Chapter 77
Chu Xiao wasn’t surprised at all; in fact, he had a feeling this was coming. He even managed to maintain a calm expression under the circumstances.
“I probably won’t be getting married.”
Chu Xiao gazed at Luo Shizhen, his eyes seemingly brewing a layer of ice over hidden magma.
“You won’t be able to be the godfather to my child.”
If it had been before, Luo Shizhen might have asked why—like why Chu Xiao wasn’t getting married, or how he could be so sure about it now. But the current Luo Shizhen understood that everyone had their own choices. He simply gave an “Oh,” nodded, and accepted it naturally.
“Alright then.”
Honestly, not being a godfather was fine. The important thing was that they would be best friends for a lifetime. Luo Shizhen looked at Chu Xiao expectantly.
Meeting that gaze, the anger in Chu Xiao’s heart was extinguished as if doused by a bucket of water. Forget it, why bother arguing with him?
The fact that Shizhen could decide not to get married now was already a step forward. Chu Xiao pinched Luo Shizhen’s nose.
“What is that brain of yours thinking about all day?”
It was a feat for him to perform such an action while maintaining a cold, indifferent expression. Luo Shizhen felt the intimacy behind the gesture and chuckled.
As the two of them looked at each other, Shizhen’s ears suddenly twitched. He turned toward the second floor.
“Big Brother, you’re awake too.”
Xiao Shan, who was strictly monitoring them through a crack in his door: “…Ah, yes. I’m awake.”
Luo Shizhen then looked toward the window of another room. “Rong Nian!”
Then toward the room next door. “Lu Qiujin, you’re all awake.”
Lu Qiujin, who had also been silently observing the conversation between Luo Shizhen and Chu Xiao through his doorway in the dark, let go of the door and walked out naturally.
“Mhm. I just happened to be unable to sleep.”
“What a coincidence! I wanted to have some late-night snacks. Do you want to join?”
The others naturally responded to the call. Although they didn’t like each other, they tacitly kept their distance. Having lived together for so long, they weren’t entirely unable to tolerate each other’s presence.
Luo Shizhen felt that since most of them were awake, he might as well ask the remaining ones who hadn’t slept yet to see if they wanted snacks. Thus, eventually, everyone gathered on the villa’s lawn, spaced apart. They brought out the villa’s built-in grill and started roasting meat.
Luo Shizhen enthusiastically grilled the meat following a tutorial on his phone. He had never participated in such an activity before. While poverty was part of the reason, the biggest factor was that a Grade 12 student simply had no time to grill meat for themselves.
This counts as my own choice too, right?
It was a simple grilling action, but Luo Shizhen did it with extraordinary seriousness. Every flip and every sprinkle of seasoning was done with meticulous care. This was his survival habit; from childhood, things that others found simple were often difficult for him. But if he treated them seriously and tried his best to replicate every step, he could usually pull it off.
Cheng Yunshao and Wen Hu were drinking. Wen Hu wanted to go over and suck up to Luo Shizhen, but Cheng Yunshao saw that Shizhen didn’t want to be disturbed and firmly held him back.
Lu Qiujin poured two glasses of wine. He held one and handed the other to Chu Xiao. His eyes were dark, and his voice was somewhat somber.
“A drink?”
It didn’t look like he was offering wine; it looked like he was offering poison.
Chu Xiao’s expression was equally cold. He gave Lu Qiujin a brief look before taking the glass. He glanced at Luo Shizhen, who was busily working in high spirits, tilted his head back, and drained it in one gulp.
Lu Qiujin also looked at Luo Shizhen. “He really trusts you. After leaving his room, the first person he looked for was you.”
Chu Xiao’s gaze remained dark as he looked at Lu Qiujin. “What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Lu Qiujin also finished the wine in his glass. His tolerance was decent, but the alcohol showed on his face, which immediately flushed with a drunkard’s hue. His eyes, however, remained clear and even revealed a sharp edge.
He understood perfectly now why Xiao Shan and Rong Nian were both so hostile toward Chu Xiao. Chu Xiao had too much of a head start. He had known Luo Shizhen longer than all of them combined. Over ten years of companionship allowed Chu Xiao to maintain a vital position in Luo Shizhen’s heart.
This was a position Lu Qiujin could never shake. During the time Chu Xiao was in confinement, he thought he had made progress, but the moment Chu Xiao came out, Luo Shizhen’s first thought for anything was always Chu Xiao. Even tonight, the first person he sought was Chu Xiao.
If they hadn’t been discovered by Luo Shizhen, he might have even actively sought to share a bed with Chu Xiao tonight.
However, Lu Qiujin saw more clearly than Xiao Shan. Attacking Chu Xiao now was not a good move. Luo Shizhen liked to see everyone around him in harmony, so even if he had to fake it, he would fake a harmonious front. It wasn’t like he hadn’t faked things before; he could put on a seamless act to keep Luo Shizhen satisfied.
Although Chu Xiao had already finished the drink, Lu Qiujin poured another and made a toasting gesture.
“You are Shizhen’s important friend. I want to maintain a decent relationship with you, nothing more.”
The word “friend” was exceptionally grating to Chu Xiao’s ears. He could let it slide when Luo Shizhen said it, but Lu Qiujin? Who was this guy?
He gave a cold laugh, poured himself another glass, and drained it again.
“Fine. I believe you will also become an important friend to Shizhen.”
At a glance, the two of them talking and drinking together looked like they had a very good relationship.
Rong Nian was swimming frantically in the villa’s pool.
Everyone had something to do, making Lin Ke, sitting alone on the side, appear exceptionally weak, helpless, and pitiful. At this moment, he deeply regretted agreeing to join the meal with the idea of “observing how high-sequence types have a BBQ.”
He looked at one, then the other. Every single one of them appeared harmonious, but what his Qi sensed was a group of powerful, violent beasts roaring and warning each other. Even the air felt thick, squeezed by these powerful flows of Qi.
Lin Ke didn’t dare get close to anyone. Fortunately, Luo Shizhen’s Qi was very peaceful. It neither violently marked territory nor released its aura in a display of dominance. Around Luo Shizhen was like a safety zone; the Qi of everyone in the yard, no matter how violent or roaring, deliberately avoided him.
This resulted in the air being quite fresh within a five-meter radius around him. The moment Lin Ke stepped into it, he felt like he had come back to life.
He let out a heavy sigh of relief. “Lord, so this is what it’s like when you high-sequence Awakeners have a meal together.”
This wasn’t a dinner party; it was the era of dinosaurs battling for supremacy.
Luo Shizhen noticed nothing, happily grilling meat. “This is my first BBQ party too. I didn’t expect everyone to come.”
Lin Ke thought to himself: It’s exactly because everyone came that the atmosphere is so tense.
He had once regretted not being a combat type and having a weak ability that prevented him from entering Eternal Day. He didn’t regret it anymore. If every Awakener in Eternal Day was like this, then not entering was the right choice. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have difficulty breathing every day?
Thinking of this, Lin Ke’s gaze toward Luo Shizhen became filled with admiration. He hadn’t forgotten that Luo Shizhen was also a support type—an Energy-user who was most sensitive to Qi. Although these young Awakeners were surprisingly thoughtful and controlled their aggressive Qi to bypass Luo Shizhen, living among a group of powerful combat-type Awakeners must still be incredibly stressful.
“Stress? Not at all. My classmates at school all have very good personalities. We usually get along very harmoniously.”
Luo Shizhen finally finished the first batch of grilled meat and took a bite himself.
Mhm… delicious.
However, his palate wasn’t a good reference point. Luo Shizhen was the type who wasn’t a picky eater; he found everything he ate quite good, the only difference being “good” or “even better.” It probably wasn’t bad, or he would have noticed, and then proceeded to eat it all anyway without being affected.
“These are done! I’m going to take some to Teacher Sui!”
Luo Shizhen held a handful of skewers and walked toward the large tree at the edge of the villa. Lin Ke couldn’t stop him in time and watched him walk out of the five-meter safety zone.
Nothing happened—
The young Awakeners naturally didn’t have time to retract their Qi, yet even walking through the crossfire of clashing Qi, Luo Shizhen was entirely unaffected. In fact, Lin Ke could vaguely sense that the Qi on Shizhen’s body was peacefully wrapped around him. Toward every other Awakener’s Qi he passed, this thread of seemingly non-aggressive Qi would actively lean forward and nuzzle them as if saying hello.
Everywhere he walked, the originally violent Qi would instantly quiet down, and some would even follow at a distance behind Luo Shizhen’s Qi.
Lin Ke: “…”
He had very little data on Purifiers. Is this what a Purifier is like?
The only one present still trying to control his Qi not to follow Luo Shizhen was Cheng Yunshao. He used all his strength to barely retract his Qi. At this moment, Cheng Yunshao’s thoughts overlapped with Lin Ke’s.
As expected of a Mutant Purifier. Even when not using his ability, his Qi is incredibly attractive to Awakeners. Just being touched by it feels wonderful.
Unfortunately, Cheng Yunshao didn’t like this state of uncontrollable Qi. So, even though it felt comfortable, he forcefully retracted it. Cheng Yunshao admitted that Luo Shizhen was a decent classmate. He worked seriously, was responsible for missions, and lacked the nasty habits of other young Awakeners—but that was all. There were already enough people surrounding Luo Shizhen. Cheng Yunshao only wanted to maintain a classmate relationship and didn’t want to go any further. At least, that was what he thought now.
Cheng Yunshao looked composed on the surface, directing a puppet to grill meat for him. His sharp Awakener hearing allowed him to hear Luo Shizhen’s voice nearby.
“Teacher Sui, please have some BBQ.”
He paused, casting his gaze into the distance. Although he couldn’t see the spiritual threads, he saw the grilled meat being lifted up as if by an invisible force. Additionally, Luo Shizhen’s hair became slightly messy as he stood there obediently, smiling upward.
It was easy to judge that Sui An was using his spiritual sense to pat Luo Shizhen’s head. How improper. Is spiritual sense something you can just use to touch people?
Cheng Yunshao walked toward Lin Ke. “How is it? Now that Wu Sen and Qin Cheng have been cured, has that Awakener forum produced a result?”
Lin Ke, who was focused on grilling: Huh? Talking shop during a BBQ?
Still, he took out his phone. “I’ve been watching. It has indeed fermented quite a bit. Many people trust Wu Sen.”
“Mhm, let me see.”
Cheng Yunshao watched while raising his voice. “Doctor Zhen, come have a look too.”
Luo Shizhen was currently telling Teacher Sui about his grilling insights. Hearing the summons, he immediately responded.
“Coming!!”
Clearly, in his eyes, work could be discussed during a party. In fact, seeing the forum results made him look even happier. The white mist on his body, which had been intimately wrapped around his teacher’s spiritual threads, pulled away without hesitation—just as determined as its master.
“Teacher, I’m going to work!”
Up above, Sui An lay across the branches in a lazy, reckless posture. He raised an eyebrow and smiled in response:
“Go on.”
Sui An, who never ate food from outside, took a bite of the grilled meat.
“The BBQ is delicious.”
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