CHAPTER 354: 0224 THERE ARE ALWAYS THINGS PEOPLE CAN’T DO (2-IN-1)_2

Even the size was off.

So after that, it was no longer embarrassing.

Of course, while he couldn’t make clothes, he did make plenty of small trinkets, such as pouches.

For instance, the sachets he made, the girl really liked them.

Thinking of these things, Xu Chang’an couldn’t help but smile.

——

Yun Qian doesn’t care about the rarity of things; she is a greedy person and wants more clothes.

Of course, even if Xu Chang’an makes more clothes for her in the future, the first blue dress he made by hand will always hold the highest place in her heart.

Yun Qian suddenly sighed.

"Sighing is something only I can do." Xu Chang’an held her hand. "What’s wrong?"

"I can’t fit into those clothes," Yun Qian said regretfully.

In her eyes, the clothes were delicate, each stitch made by Xu Chang’an, but unfortunately, the size was not quite right, especially around the chest and waist.

"The size was too small, so naturally, you couldn’t fit in. That’s why I say it was a mistake." Xu Chang’an said, his eyes twitching slightly.

How could he have known Yun Qian’s figure was so good back then? Even if he had thought about it, he made the clothes based on feel, and in the end, they were a bit off.

Moreover, at the time, he didn’t actually intend to give the clothes to Yun Qian, just like practicing calligraphy while copying a book; making clothes was just to practice his sewing skills. After finishing, he didn’t even show them to Yun Qian and just tossed them away.

Who would have thought the discarded piece would be picked up by the girl and even tried on?

"The saying goes, ’The sea can accommodate all rivers...’"

Xu Chang’an coughed, retracting the second half of the sentence, and said, "Miss, it’s actually a good thing you can’t fit into it."

"What’s good about it? I don’t see it." Yun Qian said calmly, and then glanced down, pondering, "If I slim down, I might be able to fit?"

"Miss, there’s only the notion of clothes fitting a person, not the other way around." Xu Chang’an reminded her.

"Is that so?" Yun Qian nodded, adding, "I wish I had been born a bit slimmer back then."

"You’re just fine now, yes, quite fine." Xu Chang’an commented.

Quite... fine?

Yun Qian sensed a deeper meaning in Xu Chang’an’s words, shifted slightly, causing ripples in the water, and asked, "Would you still not like me if I slimmed down?"

"I do like you. What I like is the present you, so the ’slim’ you in the future wouldn’t compare to the person in front of me now." Xu Chang’an smiled.

"Hmm." Yun Qian was quite satisfied with this answer.

She paused for a moment and then said, "In the books, it’s mostly mothers sewing clothes for their daughters."

"It’s a bit odd between us; I can’t exactly say who’s pampering whom." Xu Chang’an thought of Yun Qian always tidying up his clothes and saying "Have fun" before he went out, showing a slightly complicated expression.

"But I can’t make clothes, so I can’t be a mother." Yun Qian pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "You like daughters very much, but I’m not your daughter, nor do I want to be."

She is either a wife or a concubine.

From this perspective, having one piece of clothing is enough.

"What are you saying?" Xu Chang’an gave Yun Qian a strange look. "Who sees you as a daughter? Is there any evidence?"

"Don’t want to touch me?" Yun Qian blinked.

"It’s just restraint, not a lack of desire."

Xu Chang’an’s eyebrow twitched sharply, he tapped Yun Qian’s smooth forehead lightly, once again marveling at how this dreamy girl... was very much like Miss Yun.

Yun Qian shook her head. "From the start, you’ve been very skilled at tying my hair, it’s like second nature to you."

This is also a trait of a competent mother.

At first, Xu Chang’an wasn’t good at feminine crafts.

His cooking was also very bad, and the burnt food scraps he discarded, she took them all away.

But unlike his cooking and embroidery skills, which gradually improved, Xu Chang’an never appeared awkward or inexperienced in taking care of her.

The first time he dressed her and tied her hair, he didn’t make a single mistake, nor did he make her feel uncomfortable.

Yun Qian was asking why he was so adept.

Xu Chang’an paused as he held Yun Qian’s fingers. "Miss, what do you mean by me being skilled? Have I tied other girls’ hair? Or do I have a sister, so I’m naturally adept at girls’ braids?"

"A sister?" Yun Qian blinked, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"Alright, enough teasing." Xu Chang’an looked at Yun Qian with a slightly endearing look, like someone whose brain wasn’t functioning well after soaking in a hot spring, as he reminisced. "At first, I didn’t understand these things either."

In his past life, he had no sisters, and his understanding of women’s dressing was limited to knowing they needed to wear clothes and comb their hair. At most, he could tie a ponytail... other than that, he was clueless.

Xu Chang’an skillfully entwined the ribbon between his right thumb and ring finger, smoothly tying the girl’s hair, speaking earnestly, "Miss, you think I’m skilled right off the bat because... I’ve rehearsed these things countless times in my mind."

Since he wanted to be Yun Qian’s steward, even if he had never done these things before, he would handle every detail perfectly.

"Rehearsed in your mind?" Yun Qian blinked. "You mean... spending all day thinking about how to take off my clothes?"

"It’s about putting them on, Miss, not whatever strange thought you have." Xu Chang’an sighed, how come it sounds like he was filled with delusions when she said it.

In his mind, he considered the girl as a cloth doll, rehearsing all the details of caring for her, without any inappropriate thoughts.

Even the fictional girl was decently clothed.

"All you’ve thought of is dressing me and braiding my hair?" Yun Qian asked again.

"...What else should there be? That’s all." Xu Chang’an was amused by her question. Back then, he was quite innocent, otherwise, he wouldn’t have worked as a personal steward every day, only to end up making clothes that didn’t fit.

"I understand." Yun Qian nodded, thinking she could understand because she herself had imagined countless times how she should be when meeting Xu Chang’an.

But unlike him, she had many reference experiences of meeting him.

Xu Chang’an carefully tended to the girl’s long hair, making sure every detail was pristine before reluctantly letting go, feeling a sense of sentimentality. "Speaking of which, cooking, embroidery, medicine, painting, writing... these are all things I started learning after meeting you. I often tell Miss, but I’ve changed a lot too."

The longer one walks on a path, the more they change.

"No matter how you change, I like it." Yun Qian said earnestly.

Unlike Xu Chang’an, who preferred the present, for her, time held no meaning, so every moment was present, and as long as she wished, they would always meet.

"That’s hard to say." Xu Chang’an squinted his eyes. "Time... is the most mysterious thing, like a never-ending stream. No one knows what they will become in it."

Just like him, when had he ever imagined becoming such an incompetant steward?

Still, being nestled by the girl.

"Become what?" Yun Qian softly leaned against Xu Chang’an’s body, whispering, "When you’ve been in the water a long time, your toes become pruney."

"I’m talking about the river of time, without beginning or end. This water is not that water." Xu Chang’an sighed helplessly.

"For me, they’re the same. Water is water." Yun Qian stretched lazily, her face turning red. It was clear that with her constitution, she was nearing her limit in the hot spring.

"Miss, since you know being in the water too long isn’t good, why don’t you stop?"

Xu Chang’an’s eyes sharpened as if to give the girl trouble, but his expression soon changed, chuckling, "Could it be, miss, you want to see me rush home every day to carry you back to the room?"

Yun Qian nodded, thinking that was indeed the case.

"...Miss, I was just joking."

"I’m not joking."

Xu Chang’an: "..."

Forget it, words spoken by a dream girl hold no reference value.

However, he did wonder why Yun Qian liked to soak her feet so much, and the most reasonable answer was simply that the girl liked it, needing no reason.

This waiting for him to carry her off... Xu Chang’an assumed it was just a fantasy in his mind.

"..."

The girl spoke honestly, but he wouldn’t listen, so it wasn’t her concern.

Yun Qian quietly watched the hazy reflection of herself on the water surface, contemplating something very important.

So time is such a powerful thing, and warm water is quite powerful too.

"I... I can’t hold on any longer."

After calmly saying this to Xu Chang’an, Yun Qian’s head dipped halfway into the water, even accidentally blowing a bubble that floated to the surface.

She couldn’t hold on.

And so, the world fell silent, with only a gentle breeze blowing over the frosty heavens.

——

Xu Chang’an sighed.

He had thought that in a dream, the girl might act a bit better.

It was simply that prolonged soaking in the warm spring had resulted in hypoxia.