She had experienced simple envy before, more than once, but none of those times had made her heart race and her face and neck flush like just now.
The girl was used to solving problems on the spot, so she picked up her phone from the bedside table and started searching for answers to her questions:
"Under what circumstances would you suddenly feel dizzy, blush, and have a rapid heartbeat?"
When you press the search button, the page that appears is filled with answers from various doctors, which can be summarized as attributing the cause to psychological stress and actual physical illness.
Ruan Yu carefully checked each point, and the more she checked, the more she felt that this was not her situation. While thinking, the image of that person's back suddenly appeared in her mind, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
As if possessed, she deleted the original question and typed in what came to mind in that instant:
"Why do I blush when I look at the bodies of the same sex?"
The responses were even more varied.
Some say this is normal, while others say it's due to an introverted personality and a tendency to be shy.
Some people say that this is an awakening of adult consciousness. If you have lived in a more conservative environment, this will happen. You will get used to it.
Ruan Yu scrolled down further and even saw a netizen's reply: "Is that even a question? It's obvious you're interested in them! You don't think you can only be interested in the opposite sex, do you? You can be interested in the same sex too! If you don't believe me, observe for yourself and don't deceive your own heart~"
What is all this nonsense?
She found it absurd, and after looking at it again and again, she finally accepted the answers of awakening consciousness and "conservative living environment in the past". Satisfied, she put down her phone, sat up cross-legged, and dialed a number that she had memorized but had never dialed before.
The ringing phone rang for a long time before being answered on the other end. A hoarse, accented female voice sounded in her ear: "Hello?"
Upon hearing her grandmother's voice, Ruan Yu felt a lump in her throat. Afraid that the old woman would hang up the phone because there was no sound, she quickly called out softly, "Grandma, it's me. This is my new phone."
The old man on the other end was silent for a while, then asked with concern, "Is Nannan doing well in her new home?"
“I’m fine, Grandma, don’t worry,” Ruan Yu said softly. “Yunyun came to pick me up that day, and she’s been very kind to me. Today, I even went with her to the Wen family’s old house to see Grandpa, and we just took a bath together after we got back.”
She recounted her experiences in her new home, mainly focusing on how kind that person was to her. The elderly man on the other end of the phone listened attentively without interrupting.
Ruan Yu didn't know how long she had been talking until she heard the old man sigh softly, then she stopped and asked, "Are you all alright? Is the money the Wen family gave us enough for Grandpa's medical treatment?"
"That's enough, enough medicine for many years!" Grandma Ruan said hurriedly. "Don't worry about things here, little girl. There are organizations in the village that take care of the elderly. Grandpa and Grandma will take good care of themselves."
"That's good, I feel at ease in my new home now." Ruan Yu said with a smile, then tentatively asked, "Grandma, can I bring Yunyun back to play for a day in a couple of days?"
A note from the author:
The second update is here!
Chapter 31
That evening at the dinner table, Ruan Yu asked the Wen family elders if she could go back to the countryside to visit her grandparents.
Mr. Wen simply said, "Whatever you want," but Mrs. Wen's expression changed drastically. She paused in her chopsticks and gently reminded him, "Mom doesn't object, but there are many mosquitoes in the countryside. Xiaoyu's allergy has only just subsided. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to go there so soon?"
She had given Ruan Yu a reasonable excuse not to go to the countryside, but Ruan Yu shook her head. "Mom, don't worry. I asked the doctor. As long as I take precautions and take my medicine and apply the ointment on time, there won't be any problems."
Wen Yun quickly added, "It's okay, Mom. I'm here with Xiaoyu! I can take care of her if anything happens."
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt Wen's mother's gaze fall on her. Their eyes met, and she inexplicably read a resentment in the other woman's eyes that seemed to say, "Why are you everywhere?"
“We’re going to Anxialing Village on the 4th and will be back around noon or afternoon on the 5th.” Ruan Yu seemed to notice the eye contact and quickly added, “Grandpa and Grandma are getting old, and it takes a lot of energy for them to host us, so we won’t stay for too long.”
She used "came back to play" in front of her grandparents, but "visited" in front of the Wen family elders, which was a way of assuring both sides that she wouldn't stay too long.
Wen Yun felt a little uneasy, but she could understand Ruan Yu's predicament. This was how it was when you were a penniless student; things would only get better when you became financially independent as an adult.
October 4th marks the halfway point of the National Day holiday.
As the Wen family's car drove towards Anxialing Village, Wen Yun tried hard to recall the memories of the original owner personally picking up Ruan Yu, carefully memorizing the faces and locations she could remember for future use.
Even the housekeeper didn't come along on this trip to the countryside; only Sister Luo acted as both driver and bodyguard, responsible for their personal safety.
During the nearly two-hour drive, Ruan Yu passed the time by doing homework.
With only a week left until the chemistry exam, she has achieved good results in several mock exams after a period of intensive tutoring. Now, all she needs to do is solidify and maintain her "feel" for the questions every day, since this is a subject she hasn't touched in a long time.
Wen Yun opened the exchange shop, intending to use her accumulated tea points to draw mysterious items. Unexpectedly, the exchangeable items section had added anti-allergy medicine and an enhanced version of cooling oil to relieve rashes, both priced at only 10 tea points.
"...So you actually add new items based on the plot changes?" Wen Yun was quite surprised. "I thought it was just the items in the gacha pool."
"Yes, after all, this system is an auxiliary system for the host," the system said. "Moreover, the host will only be willing to exchange for items if new ones are added according to demand."
Wen Yun thought that was true. Drawing cards was just for the novelty. If the results were unstable and the items were not practical, she would definitely give up on the exchange item.
So she redeemed a box of cooling balm and put it directly into her handbag for easy access when needed.
Time flies. They left home at 8:15 and arrived at the entrance of Anxialing Village at 10:00.
The nearly vertical cement slope at the village entrance was not easy to drive on, but it was no challenge for Sister Luo. She skillfully shifted gears, stepped on the gas, and the car bumped its way up the slope and into the flat threshing ground.
On the threshing ground, several elderly people were still working under the scorching sun, turning and drying the grain. They noticed that the Wen family's car looked familiar and wondered when they had seen it before. Suddenly, the car door opened by itself, and two neatly dressed young women got out.
Because they had told Grandpa and Grandma Ruan on the phone that they were coming to visit, Wen Yun and Ruan Yu chose casual clothes, and the light colors best reflected the pure and lovely nature of teenage girls. They were not flashy or eye-catching at all, but they still quickly attracted a lot of attention.
As Wen Yun walked along the village main road with Ruan Yu, carrying gifts, she overheard villagers gossiping: "Isn't that Teacher Ruan's daughter? Why is she back?"
"You're carrying things, are you back to see Teacher Ruan?"
"Tsk tsk, it's been over a month and she's only now thinking of coming back! What an ingrate! Teacher Ruan and Caiqin raised her for so many years for nothing, she's just like her aunt!"
"Don't say that. Some people are taken away by wealthy families and never come back. They enjoy their lives, and the people who support them just give them some money and that's it."
"Don't take their words to heart." Seeing Ruan Yu looking towards the source of the voice, Wen Yun lowered her voice and said, "Some people are so narrow-minded, they think the world is only so big, yet they insist on judging you as if they've been there. The only thing they can find in terms of age is a sense of superiority."
Wen Yun simply didn't intend to waste her breath arguing with these gossipy villagers.
At least the wealthy have some sense of shame; after being teased, they know to shut up and not act like scoundrels. But some villagers are simply shameless scoundrels with nothing to lose, masters of throwing tantrums and making a scene. Even Grandpa and Grandma Ruan, who have lived in the village for decades, don't want to have anything to do with them.
Ruan Yu responded with a soft "I understand," and replied in a similarly low voice.
She had lived here for seventeen years, and hadn't taken those words to heart for a long time. Now, she was just worried that the person next to her would feel uncomfortable if they heard them.
The Ruan family's house was located in a high part of the village, near the mountains. As Ruan Yu led Wen Yun and Sister Luo to the water-drawing platform below the house, they heard several warning barks from above.
Wen Yun looked over curiously and saw two big dogs, one yellow and one spotted, poke their heads out. After barking twice, they seemed to have seen Ruan Yu. Their tails wagged happily, and they ran down, circling and jumping around them. Their ears were folded back, and they would stick out their tongues from time to time, whimpering affectionately.
"You still remember me?" Ruan Yu smiled and rubbed the dogs' heads, waving her hand to make a "go" gesture. The two big dogs obediently ran ahead to lead the way, looking back as they ran, and even stopping to wait for them.
Wen Yun memorized the surrounding scenery and had the system locate them one by one.
The Ruan family's house was on a steep slope, and the surrounding area was extremely quiet. Four or five houses had their doors and windows tightly closed, the iron gates were rusty, the window sills were covered in dust, and the newspapers pasted on the windows were yellowed, indicating that no one had lived there for a long time.
If we only consider the environment, apart from being far from the market and hospital, this place is indeed a paradise for retirement. The air is fresh, and there are mountains and fields right at your doorstep. It has everything that city dwellers yearn for in "pristine nature".
When Wen Yun and the others went upstairs, they saw Grandma Ruan standing at the door, her eyes slightly narrowed, her brown and wrinkled face showing a mixture of joy and worry.
But when Ruan Yu approached and called out "Grandma," the old woman's worry disappeared, and she smiled, opened her arms, and embraced the girl.
Wen Yun could tell—or rather, any normal person could tell—that the old man genuinely loved this adopted granddaughter he had watched grow up.
At the same time, she felt a deep sense of regret. If someone in her past life had told her that she had a home to return to, and family members waiting for her and willing to treat her sincerely, would she have chosen to grit her teeth and live on?
But then she thought that if that were the case, the protagonist would probably choose to leave as well.
The carefully orchestrated slanders have already cemented her guilt. She herself would feel ashamed to face her family. In that situation, leaving would be both a relief and an apology.
“Yunyun”.
Ruan Yu's voice pulled Wen Yun back to reality, "Didn't you still have something to say to Grandma?"
"Look at my memory!" Wen Yun quickly replied with a smile, showing Grandma Ruan a box of imported calcium supplements. "I didn't know what to give you. I was afraid you wouldn't accept anything too expensive, so I picked something practical. I hope you don't mind."
Her voice had a slight accent from Anxialing Village. A couple of days ago, I specifically asked Ruan Yu to recite a few lines to me, and I recorded them and listened to them repeatedly. I was able to imitate it a little bit.
In her previous life, she studied languages, including a course on dialects. She also knew that using dialects or dialect accents could help bridge the gap when communicating.
"No problem, no problem at all." Grandma Ruan smiled and shook her head, reaching out to take the milk carton.
Wen Yun quickly took a half step back, "It's heavy, let me carry it."
The elderly person's senses are dulled, but they are also very perceptive in some areas. They remember certain trivial matters well. With just a few words or actions, they can sense that their granddaughter seems to be different from last time.
However, the time interval between the two visits was not long, and the old man would never think of anything supernatural or superstitious. He simply thought that his biological granddaughter was getting to know him better after one visit or two, or that she was also being affectionate towards him because she had a good relationship with her adopted granddaughter. With this in mind, the slight frown on his brow relaxed.
The driver and bodyguard, Sister Luo, remained silent throughout the entire process. After entering the living room, she sat far away with her tea, maintaining her status as an outsider.
Wen Yun said she wanted to visit Grandpa Ruan, so Ruan Yu took her to Grandpa Ruan's study.
Compared to Grandpa Wen's study, Grandpa Ruan's study was very simple, with hardly any storage cabinets. However, a bookcase that was as big as an entire wall immediately caught Wen Yun's eye. It was filled with old books, including Ruan Yu's Chinese textbooks from her childhood.
The decorations on the walls and tables were all handmade, including embroidery and small trinkets like bamboo rabbits and grasshoppers. Wen Yun had heard Ruan Yu mention that Grandpa Ruan was skillful and could even make lanterns when he was young, and now that she saw them, she couldn't resist touching them.
"Take whatever you want, they're just toys made casually, don't worry about them breaking," Grandpa Ruan encouraged with a smile from his wheelchair.
Wen Yun thanked them, carefully picked up the handicrafts and examined them, occasionally offering a few words of praise.
Ruan Yu, supported by her wheelchair, would occasionally add details about what happened during the production process.
"I can't remember, I can't remember," Grandpa Ruan said with a smile. "Xiaoyu has a good memory."
"You mustn't say that!" Ruan Yu said unhappily. "You made it, so you must remember it better than I do! You need to find a way to remember it; you can't just forget it like that!"
Listening to the grandfather and grandson's words, Wen Yun couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
Forgetfulness in old age is not necessarily an illness; it's just a sign of aging.
Younger generations who are close to the elderly are always afraid of being forgotten or dying. It is extremely painful to watch someone who has been with you for decades forget you or disappear from your life forever without being able to do anything to stop it.
Fortunately, Grandpa Ruan is not too old, and he communicates clearly without any obstacles. He kept asking Ruan Yu about her experiences in the new environment with a smile.
Wen Yun sometimes couldn't help but chime in with a word or two, helping Ruan Yu to cover up the darker side of the new environment and try to present only the good side to the elderly.
As they chatted, Grandma Ruan lifted the curtain and came in, apologetically saying to Wen Yun, "There are no guest rooms in the house, and your parents' room is not suitable for living. Your aunt's room is about to be cleaned up. Take a look and see what kind of pillows and quilts you like."
Wen Yun nodded in agreement and carefully put the bamboo rabbit back in her hand. Just as she was about to leave with Grandma Ruan, she suddenly heard Ruan Yu say, "Grandma, there's no need to go to so much trouble. Yunyun can live with me."
A note from the author:
The first update is here!
Chapter 32
Wen Yun was stunned by these words. She opened her mouth but hadn't had time to speak when Grandma Ruan nodded and said, "That's good too. Your aunt's room hasn't been lived in for many years. It doesn't feel as lively as your room."