"I'm sorry, miss, are you all right?" Xiaoxiao was only protecting the ink that she had; if it spilled, it would all be over. Before she could even look up, she heard a pleasant voice. At the sound, she turned to look.
She saw a man with thick brows and big eyes, wheat-colored skin, a high nose bridge, a round face, and thin lips. He was quite handsome, with a clear complexion and expressive eyes, standing at about 1.8 meters tall, with a well-proportioned figure, neither fat nor skinny. He was dressed in a long cotton coat. Though he had the appearance of a scholar, there was a certain resoluteness about him, and Xiaoxiao found herself staring for a moment. Realizing it was impolite, she smiled broadly at him and said, "I'm fine, thank you!" Then, she turned and walked away.
Watching the girl's retreating figure, the man felt a bit dazed. She seemed familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before!
"Hey! What are you looking at? Have the books been delivered yet?"
"Oh! Not yet, I'm on it now."
"Let's go, I'll go with you." After speaking, the two headed toward the Bookstore.
Indeed, the two men were none other than Yang Ming and Chu Lian, who had come to the Bookstore to deliver books!
"This is the first time I've seen a woman come to copy books; usually, it's the students from the Academy."
"Exactly! Look at that woman's writing, such beautiful small script, clearly practiced for many years, she must be from some family's young lady."
"No, that's not right, what young lady would come out to copy books? Could it be that she's from a family that has fallen on hard times?"
There was a lot of discussion going on inside the Bookstore, and the two men heard it as soon as they entered. Chu Lian, curious, stepped forward to ask.
"What does the woman look like?"
"Well, how should I put it, not very pretty, but she does have a certain ladylike air about her. Her hairstyle is very distinctive, up to here," he said, gesturing to his shoulder.
Upon hearing this, Chu Lian thought, This must be the woman from before!
Yang Ming thought, This must be the woman from just now!
"Quick, show me the writing she did!" Chu Lian said urgently, his heart pounding. When he saw the handwriting, he smiled, determined to find her!
Yang Ming was surprised when he saw the words written on the paper—beautiful small script, accompanied by a fine poem: A precarious pagoda rises a hundred feet, hands could pluck stars from the sky, dare not speak aloud, for fear of startling the celestial beings above.
She could truly be considered a talented woman, signed with the name Xiaohan. So, her name was Xiaohan. Recalling her smile from before, he smiled too.
And so, the name Xiaohan silently took up residence in the hearts of two men!
In fact, Xiaohan was just Xiaoxiao's modern-day pseudonym. She was used to signing her name in modern times, and the poem was something even kindergarten children in modern times could recite, so she had written it down casually, never imagining it would be remembered.
Yang Ming had come to the Bookstore to deliver books, as he couldn't be much help at home, and he had to earn his own living expenses. He had brought three books and received three hundred wen, then took another three books before heading back to Yulin Academy. Actually, there were book copying services in the County as well, but people from the town preferred to come to the town's Bookstore, as they were more familiar with each other.
At this moment, Xiaoxiao had no idea she had just had a chance encounter with her nominal husband. A chance encounter! How romantic! And yet, it was so melodramatic! The two of them did not recognize each other. It's not really their fault; they had barely seen each other for a minute on their wedding night. Xiaoxiao was still dazed from the time travel, hardly seeing anything clearly, and Yang Ming had not dared to look at her, moreover, since she had changed her hairstyle, recognition was even more difficult!
After separating from Yang Ming, Xiaoxiao went home. She needed to hurry back and start copying books to earn money. After arriving home, she explained the situation to her mother-in-law, who, along with her sisters-in-law, did not blame her. They were instead grateful that she could help share the burden.
"Mom, don't worry, I'll think of some other way."