Don't Value

The bustling scene of the street filled with various stalls was familiar and unfamiliar to Liu Xinyu. She could the loud voices coming from the loudspeakers calling for customers, luring them with offers that one wouldn't be able to refuse. Yi Qin seemed to be a bit lost in this place and quite out of place too.

Although he knew about such a market, he had never done any shopping here. No matter what he was still the youngest son of the Yi family. How could he be short of money to resort to coming to such places to get cheap deals? Nothing he wore was cheap!

In this regard, Liu Xinyu seemed a lot more comfortable and even found a stall where the clothing style was acceptable to her. Fashion trends always repeat after a decade or so, that's why the styles weren't all that unfamiliar to Liu Xinyu but not all were acceptable either. She was really glad that she didn't time travel to the '60s or '70s, she'd have killed herself if she had to wear floral patterns with loud colors. 

Yi Qin was quite impressed by her once more as he watched her bargaining so skillfully and even managed to snag herself a good deal. She managed to buy four dresses under the price of 100 and even got a pair of socks free of charge. He was beyond impressed at the moment. 

At this moment, his thoughts were actually similar to Yiyi's in that Liu Xinyu was like a treasure box, the more you explore, the more valuable asset you'll find within. He just couldn't understand what kind of parents raised a daughter like her who was a jack of all trades.

If Yiyi heard his internal thoughts, she would have loved to shout, 'It's you! You raised this treasure box.' But sadly, neither could she hear his internal thoughts nor could Yi Qin hear her voice. 

"Why are you so good at bargaining?" asked Yi Qin to Liu Xinyu.

"Because Mama always says, the future is as unpredictable as the wind. Everything in this world is transient, except for your skills and talents," Liu Xinyu explained, her voice tinged with the wisdom of her mother's teachings. "One should always rely on oneself. Just because you don't need a skill today doesn't mean you won't need it tomorrow. And even if you never get the chance to use that skill, it still won't hurt to have it in your arsenal. No skill or talent is ever wasted; you just need to find the right place to wield it."

"I agree," replied Yi Qin as looked thoughtful after listening to her words. He seemed to be repeating those words over and over again. Those words seemed to be hitting straight to his heart right now. Those words spoke to him like they were meant for him. "By the way, you didn't even take thirty minutes in shopping. My girlfriend usually takes hours picking out just one outfit and you bought four within twenty minutes while the rest of ten minutes were used on sweet-talking the stall owner."

Hearing him speak of his girlfriend, Liu Xinyu paused. Of course, she wasn't a fool. So, she knew clearly that this girlfriend was someone she also didn't know about. This must be the first love of her father. Actually, she was a very open-minded daughter at the moment. She wasn't even mad at her father for having a girlfriend or loving a woman who was not her mother. 

Who said he couldn't have a life before marrying her mother? Anyway, they had an arranged marriage which was a fact and then they fell in love which was also a reality she watched unfold in front of her eyes. Right now, she was quite interested in seeing what kind of first love her father actually had though.

"What's a girlfriend?" asked Yiyi curiously.

Liu Xinyu gave a glance at this ancient ghost and covered her mouth with her hand to whisper, "It means a lover."

"Having an affair before marriage. That's dishonorable!" was Yiyi's response as she looked very displeased about this.

"Shut up!" was the only thing Liu Xinyu said to Yiyi right now. How was she to tell this innocent ghost from ancient times that having a girlfriend was still normal and not as disgraceful as she thought it to be. The relationships were even messier in the future. This old ghost might combust just knowing about the details of those messy relationship statuses.

"Where do you want to go now?" asked Yi Qin. "It's not good to stay at home all the time. You should freshen up your mind too to help with your recovery. Do you have a place in mind?"

"Is there a library nearby?" asked Liu Xinyu.

"Library?" repeated Yi Qin. He couldn't understand why someone would want to visit a library to spend their free time. Was it fun there? It was not! "What are you gonna do there?"

"Read books to enhance my knowledge reserves," was Liu Xinyu answer which almost touched her. When had she been a fan of books? She would prefer practical knowledge over theoretical knowledge anytime and any day! Why else would she be so bad at history?

Yi Qin's lips twitched when he heard that response but didn't think it was nice to question her thirst for knowledge. So, he agreed to take her to a library. It was only after riding the bicycle at the gate of the Yuchen University that Liu Xinyu realized which library he was taking her to. 

The market they were at seemed to be quite close to Yuchen University which wasn't surprising though. But she was wondering, how was she supposed to enter when she wasn't even a student here. However, she was worried for nothing since Yi Qin seemed to be on good terms with the guards at the entrance gate. 

She was happily invited in and even managed to enter the library without a hitch. She had to say her father was popular with people. He was capable when it came to human relations. But it wasn't a talent. It was purely because he was a genuine and sincere person which helped him in getting close to others and gaining their recognition too.

Yi Qin looked at the time and said, "I'm gonna go and meet my girlfriend. I haven't seen her in days. She must be really mad at me. Would you be okay here?"

"I'm not a kid," replied Liu Xinyu. "You can go about your business. I'm fine here."

"You're not a kid but you are my responsibility. At least, until you completely recover." He smiled at her and waved his hand before leaving.

"He is a bit naive but he has his merits," commented Yiyi.

"Didn't you want to check the information? We are in the library now. Go about your business. Don't always pass comment on my father."

Yiyi chuckled, "I can't help it. He is such an interesting person. I seemed to have not met such a real person in a long time." Seeing the way Liu Xinyu looked at her, she went on, "You're not real. You are wearing too many masks. There is nothing real about you. At least, I don't dare trust someone like you easily."

Liu Xinyu shrugged, "Who said I want your trust? Trust is a luxury that people can't afford. It seems to be rarer than love."

"Something is only valued when it's rare," was Yiyi's response.

"No, not really," she replied, her tone tinged with a hint of cynicism. "People don't value anything apart from their lives. In front of the fear of death, everything else pales. Even trust and love, though rare, are often overlooked. I have seen people trampling on others' genuine feelings and demeaning their trust too. Living people only value their life. Everything else is expendable, easily discarded like trash or bartered away once it serves its purpose." 

"Your father likes to see the best in people while you live to see the worst. You both are extremes. Are you sure you are blood-related?"

Liu Xinyu glared at her as she said, "I don't see the worst in people. I just speak what I see. Nothing I say is baseless. I have an experience to back up all my words. I don't speak groundless words." She looked around the aisles of books around and started seeing what she could read to further confirm her ideas. "Why aren't you going to read?" she asked Yiyi. "Don't tell me you're illiterate."

"I'm literate," said Yiyi in a bitter tone.

Liu Xinyu raised her eyes as something came to her mind, "So, you are that old. You studied ancient characters and can't read the new characters, right?"

Yiyi gave her a hateful look because she couldn't refute. She was in the bind here. Even if she wanted to read, she couldn't!

After laughing to herself, when Liu Xinyu noticed a student giving her a strange look, she coughed and stopped laughing. Then she went to find a book and placed it on the table in the deserted corner, "Read this one. How fast you learn is up to you."

Yiyi was actually grateful. Although Liu Xinyu didn't speak nicely, she was somewhat a nice person. She wasn't completely hopeless either. After making fun of her, at least, she was willing to help.