Qi Buyan stayed at He Sui’an’s house for about a week before moving out.
Although he stayed there under the guise of being a “very good classmate,” it wasn’t a long-term solution. He Sui’an finally persuaded Qi Buyan to separate from her for a while.
Her parents didn’t ask many questions about it, simply saying that Qi Buyan was welcome to stay again next time, whether it was out of courtesy or sincerity was unknown.
Qi Buyan didn’t really care where he lived as long as she was around.
However, He Sui’an usually stayed at home and couldn’t suddenly move out to live with him.
She was quite conflicted about this.
Occasionally spending a night or two out was fine, but she couldn’t stay out every night. So, He Sui’an spent her days at the apartment rented for Qi Buyan and returned home at night.
To keep Qi Buyan from getting bored, He Sui’an bought a large number of books for him. Since Qi Buyan liked insects and snakes, she bought books on entomology.
She also downloaded some animal research videos onto the new computer and phone.
These things matched his interests, but Qi Buyan wanted He Sui’an to watch them with him. He liked having her around and doing things together.
As a result, every time He Sui’an saw strange, grotesque insects in the books, she couldn’t help but cover her eyes or burrow into Qi Buyan’s arms.
It had to be said that Qi Buyan read much faster than He Sui’an.
He had a photographic memory.
His knowledge of insects and snakes far exceeded that of experts in the field.
He Sui’an wasn’t surprised by this; Qi Buyan was a Gu poison master from the Tianshui Village in Miaojiang, so he had to be intimately familiar with the characteristics of various insects and snakes to turn them into his poison Gu.
However, due to the simplification of modern characters, Qi Buyan sometimes didn’t understand certain words in the books, so He Sui’an took on the role of a teacher.
Today, He Sui’an accompanied Qi Buyan to finish reading two books, and she collapsed on the bed.
He Sui’an wasn’t in a hurry to move.
She wasn’t going home tonight.
Her parents were busy with work. They had been watching over He Sui’an, but now they needed to return to their jobs. Both had gone on business trips yesterday, so no one would know if she didn’t go home.
Qi Buyan also knew she wasn’t leaving tonight, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
Suddenly, He Sui’an remembered something.
She got up from the bed, opened her small satchel, and took out a bank card to give him.
This bank card was one He Sui’an helped Qi Buyan apply for, and it contained money equivalent to a box of gold. Not long ago, they had returned to Tianshui Village and exchanged a box of gold for money.
The remaining ten or so boxes of gold had not been touched.
After getting the bank card and depositing the money, Qi Buyan left the card with He Sui’an and forgot to take it back.
Now that He Sui’an remembered, she returned it to him.
She instructed, “This is your bank card. Keep it safe and don’t leave it lying around. By the way, do you remember the password you set?”
The password for the bank card was set by him, and He Sui’an didn’t ask about it.
Qi Buyan looked at her.
He didn’t take the card and softly recited a string of numbers: “000511.”
00 was random.
0511 was He Sui’an’s birthday, May 11th. It took He Sui’an a few seconds to realize, “Why did you say it out loud? And why did you use my birthday as the password?”
Qi Buyan reached out to touch her cheek and asked, “Is that not allowed?”
He Sui’an was speechless.
Her earlobes unknowingly turned a light shade of red, and she mumbled, “It’s not that it’s not allowed, but using your own or close ones’ birthdays as passwords isn’t very safe.”
Qi Buyan had no intention of changing it. “I like these numbers.”
He Sui’an didn’t press further.
It was his choice.
Setting aside the matter of changing the password, He Sui’an noticed that Qi Buyan didn’t even want to keep the bank card, as if he didn’t care about it at all. She had to keep it for him. “If you need it later, just ask me for it.”
Qi Buyan leaned over and lightly kissed He Sui’an’s earlobe, which was now as red as if it were bleeding. His breath brushed against her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. He didn’t do anything more, just habitually stayed close to her.
“Aren’t you my wife? Everyone says that money should be managed by the wife.”
He said.
He Sui’an’s face turned even redder.
She was at a loss for words. “Who told you that? Didn’t you sleep for a thousand years?”
Qi Buyan was puzzled. “After marrying you, I bought some books about marriage customs. Most of the people in those stories treat their wives like this. Did I misunderstand?”
He Sui’an paused.
How did she not know? After getting married, he secretly read books.
But that wasn’t the main point.
He Sui’an didn’t know how to explain, so she shyly changed the subject, “I’m hungry. What do you want to eat tonight?”
Qi Buyan, seeing He Sui’an’s skin turn pink, didn’t quite understand why she always reacted so strongly to a word or two. “Whatever you eat, I’ll eat.”
“Okay.”
He Sui’an took him downstairs to eat.
She never expected to run into her classmates—two female and two male. Their eyes were full of curiosity as they looked at Qi Buyan, almost ready to ask who he was.
The classmates almost all knew that He Sui’an was an only child. They had heard that she didn’t even have any cousins because her parents were also only children. Therefore, the likelihood of Qi Buyan being a relative was very low.
Qi Buyan, with his long hair and ancient Miaojiang attire, coupled with his striking appearance, naturally piqued the curiosity of He Sui’an’s classmates, who started asking questions indirectly.
He Sui’an glanced at Qi Buyan. “He’s a friend I knew from before.”
The classmates seemed uncertain whether to believe her. One asked, “Is he a friend from a minority ethnic group? Or someone who likes cosplaying?”
“Minority ethnic group.”
He Sui’an paused before responding.
The classmates continued to scrutinize Qi Buyan. He was just too striking.
After introducing Qi Buyan, she introduced her classmates, “They are my classmates.” Even though they had graduated, a day spent as classmates still counted, especially since they had been classmates for three years.
Hearing the word “classmate,” Qi Buyan turned to look at He Sui’an thoughtfully.
She had introduced him the same way before.
He had thought “classmate” was a term used in this era to signify a very close relationship. Now it seemed that wasn’t the case. Qi Buyan moved his hand at his side, not taking his eyes off her.
He Sui’an didn’t notice, continuing to chat with her classmates until she finally managed to send them off. When she turned around, she saw Qi Buyan staring at her.
His gaze was somewhat peculiar.
She was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Qi Buyan’s tone was emotionless. “You said they are your classmates.”
He Sui’an nodded. “Yes.”
She hadn’t realized anything was amiss.
He looked into her eyes. “Last time, you also told your parents I was your classmate… I thought ‘classmate’ was a very intimate term.”
Alarm bells went off in He Sui’an’s head. She grabbed Qi Buyan’s hand. “Oh, no, of course, you’re different from them. I just said it casually then. Don’t take it to heart.”
He Sui’an had never thought about this before, only about how to explain things to her parents.
“Really?”
Qi Buyan looked down at her.
He Sui’an nodded vigorously, raising her hand with four fingers extended. “Yes, I swear.”
“Then tell me how I’m different from them.” Qi Buyan asked another question as she led him into the restaurant.
He Sui’an stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear.
His eyes crinkled with a smile.
She had said, “I like you.”
He Sui’an knew Qi Buyan loved hearing this, both in the past and now. Like a child, he insisted on hearing everything explicitly stated.
*
They finished dinner by eight o’clock.
After returning home, He Sui’an rested for an hour before heading to the bathroom to wash her hair and take a shower. Qi Buyan sat on the bed reading a book, still unfamiliar with some words, but able to grasp the meaning from the context.
Half an hour later, He Sui’an came out, her body still damp, wearing a nightgown that just reached her knees. Her freshly washed long hair dripped with water.
Her slender calves were exposed to the air, and she wore panda slippers.
He Sui’an liked to bathe in hot water, whether it was winter or summer, which often made her face glow with a rosy hue. The soft fabric of her nightgown clung to her waist, outlining her figure.
Qi Buyan put down his book and watched her.
He Sui’an found the hairdryer, plugged it in, and sat on the edge of the bed to dry her hair.
After only a few seconds, Qi Buyan took the white hairdryer from her hand, running his fingers gently through her hair, letting the warm air blow through.
He Sui’an tilted her head slightly, watching Qi Buyan who was sitting in front of her.
Qi Buyan glanced at her.
Her fingers unconsciously twirled the dark hair draped over his chest, causing the silver bell at the end to jingle softly, its sound masked by the hairdryer.
Due to the longevity Gu, Qi Buyan’s growth had been halted, and his hair hadn’t grown since their separation. Now that the longevity Gu was removed, his hair had grown a bit.
He Sui’an noticed that Qi Buyan’s hair was much longer than hers.
She had no intention of having him cut it.
Firstly, Qi Buyan could do as he pleased. Secondly, He Sui’an genuinely liked the way he looked with long hair—it was beautiful. Perhaps he took after Qi Shu, as his bone structure was exceptionally refined.
Qi Buyan’s high nose, thin lips, and deep-set features looked like they had been meticulously carved. His fair skin and long hair made him even more striking than any male actor in period costume she had ever seen.
Just as she was looking at him, lost in these random thoughts, the sound of the hairdryer stopped.
He Sui’an snapped back to reality.
Qi Buyan slowly set the hairdryer down, letting her continue to twirl his long hair. Leaning in, he said leisurely, “When you look at me like that, it makes me want to kiss you again.”
Before He Sui’an could respond, Qi Buyan kissed the corner of her lips, his warm breath mingling with a bit of moisture, gradually spreading to her.
His thin lips rubbed against hers, slowly turning a deep, passionate red.
He Sui’an’s breath became uneven.
They kissed for a long time, and eventually, Qi Buyan buried his head in He Sui’an’s neck, his long hair draping on either side, and his high nose lightly brushing against her. “Sui Sui, will you always like me?”
Qi Buyan, like He Sui’an’s parents, called her by her nickname, Sui Sui. His voice, already pleasant, became even more intoxicating when he softly called her name, making her ears and fingertips tingle, and her mind buzz.
He Sui’an wrapped her arms around Qi Buyan’s narrow waist, whining softly but saying nothing.
He laughed.
Qi Buyan suddenly planted a light kiss on He Sui’an’s collarbone.
“I like you very much.”
“You should like me a lot too.”