Nian Qi asked, "Based on what Miss Ruan knows about this 'transmigration,' can I still return to my original world?"
"How could I possibly know?" Ruan Qing said. "I'm just an ordinary person who happened to cross paths with you by fate. This kind of supernatural event can't even be explained by science."
She paused, her voice lowering. "But such things… you're unlikely to encounter them even once in a lifetime…"
Low-probability events—encountering one is already a miracle. It's unlikely there would be a return ticket.
Nian Qi understood her implication.
He fell silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a sigh. "Fine. If I can't go back, then I can't go back."
Ruan Qing: "…"
Was this some kind of acceptance literature? Ruan Qing couldn't help but say, "What about… family and such over there?"
"No family," Nian Qi said. "I'm all alone, without relatives or connections. Wherever I go, it's just about making a living."
After speaking, his expression suddenly froze.
Ruan Qing cautiously asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. I just suddenly remembered," Nian Qi said gloomily, "All my life savings were left over there and couldn't be brought here…"
He had long planned that once he washed his hands of the past, he would find a prosperous city, buy a house, keep some servants, properly marry a wife and have children—a lively, stable retirement.
Gold and jade, pearls and jadeite—a lifetime's worth of savings, all earned at the risk of his life. Now it was all gone.
His entire first half of life had been wasted in vain. How could he not feel regret?
"You're still young. In our society here, as long as you work hard, you'll always get something in return and be able to earn money," Ruan Qing comforted him, then asked, "By the way, how old are you?"
He looked quite young.
At the hospital, Ruan Qing had been entirely preoccupied with the transmigration matter and hadn't paid much attention to his appearance. Now, feeling secure in her own home, she looked closely. The young man before her had handsome brows and eyes, with a tall, straight nose bridge.
Especially notable was the air of heroic spirit between his brows. This was something Ruan Qing liked—too many boys nowadays were delicate and effeminate, which didn't align with her aesthetic. For this reason, she had specifically sought out a sports student for her "little wolf dog."
"Shameful. I've idled away much time and am already at an age where I should be a grandfather," Nian Qi said. "It matches my name—this year I am twenty-seven."
Ruan Qing: "…"
Can you speak human language?
How is twenty-seven an age to be a grandfather!
She really wanted to hit someone!
She was the same age as Nian Qi!
But then she thought about how people in ancient times married and had children at fifteen or sixteen, and how Emperor Kangxi had a concubine under thirteen giving birth to his son when he was fifteen. Indeed, by thirty, ancient people could already be grandparents.
Ruan Qing suppressed her anger. "Don't say that in the future—it offends people. People in our era don't like to call themselves old; everyone prefers to say they're young. I'm about your age and still think of myself as a young girl."
As she spoke, she noticed Nian Qi's gaze lift slightly, looking toward the top of her head.
Ruan Qing was taken aback and touched the small bun at the back of her head. Having read hundreds, if not thousands, of ancient romance novels, she was quite knowledgeable. Suddenly, she understood and said irritably, "This isn't a married woman's hairstyle! It's called a 'bun'! Here, we can wear any hairstyle we want—married or unmarried, hairstyles aren't distinguished!"
"Unmarried!" she emphasized, slapping the sofa. "I'm still unmarried!"
Nian Qi coughed and apologized, "My apologies."
Actually, Nian Qi was a bit surprised, because he had thought Ruan Qing would be at least four or five years younger than him. She didn’t look like someone his age.
With her being so polite, Ruan Qing felt a little awkward instead. After all, there were cultural differences between ancient and modern times, and she might have overreacted a bit.
"Anyway, the current era is completely different from the one you came from," she said. "Not just in terms of technology, but also in ethics and morality. You’ll have to adapt to these gradually."
Nian Qi nodded and asked, "Do you have any suggestions for my 'future,' Miss Ruan?"
"Suggestions… well, I suppose I do," Ruan Qing said. "Your biggest problem right now is the lack of an identity, but that’s too difficult to solve. My mind is still a mess tonight, and I haven’t figured it out yet. Nowadays, second-generation ID cards have chips inside, unlike the first-generation ones where you could easily get a fake one on the street. Without an ID card, you can’t go anywhere—you can’t take trains or airplanes, you can’t open a bank account, and you can’t use electronic payment…"
"Since it can’t be solved immediately," Nian Qi said, "let’s set it aside for now. No rush."
Ruan Qing was impressed. "You’re really calm."
Are all ancient people so mentally tough? Or is it just him?
She glanced at the long blade lying horizontally on the coffee table, then turned back, her expression turning serious. "We’ll figure out the identity issue slowly, but there’s another matter I must warn you about seriously."
Nian Qi straightened his back slightly.
"That," Ruan Qing pointed at the long blade on the coffee table, "I won’t be returning it to you for now."
"I won’t ask what you used to do or what you’ve done in the past. You’ve transmigrated a thousand years to get here, so this is a brand-new world for you—a fresh start. Whatever happened before is in the past."
"But the place you’re in now is a rule-of-law society," Ruan Qing said seriously. "The methods and capabilities of the police here are beyond your imagination, and the dignity of the law cannot be trampled upon."
"A thousand years ago, you could walk the streets with a blade. Now, you can’t. A thousand years ago, if you encountered bandits in the wilderness, you could draw your blade and kill them. Now, you can only choose to call the police."
"In short, you’ve arrived in a world a thousand years into the future. If you want to survive and live well here, you must remember four words—"
Ruan Qing extended one hand, counting them off finger by finger: "O-bey, the, Law!"
She stared straight at Nian Qi.
Nian Qi, however, was lost in thought as he gazed at her fair, slender fingers. After a moment, he looked up and smiled, seeming almost relaxed. "That goes without saying. When in Rome, do as the Romans do—obey the law. What can be done and what cannot, I’ll need your guidance in the future."
This person is really super calm.
"Well…" Ruan Qing clasped her hands together, suddenly unsure what to say. She pursed her lips and said, "That’s all I can think of for now. There’s so much you need to learn, so I’ll start explaining things to you slowly from tomorrow."
She added, "Meeting me is a kind of fate for you. Right now, you have no identity, no place to stay, and no money. Until you can stand on your own, you can stay here with me."
It would also be convenient for her to observe an ancient person up close.
Raising an ancient person—just thinking about it was exciting!
As for safety concerns between a man and a woman—come on, if you suddenly found yourself transmigrated a thousand years into the future, with new things to learn every day, it would probably take you months just to adjust.
Moreover, she had already laid out the stakes for him earlier. He seemed like a clear-headed adult, and facing the only person who knew his secret and could help him, he probably wouldn’t have any strange ideas.
Human needs are hierarchical, and his immediate concern was survival.
“Alright then, you can stay here for now,” Ruan Qing looked around. “Um… I only have one bedroom here, so you’ll have to sleep on the sofa for now. Oh, this is the sofa.”
She patted the sofa to indicate.
The apartment she lived in had two rooms, but one was her study and workspace, leaving only one room as a bedroom.
“We’ll have to make do for now,” she said. “I’ll figure something out slowly.”
“I’m already grateful to have a place to stay,” Nian Qi was very cooperative, his attitude earnest as he looked around and asked, “Has Miss Ruan’s family already retired for the night?”
He asked this deliberately because Ruan Qing had just mentioned she only had one bedroom, and in fact, from the moment he entered, Nian Qi knew there was no one else in the entire apartment besides the two of them. If there were, unless that person was a master of concealing their presence, he wouldn’t have failed to detect even the slightest trace of another person.
This left Nian Qi slightly puzzled—how could a young woman live alone?
Moreover, she claimed to be unmarried.
Hence the question.
As an avid reader of historical novels, Ruan Qing understood exactly what this ancient man was thinking. No matter how composed he seemed, he was still bound by the limitations of his time!
Ruan Qing raised a finger: “Lesson one on understanding the world a thousand years later—”
“First, there is no emperor in this world.”
“Second, there are no servants; everyone is equal. If you need someone to work for you, you can only hire them, not buy or sell them. Trading people is a crime.”
“Third, men and women are equal. There are no multiple wives and concubines, only monogamy. Men and women receive equal education, study the same things, and work to earn money.”
Ruan Qing finally found a bit of superiority as a modern person that night: “Based on the third point, I, an adult woman, have received higher education, have my own job, and can support myself financially, so I can live independently—neither under my father’s roof nor my husband’s.”
As expected, these points completely stunned Nian Qi.
The young man, who had remained calm even after learning he had transmigrated through time, finally wore a bewildered expression.
“No emperor? How can there be no emperor?”
Ruan Qing had anticipated this question!
She knew an ancient person would inevitably ask such a soul-searching question.
As if you couldn’t live without an emperor.
Ruan Qing gave a mysterious smile: “That question is too complicated. I have a work meeting tomorrow morning and need to wake up early. It’s already too late today, so I’ll explain it to you slowly tomorrow.”
She stood up: “Come with me, freshen up a bit before sleeping.”
Nian Qi was covered in sweat, blood, and mud. Only his wounds had been cleaned by the nurse, while the rest of him was rather smelly.
Ruan Qing led him to the bathroom: “This is the bathroom, the place for washing your face, brushing your teeth, bathing, and relieving yourself.”
Nian Qi looked around. The room was small but very clean. Though it was said to be a place for relieving oneself, there wasn’t a hint of foul odor.
Just as he was about to ask where the water jar and washbasin were so he could fetch water to wash his face, Ruan Qing reached out and turned on the faucet.
Water came gushing out.
"This is called tap water," Ruan Qing said. "Once you turn on the faucet, the water flows out by itself."
Nian Qi stared at the clean, flowing tap water for a long time.
"One thousand years," he said.
"Right," Ruan Qing turned off the faucet and said softly, "One thousand years."