Forced To Take Care Of The Protagonist, She Can't Leave [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 21

Gu Qingshi changed out of his clothes and looked down to find the skin near his chest torn. He had scratched it open himself with his fingernails. A smile touched his pale face; the young man felt he had made some progress. He was better at enduring pain than before.

After putting his clothes away, Gu Qingshi walked around the bedroom a few times, only to realize he still could not find his glasses. Had he lost them? Gu Qingshi eventually gave up and sat on the edge of the bed to rest, communicating with 996.

“How many levels of angina are there?”

He scraped the flesh on the inside of his little finger with his fingernail, his vision unfocused. 996 replied honestly, “Ten levels.”

Gu Qingshi frowned. “Why set so many?” Did they stack layer by layer? If so, they might as well just dig out his heart.

996 felt aggrieved. “I will apply to the higher-ups to change that.”

Hearing this, Gu Qingshi felt a moment of dizziness. It seemed he had heard 996 say things like “I did not do it” more than once. Was 996 merely a low-level system? He wanted to ask a few more questions, but he remembered the warning about questioning the world. Gu Qingshi leaned against the headboard, his face devoid of blood, and thought, Forget it. Why must I know the truth?

It was around 5:00 AM. Although Gu Qingshi knew about Huo Chen’s situation and 996 had provided a defensive buffer, he knew this world revolved around the protagonist. Everything was prioritized for the protagonist, and regardless of the circumstances, the protagonist was always righteous and upright. Therefore, even irrational events would unfold in a logical way.

“Zhao Kuo, is that right?”

Seeing that he was about to fall asleep, 996 whispered, “Yes.”

The host is so beautiful, 996 thought, secretly taking a few photos and saving them to its neural processor.

“And the other one, does his surname start with Chen?”

996 replied, “He is called Chen Shu, and his father is the police chief.”

Gu Qingshi smiled at this, a shallow dimple appearing on his cheek. As expected of a fast-paced web novel. With the protagonist’s followers having such powerful backgrounds, Huo Chen will certainly be fine. But tomorrow, he had to go out and meet the parents of that person.

Gu Qingshi tilted his head and drifted off to sleep, his bangs messy and his expression calm, his breathing steady. 996 observed him and determined he was not dreaming. However, as it was busy snapping photos, a disturbance occurred at the door. Someone was turning the doorknob. 996 had intended to hibernate, but its curiosity was piqued, and it shifted its view.

The door seemed to draw closer. 996 was in a bind; it had no physical body and could not open doors. Yet, after a long pause, it realized it could pass through. 996 decided to lower its humanoid attributes to avoid looking foolish and widened its field of vision.

A teenager was squatting outside the door with a cold expression. 996 recognized him instantly: the protagonist. It scanned him and prepared to return to Gu Qingshi’s side.

“Who is it!” Huo Chen shouted into the void, his expression alert.

996 was so frightened by the wall-clipping that it flew back instantly and forced itself into hibernation mode. Too scary. The protagonist of this world is truly a little madman.

When Gu Qingshi woke up, he felt heat on the back of his hand. He frowned before even opening his eyes, his breathing heavy. He struggled to lift his eyelids, only to see Huo Chen asleep beside his hand, his face pressed against it.

Gu Qingshi felt a surge of anger. Had he not told the boy not to disturb him?

Huo Chen woke up in a haze, looked up, and leaned in happily, whispering, “You are awake?”

He gripped the man’s fingers again. They were smooth. Gu Qingshi felt disgusted, but he could not bring himself to push him away. He simply frowned. “Who told you to—”

“It is eight o’clock now,” Huo Chen interrupted, leaning his body further forward. Since he was short, he was practically crawling onto the bed.

Gu Qingshi pursed his lips, having nothing to say. He could only pull his hand back and wave at the boy. “Get out.”

As soon as the words left his lips, the child’s face changed. He looked overwhelmingly aggrieved, tears threatening to fall again. Gu Qingshi was shocked and explained, “I need to change my clothes. Why are you crying?”

Huo Chen grabbed the corner of the quilt. “I thought you hated me.”

Gu Qingshi was speechless, looking helpless. After thinking it over, he said calmly, “I have not punished you yet. Do you think crying at me will make everything better?” Gu Qingshi tilted his head, his expression calm.

Huo Chen was momentarily panicked, but his hands did not let go.

“Noisy.”

“Get out.”

Within two minutes, the crybaby had scurried away. Only then did Gu Qingshi begin to change his clothes, moving slowly, though he felt much better.

“996, will I die from this illness soon?”

996 was shocked. “Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey…” It spent nearly a minute doing this.

“Noisy.” Gu Qingshi felt a surge of irritation.

996 stopped and said seriously, “Host, you cannot think that way. Your body cannot have any problems; the world will repair it for you periodically. During the mission, there will absolutely not be any major issues.”

Gu Qingshi smiled, finding the word repair quite clever. He felt like a tool.

“Since the host is within the world, you are subject to its influence. Colds and fevers are unavoidable, but your organs, bones, and limbs have been reshaped; you will not have any other illnesses.”

Gu Qingshi paused while buttoning his shirt and looked at himself in the mirror. “Is my original body still there?” Or had it turned to ash?

996 stuttered for a moment, then replied sincerely, “According to human customs, it should have been cremated. No, Host, it is gone. It is outside my authorization.”

Gu Qingshi frowned. After a while, he asked, “Is it still there?”

This seemed to have become a habit. Whenever the system’s instructions became rigid, the human aspect of 996 would disappear entirely, only to return later.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh, Host, about that question… I, I, I…” 996 was conflicted and confused.

“I will not ask again.”

Gu Qingshi bent over to wash his face and looked at himself in the mirror again. His bangs were slightly damp, and his lashes were clumped together from the water, his pupils a light brown. The reflection showed endless figures. Was he looking at the person in the mirror, or was the person in his eyes looking through the mirror at him? Gu Qingshi turned and walked away.

Today was Huo Chen’s birthday, after all. To add a sense of ritual, Gu Qingshi had the nanny help him make a cake. As for Gu himself, he sat at the dining table drinking soup, a red date and goji berry concoction the nanny claimed was for nourishing his energy. But the taste was strange. Gu Qingshi took one sip and set it down.

Huo Chen had no heart for the kitchen; he did not know if Gu Qingshi was still angry or had calmed down. He instinctively wanted to run to the man’s side, but the nanny kept teaching him how to whip cream, whispering softly, “Do not upset Mr. Gu again. Let him rest well.”

Huo Chen was furious. He had not! He had only snuck into the master bedroom at 7:01 AM, not a minute earlier!

Cream, cream, cream! What is the point of whipping it!

Huo Chen clattered about the kitchen like a destroyer, all to get Gu Qingshi to call him back. His scheme worked.

“Huo Chen!” Gu Qingshi called out, sounding impatient.

The nanny watched as the boy dropped the mixer and ran back to the dining room without looking back. She still found it very strange. Did this child like Gu Qingshi or did he dislike him?

Before Gu Qingshi could speak, Huo Chen pulled out a chair and sat next to him. He looked at Gu Qingshi unblinkingly.

“I am here.” His tone was very obedient, as if he were not the one who had just been trying to murder the whipped cream.

Gu Qingshi frowned. Is this child mentally ill?

“Go back to your whipping—”

“What soup are you drinking?” Huo Chen leaned in, whispering, and then looked up to ask, “Can I drink it?”

Is that not a rhetorical question? Why ask that at home?

Gu Qingshi answered, “No.”

Huo Chen looked shocked, staring up at Gu Qingshi with a pitiful expression.

“Go back to whipping the cream.”

“Quickly.”

996 was amazed. “Host, Host, how did you train the protagonist? He listens to you so well!”

“He never listens to me.” Gu Qingshi showed no emotion, habitually taking another sip of the nourishing soup. His brow furrowed instantly. Still disgusting.

Strictly speaking, this was Huo Chen’s first birthday, even though it was an excuse he invented to get Gu Qingshi to return home. But looking at the strangely shaped cake, a sense of being touched surfaced in the boy’s heart. His grandmother had never celebrated his birthday, as she had to beg his father for pocket money; she could not blame the son for hating him. A dog or a cat would have been fine, but a growing child costs an elderly person too much money.

Huo Chen tried not to think about those things, staring instead at the candle wrapping.

A pair of slender, bony hands took it and tore open the packaging in a leisurely manner. Gu Qingshi looked left and right, seemingly searching for something. Huo Chen immediately handed over a lighter, his expression obedient.

Gu Qingshi frowned. “Why do you have a lighter?”

Huo Chen looked bewildered. “I got it from the drawer.” Why is he angry about this too?

Gu Qingshi could not explain the intricacies of this to him; he just felt a headache coming on and worried about becoming a talkative, boring parent. Seeing the lighter on the child, he instinctively wanted to ask if he was smoking, forgetting that the boy was only a child. Gu Qingshi suddenly felt angry. He is not my son. Why worry so much?

Huo Chen grabbed the candle from the man’s hand, leaned toward Gu Qingshi, and whispered, “I will do it, I will do it.”

The wrapping paper was torn to shreds. Huo Chen thought idly, This man’s patience is truly thin. It is just a piece of wrapping paper, why get so angry? Such a bad temper, he will ruin his health. He could not help but want to look behind him.

Gu Qingshi truly felt restless, but watching the boy light the candle, he felt foolish. I am less mature than a child.

“Shall I plug it in?” Huo Chen finally caught a chance to look back, his tone very sweet.

Gu Qingshi nodded, folded his hands, and whispered, “Yes.”

Sparks flew, like a miniature firework. Huo Chen watched in a trance. So beautiful. He had never seen it before.

But at that moment, a pair of cool hands touched his forehead. Huo Chen’s heart skipped a beat. A reprimand rang in his ear.

“Why lean so close? That is fire.” Gu Qingshi intended to release his hand right after the warning, but Huo Chen seized the opportunity, clutching Gu’s hand and clinging to him, taking advantage of his small size to burrow into Gu’s chest. Gu tried to push him away, but Huo Chen whimpered, feigning tears. “I… it is my first… birthday. Sob.”

He buried his head in the crook of Gu’s arm. Gu Qingshi stopped moving and let out a sigh. Dislike him? He had to stick to him!