At Least You Know Yourself Well, Not Completely Hopeless
Su Jingyang, unsurprisingly, harvested another overwhelming surge of energy from Ling Li. He had occasionally happened upon chances to do good deeds these past days, yet the energy halos from those barely amounted to a fraction of what Ling Li alone provided. Saying that nearly all the energy he had gathered so far came from Ling Li would not be an exaggeration.
After the absorption finished that day, something unexpected appeared before his eyes, a progress bar. The displayed energy progress was… 0.0001%????
The heart-stabbing number nearly made Su Jingyang cough up blood. “This is so f*cking worse than not reminding me at all!”
The system replied, “You could just kill yourself. That would be eliminating a menace for the people. Everyone under heaven would be grateful to you. Your energy bar might actually fill up then.”
“I’ll kill you instead, you piece of sh*t!” Su Jingyang said furiously through gritted teeth.
After being inexplicably dragged into this world, meeting Ling Li, and living together until now, Su Jingyang had gradually adapted. He had even grown numb to the once-every-five-days routine. Still, his greatest wish remained returning to his own world. That was the place he truly knew, where he had grown up, and where his heart belonged.
He knew the hope was slim, yet he would not give up. One day, he would leave this world.
The system mocked him again for not knowing his own limits. Su Jingyang had neither the mood nor the time to argue. After settling Ling Li and tidying himself up, he headed out.
He was not at ease leaving an injured Ling Li alone at home, especially with Ah Xuan there. His plan was to go to the bookshop to request leave and find someone to cover his shift. Unexpectedly, upon arriving, he saw Liang Lu already there, legs crossed, sitting in Su Jingyang’s usual spot, leisurely sipping tea and fully embodying idle affluence.
Before Su Jingyang could even speak, Liang Lu took in his somewhat pale complexion and asked whether he was feeling unwell.
“I’m actually not—”
Despite the cold weather, Liang Lu toyed with a folding fan. He waved it dismissively, cutting Su Jingyang off. “Enough, stop forcing it. You got hurt catching the thief, right? If you’re uncomfortable, go back, see a doctor, and rest a few days. Come back when you’re better.”
“Really? Then who’ll handle the cashier work—”
“That’s easy,” Liang Lu said. “I’ll do it myself. I’m bored anyway.”
Seeing how serious he looked, Su Jingyang examined him suspiciously. “Really?”
“Of course. Do I look like I’m messing with you?” Liang Lu straightened a little and smiled. “Rest for a few days. I’ll cover here.”
“Two days should be enough. You can just deduct my wages when—”
Perhaps due to lack of sleep, Su Jingyang’s sluggish mind finally caught up. “Wait. Hold on. You just said I caught the thief? How did you know?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Liang Lu laughed. “You’re really slow on the uptake.”
Liang Lu extended his hand, two fingers holding folded banknotes, signaling Su Jingyang to take them. Su Jingyang accepted them in confusion and unfolded them. His eyes nearly popped out. Five hundred-tael silver notes.
In this era, five hundred taels was a substantial sum, equivalent to over twenty years of wages at the bookshop. An absolute fortune.
Seeing him frozen, Liang Lu tapped his forehead with the fan handle and snorted. “Are you stupid or what? You catch a criminal and don’t even take the reward. When they asked where you lived, you didn’t say a word. What, trying to be a nameless good Samaritan? Earlier, when I took your portrait to process the identity plaque, a constable recognized you and came to me, asking me to pass the money along. They gave silver originally. I figured you wouldn’t need large sums immediately, so I exchanged it for notes. Easier to carry.”
So that was it. Holding the notes, Su Jingyang suddenly felt lightheaded.
He had not given his address because the money did not sit entirely right with him. He had assumed the bounty would be only a few taels at most. He never imagined it would be this much.
Liang Lu explained that the criminal had harmed many children and had been wanted for a long time. He was a major offender, with the bounty raised repeatedly, which explained the amount.
Seeing Su Jingyang frowning instead of celebrating, Liang Lu finally snapped. “Hey, what are you even thinking about? Free money is free money. Even if you didn’t personally catch him, witnesses get a share. What, planning to return it?”
Since it had already been delivered so insistently, Su Jingyang had no intention of returning it. He looked up at Liang Lu. “I was just thinking, I actually prefer silver. It feels more solid.”
Liang Lu clearly could not relate to this desire to feel like a sudden rich man. His mouth twitched twice before he sighed. “Fine, my fault for meddling. Give me the notes. I’ll exchange them back.”
Su Jingyang tucked the notes into his robe carefully. “Forget it. I’ll do it myself when I have time.”
He turned and strode off.
Liang Lu leaned sideways, staring at Su Jingyang’s retreating back. Absent-mindedly, he flicked open the decorative fan and fanned himself a few times, only to shiver from the cold and awkwardly toss it aside. A customer came to check out books, and he finally stepped in to genuinely take over Su Jingyang’s duties.
On the way home, Su Jingyang planned to stop by a restaurant to pack lunch and dinner. A familiar figure gradually entered his field of vision, approaching from the opposite direction. That tall, upright silhouette stood out even without seeing the face.
Wasn’t that the sharp-tongued black-clad young hero who saved Ah Xuan?
Su Jingyang’s body reacted faster than his mind. He quickened his pace and rushed over. “Young Hero!”
The black-clad youth seemed to be in a poor mood. Lightly furrowing his brow showed several points of irritation. After being stopped, he lifted his gaze and looked Su Jingyang over. “You? What is it?”
Ignoring the impatience in his tone, Su Jingyang pulled out the freshly warmed silver notes. In the briefest terms, he explained the sequence of events and gestured for him to take the five hundred taels.
The youth raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. Seeing Su Jingyang’s wide eyes full of sincerity, he folded his arms and did not accept them. His tone turned unexpectedly polite. “No need. Keep it. Go buy yourself more longevity nuts.”
“Oh, okay.” Su Jingyang calmly withdrew the notes. Longevity nuts? What kind of fruit was that? Did eating it make you live longer?
The youth’s dark eyes fixed on him, lips curving slightly. “Looks like you were waiting for me to say that.”
“If you don’t want it, I can’t force you,” Su Jingyang replied. His bright eyes looked up at the slightly taller, strikingly handsome youth. “I’m kind of stupid. I can’t tell whether people are being sincere or just polite.”
The youth studied him quietly. After a moment, he said in a low, unhurried voice, “You know yourself pretty well. Not completely beyond saving.”
“……………Farewell!” Ptui.
Su Jingyang left. Even after walking far away, he could still feel an intense gaze on his back, impossible to ignore. He glanced behind him and saw the youth still standing there. A chill crept up his spine. He quickened his steps and hurried off.
After packing the food at the restaurant, he circled back and asked the server what longevity nuts were.
The server kindly explained that longevity nuts were a type of nut believed to nourish the brain.
“……” F*ck.
Su Jingyang stormed off. So what if he mistook him for the criminal earlier? He had apologized. How could someone so young be this petty, with zero chivalrous grace?
Rushing home, Su Jingyang found Ling Li resting as instructed, half-reclined, while Ah Xuan was rummaging through the wardrobe, tossing clothes all over the floor. Su Jingyang picked him up. “What are you hunting for, little guy? Hidden gold?”
Ling Li rubbed his aching head. “He’s looking for candy.” After Su Jingyang let Ah Xuan taste candy once, the child became obsessed. Ling Li dared not give him too much, so he hid it in the cabinet. Ah Xuan had learned to rummage on his own.
Ah Xuan wriggled in Su Jingyang’s arms, then suddenly craned his head toward the hall, sucking his fingers and drooling. He smelled the food Su Jingyang brought back.
Su Jingyang stopped Ling Li from getting up and brought the dishes into the room to eat together. Afterward, he chatted with Ling Li until he fell back asleep. Su Jingyang then carried Ah Xuan into the yard to bask in the sun.
Ah Xuan could not sit still. He grabbed a handful of millet and chased chickens around the yard. Su Jingyang had bought five of them. Feathers flew everywhere as Ah Xuan chased them gleefully.
Su Jingyang sat on a small stool, cracking pumpkin seeds, watching Ah Xuan, while quietly planning something. Suddenly, loud noises came from next door.
Startled, Su Jingyang stood and stepped out, circling the neighboring gate. He saw people cleaning and repairing the house,bringing in brand-new furniture in an orderly bustle.
The neighboring house once belonged to a middle-aged shuangrenzi who was the instigator of spreading rumors about Ling Li everywhere. Two years ago, the man moved to Jincheng to live with his son, leaving the house to be sold. Due to its reputation, it had never sold.
Now, it seemed new owners were moving in.
Turning around, Su Jingyang noticed Ah Xuan toddling after him, mimicking his peeking. Seeing people inside look at him suspiciously, Su Jingyang flashed an apologetic smile, picked up Ah Xuan, and went home.
Inside, Ling Li had indeed been woken by the noise. Holding his aching head, he slowly sat up and asked what was happening. Su Jingyang sat by the bed and explained.
Ling Li stared blankly for a moment before asking in disbelief, “Really… really someone’s moving in?”
Author’s Note:
Thank you to everyone for your comments, bookmarks, tips, and nourishment! Mwah mwah mwah! I know many readers dislike the young gong’s attributes. If you don’t like it, don’t force yourself. Reading should be about enjoying yourself~ If you can’t wait for updates, feel free to check out other works on my profile. They’re all similarly dog-blood mpreg stories. I also have two mpreg pre-orders. If you’re interested, go ahead and bookmark them. The more bookmarks, the more courage I’ll have to start writing =v=
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