Chu Ge felt his mother's speech had become much more trendy than before. He wondered if it was because she spent more time online or because there were so many young people in the supernatural abilities department, and she'd been influenced by them.
Recalling that "I'll punch you right now" meme, Chu Ge wanted to cover his face. This trendiness seemed a bit off-putting.
It was a bit like Qiuqiu being corrupted by her silly friends in the group chat.
"Alright," Wu Xiuyun said, "Mom can't stay too long. I need to continue following up on last night's case and take people back to Beijing. I'll probably only stay for a day, and I might not even have lunch here. I'll teach you this morning and see how smart you are."
Chu Ge asked, "I was wondering about that spatial ability you used to conjure things up earlier. Was it like storing a miniature universe within a mustard seed?"
"Not really, it's more like a personal space, but it can only hold inanimate objects," Wu Xiuyun said. "This is much harder than achieving simple invisibility. Are you sure you can do it?"
Chu Ge thought for a moment. Perhaps Mom couldn't truly understand his own experience just from hearing about it. In reality, this kind of personal space felt closer to his current situation than a separate personal space…
And it's so useful… Qiu Qiu can't bring things out, and she doesn't have a storage ring. Having her own storage space would be so awesome!
"All of that," Chu Ge said decisively, "I'm not worried about any of this. You'll see what intelligence is!"
…Over there, Qiu Wuji was hesitating a little at the market.
He didn't know what to buy for today's groceries.
Before, grocery shopping was easy. Chu Ge could buy whatever he wanted; he wasn't picky, and even if there were things he didn't like, he wouldn't complain. No matter what she bought or cooked, he'd eat it all with a smile.
Then she'd pay attention to which dishes he ate more of, and which he ate less of, silently remembering. From then on, Chu Ge's eyes became increasingly narrowed as he ate, which made Qiu Wuji very happy.
It was a gradual process of familiarity and interaction, a growing understanding.
"Who don't I understand you? I know so much about you!"
But today, with her mother-in-law here, she suddenly didn't know what to buy. She had no idea what Chu Ge's tastes were like. What if she didn't like any of the dishes on the table? How awkward would that be?
After a moment's hesitation, Qiu Wuji turned to her helpful friend Zhu Mengmeng: "Mengmeng, Mengmeng~"
Zhu Mengmeng replied: "Hey, I was just looking for you! I saw a picture online today, it's called 'Early Autumn Love,' and I think the person in it looks like you."
Qiu Wuji: "...You surf the internet too? Are you a guy or a girl?"
Qiu Qiu was quite pleased with herself. "I can even say things like that now! I can already pretend to be a very fashionable netizen!"
No, wait, I am a very fashionable netizen. Every day when I enter the group, I have to examine myself three times: Who am I? Where am I? How come the group members know everything...? How can I not be fashionable when I'm with group members who know everything?"
Zhu Mengmeng was saying, "Oh, am I out of touch? Right, it's almost Mid-Autumn Festival. So, was that really you?"
"It was me, what's up?"
"Your boyfriend is so handsome and gentle!"
Qiu Wuji: "...Have you dealt with your meeting with your husband, lover, and child's father?"
"I already fooled you. Hey, what brings you here today? Did you have a fight with your boyfriend? Perfect, introduce him to me."
Qiu Wuji: "Get lost." Zhu Mengmeng sent a crying emoji.
Qiu Wuji said, "You're married now, so you must be quite familiar with cooking for your mother-in-law, right?"
Zhu Mengmeng: "?"
"What?"
"Sorry, this is an area I'm unfamiliar with." Zhu Mengmeng suddenly became interested: "You're going to cook for your mother-in-law? Are you buying groceries?"
Qiu Wuji regretted asking this unreliable friend and could only say, "Yes, I don't know what to buy."
Zhu Mengmeng said, "It's the market across the street from my teahouse, right? Wait a minute, I'm coming over to visit."
Qiu Wuji was quite helpless: "What are you coming for?"
"To practice how to buy groceries for my mother-in-law. I think this will become a hidden trump card for me in the future."
"I think if your husband finds out that he and the father of your child aren't the same person, this trump card won't be of any use."
"Just kidding, I don't even have children, look at you believing that, hahaha."
Qiu Wuji sent her a grass emoji: "Come on over, it'll be good to get some advice on what to buy."
A short while later, Zhu Mengmeng arrived excitedly. Qiu Wuji stood at the entrance of the market waiting, and saw her waving from afar.
Qiu Wuji found Zhu Mengmeng quite amusing; perhaps it was just a case of instant attraction.
A rich second-generation girl, decent-looking, yet without any arrogance or haughtiness. She was always carefree and cheerful, her biggest hobbies being spa treatments and yoga—in short, focusing on her skin and figure.
She probably had a history of relationships, a good opportunity to learn from her.
Although she wasn't always reliable… but why worry about reliability when making friends?
This was Qiu Wuji's first and, for now, only friend in this world. Sometimes, after grocery shopping, instead of rushing home, he'd stroll across the street to Zhu Mengmeng's shop for tea and zither music—it was quite pleasant.
After Chu Ge confirmed with Zhong Yi that the family was alright, Qiu Wuji felt even more at ease.
Zhu Mengmeng ran over, grabbed Qiu Wuji's arm, and pulled him inside: "You look so virtuous and motherly carrying that basket, it makes me want to take a bite."
Qiu Wuji laughed: "You're not a lesbian, are you?"
"Yes, yes, little lady, want to come with me? I'll make sure you live a life of luxury."
"No thanks... Speaking of which, your teahouse is so classically decorated, but it lacks any classical elegance. It's not even as charming as the zither-playing girl in your teahouse."
"Qiuqiu, you need to understand... my family started in mining, then made teapots, and only then sold tea..."
"Eh..."
"So you're perfect for a teahouse. Just sitting there, you look like an ancient beauty stepping out of a painting, no need for period costumes."
Qiu Wuji asked curiously: "Is it that obvious?"
"Yes, especially since you often use certain words and phrases, it's too overpowering."
Qiu Wuji smiled but remained silent.
Before, being told this might have made him a little flustered; this was a sure sign of his weakness. Now she realized it wasn't a big deal. Speaking in a modern way was enough; the old-fashioned air in her bones couldn't be hidden. People would just think she was well-mannered from the Zai Shu Ge (a famous ancient Chinese bookstore), or at most, that she was pretentious. Who would think she actually came from ancient times or stepped out of a book…
She stopped in front of a vegetable stall, hesitatingly looking at the spinach, thinking it looked beautiful today. But then she heard that spinach couldn't be eaten with certain things, and that someone was allergic to it… When she ate with Chu Ge, she didn't care about these things, but now…
"Hey, how much are these cucumbers, boss?" Zhu Mengmeng asked the stall owner.
Qiu Wuji glanced sideways.
You actually bought some? "Cucumbers, I wonder if Grandma likes them..." The stall owner, seeing the two pretty girls holding hands, couldn't resist making suggestive remarks: "Beautiful ladies, cucumbers aren't in fashion these days." Zhu Mengmeng was stunned for a moment: "Huh? What's in fashion then?" The stall owner, holding up a lotus root: "Now everyone uses lotus root, it's breathable and water-permeable." Qiu Wuji didn't even understand, but Zhu Mengmeng instantly grasped it and angrily retorted: "I'm buying cucumbers to make face masks!" The stall owner, realizing his bluntness, awkwardly said: "These you have are eight yuan a pound." Zhu Mengmeng wondered why she was charged eighty yuan for just a few spa treatments. "So cheap, give me a whole cartload!" Qiu Wuji couldn't help but tug at her: "Mengmeng, just buy two or three."
"Oh, oh..." Zhu Mengmeng picked out two large ones and tossed them onto the electronic scale, then suddenly hesitated: "Then I'll have a lotus root too."
Qiu Wuji: "?"
The stall owner: "???" Qiu Wuji discovered an unexpected advantage of having Zhu Mengmeng with him: she no longer had to agonize over what to buy. Because Zhu Mengmeng buys everything she sees.
One minute it's kidney tonics, the next it's pig tails as diuretics—she rattles off a whole bunch of theories off the top of her head, and then Qiu Wuji's shopping basket is overflowing.
Even though they all seem somewhat related to that matter.
Whatever, if her mother-in-law asks, she can just say this is good for her, that has benefits—at least she has some basis for buying groceries, so it's not such a headache…
The phone suddenly rang.
This time it was Zhu Mengmeng's turn to glance at Qiu Wuji's ringtone—it was "Let Us Row Our Boats"!
Do people still use that as a ringtone these days? Is this called being unsophisticated or just childlike?
Qiu Wuji answered the phone. Chu Ge's voice came through: "Qiuqiu, don't worry about grocery shopping anymore, Mom had to go and left."
"You actually knew I was worried about grocery shopping."
"Of course." Chu Ge was a little smug. "How could I not understand you?"
Qiu Wuji was also a little pleased, but kept a straight face and said, "But couldn't you have been half an hour earlier? I've already bought it!"
"I wasn't finished half an hour ago."
Qiu Wuji checked the time, somewhat surprised: "You mean you're finished now?"
"Yeah, just two spatial abilities, too easy." Chu Ge said matter-of-factly.
Qiu Wuji was dumbfounded.
That's space! One of the most difficult laws to understand throughout history! Did you think you were just buying groceries?