CH 3

Yu Zhou slept until she naturally woke up. As usual, she frowned and opened her phone to check the time, then looked at the comments and private messages from readers on Weibo, before opening Changpei to read the comments she received the day before one by one.

Then she went to the group chat to see what the parrots were repeating today.

After a string of “good morning”s, Yu Zhou got out of bed, pulled back the curtains, and saw that the sun was warm and cozy – it was just an ordinary day.

Hmm… something seemed a little different.

It took her brain three seconds to remember her neighbor, Miss Xiang.

She opened the door and peeked outside, but found that the bedroom door was tightly shut. So Yu Zhou decided to freshen up first.

If she was alone at home, she wouldn’t stick to the usual routine of getting ready, but now that there was a stranger around, things were different.

Feeling refreshed and with a clear mind, she walked out and knocked on the bedroom door, but no one answered.

As she walked out, she saw Xiang Wan sitting at the table, staring at a blind box doll next to a potted plant.

“It’s cute, isn’t it?” Yu Zhou walked over and showed off.

Xiang Wan covered her chest. “It’s so scary. The head is so big and it even has horns.”

She shook her head at Yu Zhou. “Dolls aren’t made like this. The head, face, and body must be proportionate for it to be exquisite.”

Yu Zhou laughed until her cheeks hurt.

She then asked Xiang Wan, “Have you brushed your teeth and washed your face?”

Xiang Wan was very distressed. “It was fine yesterday, but today, following your advice, I used the toothpaste and toothbrush, and my lower teeth started bleeding.”

She extended her index finger and pressed down on her lower lip. “Look.”

“It’s a little inflamed. Maybe you’re not used to the local water and soil.” Yu Zhou leaned on the table and took a closer look. “Just spit it out, it’s not a big deal.”

“Spitting blood is a big deal.” Xiang Wan disagreed.

“It’s really not a big deal, it’s common around here.”

Yu Zhou couldn’t be bothered to argue with her and went around her towards the kitchen.

“Are you hungry? Let me boil you an egg. Since you just arrived, I’m afraid your stomach might not be feeling well, so a plain boiled egg is safer.”

“Thank you, Miss,” Xiang Wan stood up as well, but didn’t dare to enter the kitchen. She just stretched her neck and watched the pile of copper and iron utensils with caution.

Luckily, Yu Zhou didn’t light the fire, she just plugged in an egg cooker, so it was quiet and wouldn’t scare her.

Yu Zhou glanced at her from the corner of her eye and suddenly had a mischievous thought. She wanted to reach out and turn on the stove, and watch Miss Xiang’s face turn pale and shrink back when the fire blazed up.

Just the thought of it made her smile.

Turning around in her mind, she realized that Xiang Wan looked like a quail.

The two sat in silence as they ate breakfast. Xiang Wan did not seem surprised this time. She first observed Yu Zhou as she picked up the glass of milk, ate the egg, and then ate her own food. Although the utensils were familiar, she still behaved as if she wanted a maid to taste the food for poison first.

After the simple breakfast, Yu Zhou was ready to change and leave.

The two squatted in front of the dirty laundry basket, picking and choosing. Yu Zhou saw the pearl tassels and picked them up, Xiang Wan took them over and said they were her favorite.

Then Yu Zhou took a jade hairpin, and Xiang Wan exclaimed in a low voice that it was very valuable.

Yu Zhou looked at her calmly.

Finally, in Xiang Wan’s reluctant expression, the two reached a consensus on the white jade hairpin.

After saying goodbye to the white jade hairpin, Xiang Wan eagerly changed her clothes and wanted to go out. As an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, after being sad all night, she felt refreshed now.

Yu Zhou picked out clothes for her, and suddenly remembered something important.

She turned around and said seriously, “You can’t go out.”

“You don’t have a health code.”

“Health…?”

“Don’t ask,” Yu Zhou interrupted her, “Do you know how Monk Tang had to exchange documents in each country on their journey to the West? It’s similar to that. We have to show a token every time we go to a new place. Only With the token can we come and go freely.”

“How do I get one?”

“No, You can’t get one,” Yu Zhou shook her head.

She did not have an ID card either, every step was difficult.

This was really difficult. Yu Zhou quickly searched for the time-travel novels she had read before in her mind, but unfortunately she had read too few of them and did not know what others would do.

She couldn’t get a fake ID card, right? This did not comply with core socialist values and the censorship standards of Chang Pei literature site.

Never mind, she would just stay at home. If she could time travel, she could find a way to get out. She was a writer, she knew it.

So, in Xiang Wan’s disappointed gaze, Yu Zhou went out alone with the white jade hairpin.

Before leaving, she couldn’t help but remind her of what she should and shouldn’t touch, and she downloaded several traditional Chinese books onto her iPad and made sure she could understand them before she went out with peace of mind.

The antique market was in the south of the city, at the intersection of several alleys. There was a flower and bird market in front and a row of antique shops behind it. When the weather was good, the shopkeepers would also set up stalls outside, and there were also some wandering vendors pushing three-wheelers.

With her hands in her pockets, Yu Zhou walked in like a secret agent.

She had never looked closely before, but today, why did every shopkeeper seem shifty?

“The innocent man is not guilty, but the man who possesses a jade without a legitimate explanation is guilty.” She always felt like people coveted her.

Approaching a relatively honest-looking person, Yu Zhou squatted down and put on the appearance of someone who had been around on the streets all year round. She handed over a shoulder and asked, “Are you interested in buying this?”

Her posture and tone were modeled after those who sell CDs.

The boss looked at her and said, “I’m an antiques dealer. I don’t buy phones.”

“What phone? I’m saying I have goods, do you want to buy?” Yu Zhou was feeling a bit annoyed.

“Goods?”

“Take a look.” Yu Zhou took out something from her pocket, looking mysterious. “It’s a white jade hairpin from the Li dynasty.”

The boss glanced at it and lowered his voice. “How much for wholesale?”

“Damn it.” Yu Zhou frowned and took it back. It wasn’t like what the tomb raider novels had described at all.

She stood up and walked around, seeing that all the vendors were selling similar items. She felt that this wasn’t a reliable way to make money.

After some thought, she squatted down again and asked, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead.” The boss played with some old coins.

“I have a sister from the countryside who just arrived in the city and doesn’t have a registered residence. How can she get one?”

The boss rolled up his sleeves and started talking to her. “A black household, right?”

“Yeah, her family neglected to report her birth during a time when boys were favored over girls.”

“An unreported resident.” The boss nodded, understanding the situation. Some big bros nearby also came over to listen.

A big guy with blond hair asked. “She could go to the police station and say she’s moving in with you. Aren’t you two related?”

“Well, we’re not actually related.” Yu Zhou said.

“That’s fine, even three unregistered people can be registered. It only takes half a month if you can prove that you’re a citizen.” The bald big guy leaned in.

“Prove…” Yu Zhou blinked. Would a person from the Li dynasty be considered a citizen?

“Is that difficult?” The boss looked worried and suspicious. “Could it be that your brother bought her from some other country?”

His gaze was very focused, and seemed ready to report her if she hesitated for a moment.

“No, no, no.” Fortunately, Yu Zhou shook her head quickly.

“Oh, then you should go to the police station and ask.” Several big bros relaxed and moved away.

Yu Zhou stood up, her legs numb. 

She had gained nothing. She absentmindedly walked back, listening to the parrot’s funny sounds and thinking mechanically about what to do.

Suddenly her phone vibrated.

She picked it up and saw a message from someone named “F”: “Ms.Yu, we’ve cast the voice actors for the audio drama. Su Chang will play the lead role!!!”

F was very excited, sending three exclamation points in a row.

Su Chang, of course, was a big deal. She was a first-tier female voice actor with nearly a million fans, and had played the lead role in several top IPs, all of which were very popular.

Yu Zhou had never imagined that her poorly-written novel would be able to get Su Chang to be the lead role. The platform hadn’t discussed the casting with her before, so she only found out now.

She should be happy, more than just a stroke of good luck, but less than glory to her family. There wasn’t a perfect idiom to describe this happy event.

Yu Zhou looked down and typed a few words: “Ahahaha, you’re so awesome, getting Mr.Su as the cast.”

“Yes, I can’t believe it either. I’m so excited!!!” The other side replied quickly.

Yu Zhou smiled and locked her phone. The parrot in her ear transformed into a magpie, and it enthusiastically shared the good news.

“Too noisy.” Yu Zhou grumbled at the parrot, then called a taxi to go home.

Suddenly, she remembered that it had only been a few months since she quit her job, and it was not enough time for her to forget the habit of taking a taxi in advance.

The reason she didn’t have this habit was that in the past, Su Chang would always come to pick her up in her car.

And then they would go back to Su Chang’s home.