Xu Wenwan was furious, but she couldn’t lash out. After all, she was the one who had spilled it.
Gu Jiaojiao watched Xu Wenwan in silence, her eyes fixed on the towel.
She suspected Xu Wenwan wanted the liquid on it.
So, Gu Jiaojiao simply tossed the towel into the basin, washed it, then picked up the basin and splashed the water outside.
Xu Wenwan was devastated.
’It’s gone. My water is gone.’
Gu Jiaojiao came back inside and set down the basin. "It’s all right, don’t worry about it. I’ll just pour another glass of water in a bit."
Xu Wenwan’s eyes lit up. She immediately asked her system, "Little Seven, are there any more pills?"
The system sounded like it was about to cry. "I only had five in total! You’ve used three, so there are only two left. I think you should just come back another day!"
Leng Yuan was already gone. Even if Gu Jiaojiao drank the drugged water now, it would be useless.
Xu Wenwan nodded.
She stood up, her expression perfectly calm.
"It’s getting late. I should be going."
With that, she headed for the door.
Gu Jiaojiao immediately saw her out.
The moment Xu Wenwan was outside, Gu Jiaojiao locked the door and went back in.
Xu Wenwan completely lost it.
"AHHHH! I’m such an idiot! I couldn’t even hold a glass of water steady! This is infuriating!"
The system covered its little ears.
Xu Wenwan was so angry she started to cry.
Nothing good ever happened when she saw Gu Jiaojiao. She was so, so angry.
In the courtyard, Gu Jiaojiao listened to Xu Wenwan’s meltdown, a smile playing on her lips.
’Serves her right for always plotting against people.’
Ignoring the hysterical Xu Wenwan, Gu Jiaojiao went back to her room, took out the pill, and placed it in a box for safekeeping.
Maybe it was because she had dealt with Xu Wenwan, but Gu Jiaojiao was in a great mood.
That night, as the two of them lay in bed, Gu Jiaojiao explained the concept of "systems" to Leng Yuan.
She explained them based on the systems she’d read about in novels. When Leng Yuan learned that there were many other types of systems besides the one bound to Xu Wenwan, he was completely stunned.
It was as if a door to a whole new world had been opened.
Gu Jiaojiao was on a roll, speaking eloquently, and only realized at the end that her husband was staring at her with a searing gaze.
’Oh no,’ she thought.
’I got too carried away and let something slip.’
"Jiaojiao, you seem to know a lot about this."
Gu Jiaojiao gave a strained laugh. "I know a little, I guess."
"Xu Wenwan is a lot like you. You make facial soap, and she makes facial soap. Are you two from the same place?"
Gu Jiaojiao’s heart leaped into her throat. In that instant, a million thoughts raced through her mind. She even felt that Leng Yuan had already figured something out, that it was no longer safe to stay by his side, that she should run away.
But the restrictions of this era were too great. You needed a letter of introduction to go anywhere. Where could she possibly go?
As for fighting him, Gu Jiaojiao knew her own limits. With her small frame, she was no match for Leng Yuan.
In the end, she came to the miserable realization that even if Leng Yuan discovered her secret, she had nowhere to run.
As Gu Jiaojiao’s mind raced, a warm, large hand rested on her head. The man’s voice was deep, laced with a helpless sigh.
"You silly girl," he said. "If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. No matter what secrets you have, I will never hurt you."
Having lived together for so long, Leng Yuan had noticed certain things for a while now. It was just that Gu Jiaojiao never brought it up, so he never asked.
He had only brought it up tentatively today because the conversation had led them there.
He hadn’t expected Gu Jiaojiao to have such a strong reaction.
For a moment, the panic in her eyes stung him.
Gu Jiaojiao pressed her lips together.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell him. It was that the whole thing was so fantastical, she didn’t even know where to begin.