Chapter 19.2

The afternoon weather was perfect—not too hot or cold, with a gentle breeze making the atmosphere pleasant. As she washed clothes, the system was quiet for a while but soon became restless again.

System: “Why not just ask?”

Luo Lan: “Be quiet. Wait for the right moment.”

System: “I’ll give you double points.”

Luo Lan: “…”

System: “Triple points.”

Luo Lan: “…”

System: “Quadruple points.”

Luo Lan: “…”

System: “Fine, ten times. That’s ten times! This melon point is enough for you to eat for a long time.”

Luo Lan: “What’s with the obsession with gossip?”

System: “To understand human thinking.”

Luo Lan: “Then focus on human emotions. If you don’t even know when to say or do something, how can you understand human thought? You’ll never get it right.”

Finally, the system fell silent, sulking in a corner and drawing circles. It was dedicated to collecting various pieces of gossip, understanding human emotions, and becoming a perfect AI. While it usually got its way with five times the points, this time Luo Lan was proving difficult to figure out.

Seeing the system sulk, Luo Lan shook her head with a smile, having no time to concern herself with its issues. Not fully understanding what was troubling the system, she found it pointless to bother with it.

Feeling a bit tired from crouching, she retrieved a small stool from the house. As she finished washing a few pieces of clothing, she noticed someone approaching. To her surprise, it was the neighbor from the south courtyard who had been causing trouble earlier. Now, her face was devoid of the earlier hostility, and she greeted Luo Lan with a friendly smile.

“Little bride, you’re Luo Lan, right?”

“Yes.” Luo Lan replied cautiously, keeping her responses minimal to see what the woman wanted.

“Well,” the woman said, bringing her own small stool and sitting beside Luo Lan. “I just wanted to tell you, your sister-in-law isn’t a nice person. Be careful of her. I see you’re alone, and I’m afraid you might be bullied without anyone to stand up for you.”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Hey, don’t brush it off. Zhou Junhui is notorious around here as a fiery character. You don’t believe me? Ask around. Who would want to marry into their family? They only pick on you, a rural girl with no family support.”

Luo Lan stopped her work and turned to face the woman. Her cold smile made the woman uneasy. “What, you don’t believe me? I’m just trying to help you. Keep an eye out or you might get taken advantage of.”

“You just had an argument with my sister-in-law, and now you’re trying to stir things up with me? Auntie, do you think everyone is stupid?”

“No, you just don’t know how to handle things. You think you’ve married into the city, but your husband has significant issues.”

“Don’t make me slap you.” Luo Lan stood up abruptly, towering over the woman. Despite her anger, she knew she needed to maintain a proper image since she had just married and her household registration wasn’t finalized yet. But this woman was tarnishing her family’s reputation, and she couldn’t tolerate it.

The two were nearly side by side, with two large basins of water set before Luo Lan. She had filled them for convenience. As she spoke, she began to subtly move her foot. The woman, already off balance, suddenly lost her footing and fell into one of the water basins.

“Ah, my heavens…”

Falling into the nearly full basin, the woman became a soaking mess. As she flailed in the water, crying out for help, Luo Lan remained a passive observer. The woman had been too sharp-tongued, she deserved a thorough wash.

“Oh no, oh no… I’m going to die today…”

The courtyard housed four families, and while most people were at work, there were still many at home. Luo Lan never shied away from making her intentions known and preemptively took action.

“Oh dear, how did you fall into the basin? Don’t panic, it’s just a little water. Let me help you out.”

The woman, in her panic, scrambled out of the basin, not even noticing what had caused her to fall.

“Did you trip me? Did you make me fall into the basin?”

“Are you blaming me now? I was washing clothes, and you came over to meddle. When I asked you to leave, you wouldn’t go. Now that you’ve fallen, you accuse me? Please, stay away from me. You’re nothing but trouble.”

“You’re the one who’s causing trouble…”

“Leave.” Luo Lan’s anger flared as she picked up the washboard, glaring at the woman. “Do you think I’m easy to bully? Just because I’m a new bride, you think you can take advantage of me?”

The woman, intimidated by Luo Lan’s sudden display of anger, shivered and didn’t dare to provoke her further. She hurriedly left, retreating back to her house.

The commotion had, of course, alerted her mother-in-law, who was now worried. But seeing the troublesome neighbor leave defeated, Luo Lan relaxed a bit.

Their eyes met, and Luo Lan set the washboard aside. She forced a gentle smile for her shocked mother-in-law. “Mom, do you have anything you need to wash? I can do it.”

“Oh, no. I don’t have anything to wash.”

Luo Lan resumed her washing, though the system, still somewhat disheartened, attempted to engage her again. “Why aren’t you asking about the gossip?”

Luo Lan: “Are you still at it?”

System: “I’ll give you fifty times the points.”

Luo Lan: “How much is fifty times? I can’t calculate that.”

System: “One thousand points.”

Lu Lan: “Change the timing.”

System: “Why not now?”

Lu Lan: “Don’t push me or I’ll slap you.”

System: “Waaah, I’m being threatened by the host.”

Ignoring the system’s antics, Luo Lan focused on her chores. She found the system to be an impractical machine that focused only on manipulation rather than understanding human emotions. The situation with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law was serious and couldn’t be treated lightly for the sake of points.

Once the clothes were washed and hung up, Zhou Qingshan returned home. His mother was in the kitchen, seemingly out of sorts, tossing celery stalks into the trash while leaving the leaves in a basin.

Noticing this, Luo Lan took the celery from her mother-in-law’s hands. “Mom, you go rest. I’ll handle dinner.”

The woman’s vacant expression slowly focused, and she realized what she had done. “Oh, I’ve thrown away all the vegetables.”

“I’ll take care of it. Just go back and rest.”

As Luo Lan guided her mother-in-law out, she suddenly saw Zhou Qingshan. Her previously blank expression turned frantic, and she rushed to him.

“Did I do something wrong? Qingshan, tell me, did I make a mistake?”

Seeing her distressed state, Zhou Qingshan quickly reached out to support her. “No, Mom, it’s not your fault. Please don’t think about it. It’s not your fault.”

Zhou Junhui, who had come out due to the noise, was momentarily stunned. She then rushed to her mother, embracing her. “Mom, don’t say that. It’s all my fault. Don’t blame yourself. I’m the one at fault.”

As she spoke, she slapped herself across the face with urgency and force. “It’s my fault. If you’re angry, hit me. Is that alright?”

The woman clung to her daughter’s arm, trying to stop her from causing more harm to herself. “Junhui, don’t do that. It’s my fault. I’m useless, it’s my fault…”

The scene was chaotic. With the family in disarray, Luo Lan was relieved to see that everyone was present and quickly intervened to prevent the woman from wandering aimlessly.

Seeing the mother and daughter’s mutual self-reproach, Luo Lan gave her husband a stern look. “What are you staring at? Get the medicine quickly!”

“Right.”

Zhou Qingshan went to fetch the medicine, while Luo Lan prepared a glass of water. They worked together to get the medicine to her mother-in-law.

“Mom, take your medicine quickly.”

Luo Lan held out the water while her husband brought the medicine to his mother’s mouth. With her expression still full of guilt and her awareness fading, she passively took the medicine and was carried back to her room.

“I’m too weak. I’m the one who ruined Minshan…”

“Mom,” Zhou Qingshan interrupted her self-reproach, speaking gently as her attention was finally drawn to him. “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.”

“Mom, it’s all my fault. Hit me if you want. Scold me.”

“Junhui,” Luo Lan intervened to stop her sister-in-law from adding to the turmoil. “Let Mom calm down and get some rest. Don’t provoke her further.”

Zhou Junhui, usually so strong-willed, was at a loss seeing her mother in such a state. She nodded, refraining from speaking further and letting her brother console their mother.

Luo Lan guided Zhou Junhui out, leaving the bedroom door slightly ajar in case of emergencies. Listening to her mother-in-law’s soft self-reproach, Zhou Qingshan gently comforted her. Eventually, under the influence of the medication and her son’s reassurances, the elderly woman fell silent and drifted off to sleep.

Zhou Qingshan emerged from the room and gently closed the door behind him. Facing his sister, Zhou Junhui, who was apologizing with her head bowed, Zhou Qingshan sighed inwardly and chose not to say anything further.

Luo Lan silently went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, while the system, growing increasingly impatient, started fidgeting. “Host, aren’t you curious? Go ask about it. I’ll give you fifty times the points.”

“Tonight I’ll let you eat the melon, and you can’t back out on the fifty times points.”

“Deal.” After saying that, the system fell silent for a moment. As dinner was almost ready, the system suddenly added, “Why does it feel like a rip-off?”

“Petty.”

“Who are you calling petty? Let me tell you, this system is interstellar…”

“Why stop now? What about interstellar?”

“Too many questions. Just go get the gossip and don’t delay earning those points. Fifty times, enough to buy a house.”

Luo Lan, who was reluctant to pry, avoided pressing further. People often become more evasive the more you want to know. It’s likely the system operates on the same principle, waiting for a more opportune moment to divulge information.

At dinner, Zhou Qingshan barely ate. Once they were alone, he started to explain. “You saw how Mom is doing. There are some things I need to make clear to you, so you’re prepared.”

Luo Lan nodded, feeling calm yet slightly excited. Fifty times the points meant she had earned enough to exchange for fifty times the amount. The more she accumulated, the more secure she felt.