The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat-Chapter 37: Insomnia

After returning to her room, Hua Qingqing shut the door and refused to come out.

When it was time for lunch, the Old Madam sent someone to invite her to eat, but she declined, using the excuse that she was feeling unwell.

At the dining table, Hua Dingzong was beaming, constantly toasting Prince Zhao with a broad, happy smile on his face.

Li Ji was in a foul mood and his responses were tepid.

Hua Manman, feeling guilty herself, barely spoke throughout the meal. Even when Hua Dingzong repeatedly gave her meaningful looks, hinting for her to say something to liven up the atmosphere, she pretended not to see and just kept her head down, focusing on her food.

And so, the lunch ended on an awkward note.

Hua Manman and Li Ji returned to the Prince Mansion by carriage. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The two of them didn’t exchange a single word the entire way.

Upon returning to the Prince Mansion, Li Ji immediately went to his own residence, the Mountain and Sea Residence.

He didn’t show his face for the rest of the day, not even by nightfall.

So tonight, Hua Manman was sleeping alone.

She was, of course, overjoyed that she no longer had to sleep on the bamboo couch and could finally sleep in the large, comfortable bed.

But the maids attending to her were worried sick.

Si Yun asked cautiously.

"Why didn’t the Prince come to spend the night here? Could it be that something is keeping him? Should you send someone to inquire?"

Hua Manman said it was completely unnecessary.

’This is great!’

’We each live our own lives, without interfering with the other.’

’Perfect!’

She reassured Si Yun with a few words and then sent everyone out.

Once Hua Manman was alone in the room, she took out the lucky bag the system had rewarded her with.

Opening it, she found a small, white porcelain jar inside.

Hua Manman asked the system.

"What is this?"

System: "This is Broken Jade Ointment. Apply it to the affected area, and after one course of treatment, it can regenerate sinews and bones."

Hua Manman was pleasantly surprised. "This is great stuff!"

’Something this good can’t be bought, even with money.’

’I could divide it into a dozen or so portions and sell them. I’d definitely make a fortune.’

The system reminded her, "One jar of Broken Jade Ointment is exactly one course of treatment."

Hua Manman immediately understood.

’In other words, this jar of Broken Jade Ointment is a one-time use item. It can only heal one person, and then it’s gone.’

Her pleasant surprise immediately faded.

’As expected, the system wouldn’t leave her any loopholes to exploit.’

’Trying to take advantage of the system was just wishful thinking.’

Hua Manman thought of the Snow Jade Ointment the system had rewarded her with before.

There had been very little of that ointment. By the time the marks on her face had completely disappeared, the Snow Jade Ointment was all used up.

The amount had been just enough for her alone.

’It seems like getting rich off of system rewards is impossible.’

Hua Manman locked the Broken Jade Ointment in a drawer, then climbed into bed, wrapped herself in the soft quilt, and drifted comfortably off to sleep.

She was asleep, but Li Ji, over in the Mountain and Sea Residence, was still awake.

As usual, he was suffering from insomnia tonight.

Logically, he should have been used to this state of sleeplessness by now.

But for some reason, he felt particularly restless tonight.

’It felt as if something was missing. But what?’

Li Ji thought for a long time before he finally realized: it was the sound of Hua Manman’s steady breathing as she slept.

That woman had always been a good sleeper. For the three nights they had lived together, she had fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow every single night.

After falling asleep, she would make an extremely faint breathing sound.

The sound was gentle and steady, and it would make Li Ji unconsciously relax.

But now, that sound was gone.

At this moment, Li Ji felt that this familiar room was far too quiet.

This silence couldn’t help but remind him of the bloody battle from five years ago.

Back then, he had been pinned beneath countless corpses, his nose and mouth filled with the thick stench of blood.

All around him was a dead, deathly silence.