Cannon Fodder And The Protagonist Are A Perfect Match [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 11

In the midst of his anxious waiting, the person Yu Yan met was not Xu Yansheng’s mother, but two others who were entirely unexpected.

After evening study on Wednesday, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. A gentle night breeze blew as Yu Yan cycled home as usual. Xie Jin’s house was located in the old city district to the west of the school. It was a ten-minute ride that required passing through several dim alleys.

In one of those alleys, Yu Yan stumbled upon Gao Da acting suspiciously. In his arms was Wang Shan, who was clearly unconscious. Recalling what Jin Fei had told him previously, Yu Yan felt uneasy and blocked Gao Da’s path with his bicycle.

“Gao Da, it is so late. Why are you not home? Where are you going?” Yu Yan asked.

The young man before him had striking features and a commanding presence. Although the voice was somewhat familiar, Gao Da could not recall ever knowing such a person. Guilty and flustered, he gave a playful, dismissive grin. “I am just on my way home, am I not?”

Yu Yan raised an eyebrow and spoke meaningfully. “But I seem to remember that your house is in the opposite direction.”

Gao Da did not react immediately, but then he suddenly remembered something and shouted angrily, “You were the one who beat me up back then, were you not?”

Yu Yan did not answer. Instead, he looked at Wang Shan, who remained unconscious despite Gao Da’s deafening roar. It seemed Jin Fei was right; Gao Da really intended to assault her.

Adhering to the principle of seeing a good deed through to the end, Yu Yan admitted it calmly. He then added thoughtfully, “Now, I am going to beat you up again.”

As he spoke, Yu Yan dismounted his bicycle. His fist moved like the wind, striking Gao Da squarely in his flat face. After a one-sided beating, Yu Yan looked at the two unconscious people on the ground. He took the phone from Wang Shan’s pocket and dialed the contact labeled Wang Ning.

Xu Yansheng had mentioned that Wang Ning was Wang Shan’s best friend, so leaving the situation to her seemed correct. However, after more than ten failed attempts to reach her, Yu Yan frowned. He placed Wang Shan on his bicycle seat and took her to a nearby 24-hour hotel to rest.

By the time he finished and returned home, the night was deep. Yu Yan never expected to meet Xu Yansheng’s mother at such an hour. In the alley where even streetlights were scarce, a black Maybach sat parked, almost blending into the darkness. When the boy on the bicycle stopped in front of a dilapidated residential building, the Maybach flashed its hazard lights.

The heavy sound of a car door opening echoed in the silent night. A middle-aged man stepped out from the driver’s seat, walked around the car, and respectfully opened the rear door for an elegant and beautiful woman.

She wore a low-profile white silk dress and radiated intellectual charm. The breeze stirred her hair and carried her introduction to Yu Yan’s ears. Her voice was gentle and warm, like the boundless sea. There was no need for an introduction; based on the slight smile at the corners of her mouth, Yu Yan knew she was Xu Yansheng’s mother. The light dancing in her eyes was so similar to Xu Yansheng’s, like a firefly in the night, piercing through the darkness.

As Yu Yan observed Mother Xu, she was also observing him. The boy before her clearly differed from the information the private investigator had given her. She spoke again. “If it is convenient, may I come into your home for a moment?”

Yu Yan agreed. After locking his bicycle, he led Mother Xu and her driver into the building. The structure was old and poorly maintained, filled with various lingering scents. The voice-activated lights in the stairwell were broken, so Yu Yan had to manually turn on the light at each floor.

Standing before a green, rusted security door on the fourth floor, Yu Yan used his key to open it. A fresh fragrance filled the room. Yu Yan turned on the living room light and spoke politely to Mother Xu, who stood outside. “I do not have spare slippers, so please just come inside.”

The moment the incandescent light flickered on, Mother Xu quietly scanned the interior decoration. By the time Yu Yan spoke, she had made her first judgment: this was a clean, simple apartment, but it was not a warm, inhabited home.

However, as she walked into the living room and looked through the open door of Yu Yan’s bedroom, she saw mechanical parts scattered everywhere. She silently revised her judgment. This was not a simple apartment; it was a disorganized workshop.

Yu Yan followed her gaze and saw the mess. He explained awkwardly, “Those things are still useful. I just have not had time to tidy up.”

Xu Yansheng’s father had been the president of the robotics association in university. Since Mother Xu had often visited the laboratory to find him, she recognized some of the materials. She asked curiously, “Are you building a robot?”

“No,” Yu Yan replied. “It is a robotic puppy.”

Mother Xu’s interest was piqued. “May I go in and see?”

Yu Yan nodded instinctively. It was only after he turned on the bedroom light that he remembered the photo of Xu Yansheng on the wall. He hung his head in annoyance, waiting for Mother Xu to question him.

However, the elegant woman merely glanced at the photo before turning her attention to the desk by the window. There sat a mechanical puppy roughly the size of a teacup dog. Because her partner was a robotics enthusiast, Mother Xu had experience with such products. She could tell at a glance that the craftsmanship of this puppy was extraordinary and far superior to any budget product on the market.

If the chip ran smoothly and the controller was stable, this puppy had the potential to be a marketable product. Her business instincts made her want to learn more. Yu Yan did not refuse. He called out “Little White,” and the miniature puppy immediately woke from its standby state. Its liquid crystal eyes showed a happy expression, and it began to run around the desk on its motor-controlled limbs.

Despite its metal body and synthesized electronic barking, its behavior was that of a lively, ordinary puppy. Mother Xu showed her appreciation and asked, “Do you plan to enter this into a competition?”

“No,” Yu Yan replied, suppressing his shyness. “It is a birthday gift for Xu Yansheng.”

He had decided on this gift in just half a day. He remembered from the original novel that Xu Yansheng loved dogs, but for some reason, dogs always disliked him. Therefore, Yu Yan decided to build him a puppy that would be eternally loyal. The idea was beautiful, but after nearly a month of work, he had only managed to produce a somewhat responsive program. It was not a lack of programming skill, but rather the chip materials in this world were not refined enough to realize his more complex ideas.

Mother Xu was surprised. “You are very thoughtful,” she said with a complex expression. She then pointed to the photo on the wall. “Is the person in this photo Yansheng?”

Yu Yan became incredibly nervous and stammered, “Yes, it is.”

“It is a very good photo,” Mother Xu added. “May I have it?”

Yu Yan did not really want to give it up, but remembering Xu Yansheng’s instructions, he submissively removed the photo and handed it over reluctantly. Mother Xu looked at the aggrieved boy with a hint of amusement. She took the photo and, after a few more words, prepared to leave.

Yu Yan escorted her downstairs. Before getting into the car, the woman paused and looked at the boy standing alone in the night. “Will you come to Yansheng’s birthday party?”

Yu Yan’s eyes widened in disbelief. When Mother Xu received his silent confirmation, she smiled. “I will let Yansheng tell you the time and place. Get some rest. I apologize for disturbing you tonight.”

The next morning, as soon as Xu Yansheng left his bedroom, he saw the photo placed prominently. Confused, he saw his smiling mother on the sofa and understood. He walked toward the photo and grumbled, “Why did you put the photo by the edge of the cabinet? What if the wind knocks it down?”

Mother Xu waved her hand dismissively. “There is no wind strong enough to knock over a photo frame.”

Before she could finish, a gust of wind blew in through the open living room window. The floor-length curtains billowed upward and struck the photo on the cabinet. There was a loud, crisp sound as the frame shattered on the floor.

Xu Yansheng moved to clean up the mess. It was then that he noticed familiar handwriting on the back. He pulled the photo from the broken frame and asked his mother, “Have you already met Xie Jin?”

“Yes,” Mother Xu replied frankly. “That photo in your hand is from his house. I also invited him to your birthday party. Remember to tell him the time and place at school so he does not feel too constrained.”

As Mother Xu continued to talk, a smile touched Xu Yansheng’s lips. He lightly stroked the handwriting at the bottom left of the photo: April 2013. That was the second semester of their sophomore year. Xie Jin really had been secretly in love with him for a long time.

He could not put the photo down, looking at it repeatedly. It was during this scrutiny that he noticed more writing on the back. His smile vanished instantly as Wang Shan’s warning surfaced in his mind: Xie Jin is not a good person.

Noticing her son’s change in demeanor, Mother Xu asked worriedly, “What is wrong? Do you not want me to invite your seatmate to the party this weekend?”

Xu Yansheng shook his head. “No, I really want him to come.”

Mother Xu felt relieved. She did not notice that when Xu Yansheng went to take out the trash, he threw the photo away with it.

Yu Yan knew nothing about the writing on the back of the photo. His knowledge of Xie Jin came entirely from the files provided by 001, which only covered surface-level relationships. So, when Wang Shan stopped him in the alley the next morning to apologize, he was completely bewildered.

Glancing at the rising sun, he interrupted her rudely. “If there is something to say, tell me next time. I am going to be late.”

Wang Shan did not move. Her voice was muffled. “I asked Li Desheng to give you and the teacher half a day off.”

Yu Yan remembered the name Li Desheng, the dean who had rejected his self-reflection essays twice. He was about to get angry, but Wang Shan spoke again, her voice thick with tears. “In half a day, I will be taking a bus to the neighboring city. So, if I have something to say, I have to say it now.”

In the narrow, deep alley, a weeping girl and a handsome boy were bound to attract attention. Feeling the strange looks from passersby, Yu Yan felt frustrated. “Let us find a place to sit and talk,” he suggested. He had already been given the time off, so there was nothing else to be done.

He sent a message to Xu Yansheng, stating that he had something to do and would not be in class that morning. Xu Yansheng replied quickly, saying he would take notes for him. Yu Yan was a bit disappointed; he had expected Xu Yansheng to ask for more details.

Xu Yansheng did want to ask, but he felt it was unnecessary. After all, his people were constantly following Xie Jin.