"Gaining wisdom, but not as late as you did," Xue Lianyu said curiously.
Chu Liyin gave him a disdainful look, as if she thought he was being too talkative.
"Sister is very tired now. She just recalled the past. Can you stop asking questions all the time? Don't you know it's impolite? How can you win the hearts of other girls like this?"
Her series of questions left Xue Lianyu a bit helpless. He could only mutter in a low voice, "I'm just curious."
This made Cheng Xiran laugh and cry. She still had to answer, "You may not know what kind of person my stepmother, Mrs. Liu, is. She doted on me since I was a child. She never beat or scolded me and would give me whatever I wanted. If I weren't smart enough to realize this later, I might just be a spoiled young lady now, and it would be impossible for me to be friends with you."
"So you pretended to be stupid before to hide your real strength. Actually, you're a very capable person?" Xue Lianyu analyzed as if he had just had an epiphany.
Cheng Xiran thought his explanation was good, so she nodded and replied, "Exactly. Now that the truth is out, do you have any more questions? If not, go back quickly. I'm a bit cold and hungry."
Helian Duo quickly told the boatman to speed up.
But Cheng Xiran, who had stared at him several times, carefully recalled the facts he had told her before. Only then did she realize that she seemed to have missed the most important point. She was suddenly startled and couldn't help asking, "How did the prince know that I wasn't good at swimming before? Did the prince start to take notice of me before?"
If so, didn't it mean that the previous owner of this body had also caught Helian Duo's attention?
Chu Liyin and Xue Lianyu looked at Helian Duo with naughty smiles on their faces, but Helian Duo remained expressionless.
Helian Duo deliberately avoided her gaze and stammered to explain, "No. I just heard from others before. I didn't pay attention to you on purpose. Don't think too much."
Cheng Xiran didn't intend to dig deeper. After all, it was all about the previous owner of this body. Now she was the one in this body, and the past didn't matter much to her. However, she still felt a bit indignant in her heart because they had only given Xiao Qi a minor punishment. But what she said before was true. After all, considering Xiao Qi's status and the fact that the Xiao family had already lost a son, they couldn't let Xiao Qi die in their hands at all.
She gave a light punishment for her own sake, but more for Helian Duo's.
"Okay, okay. Since the matter has been resolved and is in the past, let's just look forward."
Saying this, she leaned her head on Chu Liyin's slender shoulder and prepared to take a little nap.
Xue Lianyu was very considerate. He took off his outer robe and gently put it on her. "Let's go directly to the prince's mansion later. If you go home like this, you'll probably be pestered again. After you change into clean clothes, let's go and have some hot soup. I'll treat you tonight!"
"Okay. Thank you, Mr. Xue. I won't be polite to you. I'll go back and write manuscripts tonight."
Her consciousness was gradually fading. She originally wanted to ask if Su Yunxiu had left, but just as she was about to say it, she fell asleep. Soon the other three heard her even breathing.
When she woke up again, she found herself lying in a bathtub, and a maid was washing her hair.