The familiar voice fell into Si Chengchen’s ears.
“Hello, we meet again.”
“You… why did you come back?” The moment Si Chengchen spoke, he realized his voice sounded slightly hoarse.
He frowned.
The effects of the drug must not have fully faded yet.
Mu Qinqin had no idea about the twists and turns in his mind, nor did she know that her divine fruit capable of curing all poisons had been unfairly labeled as “not very effective.” Right now, she was simply smiling brightly as she waved at him.
“Didn’t I say ‘see you around’?”
“…”
He had heard her. He just hadn’t expected that “see you around” would happen so quickly.
“Am I not welcome?” In the blur of his vision, Si Chengchen seemed to see the girl tilt her head slightly, the motion inexplicably cute. His fingers twitched faintly, as though suppressing something, before he turned and headed back inside first.
“Come in.”
Come in?
That wording was pretty nice.
Grinning happily, Mu Qinqin followed behind him.
Si Chengchen walked ahead with steady steps, though his body was slightly stiff.
Because the girl behind him was staring so intensely it felt as though she could see right through him.
He didn’t know if it was just his imagination.
But he felt like her gaze lingered particularly long on his legs and waist.
“So long…”
Suddenly, a soft sigh drifted from behind him.
But the sound of the door closing overlapped with her voice.
For a moment, Si Chengchen thought he had misheard.
Yet Mu Qinqin seemed to know he hadn’t heard clearly and deliberately repeated herself, loud and clear:
“Such long legs, such a slim waist, such big hands, such a handsome face…”
“What exactly did you come back for?”
The man finally interrupted her, seemingly unable to endure it anymore.
“I came back to take responsibility.” Mu Qinqin accurately noticed the redness creeping up his ears and the unnatural look on his face. Perhaps he couldn’t see it himself, but even his cheeks had turned red.
Apparently, he had finally fully processed the absurdity of a young woman insisting on taking responsibility for a grown man.
After a moment of silence, Si Chengchen quietly said, “We’re even now.”
This time it was Mu Qinqin’s turn to widen her eyes.
Even?
“What do you mean even?”
“You repaired my roof just now.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Mu Qinqin almost laughed from anger.
She had molested him.
But she repaired his roof.
So now they were even?!
The instant that equation formed in her mind, Mu Qinqin stepped forward without hesitation. Her hand moved quickly and ruthlessly to grab the faded military uniform he wore—the one someone had intentionally patched with messy crooked stitches—and tugged it open without mercy.
That dazzling little red mole instantly reappeared before her eyes.
Mu Qinqin felt much more satisfied.
Her gaze rested on his chest before slowly traveling downward.
Her hand even seemed about to reach for his belt.
But the moment her fingertips touched the belt—
The man reacted as though he had received a massive shock. He stumbled back two steps, retreating so quickly that Mu Qinqin was left dumbfounded.
Wait.
She had only touched his belt!!!
Heavens as her witness!
She hadn’t touched anything inappropriate!
She was already trying her best not to scare someone from such a conservative era.
“Alright then, now I’ve touched you again, so I have to take responsibility.” Afraid she might genuinely frighten him, Mu Qinqin merely pretended before reluctantly withdrawing her hand.
According to 1970s relationship standards—
First came dating, and during dating you were only allowed to hold hands.
Nothing else.
“I’m blind.” The man spoke again, his voice somewhat heavy, as though stating a fact yet also trying to explain something.
Mu Qinqin glanced at the tightly clenched hand hanging at his side. Knowing how important the military was to him, she sighed inwardly.
“It can be cured.”
Si Chengchen remained silent, though his expression grew even colder.
Mu Qinqin knew.
When he had first been injured, the military had immediately brought doctors for him. But the doctors had only said he needed long-term recovery, and even then, regaining full vision would likely be impossible. At best, he might only recover blurry sight.
That might be impossible for others.
But not for her.
Her storage space contained countless spiritual herbs from the cultivation world.
Surely she could cure one person?
She just needed to research it a little.
“Perfect timing. I’m delicate and sickly too—a weak little invalid. We’re a match made in heaven.” Mu Qinqin lied through her teeth while even coughing a few times for dramatic effect to prove how frail she supposedly was.
“Weak?” Si Chengchen was finally dragged out of the pain surrounding his blindness by her words. His gaze lingered on her briefly before shifting toward the wall nearby, then eventually falling to her waist.
He could vaguely make out something hanging there.
Mu Qinqin had originally felt slightly embarrassed remembering that comment comparing her agility to a monkey. But once she noticed him looking at the hammer hanging from her waist…
She suddenly became completely righteous about it.
“Because I’m weak and sickly, I have to carry a hammer around for self-defense.”
That wasn’t actually the reason.
The real reason was that she couldn’t magically pull a hammer out of her storage space in front of people, so she carried one around specifically to smash Chang Qiuyue, the female lead, the male lead, and anyone who bullied Si Chengchen.
“I can’t see clearly.” Si Chengchen’s single sentence immediately choked her up.
Well then. That explanation had been pointless.
If she’d known, she would’ve just claimed it was part of her belt.
Now finally having the chance, Mu Qinqin carefully examined his house and came to one conclusion:
“Your family really are pieces of trash.”
There were very few families in Da’er Village wealthier than the Si family.
The Si family had three sons.
Si Chengchen had been a battalion commander. The second son, Si Weiguo, hadn’t joined the military but was an excellent worker. The third son, Si Ming—the male lead—was a company commander, and his salary far exceeded that of ordinary farmers.
So by village standards, the Si family’s brick house was considered large and well-built.
But ever since Si Chengchen injured his eyes and was suspended from duty, Father Si and Mother Si had separated him from the family, tossing him into this shabby little broken-down house to fend for himself.
The house was so empty that even mice would leave disappointed.
Of course, Father Si and Mother Si were also afraid of damaging their reputation in the village, so they hired an auntie to “care” for him, publicly claiming they pitied their injured son whose blindness made daily life difficult, and that they had specially spent a large sum to hire help.
In reality, the woman was Mother Si’s relative, paid very little money. Aunt Zhang had already been unhappy about that from the beginning. Then Mother Si had also told her she only needed to check in casually and didn’t need to serve him too attentively.
So Aunt Zhang simply took the money while doing almost nothing.
At most, she came by once a day.
Even Si Chengchen’s clothes were washed by himself. He only wore military uniforms because all his old clothes had been given away by Mother Si to the youngest son. She hadn’t prepared any other clothes for him at all.
So after returning home, Si Chengchen had only those two or three military outfits he brought back from the army base. They had already been washed until faded white.
Whenever they tore, his poor eyesight prevented him from mending them himself, so he had no choice but to ask Aunt Zhang. But she disliked him for being troublesome and intentionally sewed the patches horribly just to humiliate him.
Back when Mu Qinqin read the novel, she had already sneered in anger.
Now that she was witnessing it personally, her hands were itching again.
Very good.
Aunt Zhang was officially added to her revenge list.
She had been here this long and still hadn’t even seen what Aunt Zhang looked like.
That alone showed how “well” she usually took care of Si Chengchen.
“Thank you for what happened today.” When Mu Qinqin mentioned his family, Si Chengchen’s expression remained calm. He didn’t even frown. Instead, he looked toward the person who seemed angrier about it than he was, his tone unconsciously softening slightly.
“There’s no need to thank me for such a great kindness.”
Mu Qinqin waved her hand dismissively, then spoke a sentence that completely stunned him.
“For a favor this huge, repaying me by marrying me will do just fine.”