[Quick Transmigration] The Pretty Little Cannon Fodder Who Doesn’t Speak - Chapter 12

Seeing the few hundred-yuan notes and loose change in the little frog wallet, Jiang Minghui’s mouth twitched.

Xia Zhixu withdrew the wallet and walked away, avoiding Jiang Minghui.

Jiang Minghui watched Xia Zhixu’s receding figure, and after a moment, he smiled.

‘Really… interesting.’

Xia Zhixu stormed off to buy himself some steamed buns and soy milk, then quietly found an empty corner to eat his breakfast sneakily.

The moment he bit into it, he felt so happy he wanted to cry.

Ever since Lu Heyan had left, he hadn’t been able to enjoy such things. The Xia family kept a tight rein on him—after all, he still served a political marriage role. Especially after the incident at Lu Heyan’s home and his passing, the Xia family strictly forbade him from interacting with outsiders.

Faced with the Xia family’s strict control, Xia Zhixu, who lived off others, was utterly powerless to resist.

Yuan Bao watched Xia Zhixu practically stuff himself into a wall of the nearly empty breakfast shop, his blissful expression almost unbearable to witness.

When Xia Zhixu arrived at the classroom, only two or three people were present—one reading, the other two sleeping with their heads on their desks. His anxious gaze swept around the room.

He knew university students often preferred the back rows.

But he dared not sit in the very front either.

So he chose the seat at the very edge of the middle row. That way, he could ensure no one would sit next to him on that side.

Pressure halved.

Xia Zhixu almost applauded his own cleverness. He hurried over, sat down, placed his books on the desk, then set his phone on the table and began staring at it.

Yuan Bao, “…”

‘Host turned into a peeping tom cat? Wait, no—not Peeping Tom, staring-at-phone cat… That sounds a bit vulgar. Let’s just call it phone-staring cat.’

As the classroom filled with people, Xia Zhixu tensed up. Surrounded by unfamiliar energy, he could only stare at his phone to distract himself.

But fate had other plans.

“Xia Zhixu!” 

Class monitor Shen Lan sat down beside Xia Zhixu.

Xia Zhixu nearly freaked out. He reflexively glanced at Shen Lan, then lowered his eyes to avoid her overly intense gaze. Clenching his fists, he mentally encouraged himself. 

‘It’s fine, it’s fine—just a classmate. Don’t be scared!’ 

Xia Zhixu licked his dry lips and said, “Hm? …Is… is something wrong?”

It wasn’t that he stuttered; talking to strangers made him unconsciously nervous, sometimes even causing him to tremble badly.

He was really trying his best. QAQ

“Well, our class has a social gathering, but we just can’t find enough people to attend. Could you please come to fill in the numbers…” Shen Lan looked at Xia Zhixu with pleading eyes.

At the mention of meeting strangers, Xia Zhixu felt utterly drained. He instinctively wanted to refuse—why bother making new friends? Wasn’t staying in the dorm just fine?

“I…”

“Xia Zhixu, please! Just this once. If you don’t want to stay, you can leave right after showing up.”

Seeing Xia Zhixu about to decline, Shen Lan hurriedly added.

“Our class only has a few good-looking guys. If you don’t go, what are we supposed to do? Besides, you skipped the last two times. If you skip this one, you’ll have to go later anyway.” 

Seeing Xia Zhixu still reluctant, Shen Lan pressed on.

“Everyone has to go?” Xia Zhixu froze. 

‘Do different worlds have different rules?’ 

In his world, people only went to mixers if they wanted to. He’d barely ever attended any.

“Yeah, everyone takes turns going,” Shen Lan nodded.

Xia Zhixu frowned, deeply conflicted. 

‘How could this be? Isn’t there anyone else willing to go? He could just skip this one.’

Ah, well. He’d have to go eventually anyway—might as well just go.

“Fine,” Xia Zhixu said, a hint of gloom lingering.

Shen Lan clasped her hands, grateful. 

“Thank you so much. You’re such an angel.”

Xia Zhixu lost all interest in staring at his phone, his mind now preoccupied with dread over attending the social gathering.

‘When would he ever have enough money to stay home and avoid going anywhere?’

His morning was packed with classes. During one lecture, the professor took attendance and called out Zhao Zihe’s name. Someone answered, but Xia Zhixu was certain it wasn’t him.

‘How nice,’ Xia Zhixu couldn’t help thinking. 

‘If only someone would answer for him, too.’

When Xia Zhixu returned to the dorm at noon, Zhao Zihe and the others were gone, probably off to the internet cafe.

At the Nancheng Restaurant—

“So? Do you want to come to work with me? That route is the only way to the highway and is close to Chenghua Street. I bought two storefronts—a repair shop and a car wash.”

A middle-aged man in his late thirties, sporting a floral shirt and a cigarette between his fingers, looked at Song Qingchuan across from him. 

“I can offer you six thousand a month over there. You can help train the newcomers!”

“Thank you for your consideration, Boss Su, but I still need to think it over,” Song Qingchuan replied, his brows slightly furrowed.

Seeing the situation, Boss Su didn’t press further. A hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, but he forced a smile. 

“I hear your brother is still studying? That must be quite an expense. University is a small society, competitive and status-driven. Kids there have pride… must be stressful, right?”

Song Qingchuan thought of Xia Zhixu and said softly, “It’s manageable.”

Hadn’t Xia Zhixu faced exactly this situation?

It was his own fault for not being able to provide a better life for Xia Zhixu.

Though Boss Su’s offered salary sounded decent, he was actually even more unscrupulous than the current auto shop owner. Not only were the parts he sold subpar, but he wasn’t generous with his employees either. 

If he took that job, he’d likely work harder than now, have no free time, and whether the paycheck matched the promised amount was another matter entirely.

If he couldn’t find time to be with Xia Zhixu, that boy would probably cry again.

Better to move bricks at a construction site than to work for Boss Su. Thinking of construction work, Sòng Qīngchuān hesitated; perhaps it was a viable idea.

***

Yuan Bao, “Wuwuwu, Host, are you okay? Hang in there! Why are these people so cruel? It’s all my fault. If I were stronger, I wouldn’t be so helpless,  wuwuwu…”

Yuan Bao spun frantically in panic.

Shen Lan and the others clearly had ulterior motives.

Upon arriving at the KTV venue for the social gathering, they spotted Jiang Minghui there too.

Xia Zhixu had intended to make a brief appearance before leaving. The unfamiliar surroundings made him feel suffocated and utterly at a loss.

But Shen Lan and the others dragged Xia Zhixu over, insisting he at least have a drink since he was already there.

One suggestion after another, and Xia Zhixu was forced to drink.

After two drinks, Xia Zhixu’s head began to spin. Yuan Bao, seeing this, quickly urged him to make an excuse and head to the restroom.

Xia Zhixu locked the stall door, sat on the toilet, and shook his head, trying to stay sober.

Jiang Minghui, having invited the original host out several times, knew the host’s poor tolerance for alcohol.

The drinks they brought tasted slightly sweet, and Xia Zhixu instinctively assumed it was some low-alcohol fruit wine. Little did he know that one glass would be enough to get him drunk.

Yuan Bao, “Host, I’ll call Song Qingchuan for you. Ask him to come pick you up.”