Chapter 20

From watching the videos, Nian Qi gained a more intuitive understanding of various kitchen tools and learned the basic techniques of modern home cooking. He even turned to Ruan Qing and asked, “Is this woman a famous chef?”

“Not necessarily,” Ruan Qing replied. “With these kinds of videos, some are made by professional chefs, but others are just ordinary people sharing their experiences. Basically, if you’re good at something, you can share it online with others.”

“Believe it or not,” she added, “there are tens of thousands of people who watch videos about fixing donkey hooves, cleaning carpets, and earwax removal.”

Nian Qi was incredulous. “You may see me as an old relic,” he said with a hint of exasperation, “but I’m not so naive as to fall for such nonsense. If you told me that technology has advanced to the point where you can go to the moon, I’d believe it. But thousands watching donkey hoof repairs and carpet cleaning?”

Ruan Qing realized there was no way to explain to him how much stress modern people are under and how watching such videos is a way to unwind. She closed her laptop, getting ready to sleep, and noticed that Nian Qi was still intently watching his videos. She got up, found a pair of headphones, and handed them to him. “Use these.”

When he put them on, he discovered they allowed the sound from the phone to be heard only by him. “These are great. They won’t disturb you,” he said.

“Just don’t stay up too late,” Ruan Qing yawned. “I’m going to sleep now. You should get some rest too. There’s a lot for you to learn tomorrow.”

At some unknown hour, Ruan Qing suddenly woke up. She had drunk too much cola before bed, and now her mouth felt dry, making her crave some water. She reached for the glass she usually kept on her nightstand, only to realize she hadn’t brought it into the room. She’d have to go out to the kitchen to get some.

Ruan Qing rubbed her eyes, still feeling groggy. She didn’t even bother putting on her loungewear. She quietly got up, cracked her door open, and peeked out. The lights in the living room were off, and Nian Qi was asleep.

Wearing just her nightgown, she tiptoed out, opened the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of cold mineral water, then quietly closed the fridge door and crept back to her room, gently shutting and locking the door behind her. She believed she had been completely silent and hadn’t disturbed Nian Qi’s sleep.

But what she didn’t know was that Nian Qi’s sensitivity was far beyond her imagination. He had woken up the moment she got out of bed and quietly opened her door. As he listened to her move around in the dark, unsure of what she was up to, he lifted his head slightly for a look.

That one glance, however, left him stunned. He saw Ruan Qing standing in front of the open fridge. The light illuminated her from behind, and her delicate, sheer nightgown became almost transparent. The soft curves of her body, her gentle contours, and graceful lines were all on full display in the light.

Nian Qi froze, unable to move, barely daring to breathe, afraid she’d notice he was awake.

The fridge door closed, and the ethereal vision vanished. Her slim silhouette quietly made its way back to her room, closing and locking the door.

It was a long while before the quiet of the living room was broken by a soft, drawn-out exhale. Nian Qi let out several long breaths, finally feeling some of the heat dissipate from his body. But when he closed his eyes, the enchanting image he had just seen lingered in his mind, glowing as if outlined in gold.

His body remained restless, and it took him a long time to calm down. Once he finally did, he started to space out, his mind filled with one pressing thought:

He had just seen a woman completely exposed.

What should he do about this?

Although from his observations, Ruan Qing wasn’t exactly a chaste, virtuous maiden, she was also a woman who was almost at the age of becoming a grandmother. Nian Qi never had any unrealistic expectations about her in that regard. Still, regardless of whether she was a virtuous maiden or not, he had seen her fully exposed, and as a gentleman, he felt he should take responsibility.

Nian Qi lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling for a long time. Then he made up his mind—he wanted to marry Ruan Qing. After all, she was the first person he met after traveling a thousand years into the future. She knew his secret, yet instead of exposing him, she chose to help him hide it and even took him in. This bond felt like it was destined by fate. Once the idea took root, it spread like wildfire, impossible to extinguish.

However, his current situation was extremely awkward, he had nothing to his name and was living under someone else’s roof. Specifically, he was living off Ruan Qing’s generosity, basically freeloading off her. “If you marry a man, you rely on him for food and clothing,” goes the saying, yet here he was, with nothing to offer. How could he possibly ask her to marry him? Besides, Ruan Qing seemed to be quite good at making money. He didn’t want it to seem like he was just trying to take advantage of her. So, the words of marriage—he’d have to hold them back for now.

Nian Qi’s heart ached as he thought about the wealth he had yet to enjoy, which was still stashed away at the Yanwang Hall. For an assassin to retire from the Hall, two conditions had to be met: first, he had to be over thirty years old, and second, he needed to have earned at least a hundred thousand taels for the Hall. As a top assassin, he had already fulfilled the second requirement long ago. He only had to wait three more years before he could walk away with his savings and regain his freedom.

That savings was the result of years of hard work, and it was quite substantial. His plan had been to retire, find a big city, buy a house, marry a wife, and have a few kids. While other men struggling from the bottom might dream of fame and fortune, his simple wish as someone who risked his life for a living was to have a warm, bustling home with a wife and children. To settle down peacefully in the city and live out his days in tranquility—this was the dream of every hitman in the Yanwang Hall.

But now, he had been thrust through time, and all those years of savings were left behind, likely now claimed by the Hall. That was how things worked—if an assassin died, the gold and treasure he left behind would become the property of the Hall. That was the rule.

Nian Qi continued to stare at the ceiling, his thoughts spiraling. He hadn’t betrayed the Hall, he had simply traveled through time. It was likely that in his original timeline, the elders of the Hall had already declared him dead and taken his savings. But looking at it another way, this also meant that, in this timeline, he was finally free from the Hall, the infamous organization that struck fear into the hearts of the underworld. He was a free man now.

A simple, peaceful life—smoke curling from the kitchen, and growing old quietly—was no longer just a dream. It was within his reach. Right?

In his mind, he kept seeing Ruan Qing’s every smile and expression. She was confident, cheerful, and full of ideas, and sometimes even a bit feisty. Her lifestyle was refined, marked by a warmth and drive to pursue a better life, a fire that seemed to burn brightly within her. If he could spend the rest of his free years with her, grow old together, even just thinking about it made his blood heat up.

Meanwhile, in her bedroom, Ruan Qing took a few gulps of cold water to soothe her throat before lying down again, but she found it hard to fall back asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she kept recalling the sight of Nian Qi in his tank top that night.

His physique was truly impressive. Not only were his muscles well-defined, but even among the fitness influencers she followed on video platforms, none had a waist as slender as his. They might have those V-shaped torsos, but their shoulders were broad and their waists weren’t exactly trim. A man with a slim waist and muscles like that was truly alluring.

Ruan Qing suddenly became alert, wondering if she had inadvertently exposed her “old pervert” tendencies in front of Nian Qi. She needed to be cautious; after all, he was a bona fide ancient man, likely full of traditional, conservative thoughts. Not that she would cater to a feudal mindset, but it wouldn’t be wise to scare him off right away either. Better to take things slow, gradually ease him into it.

Before she knew it, she had drifted back to sleep and woke up at dawn. After putting on her loungewear, she opened the door to find that the sofa bed in the living room had been tidily put away. The coffee table and dining table were spotless, and the floor had a fresh, just-mopped shine to it. Ruan Qing was a little stunned. She had already noticed that Nian Qi was a diligent man, but this was a whole new level of meticulousness.

As she was processing this, the kitchen door opened, and Nian Qi peeked out. “You’re up? Freshen up first; breakfast will be ready soon.”

Ruan Qing was momentarily speechless. She numbly headed to the bathroom to wash up, and as she brushed her teeth and splashed water on her face, her mind began to clear. When she stepped out, she saw the dining table already set, with bowls and plates arranged neatly. There was a simple but hearty spread: vegetable and lean meat congee, five-spice marinated eggs, and soft scallion pancakes.

What had he said yesterday? Something about being “roughly familiar with cooking”?

“Were you a cook in ancient times or something?” Ruan Qing couldn’t help but ask.

“I can roast and stew meat, mainly campfire cooking. I wasn’t really familiar with these home-cooked dishes,” Nian Qi explained. “I learned it all from Auntie Niu last night.”

Auntie Niu was the home-cooking content creator Ruan Qing had helped him follow and bookmark the previous evening. Nian Qi gestured with his chopsticks. “Want to try it?”

Ruan Qing took a taste. The congee was light yet flavorful, the marinated eggs were fragrant, and the scallion pancakes were soft and chewy. The breakfast had a homely, comforting taste to it. Truth be told, while she could get a similar combination via delivery, the food from restaurants—bound by strict SOPs—never quite had that “home-cooked” feel.

“How is it?” Nian Qi asked.

“You’ve got quite a talent for cooking,” Ruan Qing praised.

“If a person wants to live well, naturally they’ll care about what they eat,” Nian Qi replied. “I always aim to make every meal a good one.”

Ruan Qing wholeheartedly agreed with this sentiment, nodding with enthusiasm. “Yes, that’s exactly how I feel too.”

Nian Qi smiled and lowered his head to sip his congee, thinking, even though we’ve only spent a day together, how could I not see that you’re someone who pursues a refined lifestyle? In ancient times, a woman like her would rely on her husband to earn enough to support her elegant way of living. But in this era, she was able to provide for herself.

He wanted to ask for her hand in marriage, but for now, he had nothing—not even a dowry—so he decided to keep those thoughts to himself, saving them for another time. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t start building a connection through small acts of care, laying the groundwork bit by bit. Cooking, cleaning—these were things that needed to be done in any home, and since she had her own responsibilities, he would gladly take care of these tasks.

Nian Qi had no idea just how right his approach was. In life, everything is relative. Compared to him, Ruan Qing suddenly found herself losing interest in her previous obsession with raising “little wolf pups.” Sure, those younger guys might have had tempting, youthful bodies, but playing the “older sister” role was exhausting. Being an “older sister” didn’t just mean financially supporting the “younger brother”; it also required providing emotional support and indulging their childish, naïve, sometimes laughably juvenile attitudes and lazy habits.

But in reality, who doesn’t want to be comfortably taken care of by someone else?

As Ruan Qing sipped her congee, she sneaked glances at Nian Qi, feeling a sense of indescribable joy. What kind of joy, you ask? Well, to describe it simply, you’d have to reverse the roles—a man’s joy of having a wife.