It took minutes of reassurance from the two of them to bring a halt to the young woman's screams. They roamed around the mall until they found a place that did traditional Eastern dishes. But without much in their pocket, only a meal would suffice for now. So, the three had an early dinner.

In no time, she was full. The two men were astonished to see how the beauty before them had just gobbled down a few gigantic plates of food and was still hungry! Fortunately, it was a buffet dinner, or they would have their banks broken by her excessive appetite!

"The Eastern Plains never had such good food," she muttered and had her sixth plate. The men just indulged her, and Shaojun eagerly asked, "what dishes are common in the Eastern Plains?" Shaojun was sure she was masquerading and merely tried to entertain her. Perhaps there was a reason she was acting that way. Later, he would get hold of a psychotherapist.

She named quite a few, but none of the men had ever heard of it. Then they went for karaoke and had ordered a beer to drink while they sang. In the end, Rufeng had emptied Rufeng had emptied all the beer bottles!

She was explaining where or how the Eastern Plains were or looked like, but only confused them further. Her explanation convinced Shaojun that she was making everything up. Maybe she owed loan sharks an immense amount of money, or she was running away from a prearranged marriage? There were just too many possibilities, although most of his imagined opportunities were something out of a drama plot.

They could only hope the next day would be better.

As Shaojun did not have classes the next day, he volunteered to teach Rufeng how to use the television and the notebook computer, since she wanted to continue with her 'pretence'. Rufeng thought to herself, and realized would be a while till she formally adjusted, but that was something she needed to work on until she found a way home.

She had a headache trying to recall how to use the knobs and the controls on the remote, but the moment Shaojun turned on the television, she jolted up. She dashed to the set to figure out how there were images of people appearing before them, only for Shaojun to reassure her over and over again that these people were merely video recordings played back. He promised he would show her how to produce a video recording and to have one made for her with his video camera. Since she was so determined, he would play along with her game, he thought. It sounded fun, although tiring.

The notebook had the same bewildering effect on her, and Shaojun had to continuously repeat to her that these gadgets were just machines of the twentieth century. Finally, he just gave in and inquired, "What year are you from?"

She couldn't answer him, but responded, "Qing Dynasty". A simple Wikipedia search on "Chinese dynasties" yielded various information regarding the historical dynasties in question. He concluded that if it was possible, she was probably from the eighteenth century since she had a lapse in her knowledge of the earlier technologies supposedly introduced at the end of the Qing Dynasty. And hence, she could have originated from the nineteenth century.

She discovered herself in denial about the decline of the Qing dynasty. However, she could care less about its rulers since she had lived independently in the countryside, away from any knowledge of political affairs! Her goal was to defeat demons and malicious threats, and as a guardian to the village! She couldn't be away for too long, but for her to survive and make it back safely, she had to go along with the ways of this new world!

He implored her to dress as the current day people did and not to let out any information about who she was, or she might even be captured and used as a human experiment! Indeed this man wasn't so generous as to keep her without a second thought? She must find a way to repay him before she returned, she thought valiantly.

In the meantime, the men gave her some of their old tees and Nan Xi chipped in with some old clothes left behind by Nan Xi's ex-girlfriend Clares, hoping that Clares would never get to recognize her pre-owned clothing if she ever met Rufeng one day. How Clares had left Nan Xi, after four years of being steady, proved to be a long story. She had even vanished without a trace from the university, and Nan Xi had contacted her parents, but to no avail, as they would not speak to him either.

He later developed a crush on Xin Li, after working with her on a project, but in his heart, he probably still missed Clares.

"You need to have a new haircut and hairstyle," Shaojun told Rufeng.

He couldn't be kidding, she thought. How long had she grown her hair to be this extreme length, only to have it severed! But she had to comply, for her safety. She would grow it all back once she returned to the Eastern Plains! After all, it was just hair!

She gritted her teeth, and grudgingly agreed. Shaojun set up an appointment for her with a trusted hairdresser. But just as she stood up, her legs came in contact with the thin rug and to her horror, she slipped, colliding hard with Shaojun, and sending them both crashing hard on the tiled floor of the apartment.

Just her good luck, she groaned painfully as the two of them lay in a heap on the floor. Then she realized that Shaojun was gazing at her interestedly, as if in a trance.

Something had seemed to trigger a subconscious memory he had, and all of a sudden he didn't know what he was saying, but he was murmuring an unknown name. Qiaoyue. Fortunately, his words were inaudible to both her and Nan Xi.

Nan Xi just watched on, and couldn't be amused more. Perhaps these two would make a suitable couple, he thought. Possibilities in this world were endless.