Chapter 3

◎ First Awkward Moment ◎

Things seemed to be going smoothly. She found undergarments and shoes at two nearby shops. Next to the shoe store was a toy shop that sold oversized plushies. A half-human-height teddy bear caught her eye—it was adorable.

Fan Qi stood by the display window for a long time, telling herself: Not only do I barely have any money right now, even if I bought it, how would we fit it on the bed with two people and a giant teddy bear?

With a sigh, she turned away and went into a convenience store to buy a toothbrush, then caught the bus home. After getting off, she passed by a mobile newsstand. The front pages of newspapers and magazines were splashed with sensational images and headlines. She bought three mainstream papers and stuffed them into her shopping bag.

Because the area was near a subway station, the streets were lined with densely packed residential buildings. By evening, the place was bustling with everyday life. Well-dressed diners would sit alongside dockworkers on simple outdoor stools, ordering stir-fried rice noodles and sand ginger chicken, all eating heartily in the open air.

Some people didn’t even have time to sit. They’d ask the shop owner to pack a box of rice, add char siu on top with two side servings of blanched greens, and rush off again.

The glistening, caramel-colored skin of the roast goose caught Fan Qi’s eye. She’d only had instant noodles earlier, which weren’t filling at all. She ordered a box of roast goose rice. A memory popped into her mind—those instant noodles were usually what Chen Zhiqian ate late at night to stave off hunger. As someone who shared a bed with him, she figured she shouldn’t freeload. So she ordered a second box of roast goose rice for him and carried both upstairs.

Once home, she turned on the lights and tore off the tags from the clothes, sorting them by color before taking them into the bathroom. New clothes didn’t need a full machine wash—just a little detergent in the basin, a quick rinse, and then spin-drying in the washer would do.

Although she hadn’t done housework in over ten years, having grown up in a broken home with divorced parents and raised herself more or less independently, she was more than capable.

Fan Qi tossed the clothes into the washing machine for spin-drying, wiped her hands, turned on the TV, and switched to the finance channel.

She opened a box of roast goose rice and unfolded a newspaper, starting from the front page. The headline read: “Overseas Trust Bank Taken Over by Hong Kong Government Due to Insolvency.” She ate while reading—the article mentioned this was the second major bank to default recently, a consequence of the real estate downturn from 1981 to 1985, which had triggered a wave of bad loans…

Based on the news, Fan Qi began to predict how banking and real estate stocks had moved earlier that day. She wanted to see if the market, even in a pre-internet age, reacted as swiftly to policy signals. She picked up a late-edition newspaper and flipped to the finance section to check stock prices.

Sure enough, just as the saying goes, “When the river warms, the ducks feel it first.” With government backing and the impact of the Sino-British Joint Declaration starting to show, both real estate and bank stocks had surged. They were the day’s top gainers.

The mechanisms might differ, but the core logic was unmistakably familiar.

Fan Qi smiled. Just as she was about to lift a piece of roast goose to her mouth, the front door opened. Chen Zhiqian stood there, looking a little surprised to see her.

She put down her chopsticks. “You’re back early.”

“Yeah, not much to do today.”

Fan Qi pointed to the other takeaway box on the table. “I saw the roast meats shop on the way home, so I got you a box too—it’s still warm.”

He looked even more surprised and paused for a moment before saying, “Thanks.”

Chen Zhiqian went to the bathroom to wash his hands, then sat down and opened the box. Hearing the TV news in Cantonese, he turned his head slightly to check—sure enough, it was the finance channel. He turned back, his eyes landing on Fan Qi, who was shoveling the last bite of rice into her mouth, the entertainment section of the paper conveniently spread out beside her.

Catching his inquisitive look, Fan Qi silently praised her own quick thinking—thank goodness she’d flipped to the entertainment page just in time.

After dinner, she went into the bathroom to retrieve the spin-dried clothes. She sorted them in the bedroom—some to be hung, others folded—and tossed the towels into a plastic basin to bring out.

Chen Zhiqian was reading the newspaper. When she came out, he lifted his gaze slightly. Fan Qi pointed to the basin. “The towel’s dry—hang it in the bathroom. You go wash up first. I’ll wait until the clothes are done.”

“Okay.” Chen Zhiqian put down the newspaper and went into his room.

Fan Qi walked to the TV to change channels. She hesitated when she landed on the finance channel, but upon hearing footsteps behind her, she quickly continued flipping. A familiar melody started playing, and the screen showed Guo Jing emerging from the grasslands.

The Legend of the Condor Heroes?

This version of Condor Heroes had simple sets, but the actors were good-looking and performed well—it was an enjoyable watch.

Before she knew it, the ending theme was playing.

Fan Qi realized that someone still hadn’t come out of the bathroom. This tiny bathroom didn’t even have a bathtub—surely forty minutes was enough to wash off all his skin?! She had a friend who once died of a sudden heart attack while taking a shower…

That thought made her panic. She hurried to the bathroom door and knocked. “Chen Zhiqian, are you done yet?”

The door slid open.

Chen Zhiqian’s damp hair was slightly messy. He was wearing a crew-neck T-shirt and knee-length shorts, holding a mop in his hand.

Seeing the mop, Fan Qi suddenly remembered—the bathroom was so tiny that the toilet and shower shared the same space. There was no separation, so after a shower, the entire floor would be soaked.

So… he had been cleaning up.

Her knocking now felt intrusive. Fan Qi quickly made up an excuse. “I’m going to shower.”

“Mm, it’s ready.” Chen Zhiqian placed the mop by the sink and walked out.

Fan Qi entered her room, pulled back the curtain, and checked on her clothes. The T-shirts and athletic shorts had dried, but the jeans needed more time in the dryer.

She grabbed a T-shirt and shorts and headed to the bathroom. After drawing the shower curtain, she washed up, changed into clean clothes, and then—like him—grabbed the mop to dry the floor.

With the bathroom cleaned up, she had laundry to deal with. She took Chen Zhiqian’s washed clothes out of the machine and put them into a plastic basin before tossing her own dirty clothes into the washer.

Forty minutes wasn’t long at all. Fan Qi carried the plastic basin out to the living room, where Chen Zhiqian was watching the finance channel. She walked over and handed it to him. “Your clothes are done.”

Chen Zhiqian, still seated, looked up at her—then quickly looked away, a bit awkward. “Just leave it there.”

What’s with him? Fan Qi bent down to place the basin on the floor.

At that moment, as she leaned forward, she realized—she wasn’t wearing a bra.

In a split second, it felt like every drop of blood in her body rushed to her face.

Fan Qi clutched her arms across her chest and bolted into her room, slamming the door shut with a loud BANG.

This level of embarrassment… even if she had a whole villa, it wouldn’t be enough for her to dig a hole and hide in!

She had always lived alone. The two maids at home were both women, and she was used to going braless whenever she stayed in. At night, after a shower, wearing a bra was even more unthinkable.

But just now… just now…

Fan Qi drowned in waves of regret, embarrassment, and shame.

A knock on the door snapped her back to reality. Focus! First, put on a bra!

“You—wait a sec!”

She threw on a bra, pulled on her T-shirt, and opened the door.

Chen Zhiqian stood at the entrance, still holding the plastic basin.

Fan Qi suddenly remembered—the dryer was full of her clothes. She quickly said, “Let me grab my stuff first.”

She rushed to retrieve her dried clothes. Chen Zhiqian reached for his laundry. “Hand me some hangers.”

No more hangers?

Oh—she’d washed all her new clothes, so all the hangers were occupied.

Fan Qi started to take hangers from her clothes but then had a better idea. She picked out some synthetic, sexy outfits, removed their hangers, and handed them to Chen Zhiqian. Then, she quickly hung up her new clothes in the wardrobe.

Chen Zhiqian’s gaze lingered on the pile of colorful clothes on her bed before he turned back to hang up his own. After finishing, he closed the curtain, set the dryer timer, and left the room.

Fan Qi grabbed a few plastic bags, stuffed her old clothes and a silk-like nightgown inside, and headed toward the door to throw them away.

“Where are you going?” Chen Zhiqian asked.

“Throwing these out.”

“It’s too late. Do it in the morning.”

His reminder made her recall what had happened in the elevator earlier.

“Mm, okay.”

She set the bags aside and noticed he was watching an English-language news segment. The topic was the appreciation of the U.S. dollar leading to trade deficits and discussions with trade partners on potential solutions.

Fan Qi immediately thought of the famous Plaza Accord, which was signed under these exact conditions. She pulled up a chair and sat down, her mind racing through the economic aftermath of the early ’80s crisis.

Her brain was running at full speed—until she suddenly sensed something off.

She turned her head and found Chen Zhiqian watching her with a deep, unreadable expression.

Their eyes met.

She gave him a questioning look, but his gaze suddenly sharpened, turning cold.

It was the kind of chill that could pierce through the heat of summer.

Did he notice something strange about her?

Wait—wasn’t the transmigration novel genre only popular in the 21st century? Her body was still the original Fan Qi’s. What could he possibly suspect?

There was no need to explain anything. He had no proof!

Her expression practically screamed, ???

Chen Zhiqian stood up, walked over, and changed the channel back to The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

“You watch. I’m going to brush my teeth and sleep.”

Fan Qi watched him disappear into the bathroom.

What the hell was that?

Why was his hand so damn itchy?

That finance segment had been killing her with curiosity. She already knew the long-term outcome, but in the short term, market sentiment depended on recent news. The Hong Kong stock market, with no price limits and no T+1 trade restrictions, could shift drastically between morning and afternoon. She needed to know what the market was expecting.

But… fine.

The original Fan Qi had been a spoiled brat. When she was home, the TV was always tuned to whatever she wanted to watch, and Chen Zhiqian had always let her have her way.

But the original Fan Qi didn’t speak English. To her, finance news was the ultimate snooze fest. There was no way she’d be interested in it. Watching Guo Jing and Huang Rong flirt was much more in line with her character.

Ugh. So annoying!