Chapter 38: The Calamity of Blood

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Calamity of Blood

Lin Wanyu grabbed Gao Yuan’s hand, and they fled the terrifying scene. Their wild laughter echoed the entire way until they were safely in the car.

They didn’t care what would happen when the four people upstairs discovered the truth; all they felt at that moment was the exhilarating rush of their performance.

Lin Wanyu drove straight out of the Jianglan Bay District. While in the car, Gao Yuan took the opportunity to claim his mission reward.

The mission may have been simple, but putting on such a crazy performance in front of a business magnate like Lin Wanyu’s father was still quite a thrill!

Gao Yuan chose to use the "Youthful Radiance" reward right away, and a cool sensation instantly washed over his entire body.

’The weather in late November, even in Hang City, isn’t exactly warm!’

Suddenly, Gao Yuan couldn’t help but shiver in the passenger seat.

The "Youthful Radiance" reward from the system wouldn’t take effect all at once. Instead, it would gradually manifest over the next month, eventually restoring him to his 25-year-old appearance.

Thinking of being 25... that must have been back in 2018.

Gao Yuan suddenly wondered, ’What was I doing back then?’

That was the third year after he graduated from college. He had just started as an operations manager at the company he recently resigned from, and his income had shot up to over ten thousand a month.

He thought he’d also been in a relationship back then. But the girl wasn’t enough of a heartbreaker, so he hadn’t simped for her too hard, which was why his impression of her was faint. He couldn’t remember her very clearly...

Lost in his memories, Gao Yuan completely forgot they still needed to go to the supermarket to buy ingredients.

After returning to No.1 Courtyard, Lin Wanyu, who had been as cheerful as a fawn while driving, was now curled up on the sofa, her face ashen.

When Gao Yuan saw her, his heart clenched. He knelt beside Lin Wanyu and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing. I think my period is about to start. My stomach hurts really badly."

’Menstrual cramps?’

The term instantly popped into Gao Yuan’s mind.

The next moment, another system mission appeared!

[Ding! Charming Uncle - Sweet Affection Mission 2.0 initiated.]

[Mission]: Help Lin Wanyu relieve her menstrual pain.

[Mission Reward 1]: High-tier Photography Techniques.

[Mission Reward 2]: 3 experience points.

A confident smile spread across Gao Yuan’s face as he saw the system’s new mission.

This mission would be a piece of cake for him.

He was no stranger to this particular torment; he’d learned a few things from past experiences.

The so-called menstrual cramps were often caused by an irregular lifestyle, and for some, the pain was particularly severe due to their physical constitution.

Relieving menstrual cramps wasn’t actually that difficult.

It all came down to one word: "Warmth!"

But this wasn’t just any kind of warmth; it was divided into two types: internal and external.

For external warmth, you could use moxibustion, which applies a gentle heat to warm the lower abdomen.

For internal warmth, you could prepare a medicinal tonic specially designed for the menstrual period, which would effectively alleviate the pain.

"Do we have any ibuprofen?"

Lin Wanyu felt absolutely miserable. The tearing pain in her lower abdomen made her want to just die.

"No."

Gao Yuan didn’t actually have any at home. But even if he did, he wouldn’t want Lin Wanyu to take it. Taking it too often could lead to dependency, and it wasn’t good for her body.

"Just hang in there for a little bit!"

"I have some experience with this. Let me see what I can do."

"See what? See where?"

"..."

Her question left Gao Yuan speechless, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"What do you think I’m going to see? I’m going to the kitchen to see if we have ingredients for a medicinal tonic!"

"Oh... okay..."

With that, Lin Wanyu curled back into a ball in the corner of the sofa.

Gao Yuan got up, went to the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator.

Brown sugar, eggs, sweet fermented rice... he had it all.

Gao Yuan immediately got to work.

"What are you making?"

Gao Yuan turned to see that Lin Wanyu had somehow made her way to the kitchen doorway.

Her face was even paler now, and her lips had lost their color. She was the very picture of Lin Daiyu.

"I’m making you a brown sugar drink. You should go back and lie down."

Lin Wanyu had thought Gao Yuan had some special secret recipe, but it was just brown sugar water. "I’ve tried that before," she said. "It doesn’t work."

"This is Gao’s Secret Recipe," he said. "A guaranteed cure."

Gao Yuan gave Lin Wanyu a confident look, then put the sliced ginger, red dates, and brown sugar into a small saucepan, added water, and brought it to a boil.

Then, he carefully cracked an egg into a large ladle and lowered it into the saucepan to poach, letting it set first.

Once the egg had set and wouldn’t fall apart, Gao Yuan poured in the sweet fermented rice and brought it to a simmer over medium heat.

While it simmered, he quickly ordered a Breo moxibustion device from JD.com; in Hang City, it could be delivered almost instantly.

It would arrive just in time for Lin Wanyu to use.

The sweet fermented rice simmered in the saucepan for five or six minutes. Gao Yuan then added a small handful of goji berries, turned the heat to low, and let it cook for another minute. A bowl of poached egg in brown sugar and sweet fermented rice was now ready.

When Gao Yuan presented her with the bowl of poached egg in brown sugar and sweet fermented rice, she still eyed him with suspicion.

"There now, drink this. You’ll feel much better."

Lin Wanyu gave him a skeptical look, but ultimately chose to trust him.

She picked up the spoon, stirred gently, and scooped up a mouthful. After blowing on it to cool it down, she took a small sip. Her eyes immediately widened as she looked at Gao Yuan with an expression of pure astonishment.

"This is delicious! I thought it would just taste like plain brown sugar water."

Gao Yuan’s concoction had the effect of warming the body and nourishing the blood. The addition of the sweet fermented rice made its flavor completely different from simple brown sugar water.

With the warm drink in her stomach, a bit of energy returned to her body. Lin Wanyu immediately felt the pain wasn’t as intense anymore.

Since Lin Wanyu wasn’t feeling well, Gao Yuan didn’t go out to buy more ingredients. For lunch, instead of making anything spicy or greasy, he prepared a simple bowl of noodle soup.

Gao Yuan brought the bowl of noodles to Lin Wanyu himself and watched her finish it before making a bowl for himself.

Lying on the sofa, Lin Wanyu watched Gao Yuan wolfing down his food. She knew he must be starving. She slowly sat up, moved to sit in front of him, and gazed at him affectionately. "Why are you so good to me?"

"It’s just a worthless sort of gentleness."

A smile tugged at the corners of Lin Wanyu’s lips, forming a crescent moon. "That’s not true at all. You’re amazing!"

Gao Yuan shook his head.

He knew perfectly well that he’d always been this way; the Money Power System hadn’t fundamentally changed him. The only difference was that his life was much less stressful now.

The three cheapest things in the world: a worthless sort of gentleness, the sincerity of a poor man, and a poor man’s chivalry.

And Gao Yuan had all three.

His ex-girlfriend hadn’t actually asked for much. She just wanted him to have a home of his own in Hang City. But for Gao Yuan, that was too difficult; he couldn’t manage it.

But what Lin Wanyu wanted was his company and his gentle affection—precisely the things Gao Yuan now had in abundance.

Not long after they finished cleaning up, the courier from JD.com delivered the Breo moxibustion device.

Gao Yuan unpacked it, got it ready, and placed it on Lin Wanyu.

With her menstrual cramps mostly gone, Lin Wanyu was back to her lively, adorable self.

[Ding! You have a system reward to claim.]

After claiming it, Gao Yuan felt the reward for this mission was somewhat underwhelming.

All he could say was that the system understood women better than he did. What woman didn’t want a perfect social media feed?

Granted, with High-tier Photography Techniques, he now had another killer skill for picking up women.

He could rely on this one trick to get by anywhere. No matter what, he could always take a good photo.

’But is it women I’m lacking right now?’

Gao Yuan didn’t need any more women. What he needed was money!

With money in his pocket, would he still need to rely on photography skills to win over women?

At best, this High-tier Photography Techniques was just icing on the cake.

’Oh well,’ he thought. ’It’s better than nothing. Plus, it’s another three experience points. One step closer to earning over ten thousand a day!’

Little did Gao Yuan know, however, that the High-tier Photography Techniques he was so dismissive of would bring him a generous "reward" in the near future.