Chapter 46: Rice

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Rice

Deng Yuyuan politely declined.

In the original novel, Gou Ya lived to adulthood, which meant her current illness was not fatal. It would just leave behind a lingering, cold, and aching root cause of illness, at worst.

[The original novel described her as a natural-born bad seed.]

"At least she isn’t right now," Deng Yuyuan said to the AI customer service.

In the original novel, there were far too few people who favored Tuantuan. As a universally loved existence, Fubao brought bad luck to anyone who hated her, while those who liked her enjoyed good fortune. Even after the villains later discovered this characteristic of hers, they still stubbornly insisted on hating her. This resilience left Deng Yuyuan thoroughly amazed.

She didn’t want Tuantuan to always be the second most loved person. Gou Ya’s favorite person was Tuantuan; she just loved herself more. Loving oneself more than others was perfectly normal.

Deng Yuyuan couldn’t bring herself to harshly criticize the girl. If Gou Ya truly had been scheming against Tuantuan all along, she wouldn’t have shared her hard-won food with Tuantuan first while she herself was freezing and starving.

"Failing to protect Tuantuan is her mother’s responsibility, not hers."

Deng Yuyuan snapped back to reality, first using a single sentence to shut Fang Zhongwen up.

"Doctor Fang, thank you for your good intentions. She is not my child, and I don’t want to know too much. As long as her illness can be cured, that’s enough."

Fang Zhongwen raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly. He wondered why she had spent so much money to treat the girl’s illness if she didn’t want to get too involved. He figured this educated youth seemed unapproachable, but was actually a very gentle person with a sharp tongue and a soft heart.

"Is that so... but I feel like—" Fang Zhongwen spoke slowly and deliberately.

Deng Yuyuan interrupted him directly. "Then I’ll start thinking you have a crush on me."

"What?" He spoke quickly and softly.

"You like me, and you’re trying to create opportunities for us to spend time together," Deng Yuyuan stated calmly.

A flurry of panic and bewilderment that even he didn’t notice appeared on Fang Zhongwen’s face. "How could I possibly like you? Who do you think you are? We’re from completely different worlds. Anyone with eyes can see that you’re not good enough for me."

In truth, she was more than good enough. But Fang Zhongwen didn’t want her to know that he was already dancing in the palm of her hand. He thought she was a terrifying woman, truly living up to her rich experience as a divorcee by effortlessly toying with a man’s heart.

"That’s for the best." Deng Yuyuan shrugged, uncaring about his personal attack. She walked off first, leaving an annoyed Fang Zhongwen standing rooted to the spot.

The X-ray and blood test results both came back fine. Gou Ya could go get an IV drip, but she still couldn’t eat anything. She could only have some rice water after the IV.

Gou Ya’s hand was bound to a piece of cardboard. The IV needle looked thicker than her veins, but she wasn’t scared at all. She stared blankly as the needle pierced her hand and the ice-cold liquid slowly dripped in.

She realized this was the first time someone had brought her to see a doctor and cared for her this much.

"Alright." Deng Yuyuan stood up and said to Gou Ya, who was sitting in a chair, "I have some errands to run and need to buy some things in town. Is there anything you want?"

Gou Ya shook her head. Deng Yuyuan didn’t move. Knowing she had to speak, Gou Ya said, "Thank you, pretty Sister Deng. I don’t want anything."

"Really," she added dryly. This was clearly not the answer Deng Yuyuan wanted.

Gou Ya racked her brains for a reason. "I can’t afford anything in town."

"Yes, you can," Deng Yuyuan rebutted her, taking out a one-yuan coin. "I haven’t spent the fruits of your labor yet."

"That’s already yours," Gou Ya said softly.

Deng Yuyuan pulled out her uninjured hand and placed the coin in her palm. "It’s yours. Sick children have special privileges."

A heavy tear dropped onto the back of her hand.

Gou Ya cried silently and messily, looking incredibly ugly.

She couldn’t stop apologizing. "I’m sorry, Sister Deng. I shouldn’t... I can’t control it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me."

[She’s venting her grievances.]

[Go forth, great Saint!]

Deng Yuyuan inwardly cursed the AI customer service to get lost, wondering where exactly she could file a complaint against it.

[There are no channels for complaints, hehe.]

"Mom, look! She’s so old, but she’s still crying!" a little boy in a tank top yelled loudly, pointing at Gou Ya and turning to his mother. Beside him, a teenage boy was on an IV drip, and his mother was warming the IV bottle with her hands.

The five of them exchanged glances. Deng Yuyuan was the first to speak. "She’s crying because I’m willing to coax her. Unlike you—no one pays attention to you even when you cry."

The little boy pouted, opening his mouth to speak but finding himself at a loss for words. Finally, he launched a magic attack: "Mom, look at her!"

"She’s so pretty, of course I’m looking at her!" His mother slapped the back of his head. "You just love causing trouble. You’re here to keep your brother company, yet you’re bullying a little girl."

The little boy immediately began to cry his lungs out, rolling around on the floor.

His mother looked around. It was obvious she desperately wanted to have a close physical encounter with her youngest son, but it wasn’t appropriate to be too intimate in broad daylight. She could only crouch down and coax him in a soft, gentle voice: "If you don’t get up and wipe your tears right now, you’re dead meat when we get home."

Gou Ya lowered her eyes and watched as a large snot bubble blew out of her nose. Her little face flushed red. She could no longer feel sad; she only felt terribly embarrassed.

"Will I be better after I get this injection?" Gou Ya changed the subject.

Deng Yuyuan shook her head. "The doctor said it’ll take three days."

This time, she really left. Her long army-green coat traced a crisp arc in the air before covering its owner’s slender calves once again as she disappeared from the infusion hall.

"Your mom definitely thinks you’re too embarrassing when you cry and doesn’t want you anymore," the little boy nearby blurted out thoughtlessly.

His mother couldn’t hold back any longer. She scooped him up with one hand and started smacking his bottom. The louder he cried, the harder she hit.

She then looked back nervously at the little girl, but Gou Ya didn’t cry this time. She merely stared blankly in the direction where Deng Yuyuan had disappeared.

"Don’t take his words to heart. Your mom just had to step out for some errands," the woman comforted her clumsily. With two sons at home, she was much more accustomed to scolding and hitting them than coaxing anyone.

Gou Ya ignored her, maintaining her posture as if she intended to stay completely still until Deng Yuyuan returned.

Deng Yuyuan navigated the familiar alleyways with ease. She packed the milk and rice, and bought a disguise from the system shop.

She noted with surprise that the disguises had actually been updated to include shoulder pads, fake Adam’s apples, and more. It was a pity that her current "old woman" persona already had too many loyal customers; changing skins now wouldn’t be good for business.

Today’s sales pitch was a spur-of-the-moment decision. The goods she sold were relatively simple, but they were still highly popular.

"How do you grow your family’s rice? Can I pay for your secret recipe?" The customers formed a circle around her, and someone asked curiously.

"Yeah, yeah, how do you grow this? It cooks up so soft and fragrant, and it’s even sweet when eaten dry."

Deng Yuyuan replied, "There’s no great method to it, just good soil nourishment. Next time, I’ll bring some paddy seeds, and you can try to see if you can grow them."

"Can the paddy seeds you sell actually be grown?" a familiar male voice rang out.