Chapter 17: Shameless

The muscles beneath her hand, each one distinct, were like iron wrapped in flesh, incredibly firm.

She didn’t need to look to know what body part it was.

Xu Jiaojiao, caught off guard, froze.

Realizing she was touching the man’s abs, she stiffly withdrew her hand.

“I, I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Hearing no response, Xu Jiaojiao fell silent.

Then, she carefully moved herself, trying to climb over the tall figure and return to her own position.

But Qin Shuo had leaned to the side to avoid her pounce earlier.

Seeing her trying to climb over him, he shifted to the left, trying to make room for her.

Unfortunately, Xu Jiaojiao was practically blind at this moment. She reached out with her hand, not knowing where it landed.

Qin Shuo instantly stiffened, his face darkening.

Xu Jiaojiao felt the wrong texture beneath her fingertips, and her face flushed crimson.

She recoiled, as if electrocuted, to the corner of the bed.

“You’re shameless!” Xu Jiaojiao was both embarrassed and angry.

Even though it had felt soft when she touched it—

She may not have eaten pork, but she’d seen pigs run. How could she not know what it was?

But after she yelled, Xu Jiaojiao panicked.

They were legally married now. In this day and age, anything he did to her was justified.

Thinking this, Xu Jiaojiao saw the man sit up.

?!

“What are you trying to do?”

The woman’s usually sweet voice trembled, filled with fear.

Just like on their wedding night.

Qin Shuo’s face grew even darker, and he got out of bed.

Hearing the sound of his footsteps, one deep and one shallow, heading towards the door, Xu Jiaojiao’s tense nerves finally relaxed.

Only when the door slammed shut did she come to her senses.

She felt her heart pounding, as if it were about to jump out of her throat.

Xu Jiaojiao felt this was too dangerous.

Even if he was cold to her, at the end of the day, he was still a man.

There was no telling when his animal instincts might take over.

She admitted she wasn’t a qualified tasker.

According to the system’s attributes, certain seduction techniques were essential.

But the thought of getting pregnant and having children made her unable to convince herself.

After much thought, she couldn’t think of any good solutions, and she became quite disheartened.

Suddenly, she remembered the lucky bag the system gave her.

With a hopeful heart, Xu Jiaojiao opened the system page again.

The lucky bag could be opened once a day, with a 24-hour cooldown.

It had been exactly 24 hours, so without hesitation, she opened the lucky bag.

Another blinding flash of light.

Having experienced it once, Xu Jiaojiao didn’t even look at the light.

She just silently counted in her mind.

Three, two, one…

Feeling the light disappear, Xu Jiaojiao opened her eyes and saw ten or so skewers of roasted, uh, grasshoppers?!

(???′Д`?)? 彡┻━┻

She really shouldn’t have had high hopes.

This thing was just like the system, a total scam.

Not getting anything useful, Xu Jiaojiao was even more discouraged.

But she wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but she seemed to smell a delicious aroma through the screen.

Xu Jiaojiao looked at the roasted grasshoppers again and realized they seemed to be sprinkled with salt.

They looked absolutely delicious.

?!

The system was playing her! Poisoning her in the middle of the night!

Xu Jiaojiao was both angry and helpless.

Why did everyone else get amazing things, while she got these insignificant snacks?

First eggs, then grasshoppers…

Suddenly, Xu Jiaojiao froze, a thought flashing through her mind.

Could it be that the system gave her whatever she wanted to eat?

Yesterday, she saw eggs during the day, and then it gave her eggs at night.

Today, she ate roasted grasshoppers, and then it gave her roasted grasshoppers at night.

Thinking this, Xu Jiaojiao suddenly felt excited about tomorrow.

All sorts of delicious foods she’d eaten in her previous life flashed through her mind.

The more she thought about it, the more awake she became, and her stomach began to rumble.

Xu Jiaojiao: …

Rubbing her stomach, she dared not think about it anymore, and Xu Jiaojiao’s attention shifted back to the man.

She didn’t have a watch, so she didn’t know what time it was.

Outside, besides the wind and the chirping of insects, there was no other sound.

But she didn’t dare close her eyes and sleep, afraid that Qin Shuo would come back.

She waited for an unknown amount of time, but she still didn’t hear his footsteps.

Xu Jiaojiao’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Eventually, she didn’t know when she fell asleep.

On the hayloft of the threshing ground, Qin Shuo lay with his head on his hand, silently gazing at the starry sky.

Two different memories, intertwined in his mind.

Finally, they coalesced into a sweet voice.

“The North Star is over there. Remember it, and you won’t get lost.”

…

For several days in a row, Xu Jiaojiao saw that man taking a detour.

Fortunately, things were relatively peaceful.

One day, Xu Jiaojiao woke up late.

But surprisingly, no one knocked on the door.

She looked at the window, and the sky outside was already bright.

Wang Fengmei’s scolding voice came from the courtyard, noisy and chaotic.

Xu Jiaojiao quickly got out of bed.

Suddenly, she remembered something and looked at the foot of the bed.

But she found no trace of anyone having slept there.

Since that day, Xu Jiaojiao hadn’t seen him in the room for several nights.

Without time to think, Xu Jiaojiao combed her hair with her fingers and walked towards the door while tying her hair.

She had been sleeping day and night for the past two days, so her clothes were still on and she didn’t need to change.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw a small figure.

“Erni, what are you doing here?”

“I… I want to help you pick tea leaves.” Erni said, her eyes full of anticipation.

Hearing this, Xu Jiaojiao hadn’t even spoken yet, but Liu Zhaodi’s face darkened!

“What are you showing off for? If you have time for this, go wash the clothes at home!”

Hearing her mother’s words, Erni cowered, the light in her eyes instantly dimming.

She hung her head, mumbled a low “yes,” and was about to walk towards the eaves.

There were two large buckets full of clothes there.

But she hadn’t taken two steps when she was pulled back.

She turned her head and saw that it was Aunt San who had pulled her. Erni’s eyes brightened again.

Holding the thin arm that felt like it could snap with a pinch, and looking at the child who barely reached her waist, Xu Jiaojiao felt a surge of anger.

Logically, this was someone else’s daughter, and it had nothing to do with her.

But after these days of getting along, she couldn’t bear to ignore it.

“Such a small child, you’re making her wash clothes by the river?”

In this day and age, people washed their clothes in the river.

But the river wasn’t shallow, and every year, children drowned in it.

“What’s wrong with that? Little girls need to do more chores so they can get married well when they grow up.”

Liu Zhaodi didn’t think it was a big deal. She had grown up doing the same thing.

If you weren’t diligent, who would want you?

“Aunt San, I can wash.” Erni pulled at her clothes.

She looked like she was afraid that she would get into trouble if they argued.

Xu Jiaojiao: …