Jin Shaoyan asked curiously, "Who is Zhang Bing?"
Qin Shi Huang whispered to him, "It seems her name is Yu Ji."
Jin Shaoyan exclaimed in surprise, "You've found my sister-in-law?"
My head was throbbing with fear. I realized the commotion we were making had alerted Li Shishi, so I said to Xiang Yu, "Brother Yu, calm down."
Xiang Yu didn't care about any of that and shook my neck, saying, "Take me to that person now!"
Jin Shaoyan also chimed in, "Don't worry, Brother Yu, I'll definitely find a way to help you." He then asked me, "Is that person willing to sell his medicine, no matter the price?"
I glanced at him and said, "That guy has just as much money as you!"
I told Xiang Yu, "I'm looking for him now. I promise you, next time I get medicine, I'll give it to your sister-in-law first."
Just then, Li Shishi came out. She wiped her hands, glanced at us, and asked curiously, "What are you talking about?"
Xiang Yu pushed me aside and said, "We didn't talk about anything." His eyes were burning, as if he had seen hope again.
Li Shishi poured Jin Shaoyan a cup of tea and said, "Mr. Jin, please have some water."
Jin Shaoyan accepted it solicitously, saying, "Don't call me Mr. Jin anymore, call me Shao..."
We all glared at him, and Li Shishi tensed up. Because Jin Shaoyan was now his own brother, it created a rather amusing situation: everyone present knew who he was, but he had to play the role of his own brother…
Jin Shaoyan said with a bitter face, "Uh, let's just call him Mr. Jin for now."
Then there's more to say than done. Especially after Li Shishi joined us, there were many taboos among us. First, Jin Shaoyan couldn't say he was Jin Shaoyan. Second, Xiang Yu and the others couldn't reveal that they knew he was Jin Shaoyan; Li Shishi had to cover for herself by saying he was Jin Shaoyan's brother. And me? I had the hardest time. I had to play the role of someone who knew everything but couldn't say anything. Even more complicated was that Jin Shaoyan knew Xiang Yu and the others' identities, so he consciously avoided talking to them about stocks and fashion; and since Xiang Yu and the others knew he was Jin Shaoyan himself, they were very careful not to mention his "brother." Now each of us is playing a completely new role, and without a director, it's all up to individual performance.
Unfortunately, Li Shishi, who had already embarked on an acting career, performed far from satisfactory. She simply kept refilling Jin Shaoyan's water bottle, seemingly wishing she could just put the kettle to his mouth to silence him. She was indeed the one with the most concerns; she still had to consider how to explain her absurd request to Jin Shaoyan later.
After we hadn't made a sound for a while, Baozi couldn't help but stand at the kitchen doorway and look us over again. She said, puzzled, "That's strange. Aren't you guys usually very noisy?" She added, "By the way, we're out of alcohol. Who's going to go?"
We all stood up abruptly and said in unison, "Me!"
Baozi chuckled and said, "Everyone's so enthusiastic today? Usually, you're always making excuses when it comes to buying a bottle of vinegar at the door."
Eager to escape this troublesome place, I first pressed Li Shishi down into a chair: "Girls, don't move!" Then I pressed down Jin Shaoyan, who was the most enthusiastic, as well: "How can you let guests go out to buy things?" Finally, I said to Xiang Yu with a double meaning: "Brother Yu, deserting in the face of battle is not your style."
Xiang Yu kept winking at me and said, "Can you take it by yourself? Can you really take it?" While stalling for time, he pretended to poke his eyes with two fingers like a special forces soldier, and then made random gestures. It turns out that Xiang Yu invented the hand signals for combat.
I didn't know what he meant, but I guessed it had some deeper meaning, so I said, "Then come with me."
Qin Shi Huang said, "I'll go too, whether I'm hungry or angry."
I said, "Let's go together."
At this point, Ersha sat down instead: "Then I won't go."
Now I understand what Xiang Yu means. He wants to leave only Li Shishi and Jin Shaoyan to recite their poems so that we can get out of their sight.
I said, "Kezi, go too."
Ersha said, "No! You always send me to buy things."
Without a word, Xiang Yu and Qin Shi Huang grabbed him and started to walk out. Baozi shouted from behind, "Qiangzi, why are you dragging so many people along just to buy some wine?"
I said, "I'm afraid I didn't bring any money!"
Baozi waved the spatula and said, "Did a dog bite your head? Just wear it, won't that solve the problem?"
As I ran downstairs, I shouted, "What if I lose my money?!"
steamed stuffed bun:"……"
Once we got downstairs, we immediately nudged each other and asked, "What do you think Shishi will say to Jin Shaoyan?"
There is no answer.
Xiang Yu said, "What do you think Jin Shaoyan should do if Shishi tells him the truth?"
I said, "Then he can only express disbelief, which is too illogical—Brother Ying, tell me, if someone told you that there were two of you existing at the same time, what would you think?"
Fatty Ying shouted, "No need to say anything more!"
At this moment, Ersha, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "I bet she'll tell him, 'You should leave.'"
We thought about it and realized it was quite possible, so we quickly asked Ersha together, "What would Jin Shaoyan say?"
Ersha, gazing at the sky at his classic 45-degree angle, confidently declared, "He would say, 'I'm not leaving.'"
We barely managed to suppress the strong urge to gang up on him. I waved at him and said, "Go play with Xiao Zhao instead. We'll call you when it's time to eat—don't come up until we get back!"
Actually, the supermarket was very close to home, but the three of us wandered aimlessly through the streets and alleys, all to create space for Jin Shaoyan and Li Shishi to talk. If we handled this opportunity well, it would be very helpful for their future. Of all the possibilities, I lean towards Jin Shaoyan taking the initiative to tell Li Shishi the truth; apart from that being a winning move, all other paths would be dead ends.
On the way, Xiang Yu asked me for a long time about the medicine. He was very anxious and seemed very worried. His time was running out, and the medicine could only restore memories of past lives. It was still uncertain whether Zhang Bing was Yu Ji. Even if she was, thousands of years had passed. What if her past life was a man?
Most importantly, the medicine isn't even in my possession.
Xiang Yu patted my shoulder and said casually, "Take me with you next time you have a duel." Then he never mentioned it again. But I knew that he only acted this way after making a major decision.
When we strolled back to the pawnshop, Baozi had already cooked several dishes, and the table was set. Jin Shaoyan and Li Shishi were sitting far away, seemingly in an awkward silence. When Li Shishi saw us return, she made an excuse and slipped into the kitchen.
Seizing the opportunity, we immediately surrounded Jin Shaoyan and asked together, "What did Shishi say to you?"
Jin Shaoyan hung his head and said, "As soon as you came downstairs, she told me, 'You can leave now.'"
We exclaimed "Ah!" and then asked together, "So what did you say?"