Chapter 127: Too Fast

Xu Qing stood up and paced around the living room twice before letting out a sigh. Turning back, he asked,

"Can you tell me what you're thinking?"

Jiang He shifted her gaze from her notebook, looked at him for two seconds, and replied,

"I just thought… since I’m playing games anyway, doing it wouldn’t be much extra effort. I’m already sitting there every day…"

She was puzzled as to why Xu Qing wasn’t on board with the idea.

"Maximizing your time, doing more in the same amount of time…" Xu Qing began to understand.

"Hmm... I see."

"You could skip gaming and try opening a store," he suggested.

"Opening a store requires capital," Jiang He replied, already familiar with the requirements. "And a deposit too."

"I have it," Xu Qing said.

"…"

Seeing Jiang He staring at him silently, Xu Qing froze for a moment and didn’t continue.

"If you don’t want me to, I’ll look into something else," Jiang He said, lowering her head.

"Aren’t you going to ask me why?"

"You wouldn’t harm me." Jiang He shook her head, set Winter Melon down, and after a moment’s thought, looked up with a small smile.

"You… Why are you standing there?"

"Why… am I standing here?" Xu Qing repeated, hesitating before sitting back down.

"I have this feeling you’re about to do something…"

Before he could finish, Jiang He placed her hand on his and pressed him down onto the couch. His expression shifted.

"Do what?!"

"I’m going to kiss you, then go play games," Jiang He said as she pinned his hands, leaning down to kiss him.

The notebook and papers slipped from her lap, scattering densely written notes and circles onto the floor.

She liked this kind of intimacy.

...

A long while later.

Xu Qing sat on the couch, conflicted, watching Jiang He from behind as she booted up her game on the computer. He was trying to figure out where things had gone off track. ɽαNôꞖËs

"If you didn’t hold me down just now, I’d be very happy," he said.

"You’d squirm around."

Jiang He’s face was still slightly red as she pursed her lips, savoring the recent intimacy.

"Not true. I wouldn’t."

"Yes, you would."

"I... Fine, you’re skilled, and I can’t beat you," Xu Qing sighed, staring at the ceiling.

"When I master martial arts, you’ll see what cruelty really means."

Ever since he had found this little "seedling," everything had started to become extraordinarily strange.

It’s a transition... a transition…

It’ll get better... it’ll get better…

"I can now earn over 20 million gold coins a day, including materials and occasional enchantment cards, totaling up to 30 million. But the value of gold coins keeps dropping…"

Listening to Jiang He tallying her profits, Xu Qing remained silent, lying sideways on the couch, gazing out the window.

Since coming to the modern world, Xu Qing had helped set up everything for Jiang He. It was for her own good, though there was some selfishness mixed in.

This was the first time she was trying to do something based on her own ideas—a sort of first step.

"Streaming can be chaotic. Some of those people… I’m afraid you’ll get influenced," Xu Qing couldn’t help but explain.

"What?" Jiang He turned her head while crunching numbers.

"Some create real content, but others rely solely on their looks... It’s messy. There’s jealousy, and some might report you out of spite."

"No industry is easy," Jiang He mused. "You’ve said that before."

"Yeah, no industry is easy."

Xu Qing agreed, but he didn’t say more.

The living room fell silent except for the clacking of Jiang He’s keyboard. Winter Melon attempted to ask for a hug but was ignored. It turned instead to lie on Xu Qing’s stomach.

"What are you thinking about?"

After moving an account, Jiang He turned her head and noticed Xu Qing staring at her absentmindedly. It seemed he had been watching her for a while.

Usually, at this hour, he’d be busy with his own stuff—watching movies or dramas at 8x speed or catching up on the news.

"I was thinking about what would happen if you left one day," Xu Qing replied.

"It’s been so long… that shouldn’t happen, right?" Jiang He instinctively glanced at the coat rack near the door.

Her potatoes and some corn kernels were still there.

"No, I mean if you left here…"

Xu Qing lifted Winter Melon by its legs, cradled it, and then placed it back on his stomach. He sighed,

"You’re different from Winter Melon. I picked it up and raised it, and it’ll never leave. But you’re a living person…"

"Why would I leave?"

"Because…" Xu Qing frowned. "When people really care about something, they tend to overthink…"

He rubbed his head with his fingers.

"Maybe I need to clear my head."

"Is it because I said I wanted to stream that you think… I might leave?" Jiang He guessed.

"That’s part of it," Xu Qing admitted.

"But at its core, I’m scared. Scared I can’t protect you, scared you’ll pick up bad habits from others, scared… I still see you as the lady knight you were when you arrived, but you’ve unknowingly turned into half a modern person."

"It’s been quick?"

Jiang He didn’t feel it herself and instead lamented that she was learning too slowly.

"Very quick. There are many things I planned to teach you later, but you’ve already picked them up on your own.

And some things I don’t even know how to teach you, but you’ve quietly figured them out… The internet is truly amazing."

Xu Qing praised the internet, but his expression remained unchanged. He continued rubbing his head, half-closing his eyes as he examined his feelings and their relationship.

"Can you clearly see the nature of our relationship now?" he asked.

Jiang He slowed her typing, eventually stopping altogether. She turned serious.

"We’re in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship."

"And what does that mean?"

"In the future, we’ll get married, live together, kiss and hug, and you like my shoes."

"And then?" Xu Qing didn’t refute her comment about the shoes—arguing was futile since she’d long believed it as fact.

"Then… what comes after?" Jiang He asked.

"Even though we’ll be partners, we’re still two separate individuals—you and me, two people coming together," Xu Qing explained carefully.

"Everyone has their own thoughts and aspirations. Living together, there will inevitably be conflicts and disagreements. For example, you want to stream, and I don’t want you to—that’s a disagreement. If you listen to me and don’t do it, it seems like the problem is solved.

But it’s not. You can’t always listen to me. Even if you do, the resentment will build up in your heart. A disagreement here and there might be fine, but over time, it will cause problems… You’re a living person with your own emotions."

"Will that really happen?" Jiang He was dazed.

"Yes. Although we don’t have any problems now, you’ve already started developing your independence. This issue will only become more apparent.

When your ideas are repeatedly rejected by me, one day you’ll explode and think, ‘Why should I always listen to him?’..."

At some point, Xu Qing had sat up on the couch. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, then turned to look at her.

"That’s what I’m truly afraid of."

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