What if she ran into a bully or some local tyrant and had no way to fight back?
That was exactly why, back in the cultivation world, Mu Qinqin had the foresight to focus on one thing above all else—
Body tempering.
Physical cultivation.
She might look delicate and fragile on the outside, but carrying two or three grown men with one hand was no problem at all.
See?
Wasn’t it coming in handy now?
After being stripped of her spiritual power by that old thief Heaven and tossed into this novel set in the hungry 1970s, if anything happened, she could at least haul bricks for a living and feed herself.
Though…
She might have become a little too strong.
Looking at the kang bed…
She reached out and touched it again. Immediately, bits of yellow clay began crumbling off.
Startled, Mu Qinqin froze and didn’t dare move another inch.
While feeling around for some medicinal herbs, Si Chengchen turned back and saw her sitting obediently on the kang. Assuming she had hit herself badly and was in considerable pain, he frowned slightly.
“These can only ease the pain temporarily. You… should go back to the educated youth residence, apply some medicine, and visit the town clinic.”
Mu Qinqin had been wondering how she could secretly repair the kang when she looked up and noticed the concern on his face.
She studied him carefully.
Then suddenly said, “But what if I can’t move right now?”
Si Chengchen actually considered the question seriously.
“I can go to the educated youth residence and ask a few of the girls to carry you back.”
Mu Qinqin’s smile instantly stiffened, and the corners of her mouth twitched.
What a straight man.
An iron-clad straight man.
“But then everyone would know I was on your kang.”
Her bold words immediately turned his face red.
His voice became hoarse.
“Then… tonight, I’ll take you back myself.”
“Okay!”
Getting exactly what she wanted, Mu Qinqin nodded cheerfully and stretched her arms toward him in an unmistakable request to be carried.
Seeing him still standing there, she blinked.
“My butt hurts. I can’t get down. Could you carry me?”
To prove she really couldn’t get down, she even swung her legs twice on the edge of the kang.
They didn’t reach the ground at all.
When she noticed him staring at her legs in silence, she suddenly felt a little guilty.
Had she forgotten to act injured enough?
Quickly, she added, “It really hurts! Even moving my legs just now pulled at the injury. Ow…”
She put on a convincing performance.
What she didn’t know was that the man staring at her wasn’t thinking about her injury at all.
She wanted him…
To carry her?
“Comrade Mu, men and women should keep their distance.”
“It’s fine. You can just think of me as a man.”
“…”
Mu Qinqin held out her arms toward the man wearing only a worn gray-white shirt.
After a brief silence, he finally moved.
Her eyes curved into happy crescents, and her lips lifted into a smile.
So he didn’t dislike her that much after all.
There was hope.
She just couldn’t push too hard in this era, or she might scare him away.
Possessing a stomach full of twenty-first-century flirting techniques and having read tens of thousands of romance stories during her years in the cultivation world, Mu Qinqin suddenly felt like she had nowhere to use any of them.
It was frustrating.
Watching the man approach, she sighed softly.
Well…
It was still progress.
“Excuse me.”
His deep voice brushed against her ear.
The next second, one arm wrapped around her waist while the other supported her legs, lifting her into a princess carry.
Mu Qinqin froze.
Her first princess carry ever!
How exciting!
The shock lasted only a second. Then she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and offered an excuse.
“I’m a little afraid of heights.”
The moment she spoke, Si Chengchen paused.
The first thing that came to mind was the agile figure he’d seen running across the rooftop half an hour earlier.
His arms tightened slightly around her as he lowered his gaze.
This bold little educated youth wasn’t just fearless.
She was also…
A little liar.
He carried her into the room and toward the only stool besides the kang. Then, for some reason, he suddenly stopped and turned back toward the kang.
Mu Qinqin had no idea why, but she certainly wasn’t complaining.
The longer he carried her, the better.
Then she watched as he supported her with one arm and used the other to feel around the kang until he found the thin blanket lying on top.
After folding it and placing it on the stool, he finally bent down to set her there.
Being this close to a woman for the first time, he looked calm on the surface, but his ears and neck had already turned bright red.
Mu Qinqin noticed.
The hand around his neck moved “accidentally” and “completely unintentionally,” her fingertips brushing lightly across the side of his neck.
The instant she touched him, she felt his entire body shudder violently.
She nearly got thrown right out of his arms.
Fortunately, she was holding on tightly.
“Sorry…”
Before she could speak, he apologized first. His voice was low and strained, and his lips were pressed into a tight line.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Mu Qinqin shook her head generously, showing no trace of guilt whatsoever despite being the culprit.
Seeing that he was about to put her down, she casually hooked one arm around his neck again while letting the other hand drift downward.
Her fingertips brushed lightly over his firm abdomen.
“…”
“Comrade Mu, you…”
Si Chengchen’s dark, unreadable eyes fixed on the girl in his arms, as though trying to determine whether her expression was genuine.
“What did I do?”
She looked completely innocent and utterly confused, even tilting her head slightly.
In reality…
Feeling the man’s muscles tense beneath her touch, amusement sparkled in her eyes.
At last, she stopped teasing him and obediently allowed him to set her on the stool.
Sitting on the much softer seat, she finally behaved herself and pulled out the bundle she had been hugging all this time.
Then she looked around and stretched out her hand.
“Do you have a needle and thread?”
“No need.”
Only then did Si Chengchen realize that what she had been holding was his clothing.
She had been clutching it to her chest the entire time.
The thought immediately sent another wave of heat climbing up his neck.
Turning his face away, he spoke stiffly.
Si Chengchen was tall and imposing. Though his eyes were injured, his sharp features and military bearing gave him a naturally intimidating aura. He usually spoke coldly enough.
Now his voice sounded even colder.
Most people would have been frightened.
The moment the words left his mouth, however, regret flashed across his face.
But who was Mu Qinqin?
She leaned even closer, tilting her head as if trying to see his averted face.
“Don’t be shy.”
“I…”
“I know. You’re not. You’re just stubborn.”
“…”
Everything he wanted to say was cut off by her words.
His lips moved.
In the end, he only managed to say:
“It’s getting late.”
Without saying a word, Mu Qinqin quietly shifted her seat.
Instantly, sunlight fell across Si Chengchen’s face.
Si Chengchen: “…”