Chapter 619 - 615: Old Nine’s Change
Hearing Leng Yuan’s words, Gu Jiaojiao finally relaxed.
Of course, she wasn’t going to believe an outsider over her own man.
’That means Hu Xiuqiao was lying. But why would she lie?’
Gu Jiaojiao had a vague suspicion.
Seeing his wife’s pale face, Leng Yuan handed her the brown sugar water he was holding.
It was only this morning that Gu Jiaojiao had realized she’d gotten her period. That, combined with the long walk on the mountain road, had left her face terribly pale.
In truth, Leng Yuan had carried her on his back most of the way, only putting her down when they reached the commune grounds. Even so, Gu Jiaojiao still felt incredibly weak.
Leng Yuan’s heart ached for her. As soon as they arrived at the school, he had slipped out. When he returned, he was holding a thermos filled with brown sugar water.
She was a little surprised. Back then, a thermos wasn’t something just anyone could afford. You needed an industrial ticket for it, and those were extremely hard to come by.
Leng Yuan offered no explanation. He watched Gu Jiaojiao take a couple of sips of the brown sugar water, then took out a soft cushion and placed it on her stool before returning to his own seat.
After drinking the brown sugar water and settling onto the soft cushion, Gu Jiaojiao felt much more comfortable.
Not far off, An Dongyang watched their interaction. It was clear that no outsider could get between them. He glared at Leng Yuan, and as he recalled their collision earlier, a vicious glint flashed in his eyes.
Throughout the day, Leng Yuan was always by Gu Jiaojiao’s side. On top of that, with the shortage of teachers, An Dongyang was also quite busy. He never found a chance to speak with Gu Jiaojiao.
By the time school let out, An Dongyang could only watch helplessly as the two of them left, not having exchanged a single word with Gu Jiaojiao.
He wasn’t in a hurry, though. After watching them leave, he rode his bicycle back to the County Town.
However, he didn’t go home. Instead, he navigated with practiced ease to a residential area and turned into an alley.
If Xu Wenwan were to see this place, she would surely recognize it. This was Old Nine’s home.
An Dongyang knocked on the door, and Old Nine answered.
An Dongyang was startled the moment he saw Old Nine.
"Old Nine, what happened to you?"
Old Nine’s eyes were sunken, his face was just skin and bones, and his expression was completely lifeless, as if he were terminally ill.
If this hadn’t been Old Nine’s home, An Dongyang wouldn’t have even recognized him on the street.
Old Nine’s suffering was hard to put into words. The authorities were cracking down on superstition these days, but what had happened to him was just too bizarre. He had merely touched Xu Wenwan, and all the strength had drained from his body. His men took him to the hospital, but the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong. After a few days of rest, he felt a bit better and was told to go home.
After returning home, his bad luck began. He would choke on water, gag on his food, and trip while walking. One night, while using the toilet, he nearly fell into the latrine pit and drowned.
Eventually, Old Nine grew genuinely scared and just stopped leaving the house. Even so, his luck didn’t improve. One night, the roof caved in on him as he slept; thankfully, the old wood was light. During the day, a chair leg would snap under him. Incidents like these made him believe he was cursed.
He later spent a fortune on some talismanic water from a so-called Demi Immortal, but drinking it gave him a terrible case of diarrhea that nearly killed him.
He had only just started to recover for two days when An Dongyang showed up. After being tormented for so long, Old Nine felt like he’d lost half his life and was in no mood to be pleasant.
He looked at An Dongyang, his lips barely moving. "Ah, Young Master An. Come in, quick."
An Dongyang stepped inside, and seeing Old Nine’s condition, he felt that his plan was likely a lost cause.