Chapter 4: My Ability Has Degraded!

“...Why haven’t they come back yet?” In front of the uniform small building of the cadre compound, Ru Xiuhua paced anxiously back and forth by the gate. She kept glancing toward the end of the road, but there was no sign of her grandson or granddaughter-in-law—no human figure at all.

The atmosphere in the compound had been tense lately, and it was not even eight in the evening; the chill in the air made her heart uneasy.

Ru Xiuhua grew more and more distressed, her voice trembling slightly. “I shouldn’t have let Wanwan go out just now. She’s such a young girl. Why did I let her go to pick up Yinnian?”

“Alright now. She may be young, but she’s already twenty, and it was her own decision to go out. It’s nothing to worry about,” said Old Master Fang, or Fang Xunjian, who had been lingering by the courtyard gate. He was uneasy as well and stood inside the yard waiting.

Ru Xiuhua didn’t like hearing that and glared at the old man. “What do you know? Wanwan has been scared because of Yinnian’s situation lately. Then she was persuaded to come back by the breeding farm, and she’s been gloomy and not going out. It’s rare she decided to go out today to meet Yinnian after he returned from the research institute... I, I—”

After saying “I” twice, Ru Xiuhua suddenly didn’t know how to continue.

Could she say that Mu Wanwan had come to terms with it, resigned herself to a husband who would be sent to the countryside in the future and might not know when he would return?

Even if Ru Xiuhua could deceive herself, she couldn’t keep up the pretense.

Especially just now, when Mu Wanwan left in such a flustered state, she feared this young couple might fall apart.

Elsewhere, the two people the elders worried about were chasing each other—

“Why are you running? Slow down.”

“Then stop chasing me!”

Mu Wanwan was exasperated.

She now thought men from ancient Blue Star were not only weaklings but also particularly meddlesome.

What was wrong with her liking plants?

What was wrong with plucking a few grasses?!

This man even wanted to control her and forbade her from bringing the grass home.

How dirty!

How could grass be dirty?

It was so cute, so beautiful.

Lush and green, much cuter than the weaklings from Blue Star.

“I’m not chasing you.” Fang Yinnian looked helpless.

He only asked her not to be so rough with the plants, not to pull out every weed she saw.

She wasn’t a gardener, and their family certainly didn’t collect weeds. The grass by the roadside was dirty.

Who knew before he finished speaking, Mu Wanwan acted as if he had committed an unforgivable crime and took off running.

She didn’t even listen when called—truly like an ungrateful child!

“Then stop right there, don’t move!” Mu Wanwan clutched a handful of wild grass, running all the way, panting heavily.

Still, she didn’t dare stop, afraid her treasure would be taken away. She ran while warily pointing at Fang Yinnian, trying to get him to back off.

By now, the two had already run into the cadre compound. The once lively cement road felt especially dark under the night.

Especially tonight.

Mu Wanwan happened to run under a streetlamp, the yellow light falling from above, making her whole figure exceptionally bright.

Because of this, Fang Yinnian clearly saw Mu Wanwan clutching a bunch of grass, looking as if she had just crawled out from a pile of beggars, her body and small face smeared with... mud.

Fang Yinnian struggled to suppress the veins popping up on his forehead. “You—”

“Is Wanwan back?”

“Wanwan, who are you talking to?”

“Wanwan, are you alright?”

Ru Xiuhua, who had just been persuaded by Fang Xunjian to go inside, heard Mu Wanwan’s voice and hurried back to the courtyard gate.

Mu Wanwan was so exhausted she didn’t want to move. Hearing someone call her, no matter who it was, she responded immediately, calling for help, “It’s me, it’s me, I’m Wanwan! Hurry, save me!”

“There’s a bad person trying to take my precious.”

This was intolerable!

Now not only did old lady Ru Xiuhua rush out, but Old Master Fang Xunjian raised his cane and charged outside. “Where’s this thief! How dare anyone lay a hand on the Fang family!”

Just as Mu Wanwan ran into the yard, she brushed past Fang Xunjian, with Fang Yinnian close behind.

And thus, tragedy unfolded.

Old Master Fang’s raised cane came down heavily on Fang Yinnian’s arm.

Fang Yinnian’s pupils dilated in shock, staring in disbelief at the falling cane. “Grandpa?!”

*

The atmosphere in the living room was somewhat strange.

Mu Wanwan, clutching the grass, was dirty and tried to hide herself.

But as the culprit of the incident, no matter how she tried to hide, Fang Yinnian kept staring at her.

Seeing her try to hide and sneak the limp weeds into her pocket, he scoffed.

Mu Wanwan’s hand stiffened as she stuffed the grass into her pocket, then looked around pretending to be nonchalant and continued stuffing.

“All right, all right,” Ru Xiuhua tried to smile, but seeing her grandson frown and rub his arm while his wife looked innocent yet ready to repeat her mischief, she felt both angry and uneasy.

“Is there some misunderstanding?” Ru Xiuhua turned to Mu Wanwan. “Wanwan, weren’t you going to pick up Yinnian? How come...”

Her gaze swept over her, finally resting on the little dirty face.

A perfectly fine young girl had gone out and come back looking like a little stray cat.

Ru Xiuhua shook her head and took out a handkerchief to wipe Mu Wanwan’s face.

At first, Mu Wanwan thought Ru Xiuhua would disdain her like Fang Yinnian, trying to take her ability-enhancing grass.

She was about to dodge but unexpectedly felt a gentle and warm aura.

That aura was tender and accepting, not disdainful, and even wiped her face.

Mu Wanwan’s little face was a bit confused.

“Lift your head,” Ru Xiuhua said.

Mu Wanwan obeyed instinctively, looking as obedient as could be, showing no trace of the rebelliousness she had displayed earlier.

Seeing this, Fang Yinnian felt the pain in his arm worsen.

“Why did all this happen just because you came back?” Ru Xiuhua asked. “And Wanwan, why did you pick all this... grass? Does it have any use?”

“Of course it does—”

“It’s just a bunch of weeds. Even dogs turn their noses up at it.”

Mu Wanwan insisted it was useful, and Fang Yinnian retorted.

They had been married for two years but could count on one hand the number of times they had exchanged greetings. They were familiar strangers, never even sharing a bed. When had they ever argued like this?

Old lady Ru Xiuhua and Old Master Fang exchanged a glance, both filled with questions.

What had just happened between these two outside?

Moreover, Fang Yinnian had always been a cool and gentlemanly young man. Not only would he never speak to a young girl like that, he wouldn’t even do so with boys.

After his retort, Fang Yinnian realized something was wrong.

He put down his rubbing hand, casually took a nearby chair, and sat down, pressing his temple.

He had a headache—he was probably so angry at this “ungrateful child” that he forgot basic manners.

Ru Xiuhua and Fang Xunjian were both curious. Fang Xunjian, who had been reluctant to interfere, asked Mu Wanwan, “Are these grasses useful?”

“Of course they are for upgrading my abilities!”

But Mu Wanwan still had some sense. Though she had just transmigrated into this world from a book, she knew that in the ancient Blue Star era, there were no supernatural abilities.

Any anomalies would be exterminated.

Mu Wanwan understood this.

“It’s a secret,” she said without revealing anything, but a gleam of joy showed at the corners of her eyes and brows.

Had she had a tail, it would definitely be wagging.

Fang Yinnian scoffed again seeing her like this.

Mu Wanwan pretended not to hear, quietly clutching the weeds she had painstakingly picked, planning to reward herself by nurturing her powers.

But unexpectedly—

???

Something was wrong.

My ability... Why is it weakening?!