Chapter 14: Xia Nuannuan Lied to Her Mother

Early the next morning.

When Qin Tian woke up, his mother, Tang Xiuxia, had already left for work.

On the table in the main room sat soy milk, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns that had been bought, with fifty yuan and a note tucked underneath.

"Mom has gone to work. Eat something good for lunch, and don't run around everywhere."

Looking at the elegant handwriting on the note, Qin Tian smiled slightly and folded it away.

He had a small iron box where he specifically kept these notes.

In his past life, during those destitute and down-and-out days, these notes recording his mother's warm words had given him great encouragement.

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he wolfed down his breakfast while watching the morning news.

His weight was not over the limit, so he didn't need to pay much attention to his diet; he only needed to strengthen his exercise.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered the Physical Enhancement Potion he had redeemed earlier.

After eating the noodles his mother made last night, he had fallen asleep quickly after his shower, having completely forgotten about this matter.

After all, having just been reborn, he had been excited all day, and with his thoughts racing as he lay in bed, sleepiness had easily taken over.

With a thought, a bottle of potion appeared in his hand.

The bottle resembled the kind of oral solution used for colds, but there was nothing on it; it looked exactly like a "three-no" product that could kill you without anyone being held responsible.

The liquid inside was a vibrant red, and it felt as if it contained immense energy just by looking at it.

"System, are there any precautions for drinking this thing?"

To be safe, Qin Tian chose to communicate with the system in advance.

【After taking the Physical Enhancement Potion, it will be accompanied by a certain degree of pain!】

The system gave a cold and concise answer.

"A certain degree of pain? That sounds like it's going to hurt a lot."

Qin Tian curled his lip and unscrewed the bottle cap.

He leaned in and sniffed it, but didn't smell anything strange.

"Hoo... screw it, for the sake of getting stronger!"

Qin Tian steeled his heart, gritted his teeth, and tilted his head back to down the bottle of potion.

The liquid carried a slight burning sensation as it surged from his throat into his body.

Soon, Qin Tian felt as if clusters of flames were burning throughout his entire body.

Following closely behind was an intense pain, as if his whole body were being scorched by fire.

"Damn it, I knew it!"

Qin Tian's face twisted in pain; he gritted his teeth and greeted the system in his mind.

His body collapsed onto the sofa, curling up, and fine beads of sweat began to seep out all over him; every cell in his body seemed to be burning at this moment, desperately absorbing the energy from the liquid.

After about ten minutes, the pain receded like a receding tide.

Qin Tian took a deep breath and slowly sat up.

His clothes were soaked through, and even the area on the sofa where he had just been lying was completely saturated with sweat.

His body felt sticky and emitted a foul, pungent odor.

He clenched his fist, a brilliant smile spreading across his increasingly handsome face.

He could clearly feel the increase in his own strength.

He sank his consciousness into his mind and checked the Basic Attributes column on the system page.

【Basic Attributes: Strength 75, Agility 74, Physique 78, Intelligence 68】

Every physical attribute had seen a significant increase, with Physique and Strength improving the most.

However, this potion didn't seem to target the mind, as Intelligence had only increased slightly.

Even so, Qin Tian was already ecstatic.

His previously mediocre physical attributes had suddenly entered the Excellent level.

He stood up, went to his room in the back to find a set of clean clothes, and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

After taking off his sweat-soaked clothes, he was surprised to find that his body now had perfect muscle definition.

It wasn't as exaggerated as the kind of muscles built in a gym from drinking protein powder, but the strength contained within was far greater.

Biceps, pectorals, six-pack abs...

Looking further down, he was shocked to discover that his own "assets" had also become much more substantial.

For a moment, Qin Tian was once again overcome with wild joy.

Even though he was already quite outstanding.

But, being a man, who wouldn't want to be stronger?

In every sense!

After showering and changing into clean clothes.

Qin Tian felt as if he had been reborn; his body felt indescribably light, as if he had endless energy.

Humming a little tune in a pleasant mood, he threw the clothes he had changed out of and the sofa cover into the washing machine to be cleaned.

While waiting for the laundry to finish, he found a broom and a mop and cleaned the house thoroughly from top to bottom.

When he was young and ignorant, he knew his mother worked hard, but he rarely helped with household chores.

By the time these chores were finished, it was already ten o'clock in the morning.

Qin Tian wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and smiled with satisfaction.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, he prepared to go to the internet cafe to finish Xu Hao's order.

Before leaving home, he did not forget yesterday's promise and made a phone call to Xia Nuannuan.

"Mm, okay, I'm heading over right away too, see you in a bit!"

Xia Nuannuan feigned a calm tone, but the slightly rising inflection betrayed her.

Qin Tian also guessed that her mother might be right beside her.

"Alright, see you in a bit, hanging up now!"

"Mm!"

After hanging up the phone, Qin Tian imagined Xia Nuannuan's expression at that moment, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into an arc.

At this moment, the situation at Xia Nuannuan's home was much like what he had imagined.

"Mom, why... are you looking at me like that?"

Seeing her mother wearing a smile and staring at her with a meaningful gaze, Xia Nuannuan asked, her face full of nervousness.

"Who was that?"

Su Xia asked, knowing the answer perfectly well.

"A classmate of mine, asking me out to go shopping, what's wrong?"

Xia Nuannuan used a very casual tone to state the excuse she had thought about for a long time before going to sleep.

But as someone who rarely lied, how could her expression and demeanor hide anything from Su Xia, who understood her best?

"Is that so? You've made a good friend at school, then!"

Su Xia did not expose her, saying with a beaming smile.

"Mm!"

Xia Nuannuan's pretty face flushed slightly, and feeling guilty, she avoided eye contact and said in a slightly flustered tone, "I, I'm going to go change my clothes."

"You have evening self-study tonight, you must be back before dinner!"

Su Xia reminded her.

"Got it!"

Xia Nuannuan agreed, walked hurriedly into her room, and closed the door.

"This girl, she even knows how to lie to me now."

Su Xia shook her head, unable to laugh or cry, and then returned her attention to the television.

Before long, Xia Nuannuan came out of her room wearing a sky-blue dress and carrying a small bag.

"Oh? You were never willing to wear this dress before; you're dressed up so beautifully today?"

Su Xia rested her chin on one hand and teased her with a deliberate smile.

"I don't usually go shopping anyway, I just wanted to wear this one today, oh my, Mom, just watch your TV, stop looking at me."

Xia Nuannuan blushed and walked quickly to the kitchen.

Opening the refrigerator, she took out two sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap and stuffed them into her bag, then grabbed two bottles of low-calorie fruit and vegetable juice.

After closing the refrigerator door, she suddenly remembered something, opened the refrigerator again, and took a can of cola she used to like drinking.

In the living room, Su Xia took everything in with the corner of her eye and gave a speechless, bitter smile in her heart.

No wonder when making breakfast earlier, her daughter, who would absolutely sleep in on holidays, had rarely gotten up early and even asked her to make a few more of her specialty sandwiches.

So it turned out they were to be brought to that boy!

"Mom, I'm heading out now!"

Carrying her somewhat bulging little bag, Xia Nuannuan said goodbye to her mother while changing her shoes in the entryway.

"Mm, be safe on the road, come back early."

"Okay!"