Thanks to Zhao Yuan's occasional reckless actions during this period, he can now casually put his arm around Qin Chu's shoulder without being tackled to the ground.
But Qin Chu still disapproved: "Let go."
Zhao Yuan didn't back down, and even argued, "Look how fast you're walking. People who don't know us will think we're not together. What if some thugs drag me into an alley behind you?"
Qin Chu was used to his cowardice and simply sneered, "With your pig-like screams, I could hear you falling behind by a whole street, let alone half a step."
Zhao Yuan seemed to have been praised: "Alright, I'll shout even louder from now on!"
Qin Chu: "..."
He felt that this person and Noah probably had a lot in common.
He was led halfway down the street, and soon they arrived at the place where they had stolen the car. Qin Chu was extremely annoyed: "Let go and get lost."
"Hey? Aren't you going to take me home, deskmate?" Zhao Yuan pressed his advantage.
"If you want, I can send you to heaven." Qin Chu brushed the guy's hand away, afraid that Zhao Yuan would also say "Goodbye, Cheng Cheng" to him. He turned around and left before Zhao Yuan could speak.
As they were about to part, Zhao Yuan brought up the previous topic again. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I gave you a gift today. How about I don't give you one for your birthday?"
Qin Chu glanced at him: "Whatever."
He had walked quite a distance when he heard Zhao Yuan call out to him again, "By the way, when is your birthday?"
Qin Chu stopped and thought for a moment. Should he say he didn't know? He thought for two seconds before realizing that Zhao Yuan was asking about Cheng Cheng's birthday.
He was about to answer when he remembered that Cheng Cheng's birthday was in September, after the college entrance examination.
Author's Note:
Note [1]: This comes from the socialist concept of honor and disgrace.
Chapter 16 The First World (14)
Qin Chu suddenly didn't know what to say.
He turned his head and saw that the idiot was still waiting for his reply, and even ran over to chase after him for a couple of steps.
If you can't think of an answer, then don't answer.
Qin Chu simply walked back and grabbed Zhao Yuan by the back of his collar.
Zhao Yuan was very tall, but Qin Chu still managed to lift him up.
Qin Chu maintained that posture as he shoved the person into a nearby shop. He even nodded to the shop owner behind the counter, indicating: I've brought your idiot son back.
On Saturday morning, Qin Chu woke up in his room.
Compared to the school dormitory, this place was still unfamiliar to him. He had been busy studying English for the past two weekends, and it seemed that Cheng Cheng's parents' family information was a blank in the system, so he had no need to come back.
Good morning, sir. Did you sleep well last night?
Qin Chu might not necessarily sleep at night, and if he needed to sleep, he would alert the Noah system. After all, they were infiltrating a virtual world constructed by the mainframe to complete a mission, not on a real vacation.
"Hmm." Qin Chu didn't describe his sleep state in detail, and got up to wash up.
Actually, he didn't sleep very well last night. He had a few fragmented dreams, all of which were about the past.
"Sir, these are the words you need to memorize today." Noah presented several words in Qin Chu's mind.
For a while, Qin Chu was completely clueless about English. He squeezed out every spare moment to learn it, which forced Noah, a military system, to evolve into a learning machine.
"I won't memorize it today." After washing up, Qin Chu didn't open his backpack, but instead picked up his phone and went out.
"My God, sir, do you also have times when you only work hard for two days and rest for three?" Noah sighed inwardly.
Qin Chu ignored him.
He did have other things to do when he came back this week.
The local thugs were more complex than he had initially thought. He had dealt with Meng Bo's gang yesterday, but hadn't managed to catch Meng Bo. This guy was directly connected to Zhou Sisi's questline, and if he didn't take him down, Zhou Sisi's quest progress probably wouldn't advance.
After going downstairs, Qin Chu could see the white steam rising from the breakfast stall from a distance.
Although it was the weekend, the proprietress didn't start her stall late at all.
There weren't many people at the breakfast stall yet, but the proprietress spotted Qin Chu coming out of the building at a glance and greeted him, "It's the weekend today, Xiao Cheng, why are you up so early? Are you going to read a book?"
Qin Chu, who was preparing to fight, remained silent for a long time before letting out a soft "hmm".
As if she was used to Qin Chu's cold face, the proprietress didn't feel unfamiliar this time. Taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many people around, she even started chatting with him.
"Now that winter break is over, are exams coming up soon?"
"Mm." Qin Chu nodded.
Upon hearing this, the proprietress looked worried, as if she were the one giving her son a test.
"Then we need to be on high alert."
After saying that, she glanced at Qin Chu's increasingly serious expression and immediately added, "But you can't be too tense. You still need to relax more often..."
After a while, Qin Chu saw that the breakfast he ordered had been served. The proprietress also gave him a tea egg, saying it was to help him improve his brain function.
Qin Chu ate his breakfast silently, watching the seats around him gradually fill up.
When he first arrived in this world, everyone he saw outside the building seemed like a spy for the system. But after living here for a while, he discovered that each of these data entities had their own life, just like the humans living peacefully in this small town.
"Sir, if you find Meng Bo today, what are you going to do with him?" Noah asked.
Qin Chu was slowly peeling the tea egg, and said succinctly, "Beat him up."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Slap the face."
Even though he had no face, Noah still felt a chill run down his spine; this was fucking disfigurement!
They've been in several fights and beaten up dozens of people, but Qin Chu has never seen Meng Bo.
Knowing that Yang Ge and Meng Bo were both children of nearby residents, he couldn't help but glance at the proprietress. Breakfast stalls were always good places to chat, and the proprietress probably knew where Meng Bo lived.
Qin Chu raised his hand and called out, "Boss."
The proprietress seemed to have radar over his voice; despite having so many people present, she immediately turned her head upon hearing it. She then wiped her hands and walked to Qin Chu's table: "What's wrong, Xiao Cheng? Didn't you eat enough?"
As she spoke, she turned to ask her husband to serve Qin Chu another steamer of buns.
Qin Chu quickly interrupted her: "No."
He wanted to ask about things related to thugs, but when he looked up and met the landlady's eyes, he froze.
This middle-aged woman, worn out from years of hard work, now had bright, sparkling eyes as she looked at him as if he were the flower of the motherland, the hope of this community, and the future star of literature.
Under that expectant, appreciative gaze, Qin Chu swallowed back the words he was about to say, finally managing to utter only, "Check, please..."
Leaving the breakfast stall, Qin Chu stepped directly into the dark alley.
Just like when he first came, the thugs here were like clockwork, appearing precisely on time in this maze of alleys early in the morning. Several of them occupied a spot, chatting and laughing or puffing away on cigarettes.
Only when someone passes by do they cast mocking glances at them, like wolves eyeing their prey.
But this time, Qin Chu wasn't there to be the prey.
His eyes swept across the area and he happened to spot a familiar face. It was the blond-haired guy who had greeted him the first time he walked through this alley.
Huang Mao was there, bragging to his buddies as usual, when suddenly he heard an extremely arrogant voice: "You, come here."
Huang Mao was stunned, thinking it was some kind of boss, but when he turned around, he saw Qin Chu.
"Hey, isn't this the good student?" the blond-haired guy laughed. "Last time you came to see me, you even brought me a pack of cigarettes. Why are you so rude today? I don't want to talk to you if you're rude."
A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the crowd.
As Huang Mao spoke, he reached out his hand to Qin Chu, assuming that this man was still there to offer him business.
But before he could even reach out, he felt a sharp pain in his knee and lost his balance, falling flat on his face to the ground.
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Qin Chu's toes appeared in front of the blond-haired man, and he said, "Can we talk properly now?"
Zhao Yuan also got up early because he didn't have to act today and could have some fun. Although school had been quite interesting lately, he had been cooped up for almost a month.
Although it was early, it was still compared to his usual routine of eating lunch right after waking up. When he got up, the shop had long passed breakfast time and had already started preparing lunch.
Knowing he was free today, Brother Yang and his underlings waited for him at the shop downstairs early in the morning. When they saw him come down, they almost lined up and shouted "Boss!" in unison.
"Didn't I tell you not to follow me?" Zhao Yuan clicked his tongue and grabbed a bottle of water from the store.
Yang Ge immediately rolled over: "Big Brother, we didn't want to come today either, but something big has happened!"
His worried tone made him sound just like a eunuch anxious for the emperor.
"What's the big deal?" Zhao Yuan took a sip of ice water and idly fiddled with the lucky cat figurine on the table.
Yang was genuinely nervous. He reached out and pulled one of his underlings over: "Quick, tell the boss what you saw this morning."
The thug had seen Zhao Yuan fight before, and standing in front of him, his legs trembled slightly. "Um, um, that alley in Mengbo's alley. I passed by there today and saw that it looked like the alley had been cleared out..."
"Isn't clearing it out a good thing?" Zhao Yuan wasn't very interested, nor did he have the same determination as Yang Ge and his group to protect their territory.
He was promoted to the position of leader by this group of people themselves, and when he gets into fights, it's only because someone actually comes up to him and annoys him.
Yang Ge, however, didn't see it that way. He almost knelt down, clinging to Zhao Yuan's leg: "Boss, this won't do. Once the alley is cleared, it'll be our turn. I'm afraid those guys outside will come in..."
Hearing the group of people outside, Zhao Yuan frowned.
"Let's talk outside." He didn't let the group of people block the store and affect business, and pointed outside with his chin raised.
Zhao Yuan walked ahead, and Yang Ge and the others, knowing his personality, didn't stick close behind, but lagged a few steps behind like a tail.
Anyone who has witnessed Zhao Yuan in action is involuntarily intimidated by him. This is because some of his actions are truly baffling.
Yang still remembers the first time he met Zhao Yuan.
Although he was a hoodlum, Yang dropped out of school late and considered himself a hoodlum with principles, having absolutely no interest in making things difficult for those students. He would even sometimes protect this area and keep those idiots outside at bay.
But with so many men under his command, he couldn't possibly manage them all. There were always a few henchmen who used his name to collect protection money.
Zhao Yuan was an unlucky guy who was constantly being pressured to pay money, and it seems he was asked for money more than once.
Yang had run into him once before and thought the student was outrageously cowardly. He scolded the underling who demanded protection money on the spot and didn't take it seriously.
But just two months ago, those two underlings were probably short of money, so they went to ambush Zhao Yuan again.