Chapter 16: Our Model
Translator: 9inetales
Sponsor(s): n/a
The washing machine rumbled in the background while the two sat in the living room.
A tinge of red brushed the tips of Jiang He’s ears, even as she tried to distract herself with the videos playing on the computer.
Xu Qing tickled the tubby cat that curled in his lap while casting her a few discrete glances from time to time.
His gaze trickled down to her feet, That’s not right...her foot looks normal to me.
Xu Qing was still full of doubts about the matter. After thinking for a while, he picked up his phone and typed:
“When did foot binding[1] appear?”
Baidu provided a wide range of answers on the topic. Some sources dated the practice back to the Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, and even the late Song Dynasty.
“Ahem, can you lift your foot a little?”
“I don’t want to.”
“That long white cloth—” Xu Qing choked on the rest of his words. Jiang He’s angry and embarrassed reaction sparked the gears churning in his head.
He thumped his thigh in realization, Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any traces of the bras I bought her. That cloth wasn’t a footband, it was… [2]
Xu Qing’s gaze subconsciously swept her chest area, causing Jiang He to fume while glaring daggers at him.
“Rascal!”
“Huh?”
Dang!
Am I interrupting you? Sorry, but do you have some time to talk about our otaku and savior 9inetales? Be baptized, fellow brethren...in the name of thigh and boobs. Continue reading our holy scriptures over at 9inetales.com. Blaspheme no more, my brothers and sisters!
She slammed the iron dart onto the table which prompted him to shut his mouth. Xu Qing scooched over to the far end of the sofa and averted his eyes in embarrassment.
Turns out it wasn’t a footband, but a sarashi[3] instead.
I’m not sure if it affects the development of...that ‘area’ too.
Winter Melon rolled irritably in Xu Qing’s embrace, dissatisfied by the noisy washing machine and the lack of sufficient rubs. The fat cat got up and sashayed over to Jiang He’s side. It then nested in her lap and nuzzled up to her warm stomach.
Betrayed by his furry companion, Xu Qing was left to twiddle his fingers in boredom. He opened Baidu on his phone and searched up the story of ‘Disciple Deng’. He began:
“She was a beautiful woman— yes, there was no woman comparable to that of Lady Chu. The elegant beauty hailed from the east and outshined all the other girls in her hometown.”
Xu Qing exaggerated his speech as he recited the story. Jiang He quietly frowned but covertly kept an ear open.
“She was of moderate stature, not too tall or short, and her complexion was naturally beautiful. There was no need to apply powder or rouge to her face. Everything about her was perfect— her narrow eyebrows, smooth skin, and ivory teeth. When she smiled, it was difficult for scholars to describe her beauty. The number of people that were charmed by her visage was uncountable. “
Xu Qing directed a sneaky glance at Jiang He while he continued, “However, one man, Disciple Deng, held true to his lover. His wife...oh, his wife. She had messy hair, chapped lips, and missing teeth— it was terrible! She also had a hunched back, was covered with scabs, and worst of all, constantly suffered from severe hemorrhoids. But despite this, Disciple Deng still liked her very much and proceeded to have five children with her!”
“Five!” Xu Qing opened his palm and shook it for emphasis, “Awesome, right?!”
???
Jiang He gave him an inexplicable look, “What is this called? He sounds like a good man.”
Xu Qing shook his head, “He’s more than that. He married such an ugly woman and still managed to love her wholeheartedly. They even went on to live a happy life— a life filled with the joys of many children and grandchildren. It’s a model for our generation!”
He lifted his fist to Jiang He, “Don’t you agree, young heroine?”
“...”
“...”
Jiang He looked at him in a daze.
“Eh, we have a lot to learn from this story. Usually, if an ugly woman wanted to show gratitude to her benefactor, he’d say: ‘be a cow or horse in your next life to repay’. But if the woman looked decent, he’d say: ‘be my wife to repay’. Do you prefer that style of things?”
“No!” Jiang He knitted her brows, “I think Disciple Deng’s values are better.”
“I’ll try my best to be a Disciple Deng, then[4].”
“...”
“Hahaha! Don’t stare at me like that; I’m just kidding!”
After the interesting story and follow-up teasing, Jiang He had long flung the matter of Xu Qing grabbing her sarashi to the back of her mind. She stroked Winter Melon’s soft belly and sunk her focus back into the computer videos.
Just as the washing machine finished its cycle, their food delivery also arrived. The smell of braised chicken rice wafted through the room and blurred Jiang He’s attention away from the computer. After putting the clothes to dry, Xu Qing wiped his hands and came over to eat.
While enjoying his food, Xu Qing thought that Jiang He’s future life in modern society should be quite fun if her identity issue wasn’t considered. It all depended on her willingness to learn and accept the intricacies of this world.
Just— just please support me at 9inehub.com, alright? Or I’ll cry! You won’t like it when I cry; I can get very ugly real fast.
“What fun things did you do back in your time? It’s not just fighting and killing every day, right?” Xu Qing swallowed a piece of chicken and asked.
Jiang He briefly halted the movements of her chopsticks and replied, “Hunting.”
“Isn’t that just...surviving?” Xu Qing clipped his chopsticks in the air and mumbled, “I will download a few games for you to play later.”
Jiang He didn’t understand his latter words, but she preferred to occupy her mouth with food than talking.
If she had to ask about everything she didn’t understand, she would’ve lost her voice already.
…
After eating, Xu Qing once again had nothing to do. Usually, in these situations, he would either be watching movies or videos on the computer, or studying the stock market ECG. Since Jiang He arrived, his routine life had been flipped upside down.
“Let’s find a video to watch.”
Recalling the previous incident, Xu Qing hunched in front of the computer and searched for a video tutorial on how to correctly wear a bra.
A casual search brought up many videos. After clicking on the most popular one and checking its video length, he got up and left Jiang He so she could familiarize herself with the process.
Although the long white cloth performed the same job, it was best to move on from old habits if she wanted to better integrate into modern society.
He also didn’t like wasting money. If he bought clothes, he expected them to be worn and not left to rot away.
After roughly five minutes, Xu Qing came back into the living room. Jiang He’s face was flushed in a shade of pink and her lips shivered a bit. It seemed like she wanted to speak but was too embarrassed to do so.
“Your life here is so...so loose?” She couldn’t help but ask.
“What do you mean by ‘loose’?” Xu Qing was surprised, “Isn’t it normal to dress comfortably and enjoy life?”
“Shameless!”
“How so?”
“Just...just…” Jiang He balled her hands into tight fists, wanting to yell him an earful, “You’re so pedantic!”
Xu Qing found her exasperated expression to be funny.
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“Have you not seen them on the streets— those women showing their legs and waists? It’s called personal freedom,” He pointed a thumb to his chest, “Men wear what they want, so why can’t women do too? You can continue wearing your long sleeves and long pants if you want to, but you can’t just run up to someone and preach that they have no shame.”
“Unacceptable!” Jiang He retorted loudly.
“Okay, okay. I can’t force you to accept anything. You choose what you want to wear.”
Seeing that she was getting more and more annoyed, Xu Qing wisely changed the subject. He shook the mouse and scrolled through his previous game library, “The games here are super fun. Scientific research shows that 90% of people who buy computers play at least one game within the first week of its purchase. I’m sure the remaining 10% are just old people.”
The task of tutoring Jiang He on how to play Super Mario was more daunting than he thought. It was like trying to teach a mentally disabled child who so happened to have deformed fingers. Observing that she had little to no interest in the game, he switched to another one.
More than an hour later.
It turned out Jiang He had no sense of immersion in the games he showed her. Although she was quick to get started, she lost interest just as fast. Xu Qing glanced at the dress-up game he resorted to on a small broken website.
“I’ll definitely find something for you to play...eventually.”
Xu Qing pondered for a moment and decided to try again.
I have to find something to occupy her time, otherwise she’ll constantly harbor thoughts of sneaking out or practicing.
If someday, Jiang He reached the point where she could function somewhat normally in society, then he’d allow her to go wandering wherever she wanted. She could even search for Chang’an City[5] if she wanted to.
In my opinion, venturing outside is not as good as playing games at home.
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