By all rights, the Li family should be quite dilapidated. Yet, to their surprise, the Li family seemed to have been quite wealthy once. Though the clothes Li Cuiya wore now indicated the family's decline, the estate itself served as proof that, at least in the past, the Li family must have been affluent.
Qin Jiujiu and Bai Qianluo shared a room, while Xie Jing and Xie Yun took another. After the room assignments, they each retreated to their quarters to clean up, as their clothes were already soiled and dishevelled from the day's events.
Qin Jiujiu caught sight of herself in the mirror and finally understood her current state. Her hair had come undone, her pink dress was splattered with blood, making her look quite dreadful. Her face was no exception; besides the bloodstains, there were several dark smudges, likely from crawling through the dog hole.
After they had all washed up, Xie Yun also stirred. Although his vital signs had strengthened considerably after taking medicine, he had not yet woken. He had been carried back by Xie Jing and was now laid on the bed. Xie Jing had changed his clothes and bandaged him simply. By the time Qin Jiujiu and Bai Qianluo arrived, he had already woken.
Qin Jiujiu had intended to go out with Xie Jing, believing she should leave them sufficient time together, but she failed. Xie Jing treated her as if she were contagious; before her hand could even touch his sleeve, he had already dodged away. His movements were so abrupt that Qin Jiujiu felt he was deliberately trying to humiliate her.
Xie Jing wasn't intentionally trying to humiliate Qin Jiujiu; rather, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable at that moment. The first instinct upon seeing Qin Jiujiu reach for his hand was to pull away. He too felt that something was off with him lately, but he couldn't pinpoint the reason, attributing it all to the intensified demonic energy within him as he approached adulthood.
Xie Jing watched the smile on Qin Jiujiu's face, and the image of her smiling at Xie Yun in the underwater palace resurfaced in his mind.
Despite being a man of limited emotions, he could clearly sense that her smile then was genuinely from the heart, so radiant and beautiful.
Qin Jiujiu's appearance was of the bright and lovely type. When she smiled, two dimples appeared on her cheeks, and her eyes were round. On her small, palm-sized face, these eyes took up most of the space, curving into crescent moons when she smiled.
Xie Jing disliked seeing others smile. He had seen too many people smile insincerely in the past, and Qin Jiujiu's current smile seemed just as forced. Compared to her smile that day, this one was clearly more superficial. Yet, she was attractive, and even with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, she still looked lovely.
Xie Jing became even more agitated.
"Don't smile at me. It's ugly."
This simple remark drew the attention of both Xie Yun and Bai Qianluo. Amidst the awkwardness, Xie Yun felt his brother truly needed some guidance.
"Yan Xing, how can you say such a thing to a young lady! Jiujiu, don't mind him; he always speaks this way."
Xie Yun's words only deepened the silence in the room.
Qin Jiujiu and Xie Yun were focused on the immediate events, while Xie Jing and Bai Qianluo keenly caught the subtle shift in Xie Yun's address towards Qin Jiujiu.
From "Miss Qin" to "Jiujiu."
Qin Jiujiu and Xie Yun were oblivious to any impropriety. Qin Jiujiu, being from modern times, found such familiar address among friends perfectly natural. Thus, when Xie Yun called her that in the underwater palace, she readily accepted.
The male protagonist considered her a friend, and why wouldn't she accept that?
However, to Bai Qianluo, it sounded as if they had publicly declared their relationship. Bai Qianluo had been uncertain before, but now she felt that these two might have confessed their feelings in the dungeon. Her usual polite responses to Xie Yun's inquiries turned into suspicion that Xie Yun might be a scoundrel, and she even felt a flicker of anger.
Xie Yun was unaware of Bai Qianluo's elaborate imaginings and hadn't even noticed her peculiar behaviour. Qin Jiujiu, however, had sensed Bai Qianluo's noticeably low mood since the previous day.
"System, what's wrong with the female lead?"
"You only just noticed the female lead's odd behaviour? The system detects significant emotional fluctuations in the female lead towards the male lead, which have now plummeted to their lowest point, even lower than before the host transmigrated. The host must identify the cause as soon as possible, or the mission will also be deemed a failure."
Qin Jiujiu thought carefully. The female lead seemed to have become peculiar starting from the underwater palace, around the time she and Xie Jing found her and Xie Yun in the dungeon. She should have noticed Bai Qianluo's unusual attitude towards Xie Yun then.
Could it be a misunderstanding?
She recalled that in the original novel, misunderstandings between the male and female leads were often caused by supporting female characters, which delayed their eventual union.
And she, Qin Jiujiu, though a cannon fodder, was part of the supporting female character collective.
Qin Jiujiu soon confirmed that Bai Qianluo's state was due to a misunderstanding of her relationship with Xie Yun. Yet, Bai Qianluo showed no hostility towards her, opting instead to avoid the male lead.
Truly a hallmark of a female lead. She had to give her a thumbs-up, even though it would mean more trouble for herself.
She felt that for Bai Qianluo's sake, she must also stay far away from the male lead.
Otherwise, she would not only court death but also have to work tirelessly to mend the relationship between the male and female leads.
"Sister Bai, you have no idea. Yesterday, when I met Brother Xie in the dungeon, he had a high fever, but..."
Qin Jiujiu intended to recount how Xie Yun had been muttering about the female lead despite his fever, but before she could finish, the female lead couldn't contain herself.
Bai Qianluo didn't know what was happening to her; she suddenly felt suffocated. She couldn't hold back her impulse, and by the time she realized, she was already standing up.
"I'll go get the medicine!"
She could only use fetching medicine as an excuse to leave the room. This series of reactions made even the oblivious male lead realize something was amiss with Bai Qianluo.
Qin Jiujiu decided to follow her; she needed to explain things clearly to the female lead alone. The longer this dragged on, the more troublesome it would become.
Shortly after Qin Jiujiu went out, Xie Jing followed. Xie Yun, left bewildered and about to ask questions, remained lying on the bed, unable to leave.
"Sister Bai, wait for me!"
Qin Jiujiu managed to catch up. She carefully observed the female lead's expression. Although she didn't look particularly happy, Bai Qianluo still smiled at her, maintaining her persona as the gentle and righteous elder sister.
"Jiujiu, you should be with Young Hero Yun. I'll go fetch the medicine."
Indeed, it was a misunderstanding. She was now certain that Bai Qianluo had misinterpreted her relationship with Xie Yun. But heaven and earth could bear witness, her relationship with Xie Yun was completely innocent, yet these words were difficult to say directly to the female lead.
"Sister Bai, you're the one who should be accompanying Brother Xie. Don't you want to know what I was about to say? It's about you!"
Qin Jiujiu smiled mysteriously, believing Bai Qianluo would surely be curious.
"About me?" Bai Qianluo's face clearly showed disbelief. Back in Shangyang Town, she had thought Qin Jiujiu liked Xie Yun. Later, she felt Qin Jiujiu didn't like Xie Yun, and that Qin Jiujiu had repeatedly tried to set her up with Xie Yun, which made her believe Qin Jiujiu wasn't interested in Xie Yun. Then, yesterday, she felt that Qin Jiujiu's previous claims of not liking Xie Yun were for her own benefit.
Considering their interactions over the past few days, Bai Qianluo surmised that Qin Jiujiu had deliberately distanced herself because she liked Xie Yun but feared hurting her. Therefore, she felt extremely sorry towards Qin Jiujiu, especially yesterday, seeing that scene had made her heart ache.
So, how much pain must Jiujiu have endured all this way?
Qin Jiujiu was unaware of Bai Qianluo's extensive capacity for imagination. She saw Bai Qianluo's eyes, filled with guilt, fall upon her. Then she heard the female lead say to her: "I'm sorry, Jiujiu. You must have been very upset during this time! I plan to leave you all after I resolve this matter."
Hearing her words, Qin Jiujiu felt the situation was becoming increasingly complicated. Just as her mind was in chaos, unsure how to resolve it, she saw a figure flash by. Bai Qianluo could not see it because she was standing directly opposite Qin Jiujiu, and the figure was behind Bai Qianluo, so only Qin Jiujiu saw him.
And that person was Xie Jing.