The avatar of the other person was a red cross symbol, which wasn’t really anything special. Many people used it, but the important thing was the name: Miss Zhu Jia.
He couldn’t help but think of Zhu Zhaoxue.
Although she was a doctor, the last time he visited her home, there was a beautiful gaming PC and a large screen, and she was watching an LOL livestream. There were also posters of Final Fantasy and Monster Hunter on the wall, suggesting she was quite into games.
However, they hadn’t met much, so he felt awkward asking, especially at such a late hour. He decided to wait until their next meeting to ask her.
Thus, he leaned back in the corner of the sofa, watching Jiang Zimeng’s game livestream. Gradually, he began to feel sleepy and soon fell into a deep slumber.
“Hey! Hey! Retreat!”
“Retreat!”
He opened his eyes to find himself on horseback, covered in dust, grime, and blood.
The flag in front of him had just fallen, and countless people were running towards the rear. Xu Lin quickly realized he was back in the dreamscape from his previous life.
“Go!”“Coming!”
Xu Lin turned his horse and joined the retreating ranks, speeding away as the enemy pursued.
Arrows followed them, occasionally piercing his back and neck. A sense of danger rose—if he slowed down, he would surely die a terrible death.
After running for what felt like an eternity, the enemies were no longer visible, and there were only a few comrades left, with the air filled with the iron stench of blood.
The scene abruptly changed from the battlefield to a small mountain village. He was still on horseback, dirty and exhausted.
Xu Lin crossed a wooden bridge and was struck by a sense of familiarity. This was the place he had left. He dismounted and hurried up the path, influenced by the memories and emotions. However, the village was deserted.
The once green terraced fields had become overgrown with weeds. Every house was wide open, yet no one was around, giving the village an air of desolation.
He ran frantically, finally reaching his own home. The garden was overrun with withered flowers, and the door was half off its hinges.
“What is this…?”
Xu Lin walked inside, everything was so familiar yet eerily desolate.
“Where is everyone?”
The war had never reached this place, and there were no signs of fighting. It was simply that the people were gone, and many things had been left behind. Scenes of the two years he spent away at war flashed through his mind.
He realized that two years had already passed. But what had happened in those two years? The road was deserted, and there was no one at home.
He exited the house and looked down the mountain. In the distance, he finally spotted a figure. He rushed down, nearly falling into the mud but still maintaining his speed.
The elderly man on the small donkey was startled and fell off, landing awkwardly.
“Sorry, sorry, old man.”
“It’s alright, it’s alright. I often fall off too; this little donkey doesn’t listen well… What’s the matter?”
“Old man, what’s happened to this village? Why is there no one around?”
“Don’t you know?”
“Not just this village, but the surrounding villages and towns have all been deserted. People fled from the war.”
“War… But we have repelled the enemies far away, at least several hundred miles from here.”
“Are you from this village?”
“Yes, my wife and children…”
“Half a year ago, when the war situation worsened, they all fled to other places.”
“Where did they go?!”
“I don’t know. But the people from your village probably went south. You’re protecting your country; you shouldn’t end up losing track of your family. Go look for them in the south.”
“Alright… Thank you, old man.”
As he bent down to thank him, the surroundings instantly turned pitch black, and Li Yuan’s voice sounded in his ear again.
“Why are you sleeping on the sofa?”
“Uh… cough, my neck hurts. Mom, what’s up?”
“I’m asking why you’re sleeping on the sofa.”
“Liu Qinnuan fell asleep in my room.”
“Alright, I’m heading to work now. You can either take her out to eat or cook something.”
“Okay, take it easy on the road.”
“Mm.”
“By the way, Mom, why don’t you and Dad skip work and join me instead?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Li Yuan shot him a look, and Xu Lin smiled helplessly as he sat up.
“I can already earn money now.”
“But you’re currently earning from writing. What if you don’t make money from writing in the future? We have to work.”
“I’ve started doing business too. It’ll definitely get better.”
Xu Lin often felt that his parents still saw him as a child. He was a grown man, both mentally and physically.
“Let’s talk when your store starts making money.”
“Alright, you’ll see your son become the richest man in Linshui.”
“Mom doesn’t need you to be the richest. I just want you to be healthy and happy. I don’t want you to have a hard life because your dad and I have already worked hard for a lifetime.”
“…Mm.”
Xu Lin watched his mother’s back and walked up to her, hugging her tightly. Li Yuan patted his back.
“Still acting spoiled at your age?”
“I just wanted to hug you.”
“Alright, I’m off to work.”
“Mm.”
Xu Lin watched his mother’s back as she closed the door. He felt that being seen as a child by his parents wasn’t so bad after all.
Returning to the sofa, he noticed that the door to his bedroom was open and a figure stumbled out.
“Brother Xu?”
“Awake? You took my bed yesterday, you know?”
“Hehe~ Sorry about that~”
“You did a great job tidying up, thank you.”
“No need for thanks. Did you tell Sister Ji Yun? She’ll definitely worry about me.”
“I told her. Don’t worry.”
“Brother Xu, you have class today, right?”
“Yeah, so I don’t have time to play with you. I can drop you off at Chu Qingchan’s place; she has nothing to do.”
“What about my assistant?” Liu Qinnuan, having just woken up, remembered her assistant issue.
“I’ll make an appointment for you at noon. If I see her later, I can talk to her as well.”
“Thank you. Otherwise, I’d have to go back and be randomly assigned an assistant by Mom.”
“No need for thanks. Alright, let’s go out for a meal.”
“Isn’t it you who’s cooking?”
“Do you think my cooking is good?”
“Yeah, it’s much better than what the cook at my house makes.”
Honestly, she had wanted to get rid of that cook who only got the job through family connections.
“Then let’s go to Chu Qingchan’s house and cook there.”
“Let’s eat out instead…”
“Are you that scared of her?”
“No, I just feel a bit guilty.”
Liu Qinnuan blinked, subconsciously reluctant to go, mainly because of the awkwardness.
“Didn’t you already apologize to her?”
“Yes, but the awkwardness is hard to overcome…”
“Alright, then we’ll eat out. What do you want?”
If she also want to eat meat, like Ms. Ye, I could take her to a braised dish restaurant.
“Let’s have buns.”
“Just buns?”
“Yes! Just buns.”
Liu Qinnuan remembered that the last thing her father had taken her to eat before he passed away was buns, and they were probably filled with chili peppers.
“Alright, then I’ll take you to my favorite place for buns.”
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