Grandma and Aunt Have Arrived

Wang Fang, however, would not let the matter rest. Her brow furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with worry as she muttered:

"You make it sound so easy, but whenever my son is not by my side, my heart is in a constant state of turmoil. That feeling of anxiety is truly beyond description; I simply cannot set my mind at ease."

Iris stood quietly to one side, watching the lively family reunion. For some reason, she suddenly felt somewhat superfluous, like an accidental passerby who had strayed into someone else's world.

She pressed her lips together slightly and said softly:

"Mr. Su, Mrs. Su, it is truly wonderful to see your family reunited. However, Su Hao's study program has not yet concluded. He must return for training at any moment and cannot spend all his time keeping you company. After all, the boy is currently at an age to acquire knowledge and develop his skills. If he stays by your side for too long, he will simply waste this prime time."

Upon hearing this, Wang Fang hurriedly and eagerly chimed in:

"Teacher Iris, I know what you are saying makes sense, but as a mother, my heart cannot help but worry. I simply want my son to spend more time by my side. Please, understand a mother's feelings."

Seeing this, Su Ming smiled to smooth things over:

"Oh, stop agonizing over this. Now that the boy is finally back, we must celebrate properly. I will cook him a delicious meal—how about sea cucumber fried rice? That is my specialty."

The moment Su Hao heard the words "sea cucumber fried rice," his complexion turned instantly pale. He had finished eating a mere two hours ago, and his stomach was still bloated and terribly uncomfortable. He almost vomited on the spot.

He hurriedly waved his hands vigorously, wearing a look of sheer terror as he said:

"Dad, please spare me! I ate not long ago, and my stomach is still stuffed. Do not cook anything right now, especially not sea cucumber fried rice. Just hearing the name makes my stomach churn."

Reflecting on the past, Su Hao's life in the real world had truly been lonely and drab.

He had neither classmates to laugh and play with, nor companions to share his innermost thoughts with, let alone close friends to chat with freely.

For more than ten long years, he had spent most of his time lying upon that small hospital bed. Every day, the sights that greeted his eyes, aside from the familiar and weary faces of his mother and father, were the gentle smiles of the nurse who periodically made rounds and the stern, serious expressions of the doctors.

Beyond them, the most frequent visitor was his grandmother, and whenever she came, his paternal aunt always accompanied her.

Yet that aunt invariably spoke in a tone of disdain, her words like sharp thorns piercing Su Hao's heart, making him detest her immensely.

He had even thought to himself in secret how strange the world was: the people you least wished to see were always the ones to pop up unexpectedly right before your eyes. And sure enough, his aunt had come along with his grandmother once again.

The moment his grandmother stepped through the door, she eagerly hurried forward on small, hurried steps and cried out:

"My precious eldest grandson is back! Let grandmother take a good look at you. Oh, my precious grandson, you finally look like a proper person now! These past ten-odd years have worried me sick. We owe it all to Teacher Iris; if not for her, goodness knows when your illness would have ever gotten better."

The aunt chimed in from the side as well, joining the excitement with a cheerful, teasing remark.

***

Grandmother continued:

"The granddaughter of an old friend in our residential compound is a reporter. Having heard about our eldest nephew's situation, she said she wants to do a special feature report on you. Why don't you agree to it? You might even become a little celebrity."

Upon hearing this, Su Hao hurriedly pressed his palms together in a pleading gesture and said:

"Grandmother, please spare me! Some reporter's report—I want nothing to do with that. I just want to live my life quietly, not be surrounded and watched by crowds of people."

His aunt, Su Yiman, however, refused to let the matter drop. She stepped closer to Su Hao, a mischievous smile plastered across her face, and said:

"Look at my nephew, how handsome he has grown! Walking out like this, goodness knows how many young girls he will charm. You must be careful not to let those girls take a fancy to you and steal you away!"

Hearing this, Su Hao let out a cold snort in his heart, rolled his eyes in secret, and completely ignored his aunt, turning his head away as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Seeing this, his aunt became somewhat displeased. Her brow twitched slightly as she raised her voice and said:

"Su Hao, I am your aunt! What kind of look is that you are giving me? In the past, you looked just like a little meatball, and every time I looked at you, I worried myself sick. Now look at you, a strapping young man. When you grow a bit older, your aunt will introduce you to a whole bunch of girlfriends, and then you can chuckle in secret."

Su Hao sighed helplessly, rolled his eyes even further, and pouted as he replied:

"Aunty, please spare me. I don't want that many girlfriends. I am not that fickle; one wife is quite enough. Why would I need so many? I'm not the type to eat what's in my bowl while eyeing what's in the serving dish and dreaming about what's still in the pot."

Wang Fang watched this scene unfold from the side and couldn't help letting out a chuckle, interrupting the aunt's words:

"Precisely, my son is not that kind of fickle person. One wife is enough. To have so many girlfriends would just create chaos. In our family, we value utter devotion."

At this moment, Su Yiman seemed to suddenly recall an important matter. She turned her gaze toward Iris, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, and asked eagerly:

"You must be Teacher Iris, right? You truly are a miraculous doctor! I have a colleague at my workplace whose husband had a terrible mishap—he was struck by a car a few days ago, and both of his legs were crushed, amputated right up to the hip joints. Now his entire family is in absolute despair.

I told them how you cured my eldest nephew, and upon hearing it, they were utterly thrilled. They insist that you must take a look at her husband's legs, and they said money is no object—their family is even wealthier than our grandfather! What do you think about this..."

Hearing this, Iris was just about to offer a polite, non-committal reply when Su Hao hurriedly shot her a look and said urgently:

"Aunty, let's drop it. Teacher Iris is not a doctor; she is a teacher. Please don't go spreading misconceptions."

As he spoke, he kept flashing meaningful glances at his aunt, signaling her to hold her tongue.

The aunt pouted upon seeing this. Though somewhat disgruntled, she found it difficult to pursue the matter further and fell silent. The atmosphere in the room instantly turned somewhat delicate, as if threads of awkwardness were quietly spreading through the air.

Iris understood the situation perfectly well, her mind as clear as a pristine mirror, reflecting everything with absolute clarity.

Back then, in order to restore Su Hao to health, she had no choice but to use medical treatment as a pretext and meticulously lay the groundwork.

***

Who could have foreseen that this act would be like tossing a small pebble into a calm, unruffled lake, instantly stirring up layer upon layer of ripples that spread outward in endless circles, bringing her countless troubles.

When others witnessed her curing a condition as intractable and nearly hopeless as Su Hao's, they naturally regarded her as a miraculous living physician, thoroughly convinced in their minds that she possessed the power to resurrect the dead and conquer all manner of bizarre and baffling maladies.

Consequently, they all set their sights on her, hoping she would intervene to safeguard the health of their own family members, as if a single wave of her hand could banish all illness into the distance.

Yet Iris knew full well within her heart that she was by no means a physician, but merely a teacher who imparted knowledge, taught skills, and resolved doubts.

And her student, Su Hao, having spent such a long time in her company, understood her abilities thoroughly and crystal clearly.

Recalling the events of the past, Iris had truly racked her brains and exerted an enormous amount of effort to raise the funds required for Su Hao's critical attribute transformation.

On the very path back to Su Hao's home, the little fellow, naturally brimming with curiosity, could no longer contain himself. His large eyes blinked repeatedly, filled with inquisitive wonder as he stepped up to Iris and asked in a crisp voice:

"Teacher, just how many times can this critical attribute transformation take place?"

Upon hearing this, Iris furrowed her brow slightly, her pretty eyebrows twitching like a pair of lively little caterpillars.

She pondered for a moment before patiently explaining to Su Hao, her voice gentle and soft like a spring breeze brushing past:

"Every multiple of 20 levels marks a critical attribute transformation. However, there are two ways to deal with this transformation.

The first way: if your account holds a sufficient quantity of cosmic particles, the system will automatically deduct them and smoothly complete the attribute transformation for you.

However, if you do not possess enough cosmic particles on hand, you have no choice but to undertake the attribute transformation trial. Yet I must warn you in advance—this trial is no child's play. The difficulty is beyond imagination; calling it a brush with death would hardly be an exaggeration."

Upon hearing these words, Su Hao was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead as if a sudden realization had struck him. The crisp sound of the slap echoed unusually clearly along the quiet path.

As he patted his head, he muttered to himself:

"Ah, so that is how it works! Previously, I was foolish enough to believe that without Grandpa's sponsorship of 400 catties of gold, this attribute transformation would be completely out of the question. I never imagined it could also be accomplished through trials."

Yet deep down, he couldn't help muttering in discontent, his brow furrowing into a knot as he whispered under his breath:

"Hmph, this Cosmic Environmental Protection Agency is truly despicable, digging pitfalls everywhere.

Next time, I must consume every last one of the cosmic particles I've worked so hard to accumulate, leaving behind only a tiny fraction for emergencies.

Otherwise, there's no telling what cunning and exasperating schemes the Cosmic Environmental Protection Agency will dream up next to fleece me of my cosmic coins."