My Wife Came From A Thousand Years Ago

Chapter 6: Hope is a dream

"I’ll take that as a yes."

Xu Qing waited for a moment. Seeing that she neither moved nor showed any signs of leaving, he directed his gaze to the sword lying on the floor nearby.

"In the future, don't draw your sword so casually. For people in this world, that's extremely frightening. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll help explain."@@novelbin@@

Jiang He tilted her head slightly, thought carefully, and her lips moved a couple of times without making a sound.

There were too many questions—she didn’t even know where to start.

She understood nothing about this place. She wanted to ask about everything yet didn’t know how to begin.

"Where’s your wife?"

"Huh?"

Is gossip just a natural trait of women?

"I’m here…” Jiang He looked around, clenching and unclenching her fists.

"I’m a pure-bred single guy in my twenties. No wife yet."

"…Not married yet?" Although she didn’t quite understand the word "dog" in this context, she did catch the part about him being unmarried.

"Yes." Xu Qing nodded.

"…"

The room fell silent.

"Are you thinking that it's a bit improper for a man and woman to be alone together, or something? Look, in this world, that's normal. Besides, I'm not asking you to sleep in my bed. That storeroom over there—I’ll clean it up, and you can make do with it for now."

Unable to hold back, Xu Qing explained as he got up and gestured for her to follow him to the storeroom door. Inside was a spring bed that just needed a little tidying and some bedding to make it livable.

Jiang He only came up to his shoulder. Standing by the door, she looked up at him with a somewhat odd expression.

Getting a meal delivered just by saying hello, and a landowner at his age not being married yet—is this a custom in this place?

Xu Qing had no idea what was on her mind. He gathered up the clutter on the bed, wiped it down with a towel, then fetched a winter blanket from his room. He only had one set for summer and one for winter, so he'd have to make do.

"This is all clean; it’s been washed. You can use it for now, and we’ll figure things out tomorrow."

Once he finished, Xu Qing stood at the door and demonstrated the lock for Jiang He again. Pausing, he added, "Get some rest early. I know your mind must be racing. Mine is too. Well…goodnight."

"…I hope we both wake up to find this was just a dream. Oh, by the way, my name is Xu Qing."

With that, Xu Qing gave her a small smile, turned off the living room light, and returned to his room.

Jiang He stood quietly by the door, watching as he closed his room door. She looked around the living room, picked up her long sword, and clutched it tightly as she returned to her room, sitting on the bed with a pensive expression.

---

Night deepened.

The clouds gradually dispersed, and the moon peeked out, made brighter by the recent rain. The gentle moonlight streamed through the window, falling onto Xu Qing's face.

Xu Qing couldn’t sleep.

He lay awake, staring at the moon outside his window, feeling a faint sense of unreality.

A regular, albeit unlucky, day spent interviewing and getting soaked on his way back home without an umbrella had ended up with him finding a sword-wielding girl who claimed to be from ancient times…

In the distance, a few dogs barked.

Xu Qing shifted, pulling his numb arm from under his head and listening for a moment. Hearing nothing further, he closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.

Whatever this mess is…we’ll deal with it tomorrow.

---

Without realizing it, dawn arrived.

By the time Xu Qing woke up, it was already past ten in the morning. Another day of slacking.

Stretching lazily on his bed, he grabbed his phone and scrolled for a moment. Suddenly, he froze at the sound of a soft noise outside.

The heroine?

Xu Qing leapt from his bed and stealthily crept to the door, carefully opening it a crack to peek outside. Jiang He was sitting on the couch, wearing the T-shirt he had given her yesterday, and holding a yellowed silk cloth as she wiped her sword.

"Xu…Qing?"

Jiang He had sensed movement by the door and looked over at him.

"Uh, so…it wasn’t a dream, huh. You…uh."

Xu Qing’s heart sped up slightly as he adjusted his clothes, walked over to the table, and poured himself a large glass of water, gulping it down in one go before exhaling deeply.

For a brief moment, he’d doubted himself, wondering if she was playing a trick. But then, looking at the TV with a hole in it, he dismissed the thought.

A real ancient person from twelve hundred years ago was right here.

"So…you’re up early."

"It’s nearly noon." Jiang He sheathed her sword, setting it aside as she looked at Xu Qing, her expression indecisive.

Him waking up at nearly midday gave her an indescribable feeling, but strangely, it made her feel more at ease.

"Uh…"

Xu Qing scratched his head. "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

Jiang He patted herself down, realizing she was wearing the T-shirt and jeans Xu Qing had given her. She paused, got up, and took out two small silver pieces from her room, placing them on the table. Glancing at the still-surprised Xu Qing, she hesitated, "Even though you don’t seem to need it, here…"

"Got any gold?" Xu Qing asked on impulse.

Silver wasn’t worth much, but gold—gold had value anytime and anywhere. He still didn’t know how he was going to manage getting her an ID card, and he couldn’t afford to bribe anyone.

Jiang He paused, thinking, then went back to her room and brought out a crescent-shaped jade pendant. "This…should pawn for some silver, at least."

"Forget it. I was just joking. No need to pawn anything; I’m not so broke I can’t feed you. Take the silver back."

Xu Qing waved her off. Noticing her loose clothes, he thought for a moment and decided not to order food. "Stay here while I go out to get some daily necessities and clothes for you. I’ll bring lunch back, too—remember, don’t leave. It’s dangerous outside."

Though she looked better in his clothes than in that rough cloth and straw shoes, it was still an odd outfit for stepping out. Once she changed into some modern clothes and let her hair down, she could at least walk around the area without drawing too much attention.

With that thought, he dressed and headed out, focusing entirely on how to conceal her identity.

This was a matter he couldn’t afford to be careless about. A real ancient warrior…any mishap could lead to irreversible consequences.

“About this high…what’s her size?”

In a women’s clothing store, Xu Qing picked out a few simple and neat outfits in a youthful style, measuring against his shoulder as he consulted with the staff, then bought three sets. Before leaving, he thought it over and added a long skirt.

Clothes, pants, shoes, socks, and…

Seeing a lingerie store nearby, Xu Qing winced, hesitating for a moment before finally walking in.

“What size?”

When the clerk asked, Xu Qing cringed, gesturing vaguely with his hands, realizing he had no idea what to buy.