Xiao Muyu was somewhat dazed, maintaining her position of supporting the little girl without making any other moves.
The little girl quickly stood up, apologizing repeatedly in a panic: “Miss, I’m sorry, Xing’er didn’t mean to. I didn’t expect you to stop suddenly and offended you. Please forgive me, Miss.”
Xiao Muyu realized she was already in the instance. It seemed that Shen Shiyi was right; this indeed was an ancient setting.
Judging by the actions and speech of this girl who appeared to be a maid, Xiao Muyu felt that her character might not be easy to get along with, which had frightened this maid named Xing’er over such a small matter.
“Never mind, you don’t need to…” Before Xiao Muyu could finish her sentence, a sharp pain struck her head, making her wish she could dig her brain out. She immediately stopped speaking, her expression becoming grim as she swallowed the rest of her words.
The pain was intense but quickly subsided, only to be replaced by the annoying voice of the system in her mind, “Warning, warning, detected behavior inconsistent with the character’s setting.”
“Please accept your character’s information, which will be displayed only once. Please read carefully. Act according to your role, especially in front of important NPCs, or you will receive special attention from the system, potentially leading to game failure.”
Xiao Muyu was startled, realizing something was wrong. She quickly glanced at the character information: Xiao Muyu, born on the 28th of July in the year of Gui Si, aged 17. Daughter of Xiao Qian, the head of Qian Yuan Escort Agency in Yingzhou City. She is cold and strict, loves martial arts, and is exceptionally skilled but difficult to get along with.
Xiao Muyu gritted her teeth as she looked at the trembling maid. The words of comfort turned into a stern warning, “You don’t need to put on such a show. Do you think I will eat you? Why are you so careless and loud?”
The little girl’s eyes reddened slightly, but she didn’t dare to show it. She carefully said, “Madam… no, Second Madam said the Lantern Festival is coming, and she wants to make some new clothes for you, Miss. Since you’re still growing, the previous measurements might not fit, so she called the tailor to take your measurements. If we delay, it might not be ready in time.”
Xiao Muyu keenly caught the stutter in her words, Madam, Second Madam? It seemed that Miss Xiao’s mother was no longer around, and the household was actually managed by a stepmother.
Frankly, this added to Xiao Muyu’s difficulties. She still had no memory of her character. Previously, it was manageable, even if she seemed odd. But this instance required her to adhere to the character’s setting, meaning she needed to understand the character’s habits and relationships.
“Making new clothes?” Xiao Muyu expressionlessly asked the maid named Xing’er, who quickly nodded.
Xiao Muyu had no choice but to adapt, impatiently saying, “Then hurry up, I have things to do.”
Xing’er quickly nodded and turned to lead Xiao Muyu away.
While talking to Xing’er, Xiao Muyu observed the surroundings. It was a typical ancient courtyard. They were now in front of the mansion’s main gate, following Xing’er through the side screen door into the outer courtyard.
To the south of the outer courtyard was a room. Before Xiao Muyu got close, she saw a woman with her hair in a bun, adorned with a golden hairpin, sitting in the hall.
Xiao Muyu roughly understood that this woman was the Second Madam. She appeared to be in her thirties, with a powdered face and delicate features.
As she looked at Xiao Muyu, her face bore a gentle smile, her eyebrows and eyes were delicate, and her demeanor was graceful—truly the picture of a noblewoman.
At the same time, Xiao Muyu saw a prompt above the Second Madam’s head, much like the character introductions in TV dramas: Second Madam, Mei Qianqian.
Before Xiao Muyu could speak, Mei Qianqian gently said, “Ah Yu, it’s still early. There’s no need to rush. Let them take your measurements first and make some new clothes. Your current clothes are too plain and simple. You’re at the best age, you should have some pretty dresses. The girl from the Shen family is much more lively, always dressed beautifully.”
“Shen family?” As soon as Xiao Muyu heard “Shen,” she immediately thought of Shen Qingqiu, her tone becoming urgent as she asked.
Mei Qianqian, seeing her expression change, sighed, “Your father and your Uncle Shen are old friends, they have frequent dealings in business. Besides, you and Qingqiu grew up together. Even if you don’t like her, you shouldn’t change your expression at the mention of her. Your father will scold you again.”
Xiao Muyu was secretly happy. The most urgent task after entering the instance was to reunite with Shen Qingqiu. She had tried using the “Family Love” communication but, as expected, it didn’t work. She didn’t expect to get news of Shen Qingqiu so quickly.
Since Mei Qianqian mentioned the Shen family and Qingqiu, it must be Shen Qingqiu.
So she suppressed her joy and nodded lightly, “I understand.”
Seeing Xiao Muyu’s cold reaction, Mei Qianqian didn’t find it strange. She just smiled warmly, “Alright, let’s not waste your time. Let Tian Daniu take your measurements quickly, and you can get on with your business.”
The one taking Xiao Muyu’s measurements was an elderly woman in her fifties. Her hands were wrinkled and trembling, but she was surprisingly efficient in her work.
As she measured, she smiled, “Miss, you are truly beautiful, tall and elegant. You will look good in anything.”
Xiao Muyu didn’t respond, just glanced at her. The elderly woman looked at Xiao Muyu, her slightly cloudy eyes flashing with sharpness. She quickly averted her gaze and continued, “I heard that you are 17 this year, born in the year of Gui Si. Girls born in that year have good fortune. When were you born, Miss?”
Xiao Muyu found the old woman’s words slightly puzzling, but she didn’t show it. She quickly looked at her calmly and said, “Does Tian Daniu not only excel in tailoring but also in fortune-telling?”
This seemingly emotionless remark was a warning. The old woman was not foolish, immediately smiling apologetically, “Not at all, I misspoke. I’m old and confused. Miss, I’ve finished measuring. The new clothes will be delivered in a few days.”
Xiao Muyu just responded coldly, taking another look at the old woman before leaving.
She had no time to worry about unimportant people; she needed to find Shen Qingqiu quickly.
Outside the gate, Xiao Muyu looked around, seeing the antique layout and hearing the voices of pedestrians and vendors. She felt a bit disoriented, as if she had traveled through time.
Avoiding the passersby and their various looks, some even greeting her, “Hello, Miss Xiao.”
Being in an ancient setting without complete memories, Xiao Muyu had no idea where to find Shen Qingqiu. Just as she hesitated, the system dinged, popping up a virtual interface.
Memory unlock interface, would you like to unlock memories related to the Shen family, costing 50 points.
—Yes or No—
Xiao Muyu frowned, seeing her current points in the upper left corner. In fact, these were points she shared with Shen Qingqiu. After 6 instances and several replays, their total points were 1125.8. Spending 50 points was no problem. So, she decisively chose no.
System: Player’s points are sufficient.
Xiao Muyu murmured, “50 points could get her several meals of steak, wine, and pasta.”
The system was silent, while Xiao Muyu nonchalantly asked a puzzled passerby for directions to the Shen household.
Apparently, these non-important NPCs didn’t require much disguise.
“Family Love” still showed no activity, indicating no teammates online. With the Shen family residence in sight, Xiao Muyu felt uneasy as it remained silent.
Was Shen Qingqiu not at home? It should have detected her information within a one-kilometer range.
As Xiao Muyu grew anxious, she suddenly heard a commotion behind her, accompanied by exclamations from the crowd.
“Get out of the way, get out of the way! The horse is startled, the horse is startled!”
“Help, help. Ah!”
Xiao Muyu quickly turned around, only to see a carriage rushing towards her, the coachman nowhere in sight, and the carriage bumping violently.
The out-of-control carriage knocked over the roadside stalls, charging forward like a mad beast, with people along the way rolling and crawling to avoid it.
Inside the violently bumping carriage, someone was screaming for help continuously. As the curtain was lifted, Xiao Muyu could vaguely see a girl sitting inside. Although she was wearing a red dress and had her hair styled in an ancient fashion, Xiao Muyu recognized her at a glance. It was Shen Qingqiu!
The carriage was approaching in an instant, and Xiao Muyu saw that the person inside was clearly in shock, unable to hold on, being tossed around. The consequences would be unimaginable if this continued.
Xiao Muyu didn’t have time to wonder why Shen Qingqiu was so panicked and unable to handle this sudden situation. She immediately started running ahead quickly.
As she ran, Xiao Muyu realized that she was much faster than before, with impressive explosive power. It seemed true, just like the settings, she had some martial arts skills.
However, Xiao Muyu still couldn’t fly onto the horse like in martial arts TV shows. In her understanding, charging directly at this speed would probably get her thrown off.
Moreover, she found that the stopwatch in her hand was useless in this ancient setting, so she could only shout urgently to the person in the carriage, “Quick, Qingqiu, trust me, jump down!”
Shen Qingqiu, pale-faced, heard the familiar voice and quickly lifted the curtain to look out. She saw the person in white clothes in front, shouting for her to jump down, and it was actually Xiao Muyu.
Her heart was racing, and in her hesitation, she was about to miss the opportunity. She gritted her teeth, grabbed the edge of the carriage door frame, closed her eyes, and leaped out.
But as she jumped out, Shen Qingqiu felt she must be seeing things. How could Xiao Muyu possibly show such a nervous and anxious expression for her?
She told herself that she was forced into this, thinking that at worst she would fall to her death. Honestly, she didn’t believe Xiao Muyu would catch her.
Xiao Muyu kept a firm eye on Shen Qingqiu. As soon as the red figure jumped out, she ignored everything else, opened her arms, ran a few quick steps, and tightly caught Shen Qingqiu, both of them tumbling forward heavily.
Xiao Muyu protected Shen Qingqiu’s head with one hand and wrapped her waist tightly with the other, keeping her securely in her embrace.
The two rolled on the ground for several circles before stopping. Xiao Muyu closed her eyes, trying to alleviate the intense pain in her body.
Shen Qingqiu, pale with fright, felt herself being caught and finally relaxed.
After stopping, she quickly propped herself up and looked at Xiao Muyu beneath her. Her expression was a mixture of emotions.
She looked at Xiao Muyu’s pale face, about to ask if she was alright, but Xiao Muyu opened her eyes and looked at her urgently, “Did you hurt yourself anywhere?”
Shen Qingqiu’s expression grew increasingly uneasy, looking somewhat frightened. She reached out and touched Xiao Muyu’s forehead cautiously, “Xiao Muyu, do you have a fever? Why do you seem so off? Did the sun rise from the west today, that you would risk your life to save me?”
Xiao Muyu, already in pain from the fall, was stunned by Shen Qingqiu’s words. Then she felt even more pain. Something was definitely wrong with this Shen Qingqiu.
She felt a chill in her heart, barely maintaining her composure, and said in a low voice, “Get up first.”
At this time, Shen Qingqiu had only propped up her upper body, still pressing on Xiao Muyu. Hearing this, her face turned red, but she stubbornly said, “Of course I know I should get up. Do you think I like pressing on you?”
Xiao Muyu sat up, looking at Shen Qingqiu with a complex and inexplicable expression. She was sure that something was off with Shen Qingqiu.
If it were her Shen Qingqiu, not to mention being scared by the out-of-control carriage, even if she was, seeing her injured like this, Shen Qingqiu would have anxiously and tenderly checked her injuries long ago.
She would never say something like “Do you think I like pressing on you?” Shen Qingqiu would be eager to press on her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Shen Qingqiu then noticed the dust on Xiao Muyu’s white clothes, the torn fabric at her elbow already stained with blood, and suddenly, she couldn’t say anything. Pointing at Xiao Muyu, she said, “You’re bleeding.”
Xiao Muyu gave her a deep look and slowly stood up. Behind her, a man and a woman came running over, crying, and carefully examining Shen Qingqiu.
The little maid beside her was crying so hard she couldn’t catch her breath, “Miss, are you hurt? Can you move your arm, your leg? You scared me to death, sob sob.”
The little girl was crying too much, making Shen Qingqiu feel uneasy. She quickly interrupted, “Stop crying. I’m not dead yet. Shut up and help her inside to find a doctor.”
The little maid sniffled and stopped crying, quickly looking at Xiao Muyu, “Yes, yes, I was panicking. Thank you, Miss Xiao, for not holding a grudge and saving our young lady. I’ll help you inside. Pingji, hurry inside and inform the master.”
The young man behind her nodded quickly but was stopped by Shen Qingqiu, “Xiaotao, watch your words. What do you mean by not holding a grudge? Who’s holding a grudge? Pingji, don’t tell the master. Just go get a doctor.”
So, the servant named Pingji ran off in confusion.
Xiao Muyu stood still, looking at Xiaotao with no expression. Xiaotao didn’t dare touch her, but Xiao Muyu, seeing Xiaotao’s fear, didn’t soften her expression at all.
Shen Qingqiu gritted her teeth, “Xiao Muyu, why aren’t you leaving?”
Xiao Muyu glanced at her, then at the blood on her elbow and knee, and said calmly, “The wound hurts. I need someone to help me walk.”
Author’s note: Haha, Xiao Shen: Do you think I like pressing on you?
Later, Xiao Shen: Muyu, press me again.
Xiao Xiao: You said you didn’t like it.
