The next morning, Xuan Yuanlie opened his eyes and found himself lying next to Xiang Wan. He gave her a deep look, then tiptoed out of the dormitory, bumping into Qian Xiaoqi. Xuan Yuanlie nodded to him and quickly left, leaving him standing at the door for a long time, still wondering why his general had come out of Xiang Wan's room.
Xiang Wan had actually woken up early, but she pretended to be asleep, wanting to see how Xuan Yuanlie would react. To her surprise, he left without a word, wasting her feelings. Seeing Qian Xiaoqi's conflicted gaze, looking like he wanted to ask but didn't dare, Xiang Wan couldn't help but tease him: "Xiaoqi, did you see that? This is a real man, your general's favorite!" She raised an eyebrow and gave him a smug look, leaving Qian Xiaoqi stunned.
Xuan Yuanlie hadn't come for nothing; before leaving, he left behind the silver needles and herbs Xiang Wan needed. For a long time afterward, Xuan Yuanlie could be seen coming over every evening. Xiang Wan became extremely busy, spending her days with Gu Xue'en and returning home to study herbs whenever she had free time. Her evening exercise and internet time were shortened. If Xuan Yuanlie came over, she would give him massages, acupuncture, or some herbal decoctions, gradually adjusting his physical condition to its best state—except for one certain aspect, of course.
Xuanyuan Lie often came here at night, and sometimes he would even stay overnight. In order not to make herself uncomfortable, Xiang Wan bought a folding bed as a spare. When she had free time during the day, she would have Qian Xiaoqi lie on the bed and practice acupuncture on him, claiming that this was a task given to her by the general.
"Little Seven, you don't know, your general has a thing for this. You know that Lou Yu'er he brought back, right? She's always crying and sobbing. She has too much water in her body, too much dampness, and nowhere to release it, which is why her hair grows so long. That's the principle behind the saying that water nourishes people. If you accumulate dampness in your body, you might end up like that too."
"Really? How come I've never heard of that? Aren't women naturally prone to crying and having long hair?"
"You don't understand, do you?" Xiang Wan inserted a needle into his Jianjing acupoint, rubbed it left and right until his body trembled slightly, then stopped. She picked up another silver needle, scanning it to see where to insert it. "How can you judge a man or a woman just by their appearance? Some people are naturally hairy, and as long as they have the heart of a man, they are definitely men. So-called lesbians are just deceived by their appearance; in fact, one of them is definitely a tomboy. And the 'rabbit god,' now also called male homosexual, one of them is definitely a woman at heart. You can't just look at their appearance."
"If that's the case, why not just get a sex change? Modern medicine is so advanced, the change would only take a minute."
"That's why I say you're so naive," Xiang Wan shook her head and sighed. "Transgenderism is just the final choice after desire overwhelms reason. But what if you haven't reached that point yet? What if the person is in a high position of power? For example, your general seems very manly, right?"
Qian Xiaoqi thought for a moment and nodded. Xiang Wan seized the opportunity to prick him up, "Do you even know what he's really thinking? He's been alone all these years, who knows the hardships he's endured? You all say he's strong and needs protection, but how could you know that even the strongest person has a vulnerable side and needs protection too? So, don't let my short stature fool you, I'm actually very tall inside. That's why your general has come here time and time again. Do you understand now?"
Qian Xiaoqi was completely bewildered, never expecting Xiang Wan to say such a thing. But upon reflection, he found it made perfect sense and became even more respectful towards Xiang Wan.
"So, you must never tell anyone about the acupuncture I gave you. Otherwise, given your general's domineering nature, do you think you'd still be lying here unharmed?"
Qian Xiaoqi froze, and stammered, "No, that's not right. Didn't you say that the general ordered me to come and give you this thing?"
"You believe me just like that? You unlucky kid, you've overheard your general's private affairs. From now on, you better keep a close eye on that Lou Yu'er. Trying to steal my wife won't be so easy!"
Guan Yuanyu stabbed Qian Xiaoqi again, causing his waist to arch suddenly and sweat to appear on his forehead. He repeatedly agreed, "Ah, I agree, please stop stabbing me, it hurts too much."
"Hmph, good to know. You bunch of naive fools believed me just because I pretended to be weak. Don't you even know who I'm competing with for someone's man?"
Qian Xiaoqi was on the verge of a breakdown. The two men's fight for the general's position had dragged him down with them; it was truly unbelievable. Afterwards, Qian Xiaoqi mobilized his comrades to keep a close eye on Lou Yu'er's movements, and they actually found something unusual.
Lou Yu'er, taking advantage of being the only woman in the general's residence, volunteered to do the cooking. Even with a robotic butler and a mechanical chef, she was still restless. Whenever Xuan Yuanlie returned, he would find Lou Yu'er waiting at the door with a bowl of soup. At first, Xuan Yuanlie ignored her, but seeing her pitiful appearance, he took it once, then put it aside after entering. Lou Yu'er assumed Xuan Yuanlie liked it and cooked even more frequently. Because of her persistence, Xuan Yuanlie would flock to Xiang Wan's place every evening. The few times he did go back to stay were only because he had important things to retrieve and had to return.
As time went on, Lou Yu'er became restless and began subtly inquiring about Xuan Yuanlie's movements. Because of her appearance, she successfully extracted information from him, and then began preparing unusual items, placing them in inconspicuous corners, waiting for Xuan Yuanlie.
Xiang Wan was well aware of all this, but with Qian Xiaoqi following her, she couldn't possibly know everything out of thin air, could she? The information the system gave her needed to be presented openly. And Qian Xiaoqi was the perfect entry point. She deliberately blurred the lines about gender, wanting to use Qian Xiaoqi to tell everyone that their general wasn't judged solely on appearance. Although society was more open now, and homosexuality was legal, Xuan Yuanlie's identity was what it was. If he wanted to find a man, probably no one in the entire universe would agree. Only those close to him could understand how rare it was to find a soulmate.
Xiang Wan is currently presenting herself as a man, and Xuan Yuanlie knows this, but he won't tell anyone. Gu Xue'en understands, but won't interfere. It's important to prepare those around her beforehand; first impressions are crucial!
Lou Yu'er's methods were undeniably clever. She arranged only fresh and pleasant flowers and herbs, but when combined with a specific medicinal soup, they became a potent aphrodisiac. Xiang Wan didn't know how Lou Yu'er knew she was giving Xuan Yuanlie the soup, but if the incident happened with her, even if she could explain herself, she couldn't avoid trouble, especially since her identity shouldn't be exposed. Therefore, since someone had made the move, it would be a disservice to Lou Yu'er for the sins she committed against the original owner in her previous life if she didn't retaliate!
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