Stockpiling for an Exiled General Through My Store's Back Door

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Same Month, Same Day, Same Time

Meeting Hua Buwan’s eyes, Ling Qianjun froze. The two stared at each other for a couple of seconds before quickly turning their heads away in unison. One looked up at the sky, the other down at the ground, both trying to mask their awkwardness.

”COUGH, COUGH.” Hua Buwan curled her toes in utter mortification. She thought, ”Oh my goodness, the ancestor actually wiped my mouth for me. This is so embarrassing.”

”COUGH, COUGH, COUGH.” Ling Qianjun’s hand grew sweaty where he gripped the tissue. He hadn’t been able to control himself and had overstepped his bounds. He wondered if Buwan would hate him for it.

Hua Buwan took a deep breath before speaking with feigned calmness. ”Sorry about that. My hands are just too greasy, so I had to trouble you to wipe my mouth. Thank you.”

Seeing that Hua Buwan was offering him a graceful way out, Ling Qianjun immediately took it. ”It’s no trouble.”

”Then let’s keep eating. The chicken won’t taste good if it gets cold.” Hua Buwan flashed a bright smile, then lowered her head to dig in.

She was busy giving herself a mental pep talk. She thought, ”Hua Buwan, oh Hua Buwan, don’t overthink this. He’s an ancestor from the past, and a General to boot. How could someone like that be interested in you? You’re definitely getting the wrong idea. He just thought your mouth was too greasy, couldn’t stand the sight of it, and decided to help. Yes, that must be it!”

Since she was young, Hua Buwan had always been excellent at ”persuading” herself not to overthink things. Even though she was very pretty, had good grades, and was the picture-perfect good girl in the eyes of her teachers and peers, she lacked self-confidence. She always felt she wasn’t good enough for anything.

Even when several boys had dropped hints—whether during her school days or after she entered the workforce—she would always convince herself she was reading too much into it. Unless someone spelled it out for her directly, she would never take it seriously. As a result, Hua Buwan remained perpetually single. Her college roommates hadn’t believed it at first, but after spending enough time with her, they became completely convinced. Now, having successfully talked herself down once again, she remained perfectly calm as she faced Ling Qianjun.

Seeing this, Ling Qianjun silently set the tissue aside. He lowered his head, continued pulling the chicken apart, and pushed the freshly shredded meat over to her.

Before they knew it, the two of them had polished off an entire chicken, with Hua Buwan doing the lion’s share of the eating. Only after finishing did she realize her stomach felt a little uncomfortable—her pants were digging into her waist!

By now, the sky had turned completely dark. The streetlights outside cast a dim, yellow glow, giving the ancient town’s stone bricks an extra touch of historical rusticity.

”I should go back. If I am out for too long, the government officers will come looking,” Ling Qianjun said in a deep voice, glancing up at the sky. He had noticed that the sunrise and sunset here were perfectly synchronized with his era. Out of curiosity, he asked, ”Buwan, is it currently the sixth month here?”

Hua Buwan’s immediate reaction was to deny it. ”No, it’s not.” But she quickly remembered that the ancients used the lunar calendar. ”Oh, right, it is the sixth month. It’s really hot here right now. And it’s hard to say, but a typhoon might hit later.”

Things became clearer in Ling Qianjun’s mind. The mention of a typhoon piqued his interest. ”Are the typhoons in the south truly that fierce? I have only ever read about them in books, but I have never experienced one myself. Lingnan borders Nanzhao, which is a wild and untamed land.” Recalling what he had read, he spoke with casual familiarity.

When it came to typhoons, Hua Buwan had plenty to say. ”We get typhoons pretty much every year here. The worst one was probably a level 17. That storm knocked out our water and power for a whole week! Luckily, I was on summer vacation in town at the time. There are still traditional ancient wells here, so we didn’t lack water. But without electricity, we just had to light candles.”

From his previous conversations with Hua Buwan, Ling Qianjun had a rough understanding of what electricity was. With electric lights, things were indeed much brighter. Hua Buwan had also recommended a flashlight to him, as well as the light on his phone, making it much easier to navigate the woods at night.

”Typhoons are indeed terrifying. We will have to prepare thoroughly when we reach Lingnan,” Ling Qianjun said solemnly, his mind already turning to the practicalities of their future living arrangements.

Little did he know that in the near future, they truly would face an unprecedented typhoon.