Chapter 13

Before Zhao Hao could figure out what was happening, Nian Qi had already grabbed him by the back of the neck and hauled him toward the door. Strangely, Zhao Hao found his entire body powerless, as if all his strength had suddenly abandoned him. Desperate to salvage the last shred of his dignity, Zhao Hao tried to spit out one last threat:

“Ruan Qing, I’m telling you—!”

But the iron grip around his neck tightened, and his words were cut off mid-sentence.

Ruan Qing had been furious just moments ago, but the absurdity of the scene made it impossible for her to stay angry. She stood there watching as Nian Qi dragged Zhao Hao out of the apartment. He shut the door gently behind him, leaving it slightly ajar. Through the narrow gap, Ruan Qing could hear some muffled conversation, she couldn’t make out the words.

Then, out of nowhere, a pained “Aow!” escaped from Zhao Hao, loud and sharp.

The sound startled Ruan Qing so much that she sucked in a breath. That sounded like it really hurt.

Not long after, Nian Qi returned. He quietly shut the door behind him, but before stepping inside, he took off his shoes at the entryway.

It was only now, after all the drama, that Ruan Qing noticed a detail she had missed earlier, when Nian Qi had dragged Zhao Hao out, he had slipped off his slippers and put on a pair of black cloth shoes. This man from ancient times… how is he so meticulous about these little things?

She couldn’t help but think back to Zhao Hao’s careless ways during their time living together, how his sloppy habits had driven her mad on countless occasions.

Ruan Qing walked over and asked, “What happened just now?”

“Nothing serious,” Nian Qi replied calmly. “He started talking about ‘the future,’ so I gave him a little lesson. I doubt he’ll bother you again.”

Knowing Zhao Hao’s clingy nature, Ruan Qing had worried he might not let things go easily. But now that the matter seemed resolved, a different concern crossed her mind.

“There aren’t any… injuries, right?” she asked cautiously, then quickly clarified, “I mean, I’m not worried about him. It’s just that modern laws don’t allow anyone to inflict physical harm on others. If he got hurt and reported it to the police, it could cause trouble for you.”

Until they sorted out Nian Qi’s legal identity, the last thing he could afford was police involvement.

“Don’t worry,” Nian Qi reassured her, his voice steady with confidence. “I didn’t even break the skin.”

Perhaps sensing her lingering worry, he added, “I just dislocated his shoulder, but I put it back right away.”

Dislocated his shoulder?

What the—?!

Ruan Qing was stunned. That’s way beyond a simple joint dislocation! That’s gotta hurt like hell!

The thought of Zhao Hao, a cocky playboy with zero moral integrity, getting such a painful lesson felt oddly satisfying. She couldn’t help but press her palms together in a gesture of gratitude. “Thank you so much!”

Nian Qi gave a small nod, as if it were nothing. “You’re welcome.”

It was still early in the evening. Ruan Qing smiled and said, “Go on and keep watching TV. I’ll—”

She suddenly froze, her eyes widening.

“You—!”

Nian Qi smiled, as if anticipating her reaction. “What is it?”

This time, his voice sounded completely natural.

Ruan Qing stared at him in disbelief. “Why don’t you have an accent anymore?”

It hit her like a bolt of lightning. Ever since they had reunited, Nian Qi had spoken to her fluently, without any trace of the strange accent he had earlier. How could that be? When she first met him, his speech had an odd tone to it, something that sounded like an unplaceable regional dialect.

But now, his Mandarin was flawless, crisp, and articulate like someone trained in broadcasting.

What Ruan Qing didn’t know was that even the “accent” she had heard last night was already a deliberate adjustment on Nian Qi’s part.

When he first woke up in the hospital, disoriented and surrounded by modern technology, he quickly realized that something was off about his environment. From that moment, he had begun mimicking the local speech patterns. But the time had been too short. By the time Ruan Qing rushed back to meet him, his speech hadn’t fully adapted.

Now, though, it was clear—he had perfected it.

This morning, after giving him a few hours and access to news broadcasts with standardized pronunciations, Nian Qi had already mastered perfect Mandarin. It was nothing extraordinary, just part of his professional skillset. Of course, he couldn’t tell Ruan Qing that it came from years of rigorous training, so he simply said, “I’ve been good at mimicking accents since I was young. I flipped through different channels, and the ones reading the news seemed to use official speech, so I followed along.”

Ruan Qing was stunned. “That’s impressive.”

“It’s not called official speech anymore,” she corrected with a smile. “It’s called Putonghua now.”

With the matter settled, she waved him off. “Alright, carry on with the TV.”

Watching TV wasn’t just helping Nian Qi learn modern language, it was also teaching him to recognize simplified Chinese characters. Now that his accent was spot on, he switched from news channels to TV dramas. Dramas, he realized, offered a glimpse into the nuances of modern life. Many objects he’d seen but couldn’t understand now made sense when he saw characters use them in context.

Since it was still early, and lunchtime was a while off, Ruan Qing took the chance to do some cleaning. First, she grabbed the “dirty” bed sheets from this morning, remnants of an unpleasant memory and threw them into the trash room in the hallway.

When she came back, she stopped dead in her tracks.

…Nian Qi was mopping the floor.

“…”

“???”

Why is he mopping the floor?

Wait—how does he even know how to mop?

Completely baffled, Ruan Qing stared at him. Noticing her confusion, Nian Qi glanced over and explained, “When Zhao Hao came in earlier, I had originally thrown him onto the living room floor. But he kept shouting, so I dragged him into the study. I forgot to take off his shoes, and he tracked dirt from outside all over the floor.”

At that point, he hadn’t been sure what the relationship was between Zhao Hao and Ruan Qing, so he hadn’t gone too hard on him. Later, though, Zhao Hao’s foul-mouthed ranting forced him to gag the guy. However, it hadn’t occurred to him at the time to remove Zhao Hao’s shoes.

It was only when Ruan Qing rushed in earlier, kicking off her own shoes at the door in a blur—that Nian Qi realized how seriously she took the no-outdoor-shoes rule.

“You… even know how to use a mop?”

Watching him skillfully press the foot pedal to clean and wring out the mop head, Ruan Qing was completely dumbfounded. For a moment, she even wondered if this man was actually from ancient times.

Was this some kind of elaborate prank? Could he be a performance artist pretending to be an ancient person as part of a social experiment, just to see how modern people would react? Where’s the hidden camera?

But before she could dwell on it, Nian Qi raised a thumb toward the TV. “I didn’t know how to at first. I just learned from that.”

Ruan Qing glanced at the screen and saw that the female lead of the TV show was mopping the floor with the exact same mop—an obvious product placement.

Ah, so that’s how he learned.

She breathed a sigh of relief, finally relaxing.

“Hmm…” She pressed her fist lightly against her lips, suppressing a smile.

Take Zhao Hao, for example—getting him to mop the floor required endless nagging. She’d have to call him at least two or three times before he’d reluctantly peel himself off the couch to do it. He was happy to work up a sweat at the gym but treated simple household chores like mopping as unbearable. At the end of the day, it all boiled down to laziness.

And yet, here was this man from another era, quick to change shoes when entering the house and already mopping the floor because it was dirty. How did I get so lucky to meet such a considerate, capable ancient man?

Though she had taken Nian Qi in mostly out of curiosity, who wouldn’t prefer someone diligent and observant over a freeloader who just lay around waiting to be served?

This ancient man standing before her—who knew how to switch shoes at the door, who understood when the floor needed mopping—was unexpectedly… domestically gifted.

Ruan Qing pressed her fist harder against her lips, trying—and failing—to suppress the growing smile threatening to take over her face.

She wasn’t foolish. In the past, she tolerated Zhao Hao’s laziness because he was younger and, well, because she enjoyed his physical company. But her relationship with Nian Qi was different—it was one between a host and a guest, and one that would likely last a long time. Only a fool would indulge him.

Ruan Qing didn’t hold back. Going along with the flow, she said, “Alright, you… um, finish mopping the floor, and I’ll go wash the dishes.” She hadn’t had time to wash them earlier, so the dirty plates and bowls were still sitting in the sink.

But Nian Qi responded, “No need. I’ve already washed them and put them away.”

“…”

Ruan Qing blinked. “You just washed them with water?”

“No,” Nian Qi replied. “I used that stuff in the pink bottle. I saw it was labeled ‘dishwashing liquid’ with pictures of plates on it. I read the small print on the back, and it explained how to use it clearly. I gave it a try, and it worked perfectly—got rid of the grease in no time.”

“…”

He even added in admiration, “The cabinets in the kitchen are really well organized. Everything is arranged neatly and logically.”

Ruan Qing was at a loss for words. What kind of treasure have I stumbled upon here?

Clearing her throat, she tried to suppress her happiness and said, “Alright, you… finish mopping the floor. I’ll go find some clothes for you to wear.”

Her uncontrollable smile didn’t escape Nian Qi’s notice. Of course, as someone relying on another’s kindness, he knew better than to expect others to do everything for him. He replied calmly, “You go ahead.”

Ruan Qing went to her bedroom and dug through Zhao Hao’s clothes. Nian Qi and Zhao Hao were about the same height, both with lean, muscular builds—well-defined but not bulky. However, Nian Qi’s shoulders seemed a bit broader. Fortunately, most of Zhao Hao’s clothes were loose-fitting and would work for now.

She packed the summer clothes that fit into a storage box for Nian Qi. As for Zhao Hao’s underwear—no way was she giving those to someone else to wear! New underwear and socks were non-negotiable. Zhao Hao’s old ones? Into the trash they went.

When she carried the box out to the living room, she found that not only had Nian Qi finished mopping the floor, but he had also put the mop back in the bathroom and tidied up the coffee table, clearing away snack bags and soda cans.

When she had rushed home earlier, the coffee table had been a mess, but now the entire living room was spotless, even down to the perfectly placed trash bin.

Ruan Qing paused briefly before setting the storage box by the sofa. “These are Zhao Hao’s clothes. You can make do with these for now.”

She had wanted to measure his waist and hip size to buy him new underwear, but there was no measuring tape at home. Feeling a bit regretful, she said, “When it’s time to eat, I’ll take you out to buy some new underwear and socks.”

Nian Qi expressed his gratitude. “Thank you for going to all this trouble.”

After a moment’s thought, he pulled out a pouch and handed it to her. “This can’t be used directly as money, but I believe it can be exchanged for some. Please take it to cover any expenses I’ve caused you during my stay.”

Oh?

Curious, Ruan Qing untied the pouch. Inside were silver ingots and small gold nuggets. She took one out and weighed it in her hand—it was quite heavy.

Suddenly, she thought to ask, “Did people back in your time use gold and silver directly? Weren’t copper coins the common currency?”

“Both copper and iron coins were used for everyday transactions,” Nian Qi explained, slightly surprised by her knowledge of ancient times. “Silver wasn’t used unless it was for large purchases, like land or goods for trade. But since I often traveled alone, carrying heavy money chests was inconvenient, so I kept gold and silver on me. Whenever I needed to spend it, I’d exchange it for copper coins at a shop in town.”

Ruan Qing tied the pouch shut again. “I’ll hold on to this for now. Gold is still valuable today, so we can exchange it for money. But silver isn’t worth much anymore, so I’m not sure how much we’ll get for it.”

“Whatever we get will be fine,” Nian Qi replied. “If it’s not enough, I’ll find a way to earn more later and repay you.”

“There’s no need to worry about money just yet,” Ruan Qing said. “In this day and age, as long as you’re not lazy, you can always make a living—even by working construction or delivering food.”

Given that Nian Qi had easily subdued Zhao Hao, who was trained in martial arts, it was clear that he was skilled in combat. When the time came for him to stand on his own in modern society, the worst-case scenario Ruan Qing envisioned was him working manual labor or delivering food. If things went well, he might even become a martial arts instructor.

“As long as you’re willing to work, you’ll be able to make enough to live on.”

She added with a sigh, “But earning money isn’t the real challenge—the real headache is sorting out your identity.”

That was what troubled her the most. “I still haven’t figured out how to solve that problem.”