[Quick Transmigration] The Pretty Little Cannon Fodder Who Doesn’t Speak - Chapter 24

He knew…

Only by leaving with Qi Mingjing could Song Qingchuan receive the best treatment.

He wanted Song Qingchuan to be well.

While a part of him felt he might truly be bad luck, that it was better for Song Qingchuan to leave, yet another part believed Song Qingchuan would surely come back to him.

“I understand, Uncle.” 

Xia Zhixu took a deep breath, ignoring the sweat gathering in his palms.

Though he agreed, Xia Zhixu felt his heart shatter. His throat ached, and the tears he’d held back welled up again.

He clenched his fists, breathing silently in gasps.

Yuan Bao, “Baby, don’t cry! Please don’t cry. We’ll definitely meet again someday.

Gritting his teeth, Xia Zhixu tried to comfort himself in his heart. 

‘It’s okay. He could become even better. As long as Song Qingchuan still needed him, he would stand by his side without hesitation.’

They would meet again someday!

Little did he know that this promise, this parting, would last a full five years.

…

Two months later, Yuan Bao informed Xia Zhixu that Song Qingchuan had escaped danger. But with that relief came devastating news that Song Qingchuan had lost his memory.

It was uncertain whether he could ever recover it.

No, he should now be called Qi Han—he had officially changed his name to Qi Han.

Yuan Bao expected Xia Zhixu to rush to find Qi Han immediately, but he didn’t. Xia Zhixu continued working part-time while attending classes, spending his days between lectures, his job, and doing good deeds to earn points.

Seeing Xia Zhixu’s mental state remained stable, Yuan Bao finally relaxed.

Truthfully, Xia Zhixu understood this aspect well. He wasn’t a smart person, so he followed Lu Heyan’s advice—whenever something happened, he would think through all possible outcomes repeatedly.

He referenced countless novels he’d read. 

‘If he went looking for Qi Han now, someone might mislead him, twisting his perception of him and fostering misunderstandings between them…’

They could easily become characters in a tragic romance.

Others might rush headlong to find Qi Han without hesitation, but to Xia Zhixu, Qi Han—now suffering from amnesia—was no longer the Song Qingchuan he once knew. 

He was now a blank slate, and who knew what definition Qi Mingjing and the others would impose on him? How could Xia Zhixu explain himself if he went? Should he say he was a student Qi Han sponsored, or claim he was once his boyfriend?

A penniless boyfriend who’d nearly betrayed him—hardly someone to trust.

Now wasn’t the right time to seek out Qi Han.

He had to wait—either until Qi Han remembered, or until he himself grew stronger.

Only then would they stand side by side as equals.

That way, even if others spun tales about them, he wouldn’t jump to unfounded conclusions.

As Qi Mingjing had said, if Xia Zhixu felt he was worthy to stand by Qi Han’s side, he wouldn’t stand in his way.

Yuan Bao was stunned for a long time after learning Xia Zhixu’s thoughts. How to put it? 

‘Sometimes Xia Zhixu can be incredibly smart—or maybe just incredibly clear-headed.’

But Yuan Bao didn’t know that this was the conclusion Xia Zhixu had reached after running through thousands of possible scenarios in his heart.

Jiang Minghui later sought out Xia Zhixu, who rejected him firmly.

“I refuse to betray my own heart. Jiang Minghui, the world is full of outstanding people. You’re just upset because you don’t like that I was the one who broke things off first. I understand that very well—and I don’t like you.”

Xia Zhixu smiled, his gaze unwavering as he looked at Jiang Minghui with resolute determination.

Jiang Minghui never spoke those words again, but it was as though he had made up his mind to tangle with Xia Zhixu—he started insisting they could at least be friends, becoming more stubborn and determined the more he failed.

Time always flies. Before they knew it, five years had passed.

At twenty-four, Xia Zhixu still looked like a college student who hadn’t quite stepped out of campus life—but he had already graduated as an outstanding student.

After graduation, Xia Zhixu spent over a year preparing before heading to Beijing.

Yuan Bao watched Xia Zhixu sitting on the high-speed train, looking weak, helpless, and pitiful, and sighed helplessly. 

Sometimes, it wondered if Qi Han had some kind of magic that made Xia Zhixu so recklessly devoted.

He was the epitome of both timid and brave.

To distract himself, Xia Zhixu thought about the interview notice he had received from Qi Corporation and felt genuinely happy.

He felt both nervous and eager to meet Qi Han.

Heaven knew how long it had taken him to build up the courage just to submit his resume.

For someone as socially anxious and timid as him, moving to a new environment felt like dying and coming back to life.

But meeting Qi Han made it all worthwhile.

After getting off the high-speed train, Xia Zhixu headed straight to meet the landlord he’d contacted online to check out a rental apartment.

With Yuan Bao’s help, Xia Zhixu effortlessly found a place with a good location, decent furnishings, and a low price. The only downside was that the place had a history—a murder had occurred there, making it what people called a haunted house.

But poverty was far scarier than ghosts.

Besides, ‘cheap’ here only meant relatively affordable compared to Beijing’s rental market—it was still significantly pricier than in A City.

“Look at this room! Great lighting, fully furnished!” 

The landlord waved a bunch of keys, chattering excitedly at Xia Zhixu. As he grew more animated, he took a couple of steps forward. Xia Zhixu instinctively took two steps back to widen the distance between them.

Xia Zhixu, “Yuan Bao, I’m still a bit scared.”

Yuan Bao, “Baby, don’t be afraid!! He doesn’t eat people! I’ll protect you.”

Xia Zhixu, “You’re right. At worst—I’ll die!”

Yuan Bao, Σ(ﾟдﾟlll) “W-wait—It’s not that bad, kay?!”

“…Is there anything else you’d like to ask?” the landlord asked after finishing his pitch, glancing at Xia Zhixu.

Xia Zhixu pressed his lips together, suppressing the urge to bolt for the door. He shook his head. 

“…N-no, no problem.”

The landlord gave a resigned smile. 

“You don’t have to be so nervous. I don’t eat people.”

Xia Zhixu forced a strained smile, feeling like he wanted to escape the planet itself. 

“Uhmm…”

“One thousand five hundred a month—how about that?” The landlord cleared his throat. Usually, tenants would haggle. His bottom line was a thousand. 

Properties like this in the same area usually went for several thousand. If it weren’t for the fact that this place was a haunted house—and had already driven off a few tenants—he wouldn’t be offering such a low price.

“N-no problem,” Xia Zhixu replied.

The landlord stared at him wide-eyed in disbelief, his mouth agape. 

‘Was this kid… dumb?’

Yuan Bao, (ノ￣ー￣)ノノ(º_ºノ) “Baby, you forgot to bargain!! You got ripped off!”

After confirming the place and signing the lease—a deposit of one month’s rent and three months’ payment upfront—Xia Zhixu officially moved in.

But cleaning the place, organising his belongings, and buying daily necessities kept him busy for two or three days before everything was finally settled.

Looking at the room that finally felt a bit like home, Xia Zhixu breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the bed to rest.

He pulled out his phone and checked the schedule. His interview with Qi Corporation was still three days away.

‘Three days…’ Xia Zhixu couldn’t help but sigh softly.

Yuan Bao, meanwhile, watched Qi Han’s darkening value, which had already risen to 50, and couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

A month later—

“…President Qi, at a business banquet, someone got drunk and injured Manager Chen. He demands an explanation from the company and states he will pursue the matter to the end.”

The secretary looked at Qi Han with a troubled expression.