"I don't have a child!"
"And get down from there!"
As she spoke, Qi Huan lowered her gaze to his wound. The bandage was stained red with blood, the crimson spreading wider.
She felt both angry and heartbroken.
After purchasing more medicine, she silently untied the disheveled butterfly knot.
Her movements were exceedingly gentle as she redressed his wound.
The possessiveness in Li Shuchen's eyes had not yet faded. The corners of his eyes were slightly red, his voice trembling: "Really no child?"
"When did I ever say I had one?"
"You were preparing postpartum soup, and said you needed to take care of someone..."
"The soup was for you, and you're the one I need to take care of."
Upon hearing her words, Li Shuchen suddenly thought the packaging of the postpartum soup looked quite nice.
Particularly pleasing to the eye.
He cautiously asked about one last thing: "Why did you say—'the assassin did it'?"
"..."
Putting two and two together, Qi Huan suddenly understood what he had misunderstood.
Realizing he had even been willing to "become a father" for her sake, her heart felt both sour and bitter. Large teardrops fell, dampening her collar.
Li Shuchen's breath caught, and he hurriedly wiped away her tears: "I won't ask anymore. Don't cry, Ahuan."
But Qi Huan didn't want to leave any room for misunderstanding.
She raised her hand to lift her shirt.
On her fair skin, a large bruise deeply pained Li Shuchen's eyes.
She explained: "When I grabbed the necklace, the assassin kicked me. That's why I said he did it."
Li Shuchen's gaze was fixed on her injury, his eyes so dark they seemed to drip with water.
Although the misunderstanding had been cleared up, he still wanted to tear that assassin to pieces, grind his bones to dust, and kick him ten thousand times!
Li Shuchen reached out, wanting to touch her injury, but afraid of hurting her. In the end, he settled for stroking her hair.
Earlier, he had struck out at the assassin, who had stabbed him in return. They had both crashed into the stone wall almost simultaneously. He hadn't seen Ahuan being kicked, only saw her suddenly enter the space and throw the necklace over.
Li Shuchen wanted to ask if it hurt, but then realized it was a stupid question.
How could it not hurt?
He didn't speak, habitually moving to hug her, but suddenly embraced empty air.
Qi Huan had left the space with the postpartum soup, putting him in "solitary confinement."
Sensing her unhappiness, the system gossiped:
"Host, suppress your anger for a moment and you'll get mastitis, take a step back and you'll get ovarian cysts. Hold it in for a day and you'll get liver qi stagnation, get upset for a bit and you'll get thyroid nodules. Don't bottle up your emotions, this system is willing to be your emotional trash can."
Qi Huan denied: "I'm not angry."
"Looks like the problem is quite serious.
This system has seen on the internet that when a woman says she's not angry, it means she's very angry!"
The system gloated: "Li Shuchen is in trouble."
After saying this, it speculated: "Is the host angry because he misunderstood that you were pregnant with Ximen Ye's child?"
"No."
Qi Huan crouched by the stone wall, her tone slightly annoyed: "I'm just angry that he doesn't take care of himself."
"He's so badly injured, yet he keeps moving around."
"He doesn't care about himself at all."
"But I care, it hurts me, I don't want to see him bleeding."
"I stayed in the space because I was afraid he'd move around again, so I came out to let him rest properly."
...
She poured out her heart to the system as if it were a confidant.
Seeing her trust in it, the system suddenly felt a bit guilty.
It "inadvertently" broadcast the host's inner thoughts into the space through the necklace.
Li Shuchen heard every word, his phoenix eyes filled with complex emotions.
He obediently lay back on the chair, closing his eyes to rest and recuperate.
Outside the space.
Qi Huan unwrapped the postpartum soup and said to the system: "Search for portable gas stove."
A portable gas stove is similar to a gas cooker, using small canisters of fuel. It's compact and portable, suitable for outdoor picnics.
In her previous life, she had seen many food bloggers use them on Douyin. Hopefully, she had drawn one before.
As the sound of points being deducted rang out, a large courier box suddenly appeared before her.
Opening it, she was delighted to find it was a set.
Besides the storage box and windshield, there was a cherry blossom pink double-safety portable gas stove, eight small bottles of long-lasting gas, plus a maifanshi stone wok.
After assembling it according to the instructions, Qi Huan purchased another box of mineral water.
She quickly washed the wok, then tore open a packet of postpartum soup rice and poured it in. After rinsing it clean, she added cold water, brought it to a boil over high heat, then reduced to a low simmer.
The flames licked the bottom of the wok, bubbles rose in the soup, steam billowed, and the aroma of porridge filled the air.
The light in the cave was somewhat dim, and the firelight cast Qi Huan's elongated shadow on the stone wall.
She turned her eyes to look at the three "mummies" lying in a row by the wall.
She walked over and poked the blanket covering Yan Qinghe, asking: "Why did you wrap their heads in the blankets too?"
"Afraid their faces would get cold."
"..."
The temperature in the cave was low and chilly, so his answer didn't seem entirely unreasonable.
Qi Huan thought for a moment, then took out the tent she had acquired earlier.
"I can't take more people to the Heavenly Court, so you'll have to squeeze in together."
"Also, can you blindfold the big guy? I don't want him to discover Little Fairy's secrets."
Yan Qinghe emerged from his cocoon, tore some strips from his outer robe, blindfolded Mo Wangshan, and then tied his hands.
"There, now he won't be able to remove the blindfold."
Qi Huan looked at Mo Wangshan, his wrists bound with black cloth strips and eyes covered, and shook her head, banishing the racy images from her mind.
She helped Yan Qinghe set up the tent, then watched as he carried the two unconscious people inside in two trips, princess-style, and laid them side by side.
"Are they alright? Why are they still unconscious?"
Yan Qinghe's mouth twitched: "I... I picked the wrong herbs. They ate sleeping grass, so they won't wake up until tomorrow at least."
"Alright then."
Qi Huan didn't ask further, instead turning to the system: "Purchase tableware."
When the porridge was ready, she washed the bowls and spoons, first eating her fill with Yan Qinghe, then ladled out another bowl to take into the space.
The moment she entered the space, Li Shuchen's eyes suddenly opened.
"Time to eat."
She set down the bowl and raised the back of Li Shuchen's chair.
Seeing Li Shuchen reach for the bowl, she quickly stopped him: "Don't move."
Li Shuchen immediately froze, his hand still suspended in mid-air, as if his acupoints had been sealed.
Qi Huan burst into laughter.
"Put your hand down. I told you not to move because I'm worried you'll aggravate your wound and cause more pain. ...Let me feed you."
With that, she scooped up a spoonful of porridge and brought it to Li Shuchen's lips. "The porridge is a bit hot. Blow on it yourself."
Li Shuchen did as she instructed.
After finishing a bowl of porridge, Qi Huan was about to leave to get him another when he called out, "Don't go, Qi Huan."
Li Shuchen recalled her words and responded to each one:
"Don't be angry, Qi Huan."
"I won't move recklessly until my wound heals."
"I'll learn to take better care of my body."
"I'll try not to bleed and make you worry."
"I won't get handsy with you until I've fully recovered."
...
Meeting his earnest gaze, Qi Huan patted his head as if praising him: "Li Shuchen is being so good."
"So are you still angry?"
"Not angry. I'm very happy!"
Seeing the smile in her eyes, Li Shuchen's lips curved into a smile as well. He continued:
"If I do anything wrong, Qi Huan, you must tell me directly.
Don't bottle up your anger. It's not good for your health.
If I'm at fault, I'll correct it immediately."
Qi Huan agreed with a smile, then tilted her head playfully and asked, "What if I'm the one who's wrong?"
"How could Qi Huan ever be wrong?"
