The letter paper was a special blue shade, indicating that the sender was either meticulous or a frequent letter-writer.
What could the letter contain?
Xia Yu put down the paper knife in his right hand and asked Wen Ziying, “May I take a look?”
“There’s nothing worth seeing; it’s just some annoying stuff from a reader,” Wen Ziying replied, neither forbidding nor encouraging him.
Unsure of Wen Ziying’s intention, Xia Yu hesitated on whether to read the letter when Wen Ziying added, “If you really want to read it, go ahead.”
Xia Yu opened the letter, glanced through it briefly, and then closed it again.
Thanks to his exam-oriented education, he had already grasped the letter’s meaning with a few quick glances.
In short, it criticized her new book, expressed disappointment, and hoped Wen Ziying would write a better story next time.
Putting the letter back into the envelope, Xia Yu took the opportunity to check the sender’s name.
It was the pen pal Wen Ziying had previously mentioned, someone she often corresponded with.
So, was this the reason she ran to the countryside? Yet there was nothing particularly provocative in the letter.
Therefore, there were only two possibilities: either the letter was unrelated to the matter, or it was merely a trigger, with other reasons causing Wen Ziying’s departure.
Well, he would just continue observing.
After staying with Wen Ziying for eight hours, Xia Yu returned to his own body in the evening.
Picking up his phone, he saw messages from Yu Ningmeng and Ning Qiuer.
Yu Ningmeng invited him for archery tomorrow, while Ning Qiuer wanted to chat casually.
Xia Yu replied to Yu Ningmeng’s message first.
“Just archery?” He wanted to make sure Yu Ningmeng wouldn’t drag him into work or pester him with questions during archery.
“Relax, I won’t make a move on you. You should trust the integrity of your elders,” Yu Ningmeng replied quickly.
“…That’s not what I meant,” Xia Yu sent a sighing emoji.
If it were a typical girl, she would have felt embarrassed for misunderstanding him. However, although Yu Ningmeng lacked the physical attributes of a mature woman, she had the composure of one. She calmly replied:
“It’s okay, I know what you meant.”
“???”
Anyway, as long as it wasn’t about work, it was fine.
After agreeing to contact each other tomorrow morning, Xia Yu ended the conversation with Yu Ningmeng.
He then started replying to Ning Qiuer.
Ning Qiuer had sent photos of her dinner. On the surface, it was casual chatting, but in reality, she was trying to get closer and repeatedly steered the conversation toward songs.
Xia Yu, having given up on further investigation, adopted a strategy of maintaining contact with Ning Qiuer without getting too involved. He chatted with her rather indifferently, feigning ignorance and avoiding her attempts to bring up songs.
Ten minutes into the chat, Ning Qiuer angrily threw her phone onto the pillow.
Grabbing the teddy bear beside her, she lay on the bed, gritting her teeth.
Previously, when Xia Yu suddenly gave her two songs, she thought there might be a chance. But after Xia Yu’s initial enthusiasm, his attitude suddenly cooled.
If Xia Yu had been directly indifferent, she would have given up sooner. But Xia Yu’s behavior, being sometimes close and sometimes distant, made her feel as if she might succeed, yet also as if she might not, like she was being hooked on a long fishing line.
After calming down, Ning Qiuer carefully thought and analyzed the situation, reaching a conclusion.
It seemed she had become a backup option.
Wasn’t this distant yet not entirely dismissive attitude precisely the tactic of keeping a backup?
Damn it!
Grabbing the teddy bear, Ning Qiuer got out of bed and headed to the recording studio.
In that case, she would have to use her ultimate move.
Turning on the recording equipment, Ning Qiuer sat in front of the piano and began playing from memory.
Her playing was very unskilled. It took her the entire night to produce a version she was somewhat satisfied with.
Exporting this version as an MP3 and cutting off the last two parts, leaving only the first part, Ning Qiuer smiled proudly.
With this, Xia Yu would definitely take the bait.
Then, the roles of the fisherman and the fish would reverse!
She climbed into bed, deciding to start her plan after waking up.
As the sun rose, she fell into a deep sleep, while Xia Yu woke from a dream.
After washing up and having breakfast, Xia Yu arrived at the club.
His coach brought him to the 30-meter target.
Yu Ningmeng had not arrived yet, so Xia Yu practiced alone first.
This kind of practice had continued for more than half a month, and he had basically gotten used to this lifestyle.
At school, he had taken leave until winter vacation.
He estimated that in about two or three days, his archery skill would reach level 3.
In the coach’s eyes, this speed was already rapid progress, but Xia Yu was not entirely satisfied.
Since he was practicing in his own body, he couldn’t use experience cards to accelerate. Otherwise, if he used all the experience cards he had accumulated for so long, he would at least reach level 4, probably even level 5.
To enhance skill levels with experience cards, he had to be in another body with relevant bonuses. Using Liu Manman’s body for archery made Xia Yu hesitate.
If it were a stranger, it wouldn’t be a problem. However, Liu Manman happened to be an acquaintance. If they were as close as You Xue, it would be easier to handle, but they weren’t even that close.
This ambiguous relationship was troublesome.
Anyway, he wouldn’t need it recently. He might as well treat it as a hobby.
Archery is a sport that easily brings a sense of achievement.
Firstly, it’s an individual sport without problematic teammates, and in the early to mid stages, one can clearly see their progress. Secondly, archery equipment isn’t as numerous or expensive as photography gear; you can play extravagantly with just a few ten thousand yuan. Lastly, the action of drawing the bow and shooting arrows isn’t as physically demanding as sports like basketball or football; it’s a quiet sport. Therefore, archery is included in the etiquette, and some places even develop a philosophy around it.
Xia Yu felt that deriving philosophy from archery was a bit ridiculous, but it was indeed fun.
Half an hour later, Xia Yu’s phone rang; it was a call from Yu Ningmeng.
“I’m already here. Did you get up yet?” Yu Ningmeng’s voice came through the phone.
“I’m already inside,” Xia Yu replied helplessly.
“You’re already there? Yao Yao told me you usually wake up at nine in the morning!” Yu Ningmeng exclaimed in surprise.
Why does this girl tell Yu Ningmeng everything!
Opening his mouth, Xia Yu found himself unable to explain immediately, since he indeed used to wake up at nine for some time.
He chose to hang up the phone.
Soon after, Yu Ningmeng entered with the coach, followed closely by another figure.
It was An Yaoyao.
Running up to Xia Yu, An Yaoyao grabbed his hand.
Xia Yu gently touched An Yaoyao’s soft cheek and looked at Yu Ningmeng.
“Are you unhappy seeing me bring Yaoyao here?” Yu Ningmeng asked while signaling the coach to leave.
Xia Yu looked at An Yaoyao again and indeed noticed the tension on the girl’s face.
“Don’t listen to her nonsense,” Xia Yu said, poking An Yaoyao’s forehead.
“Then why didn’t you bring Yaoyao yourself? Are you planning to develop a relationship with that coach?” Yu Ningmeng continued to provoke.
“Do you think Yaoyao is interested in archery?” Xia Yu countered.
Yu Ningmeng stopped speaking. She hadn’t considered whether An Yaoyao was interested in archery. An Yaoyao was always quiet, following her everywhere without showing any dissatisfaction or refusal.
“I want to learn,” An Yaoyao tugged Xia Yu’s hand.
“I’ll teach you,” Xia Yu looked at the traditional bow he used, knowing it wasn’t suitable for An Yaoyao. He walked toward the outside to fetch a practice bow.
Only then did Yu Ningmeng notice that Xia Yu was using a traditional bow.
Although traditional bows aren’t used in regular archery competitions, it’s uncommon for someone to use a bow without any auxiliary devices like sights or stabilizers. Normally, recurve bows with sights and stabilizers are used.
Sights, as the name suggests, are used for aiming, while stabilizers are long rods attached to the front of the bow to improve stability and accuracy.
She was about to ask when Xia Yu had already left the field.
Soon, Xia Yu returned with a recurve bow and asked the coach to change the venue.
They arrived at another outdoor range, a large one with targets from 10 meters to 70 meters, specially prepared for wealthy customers.
“You’re using a traditional bow?” Yu Ningmeng took the opportunity to express her doubt.
“Yeah,” Xia Yu replied.
“Can you shoot at a 10-meter target now?” Yu Ningmeng asked curiously, “How did you know I was shooting at a 30-meter target?”
Yu Ningmeng assumed Xia Yu’s presence at the 30-meter range was to match her progress.
Xia Yu didn’t respond and continued teaching An Yaoyao how to draw the bow and shoot.
Feeling ignored, Yu Ningmeng became dissatisfied. After An Yaoyao shot an arrow, Yu Ningmeng pulled her to her side: “Don’t let him teach you. I’ll do it.”
Xia Yu didn’t argue and silently picked up his own bow, shooting an arrow that hit the nine ring on the 30-meter target.
Yu Ningmeng’s eyes widened in disbelief. In traditional archery, hitting the nine ring at 30 meters was already competition-level.
Xia Yu shot another arrow, hitting the ten ring.
Yu Ningmeng silently let go and approached the 30-meter target, preparing her own recurve bow. She aimed for four seconds before releasing the arrow.
The arrow landed in the five ring.
She shot three more arrows, scoring seven, six, and seven rings respectively. Yu Ningmeng crouched on the ground, calculating how many years she had been shooting and how many days Xia Yu had.
Her ten years of experience couldn’t match Xia Yu’s month of casual play! Although she practiced inconsistently, she shouldn’t have been beaten so badly!
“Are you from an archery family!” Yu Ningmeng couldn’t accept this fact and started looking for external reasons.
“Don’t you know what family I’m from?” Xia Yu continued teaching An Yaoyao.
Yu Ningmeng had seen Xia Yu’s family information from Yu Liang. She knew Xia Yu’s family wasn’t any particular family. If she had to label them, they might be considered a guzheng family.
She looked for another reason: “Then it must be that when you were a child, on a stormy snowy night, you saved a homeless man who had collapsed at your doorstep. To thank you, the homeless man gave you a book called ‘The True Classic of Archery!'”
Xia Yu looked down at An Yaoyao. An Yaoyao looked at Yu Ningmeng, then at him, tilting her head in confusion. Although she wasn’t interested in ‘The True Classic of Archery,’ An Yaoyao wanted to know more about Xia Yu.
“She’s already gone mad. Don’t mind her,” Xia Yu kissed An Yaoyao’s forehead, took her hand, and guided her to draw the bow.
On the other side, after a brief period of discouragement, Yu Ningmeng reignited her fighting spirit. She recalled that at her peak, she could barely hit the 60-meter target. Therefore, she hadn’t lost to Xia Yu, but to herself!
She had regressed! She had defeated herself!
Now, as long as she regained her neglected skills, she could return to her strongest self!
Encouraged, Yu Ningmeng began intense practice.
Ten minutes later, she put down her bow.
She had worked hard today; it was time to go upstairs for a cup of coffee.
After Yu Ningmeng left, Xia Yu became more relaxed. The originally formal teaching immediately became less formal.
Fortunately, Yu Ningmeng still remembered her responsibility and came back down after finishing a cup of coffee.
Picking up her bow again, Yu Ningmeng reflected: How could she have become so decadent? Didn’t she want to return to her peak?
Picking up her bow again, she redoubled her efforts.
After shooting twenty-four arrows, Yu Ningmeng went to retrieve them, glancing toward the 5-meter target. Xia Yu and An Yaoyao were almost leaning against each other.
After another round, she looked again toward the 5-meter target. Xia Yu was helping An Yaoyao correct her posture.
After watching two silly videos on her phone, Yu Ningmeng looked up again. An Yaoyao was giving Xia Yu water to drink.
After dealing with two emails, Yu Ningmeng picked up her bow again. She saw Xia Yu performing a trick of drawing the bow with his feet, while An Yaoyao expressed admiration from behind.
Holding her arms, Yu Ningmeng couldn’t help but wonder if bringing An Yaoyao was the right thing. They were happy, but what about her?
Damn it, without Xia Yu, Yaoyao should be around her!
Drawing her bow, Yu Ningmeng poured her anger at Xia Yu into the target.
At noon, Yu Ningmeng left the club to handle work, finally giving Xia Yu and An Yaoyao some private space.
However, Xia Yu dared not go too far; there were cameras in the venue, and he didn’t want to be recorded.
At four in the afternoon, Yu Ningmeng came to pick up An Yaoyao, and Xia Yu also returned home.
After taking a shower and blow-drying his hair, Xia Yu took out his phone. An Yaoyao had sent him a selfie, indicating she had arrived home safely.
The photo was taken by Yu Ningmeng, showing An Yaoyao striking an archery pose.
Xia Yu replied with a “head pat” emoji and then opened the message from Ning Qiuer.
It was an audio link, with no accompanying text.
Xia Yu thought: Ning Qiuer must be very confident in this audio, expecting him to speak up after listening.
Clicking the link, he was about to use speaker mode but noticed You Xue on the couch outside and decided to put on headphones instead.
In case there were any strange sounds, his image would be ruined.
Clicking play, the audio wasn’t strange human sounds but a piano piece.
The playing was far from impressive, even containing some tremors.
Patiently listening to the end, Xia Yu couldn’t figure out why Ning Qiuer sent this to him.
Was she expecting him to compliment how terribly it was played?
Listening again, Xia Yu noticed something odd, his brows gradually furrowing.
Closing his eyes, he replayed it, this time extending his fingers to try playing along in the air in front of him.
After a minute, he suddenly opened his eyes.
This was—
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage