At this moment, Lan Yan entered the adjacent room and saw her elder brother lying on the bed, his injured leg exposed. He looked haggard. She called out, "Brother, drink some water."
Her elder brother, Lan Chuo, was a hunter in the village, supporting himself and the original host by hunting. A year ago, he caught a wild boar. After selling it, he encountered Jun Yelan and, for the original host's future, bought Jun Yelan as a child groom.
However, after Jun Yelan arrived, the original host treated him like a workhorse. He was made to do strenuous labor daily, yet never had enough to eat or warm clothes. Even worse, whenever the original host returned from outside, she would frequently scold Jun Yelan.
As Lan Yan recalled, she felt an even stronger urge to kill the original host. From now on, these matters would be under her purview.
After Lan Chuo finished the water, he noticed her silence and asked curiously, "Sister, what's wrong?" He blamed himself for being bitten by prey, causing Lan Yan to have to take care of him.
"Sister, once I recover, I'll go hunting in the mountains immediately. Our family won't go hungry."
Upon hearing this, Lan Yan quickly exclaimed, "Brother, your recovery is the priority. Don't worry, it's just you, me, and Jun Yelan at home. We'll be fine."
This was the first time Lan Chuo had heard Lan Yan speak this way, and he was somewhat surprised, wondering if something was wrong with his sister. He thought about the changes in recent days and sighed, "Sister, Jun Yelan has always been very good to our family. Why must you dislike him so much!"
He knew Lan Yan had been unhappy, but he was helpless.
Lan Yan replied, "Brother, that was in the past. Now I've made up my mind to live well with him. So, please relax and focus on recuperating."
She looked at the medicine packet on the table; only one packet remained. She needed to buy more medicine. She now wanted to save Jun Yelan, and the first step was to improve their living environment. At the very least, she needed to live with Jun Yelan before she could think about the future.
Lan Chuo nodded excitedly, feeling that good days were truly coming. "Sister, then you should quickly go eat."
Lan Yan wanted to stay with Lan Chuo a bit longer, but Jun Yelan had already entered, holding a bowl of rice topped with only a few shreds of pickled vegetables. She had no choice but to head to the kitchen.
Jun Yelan, following behind her, came to the bedside and called out, "Brother, it's time to eat."
Lan Yan left for the kitchen and sighed again as she looked at the two bowls on the table. The original host's bowl was filled with rice, while Jun Yelan's bowl contained mostly water.
She quickly swapped them, ensuring each person had half, and drank the watery rice soup. Then she looked at the "pickled vegetables" in the middle, which were completely dark. She tried a piece and couldn't help but spit it out.
How could this be so unpalatable!
What was worse, Jun Yelan returned and happened to see this scene, his eyes darkening slightly. Without a word, he sat down and stared at the bowl in front of him, finding something amiss.
He had clearly only put a few grains of rice in, so why was there now half a bowl?
Fearing that Jun Yelan would discover something and also wanting to avoid eating more pickled vegetables, Lan Yan put away her bowl and chopsticks, saying, "I'll wash the dishes today." She went to the courtyard, drew a basin of water from the well, and began washing them there.
Jun Yelan was still eating inside, his gaze suspiciously fixed on Lan Yan's retreating figure, wondering what she was up to. He stood up, tidied the kitchen, and prepared to close the door.
"Wait!" Lan Yan wedged her foot in the doorway and asked puzzledly, "Jun Yelan, why are you locking yourself inside? Aren't you sleeping?" As she spoke, she met Jun Yelan's angry expression and suddenly remembered.
The original host did not stay in the same room as Jun Yelan, driving him out. From then on, Jun Yelan slept in this drafty kitchen. She didn't know what to say and averted her gaze, "Jun Yelan, come back to the room and sleep with me."
Jun Yelan was stunned, then coldly replied, "No need." This Lan Yan must have an ulterior motive. He continued to close the door, looking down at Lan Yan's foot with impatience.
"I'll say it one more time," Lan Yan changed her approach, grabbing Jun Yelan's sleeve and saying pitifully, "I'm afraid to sleep alone. Won't you accompany me? My window faces the back mountain, and I'm scared of the sounds of wild beasts and the darkness."
Jun Yelan looked at Lan Yan's clear eyes, noticing they were different from before. He then looked at his sleeve, which she was holding, and did not immediately refuse.
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Lan Yan pushed the door open and pulled Jun Yelan outside.
However, after just one step, Jun Yelan had already pulled his sleeve back and walked towards the adjacent room.
Lan Yan was almost used to it and followed him. She took out a quilt, spread it on the bed, and lay down.
Jun Yelan, on the other hand, directly made a ground bed. He would not sleep with Lan Yan, as he would be tempted to kill her. He clenched the sharpened bamboo stick in his sleeve and lay down on the floor.
Lan Yan thought that changing Jun Yelan wouldn't happen in a day, so she would take it slow. She was exhausted today and slowly closed her eyes. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she remembered she had forgotten to chat with the system.
"System, are you still there? I really forgot about you."
The system's complaining voice came, "Host, your memory is truly remarkable!"
Speaking of memory, Lan Yan couldn't recall past events either. She unconsciously touched her right wrist, as if something was missing there.
"System, you're usually so useless. You make people forgetful."
The system: "..." It didn't want to deal with the host anymore. It had been preventing interference from the powerful figures, which limited its contact with Lan Yan. "Host, I see you're handling everything with ease. Just continue on this trend."
Lan Yan was instantly speechless. "Alright, I know what to do. You should go offline quickly; I'm going to sleep." She decided to go to bed early next time and not bother with any system.
The system wanted to say something more, but only heard Lan Yan's breathing, filled with helplessness. "Host, I wish you all the best." He went offline and saw the interface turn black again, sighing, "Big shot, you can't play like this!"
After that, he busied himself with repairing the interface.
The next morning, Lan Yan woke up and did not see Jun Yelan. She walked out of the room and saw Jun Yelan already feeding the chickens, truly diligent. At the same time, looking at Jun Yelan's thin shoulders made her feel even worse.
She looked at the basin of unwashed clothes in the yard and walked over to pick them up. "I should help with the chores myself."
After feeding the only chicken, Jun Yelan turned around and saw Lan Yan murmuring to a basin of clothes, frowning. "What are you doing now?" He grabbed the basin, but Lan Yan did not let go.
"Jun Yelan, I'm going to wash clothes," Lan Yan said with a smile, stubbornly guarding the basin. If she didn't do something, her relationship with Jun Yelan wouldn't improve.
Jun Yelan asked, "Do you know where to wash them?"
Lan Yan froze. She blamed the original host for never doing chores; she truly didn't know. She looked at Jun Yelan and gave an awkward smile, "Jun Yelan, how about I go with you?"
Jun Yelan gave her a cold glance, took the basin of clothes, and walked towards the courtyard gate.
Seeing this, Lan Yan hurried to keep up, afraid of losing Jun Yelan. Her mission was proving to be too difficult.