Chapter 1: I'm A Good Person
Translator: 9inetales
Sponsor(s): n/a
Early autumn was accompanied by heavy rain.
It was already late in the evening, giving the smudge of gloomy clouds a dark canvas.
Xu Qing sprinted across the street amidst the downpour of rain. His trouser legs were cuffed high and his hurried steps caused puddles of murky water to splash about.
“Little Xu, didn’t you bring an umbrella?”
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The uncle in the security booth saw Xu Qing rushing towards the premises from afar. He retrieved an umbrella from under the table while waiting for Xu Qing to approach before holding it out.
“I’m almost there!” Just— just please support me at 9inehub.com, alright? Or I’ll cry! You won’t like it when I cry; I can get very ugly real fast.
Xu Qing took shelter under the big umbrella. After waving to the uncle in the security booth, he examined his body— he was dripping wet. Wiping the rainwater from his face, he assured, “No trouble. I won’t be needing the umbrella since I’m soaked anyway.”
After speaking, Xu Qing straightened his trouser legs and made a dash toward the community.
There were relatively few residents in the old quarters. In addition, the poor weather made it difficult to spot anybody. Xu Qing hastened his way through the entrance of the corridor. He stomped his feet hard before retrieving his keys from his damp pocket.
The dim corridor was suddenly illuminated by the sound-sensitive light which was activated by the loud stomps. However, before Xu Qing could turn his keys into the lock, he was startled by the figure beside his house.
It was a girl with her back leaning against the wall. With a guarded look on her face, she glanced warily at the light before giving him a cold stare.
A few strands of black hair stuck to her cheeks from which droplets of water cascaded. It seemed that she was also walking in the rain not too long ago.
What made him stupefied, however, was not the girl herself but her getup. She donned an ancient, knight-like costume made of retro-style coarse linen. Her left hand clutched a sheathed sword while her right hand grasped its hilt. For footwear, she wore tattered straw sandals which showed her bare toes.
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Really dedicated!
Seeing the worn-out straw sandals, Xu Qing couldn’t help but applaud her cosplay internally. After giving her a few more curious glances, he went to twist the keys and open the door.
Responding to his suspicious movements, the girl tensed her body suddenly and tightened the grip on her weapon.
Arching her back, she shouted in a weird accent, “Halt!”
“...”
Xu Qing dangled the keys in his hand and murmured while hinting at the door, “Uhm...this is my home.”
After a pause, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of helplessness.
Do I look like a bad guy?
Only a few meters away and I can already scare girls to this extent.
Watching the girl slowly back away caused Xu Qing to feel even more offended.
“You—”
In the end, he chose to stay silent. He resumed his action of opening the door before giving her a final, sidelong glance. The vigilance on her little face didn’t diminish in the slightest. She was akin to a spooked hedgehog with needles fully erect.
He shut the peculiar girl outside and locked the door. Xu Qing stripped his wet clothes and ran to the bathroom to take a hot shower.
The rushing water was comfortable and refreshing.
There’s nothing like taking a hot shower after getting out of the rain.
Xu Qing wiggled into his cozy pajamas and hopped towards the refrigerator. He reached for a bottle of Coke, unscrewed the lid, and…
Glug~
Glug~
Wonderful!
“Winter Melon, come here.”
Xu Qing didn’t remain idle for long. He switched on the TV using the remote control, took out a can of cat food from the cabinet, and poured it into Winter Melon’s food bowl to feed it.
Winter Melon was originally a stray cat. Two years ago, he was only a scrawny fellow who often wandered the walls and corners of the community. After passing it regularly, he decided to finally adopt him one day.
It was a good deed to take care of a wild cat, but it ended up being fed into a fat wastrel that only knew to wag its tail in front of cat food.
There is rain and wind outside; Coke and cats in the house.
Xu Qing stretched and looked out the window. After a while, he picked up his mobile to order a hamburger and three-piece chicken roll combo with soda.
Two lightning strikes briefly lit the sky followed by thunderous echoes as the rain intensified. Xu Qing glanced at the time then looked at the door while pondering. He thought of finding an umbrella for the girl if she was still stuck outside in the rain.
He pressed his eye against the door’s peephole but didn’t see the hedgehog-like girl.
Squeak~
He then opened the door but was faced with cold eyes and defensive movements from a few steps away.
“Uh~” Xu Qing was a little embarrassed as this was his first time being treated as a man-wolf, “It’s getting darker. The rain doesn’t seem like it’ll be stopping anytime soon.”
He sprouted a forced smile while motioning for her to take the umbrella from his hand.
Seeing no movements, he titled his head and continued, “If you live far away, you can call your family to pick you up. I can find you the security if you want. See, look how wet you are. Hurry and go home quickly…”
Even though the girl was soaked, she gave off a valiant vibe with a hint of heroic pride between her sharp brows. If she wasn’t acting so guarded against him, he would’ve been left with a favorable impression.
“Where is this?” The girl finally spoke, her words drowned in a weird accent. However, she still didn’t loosen the hold on her sword.
Xu Qing leaned against the door with the umbrella in hand. He stared at her for a bit before speaking, “This is my home community. It’s located north of the main road.”
“...”
“...”
The two looked at each other. The girl frowned slightly then contemplated for a moment, “So, who are you?”
“...”
Xu Qing didn’t know how to answer that question.
Uhm, maybe I’m your father?
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“Just call me handsome,” He rolled his eyes and said, “Do you want the umbrella or not? I’ll take it back if you don’t.”
“Yan Sect[1].”
The girl seemed uncertain. She looked at the long umbrella in his hand, finally lowering her wariness by some levels. Her expression grew visibly more relaxed as she let go of her sword to clasp her fist, “I am a disciple of the Yan Sect. I do not know why I suddenly came here...”
“...”
“...”
Xu Qing blinked.
Sure enough, this girl is strange…
“Huh? What school are you from? Forget it, I’ll call the security guard over and he’ll help you from there.”
I just wanted to help by lending an umbrella. I didn’t expect her to be a girl who’s so caught up in cosplay that she can’t even help herself.
He gave her another deep look. She was dressed in coarse linen, her hair tied behind her head with a ribbon. She returned his gaze silently.
He shrugged helplessly and returned inside to find his mobile phone. If she stayed outside overnight or ran around in the rain after dark, who knew if she would end up on the news tomorrow?
Xu Qing picked up the phone from the sofa, found the security’s number, and dialed it.
Turning back, he saw the girl looking in from outside the door so he waved her to come inside.
“Yeah, hello, Uncle Zhao, can you hear me?
After two beeps, the line connected. The girl only stood at the door and came no further. She watched him talk to the strange object with curiosity and alertness.
“Hello? Hello? Uncle Zhao, I…”
“Looking for a job?! Where to go?! Look no further!”
A sudden commercial blared from the TV, causing even Xu Qing to flinch because of the loud volume. Needless to say, the girl was taken aback. She reacted:
Bang!
Zizizi~ Oh, so this is the site you’re cheating on me with, uh? What can it do that 9inehub can’t?!
Blue smoke emitted from the TV on the wall. Cracks scattered across its screen in the middle of which, a diamond-shaped iron dart was nailed.
“Hey, Little Xu? What’s the matter?” Uncle Zhao’s voice came from the phone.
Shing~
A cold crescent light flashed as the long sword left its sheath.
Xu Qing stared blankly at the ruined TV and then back at the frightened girl who was now backing up vigilantly, her sword held firm.
“...”
“...”
“Little Xu?”
“It’s okay, you must be busy.”
Translator's Note(s): I recently saw a review on novelupdates stating that my in-body links such as [1] does not relate to any useful information in the footnotes. Instead of having footnotes like this one, I use direct links instead. All you have to do is press them if you're interested. A new tab will pop up and you can read the notes there. After you're done, just close the new tab and continue reading.
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