Chapter 33: Skin to Skin

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Skin to Skin

Qiao Suluo was gently helped up by Que Hongjin. She had to lean almost her entire body weight against him just to stand. Being so close, she caught the faint, hidden fragrance of pine on his body—a clean, crisp, and elegantly pleasant scent.

At that moment, Qiao Suluo suddenly realized how strong Que Hongjin actually was. Despite her heavy weight, he effortlessly supported her simply by wrapping an arm around her. However, the moment she steadied her footing, a sharp pain shot through her foot.

"HISS!" She drew in a sharp breath.

Bai Qianluo had also arrived in front of her. "Wife, did you hurt yourself when you fell?" he asked softly.

Que Hongjin carefully held her, letting her lean her weight entirely on him. Making sure not to jostle her, he lowered his head and asked in a low voice, "Does it hurt somewhere?"

Qiao Suluo was now practically half-leaning into Que Hongjin’s embrace. He had a tall, slender figure, standing as elegantly as a jade tree. Given how thin he was, she genuinely feared that her obese frame might accidentally crush him to the ground. Coming back to her senses, she hurriedly pulled away from his embrace, only using one hand to hold onto him like a crutch while gently lifting her injured foot. "I’m fine. I just accidentally sprained my ankle. It’s raining. Why did you two come out? Neither of you is in good health; you should be resting at home," she said in a relaxed tone.

Bai Qianluo had taken off the white cloth over his eyes. He held his umbrella over her head to shield her from the rain, his aloof and beautiful features seeming to reflect the moonlight. "Since our wife hasn’t returned home, it’s only natural that we come out to look for you."

Que Hongjin looked at Qiao Suluo. Deep within his picturesque eyes, a very shallow ripple seemed to spread, like the first melting of spring snow forming a tiny stream—though it vanished in a flash. He took hold of her arm and passed her to Bai Qianluo. "Support our wife for a moment."

Bai Qianluo naturally supported Qiao Suluo’s arm, bearing her body weight, while Que Hongjin crouched down to examine her foot.

Qiao Suluo felt his fingers gently brush against her ankle bone. His jade-like, cool touch seemed to generate an electric current, making her foot feel scorching hot. Her foot trembled slightly as she tried to pull away, but Que Hongjin was in the middle of his examination.

"Don’t move," he said softly. Qiao Suluo didn’t dare move again.

After a brief check, Que Hongjin said, "The ankle is sprained. Let’s wait until we get home to set the bone." In this state, Qiao Suluo obviously couldn’t walk. Que Hongjin turned around and naturally crouched in front of her.

Qiao Suluo realized what he was doing but couldn’t believe it. "What are you doing?"

"Get on, wife," Que Hongjin spoke softly. "I’ll carry you home first."

Qiao Suluo’s pupils trembled. She could hardly believe the scene before her, let alone the words she had just heard. In her mind, they had always loathed her and were entirely unwilling to have any physical contact with her. On the day she first transmigrated here—also a night of stormy rain and lightning—their disgust toward her had been glaringly obvious. They had violently resisted any contact. Even when she had only wanted to help them up out of good intentions, they had avoided her like a Fierce Beast.

Although they seemed to get along well lately, Qiao Suluo felt it was just a superficial facade of harmony. Deep down in their bones, they still despised her; it was only their good upbringing that kept them from verbally abusing her. Furthermore, thinking about what the original owner of this body had done to them, even she despised herself, let alone them. Therefore, she believed she completely understood their feelings.

But right now, it would be a lie to say her heart wasn’t touched. It was as if a door to her hardened heart had been knocked open, making her soften from within.

"N-No... there’s no need. I can walk by myself." They were genuinely good people; how could she take their kindness for granted?

"It’s going to rain heavily soon. Get on, let’s head home first." Que Hongjin remained crouched, waiting for her to lean onto his back.

Qiao Suluo looked down at her figure and said, "I’m too fat and very heavy. It won’t be easy to carry me."

"You’re not heavy. I can carry you."

Bai Qianluo also spoke up. "How about I carry our wife?"

Right at that moment, a clap of thunder echoed through the sky. RUMBLE...

The thunder was deafening, and lightning tore directly through the sky, illuminating the dark night. Qiao Suluo knew that if they delayed any further, they would truly be caught in a downpour. Furthermore, staying in the mountain forest for too long would be dangerous. So, without hesitating any longer, she stepped forward and leaned onto Que Hongjin’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

She worried her weight might prevent Que Hongjin from even standing up. To her surprise, he grabbed her legs and effortlessly hoisted her up, rising steadily. His steps were firm, and he made it look completely effortless. Bai Qianluo held the umbrella for them as they walked step by step through the curtain of rain.

Leaning against Que Hongjin’s back, Qiao Suluo could feel the heat radiating from his skin. Their clothes were somewhat thin and soaked by the rain, so leaning against each other like this was almost akin to skin pressing against skin. It made her feel quite unnatural and a bit embarrassed. For some reason, though, being carried like this gave her a deep sense of security. It was as if no matter what kind of storm raged outside, he would shield her from it all.

Qiao Suluo communicated with the system in her mind: "I’ll use those one thousand two hundred points to exchange for weight loss medicine to drop twelve catties."

"Host, are you sure?" the system asked. "Didn’t you say you’d wait a while before using these points to lose weight? You have already lost ten catties today."

"I’m sure," Qiao Suluo replied. "I’m too heavy, and Que Hongjin has injuries on his back. It must hurt him to carry me like this. It’s better if I lighten the load a bit so it’ll be easier on him."

"You really are a wonderful host," the system sighed in admiration. "It’s a pity they don’t know it." Despite its sighing, the system followed Qiao Suluo’s instructions and exchanged for the weight loss pill.

The points vanished, and the weight loss pill materialized directly in Qiao Suluo’s mouth. She swallowed it immediately, instantly shedding over ten catties. With that, Qiao Suluo’s weight dropped to one hundred and eighty catties.

Carrying her forward, Que Hongjin seemed to sense something, and his footsteps paused slightly. But it was only for a split second before he continued walking. Naturally, Qiao Suluo was completely oblivious to this.

The system spoke up again, "By the way, Host, since you saved that man in red, the Detoxification Pill has been issued to the store’s inventory space. Do you want to use it now?"

"Not right now. It would be too obvious," Qiao Suluo replied. "I’ll wait until tonight." In truth, she was greatly looking forward to seeing what she would look like after flushing out a third of the toxins in her body. She imagined she would feel much lighter and more refreshed.

Before long, they arrived home.

Shortly after they returned, a torrential downpour began outside. The rain hammered against the eaves, making a loud PITTER-PATTER sound.

Qiao Suluo slowly breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you both for today." She was grateful that they had been willing to brave the rain to find her. Given the severe storm, if she had been forced to hobble back on her own, she probably would still be stuck on the mountain. She even feared she might have been struck dead by lightning.

After entering the house, Bai Qianluo headed straight to the kitchen to boil hot water so Qiao Suluo could bathe and freshen up. Que Hongjin, meanwhile, set her down on the edge of the bed and prepared to set her bone.

However, as he looked at Qiao Suluo under the candlelight, he realized that what he thought was an illusion on the mountain wasn’t wrong at all. She really did look noticeably thinner.

Qiao Suluo looked up and met Que Hongjin’s picturesque eyes. They flickered with a deep, dark luster, resembling a vortex threatening to swallow her whole. Feeling a bit self-conscious under his intense gaze, she reached up to touch her face. "Is... is there something on my face?"