My Wife Came From A Thousand Years Ago

Chapter 89: A Little Problem Solver

The Next Day.

Early in the morning, Xu Qing woke up rubbing his chest, feeling a bit off.

Jiang He had headbutted him like a little calf last night. Even after a whole night, his chest still ached.

“Morning.”

“Morning.”

They greeted each other as usual. Like always, they practiced martial arts separately on either side of the door — one practicing sword techniques, the other holding a stance. Their expressions were normal.

Maybe after a night’s sleep, she’d come to terms with it?

Xu Qing pondered this while running through his stances, watching Jiang He finish her sword practice with a sharp swish and a calm exhale.

But instead of putting the sword away, Jiang He walked over with the sheathed sword and smack! — tapped it against his leg.

“Stand up straight!”

“Hiss~”

Xu Qing inhaled sharply. Crap, here comes the revenge.

“Hands flat!”

“Hey, hey!”

“Hold it!”

Jiang He maintained a stern expression as she corrected his crooked stance. Then she tossed the sword aside, turned, and went to wash up. With the toothbrush in her mouth, she occasionally glanced sideways to make sure Xu Qing’s posture was still correct.

When Xu Qing finally finished holding the stance for fifteen minutes and was about to rest, Jiang He, now finished with her morning routine, walked back over.

“I’ll teach you some boxing.”

“No, I don’t want to learn.” Xu Qing shook his head vigorously.

“No, you do want to learn,” Jiang He said seriously. “Don’t you want to build up your health?”

“Holding this stance is good enough. It’s very effective; no need for boxing.”

“If you learn boxing, you can fight back when I hit you. You won’t have to worry about me beating you.” Jiang He tempted him.

“No, no, no. I’d never hit you. I’m not learning.” Xu Qing remained firm.

Yeah, right. At her level, even if he learned, he’d still be the one getting beaten up.

“This is called Tangshou Quan (Palm Boxing). It mainly uses palm techniques, combined with grappling, punches, and kicks. It focuses on the ‘Three Points and Six Harmonies.’ The Three Points are—”

Jiang He ignored him, stepped back slightly, took a breath, and executed a swift downward palm strike.

“Grappling.”

Her palm transformed into a claw.

“Leg!”

Bang!

She stomped her cotton slippers on the floor with a loud thud, startling Xu Qing.

Was that a threat?

It was definitely a threat.

“Okay! Okay! I’ll learn!” He hurriedly surrendered. “But I haven’t eaten yet. It’s better to practice after a full meal… And my chest still hurts from last night. Let’s start tomorrow, tomorrow.”

“……”

Jiang He thought for a moment, then nodded and retracted her stance. “Fine, I’ll teach you tomorrow.”

She turned around, shuffling into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the two of them.

Xu Qing worried about her hitting him, but if he learned some martial arts…

Maybe he’d be tougher.

Or who knows, maybe Xu Qing had hidden talent. If he became stronger than her, he wouldn’t need to trick her anymore. He could just force her.

And she wouldn’t be able to resist.

“You need to practice hard,” Jiang He reminded him.

“Wait, about last night — you hit me pretty hard. My chest still hurts. Could it be an internal injury?” Xu Qing rubbed his chest, leaning against the doorframe.

“I didn’t use that much force.” Jiang He looked puzzled.

“If that wasn’t much force… How’s your head? Doesn’t it hurt?”

As he spoke, he reached over to lift her hair and check her forehead. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” Jiang He swatted his hand away and glanced at his sore chest, hesitating to say more.

“Alright, you cook. I’m heading out later. For lunch and dinner… I’ll contact you on the phone. If I’m coming back, I’ll let you know in advance. If not, I’ll let you know too.”

He hadn’t gone out much in the past six months. He’d even turned down several invitations from Wang Zijun. Now, with the end of the year approaching, gatherings were becoming more frequent. It wouldn’t look good to keep skipping them.

“I bought a copy of Maoist Fundamentals. You can read it when you have time. Don’t push yourself too hard right now. Once you understand everything, there are plenty of ways to make money.”

After breakfast, Xu Qing changed his shoes and reminded her while getting ready to leave.

Jiang He, now full, was already sitting in front of the computer, “grinding” away in a game. After leveling a few characters, she’d study pinyin, browse the web, and catch up on the news. If there was enough time, she’d watch the movies Xu Qing had prepared for her.

“Hmm… is that it?” Her eyes landed on the package someone had just delivered.

“Yes, a book.”

Xu Qing finished getting dressed. Before heading out, he came back to give Jiang He’s hand a quick squeeze, then left, satisfied. “I’m off. Don’t open the door for strangers.”

The Lunar month wasn’t halfway through yet, but the residential complex was already brimming with festive cheer. Uncle Zhao, the security guard, was directing some young men to hang colorful flags along the pathways, a cigarette between his fingers.

Cheng Yulan was standing with a little girl, watching the decorations and occasionally helping to straighten them.

“Xu-ge!” The little girl, sharp-eyed, spotted Xu Qing walking by with his head tucked against the cold.

“Hey, Xiaoyan, you’re here?”

Xu Qing greeted her with a smile. “What’s Auntie busy with?”

Cheng Yulan, having just helped cut a strip of flags, laughed. “Nothing much, just helping out… Heading out?”

“Yeah, just going for a stroll.”

He reached out to ruffle the little girl’s hair. “Is Xiaoyan staying here for New Year’s?”

“No, just here for the winter break. We’ll go back for New Year’s and come back after.”

“Sounds good.” Xu Qing nodded. “You two enjoy. Bye, Xiaoyan.”

“Bye, Xu-ge!”

The little girl waved enthusiastically.

Her name was Shi Yanyan — quite a mouthful. Cheng Yulan, her grandma, loved it though, saying it sounded like a TV star’s name.

A star, huh…

At Wang Zijun’s Place.

The rich kid was still in bed when Xu Qing’s call woke him up.

“Open the door!”

“Coming, coming!”

Wearing only shorts, Wang Zijun scrambled out of bed. He opened the door to find Xu Qing bundled up tightly.

“What do you want?”

“Check your chat history.” Xu Qing waved his phone impatiently. “Get dressed, now.”

Wang Zijun smacked his forehead as he remembered. “Come in. Give me a minute.”

“No adult content in there, right?”

“Hell no. I’ve been single for a while.”

Hearing that, Xu Qing finally stepped inside. He glanced around the living room and smirked at the pink computer setup. “You call this ‘early’?”

“I got dumped. You never check my posts?”

“Who scrolls through that nonsense?”

“…”

The self-proclaimed social media king was speechless. He grabbed his wallet, phone, and watch, then called out, “Let’s go.”

Living alone had its perks — no need for goodbyes or breakfast prep, unlike Xu Qing.

“Women are devils, man. Look at me now.” Wang Zijun shivered as he stepped outside. “I regret everything. I swear, I’m turning over a new leaf—”

“Wait, where’s your car?” Xu Qing interrupted. He’d come to catch a ride, so why was Wang Zijun walking?

“Gone.” Wang Zijun shrugged. “Had a fight with my old man. Now I’m broke, just like you.”

“…”

“Let’s take a taxi… Wait, it’s pretty far. Let me check.” Wang Zijun glanced at his phone. “Let’s take the subway. Poor folks gotta live poor.”

“Want me to lend you some cash to get by?” Xu Qing headed towards the subway station.

“Teach me how to survive a month on ten grand in this city…”

“Get lost!”

The two joked and laughed all the way to the subway. Money or no money, they made do. This wasn’t the first time Wang Zijun had been broke — he’d once crashed at Xu Qing’s place, surviving on instant noodles for half a month.

No big deal.

The subway was crowded as usual. They moved in, grabbed the handrails, and waited for the train to start.

“Ever heard of Hunyuan Xingyi Taiji Quan?”

“Lightning Five-Strike Whip?” Wang Zijun recognized it.

“Expert, huh.” Xu Qing gave him a thumbs-up. “You’ve all got it wrong. I practiced it for two days, and it actually works. You should try it.”

“Bullsh*t.”

Wang Zijun snorted, his eyes darting sideways.

“What are you looking at?” Xu Qing asked, puzzled.

“She looks familiar… like one of my exes,” Wang Zijun whispered.

“I am your ex!” The girl, having overheard them, snapped in fury.

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