Chapter 16

Ruan Qing also taught Nian Qi how to use a pen. “Just knowing how to use this is enough. Nowadays, aside from signing your name, you rarely need to write anything by hand,” she explained.

Nian Qi asked, “Is everything printed then?”

Ruan Qing clarified, “Only things that need printing. For most things, we just use phones, computers, and the internet directly.”

Observing the speed of the cars, the height of the buildings, and the functionality of phones, he could imagine some of the changes he hadn’t experienced. But a thousand years into the future, there were things beyond his wildest imagination. Much of it, it seemed, was hidden in something called the “internet”, something invisible to the naked eye.

Nian Qi nodded and continued his studies alone in the living room after learning how to write. By the end of the afternoon, he had memorized all the pinyin and started to drill it into memory. The loud electronic pinyin card was surprisingly useful—when he wasn’t sure about a pronunciation, he’d press it to hear the correct sound. Each time the electronic voice sounded in the living room, Ruan Qing, working in her study room, couldn’t help but grin—a man from ancient times earnestly studying Chinese pinyin in her living room was amusing to imagine.

By late afternoon, as the sun began to set, Ruan Qing shut down her design software and emerged from her study room. “Are you hungry? Let’s go out for dinner and pick up a few things.” Then she remembered, “Oh! There’s one more thing you should learn before we leave!”

Sitting beside Nian Qi on the couch, she leaned over the coffee table, writing the numbers 0 through 9 in Arabic numerals. “These are the numbers we use now. You’ll need to know them to read prices when we’re out.”

After finishing, she turned to find Nian Qi sitting stiffly, hands on his knees, staring straight ahead.

Ruan Qing: “?”

She waved her hand in front of his face. “Hey, hey?”

Nian Qi did turn his head but kept his gaze focused in front of him with an expression like a meditating monk.

Ruan Qing: “…”

Snapping her fingers in front of his nose, she said, “Focus here, right here.” She shifted his attention, pointing to her leg. “This is a leg.” She turned her finger toward his leg. “That’s also a leg.”

“You have legs, and I have legs. Yours are visible, and mine can be visible, too. I won’t touch you, and you can’t touch me.” She continued seriously, “This is the world a thousand years later, where men and women are equal, and everyone has the freedom to choose what to wear and how much skin to show. No one has the right to control someone else’s attire, nor can anyone harass someone just because they’re showing some skin. Anyone, regardless of gender, can report harassment.”

In theory, Nian Qi understood. His world had evolved from the primal days of animal skins and tribal customs to a culture of propriety and decorum. In the thousand years since, humanity had advanced so far that even ordinary people could travel to the moon. Yet, in reality, yesterday, when he first saw Ruan Qing, she had only revealed her calves. Now, this morning and again now, she wore casual home clothes, a short pair of shorts that revealed her long, pale legs right in front of him. In the morning and at lunch, he had the self-discipline to keep his gaze respectfully above her neck. But now, with her teaching him numbers right beside him, her bare legs were almost touching his own knees.

From last night until now, Nian Qi had maintained a calm composure, but at last, a trace of discomfort crossed his face. In his era, the amount of skin Ruan Qing was showing was something only intimate couples would see in the privacy of their chambers. The ancient man finally seemed overwhelmed!

But Ruan Qing remained firm “You have to get used to it. You must adapt to this!” She added, “When we go out, you’ll see girls dressed in all kinds of ways, bare legs, bare shoulders, midriffs exposed—you must adjust!”

“Even though you’re from a feudal society, you need to reform that feudal mindset!”

Nian Qi knew she was right. In a new place, one should adapt to the environment rather than stand out as an outsider. He nodded, agreeing, “Alright.”

Ruan Qing snapped her fingers in front of him, holding his gaze. “So, will you dare to look down?”

Saying “alright” while staring at the air wasn’t going to cut it. They were just legs, after all—she wasn’t naked. Nian Qi recalled the close brushes with death he’d survived, the pain of his old battle scars, and even the savings he’d left behind a thousand years ago. Finally, he managed to look at Ruan Qing’s legs.

Ruan Qing let him look as he pleased. They were just casual shorts, not even hot pants. A time-traveler could hardly cling to outdated feudal ideas.

After a moment, Nian Qi raised his gaze. “Is this acceptable?”

“Not bad, not bad,” Ruan Qing nodded approvingly. “This is how it should be—take it in stride.”

With a stoic expression, Nian Qi nodded. Taking things in stride was easier said than done. Those long, fair legs right in front of him would have thrown most men off their guard. Fortunately, he’d lived a life of knife-edge battles and had a self-control that went beyond the ordinary, otherwise, he might have embarrassed himself right there. He couldn’t understand how men a thousand years in the future managed, he’d have to ask around when he got the chance.

“Remember this well,” Ruan Qing cautioned seriously, “no matter what someone’s wearing or how revealing it seems to you, you’re only allowed to look, not touch. If you lay a hand on someone, they can have you thrown into a police station, and that’ll be the end for you.”

“Of course,” Nian Qi replied with a serious look, “a respectable man would never harass a young lady.”

Ruan Qing nearly choked at the old-fashioned term “young lady.” “That term’s outdated,” she said quickly. “Instead of ‘young lady,’ we call young women ‘miss,’ older women ‘big sister,’ and elderly women ‘auntie.’ Don’t use ‘young lady’ anymore.”

The real challenge was correcting these outdated terms that Nian Qi used in casual conversation. If he didn’t say them out loud, Ruan Qing wouldn’t think of which ones to correct. She would have to catch these slips as they happened.

After teaching him Arabic numerals, Ruan Qing added the equivalent Chinese numbers beside them for reference and had him take a photo with his phone. “If you forget, just pull up the photo for reference. Convenient.”

“Let’s go out,” Ruan Qing said, opening the storage box she’d given him earlier. She pulled out some clothes belonging to Zhao Hao. “Wear this. Loungewear is for the home, not for outside.”

She went to her room to change as well, and when she returned, Nian Qi was already dressed and ready to go.

Nian Qi wore a crewneck T-shirt layered with an open short-sleeved shirt, paired with knee-length shorts—essentially Zhao Hao’s favorite “metro casual” look. With Zhao Hao’s short hair and favorite sneakers, it would’ve looked fresh and stylish. But on Nian Qi, something seemed off.

Ruan Qing eyed his topknot. “The bun won’t work. No one styles their hair like that anymore.”

“Do men all have monk’s hair now?” Nian Qi asked, having noticed Zhao Hao’s short-cropped hair since the night at the hospital. In his era, only monks had such a haircut.

“You can keep it long, but people don’t wear it in a bun anymore, except for Daoists,” Ruan Qing explained. “Stay still. I’ll help.”

Nian Qi sat patiently as Ruan Qing unwrapped his bun. After washing his hair with her shampoo that morning, his hair was soft and smooth. Ruan Qing deftly tied it back into a simple ponytail. “This will do.” She stepped back to inspect him, arms crossed and chin resting in thought. After a moment, she dashed back to her room and returned with a face mask. “Wear this. Until we get your ID sorted, it’s best not to show your face.” She handed him a brand-new black mask from Zhao Hao’s stash of trendy, patterned masks.

With his tall, lean build, broad shoulders, and slim waist, Nian Qi looked surprisingly good, even with only his eyes visible above the mask. You could tell he was handsome just from his eyes. The only problem was the shoes. Clothing items like shoes and undergarments were too personal for Ruan Qing to let him borrow, and she had thrown out Zhao Hao’s shoes ages ago, so for now, he wore his own black cloth shoes.

From head to… ankle, he looked sleek and sharp, while below the ankles he looked oddly outdated.

“We’ll make do for now, but I’ll get you new ones later,” Ruan Qing assured him.

Nian Qi was unfazed. He hadn’t yet developed a sense of this era’s aesthetic, and to him, everything besides his familiar shoes felt like strange garb. His favorite part was actually the mask. Covering his face gave him a sense of security, especially since he wasn’t used to baring his arms and legs. Wearing the mask made him feel a bit more comfortable.

With that, they headed out. As they left the underground garage and the residential complex, merging onto the main road, Nian Qi finally understood why Ruan Qing had said he’d need to see traffic in the daytime to appreciate the need for traffic lights and rules. There were just so many cars! And they were so fast!

Last night, the roads had been empty, and with no pedestrians or bicycles to compare against, the speed hadn’t seemed as extreme. That empty stretch explained why it had been easy to go over the limit without realizing. But in the daylight, with people, bikes, and scooters for contrast, the cars’ speed became immediately clear.

Especially at intersections, where the crowding pedestrians created a dizzying blur.

“Why are there so many people?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“This is pretty normal; it’s not even rush hour yet,” Ruan Qing replied. “Give it another half hour to an hour, and people will start getting off work. That’s when the real crowds show up. We call morning commute hours the morning peak, and evening commute hours the evening peak.”

Although it wasn’t rush hour yet, Nian Qi noticed crowds lining up at what looked like a pavilion, squeezing into large rectangular vehicles.

“What are those?” he asked.

“Buses,” Ruan Qing explained, patting the steering wheel. “Right now, you’re in my private car. Buses are public transportation, anyone can ride them with a ticket. I think Jiang City has around four or five hundred bus lines, covering the whole city. The longest routes cost around six or seven yuan, but most rides are only one or two yuan, so just about anyone can afford it.”

In other words, not everyone could afford a private car. This made sense. Some families could afford carriages, some could afford only a horse, while most relied on baskets and walking. Compared to his time, life had clearly improved a lot for ordinary people.

Nian Qi had traveled through many parts of the country, and in his day, Jiang City was considered a moderately prosperous town. But the level of prosperity then couldn’t compare to what he saw before him now.

He gazed out the window, taking in the vibrant city. Even the calmest of ancient souls would be awestruck by the bustling life and energy of the modern city.