A Beautiful Accident

"Hey, pervert, do you know how to set up a computer?"

Just as Fan Qiuming was about to wheel Fan Qiulin into the house, Mao Shiyi stepped out from the doorway, one hand on her hip, the other pointing directly at him.

Fan Qiuming turned his head to see Mao Shiyi aiming her finger at him, and couldn't help but think, "She's actually kind of cute..."

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Fan Qiuming, can you assemble a computer or not?"

"I know a little," he replied, unsure. "But I can’t guarantee I’ll be of any help. Besides, it depends on whether my sister agrees—didn’t you just tell her to keep an eye on me?" He spread his hands and looked at Fan Qiulin for her opinion.

Fan Qiulin rolled her eyes at him in exasperation and turned away, heading back to their apartment.

"If you’re going to help, then hurry up. A grown man should get things done without dawdling." With Fan Qiulin’s consent, Mao Shiyi tugged at Fan Qiuming’s hand, urging him on.

"Oh, oh, alright!" Fan Qiuming snapped out of his trance and followed Mao Shiyi to her room, where he found it crowded with boxes—various computer components scattered everywhere.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Mao Shiyi eyed the boxes skeptically. "Do you really understand all this?"

"I’ll give it a try," Fan Qiuming answered, feeling a headache come on just looking at the pile of parts.

"Don’t you dare break my computer. It was expensive," she warned, clearly uneasy at his uncertainty.

"If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll pay you back. But didn’t you have the store assemble it when you bought it?"

"Prebuilt systems cost too much. I just got the parts, thinking I’d put it together myself. Who could’ve known it’d be this complicated?" Mao Shiyi flopped onto her bed, watching Fan Qiuming flounder, and asked, "Do you actually know what you’re doing?"

Her urging only made his head throb more. "Stop rushing me. Let me think for a second."

He found the CPU, pressed down the metal lever, opened the cover, removed the protector, placed the CPU inside, and returned everything as it was.

"Next, the RAM..." He rummaged through the boxes.

"Then the power supply—hand me a screwdriver," he requested, reaching out to her.

"Alright, hold on, I’ll go look for one." Mao Shiyi hopped off her stool and searched the other rooms.

"Here you go." Soon enough, she returned from the next room with a Phillips-head screwdriver.

Fan Qiuming tightened the power supply in place.

"Motherboard—bring it over, would you?" he called before long.

"Which one is the motherboard? I have no idea!" Surrounded by so many parts, Mao Shiyi was clearly bewildered.

"That one," Fan Qiuming pointed to a box in the corner. "Bring it here."

"Okay, got it!" Since it was her own computer, Mao Shiyi made no fuss and promptly handed over the motherboard.

"Alright, hard drive... and so many cables—my god, this is a headache." Once the chassis was set up, Fan Qiuming connected all the necessary wires.

"What’s this? The graphics card...! I almost forgot about the dedicated GPU." With a sigh, he removed the side panel to install the graphics card.

After finishing up, he realized it wasn’t as hard as he’d thought. He connected the monitor and peripherals, and everything seemed ready.

"So it was this easy all along?" Mao Shiyi marveled aloud. "Almost makes me think I could’ve done it myself. So this is the extent of your abilities, you pervert."

"It’s not as easy as you think. Standing there and talking is always simpler. Just sorting through the components is enough to give you a headache. Good thing I’d learned a bit before," Fan Qiuming said as he handed her the screwdriver. "And stop calling me a pervert. What will my sister think of me?"

"Alright, alright, I won’t call you that anymore." Mao Shiyi forgave him—it was thanks to him she’d gotten help, after all, and she couldn’t be ungrateful. Besides, she was so pretty—what guy wouldn’t be moved by her looks?

She thought, "I suppose I’ll forgive him just this once..."

"Anyway, thank you for your help today," she said sincerely.

"It’s nothing. But don’t let strangers into your room so easily anymore. Lucky it was me—what if a real pervert showed up?" he cautioned her.

"If there’s nothing else, I’ll go. My sister’s waiting for me." With that, he turned and left Mao Shiyi’s apartment, closing the door behind him.

Stepping out, Fan Qiuming stretched. "Whew, assembling a computer is exhausting."

Back in his own place, Fan Qiulin sat in the living room, eyeing him coldly.

"Oh? Decided to return? The moment a little girl asks, you’re at her beck and call. No wonder people think you’re a pervert," she said, her jealousy barely concealed. He was her brother, after all, yet being summoned by another girl irked her.

"Well, I couldn’t just not help when someone’s in trouble, could I?" Fan Qiuming replied with an awkward smile. "Besides, I came right back after I finished."

He reached out and pinched her cheek. "Alright, don’t be mad. Where do you want to go this afternoon? I’ll take you anywhere you like!"

"I’m not angry, hmph..." she retorted, turning away with a pout, cheeks puffed like an indignant little pufferfish.

Seeing her sulking, Fan Qiuming felt his head ache. What a mess—on one side, Mao Shiyi had misunderstood him as a pervert (though she’d stopped saying it), and on the other, Fan Qiulin was upset. Talk about being caught in the middle.

Was it really so hard to just be a kind and helpful young man in the twenty-first century?

"What will it take for you to forgive me? Just say it, and I’ll do anything you want!"

"Really?" Fan Qiulin eyed him suspiciously.

"Really, anything at all," he replied with a firm gaze.

"Fine then. It’s hot in Peng City and I’m all sweaty. I want to take a bath!"

"No problem, I’ll go run your bath," he said, rising to head for the bathroom.

But even such a simple task felt oddly suspicious to Fan Qiuming.

Watching the water fill the tub, he mused, "I hope it’s not what I think..."

Once the bath was ready, and while Fan Qiulin bathed, he sat in the living room, researching Peng City’s history.

Thanks to the information Long Zong had sent, Fan Qiuming learned that places where divine ruins appeared always had some special historical records. After poring over Peng City’s history, he focused his attention on Wutong Mountain. Historically, geographically, and scenically, it was the most likely location for divine ruins. Moreover, his own Mingxuan Hall was set in a grove of phoenix trees there.

If a divine ruin did exist, it was most likely at his Mingxuan Hall. But now the area was a tourist site, bustling with visitors, which would make any investigation tricky.

Suddenly, Fan Qiulin’s voice called from the bathroom, interrupting his thoughts.

"Brother, come here for a moment."

"What is it now?" he wondered, setting his phone aside and going to the bathroom door. He knocked. "What do you need?"

"Brother, are you free right now?"

"I’m free. What’s up? Just tell me," he replied, puzzled by her question.

"Well... I can’t reach my back. Can you come in and scrub it for me?"

Thud.

He almost lost his balance, hand slapping the wall with a dull sound.

"What? What did you say?"

"I said, I can’t reach my back. Can you come in and scrub it for me? Honestly..." Her voice was clear through the bathroom door.

There was no mistaking it this time, but he absolutely refused to go in.

"That’s one thing I can’t do for you," Fan Qiuming declared righteously. He had known it—she wouldn’t let him off with just running her bath.

"Liar. You just said you’d do anything I wanted, and now you’re going back on your word. Typical man..."

"This isn’t the same at all! Besides, what kind of request is that? You’re a grown girl, perfectly capable of scrubbing your own back," he retorted, determined not to give in.

"I, Fan Qiuming, would rather roll out of this apartment, out of Peng City, all the way back to Magic City, than go in there and scrub your back!"

He made his stance clear.

Two minutes later...

Fan Qiulin sat at the edge of the tub, a towel draped across her chest, while Fan Qiuming, blindfolded and wearing a bath glove, scrubbed her back.

"I preferred you when you were more rebellious," Fan Qiulin teased, a victorious smile playing at her lips.

Fan Qiuming ignored her, his face full of reluctant resignation, as if he’d suffered a grave injustice.

Just moments before, Fan Qiulin had threatened to ignore him forever if he didn’t help. At first, he hadn’t cared, but then she deliberately made a loud crash in the bathroom and fell silent. Fearing she’d slipped and hurt herself, he rushed in, only to be caught red-handed. She then threatened to tell everyone, cementing his "pervert" reputation if he didn’t comply.

Left with no choice, Fan Qiuming did as she asked.

"Hehe... I knew it, you’re the best, brother," Fan Qiulin said, snuggling his other arm. Fan Qiuming blushed furiously, unable to see but very much aware of the situation.

"Brother, tell me, where do you think Dad went? He’s been gone over a decade now—suddenly, we’re adults. Will he ever come back?"

Her tone shifted, her question now about their father.

"Maybe he had his reasons. Maybe he had no choice," Fan Qiuming said quietly.

"Do you think he’ll return?"

"I don’t know. All I can do is live well in the present."

He gave her no clear answer, though deep down, he suspected their father wouldn’t be returning anytime soon.

"And, although you used to be a jerk, at least now you’re much better. I wish this wasn’t just a dream. Even if it is, I hope I never wake."

With those words, she hugged him tightly, the towel slipping unnoticed from her chest.

"You’ve said that before," Fan Qiuming murmured, stroking her head. Her hair was damp but still soft beneath his hand.

When Fan Qiulin realized what had happened, her face flushed scarlet and her body trembled uncontrollably.

"What’s wrong? Why are you shaking?" Fan Qiuming asked, sensing her trembling.

"It’s... it’s nothing," she stammered, panicking as she lost her balance and tumbled into the tub, dragging Fan Qiuming in with her.

She landed on top of him, the bathwater covering his head, and with her weight pinning him down, he couldn’t get up. He choked on a mouthful of bathwater.

He reached out, struggling to get up, and in the confusion, his hands seemed to land somewhere they shouldn’t—soft and yielding.

"Ah! Brother, you pervert..." Fan Qiulin shrieked.

"Fan—gurgle—Qiu—gurgle—lin—gurgle—I—gurgle—"

He tried to explain, but forgot he was still underwater.

...