Chapter 521: Chapter 29: Contentment Brings Happiness
Gongsun Ce tasted the sweet soup and felt the aroma of walnuts and red dates blossoming on his tongue, with a soft texture like porridge and a refreshing sweetness as he swallowed.
“It tastes amazing… How is this made?”
The lady described the cooking process like a home tutor.
“First, soak the white rice overnight. Blanch the walnuts in boiling water, peel them, and chop finely; then soak the red dates, cook and peel them to get date paste; next, mash the rice to make rice milk, cook all three together, and add a bit of sugar when done.”
The more Gongsun Ce listened, the more startled he became, “No way, huh? It’s so troublesome… How much effort it must have taken…all for me…”
“It’s because I wanted to eat it myself,” the lady turned her head away, “and also to thank you casually.”
Gongsun Ce relaxed immediately, that made much more sense! She must have craved something and took the trouble to make it; he was just enjoying the benefits.
Feeling vindicated, Gongsun Ce continued enjoying the soup and said, “I’ve never had this before; impressive, Miss. I thought you were the type whose fingers never touched spring water.”
“Cooking is my hobby,” Qin Qianbai said. “I learned it secretly with my sisters, hiding it from our elders.”
Gongsun Ce put down his spoon, feeling something was amiss.
…Why would she need to hide cooking from the elders?
The conversation he had with Qin An the night before flashed through his mind, prompting Gongsun Ce to break one of his principles.
“You know I shouldn’t ask this, but I really can’t help my curiosity. Miss, what do you usually do at home?”
“Practice martial arts,” Qin Qianbai answered without hesitation.
“Anything else?”
“Scholarly pursuits, literature, history, mathematics, and so on.”
All elements one would associate with a well-bred lady…
“Anything else?”
The girl tilted her head, “?”
Gongsun Ce felt a bit overwhelmed, “What about recreational activities besides studying? May I ask what books you read, what kind of paintings you like, and where you usually go for fun?”
“Recreational activities involve fighting in the ring. I can go outside the house, encounter different martial arts, and exchange blows with different people. From children of my age, robust men, to elderly with white hair, you can find all sorts of opponents in the ring.”
At this point, Qin Qianbai seemed more animated, “Initially, I was not good at controlling my strength, often breaking opponents’ limbs and piercing through torsos, but later, control came naturally, and the bloody scenes decreased. However, by then, the frequency of fighting in the rings also reduced.”
—”I come from a martial family, accustomed to martial arts from a young age, and I was introduced early to corpses and organs.”
Gongsun Ce recalled her previous statement and the excitement when she spoke of fighting in the ring. Now, it seemed to carry a different implication. The more he heard, the more agitated he became, as if a fire was blazing inside him.
“Middle-aged and elderly people come to fight you in the ring?”
“They belong to other sects and are temporarily brought in as reinforcements; they are considered the newest disciples, and, in terms of seniority, are my contemporaries. If an elder from our family fought, it would be deemed bullying the young,” Qin Qianbai explained earnestly.
“What a fucked up martial world! No shame at all!” Gongsun Ce cursed loudly.
“A relative outside our clan used to say that too,” Qin Qianbai said. “After he visited all the major sects, we hardly saw cases like that anymore.”
Your uncle is quite like Yan Qi in temperament, huh.
“Is it just for that? You’ve trained so hard in martial arts just for this?”
“No,” Qin Qianbai said curiously, “The fighting arena is a diversion beyond my training. The elders in the clan urge me to practice martial arts so that I can defeat a very strong enemy.”
What kind of romantic feud is this?
The young lady was still talking about her past, “Everyone thought that only I could defeat him. I was the most talented child of the Qin family in this generation, so I had to train twice as hard in martial arts…”
“The other siblings could go out, pursue hobbies, and learn strategies at court. Only I couldn’t,” Qin Qianbai said quietly, “I had to surpass him.”
Gongsun Ce sullenly drank his sweet soup, but he couldn’t taste the sweetness at all.
He imagined the girl’s past life. In a large family, while the other children dispersed to play after their studies, only Qin Qianbai silently returned to her room to continue training, and then, supervised by the old-fashioned elders, read the ancient texts, imagining what the outside world was like…
How tedious must her life have been? Perhaps the child wore no expression simply because she could no longer smile.
No wonder her expression became complex whenever she mentioned the elder who left home. Because after that elder left, no one could take her out of that home again.
“You yourself think this life isn’t very interesting, right?”
“So I ran away from home,” Qin Qianbai lowered her eyelids, “I am a daughter of the Qin family; I should bear the responsibilities. But the home has become increasingly strange. Everyone only pushed for martial arts training, few cared about what I wanted. Since grandpa started working out, I got even more exhausted…”
The girl said sadly, “I don’t want to train endlessly anymore. I have become stronger than everyone else, but the elders are still not satisfied… I feel they don’t care about me; they just want a daughter who is number one in the world.”
Gongsun Ce really wanted to say, don’t be childish, at least Qin An and the others really care about you. But after all, he was an outsider, what’s the use of pointing fingers at other people’s family affairs and preaching what everyone knows? Who could understand her elders better than a child herself?
“I think you can look on the bright side,” Gongsun Ce tried to lighten the mood, “Look, you’re now in the Sky City, right? No one here forces you to practice martial arts. With your abilities, you could easily be the boss of this city, and now you have a voice!”
Qin Qianbai blinked, “A voice?”
“Life’s troubles and mishaps will happen, but you also gain the freedom you desired,” Gongsun Ce continued warmly, “Nobody controls you anymore, only you can decide what you want to do.”
“I can… decide…”
The gray-haired young man seized the moment to encourage her, “You can decide your daily schedule, just like making desserts in the morning! Keep that thought and imagine how beautiful and enjoyable this day is, how cheerful this morning is! What do you want to do now?”
Qin Qianbai thought for a moment and then said excitedly, “I want to have breakfast.”
Qin Qianbai, can’t you aim a little higher?
“Great idea. The most important thing is to be happy, and filling your stomach makes you happy! I’ll make something for you to eat. What do you want? Fried rice, noodles, bread with bacon and eggs?”
Qin Qianbai thought for a moment and said, “I want bread.”
“Alright, alright,” Gongsun Ce quickly headed to the kitchen, trying to lighten the mood with playful banter, “Since you’ve come to live alone now, shouldn’t you also consider doing things outside of martial arts? Like engaging in entertainment that normal girls would?”
“What would a normal girl do?”
I have no clue.
Not to mention that Mr. Gongsun, from the moment I was born, has maintained an excellent record of being single, and I don’t have a single woman in my social circle who could be considered normal.
“I know of solving cases… volunteering… setting fires… and practicing illegal medicine…” Gongsun Ce became more uneasy as he spoke, “I admit I don’t know many normal girls, you know what this godforsaken place is like.”
Qin Qianbai looked at him speechlessly, “What do you usually do for fun, Gongsun Ce?”
Without a second thought, Gongsun Ce blurted out, “Watch animations.”
Oh no.
Ruined.
Slipped up.
Chatting with this straightforward guy made me spill the truth, and I’ve just blown my hard-earned mysterious mentor image!
“What’s an animation?” asked Qin Qianbai, “You mean like comic strips?”
…?
“Miss, have you never been exposed to this… somewhat niche form of entertainment?”
Nodding.
An enticing idea popped into Gongsun Ce’s mind.
“Then how about… I show you a couple episodes to try?”
“Sure.”
Fifteen minutes later, after finishing breakfast, Gongsun Ce took out his laptop, searching for an animation newbie-friendly show under the curious gaze of the girl.
“I guess a romantic school comedy might be exciting for you. Let me find some traditional children’s animation first.”
The miss read the folder names, “Saint X Alchemist…”
“How did you manage to pick this one out from so many files?!” Gongsun Ce quickly hid the folder.
“Princess X Outing…”
“How do you manage to pick out such titles just by looking at them?!”
“?” Qin Qianbai looked at him puzzled, “Then, this Evil X High School…”
Gongsun Ce instantly clicked the X in the top right corner.
No, this kid’s talent is too bizarre.
If left alone, who knows what weird stuff she’d end up watching! I must supervise her choice of cultural entertainment!!!
“Alright, stop picking. I’ll choose a classic animation that’s healthy and suitable for all ages,” Gongsun Ce wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and opened another folder, “Gundam 0079! Set in a future space war, a masterpiece calling for love and understanding amidst battle!”
“But those earlier ones sounded more interesting.”
“Those are still too early for you now!” Gongsun Ce said guiltily, “Wait till you’re in college before watching those! Now, watch robot animations with Mr. Gongsun!”
“Okay.”
Qin Qianbai obediently moved a chair and sat next to him, and they started watching the old animation on the laptop on the dining table.
“Let it burn, Gundam♪~”
An old song from the last century echoed around Gongsun’s apartment, displaying on the screen were performances that seemed excessively exaggerated from today’s perspective, accompanied by visuals that had long fallen behind the times. Gongsun Ce regretfully watched the crumbling animation of the first episode, thinking it would be a miracle if this piqued the girl’s interest.
Perhaps he should find a female-oriented comedy, but the conservative miss might faint from shock upon seeing Otome animations.
The twenty-minute episode quickly finished, and no one spoke. Superpower User paused the playback, observing the girl’s reaction.
“Oh…” The miss focused on the screen.
“What does ‘oh’ mean?”
“Gundam, standing above the earth.”
“Don’t read the show’s title like a narrator!”
“I want to watch the next episode.”
“Really? I see!” Gongsun Ce silently covered his face, “These days there really are girls who get the vibe of such nerdy stuff…”
He set it to play continuously, grabbed two bags of chips, and together they continued watching the next episode.
They watched straight until noon, and by then the Superpower User had completely forgotten his initial purpose and had begun enthusiastically explaining the plot and setting.
“The reason he conspired against Karma can’t really be understood just from these few episodes, but the direct explosion point is Karma’s thoughtless remark…”
“I can understand. He is still a young master,” said Qin Qianbai. “This animation is very interesting.”
I find you more interesting than the animation.
“Having fun with Gongsun Ce.”
He tapped the girl’s forehead and said, “As long as you’re happy. It’s lunchtime, do you want to go out to eat or order delivery?”
“I want to continue watching the animation.”
“Then I’ll just order some fast food.”
Gongsun Ce ordered a big family bucket, then happily clicked the mouse. He glanced at the girl beside him, Qin Qianbai’s eyes sparkling much more than when they had first met.
He smiled unconsciously.
This is good. No need to worry about power, duty, or others’ opinions. Spending time like a typical student, talking about things adults find uninteresting… staying away from all disputes, all mess…
Being a student, not a Superpower User.
He could retire alongside his big brother, no longer dealing with any events. And Qin Qianbai, who had come to the capital of the sky, wouldn’t have to worry about family troubles either. Later, he could still take this girl to school, go mountain climbing, shopping, meeting new friends, leading a plain life…
This is really good.
Gongsun Ce thought contentedly, this was enough.