She glanced over and saw the girl watching her. Their eyes met. Those clear eyes were exceptionally deep, as if trying to see into her very soul.

She grew annoyed. ’If I can’t give it to you, then I won’t!’

She looked troubled, hesitant, and flustered, and now there was a hint of anger. The expressions flitting across her face were impossible to ignore.

Juhua grew wary. She slowly straightened up, her gaze sharp as she stared at the girl. Dropping all pretense, she asked in a low voice, "Miss, is there something you wish to tell me?"

Yun Ying never imagined Juhua would see through her identity with a single sentence, much less confront her directly about the very thing she was wavering over.

Seeing Juhua staring at her, with a gaze that threatened to pierce right through to her shameful intentions, Yun Ying was overcome with both shame and sorrow. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her eyes darted about, not daring to meet Juhua’s.

’She really is different,’ Yun Ying thought. ’She’s not like a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl at all!’

She was anguished and upset, but her hesitation vanished. ’This box absolutely cannot be given to her!’

Her resolve hardened, and her heart gradually calmed. She began to think about how to explain Doctor Qin’s request, hand over the antidote and other items, and then leave immediately. She wouldn’t stay to help with the treatment.

She took a silent breath and was just about to speak when her eyes fell upon a row of things hanging under the eaves—a long string, divided into segments.

’Aren’t those pig intestines?’

’Why are they so puffy and round, as if the filthy innards haven’t even been cleaned out?’

She didn’t know why Juhua was drying such things, but she assumed they were to be eaten. The thought made a wave of nausea rise in her. ’Why does a perfectly nice young girl enjoy making such dishes?’

Juhua watched as, after her question, the girl’s expression shifted again. She was clearly guilty, ashamed, and flustered. But then, as if a new thought struck her, she quickly calmed down, seemingly choosing her words.

Liu Xiaomei, standing to the side, was stunned. ’He’s clearly a boy, yet Juhua called him Miss!’

’And right now, she doesn’t even seem like Juhua anymore. Her rustic accent is gone, and the way she looks is a little... a little scary!’

’Meizi was right after all,’ she thought. ’Juhua is terrifying when she gets mad. I didn’t believe it before.’

’But this person hasn’t said anything. Why would Juhua get mad at them?’

Having made her decision, Yun Ying threw caution to the wind and met Juhua’s gaze with a faint smile. Liu Xiaomei thought that smile was more stunning than the most brilliant red azalea on the mountains in April. Yun Ying parted her red lips and began, "Doctor Qin asked me to..."

Suddenly, she stopped mid-sentence, her eyes wide with astonishment as she stared at Juhua’s face. A gust of wind had lifted the corner of her kerchief, and from that side angle, there was no diseased skin underneath at all. In that fleeting glimpse, she saw only faint scars.

She grew flustered once more. ’With Juhua looking like this, if she just applies some beauty cream and Clear Condensing Dew, those scars will fade in no time...’

She wondered blankly, ’If Juhua’s face had no scars, what would she look like?’

She swallowed hard and awkwardly changed the subject. "Don’t you have anything you want to send to Qin Feng?"

’I need to find out what this Juhua really feels for Qin Feng.’

Juhua’s patience with this incredibly beautiful, yet incredibly strange girl—she was sure it was a girl now—had completely run out. She’d bet her life that something was off about her.

Now, seeing Yun Ying dodge the question yet again—and since it involved Qin Feng—she replied cautiously, "What did Doctor Qin ask you to bring for him?"

Juhua was asking if Qin Feng wanted her to bring anything from Qingnan Village, but Yun Ying, having a guilty conscience, jumped up in alarm and waved her hands frantically. "No, nothing like that! I just thought you two had a good relationship, so I asked if you had anything to send him."

’My one question made her jump?’ Juhua wondered. ’Why such a huge reaction?’

This only made her more confused and wary.

’What could I possibly send to Qin Feng?’

’Some of the new sausage? Qin Feng loves crispy rice. Maybe I’ll have her take some of that to him.’

So she said nonchalantly, "We country folk don’t have any fine things to give as gifts. When Doctor Qin practiced medicine here, he loved to eat our crispy rice. Why don’t you take some to him?"

Yun Ying scoffed internally. ’You? Look like a country folk?’

But when she heard Juhua offer to send crispy rice to Qin Feng, she was overjoyed. ’Who would send crispy rice to the man they love?’

If she had known that country girls might very well send crispy rice to their sweethearts, she probably wouldn’t have been so happy.

She beamed and said, "Great, crispy rice is great! Let’s go with crispy rice!"

As her heart relaxed, she thought about just giving the beauty cream and Clear Condensing Dew to Juhua after all. At least she would have fulfilled one of her Senior Brother’s requests.

Yun Ying was happy, but Juhua was exasperated. ’Is taking some crispy rice really worth all this excitement?’

’What on earth is this girl trying to do?’

’She doesn’t look like a bad person, but then again, villains don’t have it written on their foreheads. Based on her bizarre behavior today, I have to be extremely cautious. Once food passes through someone else’s hands, who knows what could happen to it?’

Juhua stood there, staring intently at the elated Yun Ying until the girl’s smile faltered. Yun Ying awkwardly explained, "Qin Feng did say this crispy rice was delicious. I’m just happy for him."

’Senior Brother did say that,’ she thought. ’So if I eat the crispy rice on the way, he can’t really complain. It’s not like an item. I can’t just eat an item, can I?’

At this thought, the items in her bundle felt even more like they were too hot to handle.

Juhua leisurely strolled into the kitchen and back out to the eaves. She said casually to Yun Ying, "The crispy rice is all gone. I forgot my brother ate a lot of it last night. For us country folk, crispy rice is something we save to stand in for a meal. When we don’t have time to cook, we just eat that instead."