Chapter 8: Brother Li, You’re Here!

“Heh, yes, yes!” Zhang Xiaolan replied casually, feeling rather embarrassed at the moment. Her bare body had been seen by Xiaolian, so she quickly stepped onto the small stool and sat down in the wooden tub. Fortunately, there was another little stool inside; otherwise, the water would have covered her chin. As it was, it just reached her collarbone, and she rested her injured hand on the rim of the tub.

“Today I finally learned how your trousers are taken off. It’s strange, though—they don’t need any ties, yet they don’t fall down,” Xiaolian said, holding Zhang Xiaolan’s recently removed clothing and examining it with curiosity, making Zhang Xiaolan feel a bit awkward.

After bathing, Zhang Xiaolan tried on ancient attire for the first time. It felt odd, so she hadn’t actually put on the outer robe yet. Instead, she pulled another pair of jeans from her backpack—the only spare clothing she had brought, just in case her trousers got torn. Thus, she wore traditional upper garments and jeans below. Though the combination was mismatched, she felt it was acceptable, and Xiaolian could only shake her head and let her be.

It had been three or five days since Zhang Xiaolan arrived here, and she was bored. Today, she invited Xiaolian to keep her company. There was little amusement in ancient times, so Zhang Xiaolan decided to bring out childhood games. First, she drew squares and wrote numbers on the ground, playing hopscotch.

Xiaolian was intrigued by the “drawings” and pointed at the marks on the ground, asking, “Miss, are these characters written here?”

“Yes! They’re the script of my hometown,” Zhang Xiaolan replied with a smile. If she explained in detail that they were Arabic numerals, Xiaolian wouldn’t understand anyway.

She taught Xiaolian how to play and demonstrated a few rounds herself, but her stamina was lacking, and after a few jumps she began to pant. Xiaolian, with a childlike spirit, soon mastered the game and usually won, so Zhang Xiaolan began to lose interest. She suggested they gather small stones for another game.

“Miss, what game can we play with these little stones?” Xiaolian, ever curious and at the age for play, asked eagerly.

“Have you never played the stone-tossing game? You throw one stone up and catch it, then keep it in your hand and continue tossing and catching. When you have five, you throw them all up and catch them on the back of your hand, then toss again and catch them in your palm,” Zhang Xiaolan explained simply and demonstrated a few times.

“Oh! That’s pretty much like the stone-tossing game I played as a child!” Xiaolian laughed, watching Zhang Xiaolan play. It seemed easy, but once she started, Xiaolian realized it was harder than she’d imagined.

Zhang Xiaolan and Xiaolian squatted on the ground playing, and this game was much more fun, especially since it wasn’t as exhausting as hopscotch, which required jumping. Zhang Xiaolan’s injury hadn’t fully healed, so jumping tired her quickly.

They were enjoying themselves, but at the final stage of the game, Zhang Xiaolan missed catching the stones—they slipped from the back of her hand and rolled aside, stopping at someone’s feet.

“Brother Li, you’re here!” Zhang Xiaolan looked up and saw Li Rui had arrived, likely to change her dressing.

“Miss Zhang’s injury seems much better,” Li Rui said with a smile, noting her interest in games—a sign that both her body and spirit had improved over the past days.

“Yes, much better,” Zhang Xiaolan replied cheerfully, and as she stood up quickly, she suddenly felt dizzy, her vision darkened, and she pressed a hand to her forehead as her legs gave way. Thankfully, Li Rui caught her in time.