister Shang ask this?"
The girl had an innocent face, blinking with young, gentle eyes. Her body was as graceful as an orchid. Shang Yi felt like she was bullying her, deliberately interrogating her. "Hurry up and tell me. Stop dawdling."
"Zhaodi is an upright person, diligent in her studies, simple and kind. Although she is good at hiding her thoughts, she is still a child, and it is easy to see what is on her mind. I imagine her family situation is not very good, but she is very ambitious…"
She had forced a commentary out of Xu Wanqing.
The phrase "still a child" pleased Shang Yi. Hearing those words, she was finally convinced that Xu Wanqing's intentions were pure, that she was simply trying to befriend someone without any ulterior motives. It seemed she had been tossed and turned too many times in the great dyeing vat of society, her mind filled with sordid dealings, and had misunderstood the girl.
It was clear that a girl of pure character had nothing to fear from her suspicions.
Releasing the handle, Shang Yi grasped her shoulder. "Come on, let's go eat."
"But Younger Sister Shang was just telling me to leave."
"Oh, that was a misunderstanding. Your marriage is none of my business. It's rare that we get to meet. Let's eat, let's eat."
Shang Yi turned the page on the kite incident and led Xu Wanqing out.
Ugly Boy knew that this "Zhang Xu" at this time was actually Xu Wanqing; his iPad had the dates recorded clearly. But the carefree Old Girl could never tell them apart. If the person didn't speak up, or if Ugly Boy didn't point it out, she treated them all as Zhang Xu. Besides, the real Xu Wanqing was always around, so she tended to forget that a sixteen-year-old Xu Wanqing existed inside Zhang Xu's body.
Just as Shang Yi came out, she took a phone call and gestured for Old Girl to entertain their guest for a moment. Old Girl carelessly let the secret slip. "Hey Zhang Xu, what did that kite look like? You didn't hide it? You really burned it just because she said so?"
Behind her, "Zhang Xu" said nothing.
Old Girl continued to make things worse. "Well, yeah. How could you dare disobey an order from our President Shang?"
When she turned around, "Zhang Xu" had vanished. She chased after her and saw the girl standing next to Shang Yi, who was on the phone, staring at her with a resolute expression.
Goosebumps erupted all over Old Girl's body. Ugly Boy passed by her. "Didn't Sister tell you to take Xu Wanqing to eat?"
Just as she was about to go and salvage the situation, Shang Yi ended her call. She raised her hand, and Xu Wanqing took it. They were talking.
"Younger Sister Shang, you burned my paper… kite?"
"No."
If she didn't burn it with her own hands, then she didn't burn it. Even as the main culprit, she would deny it to the death.
Shang Yi, with a guilty conscience, immediately reached out to pat her comfortingly. "What kite? I'll buy you a few thousand of them. What kind do you like?"
"Did Younger Sister Shang see what I wrote?"
"What are you talking about?"
"If you did not see it, then why burn it? It was perfectly fine—" Xu Wanqing let go of her hand, almost unable to believe the painful truth. She stumbled back a few steps, and tears fell like rain.
Crying didn't scare her. Shang Yi didn't believe in tears. But the crying made her irritable and agitated, almost unable to compose herself. She answered impatiently, "Fine, fine, then tell me, who were you exchanging gifts with? Who did you want to be friends with forever?"
"Since you saw it, why do you ask me now?"
Xu Wanqing's body trembled. She wiped her tears, turned, and ran.
What was with these ancient people?
So what if she saw it? She was a modern person; there was nothing she hadn't seen.
Every time she asked a question, they never answered properly, just fired back a series of questions.
Fine, leave then. Why throw a childish tantrum?
Shang Yi turned her head. "And you. What's the big idea, telling her about that? Don't you know ancient people are stubborn?"
Old Girl, knowing she was in the wrong, silently zipped her lips. After a moment, she unzipped them. "Sister, I think you should go after her. Does an ancient person even know how to get home?"
That was true.
When she got downstairs, there was no sign of her. Thinking that she had found her way here smoothly enough, and that this ancient person was quite skilled in modern ways, she drove to the bus station.
Xu Wanqing got off a public bus, walked straight into the waiting hall, and skillfully bought a ticket back to the county.
Shang Yi made her way through the crowd toward her. Xu Wanqing looked back, her eyes red. She ducked slightly, slipped under a tall woman's armpit, and boarded the long-distance bus.
Shang Yi paused.
She was quite capable, wasn't she? What was she even worried about?
On the rear window of the bus, a small face, still wet with tears, floated into view like seaweed. She exhaled a breath of hot air and wrote on the glass:
Shang Yi.
Shang Yi, stuck behind the security checkpoint, waved her hand in relief. Seeing that Xu Wanqing still had the presence of mind to write her name and tease her, she figured it was nothing serious.
Slipping out of the crowd, she sat in her car and turned on the music, suddenly lacking the energy to drive.
You toss me a quince, I give you fine jade. Not as repayment, but as a token of eternal goodwill.
The kite was only half-finished, it hadn't even flown, yet at her command, it had been burned to ashes.
The words on the kite were meant for her to see.
A gentlemanly friendship, with the hope for the bond to deepen, not one with improper designs.
Xu Wanqing had actually already answered her.
Shang Yi leaned back, took out two pieces of chewing gum, and ground them between her teeth. Then she stuffed in a third piece, and a fourth, chewing until her jaw ached.
Pop—
The bubble burst, smearing all over her mouth.
Why couldn't ancient people just speak plainly?
It was just about making friends. Although she rarely made friends anymore, if it was Xu Wanqing, it wouldn't be out of the question.
Ancient people were so annoying.
This final meeting was truly infuriating.
Back in the room, Xu Wanqing, who was packing, said as expected, "Younger Sister Shang must have returned in a huff, thoroughly annoyed by me and ready to tell me off."
Xu Wanqing was folding a piece of clothing and placing it in a suitcase. Ugly Boy was nearby, reminding her of the evening flight out of Pingdu. She had just seen off the crying Xu Wanqing on the bus, and Shang Yi was acutely aware that this really was the last time… probably.
"I'm not angry, not angry, I'm not angry," Shang Yi said, forcing a brave face. "None of you ever speak properly anyway. I'm used to it."
"Hasn't Younger Sister Shang noticed? 'I' came, and yet I am still here?"
Previously, when Xu Wanqing soul-traveled into Zhang Xu, this five-hundred-year-old Xu Wanqing, who should have been completely unrelated, would also faint. But now, suddenly, she was fine?
"I'm not telling."
"…"
She might as well just die of anger.
Shang Yi clutched her chest and stood there for a long while, casting the thought she'd had on her way back—the one about being a little nicer to Xu Wanqing—to the far corners of the universe.
"Fine, don't tell me."
Gritting her teeth, her voice laced with resentment, Shang Yi haggled with her like a childish old woman.
She threw herself back onto the bed. Xu Wanqing slowly pulled the covers over her, but she kicked them off again. "You're a weasel paying a New Year's call to a chicken—up to no good."
"And who was it that acted like a bandit, ordering a child to burn my kite?" Xu Wanqing poked at her guilty conscience.
Shang Yi retorted, "Who wants to be friends with you forever? In your dreams."
"Younger Sister Shang, don't regret those words," Xu Wanqing said with a serious expression.
"Ah, fine, fine, I regret it, I regret it. Why are you so infuriating? Sit down for a bit. Here, lie down." Shang Yi patted the space beside her, and Xu Wanqing lay down on her side.
She rested her head on her arm and thought for a moment. "Did you eat some kind of immortality pill?"
"Shall I share half with Younger Sister Shang?"
It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or serious. When Xu Wanqing smiled, her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were brewing some wicked plan to infuriate her.
"Don't." Shang Yi held up a hand to stop her. "Stop joking. I'm being serious—"
"I possess the art of longevity, but from now on, I have only about two hundred years left."
"You're really something," Shang Yi said perfunctorily, checking the time. It was almost her turn to go into Zhang Xu's body.
She slowly closed her eyes, waiting for her soul to be sucked into Zhang Xu's body like a flushing toilet.
Xu Wanqing, specifically trying to annoy her, added, "Does Younger Sister Shang want to go see if there's any bamboo left? I can just make another kite."
"I'll buy you a hundred. Let's not talk about this anymore. Remember to look after my body, and hold onto that ID card I got for you. Don't lose it."
Her voice was weak, as if she had just run an 800-meter race. She took a few ragged breaths, her body sagged, and suddenly, she was on a street in the county town.
In her hand was a small bag containing two oranges and an apple. In her right hand, she held a grilled sausage.
Her eyes felt uncomfortable. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, leaving tears on her arm.
Xu Wanqing had come back crying.
Oh, so that's how sad she was.
No wonder she remembered it for five hundred years and used it to annoy her.
It was a pity Xu Wanqing was so ill-fated. She'd bought a sausage but hadn't even taken a bite. Now it was all going into her stomach.
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