Chapter 44: Numb

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Numb

Ling Qianjun was blinded by the flash. He blinked, unaccustomed to the bright light, and raised a hand to shield his eyes.

However, he didn’t step back. He trusted Hua Buwan and knew she would never harm him.

Seeing this, Hua Buwan hurriedly apologized, "Sorry, sorry! I forgot to turn off the flash. Are you okay? I just couldn’t resist taking a picture of you. Have a look."

She held her phone up to Ling Qianjun. He stared at the screen, seeing his own smiling face frozen inside the little black box.

His throat tightened. Lowering his voice, he asked, "I’ve been meaning to ask you... what exactly is this black box? How is it able to capture my likeness? It hasn’t stolen my soul, has it?"

Hua Buwan’s red lips curled into a slight smile. "This is called a cell phone. It’s a communication device we use here. For example, if you want to reach someone thousands of miles away, you just need to know their number—and everyone can get a number. Then, you use this phone to dial that number, and you can talk to them or even send them written messages."

As she spoke, she racked her brain, doing her best to explain it using concepts he could easily understand.

Ling Qianjun listened intently, the light in his eyes growing brighter with every word.

"Capturing your likeness isn’t stealing your soul," Hua Buwan continued. "Rather, this phone has the abilities of a master portrait artist built right into it. With just a light tap..." She manipulated the phone as she spoke, giving him a vivid demonstration. "CLICK! It instantly produces a painting. See? It’s that simple. It happens in the blink of an eye."

Handing the phone to Ling Qianjun, she encouraged him to try it out. She had noticed him staring unblinkingly at the screen, his hands hovering forward as if itching to touch it.

Ling Qianjun grasped the device, his palms sweating. Following her instructions, he aimed at the counter. CLICK. He aimed at the floor. CLICK. At the ceiling. CLICK. At the restroom. CLICK...

Hua Buwan was struck speechless.

At this moment, she felt that Ling Qianjun was being incredibly childish. He was like a kindergartener overflowing with curiosity, his eyes shining with the wide-eyed innocence of a college freshman.

CLICK! For his final shot, Ling Qianjun snapped a picture of Hua Buwan.

He took a long, deep look at the photo before handing the phone back to her.

After a moment of thought, Hua Buwan offered, "How about I buy a phone for you tomorrow? That way, you can take pictures of your family and the scenery on your journey into exile. Plus, I can download some useful books and videos for you—like how to identify medicinal herbs, and other survival skills you’ll need on the road."

"Okay!" Ling Qianjun nodded heavily. He thought her proposal was absolutely brilliant.

Moving on from the topic, Hua Buwan retrieved a razor and handed it to him. She taught him how to use it, but—whether it was because he used too much force or was just unaccustomed to it—he immediately nicked himself and drew blood.

Hua Buwan gasped at the sight of the red stain. She reached out and took the razor back. "Let me do it. If you go back injured just from visiting my supermarket, your family will be worried sick.

"Tomorrow, I’ll order a battery-operated electric razor for you. The ones I have in the store right now all need to be plugged in to charge, which you can’t use over there yet. For now, you’ll just have to make do with this primitive manual razor."

Ling Qianjun didn’t pay the scratch much mind. "It’s fine. I just haven’t adapted to it yet." Back in the military camp, they used heavy broadswords to shave their beards.

"Tilt your head up," Hua Buwan instructed seriously.

Ling Qianjun obediently did as he was told, lifting his chin.

Hua Buwan carefully shaved his beard. She thought, "This isn’t hard at all. It’s exactly like smoothing out the frosting when I bake cakes."

Ling Qianjun’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his heartbeat quietly accelerating.

When her fingers brushed against his jaw, it felt as though his entire body had been struck by lightning. A tingling numbness spread through him.