"Fang Qiu, you're here."
Hu Tao jumped down from the stone steps, greeting her with a beaming smile.
"Sorry I'm late, I got too absorbed in writing," Fang Qiu said with an apologetic look.
"No worries, I was having fun just now too." Glancing at the few children who were happily buying candy, Hu Tao smiled and said, "Thanks for that just now."
"Small matter. Let's go," Fang Qiu smiled and said. "Otherwise, it'll start without us."
"Relax, it's still early," Hu Tao smiled and said.
"It's not early. Hurry up." Fang Qiu rolled her eyes at Hu Tao, grabbed her hand, and dragged her upstairs.
The Heyu Tea House stage was on the third floor. After they went upstairs, the legendary Miss Yun Jin had not yet taken the stage. The open-air tea house and the tea rooms were already packed with people. Many had no seats and could only stand.
"As expected of Yun Jin, so many people. It's just a pity Xiangling is probably still on her way back and won't make it in time to listen to the opera," Hu Tao said with a smile, narrowing her eyes.
"There really are a lot of people," Fang Qiu exclaimed.
Since they were invited by Yun Jin, seats had been reserved for them in a relatively forward position.
There were two good spots for watching opera. One was near the front stage; most people here wanted to listen to the opera up close. The other was the front row on the second floor.
This position was high up, offering a good view with few obstructions, taking in the entire floor below. These two types of seats were mostly occupied by the wealthy and noble.
However, they would mostly choose to sit on the second floor. According to an analysis she read online in her past life, many rich people liked to stand in high places, hands clasped behind their backs, enjoying the feeling of looking down upon the sentient beings beneath their feet.
Of course, it was also possible they simply felt the view was expansive.
Fang Qiu and Hu Tao's arrival immediately attracted the attention of quite a few people. Sharing their table was another young girl. This girl appeared exceptionally nervous amidst the crowd of the wealthy and noble. Seeing them sit at the same table, she breathed a sigh of relief on the spot and struck up a conversation with them.
Once they started talking, they learned that her seat was also a gift from Yun Jin. It was simply because she had once given Yun Jin a set of books when Yun Jin couldn't buy them.
"This Miss Yun Jin is truly a wonderful person," Fang Qiu couldn't help but sigh.
Although this seat wasn't very close to the front, considering Yun Jin's popularity, this seat would cost one or two thousand Mora at the very least. However, she hadn't been here before and didn't really know the prices. But no matter how she thought about it, it could only be higher, not lower.
To think Yun Jin would directly give such a seat to a girl who gave her books. Truly generous. She wondered what set of books this girl had given Yun Jin to make her so happy.
"By the way, Hu Tao, I have a question to ask you."
Fang Qiu lowered her voice, leaned into Hu Tao's ear, and whispered.
"What is it?"
Feeling Fang Qiu's breath by her ear, Hu Tao shrank back slightly, stopped her hand reaching for pastries, and asked.
"Is the story you told downstairs just now true?" Fang Qiu swallowed and asked.
In the urgency of the moment earlier, she had only focused on helping Hu Tao out of a tight spot and forgot to ask this question.
"Of course it's fake."
Hu Tao giggled and said, "This is a story from that pile of books you gave me. The book is called Knocking Ghost. It tells the story of a drunk ronin who encountered a figure in the wilderness that only knew how to knock on doors. He went up and kicked the door open, only to discover that the figure was a ghost with a face covered in blood. From then on, that ghost attached itself to the ronin. That very night, the ronin died, and after he died, he also turned into a Knocking Ghost and started knocking on other people's doors. If you hear someone in the middle of the night..."
"Stop, stop, stop. Hu Tao, stop for a second. Don't tell it."
Fang Qiu swallowed her saliva, hurriedly waving her hand.
This version of the story was far scarier than the version Hu Tao used to scare the children downstairs just now. Especially the words she interrupted at the end. Last time, hearing that storyteller talk about dragging a corpse upstairs had already frightened her quite a bit. Now adding a knocking version, how was one supposed to sleep at night?
It wasn't just her; the girl next to them was also frightened quite a bit, hurriedly shifting her stool to retreat further away.
"Relax, don't be afraid. I'm here."
Hu Tao smiled and patted her chest, saying, "If you encountered that Knocking Ghost, I would definitely kick him flying with one foot."
"Hu Tao, I have one more question," Fang Qiu thought carefully for a moment and said.
"Ask away," Hu Tao picked up a piece of dim sum, put it in her mouth, and spoke with her cheeks puffed out.
"Tell me, are there actually ghosts in this world?" Fang Qiu thought for a bit and mustered the courage to ask.
"Of course not. Everyone is afraid of being parted by life and death; what they fear is pain and regret. To make up for the trauma in their hearts, they arbitrarily imagine various forms for death, such as spirits, malevolent ghosts, and that Knocking Ghost just now is one of them."
Hu Tao spread her hands and said helplessly, "Clearly there's no proof or evidence, yet to this day, it has become a taboo subject that cannot be touched."
"So that's how it is. That sounds very reasonable."
Hearing Hu Tao's answer, Fang Qiu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, nodding thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, behind them, on the second floor of Heyu Tea House.
An extraordinarily handsome young man with a composed demeanor took a seat in the front row of the private booths.
"Mr. Zhongli, may I ask what you would like to drink?" The shop assistant waiting at the side immediately asked respectfully.
"Serve the best tea," Zhongli said indifferently.
"Understood. Mr. Zhongli, please wait a moment."
The assistant responded and quickly served a pot of fine tea for Zhongli.
The tea fragrance was rich. Zhongli lifted the tea, blew on it gently, then took a shallow sip. He nodded and said, "Passable."
"Then please enjoy, Mr. Zhongli."
Hearing Zhongli's evaluation, the assistant waiting at the side couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief in his heart.
This consultant of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor before him, Mr. Zhongli, could be considered a regular at their Heyu Tea House. This Mr. Zhongli had extremely high taste and was exceptionally particular; ordinary tea couldn't catch his eye at all. For the brewed tea to be evaluated as "passable" by Mr. Zhongli was already very good.
"Mn."
Zhongli nodded, signaling that the assistant could withdraw.
A gentle breeze brushed past. He lifted the tea, took another shallow sip, and then cast his gaze downstairs.
However, when he saw the two girls sitting in the seats near the front row, he couldn't help but pause slightly.
"It's them?"
Zhongli raised his eyebrow slightly and gave a faint smile.
He couldn't help but feel a bit curious. Was this Miss Fang Qiu invited by his own Director as a companion, or did she herself have some interest in opera?
If that young lady were to hold the pen and write an opera, would she be able to write something with a unique flavor, just like the novels she wrote?
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