Lin Mingyu, a cigarette dangling from his lips, felt that for once, he finally had one up on that guy.

He swaggered over and looked down at Mu Ziquan. "Need me to carry you up?"

The next second, Mu Ziquan’s gaze nearly made him wet his pants.

Hearing the voice, Mu Ziquan snapped his head up, his eyes filled with an indescribable intensity.

The aura he’d honed on the battlefield was like a blade drawn from its sheath, radiating an intimidating pressure.

Fortunately, he quickly realized the other man meant well and had come over to help.

’Even if his eyes hold contempt and pity, a gentleman is judged by his actions, not his intentions. The man’s actions are good.’

So Mu Ziquan reined in his imposing presence and offered a gentle smile. "That won’t be necessary. I can walk up on my own."

"Uh... okay." Lin Mingyu fiddled awkwardly with his cigarette butt and shuffled to the side.

He found a secluded spot to finish his smoke, but he couldn’t help but glance over from time to time at Mu Ziquan, who sat placidly in his wheelchair.

’As much as he hated to admit it,’ Lin Mingyu thought, ’the man is charismatic, even in a wheelchair.’

The next moment, however, something even harder for him to swallow happened: he actually saw the corners of Mu Ziquan’s mouth lift into a confident smile.

He blinked, trying to get a clearer look. ’Am I seeing things? Where would a cripple get that kind of confidence?’

To his utter disbelief, the "cripple" miraculously stood up, lifted a long leg, and easily mounted the steps...

The woman, a radiant smile on her face, pushed the empty wheelchair effortlessly over the steps. Then, the man sat back down, and she continued to push him away.

Just like that, they were gone.

Lin Mingyu threw his half-smoked cigarette onto the ground, stomped on it viciously a few times, then turned and left as well.

Gu Jiao, watching the scene from her car, let out a soft laugh. ’Mu Ziquan can finally walk normally.’

She pressed the accelerator and continued on her way to the Mu Family estate.

"Jiaojiao, what brings you here?" Mr. Mu called out warmly. He hadn’t seen Gu Jiao in a while.

"Professor Frank left today, so I had some time to come see you and Ziquan. Are you two doing well?"

"I’m doing great, and so is Ziquan. His leg has healed, and he’s even willing to spend time with that young lady, Ji Yan. It’s all thanks to you."

"It was nothing, Mu. Don’t mention it. I’m just happy you’re both doing well."

"Jiaojiao, come and sit. Why don’t you stay for dinner tonight?" Mr. Mu said, gesturing for Gu Jiao to take a seat.

He had always felt that the debt he owed Gu Jiao for curing his grandson was immense, and he had no way to possibly repay her.

"Please, Mu, don’t worry about it. I have to go home tonight and wait for a call from Shuo Ci, so I’ll be making dinner there."

"Shuo Ci has been gone for a few days now?"

"Mhm, life is very hard for the people in his hometown. He wants to help the villagers earn more money."

"It’s a wonderful thing to contribute to your hometown’s development, but it must be hard on you and your husband, living in two different places."

"It’s not so bad. Winter break is starting soon, and I’ll go home then. We were already planning on going back to his hometown for the New Year anyway."

"Oh, that’s right! Winter break is only ten-odd days away. A few of us old-timers were hoping to take a trip somewhere nearby with you once you’re on break."

"We could go this Sunday. No need to wait for the winter break to start."

"That’s true! I’ll call the others in a bit. Oh, by the way, Ziquan took that young lady, Ji Yan, to Yuetai Restaurant for hot pot."

"I just had hot pot yesterday. A friend from Hong Kong City sent me some local specialties, and I brought some over for you to try, Mu."

After saying her goodbyes, Gu Jiao took her leave. Mr. Mu personally saw her to her car at the courtyard gate, then happily went back inside to make his calls.

’I have to tell the other old-timers that Jiaojiao brought me special treats all the way from Hong Kong City.’

’Even though he knew Jiaojiao had probably given some to everyone else, too, he just wanted to brag a little.’

And Mr. Mu was right. Gu Jiao had given each of her "big brothers" a vacuum-sealed package from her dimensional space.

They weren’t actually specialties from Hong Kong City. She just hadn’t had a good excuse to give them out before, and now she was using Zhou Zhenhui as a pretext to distribute them.

When Gu Jiao got home, there was still no call from Su Shuochi, but she wasn’t disappointed. It was a perfect opportunity to make more medicine pills.

「Three days later」

They met at Yuetai Restaurant as planned, and Gu Jiao gave Zhou Zhenhui the special medicine she had made to treat stomach cancer.

"Thank you." Zhou Zhenhui accepted it, carefully reading the instructions and precautions.

He looked at her and added, "Jiaojiao, after the New Year, the Zhou family will definitely go into business with you. Take good care of yourself."

’Whether these medicine pills work or not,’ he thought, ’I appreciate the gesture from Gu Jiao.’

"Of course. I look forward to Boss Zhou investing in the Imperial City again." Gu Jiao naturally wouldn’t refuse.

’Whatever the Zhou family wants to invest in, it’s a good thing. I have no reason to refuse.’

Zhou Zhenhui was thrilled to get the medicine pills, so much so that he ate two extra bowls of rice during their meal.

But he was eager to return home, so he didn’t say much else and quickly bid Gu Jiao farewell.

Gu Jiao continued her daily routine, attending her classes and occasionally assisting Xia Qiuming with a particularly difficult surgery.

Time flowed by in an orderly fashion. Life was peaceful and fulfilling, and Gu Jiao enjoyed it immensely.

She was quite content, but Su Shuochi was not nearly as composed. The husband and wife were in completely different states of mind.

Su Shuochi missed his wife terribly every day. But he and Han Jingshen still hadn’t caught the criminals, so he never had a chance to call home.

He was cut off in this mountain village, busy all day with rural development projects while also coordinating with Han Jingshen.

He was dog-tired during the day, but in the dead of night, he missed his wife more than ever.

He had no appetite during the day and couldn’t sleep well at night. Su Shuochi lost a lot of weight; it was inevitable. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

After all, when he was with Gu Jiao, he had her love to nourish his soul and the Spiritual Spring to nourish his body.

Now that he was away from her, if they could at least talk on the phone, he could find some comfort. He wouldn’t be suffering so much.

Already in a foul mood, he was also being repeatedly harassed by Hu Meili. In a fit of rage, he had her husband fired.

Hu Meili’s husband never dreamed he would one day be dismissed from his post. After making some inquiries, he learned it was because his young wife had offended someone important.

This was the last straw. Hu Meili was already more than he could handle, and now she had become a complete liability.

He divorced her without a second thought. "Hu Meili, I’m not man enough to handle a woman like you. Get lost."

"You’re all for show and good for nothing. You think I actually give a damn about you?" Hu Meili wasn’t the least bit upset about the divorce.

All her thoughts were now consumed by Su Shuochi. She actually believed that after her divorce, she would have a chance to marry him.

"You... Forget it. I don’t want to argue with you anymore. It’s my own damn fault for being blinded by lust. That’s why I’ve ended up in this mess."

He could go back to the county seat after leaving this jinx. He might not have any real power, but at least the job was still an iron rice bowl.

’But that jinx will have to go back to the countryside and feed pigs. Does she really think that man will marry her? She can dream on.’