A live stream that dramatically transformed a depressed schoolgirl shocked netizens across the count

The courtyard behind the blue brick gate narrows considerably.

Tian Shouwen folded up his oil-paper umbrella, the ribs of which bumped against the door frame, splashing water droplets onto the bluestone slab.

He stepped aside to make way, his coarse cloth shoes leaving two streaks in the water.

Chen Lang stepped across the threshold first.

His gaze swept over the low wall, the wooden cabinet, and the half-open side door. After confirming that no one was in the courtyard, he tilted his head towards Shen Qingci.

Shen Qingci lifted her skirt and followed, pressing the mute button on her phone.

The levitating ball hovered outside the alley, the camera focused on the tightly closed wooden door and the faded nameplate.

The live stream footage showed only moss, shards of light, and closed doors.

The courtyard was dimly lit, with blue bricks and black tiles pressing down on the eaves.

The carved wooden windows were covered in dust, and wild vines sprouted from the cracks in the stone steps.

Rain dripped down the leaves and pattered on the ground.

Tian Shouwen reopened the umbrella and walked along the base of the wall.

At each corner, he would stop and tap the base of the wall with the handle of his umbrella.

"This house follows certain rules: the front hall is for receiving guests, and the back is for living quarters."

"The wood is taken according to the terrain, and the window decorations are also divided into long and short ones. When the phoenix brings rain, the eaves should be extended outward by two feet so that water will not flood the threshold."

He spoke with a heavy Xiangxi accent, drawing out the last syllable.

He walked to the door of the main hall and patted the door frame twice, the wood making a dull coughing sound.

"In the old days, this area was inhabited by scholars who valued dignity. When a family produced a teacher, the neighbors would come to congratulate them; when a child entered school, they would come to the gate to ask for good luck."

Chen Lang leaned against the pillar by the door, his gaze passing over the courtyard wall and landing on the crooked jujube tree.

His left hand was in his pocket, his fingertips resting on the miniature control terminal.

A low-frequency electronic voice from Titan echoed in my consciousness:

[Target approaching from outside the alleyway. Seven meters from the hovering sphere.]

Chen Lang didn't lift his eyelids, but tapped his thumb twice on the terminal.

Command issued: Drone descends to lower altitude, blocks the view of the alley entrance, and activates strong light anti-spy camera mode.

Inside the main hall, Tian Shouwen stood beside an old wooden table.

A county gazetteer with curled edges sat on the table.

He didn't flip it; the tip of the umbrella rested against the table leg.

"Little girl, have you read 'Border Town'?"

Shen Qingci straightened up, her chin slightly tucked in.

"I've read it."

"What were they talking about?"

Shen Qingci loosened her hands from the backpack straps and let them hang down at her sides.

His back was ramrod straight.

"Using Cuicui, the granddaughter of the old man who ferries people across the river, as a central character, the story showcases the unique customs and traditions of western Hunan, and through the characters' emotional entanglements, reveals the kindness and innocence of human nature..."

She spoke at a steady pace, with clear and distinct pronunciation.

Tian Shouwen looked at her.

The tip of the umbrella tapped on the bluestone slab, interrupting the recitation.

"Everything printed in the book is correct."

It fell on the second time.

"But you've stood here all morning, walking around on your own two feet. What do you find moving about it?"

Shen Qingci opened his mouth.

My throat tightened, and I couldn't utter a single word.

I went through the neatly arranged paragraphs and bolded keywords in the textbook in my mind.

Faced with this elderly man of unknown origin and a question without a blank line, she was speechless.

The only sound in the main hall was the dripping of water from the eaves.

Chen Lang remained leaning against the pillar, offering no words of help.

In his mind, Titan was reporting:

[The target is attempting to raise its telephoto lens. The hovering sphere has implemented a strong light jamming effect; the target has lost sight of the area and is withdrawing.]

Outside the alley, the man in the baseball cap covered his eyes, cursed under his breath, and retreated back to the main street.

Chen Lang's lips twitched slightly, and his gaze returned to the main hall, landing on Shen Qingci's profile.

The morning light squeezed through the crack in the door, cutting across her shoulders and the cuffs of her sleeves.

The ebony prayer beads on her wrist rested against her wrist bone, rising and falling with her somewhat rapid breathing.

A few seconds later, Shen Qingci raised her head and met Tian Shouwen's gaze.

"I have no idea."

Tian Shouwen's umbrella tip stopped in mid-air, not falling for the third time.

Shen Qingci did not dodge.

"In the past, I only knew how to memorize standard answers. I knew how to get high scores on character relationships and themes. But I never tried to feel why it was moving."

Chen Lang pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms.

Shen Qingci turned around, her gaze passing over the high threshold of the main hall and looking at the stone steps outside the courtyard.

The boatman shook off the fishing net, splashing white foam.

The woman pounding glutinous rice cakes swung her wooden mallet.

The vegetable delivery tricycle squeezed water stains as it ran over the stone slab.

She looked at the light outside the door, her prayer beads clinking softly against her sleeve.

"But this morning, I didn't follow the itinerary."

A clear voice echoed in the main hall.

"I took the alley on the left, where people were hauling in their nets and driving carts. When the wooden boats docked, the boatmen would shout, and pedestrians would have to make way."

Tian Shouwen raised his eyelids, and a light shone through his cloudy eyes.

Shen Qingci continued, "I used to only use these as information about tourist attractions."

"Only after walking through today did I realize that people were buying vegetables on the stone steps, washing clothes by the river, and living with their families in the houses."

"It's moving because it depicts the real people who lived on this land, and the sounds of water they left behind. It has nothing to do with reading comprehension on an exam."

The wind blew through the courtyard wall, and the jujube tree branches and leaves scraped against the eaves, making a rustling sound.

Chen Lang straightened up, his leather jacket rubbing against the door frame.

He didn't reply.

Tian Shouwen gripped the umbrella handle and took half a step forward.

"When you were in school, who set the answers for you?"

Shen Qingci lowered her eyes, her fingers curling and relaxing at her sides.

"Teacher, exam paper, family."

"And today?"

"Myself."

Tian Shouwen nodded, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.

"That's right."

Shen Qingci looked out the door, the sunlight reflected in her eyes.

"Some words aren't for scoring points, but just for remembering a place."

Chen Lang smiled.

Shen Qingci turned her head to look at him, her brows furrowing: "What are you laughing at?"

"It's funny that someone has learned to hand in a blank exam paper."

"If you want to hear it, I can recite another section of the analysis."

"No need. This answer key is a one-of-a-kind from today."

Shen Qingci stepped closer and nudged his arm with her elbow.

"Don't speak like a judge."

"I wouldn't dare. Director Shen is now setting the questions and grading the papers himself." Chen Lang spread his hands.

"So what will you be responsible for?"

"My job is to lock the door if anyone tries to peek into the exam room."

Chen Lang turned his head and glanced towards the alley entrance.

"Just a reminder, the road ahead is still long."

Shen Qingci looked at him for two seconds, then smiled slightly before looking away.

Tian Shouwen turned around, leaning his oil-paper umbrella on the ground.

"Girl, once you understand this, don't go out and squeeze into those flashy streets during the day."

"Where to?" Shen Qingci asked.

Tian Shouwen raised his umbrella and pointed to the back door.

"Climb the city wall. Look at the rooftops of Phoenix. The green tiles, the chimneys, the clotheslines—you can clearly see who is repairing their house and who is lighting a fire."

"Scenic spots have their own hustle and bustle, and people live their lives in their own way."

Shen Qingci unzipped his jacket and took out his notebook.

The original route page, which was filled with information about Hongqiao and Dongzheng Street, was now covered with haphazard black pen markings.

She wrote in the blank space: Go to the city wall and see the real rooftops.

The pen stopped, and she looked up at Chen Lang.

"To the city walls?"

"You decide."

"Walk."

Tian Shouwen made way for the back door passage.

"Take this route, you'll avoid two alleys."

Shen Qingci put away the notebook, faced the old man, and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for showing me the way."

"No need to thank me. I'll remember you as I passed by, that's enough."

Shen Qingci straightened up.

"Sir, what is your surname?"

The old man opened his umbrella, lowering the canopy to cover half his face, revealing a patch of gray stubble.

"His surname is Tian. There are many people with the surname Tian in this city, so it doesn't matter if you can't remember them all."

Shen Qingci opened the notebook and added two words next to the line she had just read: Grandpa Tian.

"I've got it."

Tian Shouwen didn't say anything more. He tapped the umbrella handle against the door frame, turned around and went into the side room, leaving the two of them with his hunched back.

Chen Lang pulled out the communicator and pushed open the back door.

The levitating ball rose from outside the alley, circled the eaves, and hovered again in front of it.

Switch the camera permissions back to public road mode.

Everything inside the courtyard was kept out of the camera's view.

The live stream screen lit up, showing the blue brick alley outside the back gate, the moss-covered stone steps, and the outline of the city wall in the distance.

The barrage of comments that had been held back for so long flooded the screen.

[They're finally out! What treasure was hidden inside the door?]

I stared at the wooden door for ten minutes straight, thinking my electronic pickled vegetable dispenser had malfunctioned!

Qingci's eyes are so bright; she seems to have a completely different spirit.

[God of Waves, can you give me a replay? This livestream is way too difficult, don't force me to beg you on my knees.]

Chen Lang addressed the camera: "Private visit, no recording, no broadcast, no replay."

"Next, we'll go to the city wall. We'll look at the rooftops, but we won't photograph the residents or provide the coordinates."

【Received! We understand the rules set by the God of Waves.】

[Feel free to take photos of public landscapes without disturbing residents' lives.]

[Meet me at the city wall, Qingci will lead the way!]

Shen Qingci stuffed the notebook back into her backpack and fastened the buckle.

She stood outside the back door, glancing back at the old table and the mottled window decorations in the main hall.

The creaking sound of a bamboo chair being pressed down came from the side room, and Tian Shouwen sat down.

The oil-paper umbrella leaned against the wall, water stains running down its ribs.

Shen Qingci nodded towards the side room, then turned and stepped out of the dark alley.

The two walked side by side on the bluestone slabs, heading towards the city wall.

Chen Lang slowed his pace slightly, but Shen Qingci quickened her pace to walk alongside him.

"Chen Lang".

"explain."

"I only got half of that question right."

"How so?"

"I only remember the sound of water." She looked at the sunlight streaming into the alleyway. "I'll remember more in the future."

Chen Lang turned his head and his gaze fell on her ponytail swaying with her steps.

"Okay. Just remember it, I'll accompany you."

Shen Qingci gripped the backpack strap, a smile playing on her lips.

As you step out of the alley, the morning mist dissipates, and the ancient city's blue-tiled roofs spread outwards layer by layer along the terrain.

Smoke from cooking fires mingled with the morning light.

Shen Qingci mentally reviewed the new schedule in her journal.

City wall, let's go.