Chapter 175: No One Can Go Tomorrow

Chapter 175: Chapter 175: No One Can Go Tomorrow

Gu Nuan Nuan spent the next few days in a daze. In front of others, she forced herself to act as if nothing was wrong, but in private, she was completely listless. Not only that, but she also had nightmares several times. Thankfully, she had instructed Cao Cao beforehand, so every time she had a nightmare, it would promptly wake her. This prevented Zhang Minzhen, who shared a room with her, from noticing anything unusual.

Early one morning, while Gu Nuan Nuan was still stuck in a slump, Cao Cao suddenly popped out to remind her, "Master, today is already July ninth." This was the date her master had repeatedly instructed it to remind her of, no matter what.

"What? It’s already July ninth? So soon?" Gu Nuan Nuan shot up with a start and rushed over to look at the palm-sized, tear-off calendar hanging on the wall. There was still a thick stack of pages left, and sure enough, the topmost sheet read July 9th.

"Yes, July ninth. There’s no mistake." Cao Cao nodded its main stem confidently. It knew this was a matter of great importance, so it had kept the date firmly in mind, not daring to forget for a single moment.

"I need to find my uncle." Gu Nuan Nuan saw it was 6:30 in the morning and knew her uncle would be in the main room eating breakfast. She bolted out the door and sprinted toward the main room. At that moment, even the matter of Luo Hongyi’s rebirth was pushed to the back of her mind; she had no time to dwell on it.

’He’s already been reborn. There’s no point in thinking about it anymore...’

In the main room, her grandparents and her uncle’s family were all present. Zhang Minzhen walked in through the door. "I was just about to call you for breakfast. I didn’t expect you to be here first."

Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t pay her mother any mind. Without even stopping to catch her breath, she shouted directly at her uncle, "Uncle, I’ve figured out what I want you to do for me!"

Zhang Wei Qiang couldn’t help but laugh. "Don’t rush, I’m right here. Take your time and tell me."

"I want to go back to Zhang Family Village tomorrow, and I want you to go with me to the mountains. When I went with Grandpa and Mom the other day, I found a little path with a beautiful view, but we couldn’t explore it then." Gu Nuan Nuan blurted out. This was an excuse she had prepared long ago, and it would also be a perfect opportunity to dig up the He Shouwu that Cao Cao had found.

"Tomorrow? I’m afraid tomorrow’s no good. Tomorrow, your aun—" Zhang Wei Qiang paused, taken aback. ’What a coincidence.’

"But you promised me, Uncle!" Gu Nuan Nuan knew what he was about to say and cut him off, looking at him with a deeply wronged expression, as if she would burst into tears if he refused. "I’ve planned it all out. We’ll go back to Zhang Family Village to stay the night, and then we can head into the mountains first thing tomorrow morning."

"Don’t be so anxious. I never said I wouldn’t go. How about we postpone it by one day? Just one day. I really do have something tomorrow. There’s an issue on your aunt’s side of the family, and I’ve already promised them I’d be there, so I can’t back out. Postponing it by just one day doesn’t count as me breaking my promise, right?" Zhang Wei Qiang quickly tried to coax her, promising earnestly.

"No." Gu Nuan Nuan grew frantic. ’Who says postponing by one day isn’t breaking his promise? It’s that one day. If I hadn’t been reborn, my uncle would truly never have been able to fulfill his promise again.’ At this thought, Gu Nuan Nuan shook her head resolutely, leaving no room for discussion. "No. You promised me first. I don’t care, you have to keep the promise you made me."

"Why are you being so difficult all of a sudden?" Zhang Minzhen noticed her sister-in-law’s expression shift and couldn’t help but pat her daughter’s head as she scolded, "Your uncle isn’t saying no. He really has something important to do, and your trip isn’t urgent, so what’s the big deal about waiting one day? Stop being unreasonable. Just wait for him to get back, and he’ll take you to the mountains."

"No, I won’t." Tears welled in Gu Nuan Nuan’s eyes as she kept her gaze fixed on Zhang Wei Qiang. "You promised me first. You can’t go back on your word. I insist on going tomorrow."

"..."

"..."

Now, it wasn’t just Zhang Wei Qiang; everyone was staring at Gu Nuan Nuan, stunned.

Zhang Minzhen looked at her daughter cautiously. "Nuannuan, what’s gotten into you?" ’How did such a well-behaved child suddenly become so unreasonable?’ She recalled her daughter’s recent strange behavior. She couldn’t help but touch Nuannuan’s forehead to confirm her temperature was normal, which only made her more confused. "Nuannuan, you’ve seemed a bit off lately. Did something happen that we don’t know about?"

"Nothing. In any case, I need Uncle to go to the mountains with me tomorrow," Gu Nuan Nuan repeated stubbornly, refusing to budge an inch. Her insistence left everyone feeling confused and helpless, though it also earned her looks of deep admiration from Zhang Su and Zhang Kai. But Gu Nuan Nuan was in no state to notice any of this. She had only one thought in her head: ’Even if I leave everyone with the impression that I’m being completely unreasonable, no matter the cost, I cannot let my uncle get on that bus tomorrow—the bus that will take him to his death.’

"Well, in that case, why don’t I just take the two boys and go by myself tomorrow..." Lin Qin said, glancing at the uncharacteristically stubborn Gu Nuan Nuan and then at her husband, who was caught in a dilemma. She swallowed her discomfort as she spoke.

"Auntie, you’re going tomorrow too, with my two cousins?" Gu Nuan Nuan was completely floored. ’My aunt is going too? That didn’t happen in my past life...’

"Yes, that’s right." Lin Qin, not understanding why Gu Nuan Nuan was suddenly so agitated, nodded in confusion.

"You can’t! No one can go tomorrow!" Gu Nuan Nuan cried out, trembling with anxiety. ’If I stop my uncle, only for my aunt and two cousins to lose their lives instead, would my uncle be able to handle such a cruel twist of fate?’

"What on earth is wrong with you?" Zhang Minzhen was so frantic she was on the verge of tears. ’Her usually sensible daughter’s behavior today was completely baffling. Her sister-in-law needed to visit her family, and yet here was her daughter, desperately trying to stop them. What in the world was going on?’

"Nuannuan, you don’t actually want to go to the mountains, do you? You don’t want me to go to your aunt’s family home tomorrow. Why?" While everyone else was giving Gu Nuan Nuan strange looks, it was Zhang Wei Qiang who calmed down first. He stared at her, his gaze sharp and questioning, not missing a single flicker of emotion on her face.

’My uncle’s gaze was terrifying, as if he could see right through everything.’

Gu Nuan Nuan’s back went rigid as cold sweat streamed down. In an instant, her shirt was soaked through. A series of expressions flickered across her face, and her mind went blank. ’All I can hear is my uncle’s "why" echoing in my head. Right, why? How am I supposed to explain why?’