Chapter 84 Before He Zhao fell asleep, his posture was quite well-behaved; he remained in a side-lying position, which looked...
Before falling asleep, He Zhao was quite well-behaved, sleeping on her side, looking very proper. But once she was sound asleep, how she slept was entirely up to her. Especially for someone like her who had always slept alone, and in a large bed at that, her sleeping posture was simply quite unrestrained.
As He Zhao slept, he changed his position, from a small ball to a sprawled out arm, even turning to face Qiao Yanyu. When the arm came down, Qiao Yanyu was startled, but fortunately, she was quick enough to catch He Zhao's hand and gently place it on her thigh.
Otherwise, with He Zhao's punch, Qiao Yanyu's already bandaged abdomen would have suffered a second injury.
But He Zhao was a restless sleeper. After a while, he started moving again, this time pressing his leg over. Fortunately, the leg that Qiao Yanyu was leaning against was the healthy one. She moved her other leg and let He Zhao lean on her if she wanted.
This meant Qiao Yanyu wasn't able to work very well. Unable to sleep, she would scroll through news on her phone. Qiao Yanyu's habits were somewhat old-fashioned; she didn't watch short videos, read novels, comics, or watch TV dramas much, only clicking on news articles and occasionally reading other people's comments.
Her hobbies seem rather unusual for a young person. The bureau chief had previously remarked that she was somewhat dull. She barely played mobile games, at most a few simple puzzle games like Candy Crush. However, when she was with He Zhao, he didn't find her boring at all. Instead, he would engage her in conversation and chat, making Qiao Yanyu feel that these moments were much more interesting than watching the news.
He Zhao slept for a long time, almost two and a half hours. He lay down before 1 p.m. and woke up close to 3:30 p.m. A long afternoon nap doesn't necessarily make you feel refreshed. Afternoon naps are the most unpredictable thing in the world; sometimes you wake up feeling even more tired than before, sometimes you feel dizzy and lightheaded from sleeping too much, and only in rare cases do you experience that unexpected feeling of refreshment.
Today, He Zhao felt a bit dizzy and unwell.
But she was quickly startled by her overly intimate actions with Qiao Yanyu, and her previously swollen head cleared up considerably. She didn't know when, but she found herself clinging to Qiao Yanyu like an octopus.
Qiao Yanyu's body was very warm; when she hugged her, it felt like hugging a large hot water bottle, and it was also very soft.
They were pressed so close together, it seemed like they were really very intimate. He Zhao blushed deeply, but immediately remembered that Qiao Yanyu was injured. She quickly moved away from Qiao Yanyu as if she had been electrocuted, afraid that she might accidentally press on Qiao Yanyu's wound.
"Sister Qiao, are you alright?! Did I step on you?! You should have thrown my hands and legs away, how could I have been on top of you?"
He Zhao kept talking with some guilt, but her personality was somewhat unlikable, and what she said sounded more like a complaint. But Qiao Yanyu knew what she was thinking, so she didn't mind and just said, "I see you're sleeping soundly, I don't want to disturb you."
"Sigh!" He Zhao sighed, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he hadn't pressed on Qiao Yanyu's wound.
She quickly got up, went to the bathroom, turned on the tap to wash her face, dried it with tissues, got dressed, and sat down on the stool below. For a moment, the two were silent. He Zhao felt this wasn't working; he had to say something to break the silence.
She thought for a moment before starting a conversation: "Sister Qiao, what happened to Hua Hua—the ghost that the big bad guy raised? What will happen to her later?"
He Zhao's words left Qiao Yanyu speechless. Hua Hua's ultimate fate was certainly not good, but He Zhao seemed to like the girl quite a bit and even remembered her name, Hua Hua. Moreover, it was likely that in He Zhao's mind, Hua Hua was innocent and had been used.
Actually, He Zhao brought up this topic only to break the silence, but after she did, Qiao Yanyu became even more silent. Her heart sank; she knew that Hua Hua probably wouldn't receive any special treatment. He Zhao pursed her lips; like Qiao Yanyu, she felt that Hua Hua was innocent.
He Zhao is a woman, and a budding one at that, so she's naturally more inclined to favor women. What's more, Hua Hua is a little girl who has never felt any love since childhood, was abused by her own father, and was even murdered when she was fifteen or sixteen, and has been used ever since.
How could such a pity not evoke sympathy?
At the same time, He Zhao felt a mixture of pity and anger towards Hua Hua, just as he had said in the basement earlier. Hua Hua had the strength to resist the villain. It had become a ghost and had been fed so much yin energy that it was already a powerful ghost that several investigators together couldn't handle. Yet, even under these circumstances, it was still being driven by the villain.
He Zhao understood, of course, how terrifying that kind of deep-rooted torment and manipulation was, something that even someone with great power would find difficult to resist. But knowing this didn't stop him from feeling heartbroken seeing her offer no resistance.
Even now that she knows Hua Hua's ending won't be good, she still feels a pang of pity: "Sigh..."
He Zhao sighed, while Qiao Yanyu began to frantically comfort her: "Actually, although Huahua is pitiful, she has indeed done many unforgivable things. Some investigators in rural areas have also been killed by Huahua. Even those who were used by her have many lives on their hands..."
He Zhao understood everything Qiao Yanyu said, so she simply sighed. He Zhao shook her head: "I understand, it's a murderer too." He Zhao thought silently for a while, then suddenly asked Qiao Yanyu: "Then can I plead with the director to let Hua Hua attend my banquet? I won't say a word about its handling, but it shouldn't be taken so soon, right? Can we at least let it experience a little bit of happiness during this time? Otherwise, it's too pitiful that it came into this world and only experienced pain."
Although He Zhao has a bit of a temper and occasionally acts like a little devil, most of the time she is a good-natured girl. This is related to her own experiences; she knows that there are many bad people in this world, such as the group of relatives who are eyeing her family's property, but there are also many good people, such as the neighbors who helped her with the funeral arrangements after her parents passed away.
Therefore, she usually treats others with kindness as long as their interests are not harmed.
Qiao Yanyu thought this kind of personality was great, and she was willing to protect He Zhao's good nature. Qiao Yanyu nodded: "I'll talk to the director, and you can go see her directly tomorrow."
Qiao Yanyu really is someone He Zhao knows how difficult it is for people to do, but Qiao Yanyu always says "I'll figure out a way" and "I'll say it." How could He Zhao not like Qiao Yanyu?
"Sister Qiao, you're so good to me!"
He Zhao wanted to rush up and hug Qiao Yanyu, but she held back. She thought she would make Qiao Yanyu some chicken soup later. Unexpectedly, Qiao Yanyu got her idea first and said to He Zhao, "He Zhao, you don't need to bring the soup tonight. It's too much trouble for you. You should eat some tonight and rest a little later before you go out to set up your stall. The same goes for tomorrow. Rest at home as much as possible. You don't need to come here."
"How can that be? He Zhao learned how to make chicken soup specifically for Qiao Yanyu. If he doesn't let her bring him chicken soup, then all that learning would be for nothing." He couldn't say this directly, so after thinking for a moment, his manipulative side resurfaced: "Sister Qiao, are you tired of chicken soup? If you don't like chicken soup, I'll learn something else and make it for you tomorrow."
The system was unaware that He Zhao was being sarcastic. It was so excited when it heard this that it rubbed its non-existent hands together, waiting for Qiao Yanyu to agree so it could pull He Zhao into the system space and start giving him a thorough lesson.
But Qiao Yanyu wasn't like that at all. Hearing what He Zhao said, she was afraid that He Zhao would be sad, so she immediately said, "No, it's not true. The chicken soup you make is especially delicious. I never get tired of it. Today you added mushrooms, and it's really delicious. I was just worried that you would get tired."
Qiao Yanyu was clearly completely under He Zhao's control, and she was delighted: "Then I'll come again tomorrow. I'll add some other vegetables. Vegetable and shredded chicken noodle soup is also good. Just shred the chicken, sprinkle some vegetables, and add some noodles. I can still make that. Sister Qiao, just wait and eat!"
The matter was settled after He Zhao's persuasive words, and a while later, it was truly time for He Zhao to leave. She reluctantly said goodbye to Qiao Yanyu before slowly leaving the hospital.
On the way out, the system was incredibly frustrated, especially with Qiao Yanyu. Why couldn't she think the same way as it and give He Zhao another chance to learn more cooking skills? It was right in front of them! But the system quickly adjusted its mood.
It watched as He Zhao skipped down the hospital steps to the food cart, humming a song as he sat down. It was clear without even looking that He Zhao had had a wonderful day. The system understood that as long as Qiao Yanyu was around, He Zhao would eventually learn to cook even more for her.
They can't just eat chicken soup with rice every day or always order takeout when they're together! When Qiao Yanyu comes back from the hospital, still recovering from her serious injuries, will He Zhao be willing to let her eat that? Teaching He Zhao more dishes is just around the corner!
The hatred it felt for Qiao Yanyu just moments before instantly transformed into love; it felt like it had truly struck gold. He Zhao, who had previously been indifferent to everything, was now cooking and cleaning for the person he loved. A love-struck mind is wonderful; it would definitely seek a love-struck host in the future!
The system's shift in affection for Qiao Yanyu was instantaneous, but the guests' shift in affection for He Zhao was not so simple. However, He Zhao had prepared a secret weapon, making it easy for him to manipulate these guests.
Before she even reached her stall that evening, she saw a huge group of ghosts already waiting for her. Wang Yu, who had arrived even earlier, was now completely surrounded by the ghosts. Hearing the sound of her little food cart, all the ghosts, including Wang Yu, turned to look at her.
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