From a Thousand Year Ago

Chapter V: Promise

Life in a modern city was not easy for someone whose knowledge of the outside world had stopped a millenia ago.

When Zhou Zishu brought Gong Jun to the nearest town's clinic back then, he had done it in such a rush in the middle of the night, paying no attention to his surroundings. In his mind, he was only thinking of how he could hand this man over to his fellow humans, so that he could be safe. However, now that he'd left the mountain for good, willingly entering the world of the future, from the very first step he took into the city, Zhou Zishu was so overwhelmed he didn't even know what to do. It could even be said that he was almost frightened. Despite not showing it on his face, the fact that Zhou Zishu did not dare to step away from Gong Jun was already more than enough proof of that.

Gong Jun knew this, so never let go of Zhou Zishu's hands along the way.

They returned to Gong Jun's apartment. Even though everything in the house still confused Zhou Zishu, at the very least there were only the two of them there. Gong Jun let Zhou Zishu rest for a while before slowly taking him to learn things step by step.

He dressed Zhou Zishu in today's clothes. Fortunately, despite Zhou Zishu being slightly shorter than him, the two of them shared an overall similar size, so Gong Jun did not have to buy too many new clothes for him, save for some things intended for personal use. Zhou Zishu was reluctant to part with his long hair, because then he wouldn't be able to wear the jade hairpin anymore. A mere choice of hairstyle wouldn't interfere with how he was going to live from now on, so Gong Jun found no fault in that and let him be.

From that day onwards, Zhou Zishu's life in the mortal world began.

First, Gong Jun let him adapt to things around the house. It really did take time and patience; even the softness of the sofa today's bed shocked this ancient man so much, he at first refused to sit or lie down on them. But of course, once he discovered how comfortable they were, it became hard to peel Zhou Zishu off from them.

Gong Jun also taught him how to use the shower and toilet, how to turn on the lamps and a few simple electronic devices around the house. More advanced things like the phone and TV, they were a bit more difficult to explain, so Gong Jun took it slowly to teach him how they should be used.

During the day when Gong Jun was at work, Zhou Zishu would stay at home. Since he couldn't use the smartphone, TV, let alone a laptop, Gong Jun decided to give him lots of books to read, so Zhou Zishu wouldn't get bored. And it turned out to be a good idea; no matter how much time had passed, stories would remain stories, and Zhou Zishu soon found himself immersed in them.

In his free time, Gong Jun would take Zhou Zishu to go out. They visited many places; museums, aquariums, amusement parks, sometimes even public parks just to take a leisure stroll. He took Zhou Zishu to eat all kinds of food in various restaurants and cafés, trying both the local and international cuisines, from proper meals to snacks like crepes and boba tea sold on stalls on the street side.

Zhou Zishu would ask him many questions and Gong Jun would answer every single one of them without fail. He would see Zhou Zishu nodding his head in understanding, sometimes smiling in delight, sometimes staring in awe, sometimes furrowing his brows in perplexity. He was fond of Zhou Zishu's many expressions; every day, they were living in a peaceful bliss.

But of course, he knew that Zhou Zishu's time was drawing near.

Even if neither of them mentioned it, they were both aware that the number of white hairs on Zhou Zishu's head increased day by day. It was only affecting his hair at first, but eventually, the process began to take a toll on his body. Zhou Zishu began to feel tired easily. After some more time passed, his sleep started to last longer and longer.