Was it the little personâs text bubbles appearing on the screen now?
No, it wasnât.
Those werenât text bubbles, but stupid dropping favourability.
The game really gave Li Shuoxing back pain.
He couldnât believe that the letter heâd sent to the admin reached the little personâs hands.
What was this concept?
It was the concept of giving the principal a report on a teacher in school, only for the principal to pass the letter on directly to the teacher without even looking at it. What was worse, the principal didnât even bother to code the letter, so the letter wasnât anonymous, but a real name system!
Could you believe this sleazy operation?
But Li Shuoxing had to believe it, because, after those three sentences, the little person spoke again.
Su Mingqian: âXimu, I know youâre there. Donât be silent. Answer me.â
The favourability didnât drop.
But the little person speaking in that tone seemed to make him more nervous than favourability dropping.
Li Shuoxing couldnât avoid it. He first typed two words: ââŚIâm here.â He thought for a moment and began to do his best to convince, âCub, whatâs fun outside? As I wrote in the email, Iâm afraid youâll get in danger if you go out.â
Email.
This keyword once again entered Su Mingqianâs mind.
Too many things were revealed in one short email.
For example, he could go out to travel now; for example, Ximu mentioned she was raising a lover; for example, âyou guysâ in the letterâŚ
All of these were worth looking deeper into.
But Su Mingqian couldnât think about so much now.
All his attention was drawn to âtravelâ.
If he could really travel, he would return to the crowd and no one would be able to imprison him anymore. And then this placeâŚ
A thought suddenly crossed Su Mingqianâs mind.
Where can I go after leaving here? Who else do I know besides Ximu?
He was silent for about a second or two.
Then a second thought rushed into his mind.
Regardless of where I can go and who else I know, this is not my world; my world is more than this narrow space.
Su Mingqian said slowly, âXimu, I want to go out. I thinkâŚâ
You should be able to â
Su Mingqian: âYou get my idea.â
Li Shuoxing was sitting back at his computer now!
Although it was still early, he entered the Terminal group with the mindset that it was better to try than to not try and @All members.
Li Shuoxing: â@All members, who has crying emoticons to send me? Waiting, urgently!â
About five minutes.
The members of the group bubbled up one after another.
Six Flavour Monk was the first to come out. He gave Li Shuoxing a bunch of Buddhist crying emoticons.
Next was Ten Zero Ling. He gave a bunch of football emoticons.
Then Interfinger Storm and Soren appeared, and their emoticons were also quite distinctive. The former was fantasy Xianxia and the latter was gaming.
Finally, Calm Egg came late.
But, with the strength of one person, he blew the four above away with the quantity and quality of his emoticons.
No one asked why.
Weâre all brothers. You ask and I deliver.
It was as simple as that.
Li Shuoxing received the pictures and got soft. Seeing everyone appear so complete, he couldnât achieve his goal of running away, but he still said with concern, âYouâre all here so early. Have you just woken up or still havenât slept?â
Six Flavour Monk: âItâs not early. The monk has finished his morning service, and the monastery is already flourishing with people.â
Ten Zero Ling: âI lead the team to train in the morning.â
Interfinger Storm: âI havenât slept. I was going to, but last night I went out with my friends and drank all night before dispersing.â
Soren: âI just uploaded a new game video and still need to write an update. Iâll sleep afterwards. [skull]â
Calm Egg: âI inadvertently gamed until now. Itâs all Sorenâs fault for introducing me to a new 3A masterpiece. Ximu, how come youâre so early too? Stayed up all night writing and didnât sleep?â
Unsurprisingly.
All those with official jobs had gotten up; all those without official jobs still hadnât gone to sleep.
Li Shuoxing calmly typed, âNo, I also got up early to game.â
After typing that, he went back to the game.
The little person was still waiting for his reply.
He took a deep breath, opened the chat box, and typed one line first: âCub, this is how I feel now.â
With that, he pasted and uploaded all the emoticons heâd just brought from the group and sent them all!
A crying emoticon jumped out.
Another jumped out.
And another jumped out.
Crying emoticons of various styles filled the screen, dissipating a lot of the heaviness in Su Mingqianâs heart.
He kinda wanted to laugh, but he was also kinda depressed.
He didnât know if he should interpret the words and pictures Ximu had sent as another tactful refusal⌠If this was her determination to refuse him, what could he do?
Su Mingqian asked himself.
Without needing to think, he understood.
I canât do anything.
I donât have the weight to negotiate terms with her, nor do I have anything to threaten her.
Whether or not she agrees depends only on what kind of person she is⌠and how much she actually likes me.
Su Mingqian lowered his head.
He was at a loss.
Unsure if he should beg Ximu.
And⌠even if he was willing to beg Ximu, would Ximu be willing to agree to him?
Li Shuoxing was uneasy.
From the moment he sent out the emoticons, he began to be nervous.
Why can I play a game with a nervousness that I didnât have when I was a student facing exams?
Li Shuoxing pressed his chest, complained about himself in his mind, and then noticed that the little person on the screen had lowered his head.
âŚHe had a bit of a bad feeling.
Then, the system narration on the screen began flickering.
âŚThe bad feeling was serious.
Li Shuoxing opened the system narration and saw that it displayed:
[Su Mingqian lowers his head.]
[Su Mingqian is in a confused mood.]
[Su Mingqian is very frustrated.]
[Warning! Su Mingqian is very frustrated. Please do something about it quickly!]
Li Shuoxing: ââŚâ
This was the first time heâd seen the word warning in the narration.
Well, it was intuitive to understand how much favourability heâd lose if he refused.
Li Shuoxing typed with a forced smile, saving himself before his favourability got cleared, âHowever, if you really want to go out for a walk, Iâll agree. ButâŚâ
Suddenly +50!
Su Mingqian: âReally?â
Li Shuoxing: âReally, but you have to pay attention to safety, you have to take the luggage I prepare for you, and you have to remember to answer my emails every day. You canât lose contactâŚâ
Another +50!
Su Mingqian replied simply, âOkay.â
Li Shuoxing stopped typing.
He looked at the two +50âs and suddenly felt appeased.
Ah, although itâs not my intention to let the cub go out, the cub wants to go out. What can I do? Satisfy him, of course.
Li Shuoxing conceded. He no longer passively resisted, but instead took the initiative, pondering what to pack for the little person.
He once again pulled out a certain popular travel game as a reference.
Firstly, he had to prepare a wilderness survival backpack, the kind that could be stuffed with all the necessary items for survival.
Secondly, he should prepare a large suitcase for the cub, with his clothes, pants and usual small pillow.
Finally, he couldnât forget a variety of food and water, both of which were the safety lines of life.
Very finally, it seemed a protective talisman should also be brought to ensure the cub wouldnât get lost outside and not come back!
Li Shuoxing typed all his thoughts in the chat box, telling them all to the little person. After that, he said, ââŚOkay, you repeat the above items and say you want them so I can buy them for you.â
The message from Ximu was really long.
He had scrolled a screenful, and it still wasnât finished.
What was more, Su Mingqian felt as if Ximu didnât quite have the same concept of travel as he did.
Didnât travelling just require a phone and wallet? Why was Ximu preparing things for him as if he was going somewhere deep in the mountains and forests with a dangerous environment and scarce supplies?
But never mind.
It was good as long as she was happy.
Su Mingqian sat down in the chair.
His ears heard his strong and powerful heartbeat, and his eyes saw the faint smile on his lips reflected on the glass window. He obeyed Ximu, reading all those things out and expressing that he wanted them.
He was very comfortable now.
It was easy when the son asked for things.
Li Shuoxing bought all the things from the system store, then personally packed them into the suitcase and backpack. After checking and rechecking, he still felt that the cub didnât have enough clothes.
So, Li Shuoxing said, âCub, you have too little clothes. Shall we go make some new clothes in the production workshop?â
Su Mingqian instantly recalled the last time theyâd made clothes. âNo need, I think I already have enoughâŚâ
Before he could finish, a weeping expression appeared on the light screen.
Su Mingqian hardened his resolve. âI really have enoughâŚâ
Still unable to finish, another crying expression appeared on the light screen.
Su Mingqian gave in. âOkay then, letâs go make some clothes.â
Donât cry, okay?
The two reached unity and entered the production workshop one after the other.
Li Shuoxing pondered for a moment in the face of the good fabric heâd bought and the half-naked little person whoâd been fixed in place.
Then, he made four sets of clothes.
On the back of each of these was a line of poetry.
Together, they readâ
âNeedle and thread in hand, the loving mother makes clothes for her wayward boy; tightly she sews them before his departure, fearing the delays in his late return. <sup>1</sup> An excerpt from the poem 游ĺĺ [yĂłu zÇ yĂn], which translates to A Travellerâs Song. â
There were supposed to be two more sets. It wasnât that he didnât want to make them, but that his fingers were a bit tired from writing so many words. Forget it, the meaning was in place.
Once the clothes were done, he came to the courtyard. All the things were prepared.
A large suitcase, a large backpack, a sun hat for shade, a travel canteen that could be slung over the body and a protective talisman hanging from the canteen.
It was timeâŚ
Li Shuoxing was reluctant to part and urged again, âCub, youâll be leaving soon. You have to pay attention to safety when you go out.â
Su Mingqian: ââŚâ
Li Shuoxing: âEat when you should and drink when you should. You must know how to take care of yourself.â
Su Mingqian: ââŚâ
Li Shuoxing: âAnd remember to answer my emails every day. You canât lose contact, otherwise Iâll be so worried I wonât be able to sleep at nightâŚâ
Su Mingqian, whoâd been black-faced since coming out of the production workshop, had wanted silence to be golden, but⌠he couldnât hold back.
He had a vague internal breakdown and reminded Li Shuoxing, âYouâre only 26. The age difference between us shouldnât be very big.â
So stop treating me like a son.
Iâd rather be your lover.
Not a son.
The author has something to say:
Young Qianqian: Choose the lesser of the two evils.
1
An excerpt from the poem 游ĺĺ [yĂłu zÇ yĂn], which translates to A Travellerâs Song.