The next day, at the crack of dawn, Chu Ge, who hadn't slept well, woke up early and groggily got up to wash and go to the toilet.
There's no way he wouldn't be on his phone while on the toilet…
Normally, he'd be chatting with his "fellow sufferers" group members at this time, but Chu Ge hadn't been in the group for the past two days. Asking for leave… opening the group usually meant being pressured to update, what was the point?
However, his leave only lasted until yesterday; he had to update today.
After hesitating for a moment, he simply opened his phone's document app, synced the draft he'd written last night, and continued writing on his phone, hoping to publish it first thing this morning, then he'd feel much lighter.
As a writer on the rise with expectations for success, he even wanted to write while on the toilet.
How nice the pros are! They just leave a "No update tonight" and go play games…
Chu Ge thought about himself; he hadn't played games for two or three years. They were talking about Genshin Impact, Naraka: Imperishable, and he'd never even played Honor of Kings. His memories were still stuck on World of Warcraft and Dota… It wasn't that he didn't have time to play a couple of games, but he was afraid that once he got hooked, it would take up too much of his time and energy.
Chu Ge was quite self-disciplined, actually Zhang Qiren was even more so. Chu Ge would watch Dota matches and rant about why Magnus wasn't banned, while Zhang Qiren would only occasionally browse different livestreams to see girls. However, Zhang Qiren's career had ended tragically, and Chu Ge didn't know how much meaning this so-called self-discipline had.
He sat on the toilet for a full half hour, even drying his piss, before finally finishing the chapter and clicking publish.
Chu Ge cleaned himself up contentedly, washed his hands, and casually ran his fingers through his hair. Hmm, he looked even more handsome today. He wondered if Qiu Wuji would be smitten?
But when he opened the bathroom door, he immediately saw Qiu Wuji standing outside, seemingly calmly staring at him, but his eyes clearly hid embarrassment and anger, his face slightly flushed.
Chu Ge asked curiously, "What are you doing standing here?"
Qiu Wuji: "..." The two stared at each other for a long time before Chu Ge suddenly realized, "You need to use the restroom?"
Promise me, fairies aren't allowed to poop, okay?
Why does an ascended master need this? Oh wait, her body is at the Qi Refining stage… If you look closely, there's even some discharge in the corners of her eyes… Right, she ate beef noodles last night, she needs to digest…
Ah… Qiu Wuji couldn't stand being stared at anymore, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth: "Aren't you going to move aside?"
"Um…" Chu Ge said cautiously, "There's only my towel and toothbrush here."
Qiu Wuji, holding back his urge to urinate, awkwardly squeezed his legs together, and barely managed to ask, "What's a toothbrush?"
"It's that." Chu Ge pointed to the toothbrush and cup on the sink, making a brushing motion: "It's used to clean the mouth, like your willow twigs dipped in salt, uh, you probably haven't tried that in thousands of years."
"You want to stuff what you're using in my mouth?" The enraged Qiu Wuji grabbed Chu Ge's collar.
"Holy crap..." Chu Ge leaped into the air as if flying through the air, crashing heavily onto the living room sofa, somewhat annoyed. "I was just reminding you these were things I'd used, and I was going to buy you new ones. What's with this morning grumpiness?" Qiu Wuji opened her mouth, a blush rising to her face again, but ultimately said nothing, slamming the bathroom door shut.
Chu Ge tumbled off the sofa, feeling a headache coming on.
Annoyed as he was, he understood her current embarrassment, but this was also a headache for him... Buying her towels and toothbrushes was fine, but then what?
Will she always wear ancient costumes? Should he buy her modern clothes?
If so, what about underwear?
By the way, will she get her period? Will she need sanitary napkins?
Holy crap!
It sounds interesting that the female protagonist has stepped out of a book, but once the initial fantasy fades, you realize you have to face many realities.
This is life, not a story.
Chu Ge left the house looking constipated. Books could wait to be mailed, but daily necessities had to be bought on the spot.
He felt his life rhythm had been completely disrupted. This time should have been spent reading the chapter comments of new chapters, checking feedback for inspiration, chatting with fellow book lovers, and exchanging boasts with writers in the author group.
Instead, he went to the small supermarket near his apartment, bought a towel and toothbrush, and then picked out a plastic mug with a Q-version fantasy character print, before standing blankly in front of the women's underwear counter.
Under the supermarket clerk's lecherous gaze, Chu Ge finally couldn't take it anymore and fled with the towel, toothbrush, and mug.
At the entrance of the apartment complex, he remembered something, bought soy milk and steamed buns from a roadside vendor, and took them upstairs.
Back in his rented room, Qiu Wuji had already come out of the bathroom and was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. She didn't look like the powerful female sect leader at all; she looked more like a stray cat.
Chu Ge, unable to vent his anger, handed over the food, coldly saying, "Eat something." Qiu Wuji took it, glanced at the chibi-style fantasy girl printed on the cup, then at the steaming steamed buns and soy milk, pursed his lips, and lowered his eyes slightly.
Chu Ge sat to the side, starting to eat his own steamed bun, muttering, "My Qiu Wuji has always been a very reasonable person, never one to bully others. I think we should talk things out now..." Qiu Wuji looked up at him.
"I understand and respect your unwillingness to have your fate controlled by others, and I'm willing to cooperate with you. You want to understand this world, and I feel it's my responsibility to help you. You think I'm lusting after you, and I don't deny it; after all, writing about you did have that intention," Chu Ge said calmly. "But that doesn't mean you can take beating me for granted. You live in my house, use my things, eat my food, yet you resort to physical violence against me at the slightest provocation…"
He paused, put down his soy milk, and turned to look at Qiu Wuji: "In a sense, I gave you my life. I don't demand any divine respect from you, but I treat you with kindness. Shouldn't you reciprocate with the same attitude?"
Qiu Wuji pursed her lips. She did have good intentions, but how to put it… some of her reactions were a kind of knee-jerk response to this "lecherous creator," a form of self-protection.
In short, it was a sense of crisis.
This was ultimately someone who could manipulate her thoughts and actions, unlike other men.
But what he said made sense… Qiu Wuji held his soy milk in silence for a long time, then said softly, "Perhaps my appearance has bothered you, maybe even disrupted your life."
"No, like I said, you came at the right time, thank you." Chu Ge smiled. "It's just that we need to work things out a bit. For example… please believe me, some of what I say might make you feel uncomfortable, but that's perfectly normal."
Qiu Wuji paused, "For example?"
"For example, while it's normal to go out in traditional Hanfu now, nobody does it long-term. Wearing traditional clothing everywhere is crazy. So if you want to stay here long-term, you'll have to wear modern clothes. And those short-sleeved shirts and skirts, and the necessary underwear for wearing such light clothing—would you consider that?"
Qiu Wuji looked blankly at him, "What's that?"
Chu Ge opened his phone, casually searched for an underwear ad, and tossed the phone to Qiu Wuji: "Look for yourself." Then he went into his room and started typing.
Qiu Wuji stared dumbfounded at the woman on the phone, dressed in a bikini and posing provocatively.