Forced To Take Care Of The Protagonist, She Can't Leave [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 19

Snow does not fall often in the city, but this winter arrived unexpectedly early. Within a few days, the temperature plummeted, and the Lunar New Year was fast approaching.

After learning the news, Gu Qingshi did not have a strong reaction. He continued to work as usual and rested on time at his hotel each night. This actually surprised 996.

“Host, are you not going home yet?” 996 was bored because this world was fractured. After over seven hundred unsuccessful attempts by previous missioners, the system had to adopt a more moderate approach. The protagonist had already entered the main storyline, and the remaining plot could be navigated slowly. The probability of success had already risen to sixty percent.

“No.”

Gu Qingshi was still at the hotel, reading Child Psychology. It was filled with messy jargon and divided children into various stages based on their age. Gu Qingshi lowered his eyes, not knowing which stage to place Huo Chen in. The thought made him inexplicably restless. He did not want to see the boy at all. Why were there always so many people revolving around him?

Gu Qingshi threw the book aside. It was as thick as a brick and hit the floor with a loud thud. 996 dared not make a sound. Gu Qingshi’s breathing was uneven, and he fell into a state of strange confusion. Why was he so angry?

Whenever he stepped off the set, he would enter his so-called real life. Gu Qingshi claimed to be trying his best to treat everything as real life, but his fingers would physiologically tremble from irritation. He could not keep acting. He could not continue the facade the moment he stood in front of that child. His once-fluent, eloquent sentences vanished completely, leaving only dull, uninteresting, and sparse fragments. After all, he was essentially a boring person.

Gu Qingshi despised this feeling. He had never formed an intimate bond in his past life and instinctively detested obvious pandering and closeness. He was meant to be alone to be free. He had established emotional detachment for twenty-seven years, and now he was suddenly given a child to care for over the next nine years. Of course, he could choose to ignore the boy for those nine years as well.

His phone rang again. Gu Qingshi glanced at it, hung up, and felt agitated. Why had he died in his past life? A rainy night, a car accident. He had not dreamed of that day again.

“996.”

“I am here, Host.”

Gu Qingshi did not understand why he had been chosen. “Why me?”

996 replied nervously, “I do not have authorization for that information. Perhaps it is fate.”

Gu Qingshi frowned. “If you cannot speak properly, then do not speak at all.”

He felt faint and picked up the book again. Why was he an actor? Gu Qingshi recalled his past life, a journey fraught with hardship and difficulty. He had not been a famous actor; his works were popular, but he was not. He was so obscure that no one recognized him on the street. It was exactly like his current life.

A flash of shock crossed Gu Qingshi’s cold face as he remembered something. “996, have you been keeping a normal person barrier on me?”

996 replied, “Yes, it will remain active for all nine years.”

Gu Qingshi stood on the floor and frowned, unable to make sense of his past life. Perhaps he really was not meant for this. He shook his head, a look of confusion on his cold face. The phone rang again. Gu stood by the bed and looked at it. It was Huo Chen again, and it was already late. Why was he calling? Why was he not sleeping?

Gu Qingshi looked bewildered. The boy was so young, why was he involved in sports betting? Wait, Fu Lian had said that Huo Chen had built a sports betting website. The classmate in question was the son of a tournament organizer with powerful family connections. Whoever won or lost was decided by a simple word. Was that not just fraud? It was enough to earn him years in prison. What was his name?

996 reminded him, “Ah, it is the protagonist’s follower, Zhao Kuo.”

“Right, Zhao Kuo,” Gu Qingshi muttered. He hung up the phone again.

He disliked dealing with these things. Acting had already exhausted his emotions, and his return to reality was supposed to be dull and boring. Instead, he had Huo Chen thrust into his life. Gu Qingshi was not heartless, but the boy always looked at him with those wet, pleading eyes, which made him feel annoyed. He was so young, yet his act was flawless. Why was he trying so hard to please him?

“Did I not give him pocket money?” Gu Qingshi asked in the empty house.

996 figured the man was talking to it and replied cautiously, “Maybe he thinks it is not enough?”

Gu Qingshi was perplexed. “He is only eight. Is ten thousand a month not enough? A bottomless pit. Why does he need so much money?”

Gu Qingshi’s mind was still groggy. He took a sip of cold water from the nightstand, which cooled his throat. He stared at Child Psychology and pushed it to the floor. He read it for a while in a daze, but the phone kept ringing. He looked at the familiar caller ID for a long time before finally answering.

“Hello.”

It was not Huo Chen, but the anxious nanny. “Sir, I cannot find little Huo. He went out in the middle of the night without his phone. Should I call the police?”

Gu Qingshi’s expression shifted instantly, his eyes clearing. He let out a cold laugh, hung up, grabbed his coat, and left. On the table lay scattered books with brief educational notes. As the door opened, the pages fluttered. The room returned to silence.

Simply ridiculous.

Gu Qingshi felt the world was both real and absurd. It was all about power. Although 996 had already told him that this incident would not hinder the protagonist—who was destined to be righteous and upright—and that things would resolve in a reasonable way, Gu Qingshi sneered. If Huo Chen had truly committed a crime, he would throw him into a juvenile detention center himself.

What a nuisance.

The car soon reached Jiangwanlin. Li Xu was shivering in the cold wind, but his gaze remained alert. “Sir, do not worry.”

Gu Qingshi walked to the room and turned the doorknob. It was unlocked this time. The room was empty but messy; the window was wide open, letting the cold wind pour in. The tattered book on the floor flipped pages automatically. Before it could be blown apart, Gu Qingshi picked it up.

Flowers for Algernon.

It was the copy from the orphanage. He had gone there secretly. Gu Qingshi accepted it with a blank expression. Testing me repeatedly; he never feels safe. He knew where the boy had gone. It was about 9:30 PM. Gu went downstairs and asked the nanny; she said he had eaten dinner around 6:00 PM and was discovered missing at 8:00 PM. He had probably walked back.

When Gu reached the entryway, the nanny was still muttering, “He must have missed you too much, because it is past midnight, it is the 24th now. The boy is just a bit mischievous, please do not be too…”

Gu Qingshi stopped and scolded coldly, “Did I ever say I would not come back?”

The villa door was flung open, and snow drifted inside. The nanny was so frightened she fell silent. Gu Qingshi closed his eyes, suppressing the taste of blood in his throat, and said, “Aunt Chen, I am sorry. I was in a bad mood. I apologize. I will bring him back.”

The door was slammed shut, cutting off the wind and snow. Li Xu checked his phone inside the car and shivered when the door was suddenly yanked open.

“Get out,” Gu said coldly.

Li Xu was bewildered but stepped out quickly, standing there at a loss. Are we not using the car?

Gu Qingshi slid into the driver’s seat and stated, “The snow is too heavy, find a taxi home.”

Before Li Xu could react, the car took a sharp turn, leaving deep tracks on the ground. The tires were likely worn down. He is driving himself?

Gu Qingshi’s expression was flat. The worn-out book sat in the passenger seat. Because of the snow and poor road conditions, Gu took a shortcut, not caring about the bumps. He could not stop coughing.

“Cough, cough.”

996 was worried. “Host, the protagonist will not die. You do not need to be in such a hurry.”

Gu Qingshi laughed. “Then will I die?”

996 froze, its processor overloading. Let another runaway car hit and kill him. Gu Qingshi did not notice the blood on his lips, which stained the corners of his mouth a vivid red. Who is Fu Lian? Everyone keeps bothering me.

The ride was nerve-wracking, but he finally arrived. Gu Qingshi abandoned the car by the side of the road, not even taking the keys, and stepped out alone. The orphanage had not been fully demolished, but it was half-ruined, covered in green netting. Layers of snow had piled up.

Gu Qingshi walked forward with a blank face, the book in his hand. He could not see the path clearly. Nearsightedness is one thing, must I also be snow-blind? His body was deteriorating too quickly.

Gu Qingshi walked step by step until he saw a small figure huddled on the orphanage steps. He could not see clearly.

“Come here.” He stood before the boy and said only those two words in a cold tone. He was not angry. Gu Qingshi simply could not understand why the boy had learned to run away from home. Why return to the orphanage? Why intentionally leave that book behind? Was he trying to cut open his heart to see if it was made of flesh?

Gu Qingshi’s head throbbed, but he squatted down, gestured with his hand, and whispered, “Come here.”

Huo Chen still did not move, looking at Gu Qingshi with red eyes.

“You do not like me, right?”

No matter how hard he tried to please him, this man simply did not like going home, or rather, did not like him at all. He had ignored all those phone calls and would not listen to any explanation.

Gu Qingshi felt exhausted. Hearing this, he smiled. “I do not even like myself. My likes do not matter.” Why would anyone need to care about him?

Snow continued to fall. Huo Chen sat on the steps under the eaves, which provided some shelter. Gu Qingshi’s shoulders were covered in snow, his face deathly pale. He said again, “Come here.”

If he does not come back now, then so be it. He could not understand the point of living a second life. Perhaps it was because dying had been painful that he did not want to die again. The child opposite him was still staring intently.

“Cough, cough.” Gu Qingshi coughed painfully; his lungs felt like they had a hole that could not be mended. This healthy body was being ruined by him too quickly.

Gu Qingshi closed his eyes, then opened them to look at the boy, turning to leave.

“996, you can load unit 787 later.”

996 replied, “Uh, Host… please do not be angry.”

“I am not angry.”

Huo Chen could not take it anymore. He ran over, grabbed Gu Qingshi’s coat, and said resentfully, “Why do you always ask three times? Am I not worth asking a few more times?” Tears fell like rain, as if they cost nothing. “I did not do anything illegal, why are you ignoring me? Do you only believe others? Did you not bring me back? Sob.”

The hoarse voice sounded as if it could pierce the sky. The snow was falling heavily now, and Gu Qingshi could not see the road. The alcohol seemed to be taking effect. Why such a mission? Raising a child… is this easy?

Gu Qingshi’s hands were freezing, and the noise from Huo Chen made his ears buzz.

“It is my birthday, and you did not come back. Can I not be angry? You do not like me at all.” Huo Chen wept fiercely, unsure if he was acting or feeling genuine sorrow.

Gu Qingshi could not tell. He finally squatted down and gave the boy a clumsy hug. Just like the day before he died, when he hugged the pile of orphans crowding around him—what had he been thinking then? Why must children always want hugs? What is there to be happy about?

He did not understand. But now…

As soon as Gu Qingshi made the motion, Huo Chen pressed his head against Gu’s neck. He was soaking wet, and his tears flowed into the collar. Gu could not help but frown. Why is he crying so hard?

Before he could react, Huo Chen, overwhelmed by grievance, sobbed and burrowed into his coat, reaching out to hug him tightly. “You cannot abandon me.”

Gu Qingshi smiled. Is that not entirely up to you? If you choose me, I live. If you do not, I die. Just a lowly life relying on the protagonist to survive.

Huo Chen kept crying as if he never would finish, muttering incoherently, “You cannot lie to me. Did you not say you were Alice? You are.”

Gu Qingshi felt uncomfortable with the boy rubbing against his neck, but he did not push him away. The snow fell in soft flurries, and their skin was icy.

“I never said I would not come back.” Gu Qingshi lowered his eyelids, stopped struggling, and gazed at a small fruit knife in the snow. He felt a bit dazed. If I had not come to find him, what was he planning to do?

Huo Chen ignored his explanation and said, “Do not intentionally stay away. I miss you so much.”

“Alice likes Charlie, she likes Charlie, even when he is foolish. Why do you not like me? Sob.”

The tears flowed down Gu Qingshi’s chest like a small faucet. These words sounded like a spell; the denial on Gu’s lips turned over and over but never came out. He had only wanted to show that he was a good person, nothing more. Just a character in a book, why is he so clingy?

Just as he was about to pick the boy up, a cold, mechanical voice sounded in his head:

[Host’s intimacy level with the protagonist is fluctuating too high, exceeding the stable threshold. Punishment will commence in one minute.]

Gu Qingshi finally understood. He was not just a lowly life; he was a tool being stimulated by “aversion therapy” by a higher-dimensional being. He was not even as good as Pavlov’s dog.

“Gu Qingshi? What is wrong?” Huo Chen sensed something was off. Why was his body so cold?

Huo Chen’s eyes were swollen from crying; he instinctively tried to pull back from the embrace. But before he could, Gu Qingshi pulled him back, covering his face to hide it.

“It is nothing,” his voice was hoarse. “Let us go home.”

Snow fell, piling up high and blocking the road. He could not drive. Gu Qingshi walked unsteadily, his vision blurred and his breathing faint. Step by step, he stopped and walked until he finally carried Huo Chen home.

He was only a person. Not a tool.