Shen Niao kept smiling without saying a word. She also wanted to know how Wu Qingchuan would introduce her.
Noticing the man’s gaze, Wu Qingchuan lowered his eyes slightly and subtly stepped in front of her.
“My fiancée.”
“Oh? When are you getting married?”
The man raised an eyebrow. The interest in his eyes faded a little, though he was still somewhat unwilling to give up. After all, it was rare to see such a dazzlingly beautiful young woman, and he’d never heard that Captain Wu had a fiancée.
“The wedding will be held in the mess hall once the marriage application is approved,” Wu Qingchuan replied. “You’re welcome to come have a drink at the wedding banquet.”
Now that it had been said so plainly, the man could only suppress his disappointment and offer his congratulations before leaving.
Once he was gone, Wu Qingchuan turned to look at Shen Niao.
Her beautiful, enchanting face still carried a gentle smile. The sea breeze pressed her dress against her graceful figure. Even though she wore a long-sleeved white shirt over it, the skin of her face and neck was as fair as fresh snow.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
And far too eye-catching.
After a moment’s thought, he intended to tell her that she should dress more modestly in the future. Everyone here lived simply, and if she continued standing out like this, it would be easy for the military wives to ostracize her.
Before he could speak, however, Shen Niao spun around and walked ahead.
“Hurry up. I’m dying from the heat. I should’ve brought an umbrella.”
Wu Qingchuan looked up at the not-so-scorching sun and silently muttered:
Spoiled.
Shen Niao really was spoiled.
Though she appeared poised and easygoing in front of others, that was merely her social façade.
In reality, she was pampered and picky. She disliked dirt, hated hard work, and avoided the sun whenever possible.
Fortunately, the sun wasn’t too harsh yet. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone out at noon.
Besides, after taking the Marrow Cleansing Pill, her skin had become even more delicate than in her previous life. A little sun would make it turn red, and carrying something slightly heavy would leave deep marks on her palms.
Unable to hide in Wu Qingchuan’s shadow at noon, she hurried all the way back to the guesthouse.
The manager downstairs was dozing off.
After quickly saying goodbye to Wu Qingchuan, she rushed upstairs without looking back.
Wu Qingchuan pressed his lips together, swallowed whatever he had wanted to say, then turned around and headed back toward the family quarters.
…
Shen Niao first fetched some water from the washroom and gave herself a quick wipe-down before collapsing onto the bed with a long sigh of relief.
She knew exactly what Wu Qingchuan had wanted to say.
She simply didn’t want to hear it, so she made sure he never had the chance.
Besides, they wouldn’t be together for long anyway.
Just one year.
She could endure that much.
Thinking about those things was far less interesting than checking whether this morning’s trade had succeeded.
Excitedly, she entered her space and quickly opened the interface.
“Hehe… it worked!”
A traditional Chinese book had appeared in her hands.
But after opening it, she froze.
There were only two pages.
The first page was densely packed with tiny characters describing things like close your eyes, sit cross-legged, place your tongue against the roof of your mouth… sense spiritual energy… guide it into your body…
The second page contained nothing but an illustration of a little person sitting cross-legged in meditation.
This is… a body-strengthening manual?
Something didn’t seem right.
It looked more like…
A cultivation manual.
Shen Niao reread it suspiciously.
Then she thought about it.
Well… martial arts worlds also have internal energy. It shouldn’t be too different, right?
She’d already traded for it anyway.
Might as well give it a try.
She spread the book open, sat cross-legged on the bed, copied the posture described in the manual, closed her eyes…
Meanwhile, in a parallel martial arts world…
Inside a hidden library, a little bookkeeper quietly hid the kitchen knife away.
“Hehe.”
“That book was something I traded from a cultivation world. It’s called Introduction to Qi Refining.”
“I practiced it for quite a while and it never worked.”
“I must’ve been scammed.”
“So I changed the cover and put it up for trade instead.”
“I never expected someone to exchange such an amazing knife for it.”
“This blade is worth at least five hundred taels!”
When Shen Niao opened her eyes again in confusion, golden evening sunlight had already spread across the floor.
She distinctly remembered following the manual’s meditation instructions…
Then she’d somehow fallen asleep.
Judging by the setting sun, she’d slept the entire afternoon.
Still…
It had been an incredibly refreshing sleep.
Not only was her mind clear, but her entire body felt energetic.
Who would’ve thought that simply sitting in meditation could be so effective?
She had just put the book back into her space when three gentle knocks sounded at the door.
It was probably dinner being delivered.
She walked over and opened it.
Wu Qingchuan stood outside carrying several lunch boxes, his hand raised as though he had been about to knock again.
The moment the door opened, those deep, dark eyes settled on her.
“I just woke up,” Shen Niao said with a smile. “Sorry for making you wait.”
“Come in and close the door. There are mosquitoes in the evening.”
After saying that matter-of-factly, she turned around and sat on the edge of the bed.
Wu Qingchuan walked inside with his usual military precision.
He calmly opened the lunch boxes and arranged them one by one.
Even the chopsticks were placed neatly and perfectly straight, just like the man himself.
Without waiting for him to say anything, Shen Niao took out a handkerchief and wiped the chopsticks clean.
She then turned toward him and noticed he was still standing there, making no move to eat.
Looking at the dishes again, she realized there was only enough food for one person.
“You’ve already eaten?”
Wu Qingchuan gave a short nod.
“I have a meeting later.”
“Alright, then hurry back. I’ll wash the lunch boxes after I finish eating and leave them outside.”
She casually hooked a nearby stool toward herself with her foot.
The wooden legs scraped loudly across the concrete floor.
Wu Qingchuan, who had been about to leave, instinctively looked toward her foot.
She wore a pair of slippers.
Her feet were tiny and unbelievably fair.
Her toenails were smooth and rounded like little seashells, glowing with a soft pink luster.
Even after walking downstairs and making his way back to the military base…
Those elegant little feet remained inexplicably fixed in his mind.
Especially those delicate pink toenails.
They simply refused to disappear.
Far away in the capital…
Shen Su quietly stepped away from outside the doctor’s office.
Her expression was exceptionally grim.
She had just secretly listened in outside the consultation room and learned devastating news.
Wu Chengzu might spend the rest of his life paralyzed.
His injury was to the spine.
It was an area that healed poorly, and with the current level of medical technology, treatment would be extremely difficult.
After hearing the diagnosis, Shen Su’s emotions churned.
How could it be such a coincidence?
Both the Wu family and the Shen family started being haunted at the same time?
According to her younger brother Shen Jia, he’d seen a little ghost carrying its own head while searching for a ball in the middle of the night.
Their father had felt a pair of icy hands stroking his head while he slept.
As for the Wu family…
She herself had seen a woman in red.
Both Wu Chengzu and her father-in-law had seen the ghost as well.
The problem was…
Nothing like this had ever happened before.
Why had hauntings suddenly begun for no reason?
Her instincts told her it had something to do with Shen Niao.
The day after the wedding, when Shen Niao caused such a scene, she’d already seemed completely different from her usual self.
At the time, Shen Su had simply assumed Shen Niao had gone mad because Wu Chengzu had been taken from her.
But now that she thought about it…
That Shen Niao really had been acting strangely.
Could she… have been reborn too?
The thought sent a chill down Shen Su’s spine.
If Shen Niao had truly been reborn…
How could she possibly have given up Wu Chengzu?
In the future, Wu Chengzu would become the richest man in the country.
He treated Shen Niao extremely well.
In her previous life, Shen Su could tell from their conversations how deeply they loved each other.
That jealousy was exactly why she’d gone to such lengths in this life to swap the marriages.
After thinking it over repeatedly, however, Shen Su still leaned toward believing Shen Niao had not been reborn.
After all, not everyone could be as fortunate as she was.
As for the hauntings…
She didn’t believe Shen Niao possessed the ability to command ghosts and frighten both families.
Perhaps…
Both households had simply offended something unclean.
The real question now was…
Should she continue staying by Wu Chengzu’s side?
The doctors had already said he might remain paralyzed for life.
Did she really want to sacrifice the rest of her own life for him?