novelraw Chapter 199
Chapter 199
Chapter 199: I Refuse
The next day, Xia Li sent the evil dragon to work and stayed at home to ponder the incident from the previous night.
He went through the comment history of the black avatar user, meticulously gathering all the useful information.
There were over a hundred comments under this account.
More than eighty of them were left in the comment section of Xia Li’s book.
This was without counting the number of times he had argued with people in nested replies. If those were included, the number would probably reach over a thousand.
He was a very active reader.
After researching the entire morning, Xia Li summarized three key points.
One, it was certain that the world described by the black avatar user was not Azure Continent, but another world.
Two, that world was also a world of magic. Unlike Azure Continent, it was more brutal and bloody. According to the black avatar user, that world had been ruled by a race similar to the Demon Race. Three, the black avatar user had eventually completed his mission and successfully returned to Earth, but he was now living a very unhappy life.
“If it’s not delusional disorder, then he really is a transmigrator.”
Xia Li sat in front of his computer, saving the organized information in an Excel spreadsheet.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen people claiming to be transmigrators online before. Most of them also had their own complete worldviews. They would memorize the fantasy worlds they created, even inventing the written language of the other world, in order to gain a lot of attention and traffic online.
But in the end, they all disappeared without exception after the truth was exposed.
As for this black avatar user, the reason why Xia Li believed him so much…
Besides the fact that Xia Li himself was a transmigrator and could empathize with him, there was another reason.
His emotions were too intense.
Stories could be fabricated, and worldviews could be made up, but emotions couldn’t.
If it weren’t for the limitations of written expression, Xia Li even felt that this person’s behavior in real life would be even more intense.
“Buzz.” His phone vibrated.
Xia Li picked up his phone from the table and glanced at it.
When he saw the lively profile picture flashing, his furrowed brows finally relaxed.
Girlfriend: Look at the puppy.
Girlfriend: 『Picture』
In the photo, a Papillon with a ponytail appeared in the shot. The puppy was sticking out its tongue, looking adorable. Lucia was teasing it with her hand. The puppy looked resistant, and it wasn’t hard to see the fear in its black eyes.
Summer Dawn: Let me show you a “Wife-Waiting Stone.”
Xia Li took a handsome selfie and sent it over.
It was the first time Lucia had heard such a novel term.
Girlfriend: Wife-Waiting Stone? Where?
Summer Dawn: It’s me.
Girlfriend: …You’re so childish.
Summer Dawn: You, a little dragon, calling someone childish.
Putting down his phone, time flew by and it was noon.
He couldn’t help but sigh at the half-day wasted today.
For Xia Li in his current situation, every day was crucial.
Apart from completing his part-time job, studying was even more important.
The next veterinary qualification exam was in June, leaving Xia Li with less than three months.
He had to use these remaining three months to catch up on four years of professional studies. The intensity was even more difficult than returning to the other world to slay dragons.
『What’s wrong? Did Dragon Sister wear you out?』
“…Scared the hell out of me.”
Just as he opened his takeout and took a bite, Xia Li was eating while listening to a lecture on professional knowledge when a neutral voice suddenly popped up in his head, startling him so much that he almost dropped his chopsticks.
『Not sneaking off to a small country anymore?』
Wuqi came in through the window and jumped onto the table to look at Xia Li’s phone.
The fact that he could listen to the lecture so leisurely proved that Dragon Sister had cured his impulsiveness a few days ago, and he was no longer clamoring to buy an ID card and get married.
It was true, this brother couldn’t use any magic on Earth.
If he really wanted to consider anything supernatural, he had to get Dragon Sister’s consent.
And in the current situation, Dragon Sister should be very satisfied with her current life, so she wouldn’t agree to Xia Li taking this risk.
『I knew you wouldn’t go.』
Wuqi knew he had guessed correctly.
He used his mouth to pull off the waist pouch hanging from his body. A bunch of things clattered out of the unzipped pouch.
There were scrap wires, batteries, a magnifying glass, glass shards…
“Why did you bring back trash?” Xia Li looked at the scrap metal with disgust.
Wuqi choked: 『What do you know? These are necessary props… Didn’t you say you wanted to go abroad? I have to pack and get ready!』
Xia Li stared at the pile of trash, speechless.
“…”
Thinking about it, it was reasonable for a stray cat to pick up these things.
“I think I met a transmigrator online.”
Xia Li put away the finished takeout container and told Wuqi about the black avatar user he had encountered before the New Year.
After listening, Wuqi remained skeptical.
『How could there be such a coincidence…』
Wuqi wagged his tail and reached out his paw to play with Mianhua, who was walking towards him.
『There’s a high probability that it’s fabricated.』
『I don’t think it’s necessary to pay attention to it. You’re just online friends. Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. You can’t meet anyway, so there’s no need to verify it.』
Unlike Xia Li, Wuqi was indifferent to this matter.
He was just a cat. There were many things he couldn’t do himself, let alone help other humans.
『I know what you’re worried about.』
After playing with Little Cotton for a while, Wuqi rolled on the ground, then looked up at Xia Li’s expression, upside down in his vision.
No wonder Xia Li was called the ‘Brave Hero.’
It made sense that the other world chose Xia Li to be the Brave Hero.
It must have been screened for character, personality, and beliefs.
If it were Wuqi, he would only choose to watch the drama unfold or stay far away at this time…
But Xia Li, he really looked like he would help that person, and he cared about it.
『Anyway, there’s no supernatural power on Earth, no magic, and no superpowers like mine. Even if the other party is really a transmigrator, the harm he can bring to this society is very small… If there’s a problem, it’s better to leave it to the police.』
Wuqi was worried that this brother would get worked up again, so after finishing speaking, he thought for a moment and added.
『Don’t forget,』
『Dragon Sister’s identity can’t withstand scrutiny.』
『Don’t complicate things.』
“…”
Wuqi’s words made Xia Li pause for a moment.
The living room was quiet for a while, only the sound of Mianhua crunching cat food in front of her cat bed.
Outside the window, emerald green buds had already sprouted on the branches. This touch of vibrant color swept away the silence of winter.
Winter had passed, spring had arrived, and everything was developing in a good direction.
Xia Li let out a long breath, closed the user interface displayed on his phone, and opened the professional online course on Bilibili, continuing to listen to the lecture.
Seeing that his words had taken effect, Wuqi also breathed a sigh of relief.
The bored old cat spent the afternoon playing with the six-month-old kitten.
When the phone alarm that he had set rang, Xia Li suddenly came back to his senses. It was already this late.
Time passed quickly when he was immersed in studying.
This reminded Xia Li of his high school days, when he would tackle a math problem during evening self-study, his head bobbing up and down, and an hour would pass in a flash. At that time, he really felt like time was slipping away.
“I’ll dispose of this bag of trash for you.”
Taking his keys and preparing to go out, Xia Li noticed that the trash can at home was almost full. As he went to throw out the trash, he saw the pile of scrap metal on the floor.
Wuqi pouted, a little unhappy.
This was a treasure he had worked so hard to find…
Did he know how hard it was for a cat to collect so many things?
“…If you can pick up this kind of trash, why don’t you think about picking up some money on the road?” Xia Li couldn’t help but complain as he cleaned up.
Wuqi: 『I’d like to, but modern people don’t carry money with them. Where can I pick it up…』
“Picking up other things is fine, it’s better than this… The scrap collector downstairs wouldn’t even want this stuff.” Xia Li retorted mercilessly.
The man and the cat went downstairs, chatting.
Xia Li threw Wuqi’s broken waist pouch into the trash can as well.
He didn’t know where the cat had picked up the bag, but it looked quite interesting hanging on him.
This thing reminded Xia Li of pet harnesses, which could be worn by pets to carry some weight.
However, they were all designed for large dogs, and there were fewer options for cats.
“How about I get you something useful?”
◈◈◈
Xia Li thought of another thing.
『What?』
Wuqi was peeing in the small garden when he heard Xia Li talking to him, so he trotted back over.
Xia Li glanced around. There were no passersby in the courtyard of the apartment complex, so he lowered his voice and tried his best not to sound like a lunatic talking to a cat.
“Do you want a phone watch?”
『Uh… Huh?』
There were watches in Wuqi’s time, but no phone watches.
He had seen children wearing them when he was the director of the hospital. The watch faces were very small and easy to operate, even a three-year-old child could wear one.
『Can I?』
Wuqi thought this kind of thing was quite novel.
He hadn’t touched any decent electronic products since he became a cat, and Xia Li’s suggestion immediately excited him.
Imagine… A cat wearing a phone watch would not only significantly improve its quality of life, but would also become famous in the cat world.
『Okay, okay, buy me one, bro, and I’ll be your cat from now on!』
Wuqi was also a man of action. He would do what he said.
He jumped up and clung to Xia Li.
Fortunately, Xia Li was wearing thick clothes, so the cat’s claws didn’t scratch him.
Xia Li pulled the cat off with disgust and put him in the car by the scruff of his neck.
Fortunately, the traffic wasn’t heavy today, and Xia Li had left himself plenty of time to pick up Lucia and go home. He stopped the car when they passed a children’s watch store.
The selection process was quick. Xia Li only had two functional requirements.
First: The input method could be handwriting or typing.
Second: The size had to be small enough.
In the end, Xia Li chose a watch with a 1-inch ultra-small watch face, about 3.3 centimeters long and wide. After shortening the wristband, it fit perfectly on Wuqi’s arm.
An added bonus was that the watch could be charged wirelessly.
As long as Xia Li put the charger on the balcony, Wuqi could come back and put his paw on it to charge. This was not a problem at all for the man and the cat.
After installing the chat software and SIM card, Xia Li handed the watch to Wuqi.
The SIM card inside was still Xia Li’s.
When he got broadband a few years ago, the phone bill package came with three SIM cards. He gave one to Lucia and one to Wuqi, just using them all up.
Wuqi: No danger ahead, over.
As an 18-year-old uncle from the last century, the nine-key input method was easy for Wuqi to use.
The downside was that it was easy to press the wrong keys, and being strapped to his arm would affect his physical activity.
But compared to the advantages it brought, these shortcomings were insignificant.
“I bought you this thing for a mission, don’t just play with it.”
Wuqi: I know, I’ll be your cat from now on!
Wuqi sat in the back seat and typed with his paws. It took him several minutes to edit this message, which was even more difficult than Lucia, who had just learned to write.
Arriving downstairs at the pet hospital, Xia Li planned to go upstairs to pick up the dragon today.
Wuqi darted out like a shadow and quickly disappeared into the street.
Having learned his lesson from last time, he wouldn’t be a third wheel this time, even if he was beaten to death.
He couldn’t look directly at Dragon Sister after she had kissed Brother Xia, or she might take it out on him and kill him instantly.
Xia Li stood at the entrance of the stairs and watched the black cat shadow disappear without a trace before looking away.
Such a small watch wouldn’t look strange on a cat.
Modern people often put trackers on their cats to prevent them from getting lost. Some even put cameras on their cats’ necks to do live broadcasts from the cat’s perspective.
The reason why Xia Li bought Wuqi a watch was for the convenience of communication.
This guy came and went without a trace. Having a fixed way to contact him was better than him randomly appearing at home and scaring Xia Li.
And there was one more thing.
He could let Wuqi act as his eyes and ears.
For example, if Lucia encountered any difficulties at the hospital, Wuqi could inform Xia Li immediately.
It would also allow Xia Li to secretly see what the dragon was doing at work.
This was basically like buying a satisfactory mobile camera. It was a good deal.
“Old Xia, over here.”
Just as he reached the stairs, the evil dragon who came out of the elevator called out to Xia Li.
It was a bit cold when they went out this morning, so Lucia was wearing a snow-white scarf. Her already pretty and rosy face wrapped in the white fluffy scarf looked even softer and cuter.
Lucia skipped over. There was no one else in the elevator, so she generously hugged Xia Li’s arm.
Xia Li immediately felt his arm squeezed between soft mounds, and the expression on his face softened.
“Who are you calling Old Xia? No respect…”
“You’re in your twenties, not young anymore.”
“If I’m Old Xia, then you’re Old Dragon.”
“No, no,” Lucia shook her head and said solemnly, “According to age and seniority, I’m your great-great-great-grandmother… You can call me Great-Grandma.”
“Great-Grandma? I’d rather call you…”
Xia Li paused and then said, “In your dreams. I’m only willing to call you wife.”
“Hmph…”
Lucia snorted softly. She knew Xia Li wanted to take advantage of her every day.
Fortunately, she was smarter now than before.
Looking at the little expression on the dragon’s face, Xia Li suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
Letting this dragon come out to work was too risky.
The things she learned outside were not the same as the simple games they played at home.
She was growing too fast.
Before, Xia Li could grasp all of Lucia’s emotions and thoughts, and this feeling made him feel like he could hold Lucia firmly in his hand.
But now, Lucia was becoming more and more difficult to understand, which made Xia Li feel a sense of crisis.
This kind of ‘controlling desire’ was actually not a healthy mental state.
To firmly control the other person, you were not only imprisoning them, but also yourself.
Being unpredictable was the norm for two people in a relationship.
Life needed such ‘surprises’ as a spice.
“Old Xia, how did you handle the online transmigrator matter?”
Lucia got into the car, tucked her legs in, and looked like an old leader about to give a speech.
She was also concerned about last night’s incident.
Xia Li didn’t know what this guy had learned from observing others.
He glanced at the stinky dragon and said lightly, “Seatbelt.”
“Oh, oh…”
The evil dragon instantly deflated, scrambling to find the seatbelt and buckle it around her waist.
“About that matter…” Xia Li teased, “Change the ‘Xia’ in my name to ‘Gong,’ and I’ll tell you.”
“…”
Lucia knew the Brave Hero was setting a trap for her.
She had foolishly fallen into many of the Brave Hero’s traps before, which was why she had been tricked into becoming his girlfriend!
If she had to do it again, she would still be Xia Li’s girlfriend, but this time she would definitely be the one in charge.
Puffing out her cheeks, Lucia turned her head away.
“Not talking to Old Xia.”
“Okay, then I’ll talk to my wife.”
“…”
Xia Li wasn’t losing out at all. He was almost used to calling her wife.
The evil dragon ignored him, only giving him a round profile to look at.
Her little face was as red as a monkey’s butt.
Xia Li chuckled inwardly and put the car in gear.
Wuqi was right, a peaceful and ordinary life was the best.
This wasn’t like the other world, where he could draw his sword to help those in need and sometimes get carried away by his enthusiasm.
On Earth, in real society, every action had to consider the consequences.
If those ‘consequences’ involved Lucia, Xia Li would withdraw his helping hand and choose to refuse.