Seeing the familiar envelope, that terrifying man couldn’t help but scrutinize Jiang Wanting for a long while before finally speaking:

“What’s your relationship with him?”

At this moment, Jiang Wanting’s mind was racing. Lu Yuan hadn’t instructed her what to say. If she said the wrong thing, wouldn’t it just make things worse? The more she explained, the more loopholes there would be.

So Jiang Wanting simply rolled her eyes. “None of your damn business.” She feigned composure and met the man’s gaze head-on. He looked at her; she looked back without showing weakness.

After a while, the man let out a cold laugh. “That bad temper—you’re the same.” With that, he stuffed the envelope away and walked out of the men’s restroom, leaving Jiang Wanting alone inside.

There hadn’t been any instructions at all.

Only when she saw the next man go into the restroom did Jiang Wanting come back to her senses and hurriedly slip out with her neck drawn in.

After completing the task, Jiang Wanting stopped by the pharmacy counter at the department store before leaving. After asking for a long while, she realized that without a prescription, it was impossible to buy fever medicine.

She could only hope she made it back to the hotel as quickly as possible.

In the lobby of Binhu Hotel, Jiang Wanting unexpectedly saw Zhang Shengli.

Zhang Shengli’s chubby body was sunk deep into the sofa; he had to push himself hard to get up. “I wasn’t at ease, so I came to check on you,” he said. “Is there any difficulty?”

“A relative came here to handle some matters, but suddenly fell ill. Because of his special status, he can’t stay in an ordinary hotel. So I thought of you, Brother Zhang.” Jiang Wanting gave a simple explanation, emphasizing especially the fact of his “special status.”

Zhang Shengli immediately understood. “So, are you staying to take care of him?”

“Depending on the situation. I might have to stay.”

Zhang Shengli nodded knowingly. “I’ll let the front desk know and have them send you another set of towels and slippers.”

Once he saw Jiang Wanting was fine, Zhang Shengli finally left with relief.

As soon as she reached the room and opened the door, Jiang Wanting froze in shock—the key slipped right from her hand to the floor.

Lu Yuan, who should have been lying down, was actually holding a small dagger, about to stab it into his own leg!

“Stop!” Jiang Wanting rushed over to stop him. “What are you doing!”

The knife in Lu Yuan’s hand was easily knocked away. He leaned weakly against the headboard, panting as he said, “I’m afraid… if I lose consciousness, I won’t be able to control myself.”

Jiang Wanting couldn’t imagine how hard this must be. She reached forward to touch his forehead—it was still burning hot. “I asked at the pharmacy. Without a prescription they won’t sell fever medicine. I’ll get you a cold towel.”

As she got up to leave, Lu Yuan grabbed her arm. “It’s useless… don’t bother.”

“What’s really going on?” Jiang Wanting asked. If she knew the cause, maybe she could get Zhang Shengli to help.

“I was drugged. It’s… animal-use… breeding medicine. Don’t go to a hospital, and don’t tell anyone… it has to stay secret.”

Jiang Wanting’s head went numb. How was she supposed to handle this? If he couldn’t go to a hospital, how could any normal person endure it?

“If you just force yourself through it… what will happen?”

Lu Yuan leaned there, panting for a long while before answering. “Either… death, or… permanent damage.” He shielded the space between his legs. “Fortunately I drank less… I probably won’t die. Please leave me alone—let me keep some dignity.”

Jiang Wanting guessed that in large doses, the drug would overstimulate, leading to sudden death; in smaller doses, it only caused prolonged congestion, which could still cause permanent damage.

Whether death or disability, neither was something Jiang Wanting was willing to see. She wanted Lu Yuan to live safely.

She pressed down on his hand and said solemnly, “If you don’t mind… let me help you.”

“What?” Lu Yuan looked at her in disbelief. But the painful pressure below made him groan despite himself. “No, you can’t. Go away.”

Seeing him like this, Jiang Wanting gave him no chance to argue. She went to draw the curtains, kept the lights on, then locked the door from the inside. Next, she walked back to Lu Yuan’s side and reached to take off his shirt.

Just as she undid the buttons, someone knocked on the door. Jiang Wanting ignored it, but the knocking continued.

She had no choice but to let go of Lu Yuan’s resisting hand and go to open the door.

It turned out to be the hotel staff, delivering the items Zhang Shengli had requested for her.

Jiang Wanting opened the door only a crack, took the items, and told the staff: “The person inside needs to practice his speech for a meeting. Please don’t disturb us today.”

The staff nodded. “Understood. I’ll inform the others.”

After re-locking the door, Jiang Wanting rubbed her wrist. This man was really hard to deal with—even like this, he kept refusing.

She simply switched off the light. Though it was daytime, the room was now shrouded in darkness.

That made Jiang Wanting feel a bit more at ease. Throwing caution to the wind, she stood at the bedside and stripped herself bare.

In her past life, Jiang Wanting had never experienced intimacy. She had no idea what it was supposed to feel like.

Now, everything the two of them did was purely instinctual—from fumbling at the start, to eventually finding release together.

Jiang Wanting was jostled and shaken all afternoon in a daze, and it finally settled down by evening. In her mind, she thought she still needed to go home, but her body simply wouldn’t obey her. Her arms and legs had lost all sensation, and she couldn’t move at all.

The person beside her had also fallen into a deep sleep, relieved it was over.

Before losing consciousness, Jiang Wanting decided to just sleep well. At worst, she could make up an excuse when she returned tomorrow.

When she woke up in the morning, Jiang Wanting found herself alone in the room—Lu Yuan was nowhere to be seen.

She felt a little disappointed, but this emotion didn’t last long before it was overshadowed by another feeling.

Yesterday was truly wild! She had never realized a man could be so intense!

In her previous life, Jiang Wanting had never experienced anything like this. She had always thought that mutual respect and affection between two people who loved each other were enough—at least they wouldn’t argue all the time like other couples.

It wasn’t until yesterday that she understood what she had missed in her past life. All that talk of mutual respect and platonic love was nonsense.

That intense shaking had temporarily made her forget the grievances of being reborn in the countryside and the hardships of life.

Jiang Wanting felt her current state was nothing like that of an eighteen-year-old girl—helpless, confused, and afraid. Instead, it was more like a centuries-old monster finally quenching its thirst with sweet spring water, feeling utterly satisfied.

In this life, Jiang Wanting had a clear perspective on things. Marriage was just marriage—what was the big deal? Rather than spending a lifetime lonely with one man, it was better to live freely and independently.

So, she treated yesterday’s events as helping a benefactor from her previous life, repaying a part of the debt she owed him.

Jiang Wanting took the earliest long-distance bus back to the county town. She still had to walk back to the village because, without a bicycle, she had to rely on her feet.

But her legs were terribly sore, and her hips ached. To others, Jiang Wanting looked like a cripple, hobbling slowly with the help of a tree branch, leaning on it for support.

When Lu Yuan saw her, this was the scene: a girl hunched over, supporting herself with a branch, one hand on her waist, inching forward bit by bit like a pitiful, homeless wretch.

He had the driver honk twice. Jiang Wanting instinctively stepped to the side of the road to make way for the car.

The car stopped behind Jiang Wanting, and Lu Yuan jumped out, slamming the door shut with a “bang.”

“Why didn’t you wait for me?” he strode forward.

Jiang Wanting looked at Lu Yuan, then at the crowd of faces peering out from the car behind him. “I thought you’d left,” she said softly.

The way the two of them leaned in to talk sparked a wave of teasing from the crowd. Lu Yuan waved his hand, and the noise immediately ceased.

“I had something to take care of this morning,” he explained briefly. “I’ll take you back.” He noticed the branch Jiang Wanting was using for support and felt a pang of guilt. “Yesterday… thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might have caused a huge mess. No matter what, don’t be afraid. I’ll take responsibility.” He made the promise earnestly.

Jiang Wanting hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no, don’t worry about it. Yesterday was an unexpected situation. I was willing. You don’t need to take responsibility. Just pretend it never happened. Don’t feel pressured.”

“That won’t do. It’s not how I operate,” Lu Yuan insisted. “I’ll submit an application as soon as possible. After this mission is over, I’ll visit your family to meet your elders.”

“Are you serious?” Jiang Wanting didn’t want this. After finally getting a second chance at life, she only wanted to live according to her own wishes, not blindly tie herself to another man again. “I’m genuinely refusing, not being polite. It’s not that big of a deal. How can you make such a blind decision about marriage? You can find someone better. If you feel guilty or think you owe me something,” Jiang Wanting paused to think, “just consider it a favor owed. If I need your help in the future, you must help me.”

“Of course, I’ll help, but I’ve ruined you…”

Jiang Wanting covered Lu Yuan’s mouth. “Purity isn’t defined by this. I operate legally, earn money legally, don’t steal or rob, and abide by the law. I’m perfectly pure.”

Lu Yuan looked into her watery eyes, momentarily unsure whether to refute her.

“Anyway, I don’t need you to take responsibility. In matters like this, isn’t the opinion of the person involved the most important? Just listen to me and pretend it never happened. I won’t use this to threaten you in the future, so put your mind at ease.”

“What kind of person do you take me for?” Lu Yuan grew anxious.

“You’re a good person, always have been,” in this life and the previous one, Jiang Wanting added silently. “I need to get home now. Can you give me a ride?”

Lu Yuan helped Jiang Wanting into the car. She could feel the people behind them holding their breath. Throughout the journey, Lu Yuan protected her, afraid she might bump into anything. When they reached the village entrance, Jiang Wanting asked to get off. “The village roads are narrow. It’s hard for the car to go further. You can drop me off here.”

She got out of the car, and Lu Yuan watched her until she turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

On the return trip, the people in the car kept teasing Lu Yuan. He said bluntly, “She didn’t agree. Don’t go spreading rumors when we get back!”

Jiang Wanting arrived home shortly after, but instead of being greeted by Chen Meiling, who had waited for her all night, she was met by Cuini, standing anxiously on the steps waiting for her.

“Sister!” As soon as Cuini saw Jiang Wanting in the distance, she rushed over. “Sister, it’s terrible! Auntie was taken back to your grandmother’s house, and your home was ransacked! I waited for you all night, and you never came back. I thought something had happened to you!” Cuini cried as she spoke.