Forced To Take Care Of The Protagonist, She Can't Leave [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 3

Gu Qingshi walked into the courtyard and saw the young Teacher Xiao Cui. She had arrived on her bicycle and was currently discussing something with the couple. When she saw him in her peripheral vision, her expression turned strange, definitely not happy.

The man quickly explained, “This is Mr. Gu. We have secured a large investment for our orphanage, and he is a top notch partner!”

Gu Qingshi walked over with a calm expression, having already put aside the earlier incident. “Hello,” he said, nodding slightly.

Xiao Cui was a young girl. Having ridden her bike over, she had some sweat on her brow. She looked at Gu Qingshi as if wanting to say something but held back. “Hello,” her voice was soft and delicate.

“Hey, go make our lunch. The children only ate dry bread this morning. They will not die of hunger. Go on, go on,” the man urged. Though he was smiling, his impatience was palpable. He thought, what are you staring at? Is he not just a pretty face?

The girl looked dissatisfied but did not say anything. She hurried away, followed by a cluster of young children. Gu Qingshi watched them for a moment before listening to the character profile transmitted by 996 in his head.

Cui Kewen: Huo Chen’s white moonlight. Age 18. Home located in the village in the city on the outskirts of Beijing. Works part time at the Sunshine Orphanage to earn living expenses for college. Only relative is her 80 year old grandmother.

Attributes: Kind hearted, cannon fodder. Sexually assaulted by the black hearted director, later commits suicide at an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Beijing.

Gu Qingshi felt fine at first, but his expression soured as he read the latter part, his fingertips turning cold. He felt a slight lapse in concentration. Why write such disgusting plot points? What is the purpose?

“Mr. Gu? Mr. Gu?” The woman, Mei Ye, called out. She still had hair rollers in her head, and her deathly pale face leaned in close.

Gu Qingshi smiled. “It is nothing. I just remembered a project for a client that I have not finished. I am going to make a call in the car.”

Xiao Li followed close behind him like a puppy. Gu Qingshi turned to look at the man, leaned back slightly, and patted Xiao Li’s arm. “This child will be coming often these next few days. Do not treat him like an outsider. Just put him to work. He is my only apprentice.” His tone was peaceful and gentle.

“It is good for a child to gain experience! If he really wants experience, he should come here. We have piles of chores, and we only have Xiao Cui, a young girl,” the man said with a smile that felt visibly greasy.

Gu Qingshi lowered his head, smiled, shot a glance behind him, and walked toward the car to act out making a phone call.

Go help out. I will be over in a moment. Transfer 5,000.

After Xiao Li avoided the couple, he hurried back to the first floor. Mopping floors was a task he could handle. Outside their field of vision was the inconspicuous black car, and Huo Chen was peering out from the door gap on the first floor.

His palms were sticky with sweat, and he kept replaying the man’s words in his mind. Only three days?

Gu Qingshi felt exhausted once back in the car. He had felt fine even after acting for a full day in his previous life, but this experience was so intense that he struggled to cope.

Host, I am here.

Gu Qingshi reached up to touch his neck, his vision struggling to focus. He felt that the plot summaries transmitted to him were far too simple, a few short words to summarize a person’s entire life, yet the scenes were far too realistic.

Answer me one question. Will all the plots in this book play out? Are the characters in this book real?

He was truly curious. But 996 did not use its human like voice, reverting instead to its rigid mechanical tone.

Host 786 has questioned the world logic. Warning: Warning: angina punishment will begin in 30 seconds, lasting for five minutes.

Gu Qingshi was not surprised. He just curled his lips into a smile. I thought as much.

Thirty seconds passed quickly. Gu Qingshi stared at his fingers, thinking it probably would not be too severe. He had suffered from heart disease in his past life; it was not as if he had not felt pain before.

Punishment begins. Intensity: Level 1. Countdown begins.

It felt as if a hand had suddenly seized his chest, followed by a sensation of falling into an endless abyss. Gu Qingshi’s face turned uncontrollably pale, and a layer of cold sweat seeped onto his forehead. He instinctively pressed his hand over his heart; the feeling of being intubated seemed to wash over him again. Why, of all things, must it be angina?

Host must not question the world rules. Host must not question the world rules.

The mechanical voice droned on without emotion. Gu Qingshi collapsed onto the steering wheel, his lips tasting of salt and blood. Do not pass out. He had not finished his performance yet. His hand, resting on the steering wheel, slipped off abruptly, and he seemed to lose consciousness, but he painfully lifted himself back up.

The duration of the host’s unconsciousness will be paused. Wake up mode has been activated.

Hearing this, Gu Qingshi was stunned for a moment, then let out a laugh. That is ruthless. 786. Number 786. I am nothing special. It turned out this was not a gift of reincarnation; it was just a boring choice made by a higher dimension.

Gu Qingshi tried to prop himself back up, but he tumbled over again, biting through a piece of soft flesh on his tongue. Blood stained his lips.

The countdown is ending.

How am I supposed to go out there like this?

Gu Qingshi’s vision blurred. He touched his face in a slightly neurotic manner. Must not. Must not ruin it. I need to be camera ready.

Host, host? 996 seemed to have regained its soul, calling out in Gu Qingshi’s mind.

Gu Qingshi leaned against the driver’s seat, his hair disheveled, revealing the white skin and pulsing veins of his neck. It looked as if a light scratch would break him. The punishment is over, can I pass out now? Gu Qingshi thought groggily. The three days were not worth it at all. He was working hard to act, and not only was he not getting paid, but he was also being punished.

Host, host? Are you okay? 996 asked with concern, like a child who had made a mistake. Its self developed personality only existed when the main system was not interfering. But once the host touched a high voltage line, it would be cut off again. 996 was worried; its performance record was poor, and this was its 786th host.

Gu Qingshi: Get lost.

996, never having been attacked with such harsh words, immediately retreated into its shell. Gu Qingshi had clearly treated the system as a scapegoat.

Still, Gu Qingshi possessed great professional integrity. He lowered his eyes to look at his phone screen and relaxed slightly. Time had been frozen, so not much had been wasted. Thinking of that vicious plot, he felt a vague sense of nausea. Regardless, he only had three days; there was no reason he could not make any changes.

He turned his head to look out the window in exhaustion, only to find an unexpected surprise.

Looking through the car window, Gu Qingshi saw the little boy outside, who seemed to be trying to peek inside. But the boy looked alert, his young face showing a hint of disgust. Why did he come here?

Target distance: 0.5 meters. 996 blurted out its notification, its tone sounding strangely aggrieved.

Gu Qingshi wondered why the notification was delayed, but he did not say anything. 996 went silent again.

The child seemed agitated, his face full of rich expressions, furrowing his brow and biting his lips. Gu Qingshi watched for a while, finding the boy curled up on the ground, a tiny little ball. Like a bag of trash. The kind nobody wanted.

Huo Chen could not find that person, and he was not sure if he was still in the car, so he had circled back. But the car windows were tinted and soundproof; no one inside was talking. He frowned, crouched in the bushes, and pinched his own arm, looking somewhat dull in the way children sometimes do. If it is three days, what if this person is not—

He shook his head frantically, grabbed a handful of mint leaves, and stuffed them into his mouth. The numbing, stinging sensation filled his mouth. He calmed down slightly.

Just then, a car door opened abruptly behind him. Huo Chen was so startled he spat out the grass in his mouth but reflexively looked back. With just that one look, he forgot to run.

The other person was tall, but without any sense of oppression, leaning lightly against the door with a faint smile on his lips. Huo Chen’s overwhelming inferiority surged again. He hurriedly used his sleeve to wipe his mouth, forgetting that he did not have sleeves, just a dirty white undershirt. There were mint leaf crumbs on his lips.

He frantically averted his eyes, but because he wiped too hard and was standing on a narrow concrete ledge near the bushes, he lost his balance and tumbled into the grass. By the time he regained his composure, the man was standing right in front of him.

Huo Chen thought this Mr. Gu would speak to him, but he did not. Instead, he felt his chin being gently lifted. Something hard was pushed between his lips; just as he tried to spit it out with his tongue, a rich, stimulating scent of mint filled his mouth. His tongue rolled it back in.

A metal box was pressed into his palm. Before Huo Chen could look at the man’s face again, he was gone, leaving him sitting in a pile of weeds.

He looked down at the metal box in his palm and tapped it open with dirty fingers. It was filled to the brim with white, hard candies. Huo Chen stared for a moment, then crunched the mint candy in his mouth, then poured half the box into his mouth. The quantity was too much; he was inexperienced, and his throat felt like it did not belong to him anymore.

Calm down.

He did not know how long passed, but Huo Chen carefully tucked the candy box into his pants pocket and scurried back into the orphanage. As he left, he was still wondering why that person had blood on their lips.

Xiao Li was happily helping out in the kitchen. Xiao Cui was a year younger than him, allowing him to play the role of the big brother legitimately.

Thank you, I can handle the rest, Cui Kewen said. She was a delicate girl, wearing a plaid skirt, looking very approachable. But her brows were always lightly furrowed, as if burdened by unresolved sorrow.

Hey, do not be so formal. I am only a year older than you. I drove my brother’s car here. Just call me Li Xu, Li Xu said, scratching his head. He felt conflicted, wondering if he had made the girl uncomfortable. Am I in the way? I will go out and wipe the tables. Seeing she did not reply, he gave himself an excuse and ran out of the narrow first floor kitchen, his ears burning red.

Then, he bumped into Gu Qingshi.

Li Xu felt a bit embarrassed. Brother, you are here.

Gu Qingshi simply looked between the two, said nothing, and walked inside. Then, as if remembering something, he turned back, pulled the boy over, and whispered, That couple did not graduate from high school; they are easy to fool. Do not forget to write the evaluation report. If you do not know how, look it up online.

Huo Chen stood in an inconspicuous corner, secretly peeking over. Gu Qingshi did not notice. Because 996 was still angry, it had decided to report the protagonist’s distance minutes late.

The kitchen was narrow, and a child named Tang Shi was playing with cabbage roots on a stool. Cui Kewen, wearing an apron, turned around and jumped in fright. She looked horrified, then said intermittently:

Mr. Gu, is something wrong?

Gu Qingshi turned back to look at the kitchen door and reached out to close it. The girl cried out again.

If the door is open, we can dissipate the cooking fumes; it is a bit hot. Her tone was low and weak, like her personality, devoid of malice.

At the same time, Huo Chen had secretly crept over, approaching the kitchen door to eavesdrop.

Hey, that kid, come here, come here! Li Xu’s eyes were sharp; he recognized Huo Chen immediately. Although the child’s face was dirty, the way he sneaked around showed he was clearly smart. After all, there were few healthy children here.

Huo Chen’s face turned foul, but he could not leave. If this person called out a few more times, the people inside would surely discover he was eavesdropping. Li Xu sat on the pitifully small plastic child’s chair, staring with immense confusion at the child by the kitchen. Could it be, is he deaf? What kind of orphanage is this? It is full of troubled children!

Eventually, Huo Chen walked over, still clutching that iron box, which had been warmed by his grip.

Are there security cameras in the orphanage? Gu Qingshi did not step forward again; he just stood by the kitchen door, raising his hands to maintain a polite distance. His expression remained composed. Even though he still had some neurological pain in his heart, the system had said it was just a soul punishment. Pain was endurable. He had more pressing matters to handle.

Cui Kewen held a spatula like a weapon, then realized her misunderstanding and lowered the utensil, blushing.

No, no, we do not have such good facilities; what do you want to ask?

Gu Qingshi spoke directly. I am not a bad person. I closed the door because I do not want that couple to see.

Cui Kewen felt even more awkward. She thought she had been too nervous; Mr. Gu looked so distinguished, surely he was not that type of person.

Oh, oh, the young girl still kept her head lowered, at a loss.

Gu Qingshi did not have much time. He could not fully shake off the nausea caused by that filthy plot, so he just said, You have been cooking here for a long time, right? Do you know the couple’s daily routine?

The woman was named Mei Ye; he did not know the surname yet. The man, however, he had identified during their conversation upstairs as Lin Donghai. The two were elusive, disappearing for stretches, which was highly abnormal. Perhaps they were checking up on his foundation.

I, I, are you a good person? Cui Kewen asked, flustered.

Gu Qingshi laughed. His mood relaxed slightly. The bloodstains on his lips would not attract attention since the system had enabled the Ordinary Person Barrier.

Girl, it is hard to define a person as just good or bad. But I can guarantee you that I will try my best to change everything here, find evidence, and ensure these children no longer have to struggle to survive here. You understand what I mean? Gu Qingshi spoke rapidly. He had already heard footsteps outside. Gu Qingshi frowned; this girl reacted too slowly.

I, I.

Gu Qingshi had no choice but to step toward Cui Kewen, lean in, and whisper, I am giving you this watch; it can be sold for a good price. Regardless of the outcome, do not stay here after three days.

Someone is coming. I apologize for the intrusion. Cui Kewen’s neck turned red. She took the valuable watch, not knowing what to do, and nodded frantically.

At that moment, the door was shoved open forcefully. Lin Donghai’s eyelids twitched because the refined looking Mr. Gu was currently standing so close to his Xiao Cui that they were practically embracing!

Oh my, I was wondering where our Mr. Gu went? His tone was sarcastic. Lin Donghai walked over quickly, deliberately pulling the door wide open. He seemed to want everyone outside to see this illicit affair! Although he had no moral standing, he acted as if he had caught them in the act.

Gu Qingshi was not bothered by being discovered. After turning around, he smoothly put his mask back on. He did not move away from Cui Kewen but leaned against the kitchen counter alongside her, lazily saying:

Why are you here? I was just chatting with the child. I did not eat anything at noon, so I came to look for some food. His tone was not panicked at being caught; instead, he sounded perfectly at ease.

Lin Donghai was actually furious enough to explode, but he had to maintain the mask of a civilized man, gritting his teeth and saying: If you are hungry, eat! Why are you bothering our Xiao Cui?

He swayed over to them, grabbed Cui Kewen’s arm, and warned her with his head down: Go back to cooking properly! Do not you know the guests are hungry?

But just after saying this, he was dazzled by the watch in the girl’s hand. Was this Mr. Gu really so generous? He wanted to ask more questions to probe the man, but Gu Qingshi seemed somewhat displeased. How dare he, this Xiao Cui was someone he kept here; he should at least know his place. Lin Donghai felt indignant.

Hey, let us go outside and talk. We are in the way of the chopping. Look, there is only one cold dish left, Gu Qingshi said with a smile. He patted Lin Donghai’s arm, his gaze flickering up and down. There was a trace of disdain in his eyes.

Lin Donghai had no choice but to let go of Cui Kewen’s arm. He walked toward the door, annoyed, and said sarcastically: Our Mr. Gu really cares about our Xiao Cui.

They finally left. Gu Qingshi exchanged a look with the girl where the others could not see, then hurried off. It would be best to resolve this early.

But the moment he stepped out of the kitchen, 996 seemed to have come back to life, reporting with a delayed glitch:

Favorability negative 250. Favorability negative 280. Favorability negative 300. Favorability negative 300, beep, real time updates ended.

Gu Qingshi frowned. Such a massive fluctuation, what had he done? He searched for the boy with his peripheral vision but could not find him, feeling a wave of irritation. Ancestor, just let me finish these three days.

996 waited a while, shocked to find its host was really ignoring it. He has been ignoring me even though I have been delaying the report for so long. Sob.