“After that ‘curtain’ appeared on your side, you could also receive quests? Wait, your initial interface over there was actually my house? And what you first saw of me was also that short-armed, short-legged cartoon figure? …No, say it clearly, you’ve already learned English during this period of time? I $#^y$#!!”

“Don’t talk yet, let me process this—” After asking in detail about the situation on Lu Huan’s side, Su Xi was completely thrown into chaos like being blown about by the wind.

She originally thought that a mobile game capable of connecting to ancient Yan Kingdom was already bizarre enough, but now something even more brain-freezing had arrived. The thing that appeared on Zai Zai’s side, the one he called the “curtain,” was obviously just her own enlarged phone screen!

In other words, this system was actually double-sided. The functions of the system on Zai Zai’s side were no different from hers! It was even more advanced—after all, his curtain was transparent, so she couldn’t see it!

Although after the physical exam she had already guessed that Zai Zai should be able to see her side, she had never imagined it would be in this way. At this point, the “game” could no longer be called a game but rather a system bridge connecting two dynasties.

Su Xi plopped down on the bed, sat there in a daze for a long time, and only then slowly sorted out the logic of everything. If she told anyone else about these things, they would definitely think it was a fantastical tale—who would believe that she, Su Xi, had merely opened a mobile game that sent the protagonist to the throne just to pass time, but then the game turned into a real world, and now, in Zai Zai’s world, the same kind of device had even appeared.

But from the very beginning, the fact that this game could appear only on Su Xi’s phone and could not be downloaded from anyone else’s phone was already something beyond logical understanding, so now no matter what happened, after the initial shock, Su Xi’s self-healing ability allowed her to digest it all.

Once she accepted the situation, Su Xi looked again at the handsome face of Zai Zai on the screen and realized—how was this still playing a game? This had already turned into video chatting, right?!

Su Xi found the whole thing both magical and unbelievable, yet she was also very unconvinced. She said to Zai Zai: “Take out your English test paper. I want to see how many points you can get.”

Earlier, Lu Huan had worried that if Su Xi found out he could see her side, she would feel burdened or uncomfortable and would stop paying attention to him, so he hadn’t dared let her know. But now, carefully observing her expression, he saw that although she was shocked, she had no intention of cutting off their connection, so he finally relaxed.

He turned around, pulled out the sheets of paper he had used for answering questions in the past few days from his luggage, spread them on the straw inside the tent, and asked with a small laugh: “Will you be grading me then?”

“Yes, don’t get happy too early. Maybe you’ll even fail!” Su Xi righteously poured cold water on Zai Zai.

Zai Zai was unfazed. With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked toward her behind the curtain and smiled: “I answered questions in other subjects as well. Calculate the scores for me, perhaps I can squeeze into the top ten of your school year.”

…Su Xi was thrown into chaos again: “You even know what ‘top ten of the year’ means?!”

Zai Zai smiled without speaking and pulled out the thick notes he had compiled over the past half-year of self-studying knowledge from her era. He already understood the meanings of many vocabulary words, only some habits were hard to change—such as subconsciously calling “school” a “xuetang [school].”

He placed the thick stack of neatly written notes on the straw pile, lifted his gaze toward Su Xi, his pitch-black eyes bright, his expression carrying a trace of pride, a desire to be praised.

This magical scene made Su Xi feel like she was about to short-circuit completely. Her brain froze, and she started grading Zai Zai’s English homework first.

After the exam, the teachers of each subject had sent out the answer keys so the students could check at home over the weekend. So she used the “abc” answer key to grade Zai Zai’s English paper, moving very quickly.

When she calculated the final score, Su Xi stood before her desk, completely dumbfounded—

A paper worth 150 points: 30 points for listening, 25 for the essay. Aside from those two sections, which Zai Zai had not answered, he had completed all the fill-in-the-blank and other questions, and his score was actually 95!

Which meant that every question he answered was correct?!!

—Even she hadn’t gotten them all right; she had missed two questions in the cloze passage.

Su Xi looked toward the screen at Zai Zai in utter terror.

Seeing her look over, Zai Zai seemed to lift his head casually and curved his lips into a smile.

Su Xi felt as though her worldview had collapsed and rebuilt itself all over again!

Although when accompanying Zai Zai through the entanglements of the imperial court, she had already known he was very smart—

But during these past few months, his military duties had been so busy that every time she logged in, she saw him without even a spare moment to drink a sip of tea. Under such circumstances, how exactly had he found the time to learn English, history, and all the other subjects from her world??!!

Could this be… the legendary chosen one?!

…Su Xi sighed in admiration yet sourness inside, deliberately ignoring the bright, praise-seeking look in Zai Zai’s eyes. She took a gulp of cola to calm herself down.

“What is that you are drinking?” Now that he no longer needed to hide that he could see her side, the boy on the screen showed an extremely strong thirst for knowledge.

Su Xi shook the soda can in her hand and mumbled, “Coke. A kind of carbonated drink.”

Lu Huan thought for a moment and asked, “Today when I saw you and your friend after school, the book in her hand had this word as well. What is the meaning of ‘mai kele [buy Coke]’?”

Su Xi almost sprayed out her mouthful of Coke. She snapped angrily, “Don’t look at the books Gu Qin reads from now on!”

“…Why?” Zai Zai froze for a moment.

In her heart, Su Xi’s inner little person was already clawing its hair like crazy. She decided she must find a chance to talk to Gu Qin properly, tell her not to read those little yellow books when hanging around her. And she also had to tell Huo Jingchuan to restrain himself and stop being so unfiltered when he was near her. Zai Zai was a person from ancient times—reserved, pure, polite. If he got led astray by the two of them, what then?!

But even if it wasn’t her two good friends—Su Xi thought of modern society’s omnipresent internet cafés, game arcades, KTVs and other entertainment venues, as well as all the lovey-dovey soap operas on TV, and she already felt a headache coming on. It was over. If Zai Zai was exposed to these things for too long, could he still remain that pure, untainted Zai Zai?!

She said to Zai Zai, “The culture of my era has good and bad. You must take the essence and discard the dregs. The books Gu Qin reads are the dregs!”

Lu Huan still wanted to say something, but Su Xi immediately continued, “This is just like how you won’t let me go to the brothel. If you keep reading Gu Qin’s books, I’ll go to the brothel when you’re not paying attention! I’ll go to the Ministry of War bathhouse!”

‘You dare!’ On the screen, Zai Zai’s face instantly darkened.

Su Xi let out a mischievous laugh. “Watch me.”

Lu Huan: “…”

Separated by a curtain, he couldn’t stop her from doing anything, and it made him a bit depressed.

Su Xi’s gaze drifted back to the thick stack of densely written notes about modern civilization. She flipped through them through the screen and discovered that Zai Zai’s recordings were extremely detailed.

Including—“Instructions for Using Public Buses,” “Notes on Household Items such as Faucets and Heating Lamps,” “Complete Guide to Underground Carriage Routes,” and so on.

These “public buses,” “heating lamps”—just the nouns themselves were already completely unfamiliar things to Zai Zai, let alone the instructions for how to use them, or the complicated subway routes of a modern city.

Yet Zai Zai had no idea how much effort he had spent, lighting candles, studying them bit by bit with great care.

No wonder during that period, every time Su Xi logged in, she felt like Zai Zai hadn’t slept for a long time, his eyes always showing a layer of blue fatigue.

He studied all this probably so he could communicate with her better.

Facing this brand-new world of hers, logically he ought to have felt frightened—but what he did was not rejection, but to work hard to integrate himself.

Su Xi felt something soften in her heart…

Although never spoken aloud, she wanted to meet Zai Zai in the same time and space, and Zai Zai also wanted to meet her in the same time and space. The two of them must share this same wish.

Perhaps this wish would never be fulfilled.

But when she saw that she had not taken even a single step, yet he, in a place she could not see, had already taken ninety-nine steps toward her with all the strength he had… her heart’s lake could not help but ripple…