Xiao Xiang.
Hua Cai smiled slightly; Zhao Qiang had become increasingly accustomed to calling her that.
Seeing Zhao Qiang's anxious face, Si'en's face flushed red. She looked down at the small bamboo cage in her hand, which was still warm, and said in a shy voice, "Young master, Si'en understands. Thank you, thank you, young master. I will definitely not waste it."
After speaking, there was no reply for a long time. Looking up, I saw that the person who had been sitting in front of me had somehow walked to the door.
Sien: ...This person is so clueless about romance.
After Hua Cai had finished taking care of the little pillow, she turned around and saw Si En hugging a cage and staring blankly at the empty doorway.
"Si'en?"
"Huh?" Si'en snapped out of her daze and hurried to the kitchen: "I'll go pack these things up and get busy right away."
Looking at Si En's retreating figure with a puzzled expression, Hua Cai sighed as she looked at the two stones on the ground. With all her might, she dragged the two medicine grinders little by little to the wall.
After panting for a while, holding her back, Hua Cai glanced in the direction of the main room.
Suddenly I really want Zhao Qiang to go back to normal immediately, so I can help him move some things or something.
As her fingertips touched the silver needles at her waist, Hua Cai suddenly felt a surge of fighting spirit.
"Hey, they're finally getting ready to go to Icefire Island!" Like a thunderclap out of nowhere, the system's voice suddenly exploded in her ears, scaring Hua Cai so much that she almost died on the spot.
Hua Cai grabbed the ball of light that was darting around in front of her fiercely and said through gritted teeth, "Can you at least give me a heads-up before you speak? What are you yelling about? If I were to be outwitting that Lu Zhangke right now, this yell of yours would send me straight back to Qingqiu."
"Boss, boss." The system's voice was distorted from being shaken: "Calm down, calm down, I just lack experience."
The system struggled, but Hua Cai loosened her grip, and the ball of light flew out: "Good news! The system shop's discount event has begun!"
The system had never mentioned the system shop before, so Hua Cai was initially excited when she heard about it, but her excitement quickly faded after just two seconds: "Really? Do you have anything that doesn't require energy?"
Silence fell; the system was once again choked up.
That seems to make sense. For them, who have no energy at all, it seems they can't afford it whether the price is lowered or not.
While the system was down, Hua Cai entered the room expressionlessly and saw Zhao Qiang staring blankly at the door. When he saw Hua Cai come in, his eyes lit up, but then he turned back to his room.
The weather wasn't hot today, but the door was still open all day. The only bed in the room was at the back, with its back to the door.
Zhao Qiang sat there quietly, motionless, with two pillows behind him. He sat there like a piece of wood, radiating a lingering numbness and loneliness.
Hua Cai moved her feet and suddenly walked quickly to the bedside. She saw Zhao Qiang with his eyes open, staring blankly at the wall at the foot of the bed. He blinked occasionally, but he was still lifeless.
Sensing someone else beside him, Zhao Qiang looked up at her, his gaze questioning, "Xiao Xiang?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, Zhao Qiang seemed to come alive. His gaze was fixed on her, and the surprise on his face made Hua Cai feel that he was truly a living person.
Hua Cai pursed her lips, turned her head to look at the wall. The pale gray wall was completely empty, occupying all her vision. It was so gloomy and inexplicably suffocating.
"When someone from the village goes to the city again, I'll ask someone to bring back some calligraphy supplies and collections of essays, okay? I remember you used to like painting. When you bring back Xuan paper, how about you paint a portrait of me when you have some free time? You can also teach me to paint. Once I've learned, I'll paint one for my brother too."
Hua Cai sat down on the edge of Zhao Qiang's bed, propped her head up, and looked at him with a smile: "Or, you can teach me martial arts."
The voice paused, then Hua Cai's eyes lit up. She suddenly stood up, ran to the cabinet in the corner, rummaged around for a while, and finally pulled out a long sword. She handed it to Zhao Qiang like a treasure: "Look, this is your sword. We didn't lose it along the way."
The sword in Hua Cai's hand was just an ordinary sword, unlike the divine weapon that Zhao Qiang often used. Zhao Min and her group claimed to be the Righteous Qi Gang and caused trouble at Bright Peak, so they naturally hid all their distinctive items. Even their swords were just bought randomly from the weapon catalog on the street. Hua Cai carried it with her at all times, not afraid of exposing her identity.
Zhao Qiang reached out and took the longsword, fiddling with it in his hands. A gentle smile played on his lips as he looked at Hua Cai with sparkling eyes: "You want to learn both painting and martial arts. You're really greedy."
"So what?" Hua Cai pouted. "My brother learned both, so of course I can too."
Zhao Qiang looked at Hua Cai helplessly, wanting to pat her head, but his hand froze in mid-air and couldn't reach down.
Hua Cai pouted, raised her hand and pulled Zhao Qiang's wrist, placing his hand on her head: "As long as you're willing to teach me, you can touch me as much as you want, I don't mind if you cut my hair."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents, how can we just cut them off like that?" Zhao Qiang's hand on Hua Cai's head trembled, and he gently rubbed her soft hair. "Don't bite off more than you can chew. How come you don't understand the principles you preach to others?"
A faint warmth emanated from the hand above her head, and Hua Cai shifted her head uncomfortably, looking up at Zhao Qiang: "Then—pen or sword, brother, which do you prefer?"
Pen or sword, which do you prefer?
Zhao Qiang was stunned, staring blankly at the long sword in his hand, lost in thought.
"System, do you think this task target has gotten into a habit of spacing out lately? It can get lost in thought even over a single question." Hua Cai felt her neck stiffen from being tilted back.
Seeing that Zhao Qiang showed no sign of coming back to his senses, Hua Cai struggled to raise her other hand to support her head: "If I startle him out of his reverie, won't it lower my favorability rating?"
The system flashed: "The favorability of the task target depends entirely on their mood, so you don't need to worry about it. Someone has already come to your rescue, hehe."
Um?
Hua Cai was taken aback and was about to ask for clarification when she caught a glimpse of a figure stepping into the room. A clear voice rang out from inside: "Miss, the honey we've stored at home is all gone, we—we—"
Si'en, holding a large ceramic jar, stared blankly in their direction, her hand trembling slightly—
"Hold on tight, the jar is going to fall." Seeing Si'en's trembling hands, Hua Cai immediately thought of the trope in storybooks where people would drop whatever they were holding when they were stunned, and quickly reminded her.
Snap—
It would have been better if she hadn't said anything. Her shout startled Si'en, who was barely holding onto the jar, causing it to slip from her grasp and shatter on the ground.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. It wasn't until the pottery jar was sacrificed that Zhao Qiang snapped out of his reverie and stared blankly at the two women in the room.
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