When the two of them walks out of the Rong Mansion at dusk, the street lights are just coming on and they walk right into the evening rush hour traffic.
Although this street in the old part of Beijing is not as congested as the ring road, there is no shortage of traffic and pedestrians. A sharp braking sound frightened Rong Qiuchen, who hastily tugged at Yuan Ge's hand. Every car that passes in front of him makes him jump, and his face is filled with a look of shock and horror.
They haven't gone more than a few steps before they are caught in a traffic jam at the junction. Impatient drivers keep honking their horns and making ear-splitting sounds. Rong Qiuchen shrieks and tries to run back to the mansion, but Yuan Ge firmly pulls him back, "Stop it! Please stop behaving like a child! Don't act like you've never seen a car before! Aren't you tired of playing this game? It's not funny!"
Soon, he notices that Rong Qiuchen seems to be scared of motorbikes, bicycles and even skateboards. He looks at the pedestrians in various clothes with shock and fear in his eyes. Yuan Ge can't believe what he sees and exclaims, "Don't tell me you've been holed up in the mansion all these days because you're afraid of these!"
At this, Rong Qiuchen nods firmly, his eyes as frightened as those of a lost deer.
"Do I have to explain every single thing to you just to cater for your severe insanity and delusions of transmigration?"
Seeing Rong Qiuchen blinking his big, confused eyes and nodding firmly again, Yuan Ge gives up totally. He points at the busy traffic on the street and says in resignation, "This is a car -- my goodness, are you crazy or am I crazy! --This is the transport of our time, much more advanced than the horse-drawn carriages of the Qing Dynasty. It runs fast and doesn't eat grass, well, it's just a bit noisy …"
The two of them walks along the busy street, with Yuan Ge explaining the whole way. Like an uninitiated child, Rong Qiuchen clings onto Yuan Ge the whole time, but his eyes quickly scans everything in front of him, nodding frequently to show that he is listening and taking note of everything.
Until they reached the intersection of South Luogu Lane, Rong Qiuchen suddenly asks as an afterthought, "Childe Yuan, the odd street we just came from, was it Ju'er Hutong?"
Frustrated by his fussing over every little thing, Yuan Ge didn't bother to reply and just points to the street sign, which has "Ju'er Hutong" clearly written on it. Rong Qiuchen stands at the intersection with tears streaming down his face and says, "Everything has changed … the imperial capital I grew up in has become like … this! … many of the streets have become unrecognizable to me …"
It is dinner time and South Luogu Lane, the capital's famous traditional foodie street, is packed with tourists and diners. The sight of Rong Qiuchen's weeping immediately draws the attention of people on the street.
"What a handsome boy!"
"Is he an internet celebrity? Is his hair real? Wow! It's so long!" Sure enough, Rong Qiuchen's extraordinary long and shiny black hair immediately makes the girls stop in their tracks and admire.
And when they notice another tall, handsome young man standing next to the anachronistically dressed boy, they become even more excited.
"Look! They're actually holding hands!"
"Is this just for show or for real? Are they really gay?"
"One actually made the other one cry!"
"Wow, there really can be such a good-looking gay couple in life! What eye candy …"
"Bless you!" In the midst of the whispering crowd, a girl actually had the guts to shout out her blessing.
Damn!
Yuan Ge knew he would get into a lot of trouble if the boy continued like this, so he shouts to Qiuchen, "Stop crying now! In the Qing Dynasty, could a man just cry in the street willy-nilly? Why are you trying to grab my hand all the time!"
These harsh words have the desired effect and the boy holds back his tears, not daring to make a sound. However, the red tinge at the end of his eyes, his delicate face still with tear stains, and his resigned look have caused more people to stop and whisper to each other.
On this winter evening, in the bustling streets of the old part of the capital, two handsome young men are holding hands and snuggling together, one of them dressed in an ancient costume and walking alongside gingerly. How could this not make girls go wild with their imaginations? An endless stream of people take out their mobile phones to snap photos, and several of them even follow behind the couple and start doing live streaming excitedly …
"I'm ruined! You're nothing but trouble!" Yuan Ge yanks down the hood of the boy's down jacket to better cover his face, "The way it's going … we could be on the Hot Topic list tomorrow! You must be the one sent by Buddha to torment me!" No longer caring about the taboo of men holding hands, Yuan Ge quickens his pace, dragging the boy with him, leaving behind a group of excited girls and heading straight for Yandai Byway.
Unfortunately, Yandai Byway is also a busy street in the old part of the capital. Yuan Ge pulls Rong Qiuchen and dodges around the crowd, eventually manages to escape into a small flat on the first floor of a shop on the street, takes out the key and opens the door and pushes the boy in, before he breathes a sigh of relief, "Mr. Rong Qing, welcome to my humble abode!"