Chapter 74 Returning Home Even if it's going to end, it should be her who ends it. ...

“I’m not cold,” Shu Qing gently stroked Jiu Su’s hand, then took off her coat and handed it back to him. “I had a meeting for most of the day and didn’t have time for dinner, so I’m a little hungry. Want to go get some late-night snacks with me?”

Jiu Su nodded and glanced at the scene—there were already several colleagues from the Super Management Bureau there. Shu Qing wasn't a professional rescuer, so it didn't matter whether she was there or not.

The two of them then wandered into a nearby noodle shop. Shu Qing vaguely sensed an awkward atmosphere between them, so she pretended to look down at the menu and casually asked, "Why didn't you reply to my messages before?"

Jiu Su lowered her eyelashes, poured herself and Shu Qing each a drink, and did not answer.

Shu Qing understood immediately, "You're injured again?"

"Hmm," Jiu Su said, realizing she couldn't get away with it, and then tried to salvage the situation by saying, "It's just a minor injury."

Although she knew that he was bound to get injured while carrying out such a high-risk mission, Shu Qing still couldn't help but feel a dull pain in her heart. Not wanting him to see it, she took a sip of water to cover it up.

She knew that continuing to press Jiu Su about why she wouldn't explain the meaning behind "giving a ring" would likely only provoke the snake into biting her. So, taking advantage of the waiter serving them noodles, she stirred the soup and steered the conversation back to a safer topic, "When you weren't here a few days ago, I remembered something from the past."

"What's up?"

"It's not anything very important... it's just some trivial things that happened after we separated?" Shu Qing described her memory to Jiu Su from beginning to end, and then asked, "Is it true?"

"Hmm," Jiu Su tried hard to recall, as if she remembered, a hint of melancholy in her eyes, "It's true. But it was really just some trivial matter, I almost forgot about it if you hadn't asked. How did you remember?"

Shu Qing sighed, lamenting that people are different—Yu Jiusu, this matter was neither the cause nor the result of their separation, nor did it become any crucial turning point in their fate, so he felt it was just a trivial matter.

However, for her, it was a matter of losing and regaining, then losing again, causing her heart to ache so much that she could never forget it, even after a lifetime.

She shook her head, unable to explain how she remembered it, and could only say, "I don't know, I just suddenly remembered it when I was spacing out... but it doesn't matter. I just suddenly felt that our past was a bit too tragic."

Jiu Su was stunned by her "important" conclusion and could only lower her head and drink a mouthful of noodle soup, hoping to swallow down the pent-up feelings in her heart that had been building up for years with this hot soup.

That's right. He thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile, this was the default premise for all his actions, but she in this life had not personally experienced it, so how could he expect her to fully understand him and empathize with him?

What's more, he personally orchestrated all of this.

Shu Qing, however, wouldn't let him off the hook and kept asking, "I think I understand why you wouldn't be with me before... All this time, you've been the only one remembering those painful memories, while I've forgotten everything and feel so carefree. It seems so unfair."

Jiu Su felt the emotions he had just swallowed rising back up into his throat along with the blood and acid. The steaming bowl of noodles lost its appeal, and he felt a little nauseous.

Shu Qing's original intention was to take him out to eat something, seeing how thin he had become. However, when she saw him put down his chopsticks after only taking a sip of soup, she belatedly realized that she shouldn't bring up such a sad topic while eating. So she lowered her head and ate her own noodles, trying to stimulate his appetite.

Fortunately, Jiu Su understood her good intentions and quickly picked up her chopsticks again. She put something in her mouth and swallowed it without chewing, letting it sink heavily into her stomach—thankfully, monsters don't get stomach problems.

He glanced at Shu Qing; she had been starving for a long time, but now she was eating quite happily. Even a simple bowl of hot soup noodles tasted delicious to her. Seeing this, he felt much better without realizing it.

"What's the point of talking about fairness between us?" Jiu Su watched Shu Qing finish eating before smiling faintly. "I hope you never remember. Do you want me to place a restriction to seal your soul? That way, you'll never remember what you don't want to recall."

Shu Qing immediately refused, "No." She stared warily at Jiu Su, "You're not allowed to make decisions for me secretly!"

“No,” Jiu Su said calmly. “I know you don’t like it. It’s not worth it for this.”

The implication is: I know you don't like it, but I will still do it when I feel it's necessary—but in the current situation, even if you think about it, it will only add some mental burden, and it's not yet to the point of being "necessary".

Shu Qing was so annoyed by his obvious subtext that she glared at him. Jiu Su hadn't seen her glare at him so energetically in a while, and couldn't help but laugh.

"That's a bit of a tangent," Shu Qing said through gritted teeth. "That's not what I wanted to talk about. What I wanted to say was—"

“I know,” Jiu Su gently interrupted her, “It’s normal that we have different opinions on many things. I’m not arguing with you. Besides, even if we were, you’re a girl, why should you be the one to comfort me?”

"...And now you're talking to me about the differences between men and women?" Shu Qing rolled her eyes at him, then asked again to confirm, "Really not?"

Jiu Su lowered her eyelashes and smiled, saying, "No. It's just that some things have reached a point where I can no longer control them. I originally tried my best to avoid the current situation... But now it seems that the saying 'those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts' is not just empty talk, and it's not something that a few of us can stop."

He paid the bill casually as he spoke and stood up. Shu Qing stood up with him and habitually took his hand.

Jiu Su subconsciously flipped her hand over and grasped it, but halfway through, she stiffened almost imperceptibly. After hesitating for a moment, she finally grasped it back—their beginning this time was because of her, so even if it had to end, it should be her who ended it.

At the very least, he should wait until Shu Qing shows a desire to end things before he can leave... Right now, she is still as close to him as ever, and shows no intention of separating from him. If he makes a decision on his own, wouldn't he be hurting her?

Shu Qing intertwined her fingers with his, and her heavy and tense mood finally relaxed a little. She looked up at him and smiled, asking, "So what are your plans?" She paused, then sighed, "In the current situation, everything is on fire... Even if you keep running around like before, even if you work yourself to death, it's just a drop in the ocean."

“Hmm.” Jiu Su said softly, “Now that things have come to this, it’s already good enough that we can suppress some major disasters. I will probably stay in the capital for a while, and if there are high-risk alerts in other places, I will go there.”

When do we set off?

"It depends on you," he smiled gently, "and how much you still have to deal with in H City."

There aren't many.

Shu Qing took Jiu Su home first and explained the situation to Shu Tong and Zhao Yuqing. She had only brought them here a few days ago, and now they had to go back. She felt she was making a fuss, and while talking, she secretly peeked at her parents' expressions.

Fortunately, both elderly people understood the special circumstances and did not complain about the trouble. Without saying a word, they prepared to pack their belongings. Although Shu Tong had some reservations about the relationship between Jiu Su and his daughter, he had saved their whole family in the chaos, and his gratitude outweighed his worries about their relationship. They got along very well.

However, when it came to arranging accommodations, we couldn't let them have their way.

There are two bedrooms in the house. Shu Tong originally planned to have Jiu Su sleep in the guest bedroom, while she and Shu Qing would squeeze into the master bedroom. Jiu Su received a look from Shu Qing and offered to sleep in the study. She then transformed into a little white snake, coiled herself on the bookshelf, and slept there for them to see.

The two elderly people were astonished to see a monster transform into a living person for the first time. They began to have a more realistic understanding of the snake's "pet" status, but had more doubts about its "boyfriend" status.

Shu Qing smiled and arranged for everyone to go to sleep. Before going to sleep, she gave Jiu Su a meaningful look.

She turned off the light, quietly left a crack in the door, lay down in the quiet darkness and waited for a while. She strained her ears and, sure enough, heard rustling sounds.

She rolled over and reached out her hand towards the direction of the sound. The little white snake coiled around her arm and slowly crawled up.

"Little Red," Shu Qing said in a low voice, gently stroking the snake's scales, "you've been working too hard. I can feel your bones just by touching you like this. I've raised you for nothing."

The little snake nestled in the crook of her shoulder, nuzzled her chin with its head, and flicked its tongue. Its wet tongue licked her neck, making her itch from head to toe.

Shu Qing hadn't been this close to the little snake in a long time, and she felt quite nostalgic. She pressed her cheek against it and whispered, "When we get back, could you rest for a couple of days? You haven't been to my parents' house yet, have you? I just looked it up, and it's not far from the Capital Super Management Bureau. When we get back, you can stay here, and I'll show you the place where I grew up, okay?"

The little snake nodded and kept rubbing its head against her, trying to get some more warmth from her.

Since he'd already exhausted all means, she still wouldn't choose him in the end. What was wrong with getting a little closer to her before she threw him away?

"I haven't completely convinced my parents yet, but I feel it should be soon. At least now my mom has seen that you won't bully me just because you're a monster; you'll only protect me." Shu Qing poked the little snake's head. "You better behave yourself and don't act up in front of my parents, okay?"

Jiu Su hesitated for a moment, but nodded nonetheless—he had already handed over the decision to Shu Qing, so he would naturally follow her lead.

Shu Qing casually pinched the snake's tail and played with the little snake for a while. The frustration in her chest vanished, as if she had returned to the time when nothing had happened and she and the little snake demon lived happily together.

She slept soundly all night, holding the little snake in her arms, a rare moment of peace. Although the snake had slipped away from her when she woke up the next morning, she still enjoyed her only happy morning in many days.

On the third night, they left H City on the Super Management Bureau's private plane, taking a few little monsters with them, and headed for the capital.