When a "Sea King" is Bound to a System [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 5

Jiang Yan puts on a big smile. “Morning, Sister. Did you sleep well?”

Jiang Zhen doesn’t answer. She quietly gets out of bed and straightens her wrinkled clothes. She has no idea how she ended up in Jiang Yan’s bed or when she fell asleep. Jiang Yan seems as weak as a chicken, so she couldn’t have done anything. It must have been her own doing. She realizes she needs to be more vigilant. She spent the entire night sharing a bed with someone and didn’t even notice.

Jiang Yan leans on her hands, her face full of a hopeful smile. She hopes sleeping together for a night will reduce Jiang Zhen’s hatred a little. Otherwise, her efforts last night would have been in vain.

Silence fills the air. Seeing Jiang Zhen about to leave, Jiang Yan hugs her leg. “Sister, thank you for bringing me back,” she says weakly.

Jiang Zhen doesn’t move. “Let go,” she says coldly. She only carried her back out of necessity. If Jiang Yan hadn’t been gripping her hand so tightly, she wouldn’t have done such a thankless job.

Jiang Yan starts to understand her personality. Cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She seems distant, but she’s not that hard to get close to. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have opened the door for her when she was about to faint.

Realizing this, Jiang Yan becomes bolder. Not only does she refuse to let go, but she holds on even tighter.

“No, no. We slept in the same bed, why can’t we get along? Sister, please don’t be so cold to me. I like you so much.”

Jiang Zhen remembers the smile she saw last night. A flash of disgust crosses her eyes. She violently shakes off Jiang Yan’s hand and leaves without looking back.

【Host, please note: The target’s blackening value has increased. Please act quickly to win her over, or the current world will experience an irreversible change.】

Jiang Yan is surprised that Oscar, the lazy system, would speak up. Wasn’t it always a fan of drama?

“What’s the value now?”

【110, my dear.】

Jiang Yan almost chokes. She falls back onto the bed and pinches herself. She asks again, just to be sure, “How much?!”

【Your ears are fine, and I’m not stumbling over my words. A positive blackening value means a negative affinity value. Stop pretending you’re deaf and blind. The best strategy is to act fast, kekeke…】

Listening to Oscar’s triumphant laughter, Jiang Yan wants to tear it to shreds. She’s had this thought many times before, but never this strongly. Not only did I get a terrible mission, but it also mocks me every day. This damn system!

With a creak, the door opens, and Qiu Yue comes in carrying a basin. She’s smiling brightly and looks refreshed, not at all like someone who was up all night.

Jiang Yan groggily gets up, throws on some clothes, and walks over to Qiu Yue. She looks her up and down.

“Qiu Yue, you’re acting weird.”

Qiu Yue giggles without a hint of shyness. “Miss, you noticed?”

Jiang Yan: “What’s going on? Tell me everything!”

Qiu Yue wets a cloth and hands it to Jiang Yan. “It’s nothing, really. I just slept well last night. You know I have a lot of nightmares, but last night I slept like a baby. I woke up feeling energized and could do all the chores in the courtyard.”

Jiang Yan puts a hand on her chin, deep in thought. “Did you sleep with Dong Xue last night?”

“No. Dong Xue stayed at her uncle’s house after seeing the doctor off. I slept with Sister Xia He.”

As she says Xia He’s name, Qiu Yue’s smile grows even brighter, which Jiang Yan takes as a blatant show of smugness. She smiles faintly, revealing her pointed canine teeth. “Since you’re so excited, you can do all the chores in the courtyard yourself today.”

Qiu Yue is shocked. “Why?”

“Didn’t you say you could? Qiu Yue, I’m not trying to be a hardass, but you enjoyed the company, so shouldn’t you do some work?”

Jiang Yan puts her hands behind her back and walks out, pretending to be mature. Qiu Yue wails behind her, her face drooping, the previous air of smugness completely gone.

Before she can leave the Lotus Courtyard, Yuan Feng rushes over, almost running into her.

“Yan’er, are you okay? I heard from the servants that you fainted again last night, my sweet girl. Don’t run around so much. What would I do if something happened to you?”

Jiang Yan’s expression stiffens. She quickly grabs her mother’s hand, afraid she’ll go find Jiang Zhen again.

“Mother, I’m fine! Absolutely fine! See? I’m full of energy and can climb Mount Mang without getting tired!”

To prove she’s okay, Jiang Yan jumps around in front of Yuan Feng, but she never lets go of her hand.

Yuan Feng grabs her, her expression serious. “Even if you’re fine, don’t be careless. Go back and lie down.”

Jiang Yan nods and pulls her toward the room, but Yuan Feng stands still.

“Aren’t you coming with me?”

Yuan Feng is furious. “I’m going to find that bastard Jiang Zhen and settle the score. That girl keeps making you sick; I know she’s doing it on purpose!”

Jiang Yan quickly hugs her to prevent her from doing anything rash.

Oh, my dear mother, you’re still thinking about settling scores at a time like this. My mission is already on shaky ground. If this continues, who knows how we’ll end up? Every time you punish Jiang Zhen, you’re adding another plank to our coffins. By the time she becomes a famous general, we’ll probably be in the ground.

But Jiang Yan can’t tell her mother this. If she did, her mother would probably think she was possessed, call a Daoist priest to perform an exorcism, and then blame everything on Jiang Zhen… a vicious cycle of self-destruction.

“Mother, you promised me you wouldn’t punish Sister. How can you go back on your word?” Jiang Yan pouts, acting like her usual spoiled self. She’s only ten, so this behavior is normal.

Yuan Feng falls for it. She pats her daughter’s head. “Yan’er, you’re still young and don’t understand. Jiang Zhen is here to take your father’s love away from you. He only had one daughter, and he doted on you so much. Now Jiang Zhen has taken half of his love. Don’t you feel sad?”

Jiang Yan thinks about it. What’s there to be sad about? Her father isn’t showing favoritism towards Jiang Zhen. But because of the rumors and this reason, Yuan Feng despises Jiang Zhen. It will be hard to change her attitude anytime soon.

“Mother, I understand. But can you look at it from another perspective? Don’t think of Sister as so bad. She’s here to join our family, not to break it apart. If you treat her well, she’ll surely become as close to you as I am and take good care of you. Just think of it as having another daughter. Can you do that?”

Yuan Feng is silent. She notices her daughter is different from before. The way she speaks and her choice of words are much more mature. It makes her feel uneasy.

“Yan’er, what’s wrong with you? Why have you been so strange since that day?”

Jiang Yan’s heart skips a beat. She’s said too much, but that’s not a problem for her.

“Mother, I had a dream. An old man with a long white beard told me that if we want our General’s Residence to stand tall and prosper, we must treat Sister well. Otherwise, disaster will strike. When I woke up, I thought about it a lot. Whether the dream is real or not, it can’t hurt to be kind to Sister. Don’t you think so?”

Yuan Feng has her own judgment. She doesn’t believe in dreams like that. She has a clear conscience and doesn’t fear anything. However, when it comes to Jiang Zhen, she has been a little too aggressive.

Yesterday, the person she sent out came back with a message. Jiang Zhen is indeed the daughter of a lieutenant general under her husband’s command and has no blood relation to him. But that doesn’t stop her from disliking Jiang Zhen. Looking at her aloof face, she always gets the feeling that the girl looks down on everyone, even her, the one who gave her food, clothes, and a place to live.

Yuan Feng has been proud her whole life. She won’t allow anyone more arrogant than herself to exist. She wants to see when this arrogant little thing will finally bow her head.

When scolding and punishment become a habit, it’s hard to change. Even after finding out the truth, she still instinctively blames Jiang Zhen and believes she caused her daughter’s illness.

Jiang Yan waits quietly, letting her mother think. She knows her mother will eventually understand her words. It will just take time.

After a long while, Yuan Feng sighs and takes Jiang Yan’s hand, leading her back inside. “Let’s go. Get yourself better first, or I won’t agree to anything you say.”

Jiang Yan smiles, revealing her pointed canine teeth. “So Mother won’t make things difficult for Sister anymore?”

Yuan Feng feels a little embarrassed. She glares at her daughter. “What do you mean ‘make things difficult’? I’m just teaching her the rules of our residence so she doesn’t embarrass the family in the future.”

“So, you mean Sister can come out with us now?” Jiang Yan is overjoyed. She feels like her illness and suffering weren’t in vain.

“We’ll see. If I’m in a good mood.”

Yuan Feng doesn’t say anything more, but Jiang Yan knows her mother has compromised. Even though her excuse was a bit absurd, her mother chose to trust her unconditionally.

Back in the room, Qiu Yue is on her knees, scrubbing the floor. Yuan Feng is surprised. “Why is Qiu Yue cleaning? Where are the other maids?”

Jiang Yan glances at Qiu Yue and turns to her mother. “I told them to rest. After all, it’s lonely to sleep alone, so if they woke up feeling tired, they should rest more.”

Qiu Yue: “…”

“But you can’t make Qiu Yue do all the work alone. You have other maids in your room,” Yuan Feng says, sitting down. She’s a little unhappy to see no other maids in the room.

“Qiu Yue said she could do all the work herself. Right, Qiu Yue?” Jiang Yan smiles, tilting her head, looking innocent.

Qiu Yue forces a smile. “Yes, Madam. I asked to do it myself. I’m strong, so it’s right for me to do more.”

Jiang Yan looks back at Yuan Feng. “See? I’m not abusing her. The more capable people should work more. It’s only right.”

Yuan Feng shakes her head helplessly and says nothing more.

Jiang Zhen returns to the laundry room, where the new supervisor respectfully tells her she can return to the Ning Bo Courtyard. Xia He, who came back earlier, tells her everything she knows.

“According to Qiu Yue, the Second Miss kicked Chun Niang out of the residence last night and chose a new supervisor whom she used to suppress. She really stood up for you. This morning, Sister Dong Xue personally told the new supervisor that you don’t have to stay here anymore.”

Jiang Zhen frowns. Did she really ask for this? She thinks of Jiang Yan’s shameless behavior, and her frown deepens.

In the Lotus Courtyard, the mechanical voice in Jiang Yan’s head rings out:

【Target’s blackening value has increased by 10. Affinity value is too low, warning!】

Jiang Yan: What did I do wrong now?!