Chapter 288
Xia'er walked up to the study on the second floor, picked up a medical book, and settled down on the sofa to flip through its pages.
She was preparing to try and understand some medical knowledge on her own before pinpointing the foundational subjects in medicine to see just how different they really were.
However, knowledge of medicine, no matter how gifted one might be, couldn’t be mastered solely through self-study like linguistics; practical experience and good teachers were equally important.
Taking advantage of her free time today, she planned to self-study for a while before seeking out Adele for guidance, while also persuading her not to venture into the dangerous North Ansu.
Breakfast consisted of cod with butter and bread, accompanied by a cup of strong coffee. The presentation was quite meticulous, though the portion was rather small. Xia'er quickly finished her meal and signaled the maid to clear the table, leaving only the cup of coffee to sip slowly.
At that moment, the book in Xia'er’s hands was titled "Pathology," a relatively basic medical text. As she deliberately slowed her reading pace, she felt her mind gradually settle—aside from the many parts she didn’t understand, everything was going quite well.
Xia'er was well aware that much of the medical knowledge in this world was still rather superficial and prone to errors, but she didn’t know what the correct information was, so it didn’t affect her.
Halfway through, she switched to a more interesting book on human anatomy, which had plenty of illustrations.
This book was much easier for Xia'er to absorb; she even learned about some fatal methods she hadn’t been clear on before, along with a number of professional terms.
At least now, if she were to poke herself, she would know what that part was called, since she had only practiced without any theoretical knowledge before.
Just as she felt her eyes growing a bit dry and raised her hand to rub them, preparing to use her predetermined points to learn, a soft knock came from the door.
Who could it be at this time?
“Come in,” Xia'er called out.
At the same time, under Xia'er’s control, her upgraded "Prophet's Vision" activated. In her eyes, the illusory wooden door swung open, revealing the figure of Aivina standing outside.
After the upgrade, "Prophet's Vision" indeed gained much better control; Xia'er no longer passively foresaw every future vision, and her own sight was much clearer, aiding her mental recovery.
Unless it was something that posed a danger to her, this ability wouldn’t be constantly active, interfering with her mind.
In the next moment, the wooden door opened, overlapping with the illusion in front of Xia'er, and Aivina’s figure appeared in the doorway.
The faint aroma of coffee in the study calmed Aivina’s nerves a little. After closing the door, she walked toward Xia'er and asked, “Have you had breakfast?”
“Mm,” Xia'er nodded, closing the book in her hands.
Seeing the beautiful girl quietly reading in front of her, Aivina’s previously tense spirit, which had been on edge during the signing of the new contract, relaxed a bit.
Aivina sat down to Xia'er’s left, her legs crossed in black stockings. For some reason, she seemed a bit more reserved than usual.
These small gestures didn’t escape Xia'er’s keen observation.
Not knowing what she was thinking, Aivina awkwardly took off her glasses and held them in her hand, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she said, “I heard from Hopkins that you missed me?”
Hopkins? Who?
After a moment of thought, Xia'er replied, “The maid?”
“Um… isn’t that right?” Aivina blinked in surprise, her left hand nervously fiddling with the hem of her skirt.
What’s going on? Isn’t that what Hopkins said? I even prepared myself a bit before knocking on the door…
Just a couple of hours apart, and Xia'er was already too clingy… Aivina had even felt a bit pleased about it.
“Do you know much about coffee?”
Suddenly, Xia'er’s seemingly random question caught Aivina off guard. She looked into Xia'er’s eyes, puzzled, and replied, “Well… I know a fair bit? I’ve tasted coffee from most regions…”
Before Aivina could finish, she noticed Xia'er leaning slightly toward her.
“Mm…”
The bitterness and aroma of coffee mixed with an unknown liquid swirled together, and Aivina’s previously slightly disappointed cheeks instantly flushed with color.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she savored the sweetness that followed the bitterness…
A few minutes later, accompanied by a silvery thread, they parted. Aivina, forcing herself to appear calm, took out a handkerchief to dab at her mouth, though her hand trembled slightly.
Xia'er breathed lightly, looking at Aivina with a smile, and asked, “What kind of coffee is this?”
“‘Yellowstone Dawn,’” Aivina replied, taking a moment to steady her heartbeat.
Her mind had gone blank just now; how could she discern the flavor of any coffee? Even if a cup was placed in front of her, she wouldn’t be able to identify its origin.
The only reason she knew the name of the coffee was that she had only bought that particular kind, as it was quite expensive and suitable for entertaining guests. Aivina personally preferred black tea a bit more.
“Impressive,” Xia'er praised with a smile, her eyes slightly squinted, seemingly enjoying Aivina’s flustered state.
“What are you laughing at?”
Aivina, regaining her composure, pursed her lips and reached out with the handkerchief to wipe Xia'er’s mouth, her gaze drifting down to Xia'er’s legs.
“Anatomy? When did you become interested in that?”
Seemingly to change the subject, Aivina casually asked.
“Just learning a bit,” Xia'er shook her head. “I don’t really understand it.”
“You’re studying too many random things… Learning needs to be systematic; you can’t just give up halfway like this.”
Aivina seemed to find her footing, her tone becoming a bit more assertive.
When it came to studying, Aivina didn’t think she would lose to anyone, especially since she had mostly self-studied without attending any academy.
“What about the Ancient Ansu language materials you wanted? Have you finished them all?”
This was one of the few opportunities Aivina had to “educate” Xia'er from a higher position, and she wasn’t going to let this rare chance slip by.
Although Xia'er had casually recited a line of Ancient Ansu poetry before, Aivina didn’t believe Xia'er had truly gone through all those books.
“I finished them,” Xia'er replied innocently, nodding.
“I knew it… huh?”
Just as Aivina was preparing to give Xia'er a little punishment for this, she was taken aback by Xia'er’s response.
The two stared at each other for a while, and Aivina’s voice gradually softened, “I… I knew you’d finished them…”
She didn’t think Xia'er was lying; she believed Xia'er wouldn’t do such things just for the sake of appearances.
After a moment of silence, Aivina finally thought of another topic and asked, “So what are you planning to do today? Just read all day?”
“Not really,” Xia'er shook her head. “I’m planning to find Adele to talk about medicine and discuss a few things with her.”
“What things?” Aivina inquired.
She had been busy these days and hadn’t been to the clinic, so she didn’t know what Adele had been up to lately. Plus, she hadn’t invited Adele to the previous banquet, not because she wanted to isolate her.
It wasn’t an extraordinary gathering, and there was no reason to invite Adele. Moreover, since Adele was the sister of the High Priestess of the Goddess of Salvation, many informed nobles and wealthy merchants would harbor disdain for her, which was another reason.
“Convince her not to go to North Ansu,” Xia'er said. “It’s quite dangerous there.”
“She wants to go to North Ansu?”
Aivina frowned slightly at this, agreeing, “You should definitely talk her out of it… When are you planning to leave? I was just about to head out too; I can give you a ride.”
“Right now,” Xia'er said as she stood up.
Though not much time had actually passed, due to the simulation, Xia'er felt like it had been ages since she last saw Adele. It was a good opportunity to visit her during this break and see if she could get some internal medical materials from the Redemption Society.
Chapter 165: “X Health Potion.”
After tidying up her appearance, Aivina led Xia'er out of the study, instructing the butler to prepare a carriage. The two then climbed aboard.
Inside the carriage, Xia'er closed her eyes and opened the system panel, directly accessing the system shop’s [Basic Subjects] page.
Now, Xia'er had already learned [Linguistics Lv.3] and [Sewing Lv.2], with [Sculpting], [Medicine], [Law], [Gardening], and [Cooking] still left to study.
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