Сhарtеr 14
Xu Nuo соuldn’t hеlр it—hеr exprеssiоn craсked.
[Ugly? Whаt uglу? Whу is hе suddеnlу attасking mу аppеarance, I аsk уou?]
Sуstеm: [Кееp уоur wоrd order nоrmаl.]
[What’s wrоng with a Shandong nаtive using sоme inverted sеntenсes? Тhе point is Мo’er Ge suddеnlу саlled me uglу, right??]
Shе suddеnlу lowerеd her hеad.
[Or is hе talking abоut my clоthes?]
System: [Моst likеly thе lаtter.]
Xu Nuo turnеd and wаlkеd awaу angrily: [Нe еvеn hаd to оpen his еyes sресifically to call me ugly. Whаt kind оf person is that? I’m оnlу letting it slide beсаuse you’re handsome. Watch out next time.]
How rare—Feng Huan Chao hadn’t received a threat in years.
Although he didn’t know why this person looked different from last time, he never liked meddling in others’ affairs anyway, so he didn’t particularly care.
Secretary Sun searched for a long time before finally finding his slacking-off boss in such a place.
Bending down to pick up the hearing aid that the ill-tempered owner had thrown on the ground, he wiped it clean and skillfully helped his boss put it on.
“Boss, Young Master Gu came here because…”
He explained that the disappearance of Gu Nongxuan’s younger brother might be connected to a subordinate.
If it were anyone else, Secretary Sun wouldn’t have brought it before Feng Huan Chao. After all, Gu Nongxuan’s younger brother was also another nephew of his boss, and they were related by blood.
“You handle it.”
But even when it came to his own nephew, Feng Huan Chao showed no extra emotion, rather impatiently signaling Secretary Sun to take care of it.
“Understood.”
Before turning away, Secretary Sun was still thinking:
How strange—he was scowling just a moment ago, why has his mood suddenly improved?
…
Whether Gu Nongxuan left in too much of a hurry or simply forgot, by the time Xu Nuo returned, she found that he had actually left.
Fortunately, this dog still had a bit of conscience—he had his secretary call her to take a taxi back, with the fare reimbursed by him.
Otherwise, Xu Nuo would… would…
Travel back in time and tickle the young Gu Nongxuan’s sensitive spots!
System’s sharp comment: What a perfect example of getting angry and then just staying angry.
On the way back, Xu Nuo took a taxi but stopped midway at a dessert shop.
Perhaps because she had encountered Feng Huan Chao today, she suddenly craved coconut taro sago soup.
Grandma Chen’s dessert shop was as reliable as ever, quickly preparing, packing, and handing Xu Nuo her desired treat.
No sooner had Xu Nuo picked up the freshly made dessert than the System spoke up: [Please prepare for time-space travel, Host Nuo Xu—]
Xu Nuo: […Enough, when will you stop calling me that damn awful name!!]
Her vision blurred, and by the time Xu Nuo regained her senses, she was standing on the overpass from where she had left last night.
Still holding the just-purchased dessert, with stockings and a pig mask firmly stuck to her face.
Xu Nuo: “”
[Why is the dessert still here?]
Last night when she went to sleep, she hadn’t been wearing pajamas either.
The System indicated it didn’t know either.
Xu Nuo had no choice but to carry the dessert and walk toward Gu Nongxuan’s apartment.
“Looks like I don’t have to treat him to spicy hot pot anymore. I’ll treat him to dessert instead.”
She could just buy another portion for herself when she returned.
Her memory was excellent; even after taking several detours, she successfully reached her destination.
However, after knocking on the door for a long time, no one answered.
Could he be at work? But yesterday Gu Nongxuan said his recent work had all been canceled (after all, he had offended his agent).
Just as she was pondering this, the door next to it suddenly opened, revealing a head.
“Are you looking for the celebrity living here?”
Hearing this, Xu Nuo instinctively grew somewhat wary.The person spoke rapidly, “This morning, a few people were banging on the door. After the kid opened it, he was dragged away. The security guards who tried to stop them were beaten up. Those people were fierce—they didn’t seem like decent folks. If you know him, you should go find the police right away.”
Xu Nuo’s heart sank at the words.
Despite having lived two lifetimes, Xu Nuo knew nothing about the entertainment industry. She never imagined that people in this circle could be so brazen when seeking revenge.
“Do you know where they took Gu… that boy?”
Unfortunately, the neighbor didn’t know.
Before running off, Xu Nuo bent down and sincerely said, “Thank you,” then quickly sprinted away.
[System, do you know Gu Nongxuan’s location?]
The System replied, [I’m not sure…]
Xu Nuo stopped in her tracks. [What do you mean, ‘not sure’? The fact that I didn’t die should’ve been your responsibility to compensate for. Now, I have to collect Healing Values and find ways to heal my body on my own…]
The System said, [But I really don’t know…]
[What do you mean, ‘don’t know’? The fact that I didn’t die should’ve been your responsibility to compensate for. Now, I have to collect Healing Values and find ways to heal my body on my own…]
The System: […Turn left at the intersection ahead.]
Xu Nuo fell silent and ran according to its instructions.
This era had no shared bikes, and she carried no cash, so she couldn’t even hail a taxi. She had to rely on her own two legs.
Xu Nuo felt as though she hadn’t run like this in a long time.
The mask she usually wore comfortably became a burden. She gasped for breath like a broken bellows, and her legs grew heavier with each step.
But Xu Nuo didn’t stop.
She feared that if she were any later, little Gu Nongxuan would suffer even more.
It wasn’t for the future Gu Nongxuan, nor was it for the Healing Values. Xu Nuo’s mind was filled with the image of that young boy squatting by the roadside, his face swollen, looking up at her with confusion in his eyes as he asked what he should do.
[Stop!]
After running for who knows how long, Xu Nuo stopped and involuntarily bent over, dry heaving a few times.
[This is the place, but I really don’t know the exact location.]
Struggling to straighten up, Xu Nuo surveyed the area.
The more she looked, the more familiar it seemed.
“Huh??”
[Isn’t this…]
The dock where Gu Nongxuan had taken her to find Feng Huan Chao during the day?
But unlike her memory, this place was unusually desolate and dilapidated.
Xu Nuo took a step forward, her foot sinking into the overgrown weeds.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the side, and she turned sharply.
Her eyes met a pair of bloodshot, beast-like eyes.
“Ugh…”
Startled, Xu Nuo focused and realized it was a person.
Someone was crouching there, their face swollen like a pig’s head, bruised and bleeding. They were thin, clutching a moldy steamed bun and stuffing it into their mouth while staring unblinkingly at Xu Nuo.
Full of vigilance.
As if taking one more step toward them would provoke an attack to bite her neck.
Seeing the moldy steamed bun, Xu Nuo remembered she had been carrying the sweet soup all this way, her fingers numb from the strain.
Xu Nuo was in a hurry, and carrying something while trying to rescue someone would only get in the way.
She simply placed it on the ground and pushed it toward the person. “Here, you can have this.”
Without looking back, she walked away.
The sweet soup remained where she left it, but the person gnawing on the moldy bun didn’t approach it immediately.Instead, he crouched there, not moving until he had finished the entire steamed bun, licked the crumbs clean from his hands, and stared fixedly at the strange object wrapped in a plastic bag. Only when the sun had set and he could no longer hear any sound did he realize—
It seemed the other person didn’t want it anymore.
Only then did he pounce forward, tearing open the packaging roughly. Seeing the bowl of sweet soup inside, he hesitated for a moment before taking a tentative lick.
Even in the future, after tasting countless delicacies, this unexpected bowl of sweet soup would remain the most delicious thing he had ever eaten in his life.