novelraw Chapter 214
Chapter 214
Chapter 214: Defeated and Captured
“Meow!”
『Yes, that’s exactly what I did, *pa pa pa*, and then *swish*!』
『…that surveillance camera, still glowing red, was knocked down by me!』
Xia Li waited at the entrance of the hostel for about ten minutes. Qin Chuan, having packed his belongings, was coming downstairs.
Behind him, a black and white cow cat followed happily.
The cow cat meowed randomly and threw a series of punches at the air in a flurry.
“Meow meow meow meow!”
“Amazing.”
Qin Chuan nodded in praise. “You can understand him?”
Xia Li stared at the man and cat, puzzled.
“I don’t understand,” Qin Chuan shook his head and said, “But we added each other on WeChat earlier, and he just sent me a message, so I know what he’s saying.”
Qin Chuan was wearing a dark green hoodie and dark jeans.
He walked down the stairs with his hands in his pockets, his expression still grave, but his eyes had lost their previous emptiness and had a bit of spirit in them.
Qin Chuan was about the same build as Xia Li, and they were only two or three years apart in age. However, Qin Chuan had lived in another world for over twenty years, making him over forty years old, including his time on Earth.
Coupled with his experience of dying over ten thousand times, the expression between his brows lacked the youthful vigor that Xia Li possessed. Although he didn’t appear particularly decadent, he looked much more weathered.
However…
A man is a boy till he dies.
Qin Chuan in this state could at most be considered a boy who had endured the hardships of life.
“I also saw that viral video online.”
Xia Li turned his gaze to the cow cat at his feet and praised him generously.
“Good job, Wuqi.”
“Meow~! ”
『Hmph, of course, who do you think this master is?!』
『As a qualified support, I’m still very good at observing the environment and cleaning up afterward!』
After being praised by Xia Li, Wuqi’s tail stood up, and he walked with an elegant gait, looking proud.
It was a pity that his cat balls had already been removed; otherwise, this morning’s post would have been even more explosive.
Taking out his phone and glancing at the map, Xia Li led the way.
He didn’t drive today and planned to take Qin Chuan around the neighborhood first.
Of the three transmigrators who had arrived, one was from Jiangsu Province, one was from Chongqing, and only Xia Li was a local.
“Let’s go buy some daily necessities first, and also pick out some underwear. You need at least one more set to change into.”
Xia Li planned as he walked.
“Okay.” Qin Chuan expressed no objection and walked quietly behind him.
This scene reminded Xia Li of when Lucia had first arrived on Earth.
Back then, he had also led the way like this, with a dragon girl who had never seen the world following behind him.
The dragon girl had her mouth wide open the entire time, either amazed by the surrounding buildings or having questions for Xia Li to answer.
But Qin Chuan was a modern person, and the cultures of Sichuan and Chongqing were not that different. Compared to the dragon girl who had entered the city for the first time, he was much calmer.
“Have you eaten?” Xia Li remembered this and turned to ask.
Qin Chuan replied, “I have.”
“What did you eat?”
“Meow!”
『Steamed buns, and he even shared a piece with me!』
Wuqi answered first.
Qin Chuan couldn’t understand what Wuqi was saying, but he guessed that the other party had answered the question for him, so he nodded subconsciously.
Xia Li didn’t say much and took the cat and the man to a chain supermarket not far away.
He wanted to show his hospitality and treat Qin Chuan to something good, but considering his brother’s self-esteem and fragile heart…
Doing so would only put more pressure on him, so Xia Li decided to give up.
Arriving at the supermarket, Xia Li went to buy the laundry detergent and eggs that Lucia had requested this morning, and he also picked up some snacks that she liked.
After paying, Xia Li waited at the entrance. Qin Chuan came out after a while.
The cheap hostel didn’t provide disposable toiletries, so Qin Chuan had to buy his own.
He only spent ten yuan on daily necessities, choosing the cheapest toothbrush and towel, and finally picked up a bar of soap, saying it could be used for both laundry and bathing.
Truly ruthless.
Xia Li sighed silently in his heart.
Even during his poorest days in college, he had never been so strapped for cash.
At that time, it was Xia Li’s own stubbornness; he didn’t want living expenses from his family and insisted on working part-time. As a result, part-time jobs were hard to find, and he ended up working himself to the bone… purely self-inflicted.
“What about underwear?”
Xia Li saw that Qin Chuan had only come out with three items and hadn’t bought any underwear.
“It’s expensive in the supermarket. I’ll buy it outside.” Qin Chuan said concisely.
Xia Li didn’t say anything more and took him to an old alleyway where things were cheap, mostly old stock.
If you didn’t care about style or comfort and only needed something to cover yourself, these clothes were undoubtedly the best choice.
As a man, Qin Chuan wasn’t picky. He came out in less than five minutes, four of which were spent bargaining with the owner.
A thirty-yuan shirt, twenty-five-yuan pants, and then he took five yuan to buy underwear at the shop next door.
After much pleading, the owner felt that this young man must have encountered some difficulties and gave Qin Chuan two pairs of boxer briefs half-selling, half-giving them away.
Xia Li stood at the entrance, and before he could even take out his phone to look at it, Qin Chuan had finished shopping and came out.
There was no shopping experience whatsoever.
If it were Lucia, she would probably still be picking out a dress at this time and then turning around to ask Xia Li if it looked good on her.
“Have you always lived like this?”
Having solved all his shopping needs in just ten minutes, Xia Li couldn’t help but be surprised by Qin Chuan’s efficiency.
“Not really,” Qin Chuan thought for a moment and said.
“I used to sleep under bridges, lying on foam boxes. I didn’t use a toothbrush to brush my teeth but twigs I picked up from the roadside. I washed my face with river water…”
“Okay, okay, you don’t have to go on.”
Xia Li felt a pang in his heart as he listened.
The other party was a hero who had saved the world, wasn’t he? How could his life back in society be so miserable?
If it were Xia Li, he would probably be even more disillusioned with the world than Qin Chuan.
It was fortunate that he had endured for so long before using magic… An ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to hold back.
Glancing at the person beside him, Xia Li’s eyes fell on the center of his hoodie.
He had seen it with his own eyes two nights ago; in the center of Qin Chuan’s chest, that stone-like thing had emitted a bright light.
This should be the source of Qin Chuan’s power…
He had read online that it was also related to something called ‘fate,’ and Xia Li was curious.
After deliberating for a while, Xia Li decided to broach the subject.
He also wanted to inquire about Qin Chuan’s experiences on Earth.
Although doing so would be like reopening Qin Chuan’s wounds, Xia Li genuinely wanted to help him, so he needed to know the general situation.
The other party’s mental state was much better today, so Xia Li didn’t beat around the bush.
“Come this way, I’ll buy you a drink.”
Turning a corner, Xia Li beckoned the man and cat to cross the road.
Qin Chuan looked at him in confusion but didn’t say anything and followed with his towel and toothbrush in hand.
It might be better to talk about this kind of thing over drinks.
But considering Qin Chuan’s potential danger and the fact that it was still early in the morning, it wasn’t appropriate to have alcohol, so Xia Li took Qin Chuan to a coffee shop.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Something cheap will do.”
Come on, man, you’re making my sympathy overflow.
Xia Li ordered two identical coconut milk coffees and took a plastic lid to feed the cat.
This shop didn’t mind pets coming in but didn’t allow them to sit on chairs, so Wuqi could only sit on the floor and watch the two chat.
Xia Li pulled out a chair and sat down, putting the two cartoon stickers that came with the coffee into his pocket.
The stickers were really cute.
He’d take them back for his wife to see.
When he looked up again, Xia Li saw Qin Chuan sitting across the table, looking at him seriously, while the cow cat at his feet pawed at him.
“Meow.”
『Brother, let me tell you, this guy is always like this… He must be thinking about his dragon wife. Every time he thinks about his wife, his mouth curls up like a fish.』
No, are you crazy?
Xia Li glared at Wuqi and pushed a cup of coffee towards him.
“Be careful, it’s hot. Let’s drink slowly and chat for a while.”
“Alright…” Qin Chuan seemed indifferent to any of Xia Li’s suggestions.
◈◈◈
After a moment of silence, he asked.
“For how long?”
“I’m free this morning, so let’s just chat for a bit,” Xia Li tried to make his tone sound less purposeful. He asked Qin Chuan in return, “Do you have anything to do today?”
“No,” Qin Chuan shook his head, “But I want to find a job.”
After all, waking up every day to a fifty-yuan accommodation fee put a lot of pressure on Qin Chuan.
If possible, he would actually prefer to stay at a youth hostel for twenty yuan a night. He had searched on the map, and the youth hostel was in a remote location, far from Xia Li’s home.
Considering that he was still under ‘house arrest after defeat,’ Qin Chuan didn’t bring it up.
“…”
Xia Li was speechless for a moment.
He didn’t want to delay Qin Chuan’s time either.
Xia Li himself was quite busy. He had an exam in a month, his daily schedule was packed, and he had to find time to write his novel in the evening.
Xia Li sped things up and asked Qin Chuan directly.
“So… what exactly happened after you came back to Earth?”
◈◈◈
Qin Chuan felt alienated from everyone on Earth, and this alienation created a sense of distance between him and those around him.
This distance made him the one who was isolated; he could never truly integrate into this society.
He didn’t know how to speak from the heart, how to express his true feelings, and he lived each day in a daze…
But today, when Xia Li asked him this question.
For the first time, he didn’t choose to remain silent but told Xia Li everything about his experiences after returning to Earth.
If it weren’t for Xia Li, he wouldn’t be sitting comfortably in a coffee shop telling his story. Instead, he would be in prison, facing who knows what kind of torture, whether it be electric batons or cold weapons.
Undoubtedly, Xia Li had saved him once.
And there was another important reason…
Xia Li was also a ‘hero.’
Even though the worlds they had transmigrated to were vastly different, the shared feeling of being a hero resonated with them.
Starting with his family background, then graduating from high school, signing the student loan contract with his own hands… then transmigrating to another world, his parents searching desperately for him for half a year, and then committing suicide by jumping into the river… and finally, his experiences after returning.
Qin Chuan recounted these events calmly.
His tone was too calm, so calm that it was like he was telling a story, not recounting his own personal experiences.
“Meow!”
『This is outrageous!』
The cow cat at their feet had originally planned to curl up and sleep, but after hearing about Qin Chuan’s experiences, even he was furious.
He meowed repeatedly in protest for Qin Chuan!
『Triple the compensation?! Why?!』
『If it were just a small amount, triple the compensation would be reasonable, but three times twelve thousand, that’s definitely not legally protected!!』
Xia Li patiently relayed Wuqi’s words to Qin Chuan.
This was also something he was concerned about.
“The compensation was just one of the triggers…”
Qin Chuan smiled wryly.
He had also thought about directing his anger at the company that had once helped him.
But the biggest reason for his parents’ suicide was his sudden disappearance.
They couldn’t bear the pain of losing their son.
Qin Chuan’s parents had raised him for twenty-two years, watching him graduate from university, their hardships finally coming to an end, about to leave the village and embark on the right path in life… but he disappeared without a trace.
Perhaps he was involved in some criminal case, perhaps he had a mental illness. As parents, they hadn’t noticed any abnormalities beforehand. After countless police reports and searches yielded no results, they were left with nothing but regret and tears.
Qin Chuan had heard from his aunt about what happened afterward.
The month his parents died, his relatives took the contract to the company to argue.
But the result was unsatisfactory.
They had no grounds to stand on.
Firstly, the company hadn’t forced Qin Chuan’s parents to pay. They had simply informed them about the breach of contract compensation when they went to Qin Chuan’s home.
Secondly, Qin Chuan was already over eighteen years old when he signed the contract.
He had signed the contract voluntarily after being informed of all the risks. Regardless of whether the triple compensation stipulated in the contract was reasonable, Qin Chuan was indeed in breach of contract.
Moreover…
Qin Chuan’s parents hadn’t paid the company a single cent before their deaths.
Even the company considered themselves unlucky. After learning of the death of Qin Chuan’s parents, they didn’t pursue the matter any further.
When Qin Chuan’s relatives took the death certificate and contract to the company, they didn’t even open the door.
They didn’t want to respond to the matter and made it clear that they were also victims.
Later, they called the police, and after mediation, the matter was dropped.
In this matter, everyone had their own reasons.
The biggest mistake, in the end, was Qin Chuan’s sudden disappearance.
After hearing all this, Xia Li fell completely silent.
At this moment, a question actually popped into his mind.
He wanted to ask Qin Chuan: After transmigrating to Zela Continent and saving that world… do you regret it?
But if he said that, he would be a real jerk.
Xia Li had seen similar trolley problems before.
This kind of question was a trade-off between responsibility and consequences, forcing you to make the most extreme choice between personal desire and society…
If Xia Li were faced with this question, he would only have one thought.
Can we tie the person who came up with this question to the tracks first?
“Meow…”
Wuqi lowered his head and wiped his face with his paw, unsure if he was washing his face as usual or if he had sand in his eyes.
“What did he say?”
Qin Chuan couldn’t understand Wuqi’s meows and was curious about what he had asked.
“He didn’t say anything.”
Xia Li took a big gulp of his coffee. He didn’t say anything more either.
As an outsider, Xia Li couldn’t offer any advice on this matter. Only the person involved could make the decision and bear the consequences.
Qin Chuan couldn’t blame anyone. Given his personality, the only one he could blame was himself.
Presumably, all that was left for him… were endless regret and tears.
“I finished it. It was delicious. I’ll treat you next time.”
Qin Chuan had talked a lot and was thirsty. He finished his coffee in two gulps, then tidied up the empty paper cup and threw it into the trash can.
Qin Chuan rarely drank this kind of bitter beverage, but he found it surprisingly mellow… It was the best thing he had tasted since returning to Earth.
After speaking, he looked at Xia Li somewhat nervously.
This kind of reciprocal treating only happened between friends on Earth, right?
Were he and Xia Li considered friends?
They should be.
Otherwise, what was their relationship? Victor and vanquished?
Qin Chuan thought randomly.
Xia Li, sitting across from him, gathered his emotions and stood up.
The atmosphere between the two men and the cat was a little oppressive. Xia Li smiled lightly, his voice breaking the silence.
“…If it were me, I would also want to destroy the world.”
Xia Li wasn’t joking when he said this.
He believed that if it had happened to him, he would have done something even more extreme than Qin Chuan.
So now, Xia Li completely understood Qin Chuan’s actions.
This guy wasn’t bad.
Xia Li was willing to be friends with him.
“Now it’s time to get down to business.”
He crumpled up his own cup and threw it into the bin. Qin Chuan looked up at him in confusion.
“What business?”
“Developing you!”
Xia Li turned back and said half-jokingly.
“You know my situation… Give me some magic power to use, Old Qin.”