Chapter 27: Friend

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Xiao Yun’s house wasn’t far away, and she arrived quite quickly by taxi. Xiao Yun had already been waiting outside the mansion, and upon seeing Gu Xiqiao she came over to her. Grandfather Xiao was sitting outside in the courtyard leisurely, and it seemed like he was in perfectly good health.

“What’s that you’re holding in your hand?” The two girls entered the mansion, and Xiao Yun looked at the white plastic bag Gu Xiqiao was carrying in her hand.

Gu Xiqiao followed her gaze to the plastic bag, and her lips visibly twitched.

She only traded a ginseng root from the system, and the system didn’t give her a decent looking container and asked her to carry it with a plastic bag. Would anyone believe that it was a real ginseng root if it were carried by a plastic bag?

“Oh, this? This is a gift for Grandpa Xiao, it’s a hundred-year-old ginseng root.” Gu Xiqiao stuffed the plastic bag into Xiao Yun’s hands and started making things up. She knew that it was just a ginseng root that the system created from thin air, but it was quite good looking so she guessed that this was a good reason. “System, can you recycle things that I traded points with you for?”

If Xiao Yun didn’t want it, she would make the system recycle it on the spot and get her three points back.

[Of course not.] The system spirit rolled its eyes.

Xiao Yun accepted the plastic bag and handed it over to her butler. “Didn’t someone give us a bottle of hundred-year-old wine? Use that to soak this ginseng root, Grandfather should be able to drink medicinal wine.”

“You believe me?” Gu Xiqiao was taken aback by how readily Xiao Yun accepted the gift. If someone had handed a plastic bag to her and said that the ginseng root inside was a hundred years old, she would probably slap them in retaliation. What kind of person uses a plastic bag to carry such a precious ginseng root?

That butler took out the ginseng root and examined it for a while, and smiled. “This ginseng that Miss. Gu gave looks quite extraordinary if I must say so myself.”

Was he knowledgeable about it? Gu Xiqiao walked over to him. “You can tell?”

“Grandpa Butler has learned medicine before, and this ginseng root doesn’t look fake at all.” Xiao Yun glanced at Gu Xiqiao in disdain, as if questioning why she was asking such a stupid question.

“What do you know?” Gu Xiqiao followed behind Xiao Yun to the courtyard to meet her grandfather. “If you’re so smart, why don’t you recite Shu Dao Nan by Li Bai for me?”

Xiao Yun was stunned by the sudden question. What was the first sentence of that poem again? “I’m home now though?”

Gu Xiqiao glanced at her in similar disdain. “That’s not an excuse for you to not memorize, chop-chop!”

“The difficulty of the Shu Road…”

Gu Xiqiao listened to her recite and corrected her errors accordingly, and even asked her how to write a few specific words as she did, and this continued until they came to the courtyard.

“Grandpa Xiao, good morning.” Gu Xiqiao bowed politely and smiled sweetly at Xiao Yun’s grandfather.

She was quite pretty, her eyes like clear springs with light dimples, and as she walked she seemed to purify the very air around her like a forest spirit. At a single glance, she was even prettier than the cold beauty Xiao Yun, and Grandpa Xiao had a great first impression of her. As expected, it was quite easy for her to talk with him, and Xiao Yun couldn’t even join the conversation, and finally, she gave up and grumpily took the maths papers that Gu Xiqiao had brought to do maths exercises back in the mansion.

“Qiao Qiao, Yun told me that you’ve been helping her with her homework?” Grandpa Xiao looked up and down at this young girl and was quite satisfied with her. She was so young, and was versed in medicine, and even had good grades too, so he was relieved for Xiao Yun to have such a friend.

Gu Xiqiao started to prepare a cup of tea for Grandpa Xiao. “We’re helping each other out in our studies.”

Her movements were extremely elegant and on point, and it seemed like she had practiced it a lot, unlike the regular person that would just learn for appearances.

It looked easy on the eyes at a single glance, and upon further scrutiny, her motions were quite profound, and even the people that performed tea ceremonies couldn’t even compare to her.

Grandfather Xiao was quite surprised by how versed at the tea ceremony she was. “You looked quite well-practiced!”

“I just learned it out of boredom to show off.” Gu Xiqiao smiled, finally pouring Grandpa Xiao a cup of tea. “It’s nothing much, so please don’t think of it as a big deal compared to you, Grandpa Xiao.”

She had spent an infinite amount of time in the void with no one to talk to, and she had always been by herself. She didn’t even need to rest, or eat, or take care of her other bodily needs. She could create whatever she wanted in the void, but they were all inanimate objects, and it was a necessity for her to find things to do other than reading, or else her psyche would have crumbled long ago.

She used that time to research the 5000 years of Chinese history and had dabbled in many things like chess, tea ceremonies, and even traditional instruments.

The system spirit had told her that it was because she was the only person to not crumble under those circumstances, and even develop stronger mental power that she was chosen to be revived with a system.

“Grandfather, it’s time to take your medicine.” A suited young man walked into the courtyard with a briefcase in hand, evidently having just returned from work. “Grandpa Butler, bring Grandfather upstairs please.”

“This kid has always been like this, even stiffer and more uptight than me in my old age.” Grandpa Xiao whispered to Gu Xiqiao about Xiao Sheng in a gossiping tone and finally went upstairs to eat his medicine under Xiao Sheng’s firm gaze, making funny expressions at her as he did.

Gu Xiqiao laughed at this interesting old man.

“Excuse him, Miss Gu.” Xiao Sheng sat opposite of Gu Xiqiao and drank a cup of tea, giving her a slightly surprised glance when he tasted it. “My grandfather is like this, I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s fine, I like Grandpa Xiao a lot.” Gu Xiqiao leaned back on the chair, looking around to see where Xiao Yun had gone to.

“I was quite surprised that Yun said you were her friend.” Xiao Sheng rubbed the ceramic cup as he pursed his lips slightly. “Our parents passed away in an airplane accident, so she has always been extremely introverted. Grandfather had been sickly so he couldn’t take care of her, and I had been busy with the family business, so we sent her to study abroad.”

Gu Xiqiao looked at him, not sure why he brought this up all of a sudden.

After a short pause, Xiao Sheng took out a bank card and slid it over to her. “The reason why Grandfather invited you wasn’t only because you saved him, but also because you’re her first friend in China. No matter what, as long as I can do anything for you, just tell me! As long as I can do it, I won’t be stingy with you!”

“We are friends, so it’s alright. Xiao Yun’s calling me, so I’m going now okay?” Gu Xiqiao smiled and pushed the card back to him.

As a person with a system, whatever she couldn’t do, he would have a hard time doing so either. As for money, she had a securities account that had multiplied in value in the past few days, so she didn’t lack money.

A person that could control the stocks as if she could see the future, would lack money? April Fools was already over.

Xiao Yun called her from the second-floor window, and when Gu Xiqiao came up to her room, she was still resting on the windowsill, and looking closely her gaze was somewhat burdened.

“Why did you call me?” Gu Xiqiao sat on her bed and laid down tiredly.

“My brother is too stiff and stifling, so I was afraid that you would get bored.” Xiao Yun’s gaze didn’t leave from looking out the window. “I don’t know the last question on the paper, and I originally wanted to ask you to explain it to me.”

“Originally, so you don’t need an explanation anymore?” Gu Xiqiao’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, as she asked with a lazy tone.

“I’m not in the mood for it, the bastard that caused Grandfather to become sick is back!” Xiao Yun’s expression became gloomy as she gripped her hands tightly, her gaze filled with malice as if she wanted to materialize cold knives with her gaze to stab the person that she was looking at.