The King of Black Fog

The last class on Thursday was civil litigation, and by the time it ended, it was already 6 p.m.

Bathed in the sunset, the university looked as if splashed with egg yolk. The classical architecture of the Literature Department was especially resplendent in gold. Many female students, holding their books fresh from class, couldn't resist pulling out their phones to take pictures as they passed by.

Li Changzhou and Li Qianxia had their roommates take their books back, and the two went to the school's electric scooter rental.

"How long?" asked the owner.

"Um—" Li Changzhou calculated the time in his mind while filling out his student information, "About three to four hours."

"That way." The owner pointed to the batch of scooters with more battery left.

This place, like the franchise stores on the street, was filled with electric scooters, though they weren't as new and looked more like a second-hand market.

"Bro, this one, the red one, cool!" Li Qianxia, who didn't have to do anything, had already chosen her ride for the day.

The key was already in the scooter, and Li Changzhou hopped on. Before even leaving the rental shop, Li Qianxia had already climbed on.

"Can't you wait until I get out?"

"I can't."

Last time the siblings rented a scooter to head downtown, Li Changzhou sped off, leaving Li Qianxia chasing behind him.

The sun had already set, and the sky wasn't dark yet, turning a deep shade of blue. The streetlamps among the plane tree branches were lit.

"Emma, love means immediate action."

"Bro, this is an Oppai brand scooter."

"What a naughty name."

Leaving the campus, there was a bit more dust and the smell of food from the adjacent gourmet alley.

"Are you treating me to a late-night snack later?" Li Qianxia asked again.

"I like you so much, I'll treat you to a midnight snack," Li Changzhou said, looking left and right. He then twisted the throttle hard, and the scooter dashed across the big road.

"Because of me, you get to draw water before anyone else, getting close to Yang Qinglan."

"Why don't you have her treat you? With you nurturing her like early spring sun nurtures plants, she's the first woman to be so close to me besides you."

"Shameless, I want stinky tofu."

"Let's see how much I can swindle from Zheng Qing later."

The electric scooter stopped at a traffic light, filled with people getting off work, the sidewalks and lanes packed like a grid of colors.

"Brother, I just love you!" Li Qianxia's voice was sickeningly sweet.

Next to them in the car lane, a man in a BMW looked their way a few times.

"Hey, buddy," he called out to Li Changzhou.

Li Changzhou turned around, "What's up, buddy?"

"How exactly am I not as good as you?" the BMW guy wondered aloud.

Li Qianxia, with her handsome features and sunny ponytail, had a delicate and pale neck visible from under her ponytail, and a good figure, plus she wore hot pants today, revealing two long, sturdy, and fair legs that peeked out from the bottoms of those shorts.

"Ask her," Li Changzhou said, pointing backward with his thumb.

In the BMW guy's view, Li Qianxia clung to her brother's waist, her face pressed against his back, beaming with happiness and infatuation.

"He's super fierce, practically a beast."

"..." The BMW guy was dumbstruck, then finally gave a convinced thumbs-up to Li Changzhou.

Li Changzhou slowly slicked his bangs back.

After the traffic light changed, Li Qianxia burst out laughing, smacking her big brother's back hard.

"Bro, aren't I good to you?"

"Good my ass, it's all for the stinky tofu."

"You swore! I'm telling Yang Qinglan unless you throw in an extra serving of crispy fried potatoes."

This is just how a younger sister is: wanting to hit, yet wanting to spoil.

Yang Qinglan's family bookstore was located alongside the canal on an ancient street called Yanhe Road, with bluestone pavement completely shaded by the green leaves of the roadside trees.

Li Changzhou parked the electric scooter in front of the bookstore and carefully locked the rear wheel—getting it stolen now, given his current financial status, might result in a debt lasting three months.

"Qing Lan Bookstore," he glanced at the sign.

A wooden door, a wall of glass, the store already lit with twilight-colored lights inside. Yang Qinglan was arranging the bookshelves in front of the glass, wearing an apron with her hair twisted up in a bun at the back of her head.

"Hi~ Qing Lan~" Li Qianxia stood outside the glass wall, insisting on greeting her from there.

Yang Qinglan looked up, a slight smile forming around her lips.

Every man has an ideal woman in his heart, and there's no need to elaborate on why this sentence is written here.

Li Changzhou followed his sister into the bookstore, looking around. It was a simple bookstore with a few tables, seemingly offering coffee and desserts as well.

The green wind pattern that always appeared on Yang Qinglan's tote bags hung on the bookstore walls, printed on coffee cups, and even on bookmarks. Covered by the yellow warm lamps, it felt like stepping into the world of that tote bag.

"Is it just you?" Li Qianxia asked, her tone suggesting she had been there before.

"I let them go back first." Yang Qinglan replied while continuing to pick up the books, "You guys sit, I'll be ready soon."

"Need help?"

"No need."

Li Changzhou and Li Qianxia sat down at a long table.

On the table, there was a simple bookshelf, which contained a menu, some pens, and five books.

Love Letter, Lover, Soul Breaking in Geneva, Pessoa's poetry, Animal Weapon.

Li Changzhou casually pulled out Animal Weapon and realized at the same time: Yang Qinglan might be earning money from strugglers and, through these books, observing who the strugglers were.

'Do nations with big data also find people this way?' he thought.

"What would you like to drink?" Yang Qinglan was almost done organizing.

"Don't bother, ice water is fine." Li Qianxia replied.

Soon, Yang Qinglan brought over three glasses of ice water.

The square ice cubes floated in the water, adorned with a slice of green mint, giving off a summer vibe.

Li Changzhou noticed that Yang Qinglan was paying attention to him and the Animal Weapon in his hand.

He pretended to be nonchalant—if he were a struggler, he should appear very serious, but he chose to act the opposite... to tease her.

Yang Qinglan indeed gave him another couple of looks.

Then, she started to lecture: "So careless. Aren't the things useful to you sharp enough? Or do you think that just being in the real world, you can rest easy?"

Although Li Qianxia didn't know what had transpired, as long as it was an attack on her brother, she agreed, chiming in:

"Last night on the sports field too, casually exposing your abilities, not reassuring at all!"

"..."

If Li Changzhou claimed now that he was teasing Yang Qinglan, it would only be seen as an excuse by a stubborn and delusional man.

"I'm sorry."

He deeply felt the power of the saying, 'like a mute eating bitter melon — suffering that can't be expressed.'

However, he hadn't expected Yang Qinglan to be so strict.

Strictness is good. If people aren't admonished, they won't reform; if the bell isn't struck, it won't ring. It could not only chastise him, but also teach their children in the future... He liked that.

Li Changzhou put the book back, picked up his glass of water, took a sip, and rested his elbows on the table.

He curiously asked, "Did Qing Lan bookstore exist first, or was it Qing Lan that came first?"

"Qing Lan was first."

"You don't think that just by listening, I can tell whether 'qing' contains a 'water' radical, do you?"

Yang Qinglan smiled sweetly, not giving him an answer, letting him guess for himself.

This woman is so bad.

Li Qianxia suddenly sighed, propping up her head, her face wearing a tired expression, "Value games are so annoying."

"What's wrong?" Yang Qinglan asked with a bit of amusement.

This version of Li Qianxia was completely out of sync with her usually lively image.

"Never mind her," Li Changzhou swirled his water glass, the ice cubes clinking against the glass walls, "After a whole day of classes, being detached from worldly desires, everyone has these few minutes."

Yang Qinglan nodded and said:

"Actually, most people hate value games, it's like an emergency room, where you are both the doctor and the patient, whether you make it through depends entirely on you."

"Well said!" Li Changzhou pointed with his index finger at Yang Qinglan, "No wonder you come from a home with a study."

"It's a bookstore, and also, don't point your finger at people."

"Understood." Li Changzhou put down his index finger.

"Do you guys think, will we win? Can humanity survive this mass extinction?" Li Qianxia had entered a philosophical state, staring blankly at the two of them.

Li Changzhou thought she was sleepy.

"What do you think?" Yang Qinglan asked Li Changzhou, eager to hear his thoughts.

"Just look up at the night sky to know." Li Changzhou said.

"What do you mean?" Li Qianxia asked.

"Are the billions of stars in the universe just there to help humans find direction or tell fortunes? In the vast cosmos, Earth is just an insignificant speck of dust, what makes humans entitled to survive until the end?"

"Are you saying that we are doomed?" Yang Qinglan asked back.

"Then I have to say," Li Changzhou smiled a bit, "why can't those who survive to the end be us?"

Li Qianxia still propped up her head with her hands, but she kicked him slightly, "Stop talking nonsense, what use do I have for you, my lordship."

Li Changzhou let go of the water glass, ready to show her the consequences of insubordination, when the door was pushed open, and Zheng Qing entered in casual clothes.