Picking People Up, One at a Time

After hearing what Guagua said, Jiang Nuan scrambled out of bed.

Then she immediately ran to the Eastern Palace and told Jiang Chengze she wanted to leave the palace.

Jiang Chengze had long known his little sister was no ordinary person. Since she was in such a hurry to leave, she must have something important to do. Without asking further, he handed her a palace exit token.

In fact, if he had not been tied up with something, he would have wanted to go with Jiang Nuan himself. Though he could not accompany her, he still assigned a squad of guards to follow her.

With Guagua guiding her, Jiang Nuan arrived at a very remote spot.

By then, the sky had already darkened.

Faint wolf howls drifted out of the woods, frightening Jiang Nuan until her little face turned pale.

Even Guagua began to lose confidence.

[Host, how about we forget it? We can come back tomorrow during the day. This place looks so dangerous!]

Although Jiang Nuan was also starting to beat a retreat, she thought of An Yan, who was all alone here right now, and still wanted to find her.

Besides, she was not alone. She had the guards with her.

Seeing that Jiang Nuan had made up her mind, Guagua stopped trying to persuade her and quietly continued giving her directions.

[Host, host, we're only a thousand meters from where An Yan is now, but there's a big pit up ahead. Be careful not to fall in!]

Following Guagua's directions, Jiang Nuan finally spotted a concealed cave another quarter of an hour later.

Carefully parting the weeds at the entrance, Jiang Nuan immediately saw An Yan lying beside a fire that had almost burned out.

When she and the guards entered, An Yan struggled to lift her eyelids and glanced at her, mumbling, "Are you an immortal child who serves the Bodhisattva?"

Then she passed out.

Jiang Nuan jumped in fright and hurried over, only to panic when she felt An Yan's burning-hot body.

No way! Please don't let my butterfly effect kill Great Xia's foremost female merchant in a cave!

Jiang Nuan was immensely grateful that she had tossed some medicine into her system storage for emergencies once she had gained access to it. After feeding An Yan a fever-reducing pill, she ordered the guards to carry her down the mountain.

Luckily, Jiang Nuan had an estate nearby, so they went straight there.

By then, An Yan's fever had gone down considerably, but Jiang Nuan was still worried and summoned a physician.

Only after the physician assured her it was nothing serious did Jiang Nuan breathe a sigh of relief.

The physician left after prescribing a few doses of medicine, and An Yan slowly regained consciousness.

"Did... did you save me?"

An Yan looked at Jiang Nuan as she asked.

Jiang Nuan nodded. "There's nobody else here besides me."

"Thank you for saving me, little sister. Is there anything I can help you with?"

An Yan disliked owing people favors. To her, a debt of kindness was the hardest thing in the world to repay. Yet a moment later, she heard Jiang Nuan's thoughts.

[Aaaah, what do I do? She's Great Xia's future foremost female merchant! She's my idol! How am I supposed to strike up a conversation with my idol? Urgent help needed!]

She pressed a hand to her forehead, certain the fever had muddled her brain. Otherwise, how could something as absurd as hearing another person's thoughts happen?

[Ah, what a shame. An Yan isn't the powerhouse who commands the business world yet. Right now, she's just a poor little thing who's run away from home. It feels like she left far too rashly! If we hadn't shown up, being alone in a cave with such a high fever would've been so dangerous.]

*[Host, An Yan left because her father suddenly changed his attitude, and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to steel herself to leave. Still, it's good that she left. If she hadn't, An Yuxue would have framed her, and she would have been punished by being made to kneel in the ancestral hall, exposed to the wind all night!

She would've fallen even more seriously ill than she is now. All things considered, she's better off this way!]*

That bastard An Laiyun actually treated my idol like that. He's gone too far!

Jiang Nuan was furious, especially since her idol had been away from home for so long, yet An Laiyun had not even sent anyone to look for her. It showed how little he cared.

The more Jiang Nuan thought about it, the angrier she became. In the heat of the moment, she blurted out, "I don't think anyone in the An family is any good. How about you stay here with me?"

After saying that, she smacked her forehead, feeling she had been far too forward.

But An Laiyun had infuriated her so much that the words had slipped out before she could think them through.

[Boohoo, my poor idol. All she wants is a home, but she ended up with a family like that. Why don't I just make her my older sister?]

"I felt a connection with you the moment I saw you, big sister. Would you be interested in having another little sister?"

She had already outright asked her idol to stay, so asking her to accept a little sister should be a minor matter, right?

"Pfft!" Watching Jiang Nuan's animated expressions and listening to her rich inner monologue, An Yan could not help laughing.

Jiang Nuan laughed along with her.

"Since you laughed, big sister, I'll take that as a yes. You're my older sister from now on."

Jiang Nuan stuck out her pinky and insisted on hooking it with An Yan's.

An Yan had no intention of resisting. This was the first time anyone had felt positively toward her.

In the past, the feelings she had sensed were almost always loathing and disdain, or pity at best.

Although she did not know what Jiang Nuan's thoughts about Great Xia's foremost female merchant meant, seeing Jiang Nuan's admiring expression made her willing to strive for it.

"All right, little sister."

After saying that, An Yan stroked Jiang Nuan's head, then narrowed her eyes slightly. This felt surprisingly nice.

Just then, the porridge Jiang Nuan had ordered was ready and brought in.

An Yan wanted to take it and eat by herself, but Jiang Nuan stopped her.

"You're a patient right now. Let me feed you."

Jiang Nuan scooped up a spoonful of porridge and held it near her lips to blow it cool before bringing it to An Yan's mouth.

As An Yan ate, tears began to roll down her cheeks.

[Wait, why is big sister suddenly crying? This is just an ordinary bowl of plain rice porridge with a tiny bit of sugar. Surely it doesn't taste so bad that it made her cry!]

Seeing her host's thoughts veer off course, Guagua said exasperatedly, *[Host, have you considered the possibility that she's crying because she's touched?

I remember that in the original plot, An Yan had an older male cousin. He actually liked An Yuxue, but whenever he encountered An Yan, he would help her out of awkward situations and even cook plain rice porridge for her. Once An Yan fell for him, he belittled her without the slightest hesitation. That was also one of the reasons she ultimately lost the will to live!]*

[Plain rice porridge, plain rice porridge—plain rice porridge again! What's so alluring about it? With me around, I'll make sure my sister drinks plain rice porridge until she's sick of it.]

After finishing her inward grumbling, Jiang Nuan scooped up another spoonful of plain rice porridge, waited for it to cool, and brought it to An Yan's mouth.

An Yan took a mouthful of porridge. Listening to Jiang Nuan's thoughts, she felt as though the person in them was not her at all. The disconnect was jarring.

At first, she had thought Jiang Nuan was joking about making her drink plain rice porridge until she was sick of it. But after having it for three days straight, she felt as though her mouth could no longer taste anything.

Now, the mere sight of plain rice porridge gave her a headache, never mind making her feel touched.