"This green autumn dress is perfect for your girlfriend's skin tone, she's so fair!" At the department store counter, the saleswoman was enthusiastically promoting the dress. In fact, she thought all the clothes there suited the beautiful woman before her perfectly; she was a natural clothes hanger. Even dressed in rags, she'd probably become a fashion icon.
"This color does look quite good on her," Chu Ge said, holding the dress up in front of Qiu Wuji. He felt the color combination made Qiu Wuji look even more youthful, like a delicate cabbage.
Qiu Wuji hesitated, "They say green is bad, they're always cursing green in group chats."
Chu Ge: "?"
Saleswoman: "???"
Qiu Wuji whispered, "What, did I say something wrong?"
"The bad green refers to the hat, not the dress!" Chu Ge was stunned for a moment before realizing what Qiu Wuji was talking about, and exclaimed in anguish, "I'm not saying you don't learn anything else, why do you only learn these things!"
The saleswoman covered her mouth and chuckled.
Qiu Wuji snorted, "They're all the same, change it."
"How about this pale yellow one?" Chu Ge said, "Imagine standing by the autumn waters, the setting sun casting shimmering light on the river, you wearing this color gazing at the water... doesn't it suit you well?"
The saleswoman: "..." This guy seems a bit off.
So artsy, it's like he can sing just from his words.
The woman, equally unusual, was overjoyed upon hearing the description: "Perfect! This is it!"
Chu Ge asked, "Shall we go to the fitting room to change?"
"No need, you can tell at a glance whether it fits."
"But we should try it on to see if it looks good."
"No need, I look good in anything!"
The saleswoman couldn't help but say, "Gentlemen, I think you could buy Hanfu."
Chu Ge was taken aback: "You sell Hanfu too?"
"Yes." The saleswoman led them to another room: "The weather is neither too hot nor too cold, perfect for wearing this kind of Hanfu. The scenery is also great for taking photos. A lot of young women have been buying them lately."
Qiu Wuji stood by the door, staring blankly at the dazzling array of ancient costumes, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
The outfit he had conjured up back then, Chu Ge had said he could wear, but the people at the beef noodle shop had given him strange looks, and indeed, he had rarely seen anyone wearing it in all this time. Perhaps the weather wasn't quite right.
But now it seems okay… Looking at the room full of ancient costumes, and many young girls trying them on, no one seemed particularly surprised. Chu Ge wasn't lying; Hanfu is perfectly normal these days.
Perhaps for more knowledgeable people, there are strict distinctions between the styles of ancient costumes from different dynasties, and I've even heard of arguments and fights over it… But for Qiu Wuji, there's no difference. Their world remains unchanged, more akin to the costumes in various game CGs—as long as they're pretty, that's all that matters.
She touched each garment with a touch of nostalgia, whispering to Chu Ge, "Should I deliberately wear modern clothes to show I fit in, or should I wear whatever I like, whatever I feel like?"
Chu Ge patted her head: "Whatever you like."
Qiu Wuji turned to look at him: "Don't you think I'm out of touch with this world, out of place?"
"What you like is most important, who cares about anything else?"
Qiu Wuji smiled sweetly: "Mm."
Chu Ge said, "Actually, a very important point about modernity is that it's all-encompassing; there's no single style that defines this world. Young people are more willing to try new things and don't need to care what others think." The ten-thousand-year-old young woman happily picked out several ancient costumes. She had just said, "I don't need to try them on," but this time she went to the dressing room very seriously and tried on several before coming out: "How's this one?"
"It looks good."
"And this one?"
"It looks good too..."
"And this one?"
"Okay, okay, okay..."
"You're just being perfunctory!"
Chu Ge burst into tears.
"I regret it, okay? Let's just buy a few things and leave, my legs are numb from standing..."
"I'm not just giving a perfunctory answer. My Qiuqiu looks like an angel no matter what she wears. Look at the way they're looking at her..." Qiu Wuji turned her head and saw the girls all secretly watching her, their eyes darting around. Many of them were secretly holding their phones, looking like they wanted to take pictures.
Qiu Wuji was both amused and exasperated. This was probably one of the typical differences that prevented her from truly integrating into modern society.
Why do these people want to take a picture of everything they see and post it online? Is it really that interesting?
Like Zhu Mengmeng's WeChat Moments, she's constantly posting pictures of this and that food. Are those foods even that pretty? They don't even taste as good as what I make. Qiu Wuji's WeChat Moments was completely empty... Oh well, she only had two friends, Chu Ge and Zhu Mengmeng, who would she post this for...? The girls' eagerness to take photos finally interrupted Qiu Wuji's plan to change clothes. She simply walked out wearing what she was already wearing, packing up her original short-sleeved shirt: "Just one is enough."
Chu Ge glanced at it; it was still pale yellow, just like the artsy description he'd given her earlier... He couldn't help but chuckle: "Buy the others too, don't skimp on this."
"It's so expensive, don't get carried away with making a little money..." "It's floating." Chu Ge sighed helplessly, "It's not me floating... Rather than having you buy a new one every few days, it's better to buy more at once." Qiu Wuji grumbled and fell silent. Is buying clothes a big deal for a girl? She's wearing nice clothes just to show them off... The saleswoman, however, asked at that moment, "Sir, wouldn't you like to try it on?" Chu Ge was taken aback, "Me? Ancient costume? Short hair doesn't suit me, does it?"
"Some guys with short hair look great in them. If all else fails, you can wear a wig." Qiu Wuji's eyes lit up, and he looked Chu Ge up and down.
If he wore ancient costume...
The two of them, swords in hand, walked through the misty, rain-soaked streets.
Chu Ge could tell what she was thinking from her expression, and smiled helplessly, "Alright, alright, I'll try it on."
"This outfit," Qiu Wuji pointed to a blue and white swordsman's outfit, "This has a fantasy feel to it."
Chu Ge glanced at it, "This looks like a cosplay from JX3 (Swordsman Online)."
The saleswoman praised, "Sir, you know your stuff."
Chu Ge smiled, "It does seem... very suitable." Photos of modern Hanfu-clad women were getting prettier and prettier, but there were hardly any photos of handsome men in Hanfu. The root cause was the hairstyle; their overall look just didn't match, making them look odd.
But some people really suited it. If you're handsome enough, even a bald head can look amazing, let alone short hair.
Chu Ge was handsome.
When Chu Ge changed into the swordsman's outfit and stood out, looking exactly like a JX3 Chunyang (Pure Yang) character stepping out of the game, the girls around him finally couldn't contain themselves any longer, and their phones started clicking away.
Qiu Wuji was beautiful, but that was always a woman!
Handsome men in Hanfu were so rare! This isn't even an actor, just some random handsome guy on the street, and he could brag about this on Weibo for a year!
Wait, this couple looks familiar.
...Your early autumn romance, and now you're going to be showing off your love again this Mid-Autumn Festival? Is this ever going to end...?
The girls ran away in tears.
Qiu Wuji looked at Chu Ge with sparkling eyes, her gaze gradually becoming shimmering.
So handsome... I'm even more curious to see what happens when he enters the book.
On the day I took his hand and announced to the entire sect that this man was my Daoist partner, I wonder what the expression was on the faces of everyone in the Nine Provinces?
"Sir, this is a complimentary gift from our store..." The saleswoman's eyes were practically heart-shaped; she was practically asking for Chu Ge's WeChat. As she handed the gift to Chu Ge, she even tickled him with her little finger.
Chu Ge, oblivious, stared blankly at the free gift: "A Longquan sword? A good one must cost more than clothes!"
"This isn't a real sword, just a plastic prop. The scabbard is made with a wood grain pattern, but it's not solid wood; it's very light. It looks especially dashing on you in your swordsman outfit."
"What about hers?" Chu Ge asked for a sword for Qiu Wuji.
"...Oh." The saleswoman reluctantly handed another sword to Qiu Wuji.
Qiu Wuji didn't mind, smiling as she took it, her eyes filled with amusement and nostalgia as she looked at the wood grain on the scabbard.
"Shall we go?" She tugged at Chu Ge.
"Yes, let's go." The two, carrying their swords and dressed in ancient costumes, left the shopping mall together.
Several girls followed behind, whispering enviously, "I bet you they're professional cosplayers." Their companions retorted, "You're dreaming! Everyone's heard of famous Hanfu cosplayers, right? They're nowhere near as good!"
"Then where did these handsome men and beautiful women come from?! I'm swooning!"
Another girl hesitated, "Is there any possibility—I mean, maybe—that they really are from ancient times...?"
The girls burst into laughter, "Wake up! Look at their shoes! That handsome guy's even wearing Hongxing Erke shoes..."
The girls' laughter seemed to drift away into the distance. The sky was ablaze with the glow of sunset. Qiu Wuji, sword in one hand, linked arms with Chu Ge, and the two slowly walked towards the setting sun.
I merged into the present world for you.
You accompanied me in ancient costume.
We walked hand in hand, sword in hand, in each other's worlds, through books and beyond, through time and space, by rivers and mountains, through morning rain and evening glow.