Chapter 32

When did her period start?
Qiao An hadn’t noticed at all. Gu Ting had insisted she lie down in bed, handed her a cup of warm water, and was watching her nervously. Suddenly, a wave of warmth washed over her heart.
It felt like watching a child she had raised finally understanding the hardships of a mother and beginning to repay her.
Gu Ze watched sourly as Qiao An drank plain water while gazing tenderly at Gu Ting. He pursed his lips and handed over the brown sugar water he had asked Xu Hui for, "Drink this instead."
Qiao An took it, thanked him, and took a sip. The sweet, warm brown sugar water flowed down her throat, warming her stomach, though she didn’t feel particularly affected by it.
She had already asked the system, it was because of the Muscle Regeneration Pill she bought with the previous 200 points that she truly felt no discomfort at all.
Moreover, the original owner’s body was quite healthy to begin with. Though she was a bit thin, she hadn’t starved to the point of health issues. Even during her period, the pain wasn’t particularly severe, much better than the female protagonist in novels who would turn pale as soon as her period arrived.
Perhaps that was also why Qiao An wasn’t the female protagonist.
Out of ten female protagonists, nine suffered from dysmenorrhea, and the tenth was a cultivator who had severed her menstrual cycle.
Since she wasn’t in pain, Xu Hui didn’t worry after asking about it and called them down for dinner when it was time.
Just as Qiao An was about to throw off the covers and get up, a pair of large hands firmly pressed her back down. She looked at Gu Ting in confusion. “It’s fine, I’m really not in pain.”
Gu Ting shook his head decisively. “Rest!”
Qiao An’s lips twitched. Was he not even going to let her eat?
And he wasn’t going either?
Watching Gu Ting as if he intended to take root by her bedside, Qiao An rolled her eyes inwardly.
The only sensible person, Gu Ze, had to step up. “I’ll bring the food up.”
Qiao An wanted to go down and eat herself. After all, her mom and the other chef in the kitchen were quite skilled, and she could also keep Grandpa Gu company. But the moment she moved, Gu Ting pressed her back down.
Looking at his sharp little chin and his stubbornly pursed lips, Qiao An helplessly reached out and ruffled his freshly trimmed, slightly prickly short hair. She said to Gu Ze, “Sorry for the trouble. If there are any small dried fish, bring some up.”
To coax this kid.
Her motherly heart was melting because of him. After all, he was the child she had painstakingly raised over these past days.
Gu Ting’s lips moved slightly, his eyes narrowing as he rubbed his head against her hand.
For a moment, Qiao An had the illusion that he was a cat.
But she quickly dismissed the thought. Qiao An had never kept a cat and had only heard about them online, so she wasn’t particularly sensitive to such behaviors.
Gu Ze paused as he stood up, glanced at the two who seemed to only have eyes for each other, and pressed his lips together.
She didn’t need to be so polite.

The next day, Qiao An had to go to school.
As soon as she opened the door, she found Gu Ting sitting by her doorway, as if he had spent the entire night there. Her movement startled him awake, and he nearly toppled onto her feet before quickly regaining his balance. Rubbing his eyes, he looked behind her.
Qiao An’s face flushed, and she quickly stepped aside, pressing a hand to her forehead. “You didn’t stay here all night, did you?”
Gu Ting blinked and nodded. “Mm.”
He wanted to guard her, she was bleeding.
Qiao An helped him up, somewhat relieved that he had at least brought his own blanket and sat on the rug in front of her door. One night probably wouldn’t cause any harm.
Gu Ting scrambled to his feet, rubbing his lower back. His clear eyes showed a hint of discomfort, and his pale lips puckered slightly.
But after rubbing his back a couple of times, he tugged at Qiao An, wanting to check behind her.
Qiao An had no choice but to endure the awkwardness and let him look.
It was clean, no trace of the bloodstains that had frightened him so much the day before. The tension in the young man’s expression eased, and he released her, gazing at her.
Qiao An smiled. “I’m fine now, not uncomfortable. I’m going to school later. Shall we go eat now?”
“Mm! Eat.” Gu Ting nodded, mimicking her last two words, and started heading toward the dining room.
Qiao An quickly pulled him back. “Go back to your room and wash up first.”
"Oh." Gu Ting obediently nodded, his little nose wrinkling secretly as he stole another glance at her. Seeing that she wasn't following, his brows furrowed, and he headed back to his room with three backward glances for every step.
Qiao An covered her mouth, quietly giggling behind him.
When she arrived at school, Lei Xiao noticed the natural smile on her face and asked in surprise, "An An, you seem really happy today?"
Qiao An's eyes curved into crescents. "Yes, I'm very happy."
"Why?" Lei Xiao asked curiously. "Did something good happen?"
Qiao An thought for a moment and said, "The little one I've been raising for so long has finally learned to care for his old mother. I finally understand why adults pour their hearts into raising children."
The moment she saw the child reciprocate her care, even if it was just a small gesture, she felt incredibly happy and satisfied, thinking all the previous efforts were truly worth it.
Of course, she hadn't invested that much in Gu Ting's growth journey.
She hadn't expected to receive a little payback so quickly.
Lei Xiao said enviously, "So you've been keeping a pet? Is it a cat or a dog? My mom won't let me have one, worried it'll distract me. Plus, they're both too busy to take care of it, saying that looking after me alone is already tough enough."
"Uh" Qiao An hesitated for a moment, instinctively following Lei Xiao's line of thought as she searched her memory, then said firmly, "It's a cat."
[Task 19: Help the antagonist Gu Ting resolve his issues with his grandfather, gain Gu Ting's favorability points, and obtain clues. Task reward: 500,000 points.]
Qiao An: “!!!”
So many points!
It seems this is a major task!
Qiao An had completed several small tasks worth two or three thousand points over these days, but since the rewards were so meager, she had been frugal each time. To this day, she hadn't bought anything from the system mall, nor had she encountered any appealing midnight discounts. She had been saving up all her points and now had over two hundred thousand.
Then this task came along.
Qiao An even felt that the Intelligence Pill wasn't so hard to obtain anymore.
After all, it only cost a million points. Completing Task 12 would give her over seven hundred thousand, and with a little more waiting, she could probably get it.
What surprised Qiao An even more was,
The task wasn't finished yet.
System: [Task 20: Long-term task. Gain favorability points from the antagonist Gu Ting. Reward for each point increase: 1,000 points (Task duration: indefinite).]
Qiao An gasped, feeling a bit dizzy. Was she hallucinating from drinking too much?
But she wasn't even of legal age to drink!
Could it be a side effect of the fermented rice dumplings she made yesterday?
Qiao An thought with a mix of amusement and bewilderment.
The system comforted her: [Host, this is not a dream. Please work hard to complete tasks and earn points. The Intelligence Pill you want will be yours.]
Qiao An asked doubtfully: [How much intelligence can the Intelligence Pill increase?]
After so many tasks with high point rewards, the Intelligence Pill wasn’t hard to obtain anymore. Once something became cheap, Qiao An couldn’t help but suspect it might be counterfeit or of poor quality.
The system choked on her sincere doubt, its voice tinged with helplessness: [System products are guaranteed to be worthwhile. Currently, the host’s intelligence is at a normal level. The Intelligence Pill can raise it to a good level, two pills to excellent, and three pills to genius. Beyond that, there’s no further effect.]
Qiao An’s small mouth opened slightly, suddenly feeling it was still a loss.
Just a little better than normal?
The system detected her thoughts and said seriously: [Host, rest assured. Even a slight increase in intelligence will have a very noticeable effect.]
Qiao An sheepishly stuck out her tongue and took another look at the two tasks.
Increasing favorability could unlock clues to resolving the emotional knots between Gu Ting and Grandpa Gu.
[So how much favorability do I need to increase?]
The system replied: [The host will need to figure that out on her own.]
Qiao An: “...”
She forced a helpless smile. Just then, as the car passed the school’s turning point, the area with the most students after school in the afternoon, where stalls weren’t allowed near the school, many small vendors had already set up shop at the bend.
Lots of students were gathered there, eating snacks.
Food stalls!
Qiao An swallowed hard. It had been quite some time since she arrived here, and she hadn’t visited a night market in ages. There were so many delicious foods at the night market. When she didn’t think about it, she felt nothing, but now that she remembered, she couldn’t wait to go.
Lately, Qiao An had noticed that Gu Ting’s tastes were similar to hers, he liked spicy food and sweets alike.
As long as she ate it, he could eat it too.
He’d probably enjoy the food stalls, right?
Qiao An’s eyes lit up. She took out her phone and asked Lei Xiao: [Where are the best snacks?]
Lei Xiao replied instantly: [I know! I’ll take you!!!]
Holding her phone, Lei Xiao smiled happily, Qiao An was going on a date with her!

Back home, Qiao An noticed that Gu Ze, who had been staying at the old residence these past few days, had left.
She couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Although Gu Ze had never harmed her, he had hurt Gu Ting. So, as long as he was home, no matter how well-behaved he seemed, Qiao An’s heart remained on edge, afraid he might suddenly have a psychotic episode, pushing someone down the stairs or deliberately pulling away a chair, and so on.
Now that Gu Ze was gone, she no longer had to be on tenterhooks.
Hearing the car, Gu Ting hurried downstairs to greet her, naturally taking the heavy backpack from her shoulders and using the language Qiao An had taught him to welcome her: “You’re back.”
The young man’s voice was gentle, the corners of his eyes slightly upturned, carrying a hint of coquettishness.
Qiao An returned a smile and asked as usual: “Mm, I’m back. Did you eat enough at noon?”
Qiao An didn’t want others to know that Gu Ting needed someone to test his food for poison, so she had told Xu Hui that Gu Ting had to watch her cook, only under such circumstances would he be willing to eat. With Qiao An feeding him a couple of times, he no longer resisted eating food prepared by others.
Gu Ting nodded: “I ate enough at noon. Now I’m hungry.”
Qiao An chuckled and led him upstairs, saying, "Tomorrow is Friday. In the evening, come with Uncle Zhang to pick me up, and we'll go to the food stalls to eat some delicious snacks!"
At the mention of delicious food, Gu Ting's eyes lit up.
Since she had informed them in advance, after school on Friday afternoon, Qiao An spotted Gu Ting in the car. The young man was beaming with excitement and anticipation, his eyes sparkling brightly.
Even before school ended, she had heard the system's notification: Gu Ting's favorability had increased by 2 points, clearly showing how thrilled he was to have this chance to go out.
As soon as she got into the car, the young man, who had been leaning against the door, immediately relaxed, shifted his position, and moved closer to Qiao An, about to say something.
Suddenly, his smile froze, his expression turned serious, and he warily eyed the girl who had just entered the car behind them. His brows furrowed, and an aura of irritation radiated from him.
Qiao An quickly patted his head, soothing him, "This is my classmate, not a bad person!"
She turned to Lei Xiao, pulling her to sit beside her, and said softly, "This is Gu Ting."
Lei Xiao leaned over Qiao An's shoulder, curiously looking at the young man on the other side. Her eyes then lit up, and she nearly screamed but held back, quickly covering her mouth, her cheeks flushing pink.
Sure enough, those who hang out with beautiful people are also beautiful!
By extension, did that mean she was pretty too?!
Qiao An didn't understand why Lei Xiao was suddenly so excited and was about to ask when she heard the system's voice in her mind: [Mission 21: Due to encountering a stranger, antagonist Gu Ting's favorability has decreased by 2 points. Double points deducted. Current Gu Ting's emotion, disappointment. Please comfort the host as soon as possible. Reward: 1,500 points.]
Qiao An stared blankly at the young man who had retreated: ???
What was the big deal? Did his favorability really just drop?