Chapter 071: I Want to Hold You

If she got caught and fined or detained because of this, she’d be the laughingstock of the entire school.

The police came to the door, and it was only thanks to Bai Guofu’s earnest persuasion that they settled for a fine instead of detainment. Only then was the matter finally resolved.

Looking at his granddaughter, whose face was still pale, Bai Guofu spoke with heartfelt concern, “Yinyin, don’t always quarrel with the Ancestor. Try to get along with her; in the future, she’ll protect you.”

The moment Bai Yinyin heard the words “Ancestor,” she shivered involuntarily, a strange, deep-rooted fear welling up inside her. She shook her head repeatedly. “No—I’m going back to my room.”

Seeing his granddaughter like this, Bai Guofu softened his tone. “Don’t study today, nor practice calligraphy or piano. Just take a good rest.”

Bai Yinyin had grown up pampered in the Bai family, cultivated from a young age in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Though her calligraphy wasn’t masterful and her piano skills weren’t enough for a solo concert, they were certainly respectable talents.

Bai Guofu watched as Bai Yinyin rushed upstairs to her room as if fleeing for her life. He clasped his hands behind his back and glanced toward the attic on the third floor, his heart filled with joy.

Now that the Ancestor lived at home, no matter what calamity befell the Bai family, she would help them shoulder it.

The only pity was that his descendants were all so foolish, mistaking precious jade for mere stone.

*

As the three little paper figures finished their task of copying homework, night fell and Bai Chuwei’s elixir was still not ready.

A faint, bitter scent of herbal medicine wafted down from the attic. Aunt Chen, under the pretense of helping Miss Chuwei tidy up, went upstairs to peek, only to find Bai Chuwei on the vast platform outside the attic… concocting pills?

The firewood burned one stick after another. Aunt Chen, choked by the smoke, hurried out, muttering to herself, “What is she up to? There’s gas in the kitchen—does she think she’s in some impoverished mountain village, making her own fire? Such a weirdo.”

Seeing her shabby manner, Aunt Chen couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of superiority.

She really was a poor girl from the countryside.

After four or five hours, Bai Chuwei finally produced a small bottle of pills. She popped one into her mouth, and the intense bitterness exploded between her lips and teeth, making her face scrunch up like a steamed bun.

“If I ever meet Duan Xiuqi again, I swear I’ll strangle him.” Bai Chuwei crushed the pill in her mouth, shuddering from the bitterness.

Snowball looked at Bai Chuwei with concern: ‘Ancestor, do you want some candy?’

Sitting at her desk, Bai Chuwei stared out into the night, her eyes shining. “Candy? Right now, I’d rather have Monk Tang’s flesh!”

She drank sweet honey water and picked up her phone to send Duan Feihan a message.

[Your Ancestor: [Picture]]

At that moment, Duan Feihan was working from home and saw the message right away.

Bai Chuwei had sent him an image: more precisely, a meme. It showed a chubby hamster, cheeks adorned with cute blushes, stretching out its tiny paws as if begging for a hug.

Duan Feihan’s brows furrowed slightly. What did this mean?

[Duan Feihan: ?]

[Duan Feihan: …Are you cold? Or feeling unwell?]

As soon as he asked, Duan Feihan realized something was off—Bai Chuwei was a doctor herself.

[Your Ancestor: I’m quenching thirst in hopes of plums.]

Duan Feihan gripped his phone, his frown deepening. He was only six years older than Bai Chuwei; logically, there shouldn’t be such a generational gap, yet at this moment he simply couldn’t understand what she meant.

[Your Ancestor: I want to hug you.]