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  • Downstairs 249, Upstairs 251

    Chapter 8. Eat

    There was still some time before the reunion. Putting the problem aside, she decided to go on a vacation before National Day.

    Being a writer didn’t mean that she only stayed at home. She would compose herself to write at home, but sometimes traveling could bring her a lot of inspiration.

    Shu Shu wanted to go to Lhasa to pray. Her wishes might not come true but at least the prayers could soothe her heart.

    She left without a word.

    That day, Yu Yu was coordinating his lines with the second male lead at the shoot. Acting as the second male lead’s bodyguard, his time of shoot naturally followed the second male lead’s time.

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    He only had a few lines, so he could go back after finishing those. As for the other few shots near the end, they would be arranged for another time.

    He only realized that Shu Shu was not at home on the next day. That night, when he was going back home, he noticed that the lights were off on the fourth floor. He assumed that she slept early.

    At lunch time the next day, he stayed on the balcony for a few hours. He did not see her at all. By afternoon, Yu Yu couldn’t hold back anymore and sent her a weixin. Even after an hour of waiting, there was no reply. Only then he realized that something was wrong!

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    Zw Zw okeldle bkp lulp. Mbkp osxyd, nswze kv cl vbyv psxlvbkdt cye byrrldle vs bla?!

    “Fbw Fbw?” Tl jdsnjle sd vbl essa. Mblal oyp ds xshlxldv kdpkel.

    Zw Zw oldv esod vs vbl vbkae qzssa. Gqvla vbkdjkdt ycswv kv, bl elnkele vs ts vs vbl plnsde qzssa.

    Fsxlsdl srldle vbl essa pbsavzu yqvla bl jdsnjle.

    “Bdnzl. Gwdvu. Pke usw pll vbl osxyd qasx vbl qswavb qzssa?”

    Mbl sze zyeu takddle, “Fbl oyp eayttkdt y zwttytl obld pbl oldv swv ulpvlaeyu. Fbl xwpv cl tskdt psxloblal qya yoyu!”

    “Gb?”

    Mbl sze xyd yzps zywtble, bkp qynl nshlale kd oakdjzlp, “Zsw zshlckaep tsv kdvs y qktbv?”

    “No, no, we’re just neighbors!”

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    The old couple gave him a mysterious smile.

    Yu Yu: “……”

    Going up, he looked at the door on the fourth floor. There was no noise, no activity. It was the scene that he looked forward to, but he felt lonely for some reason.

    Feeling discouraged, Yu Yu went home and laid down on his bed. He took out his phone, and saw no activity at the column named [250 Downstairs]. He glared at it.

    “Hey, where did you die off to?!”

    That same night, Shu Shu arrived at Lhasa and spent the night in a hotel. The following morning, she went out with a backpack.

    Compared to the other tourists who used their camera or phone to take pictures of the place, Shu Shu preferred to travel quietly, to enjoy the scenery, and to taste the local delicacies.

    Although Lhasa was not very hot in September, it had strong rays of sunlight which could easily burn her skin.

    She went to Potala Palace on the first day. Many people had come to visit before the sun turned hot at 11am. Shu Shu strolled through the crowd, not leaving out any single corner.

    Along the way, she saw a lot of panegyrics about Princess Wencheng. Shu Shu closed her eyes, imagining herself going back to many years ago, where the princess and her servants hurried along the corridor.

    People praised her greatness and sang about their moving love story. After the princess died, her name was remembered by the people, but who knew how much she had suffered when she was still alive?

    The Tibetan Empire had been in bad blood with the Tang dynasty for many years. Shu Shu didn’t believe that the political marriage could give the princess happiness. She was a member of a minor branch of a royal clan who was appointed as a princess to be married off. The sixteen-year-old girl had traveled so far away from home – from the prosperous Chang’an to the snowy hills and meadows. Shu Shu could imagine how lost, panicked and anxious she was.

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    There was also Princess Bhrikuti from Nepal. As for which one of them was the true first wife, no one knew! A daughter of the Tang dynasty should be growing up freely under the care of her parents, and then marry a man of the same class where they would grow to love and respect each other.

    After living her entire life, the princess didn’t leave anything behind, aside from a legacy that was passed down for many years.

    The shackles of history, had to be borne by a woman. If Shu Shu were to choose between dying with fame and her name passed down for many years, or to live the present meaningfully, she’d rather choose a wild and carefree life! Only a lifeless body would be left in death, so why care about what happened after she died!

    Of course, this was just a digression. After walking all day at Potala Palace, Shu Shu dragged her weary legs back to the hotel.

    She did not even look at her phone. She washed up hastily and went to sleep, not knowing that there was someone else glaring at the messaging screen on the other side.

    The next day, she went to Jokhang Temple. It was filled with the rich culture of Buddhism, aromatic smell of lit incense, and she saw some devoted worshipers praying earnestly with their bodies down to the ground (Kowtow).

    Will the Buddha hear the wishes of these devoted followers, and help to achieve their dreams?

    Shu Shu did not stay there for long. She entered the temple and worshiped the Gautama Buddha and the other sculptures. She prayed for a peaceful life and later went back to the hotel.

    When she was at home, she wanted to travel. Now when she was traveling, she wanted to go home. After giving it some thought, she felt that it was better to stay home, so she bought a plane ticket to fly back on the same night.

    Around 6am, Yu Yu heard the sounds of luggage dragging across the floor. He leapt up from his dreams and ran out to see Shu Shu who was standing on the fourth floor.

    Seeing his familiar face after being around strangers for the last two days gave her a feeling of sudden fondness. Shu Shu smiled at him when he came down.

    Yu Yu couldn’t explain his feelings at the moment. It was like drinking a hot boba tea in the snow, or eating an ice-cream in the summer…

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    “Where did you go?!” Covering up the awkwardness, his hoarse voice sounded like he was looking for a fight.

    Shu Shu lifted an eyebrow, “Mind your own business!”

    “The way you talk is not likable!”

    “Why should I make you like me?” She rolled her eyes at him as she lifted her luggage up to find the key.

    Then she paused as she turned to him,

    “Why are you up so early? Worried about me?”

    Yu Yu jumped up, “Who’s worried about you? I’m up to eat breakfast!”

    Shu Shu gave him a mysterious smile, “Oh, eat breakfast~” She raised her eyebrows at his clothes as she opened the door and went inside.

    Yu Yu looked down, sh*t! This was awkward. He was in his pyjamas!!!

    “I’m going in to get some sleep, thanks for worrying. I’m still alive. Bye!” The door closed.

    Yu Yu was stunned, and after a few seconds, “Who’s worried about you?! You’re so shameless?!”

    ……

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    Shu Shu only woke up in the afternoon. After a quick washing up, she got ready to do some writing. Luckily she had enough drafts for the last two days when she was out!

    It was 7pm when she was done. Going out to eat, she opened the door and saw the guy upstairs heading down.

    “Yo, we meet again!”

    Yu Yu ‘hmph’ at her, ignoring her as he continued going down. Shu Shu was astonished. Did something hit this guy’s head?!

    At the first floor, Yu Yu stopped and looked at her,

    “You’re going to?”

    “Eat!”

    “Then… Let’s go together!”

    He talked like it was natural. Shu Shu was stunned. Why am I eating with you?!

    The restaurant wasn’t far. Exiting the neighborhood through the back door, it was only three to five hundred meters away. Both of them would usually come here to eat, but since Yu Yu always goes out all the time and Shu Shu likes switching between restaurants, they never eat here together before.

    They sat opposite each other. Yu Yu took the menu and was about to order when he suddenly grinned and passed the menu to Shu Shu. It was obvious that he had something up his sleeve!

    “I want a vegetable salad and a smashed cucumber salad!”

    She returned the menu back to the server as she ordered. Yu Yu’s eyes bulged.

    “No, no! Are you a monk! You don’t even eat meat!”

    Shu Shu looked at him coldly, “You better order what you want to eat yourself, or even better, sit at the other table. There’s still a lot of empty tables here!”

    Yu Yu coughed dryly as he took the menu and ordered two dishes of meat. After the server left, Shu Shu sneered,

    “Spit it out, what’s your scheme here!”

    Yu Yu hid his mouth with his hand as he laughed monotonously in embarrassment, “Er, neighbors should help each other out, right? I have been financially tight lately!”

    Shu Shu: “……”

    National Day was approaching, so Shu Shu talked about it when they were eating.

    “Uh!” Yu Yu rubbed his lips, “What are you saying? Fake boyfriend?!”

    Shu Shu nodded as she poked her food with the chopsticks, looking helpless,

    “But your identity as an extra was on the top searches, so where should I go and find someone else?!”

    Suddenly Shu Shu’s eyes brightened up, “How old is the painter on the third floor?”

    Yu Yu sniggered, “He’ll have to be at least thirty years old, and his height is about, 180cm?”

    Shu Shu sighed, “Do you think it’s too late if I tell them, I have something else to do and can’t go?!”

    “You’re unemployed, what matters can you have? I don’t understand you women, always trying to prove that you’re better~”

    “Don’t utter nonsense when you don’t understand the situation! I will rather bluff than to let that woman step on me! Plus, although I don’t have a rich husband but I have money~”

    ‘Okay, okay, anything you say is right!”

    Yu Yu pondered about it. For some reason, when he imagined her holding his arm to attend the reunion, it made him want to smile. He said,

    “Then you can take me there. If anyone recognizes me, just tell them I’m experiencing life!”

    Shu Shu was expressionless, “Will there be an idiot like that? You think they’ll believe it?”

    Yu Yu: “……” Idiot? Damn you! You go yourself then! I don’t care about you anymore!

    “Can you act like a rich man?”

    Yu Yu flipped his hair with his hand, and said,

    “Naturally!”

    “Alright, then you better put on your best performance that time, I’ll pay for everything!”

    Yu Yu patted his chest, “Sure! No problem!” He was a rich man himself!

    Er… A rich man who had no money for now!

    ……

    At night, she posted a new chapter as usual and updated her Poisonous Chicken Soup weibo. The weibo was always merry online. There were even users who created their own poisonous chicken soup meme themselves. Shu Shu was delighted to see it, and created a post after giving it some thought,

    [Poisonous Chicken Soup: After hitting an obstacle, I’ll take out my mirror and stare at the person inside. I’ll tell myself that there’s no bigger pain that I can’t endure if I have a face like this! Attached pic: I’m pretty, so I’m always right]

    Mountain is not me, I am the Mountain: 666 1Also means impressive in Chinese Du Da, enough

    I love Du Da: Du Da are you always like this every time *badass smile*

    Old Days Old Times: Hahaha, Du Da finally appeared!

    jj Yu: Du Da, you disappeared for so many days

    ……

    Shu Shu replied to the second comment:

    [Du Da: No, when I look into the mirror, I think, since God give me such a pretty face, it’s worth enduring the hardships *grin*]

    She laughed as she saw them teasing her back. Then a comment attracted her attention.

    Table of Content for Advanced Chapters


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