Shang Can didn’t sleep well.
The next morning, she was awakened by the bright daylight. After a groggy wash-up, she opened her door and found Yun Duan standing leisurely at the entrance.
“Didn’t sleep well?” Yun Duan didn’t explain why she was waiting at Shang Can’s door, but upon seeing her face, she furrowed her brows slightly. “You don’t look well.”
“… Is that so? Yun Zhongjun is really concerned about me,” Shang Can mumbled, stepping aside to let Yun Duan in while rubbing her sore eyes.
It wasn’t so much that she didn’t sleep well last night; rather, she hadn’t had a decent sleep since meeting Yun Duan.
When they were at Tianwai Tian, she didn’t know how to face the anxiety that Yun Duan brought. After learning about Yun Duan’s sleepwalking relapse in Biluohuangquan, the paper crane Yun Duan gifted her the night before stirred up some past memories, making it hard for Shang Can to maintain her mental health.
She tossed and turned all night, worried that Yun Duan would sleepwalk again, keeping her ears perked for any movements from next door, more anxious than she ever was at Qingshu.
Although she had asked Wan Shao for medicine to treat sleepwalking, it seemed difficult to cure it completely with medication in this world. Wan Shao was already considered quite knowledgeable about medicines, but after pondering for a long while, he could only produce a bunch of bottles and jars, solemnly saying, “Take this before bed; it should help you sleep more soundly.”
It was essentially a sleeping pill. Shang Can figured it was better not to let Yun Duan take it.
Thus, she finally managed to fall asleep when the sky brightened. After staying up all night, she really couldn’t push herself any longer.
… Ah, they were supposed to handle serious business today. She should have knocked herself out last night to rest properly.
Although a bit regretful, Shang Can didn’t show it. She perked herself up, poured two cups of tea, and cheerfully said to Yun Duan, “I couldn’t help but think about you last night, and I almost wanted to make another night raid!”
Yun Duan accepted the tea cup she offered and glanced at her with light eyes. “Oh? What happened?”
“Nothing much.”
Shang Can sipped the strong tea and shrugged.
“Didn’t you lock the door?”
Indeed, she was not just talking nonsense; she actually hadn’t let go of her worries and had wandered around Yun Duan’s door last night, even mustering the courage to push it open.
Well done, Yun Duan finally knew to lock her door this time.
With that, she finally relaxed and happily returned to her room to sleep.
Yun Duan lowered her eyelids, her lips curving slightly. “No wonder I thought I heard some noise at the door.”
“If I had known it was you, I would have gotten up to greet you.”
Shang Can thought, Could it be that Yun Duan’s hearing had become so keen? She heard Yun Duan add nonchalantly, “But I thought if it were you, you would have broken the door down, so I ignored it. Please forgive me, Shang Zhe.”
What kind of image did she have in Yun Duan’s mind?
“…” Shang Can fell silent for a moment before saying, “I don’t have money to compensate the innkeeper.”
In the early morning, they were joking around, and the atmosphere was both strange and harmonious.
Feeling almost awake, Shang Can lazily leaned on the table, absentmindedly tapping on the tea cup. She was the first to break the silence, “When are we leaving?”
“After breakfast.”
Seeing that Shang Can’s complexion improved significantly, Yun Duan stood up. “I’ve heard that the wontons at this inn are quite good.”
She didn’t even say where she heard that from. Sitting in the inn’s hall, Shang Can glanced at the composed Yun Duan across from her, and couldn’t help but wonder if she had gotten up early to inquire about it. She also didn’t understand why she suddenly wanted to come down for breakfast.
Worried that Yun Duan’s appearance would cause a commotion, she suggested they eat in their room, but Yun Duan shook her head, saying, “I want to eat downstairs.”
What could she do? Since Yun Duan had said so, Shang Can could only accompany her.
As expected, without Yun Duan’s hat, the people in the hall were sneakily trying to glance at their table, although they believed they were being discreet. Shang Can could clearly feel the gazes directed at them.
Knowing that Yun Duan would feel it even more intensely, Shang Can felt a surge of irritation. She casually picked up a chopstick from the side and simply squeezed it in her hand, causing the wooden chopstick to instantly turn to ashes.
She patted her hands together, then took out a handkerchief to wipe the table clean, not even lifting her eyes as she spoke.
“Have you seen enough?”
Her voice was not loud, and her tone was gentle, but it sent a chill through those who had been sneaking glances, causing them to avert their eyes and no longer stare.
She guessed that it wouldn’t be long before the news about Yun Zhongjun being accompanied by Shang Zhe spread throughout the cultivation world.
After that, perhaps no one would dare to stare at them like this anymore. Shang Can scoffed lightly, and after cleaning the table, she felt a bit less agitated.
“Ah, I’m sorry.” She turned to the trembling waiter standing beside her and said apologetically, “I broke one of your chopsticks; please put it on my account. I will pay for it.”
“No, no, it’s the shop that has troubled the guest.”
The waiter’s attitude was very humble, and he cautiously said, “Just a chopstick; you don’t need to worry about it. What would you like to eat?”
Thinking she should leave a bit more silver on the table, Shang Can glanced at Yun Duan and said, “I heard your wontons are good; we’ll have two servings.”
The waiter hurriedly agreed and left. Shang Can then looked up at the quietly watching Yun Duan, saying, “Yun Zhongjun, I’m sorry; it might affect your reputation.”
Yun Duan silently shook her head. “Why apologize? I should be thanking you instead.”
Shang Can pretended to be surprised, “Hmm? Why’s that? I just wanted to burn a chopstick; is it because Yun Zhongjun is happy to see it?”
Those glass-like eyes stared at her for a while, and she didn’t get tangled up in this topic, instead softly saying, “When I used to leave Qingshu, I never stayed long in crowded places.”
“As for walking around in the street like yesterday, I haven’t done that since becoming ‘Yun Zhongjun.’ My companions all said it’s better this way to avoid trouble.”
“But yesterday… I was very happy.”
Yun Duan slightly lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.
“So today I want to do things I couldn’t do before, but…” She paused and said, “It seems I’ve caused you trouble.”
… So that’s how it is; it felt like the sentiment of a celebrity in her former world.
But the nature of it was completely different. Shang Can raised an eyebrow and sighed, “It’s really tiring.”
She could visibly see Yun Duan’s body stiffen, and Shang Can thought it wasn’t good; her words seemed to be easily misunderstood. She hurriedly added, “I mean for Yun Zhongjun herself.”
“It’s not Yun Zhongjun’s fault for wanting to be famous; is it wrong to be pretty and powerful?” Shang Can said assertively. “Besides, what’s wrong with Yun Zhongjun going to the street? It’s not like she did anything morally wrong.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t overthink it.”
Shang Can deliberately raised her voice slightly and said, “Most people in this world are not the type to be unreasonable. Since Yun Zhongjun doesn’t like being overly pursued, just say it or show it, and things will naturally get better.”
“Clearly, Yun Zhongjun hasn’t done anything wrong; why should she have to hide away?” Shang Can said indignantly, “It’s really tiring.”
They at Qingshu valued “not contending for warmth and coolness.” Shang Can knew without thinking that the attitude of the more aloof Qingshu towards such situations would likely be to advocate avoiding and yielding, putting cultivation first while treating everything else as trivial matters.
Even their not-so-conventional master, Wang Yue, was a person who was elusive and reclusive, let alone other more conventional Qingshu cultivators.
Perhaps Shang Can was the only oddity among Qingshu; she was too “worldly.”
If she had to say, maintaining distance would only make one more sought after—if one was seen wandering in the streets every day, people would grow familiar with them and wouldn’t pursue them so fervently.
And unlike her, Yun Duan was probably one of the most conventional cultivators of Qingshu. Yet it seemed she still held some “worldly” thoughts, which was likely why she lived so restrained.
Shang Can sighed, thinking that it might be a fault of hers for occasionally sneaking Yun Duan out of the mountain. Suddenly, she heard Yun Duan say, “Is it like what A Can just did, to show it?”
“Exactly, exactly, just like what I just did—wait, what did you call me?”
Startled, she almost spilled her tea. Shang Can widened her eyes and looked up at Yun Duan, who appeared calm and indifferent.
“Just now, you said you only wanted to burn a chopstick. A Can is indeed helping me,” Yun Duan said.
“… No, I was just trying to burn a chopstick—”
In a bind, Shang Can found herself in an unusual predicament, sitting up straight in discomfort.
“Let’s not talk about that for now. Wasn’t Yun Zhongjun’s way of addressing me just now a bit strange?”
“Was it?” Yun Duan’s eyes held a hint of confusion. “That day in the city, I heard someone call you that.”
“Someone did call me that in the city, but—”
“Can’t I call you that?”
Those beautiful eyes were fixed on her, clear yet somewhat dimmed.
Was this a bit cunning?
Just as Shang Can’s alarm bells were ringing, she heard Yun Duan casually utter an even more cunning remark.
“But in public, I need to address you somehow.”
“Since I can’t call you A Can, you could either tell me your real name or—” Yun Duan paused, then said casually, “or we could temporarily refer to each other as sisters?”
“……”
Shang Can met her gaze for a moment, then quietly lowered her head.
“… Just call me A Can; that’s fine.”
Always feeling at a disadvantage, Shang Can thought she seemed to be perpetually at a loss.
“A Can, is the wonton good?”
“… It’s good.”
“Then that’s great. Do you want to eat mine?”
“… We both ordered wontons, and this shop only makes pork and mustard greens filling. What’s the difference between eating yours and my own?”
It only took a quarter of an hour to finish a bowl of wontons, but Shang Can felt like she had spent a month in discomfort, sitting on pins and needles.
Since she had received Yun Duan’s “permission”—wasn’t there any other choice under such circumstances?—Yun Duan seemed to have switched on some kind of switch, becoming unusually talkative. She completely disregarded the dining etiquette of Qingyu, spouting “A Can” in every sentence, which made Shang Can break out in cold sweat.
… But it was still better than being called “Senior Sister” by Yun Duan. Shang Can puffed up her cheeks, feeling quite resentful. Although it was just a little bit better.
Forget it, seeing Yun Duan appear so happy, she would just endure it.
Shang Can decided to accept her fate of always feeling at a disadvantage in front of Yun Duan and gave up her pointless struggle over how to address her.
However, after this episode, the intimidation she had left in the minds of those in the hall when she burned the chopsticks sharply diminished. With Yun Duan’s repeated calls of “A Can,” Shang Can distinctly felt many curious gazes directed at her, most of which were aimed her way this time.
Feeling dizzy from being called by Yun Duan, Shang Can was too lazy to pay them any mind. She thought to herself that it was a kind of progress for these people not to stare at Yun Duan. Suddenly remembering something, she looked up at Yun Duan.
“You changed how you address me; what about me? Should I still call you Yun Zhongjun?”
Her intention was to suggest that “A Can” sounded overly affectionate, but if she could also change her form of address, like calling Yun Duan “Boss,” then “A Can” would just sound like a gang leader addressing her underling.
To her surprise, when Yun Duan heard this, she blinked and corrected her without a hint of reservation.
“You haven’t always called me Yun Zhongjun.”
“Previously, you called me your wife.”
The entire inn’s hall instantly fell silent at her words; even the sound of the waiter’s cloth dropping to the ground was exceedingly clear in the quiet.
Shang Can couldn’t hold it in any longer, standing up and gritting her teeth as she pointed toward the door. “It’s time to go, Yun Zhongjun.”
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