My Wife Came From A Thousand Years Ago

Chapter 47: You have to pretend

Xu Qing figured it out overnight.

He had an epiphany.

This silly Jiang He was someone he couldn't trust to others. Moreover, she probably wouldn't want to rely on anyone else either. With her lack of social connections and the unresolved identity issues that could take who knows how long to solve, she had no choice but to keep freeloading here.

In this world, the only person she could currently depend on was him. Naturally, their relationship would take a step forward—totally normal. Besides, this girl wasn’t so easily fooled; slow and steady was the way to go. Regardless of how things turned out, there would always be other options.

On another note, what if one day, before any progress was made, she just suddenly whoosh disappeared back to her world?

Without realizing it, dawn had arrived.

The trees outside were covered in a thin layer of frost, and the weather grew colder by the day.

Jiang He maintained her usual routine: getting up early to open the door and start her morning exercise. With her sword, she practiced her moves inside her small room, loosening her muscles. Once her body warmed up and she broke a light sweat, she'd wash up and begin her day.

"Impressive! Amazing!"

Xu Qing turned on the faucet and let the cold water run. During winter, he always had to wait a few minutes for the hot water to kick in. While waiting, he stood in the living room, watching Jiang He practice her sword moves. He clapped and cheered at the exciting parts.

Her swordsmanship was crisp and sharp, a far cry from the flashy techniques seen on TV.

"If not for your unique circumstances, you'd be perfect for starring in martial arts films!"

"What’s a martial arts film?" Jiang He sheathed her sword, calmed her breathing, and asked.

"It's a type of movie, like the one I showed you last time, where they chopped up tables made of tofu. But in your case, you wouldn’t need props; you'd get real results using actual weapons."

Xu Qing was just rambling. Becoming a star was no easy feat; landing a minor background role was more realistic. Anything bigger would require signing contracts, which was out of the question.

He continued his morning routine—brushing his teeth, rinsing, washing his face, and drying off—before stepping aside for Jiang He to take over. She casually walked up, began brushing her teeth, and gave Xu Qing a sidelong glance.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. You brush your teeth." Xu Qing leaned against the wall, watching her.

Seriously, the more he looked, the more pleasing she seemed. Her nose, her eyes—everything about her face was perfectly placed.

"..."

Jiang He suspiciously glanced at the mirror and then at Xu Qing, unable to figure out why he was just standing there. Ignoring him, she continued brushing her teeth.

"Come home with me sometime when you’re free."

"Huh?"

"My dad visited last month. He found it strange that the two of us are living... uh, living together. So, just pretend to be my girlfriend and come over for a meal. It'll stop them from making a fuss."

"Pretend?" Jiang He paused mid-brush and looked at Xu Qing through the mirror. She thought for a moment before vaguely asking, "What do I have to do?"

"Nothing much. Just eat."

"..."

Jiang He quickly finished brushing her teeth, mimicking Xu Qing’s way of rinsing her mouth. She hesitated before asking uncertainly, "But don’t girlfriends... usually sleep together?"

"You can if you want." Xu Qing shrugged.

"I don’t want to!"

"Then it’s just dinner. No other obligations, just a little pretend act—it’s not real."

"..."

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang He finally nodded. "Alright then. I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend."

"Want to practice first?" Xu Qing suggested.

"Practice what? Isn’t it just eating dinner?"

"…Practicing eating, of course."

Xu Qing had originally thought about simulating holding hands and strolling around as practice, but he quickly dismissed the idea. He couldn’t rush things.

"Forget cooking lunch today. We’ll eat out. I’ll take you to a buffet, the kind I mentioned before—pay a little, and you can eat as much as you want."

A man keeps his word.

"I can eat as much as I want?"

"Yep, hotpot until you’re full."

He still hadn’t fulfilled his promise to Qin Hao for a hotpot outing, but Jiang He would be first in line... If it weren’t for Qin Hao’s background, taking him along wouldn’t be bad either.

Mornings always flew by, whether sleeping or awake. It felt like barely any time had passed before it was already lunchtime.

The sky was overcast, heavy with clouds hinting at snow. A biting cold wind swept through the streets of Jiang City.

Jiang He's weather was dry and chilly; wearing warm clothes was enough to fend off the cold.

Bundled up in a down jacket, Jiang He looked a bit puffed up. She seemed clumsy, especially since the sleeves of the clothes Xu Qing had bought her were too long. At first, she tried to roll them up, but after stepping outside and feeling the chill, she let them down and tucked her hands inside, waddling behind Xu Qing like a penguin with her hat on.

"Don’t say the owner didn’t give you a chance. Eat to your heart’s content; no need to save him money."

"Got it. I’ll remember."

"Cold?"

"No, this jacket is really warm." Jiang He happily swung her long sleeves.

The longer she stayed here, the more she liked this life. In summer, there were fans and air conditioning; in winter, there were jackets and warm blankets. She’d even heard that heating would be turned on in a few days—how amazing was that?

"If one day you just whoosh go back, taking this jacket with you wouldn’t be a loss... maybe stuff a potato in your pocket too?"

Xu Qing, hands in his pockets, casually offered advice as he strolled ahead.

Since her sword had come through, potatoes and jackets could probably make it back too.

"Can I... earn money to buy a computer and carry that around?" Jiang He was thinking bigger.

"Sure, but I wouldn’t recommend it," Xu Qing replied, glancing back at her. "That’d look silly. Plus, a computer wouldn’t be much use where you’re going... unless you downloaded a ton of resources. Even then, you might end up being seen as a freak. Stick with potatoes."

"Okay."

Jiang He touched her pocket, already planning to ask Baidu how to grow potatoes after lunch.

Though she loved everything here, there was no place like home. If she could go back, she’d still choose to return.

The two strolled leisurely through the residential complex toward the main gate. Xu Qing looked around, greeting familiar neighbors along the way.

The Xu family had lived on Beiwang Road for years before moving to Yongkang New District during Xu Qing's high school years. Now that he was back, many of the faces were still familiar.

The sense of neighborliness here was genuine, much stronger than what you’d find in modern residential complexes. True close neighbors.

"Aunt Cheng, why are you carrying such a big bag of rice? Where’s Uncle Wang?"

Xu Qing spotted Cheng Yulan resting by the roadside with a hefty bag of rice and went over to help.

"He’s having a bout of high blood pressure... Hey, are you free? If you are, help me carry it upstairs."

"Of course I’m free. Jiang He, help me lift this onto my shoulder."

With the rice on his shoulder, Xu Qing adjusted his stance and started back toward the building.

"I was just about to take my girlfriend out to eat. Good thing I bumped into you."

He spoke casually, but Jiang He looked a bit sullen and stayed silent.

Pretend was pretend. After all, they were innocent; a clear conscience was all that mattered.

"Last time you denied it, but now you’re admitting it, huh?" Aunt Cheng teased with a laugh, clicking her tongue. "What’s this little girlfriend’s name? I see her every day but don’t know her."

Seeing Xu Qing glance back at her, Jiang He hesitated before saying, "Jiang He."

"Jiang, like ginger, and He, like seedling." Xu Qing added, pausing to ask, "What do you think, Aunt Cheng? Nice name, right?"

"Yes, good name, and she seems like a good person too." Aunt Cheng grinned.

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