Gu Qingjiao placed the bowl of medicine on the bar counter of the basement wine cellar, then picked a bottle of Maotai from the wine rack. Before deciding to stir up trouble, she still asked the system, feeling somewhat uneasy: “Are you sure this will really get him to off me?”
System: [Host, do not hesitate, do not doubt. What Shi Lijiin hates most is people tricking him into drinking.]
“What if drinking it causes something to go wrong with him?”
[You underestimate him too much. The villain halo makes it impossible for anything to go wrong from drinking.]
Gu Qingjiao reluctantly fished out the bank card he had given her. “But the money hasn’t been spent yet.”
System: [There is at least a seven-figure sum in there. With your spending ability, you will never spend it all in this lifetime. Please open your horizons, Host. After becoming the female lead, you will have more wealth, a more handsome husband, and a better life!]
Listening to the pie in the sky painted by the system, although it felt very fake and exaggerated, Gu Qingjiao still felt a slight flicker of curiosity in her heart: How handsome can a husband actually be?
Thus, she poured the medicinal decoction into a large bowl she had prepared beforehand, and even leaned in close to sniff it. A rich, bitter wave of traditional Chinese medicine rushed into her nasal cavity. Gu Qingjiao abruptly raised her face, her facial features freezing as if she had been given a dose of anesthetic.
“What kind of medicine is this anyway? So bitter.”
System: [Didn’t I tell you before that Shi Lijiin is sick. What are you doing?]
Gu Qingjiao put the medicinal bowl mixed with white liquor into the microwave. “It got cold, I am going to warm it up for him.”
System: [You still have the leisure to warm it up for him!]
Gu Qingjiao took out the warmed medicinal liquor and added as she walked: “After all, it is also my own business. I cannot treat the person poorly.”
Holding this not poor treatment in her hands, she knocked on Shi Lijiin’s study door.
When Jason opened the door and saw it was her, he was surprised for a split second, then glanced back at Shi Lijiin, who was deeply focused on his work in the inner room. Finding it hard to gauge that man’s mood at the moment, Jason scratched the bridge of his nose with his index finger, gave the girl in front of him a danger look, and whispered: “If you don’t want to stir up trouble, get out.”
Confusion flickered in Gu Qingjiao’s heart as she raised the medicinal soup to show it off in front of him. “I am here to deliver medicine.”
“The young master just came to deliver some once a minute ago. Don’t deliver any more.”
“Then did he drink it?”
Jason suddenly looked as if he had been choked by something. He subconsciously glanced at the withered potted plant by the door and sighed. “Hurry back, the Second Young Master has no time!”
Just as he was about to close the door, Gu Qingjiao reacted quickly, sticking a foot against the edge of the door and looking at him very earnestly. “Brother Jason, what is he busy with? He won’t even drink his medicine.”
Jason was hit right in his central nervous system by that brother. He shook his head like he had received an electric shock, smiled looking completely refreshed, and disclosed: “After those old hags went back last few days, they seemed to have filed complaints. Today we received a call from Northern Manor saying that Shen Kewen is coming over next week. To welcome her, my Second Young Master has gone two days without sleep.”
“Is that why he refuses to drink his medicine?”
Jason shook his head. “He hasn’t properly drunk his medicine for several consecutive years.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingjiao was extremely shocked, not because Shi Lijiin hadn’t drunk medicine for years, but because she was shocked that his illness actually required such long-term treatment.
“Brother Jason, making him drink his medicine is for his own good. As his friend, you certainly don’t want his body to be weak either, right?”
Gu Qingjiao’s half-baked moral kidnapping left Jason unable to respond. His previous Chinese teachers had never taught him how to deal with these situations. He helplessly scratched the back of his head, looking troubled on the surface, yet unable to refuse.
Gu Qingjiao seized the opportunity to squeeze through the door, flashing a brilliant smile at the foreign big boss. “Thanks, Brother Jason!”
Jason shyly averted his gaze, actually letting this girl sneak right in.
Now I finally know why the Second Young Master treats her differently, because Chinese girls smile so damn beautifully!
Gu Qingjiao walked into the inner room of the study and collided straight into Shi Lijiin’s gaze.
Shi Lijiin glanced at the bowl in the other person’s hand, his inner heart completely calm, though his curiosity was instead piqued by her initiative in seeking him out.
“Something the matter?”
Gu Qingjiao set the medicine on the desk and happened to catch sight of the tablet in front of him. A large n s d s b was glaring brightly on the screen. Just as she was about to stretch her neck for a closer look, the tablet was swiftly retrieved by Shi Lijiin and put into a drawer.
Gu Qingjiao: “Haven’t seen each other in days, did my fiancé miss me?”
“Speak if you have something to say.”
Gu Qingjiao picked up the medicine and walked over to him, her slender waist leaning against the edge of the square table as she lowered her eyes to admire his appearance.
“What a pity, looking this handsome, yet his body is far too frail.”
Shi Lijiin: “?”
“Otherwise, why would your brother make me bring medicine for you to drink?”
Shi Lijiin: “If Miss Gu has any need for it, you can drink it yourself.”
“Hey, the sick one is you, I don’t need it. Fiancé, come on, drink it up.” Gu Qingjiao shifted her body right beside him, her right hand naturally resting on the back of his chair.
Shi Lijiin subconsciously tightened his thighs and turned sideways to decline: “No, take it back.”
“What is wrong with you, fiancé? You are not even well-behaved about drinking medicine, you are not a child.”
This casual, offhand remark made Shi Lijiin’s earlobes burn. The habit of throwing away medicine upon sight over the years had never been broken by anyone. He was no child, let alone a patient.
“You just finished a call with Shen Kewen this morning, and you rushed over to curry favor this afternoon. Is Miss Gu afraid she won’t be able to marry in?”
Gu Qingjiao: “That’s right, if I don’t marry you in this lifetime, I will die with eternal regret and my eyes open.”
Shi Lijiin’s ears turned red.
He finally gave that bowl of medicinal soup another look, but only offered a second refusal: “Too bitter, not drinking it.”
Gu Qingjiao moved the medicine to his lips. Before the other party could catch a whiff of anything unusual, her other hand had already crawled onto the back of his neck, her cool fingertips gently teasing his tendons and bones.
“Open your mouth.” Her alluring tone carried a hint of coldness.
Shi Lijiin’s eyes were filled with questions.
“Alcohol?”
“I figured you were afraid of bitterness, so I mixed a bit of Maotai into the medicine. This not only masks the bitterness of the Chinese medicine, but who knows, it might even give you a slight buzz. How fun.”
“Are you telling a joke?”
Gu Qingjiao, who always sought revenge for wrongs, slightly curved her lips and deliberately leaned close to his ear to whisper softly: “When you forced alcohol down my throat at the pool last time, it was just as laughable.”
Her half-bowed posture was overly coquettish, coupled with exceptionally striking looks that left a lasting impression at just a single glance. Right now, the distance between Shi Lijiin and her was so close that the flow of breath could almost be felt; his heartbeat began to beat irregularly and chaotically, skipping three beats instantly due to her features, then jumping seven beats instantly due to her breath.
“Your forehead is so hot, are you running a fever?” Gu Qingjiao freed up a hand to stroke his forehead, then continued, “It must be because the weather is too cold and you caught a chill. It is a good thing I mixed a bit of alcohol into the bowl, it can warm up your body.”
Shi Lijiin’s eyes stared blankly at her, almost crawling with bloodshot veins.
There was floor heating and air conditioning in the study, how could he possibly catch a chill?
She was clearly and deliberately flirting with him.
Shi Lijiin took the bowl of medicine and willingly took a sip.
Standing by the door since a moment ago, Jason was overjoyed when he saw the Second Young Master actually starting to drink his medicine.
I never expected Miss Gu could actually persuade him to drink medicine!
Overjoyed and knowing he shouldn’t disturb the two of them right now, he smiled brightly, stepped out, and closed the door. The sound of the door closing disrupted Gu Qingjiao’s train of thought, and she finally realized the bodyguard big boss had vanished. A sudden, inexplicable tightness gripped Gu Qingjiao’s heart, making her feel that teasing the villain in moderation should be enough. However, the moment she got up and prepared to turn around, her slender waist was reeled back in by a large hand, and she was forced to spin half a circle, her entire body heavily tumbling into Shi Lijiin’s crook of the arm.
System’s death smile: [Play, keep playing. The system has blocked you.]
Before Gu Qingjiao could adjust her state, she felt the man’s breath wash over her. He slightly pursed his lips, seemingly still holding the scent of alcohol in his mouth.
He is going to kiss me! No, he is going to force-feed me!
Gu Qingjiao hurriedly reached out to cover his mouth, frowning as she said: “Swallow it.”
The man suddenly paused. Until Gu Qingjiao saw his throat begin to bob, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Shi Lijiin, whose desire had been violently ignited, had no intention of letting her go. After swallowing that mouthful of medicinal liquor, he lightly tugged at his sleeve cuffs, a detached look in his eyes as he prepared for a second advance. Just as he was about to brush against her red lips, Gu Qingjiao swiftly averted her face.
“No.” She uttered a single word softly.
“What, scared?” The man’s arms and body were pressed above her, fierce like a wolf or a tiger.
Gu Qingjiao shook her head and said: “Can you kiss my neck instead? There is an artery in the neck, you will die faster that way.”
Shi Lijiin: “?”
Gu Qingjiao laboriously stretched her neck out in his embrace, using her hand to point and help find a specific spot. “Right here.”
Shi Lijiin let out a cold, mocking chuckle. “I think you are the one who needs to take medicine the most.”
Gu Qingjiao knew he was scolding her for being sick in the head, but she had no choice; if he didn’t bump her off, she wouldn’t be able to transmigrate into the female lead, nor would she be able to witness just how handsome her future husband really was.
Guarding outside the door, Jason felt somewhat depressed.
He checked his wristwatch.
Strange, why has Miss Gu been inside helping him drink medicine for nearly two hours?
Gu Qingjiao didn’t die.
That day, Shi Lijiin was exceptionally obedient. Aside from her neck, the rest of her body remained completely untouched. The only flaw was that he controlled the force of his mouth all too well, Gu Qingjiao had endured beneath him for a full two hours without a single near-death symptom whatsoever. Instead, her neck was left sore and bloated, the man had been fierce and ruthless, and she hadn’t reaped a single benefit.
The only thing she did reap was a mandarin orange that Shi Lijiin stuffed into her trench coat pocket right before she left.
The system blocked Gu Qingjiao for several days. When it proactively booted back up again, it discovered the host was already wearing a scarf.
System: [It’s fine, don’t be discouraged. We failed this time, but we will come back next time.]
Gu Qingjiao: “I am not doing it anymore. You told me to force liquor down his throat, and I did. But what was the result?”
System: [Don’t lose heart, Host. We have plenty of opportunities. Let me tell you, in three days Shen Kewen is coming. That person is the one Shi Lijiin hates most in his life, and moreover, as long as she arrives, Shi Lijiin 100% won’t be able to contain his anger, and all kinds of villain buffs will trigger completely, by then, you just figure out a way to lean over towards Shen Kewen’s side, and if he doesn’t off you, it defies heaven and earth.]
Gu Qingjiao: “?”
Gu Qingjiao: “Are you really my system?”
The system patted its chest and said: [Of course. Only a top-tier host is worthy of a top-tier system like me.]
Gu Qingjiao was somewhat speechless.
Three days later, the Shi family’s Southern Manor was exceptionally cold.
Compared to previous days, every corner appeared much more solemn. The servants were busy running back and forth, lacking even the leisure time to chat a bit of gossip, because today, Southern Manor was about to welcome a special guest.
Gu Qingjiao was leisurely eating hotpot in her room when the maid Huacai, who was specifically assigned to wait on her, knocked and entered. Rubbing her ice-cold little hands, she said, “Miss Gu, the Second Young Master asks you to go to the main hall.”
Gu Qingjiao handed her a pair of chopsticks and a bowl. “What for?”
“That Shen, Madam Shi has arrived. She wants to see you.”
Gu Qingjiao picked up a piece of crispy pork, put it into her mouth, chewed it unhurriedly, and then took a sip of warm water before replying, “No rush, sit down and eat.”
Huacai: “Oh, Miss Gu! You are driving me crazy! The Second Young Master said you must arrive within ten minutes, or else I will have to clean the swimming pool by myself this week.”
Seeing the little girl stomping her feet in anxiety, Gu Qingjiao didn’t make things difficult for her, immediately putting down her bowl and chopsticks to wipe her mouth. “Alright, alright, don’t rush, I’ll go right now.”
“There is one more thing.” Huacai lowered her head and pinched her fingers, stammering softly as if facing some trouble. “That, the, the Second Young Master asked you to, asked you to wear slippers.”
Gu Qingjiao: “What do you mean?”
“The Second Young Master said you are not allowed to wear socks or a coat, otherwise I will have to go to the farm to plant rice seedlings later.”
Gu Qingjiao’s expression changed abruptly.
Well played, Shi Lijiin. You want to torture me, huh?
Fine, let’s play.