Zhang Beixing understood. Then, when he looked at the courtyard again, for some reason, it suddenly seemed not as precious as it had first appeared! It’s just all show and no substance—good-looking but useless! My evaluation is average! Zhang Beixing thought, his face indifferent.
Noticing this change in him, Liu Yi’s eyes narrowed. For some reason, he always felt that this brat Zhang Beixing was thinking something offensive, especially considering Zhang Beixing’s character. What was initially a fifty-fifty chance suddenly skyrocketed to one hundred percent. So, Liu Yi flicked Zhang Beixing’s head, whispered a warning, "Don’t cause trouble," and then led him into the yard. He greeted his sister-in-law and nephew’s wife, introducing Zhang Beixing to them and them to Zhang Beixing.
After the introductions and getting to know each other, Zhang Beixing temporarily settled down there. Updates are released by novel~fire~net
Sitting in the guest room the Liu Family had assigned him, Zhang Beixing aimlessly played with his smartphone, somewhat missing the days before the holiday. Shi University was great. You could just dive into the woods and practice boxing right away, with everything you needed at hand. It was unlike now, where he couldn’t complete his steel wire martial arts training. There was also no place to practice stances in the water. Even his Hidden Force version of the Northern Sect’s Eight Pieces of Brocade, which required no specific conditions for practice locations, had been explicitly prohibited by Liu Yi because of the disturbance Zhang Beixing’s practice caused.
After all, this was Yanjing. It might be short on other things, but it had an abundance of people! If Zhang Beixing’s martial arts training caused a commotion here, it wouldn’t just be disturbing the peace; it would be disrupting public order! Even if it wasn’t intentional, he would still be invited for a ’cup of tea’ at the police station, and then Liu Yi would have to come and pick him up.
Alas! Forget it. I won’t practice then. I’ll consider it giving myself a break. Anyway, I’ve pretty much maxed out everything I can improve. Missing a little martial arts training time won’t hurt. I’ll take it slow! Zhang Beixing sighed, consoling himself.
Not long after, Zhang Beixing learned from Liu Yi that it would be another two days before Liu Yi’s brother would be free. Only then would he take Zhang Beixing to practice with Liu Pan, and they would also get to visit the military area. Zhang Beixing was looking forward to it. He planned to return to Shishi after learning the Yue Family Spear Technique.
When it came to learning martial arts, Zhang Beixing was unfazed. After all, his comprehension was so high that he could generally learn something after watching it just twice, so he wouldn’t be delayed in Yanjing for too long.
Then, Zhang Beixing took out his phone and found Sophia Zhou to chat. He discovered she also had nothing much going on for the next two days. So, he decided they should meet at Tiananmen at four-thirty the next morning. After watching the flag-raising ceremony, they would tour Yanjing together.
Sophia Zhou gladly accepted Zhang Beixing’s proposal. She said she was going to bed right then, or else she wouldn’t be able to get up in time. Seeing this, Zhang Beixing replied, "Okay, I’m off to sleep too." Then, he casually opened Douyin and became immersed in captivating dance videos of one alluring dancer after another, unable to pull himself away!
「Time slipped away, and before he knew it, it was one o’clock in the morning.」
As Zhang Beixing noticed the dance moves of the alluring dancers on screen becoming less energetic, he suddenly realized a problem. Have I stayed up a bit too late? I have to rush to Tiananmen to watch the flag-raising with Sophia Zhou at four-thirty!
Obviously, it was too late to sleep now. And given his current mental state, he probably couldn’t fall asleep even if he tried. So, after some thought, Zhang Beixing decided to get up and go out for a stroll. They say staying up late isn’t good. In that case, why not just pull an all-nighter?
Zhang Beixing put on his jacket and walked out. Yanjing truly lived up to its name as the Imperial Capital. Even in the dead of night, it was bustling and brilliantly lit. Looking at the distant, dazzling lights, Zhang Beixing couldn’t help but marvel at how amazing big cities were. Then, his gaze was drawn to flickering embers nearby. He saw Liu Yi sitting in the small courtyard, smoking and wreathed in clouds of smoke.
Seeing this, Zhang Beixing’s eyebrows lifted. He called out, "Yo, Teacher Liu! Staying up late and smoking all alone? Got something on your mind?"
"No, I just haven’t been back in a while and I’m not quite used to it, so I can’t sleep. That’s all. What about you?" Liu Yi shook his head and asked in return.
"I can’t get used to the bed," Zhang Beixing said with a grin. He then walked over to Liu Yi, bummed a cigarette, and started smoking.
During this time, neither of them spoke.
When the cigarette was nearly finished, Zhang Beixing looked at Liu Yi and suggested, "Speaking of which, Teacher Liu, since you can’t sleep, how about we go to Tiananmen to watch the flag-raising together?"
"That... alright. Shall we go then?" Liu Yi thought for a moment and nodded. He had nothing to do at the moment and wouldn’t be able to sleep anytime soon anyway. In that case, why not join Zhang Beixing? Besides, it had been a while since he’d watched the flag-raising ceremony himself.
"Sounds good, let’s go!" Zhang Beixing said cheerfully. Then, with Liu Yi, an old Yanjing local, as their guide, they headed toward Tiananmen.
Along the way, they passed through a shantytown. Instinctively, Zhang Beixing glanced inside. He saw that even in the cold depths of night, numerous young, attractive women in their twenties stood there in black stockings, shivering in the biting wind.