Chapter 13
When Xu Qingzhou got up early the next morning, he sat up from his cot on the floor, still somewhat dazed.
Her body was no longer in pain. Touching and examining her entire body and face, all the injuries were gone.
Besides, the surroundings were peaceful and serene, completely detached from the dramatic events of the previous night. As a result, she felt that Zhang Pengfei, the fox, the giant beast, Chi Jun, and everything else from the previous night were just a thrilling, magical, and highly realistic dream.
However, when he turned his head, he saw the "person" on the bed.
Xu Qingzhou turned back and sighed dejectedly.
After sitting for a while, Xu Qingzhou quietly got out of bed, took the ingredients and pot outside to prepare breakfast, and opened the door. However, she was stunned for a moment when she looked at the sunlit courtyard of the rented house.
—Xu Qingzhou, if it's sunny tomorrow, I'll still be leaving.
Xu Qingzhou stood silently at the door for a while, glanced back at Chi Jun on the bed, and then went back into the house and took some more vegetables.
*
Because he had insomnia last night, Chi Jun didn't fall asleep until dawn.
He could have slept a little longer, but it seemed like a mother and son were arguing in the courtyard. Their sharp, hoarse voices kept Chi Jun awake, so he simply got up.
He first touched his head to make sure the ears had fallen off, then turned his head and saw the clothes placed on the bedside table—
A white T-shirt, black pants, and a pair of dark underwear.
The style is plain and the quality is average, but surprisingly the size is just right when you put it on.
Chi Jun casually scratched his hair, got out of bed and put on his shoes. As soon as he opened the door, sunlight flooded his face.
Chi Jun, leaning against the doorframe, couldn't help but narrow his eyes, a satisfied look appearing on his face:
It seems even God wants him to leave this place as soon as possible.
On the table were two bowls covered with plates. Chi Jun lifted them and looked inside. They were breakfast left for him by Xu Qingzhou: a bowl of red bean porridge and two steamed buns.
In a good mood, he simply held a bowl in one hand and a steamed bun in the other, propped his elbow on the railing, and casually looked around the rented courtyard while eating.
The argument between the mother and son seemed to have ended; there was no one to be seen or heard in the distance.
There were only a few elementary school students who looked to be around ten years old playing with spinning tops downstairs. Judging from their loud howling, they must have been really into it.
However, one of the girls accidentally looked up and saw Chi Jun, and suddenly exclaimed "Holy crap!" which made her male and female companions look up as well, and they even forgot to spin their tops.
Several pairs of eyes were fixed on him. Chi Jun showed no restraint as a stranger, casually raised his eyebrows, and waved as a greeting, which made the girls excitedly huddle together and scream softly.
A little boy couldn't stand it anymore and started picking up the spinning top from the ground while complaining:
"Is it really necessary... I've never seen a man like that before."
“There’s a fundamental difference between men and handsome guys, okay? Xu Zhiwei, why are you so defensive?”
"It's you who should be the one breaking down, isn't it?"
The little boy looked up at Chi Jun again: "They came out of that mute... lady's room. They must be boyfriend and girlfriend. What does it have to do with you whether they're handsome or not?"
The girls were instantly silenced by the reasoned and well-founded words.
Several people, without prior arrangement, went to the handsome guy on the second floor again—
The handsome guy went to wash the dishes.
The sound of rushing water drifted over, and only the handsome man's profile was visible behind the railing. Despite his expressionless face, he was still so strikingly handsome that it seemed to instantly fill the entire rental courtyard with the feel of a youth novel.
Chi Jun, however, paid no attention to the stares of the children downstairs.
He stared at the tap water gushing down from the faucet, holding the bowl in his hand, but for some reason, he didn't move for a long time.
After a while, he reached out again, but this time he turned off the tap.
The unwashed dishes were placed back on the small dining table, untouched.
*
A strange man suddenly walked out of the room of a female tenant who lived a solitary life, and the two looked to be about the same age.
Anyone with a normal personality would probably be curious about their relationship.
Even if you're too embarrassed to ask, it will subconsciously cross your mind.
Chi Jun is currently facing this situation—
After finishing breakfast, he casually picked out a book he could understand from the drawer of his small desk, then took a small chair and sat down in the corridor, basking in the sun while waiting for Xu Qingzhou to return.
However, as time went by, he had almost finished digesting his breakfast, but he still hadn't seen Xu Qingzhou. Instead, he was met with countless curious glances, some direct and some subtle.
Regardless of age or gender, anyone who happened to glance at Chi Jun when passing the second-floor stairwell would slow down slightly and take a second look at him.
Some people stopped to ask him what his relationship was with Xu Qingzhou.
Chi Jun brushed it off with a few words, which wasn't troublesome, but some people are just naturally gossipy, like right now—
Three meters away from Chi Jun, down the corridor, a plump middle-aged woman stood there, holding a mop with both hands, staring at him with a mysterious smile.
Chi Jun knew who this person was. Her name was Zhang Jinhua. She loved gossiping and chatting all day long. She lived on the second floor across the street and worked as a cleaner at the hospital.
Their eyes met.
Chi Jun smiled at her politely.
Zhang Jinhua's smile widened, and although he didn't speak, his eyes showed no sign of looking away.
The two stared at each other, their smiles conveying a long, unspoken tension, until Chi Jun was about to pretend he hadn't seen anything and turn back to his book when the other finally spoke:
"Who are you, Xiao Xu...?"
Chi Jun had answered this question several times before.
He replied fluently, "Her brother."
“Oh, it’s Brother Xu,” Zhang Jinhua said with a smile, her eyes sweeping over Chi Jun without any attempt to hide it. “I’ve never heard Xiao Xu mention that she has an older brother, so when I first saw him, I thought he had a boyfriend.”
Chi Jun made up a reason on the spot.
"I've been working away from home and just got back yesterday."
"Oh, you look quite young. How old are you?"
"twenty three."
What kind of job do you work outside?
Chi Jun knew very little about the different types of work in the human world. Remembering the videos Xu Meiling kept watching where people claimed to be "bricklayers," he calmly replied with two words—
"Moving bricks".
Oh, it seems you work on a construction site.
Chi Jun was already recalling whether Xu Qingzhou had revealed his family situation to anyone, and was thinking about how to respond if this aunt asked about his parents. Zhang Jinhua, however, seemed to think that asking any further questions would be like checking his household registration, which was a bit strange.
So she glanced at the small rented room behind Chi Jun and said:
"Where's Xiao Xu? He's off today, isn't he home?"
Xu Qingzhou's daily routine consisted of nothing more than going back and forth between the market, her rented room, and her school. Before this, Chi Jun had always thought that Xu Qingzhou had gone to the market, until he waited for a long time for the girl to return, and he finally realized that something was wrong.
Chi Jun glanced back at the room but didn't see Xu Qingzhou's schoolbag.
So he replied, "I went to school."
"Huh? It's the Mid-Autumn Festival today, and high school seniors don't get a holiday either?"
Just as Chi Jun was about to say, "Senior year of high school is tiring," Zhang Jinhua suddenly remembered something and hissed.
"That can't be right, senior high school students get a break too. I even saw that boy across the street this morning—"
Zhang Jinhua pointed to the third floor across the street, towards the rental room in the middle, and lowered her voice: "The boy is from the same school as Xiao Xu, and he is also in his senior year of high school. He refused to go to tutoring class today because it was a holiday, and he had a fight with his mother early this morning."
Chi Jun: "..."
Zhang Jinhua didn't notice the sudden freeze in Chi Jun's smile. She continued to ramble on about how the boy used to love going to internet cafes and how his mother had caught him several times. However, Chi Jun was busy fiddling with the book in his hand and didn't hear a word she said.
Then the other person suddenly asked, "Xiao Xu's grades should be pretty good, right?"
Chi Jun snapped out of his daze and reflexively recalled what the male ghost had said when he was monitoring Xu Qingzhou—"The little mute boy dozes off in class and his test paper is mostly blank; he must be a terrible student."
Chi Jun: "It's alright."
Zhang Jinhua smiled and waved.
"I knew the girl's grades must be good as long as she could calm down."
She seemed to have finally finished chatting, and while telling Chi Jun to go about his business, she turned and headed towards the stairwell, glancing back at him a couple of times as she went, praising how both siblings were extremely good-looking.
Chi Jun wasn't paying attention; all he could hear was Zhang Jinhua's earlier statement, "That can't be right, senior high school students get a break too."
He was already wondering why Xu Qingzhou, who always cooked on time, hadn't come back yet. When he saw that her schoolbag was gone, he assumed she had gone to school. But then the aunt said that the senior students also had a day off today.
After frowning and pondering for a few seconds, Chi Jun suddenly closed the book, got up, and walked to the stove.
The stove was clean and shiny, and all the utensils were neatly arranged and categorized.
Chi Jun stared at it for two seconds, then slowly lifted the lid of the pot.
Cold water droplets condensed on the steaming rack in the pot, and two bowls were placed in the center, containing pre-cooked vegetables and two steamed buns.
Chi Jun lowered his eyes and stared at the two steamed buns that had long since gone cold. He licked them with his tongue and suddenly burst out laughing.
Okay, little girl, you're not going to school or the market.
Instead, she had decided from the very beginning to avoid him.
*
Since Xu Qingzhou was deliberately avoiding him, Chi Jun decided not to wait any longer.
He ate lunch when it was time to eat lunch, and took a nap when it was time to take a nap. After waking up, Chi Jun even had the leisure to go downstairs and play with a few children's spinning tops for a while.
He figured Xu Qingzhou wouldn't be back early.
Sure enough, Xu Qingzhou was nowhere to be seen all afternoon.
It wasn't until almost dark that Xu Qingzhou returned home, carrying his schoolbag.
Many people had already returned from get off work and were busily preparing dinner. The courtyard was filled with the sounds of stir-frying and talking, and the air was filled with the aroma of various dishes.
Going home.
It is a place of solace for working people after a tiring day, and also a place of anticipation for students after a long day.
However, Xu Qingzhou's mood at this moment was like that of someone visiting a grave.
The hallway was lit with dim yellow lights.
She slowly climbed the steps, wishing they would never end.
However, this is impossible.
As Xu Qingzhou stepped onto the last step with a heavy heart, she stood at the top of the stairs on the second floor, turned her head, and immediately saw Chi Jun.
He had a lollipop in his mouth and was playing a mobile game with a primary school kid next door.
The game seemed to be in full swing, with both the older and younger boys looking excited. Chi Jun tapped the phone screen repeatedly with his fingers, and finally raised both hands in a gesture of catharsis, while the boy shouted excitedly.
"Holy crap! That's awesome!"
"To be able to do this in only the third game is much better than Chen Simin from our class, who always brags about how great his skills are!"
Just then, a woman's voice came from the next room.
"Xiaxia, you've been playing for so long, aren't you coming back for dinner?"
The boy sighed helplessly, put away his phone, said goodbye to Chi Jun, and muttered to himself as he walked back, "Ugh, I haven't had enough fun yet. They promised that if I got in the top three in math, I could play all I wanted for the whole vacation..."
As the boy complained, Chi Jun, sitting in the chair, still had a smile on his lips, his gaze following the boy's back. He glanced up slightly and caught sight of Xu Qingzhou standing at the top of the stairs.
The two locked eyes. Chi Jun first fixed his gaze on Xu Qingzhou, then slowly raised an eyebrow, casually switching the lollipop in his mouth while still staring at Xu Qingzhou.
"You're back?"
For some reason, Xu Qingzhou felt that Chi Jun's smiling eyes seemed to have seen through everything, leaving her feeling somewhat exposed.
She nodded reluctantly, lowered her eyelids, and walked towards the small rented room.
She could feel Chi Jun's gaze fixed on her, his eyes direct and intense. However, feeling guilty, Xu Qingzhou kept her head down, pretending not to see him.
Just as he was about to pass by him, Chi Jun suddenly lifted his right leg.
The shoe pressed against the railing, leaving one leg stretched across her face.
Xu Qingzhou was suddenly stopped. She paused for a moment, then took out paper and pen:
【What's wrong? 】
She was relieved that it was dark in the corridor and Chi Jun shouldn't be able to see her slightly flushed face because of her guilty conscience.
"Did you go to school?"
Chi Jun remained seated on the small chair, arms crossed, tilting his head to ask her.
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
His tone was calm, but somehow Xu Qingzhou seemed to detect a hint of mockery and teasing in it.
After a few seconds of silence, she nodded again.
Xu Qingzhou knew he was lying.
In fact, fearing that Chi Jun would immediately tell her to leave as soon as he woke up and saw the bright daylight, she hid in the bookstore for a whole day.
She knew that hiding like this wasn't a solution; however, when faced with an unsolvable problem, most people's first instinct is to run away.
She allowed herself to become a deserter—
They are afraid to face their own problems.
They also disregarded Chi Jun's right to leave.
Cowardice and shame.
At this moment, Xu Qingzhou wondered if Chi Jun had already seen through her despicable little thoughts, which was why he asked such a question on purpose.
She quietly clenched her fingers hanging at her sides, her face flushed, yet she remained stubbornly silent.
A gentle evening breeze rustled the leaves.
After an unknown amount of time, the leg that had been blocking her way finally slowly retracted.
A clear road has reappeared before us.
Xu Qingzhou breathed a sigh of relief, wondering if Chi Jun hadn't noticed. Just then, Chi Jun put his hands in his pockets and stood up from his chair.
He was a head taller than her.
He suddenly stood up, still very close to her. Xu Qingzhou subconsciously looked up at him and saw Chi Jun with his eyelids lowered, his eyes fixed on her. After a moment of silence, he suddenly laughed:
"I thought you were deliberately avoiding me."
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
My heart, which had just relaxed, was instantly on edge again.
Xu Qingzhou moved her lips, unsure of what to say, but Chi Jun didn't look at her again. He picked up the small chair with one hand and turned to walk into the house.
It wasn't until Chi Jun turned to her and asked, "When can we have dinner? I'm so hungry," that she finally understood.
Xu Qingzhou suddenly came to his senses, hurriedly went into the house, put down his schoolbag, and started washing rice to prepare a meal.
*
For dinner, Xu Qingzhou steamed rice, served with two stir-fried dishes, and also braised a plate of chicken legs.
It was already completely dark inside. The small house was dimly lit, and all around was quiet except for the soft clatter of bowls and chopsticks.
Because of what Chi Jun said, Xu Qingzhou was still on edge until dinner.
She was afraid that Chi Jun would speak, fearing that he would bring up the topic of leaving, but she was also afraid that he would remain silent, because this silence, which created a slightly awkward atmosphere, seemed perfect for developing the topic of "leaving".
With his mind wandering, Xu Qingzhou couldn't eat his meal in peace.
Fortunately, although the meal was nerve-wracking, it ended safely.
Chi Jun didn't mention leaving at all. In fact, when Xu Qingzhou was washing dishes in the corridor after dinner, he first casually leaned on the second-floor railing and watched for a while at two or three little boys playing yo-yo downstairs. Then he went down himself and joined in the yo-yo game.
When Xu Qingzhou finished washing the dishes and turned to go back into the house, he saw Chi Jun holding a glowing yo-yo in the courtyard on the first floor. With the nimble movements of his fingers, the yo-yo flew quickly and steadily on the string.
He wore a confident and calm smile, and his skillful movements drew applause from several boys nearby.
"Awesome!"
"Damn it, you said you'd never played this before? I believed you!"
Xu Qingzhou, still holding the clean bowl, watched the scene of children playing happily downstairs. The sliver of侥幸 (a lucky break) that had been lurking in her heart resurfaced uncontrollably once more.
Could it be that Chi Jun... doesn't want to leave?
After all, this is the human world; where could he go after he leaves?
Return to the fox clan?
Although Xu Qingzhou didn't know why Chi Jun had come to the human world, the sight of him lying dying by the trash can made Xu Qingzhou guess that he had probably made enemies with someone.
So, is it very dangerous to return to the fox clan?
Perhaps staying in the human world is actually the safest place for him.
After all, during the months he spent by her side, apart from Zhang Pengfei's lust for the fox, Chi Jun did not encounter any real danger.
Living independently in this internet age would be inconvenient for someone with a special identity, while continuing to live with her would be more convenient, both in terms of habit and practicality.
However, it was ultimately just wishful thinking.
Even as more and more ideas gradually pushed this sliver of hope towards reality, all the gains and losses seemed insignificant to Chi Jun, who was determined to leave.
So when Xu Qingzhou was carrying her things and about to go take a shower, she saw Chi Jun return at the door. She took out a pen and paper and asked:
Do you want to take a shower first? That way I can...
Before she could finish speaking, Chi Jun interrupted her.
"I'm not washing anymore."
He looked at her with a smile on his face.
"I have to go."
Xu Qingzhou's fingers stiffened, and the pen tip drew an ugly line on the paper.
It's finally here.
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