Chapter 6 Counterfeit Goods

"Xuan Shi, you said the other day that the studio that registered Aurora's Intention can only stay for one month based on a story, right?"

Nie Guangyi rarely spoke so seriously.

There was no "Little Shizi," no "Little Shizi," and no intent to start a fight the moment he walked in the door.

This sudden seriousness made Xuan Shi quite uncomfortable.

"According to Cheng Nuo, that is correct," Xuan Shi replied.

The pores on Xuan Shi's body, one by one, were restlessly trying to stand on end.

He didn't know what had gone wrong.

"How come I've never heard of it then?" Nie Guangyi was seriously a bit too much.

"Perhaps... low profile?" Xuan Shi didn't know how to answer.

He and Nie Guangyi knew just as little about "Aurora's Intention."

And asking Cheng Nuo yielded no more results.

Worried that saying too much would dissuade him from going.

Cheng Nuo was definitely overthinking it.

What boyfriend would refuse his girlfriend's invitation to "move in"?

"So next month, that place belongs to Cheng Nuo?" Nie Guangyi's eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Xuan Shi.

"That's right," Xuan Shi, feeling panicked under Nie Guangyi's stare, compromised without a backbone, "Or maybe, Brother Guangyi, you should just call me Little Shizi."

Sometimes it's like that with people; they give you a nickname and you're not comfortable with it.

Once you get used to it and they suddenly stop, it feels off everywhere.

"Xuan Shi," Nie Guangyi's face remained seriously unchanged as he asked solemnly, "What story did Cheng Nuo use?"

"What?"

"What are you plotting?"

Nie Guangyi's words put Xuan Shi on alert.

"I'm going to make up a story too. I must stay there for a month. I want to see how my designs traveled into the mind of this person named Zong Ji."

After returning his award to the committee, Nie Guangyi had specifically looked up the registration information for Aurora Intention Studio.

Beyond knowing that the operator's name was Zong Ji and the business scope was diverse, there were no further findings.

"A made-up story probably won't work. Cheng Nuo used a story about us," Xuan Shi lifted his eyebrows and said, "Only stories that are truly heart-touching can garner an invitation to stay at the studio."

"I'll flood you with 'big head sentiment,' saturate you with 'big head depth,' and I refuse to believe that I can't come up with a story that rivals you and a coffin board's level of engagement."

Nie Guangyi was accustomed to splitting two characters and inserting "big head" in the middle.

Probably because his head was bigger as a child, often made fun of by his peers, a form of vengeful aftermath.

"If you promise me to never call Cheng Nuo 'coffin board' again, I can invite you to her coffee shop as a guest," Xuan Shi set a condition.

"Have I gone mad to run back from Italy to drink coffee?"

Nie Guangyi was frustrated inside.

He knew this stifling, nameless anger shouldn't be directed at his own brother.

But he just couldn't help feeling irate and couldn't hold it back.

Xuan Shi didn't mind; he was used to Nie Guangyi's temper and simply rejoined quietly: "Oh? Our esteemed Brother Guangyi is not interested? Anuo's coffee shop is located right inside Aurora's Intention, you know."

"Oh, oh, oh, were you born in the year of the Rooster? Are you crowing at me?"

"If you're not interested, then never mind," Xuan Shi said no more.

Nie Guangyi's tone was full of unwillingness, but most of his inner anger had dissipated. He changed the subject abruptly: "What's this about no interest? It's a deal!"

"What?" Xuan Shi's mouth gaped open.

Without any pause, Brother Guangyi began a completely new topic: "Isn't that studio only supposed to host people for one month at a time based on their stories? How is she supposed to run a coffee shop there? Isn't there more than one building?"

Nie Guangyi wasn't really concerned with how Cheng Nuo was going to run the coffee shop.

What he cared about was whether he could become the unfortunate one to stay at Aurora Intention Studio after Cheng Nuo.

Of course, if there were similar buildings close by where one could live or rent at will, he couldn't be bothered to make up a story.

He was an architect.

Famous at a young age.

A winner of numerous awards.

Adored by many.

He wasn't some no-name fairy tale writer.

Love and such were already the world's biggest scam.

You can't take it with you when you're born or when you die, and it can't fill your stomach.

Nie Guangyi certainly didn't believe in it.

"No, there's just one, standing alone," Xuan Shi said with a bit of a laugh, looking at Nie Guangyi and pulling at the corner of his mouth, bluntly outing him with a series of questions: "Didn't you send your classmates to take pictures of the scene? Didn't they capture from day to night? Or even do some aerial photography?"

Xuan Shi knew just how little Nie Guangyi trusted Cheng Nuo and understood his brother's stubbornness about not backing down without hitting a wall.

Not quite right.

That description was still too light for his brother Guangyi.

Nie Guangyi's temperament is such that even if he hits a south wall, he must figure out whether the south wall is load-bearing and if it can be knocked down.

"If it's just that one building, how would a coffee shop open?" Nie Guangyi issued a professional challenge, "Without any renovations? It's not enough time just for renovations in one month, right?"

"My Anuo says it's not necessary," Xuan Shi said with a beaming smile.

Although he's a very reserved person, he seems to transform whenever he talks about Cheng Nuo.

Nie Guangyi gave Xuan Shi a look of disdain mixed with boredom and said scornfully, "Even if you don't renovate, opening a coffee shop for a month is just like not opening at all, right?"

Brother Guangyi was rarely kind-hearted — since opening for a month made no difference, why not just cede that month? It was only mid-month now; was it still possible to concoct a story as a substitute?

"Who says a coffee shop can't open in a month?" Xuan Shi retorted, "Who do you think my Anuo is? She could open a coffee shop anywhere for a month and it would become a lifelong memory for countless coffee enthusiasts."

"Give me a break. Showoffs in love die quickly; aren't you afraid of being choked by all the PDA?"

Nie Guangyi found it quite intolerable. Showing off was his trademark; why should Little Shizi copy him?

"How can the person scattering the dog food choke on it when they can't even eat it themselves?" Xuan Shi responded with utmost sincerity, almost as if the words "asking for a beating" were written across his face.

Nie Guangyi was so annoyed he felt itchy teeth.

What has become of the world?

Xuan Shi used to be not like this at all.

No matter how he was bullied, he would never fight back.

Let alone just a couple of teasing comments.

Now, he's even more showy than Brother Guangyi.

No matter how upset he was, Nie Guangyi could only grit his teeth with irritation and swallow his saliva.

What could a small Niezi, with no combat power, do against someone with high combat power who was asking for a beating and wanted to hold off that beating?

Summon his Martial Soul True Body and give a couple of light, ineffective pinches?

...

Nie Guangyi couldn't even imagine in his dreams that the "knock-off" Aurora's Intention was built in a hollow in the hills.

This was simply a blasphemy of modern architectural concepts.

And this was just the beginning of the blasphemy.

==========

[Piaoliu Comment]:

Speaking of the scholar Dongpo, I have a few more words to say.

Setting aside his literary and artistic achievements.

Just speaking of the man himself.

For most men, Su Dongpo ought to be an object of envy.

Many people might not experience what love is in their entire lives.

But he had three passionate loves.

Wang Fu was with him through the most unrestrained period of his life.

Wang Runzhi accompanied him through twenty-five tumultuous years.

Wang ChaoYun, even more so, was the one who understood his outdated thoughts.

Most importantly, these three women got along extraordinarily well.

Wang Runzhi raised Wang Fu's son as her own.

Wang ChaoYun was actually the one who arranged to bring in a concubine for Su Dongpo.

He indeed is a paragon of a man enjoying the blessings of many.

Perhaps some might say that it was the era that shaped this.

Indeed.

That's indisputable.

But let's talk about what set Su Dongpo apart from the men of his era.

For women, Su Dongpo was someone worth entrusting their life to because he respected women.

His ideology even had the rudiments of gender equality.

In the era Su Dongpo lived in, women were mostly nameless.

Before they were married, they were called Tenth Lady, Thirteenth Lady.

After marriage, at most their names would appear in historical records as "Madame Such-and-such."

Su Shi's grandmother was "Madame Shi," his brother Su Zhe's wife was "Madame Shi," and even Su Shi's famous mother only left behind the name "Lady Cheng."

Bear in mind, those who could leave their names in the annals of history were definitely not ordinary women already.

Yet these were still the basic characteristics of that era.

On the other hand, let's consider a detail that doesn't resonate much with us today.

Wang Runzhi, styled Jizhang; Wang ChaoYun, styled Zixia; all these names were given by Su Dongpo, along with his first wife, Wang Fu; she was not simply known as "Madame Such-and-such."

Maybe there are many details in history that we can't verify.

But there are always some details that can provide profound insights.

Paying tribute to Scholar Dongpo—a champion of respect for women.