Chapter 1017: Chapter 1016: Strolling in the Park

"A summer garden party?"

"It’s just a spontaneously organized event." The girl with the oval face explained, "A few somewhat well-known Hanfu content creators started it. Everyone puts on Hanfu and comes to Anshan Park to hang out today. Those who have resources can get some sponsorship, set up some props, run some ads and so on, then everyone takes photos and streams in the park together, creating an ancient-times vibe."

"We went over this morning. There were quite a lot of people, and many tourists came specifically for it, so we came out at noon to grab lunch and plan to go back this afternoon for more streaming, dance a bit. Maybe we can reel in some more followers." The round-faced girl added.

"If you go, Tao Ying, just casually do a classical dance and you’ll definitely rake in a ton of fans." The last girl with the melon-seed face said.

Shen Ying smiled slightly. "Honestly, my dancing is just so-so."

"You’re being way too modest!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"If you’re ’so-so’, then our dancing is nothing but radio calisthenics."

Strictly speaking, Shen Ying’s words were both modest and not. Modest, because aside from Hu Cai Niang whose dancing surpassed hers, there were two of the Eighteen Celestial Maidens who were also very skilled dancers. Not modest, because she already had a dance foundation, and she’d been diligently learning more recently. So even if her dancing couldn’t quite match Hu Cai Niang’s, on Modern Blue Star it was absolutely top-tier.

"You should go, it’s really fun." The oval-faced girl urged enthusiastically.

Shen Ying thought for a moment, then looked at Lu Zheng and the two women, Liu Qingyan and Lin Wan. "Then shall we go have a look?"

Lin Wan and Liu Qingyan nodded in unison. "Sounds fun, let’s go!"

Lu Zheng naturally had no objections.

So everyone finished their meal together, then went down to the underground parking lot, piled into the car, and headed to nearby Anshan Park.

"Wow, it’s really lively."

Today happened to be a day off, the weather was cloudy and not too hot, and with the pavilions and towers and dense shade from trees in the park, there were plenty of visitors. On top of that, all the Hanfu guys and girls were like walking scenery themselves, so tourists were flowing in from all directions, shoulder to shoulder in a constant stream.

The usual elderly out for a walk or exercise, families of three with kids, couples on a weekend outing, plus tourists drawn here by livestreams or ads.

The happiest crowd were the snack and drink vendors in the park. Business was several times better than a normal weekend. Some even ran out of stock completely and had to hang up "Sold Out" signs.

The few Hanfu guys and girls who had led the way insisted on following each other on Douyin with Shen Ying, then cheerfully said their goodbyes and headed off to find spots for their own photos and streams.

Lu Zheng and the others didn’t change outfits. They simply strolled hand in hand through the park.

In a bamboo grove, a man in a red Jinyiwei robe stood with a Long Saber held crosswise; on a wooden bridge, a man in white with a folded fan held one hand behind his back and one in front; outside a moon gate, a powdered beauty lifted her sleeve to cover her mouth, smiling sweetly; by the pond, a woman in plain dress raised her hand to brush the willow branches aside, a faint smile on her red lips.

Many girls in Hanfu were also wandering around the park holding selfie sticks, streaming as they went, introducing what they saw and heard, occasionally interacting with other Hanfu guys and girls, even reciting a few famous poems together.

In several more open spaces, some young women were livestreaming Zither performances, and a few men and women were livestreaming calligraphy and painting. Although to Lu Zheng’s eyes the music and artwork were rather hard to comment on politely, they were more than enough to impress ordinary people. At least when Lu Zheng and his group passed by and glanced over, both the on-site tourists and the online viewers were full of praise.

After wandering around the park once, they even spotted the four people who had eaten lunch with them earlier, now doing a paired dance under the eaves outside a courtyard. They waved from afar and then moved on.

"Oh wow, that outfit—isn’t that a Jinyiwei uniform?"

"It looks like a scholar’s robe but with a hint of combat gear."

"That skirt is really form-fitting, really shows off the figure."

As they walked and chatted, Lu Zheng shook his head with a laugh. "These all carry an ancient-style vibe, but they’re Hanfu that have been redesigned once already."

"But they really are prettier." Liu Qingyan nodded.

Earlier, Lu Zheng had bought a lot of ancient-style clothes on this side of Blue Star to take back to Great Jing as gifts—not just for Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying, but for their other friends as well.

After that, Shen Ying improved on these new-style outfits and designed many even prettier ancient-style dresses. Her transformation videos were so popular partly thanks to her unique, gorgeous costumes.

Anshan Park covered a vast area, with pavilions and towers, small bridges and flowing water, and many faux-ancient buildings. It really was a great place to hold a Hanfu event. However...

Lu Zheng rubbed his chin, glanced back at Shen Ying and Liu Qingyan, and gave a secret nod.

Lin Wan noticed him, blinked, and had the distinct feeling that Lu Zheng was cooking up some crooked scheme.

"What are you plotting?"

"Was I that obvious?"

"What do you think? Your eyes are darting around—anyone can tell you’re not thinking anything good."

Seeing both Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying turn their gazes on him, Lu Zheng protested helplessly, "I really wasn’t plotting anything. Fine, I was thinking that if Ying’Er filmed a series of transformation videos with famous domestic scenic spots or buildings as the backdrop, it would probably blow up."

"Give an example."

With the three women all looking at him, Lu Zheng explained, "For example, that Big Underpants in Beidu. Okay, sure, Big Underpants is actually pretty ugly, but it is a landmark building. Ying’Er dances in front of the Big Underpants, and then the Big Underpants turns into the Ghost Gate. What do you think?"

Lin Wan’s eyes lit up. "Interaction between modern and ancient landmark buildings—great idea!"

"It does sound pretty interesting." Liu Qingyan nodded as well.

Shen Ying’s lips curved upward, her Peach Blossoms eyes shimmering as she looked at Lu Zheng. She slipped her hand through his arm. "Sure. Later we can go to the other side of the inner river by the Oriental Pearl Tower and turn it into a sky-piercing sword, how about that?"

Lu Zheng picked up the idea. "Then you transform into a Female Sword Immortal. Can’t be turning everything into ghosts all the time."

Shen Ying’s charming eyes arched, and her aura instantly shifted. A sharp, proud Sword Qi burst forth from her, her bearing heroic and valiant; even her Peach Blossoms eyes grew a bit sharper.

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Several nearby tourists turned to look, only to see a pretty girl with smiling eyes clinging to a young man’s arm, laughing so hard her shoulders shook.

"Well?" Shen Ying asked in a low, amused voice.

"Awesome!" Liu Qingyan clapped and laughed. "I almost thought Hongxia had shown up."

"Whoa, since when can you use Feiyu Mountain’s Sword Qi?" Lu Zheng asked in surprise.

Shen Ying raised her hand, and a red disc appeared between her fingertips. "This is the Red Jade Sword you gave me back then. Later I went up Feiyu Mountain with you again and spent a lot of time with Hongxia. Just copying the aura a bit is easy. Of course, if it came to actually fighting I’d be exposed instantly."

"Impressive!" Lu Zheng praised.

Just then, a commotion suddenly rose in the distance. Lu Zheng and the others looked up to see a group of men and women in kimonos walking toward them from afar.