Forced To Take Care Of The Protagonist, She Can't Leave [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 9

Gu Qingshi’s recent workload was so intense that even 996 was astonished, leading it to worry about its host’s physical and mental health. Primarily, this was because of its salary. This time, the Main System had issued a full thousand system coins, which caused 996’s favorability toward Gu Qingshi to skyrocket.

【Host, Host, although the first rule of the Support Character Code is to avoid becoming too emotionally attached to the protagonist and to maintain a low profile, based on the current situation, we are nowhere near the penalty threshold. You can go home and rest.】

Gu Qingshi was still reading the script, his brows slightly furrowed.

【Stop chirping in my mind.】

996 immediately felt aggrieved, thinking its sincere devotion was like feeding a dog, and went off to sulk. However, it did not even realize how obedient it was being. The workload was indeed heavy and tightly scheduled. Gu Qingshi had asked the director, but the reply was that the production schedule was extremely tight and needed to be completed as quickly as possible. He had no other choice; he lived and ate on set, with not a spare moment to himself.

Fu Lian still showed up every few days. As the major shareholder and the benefactor of the entire production, he came and went as he pleased. His purpose was always to ask for a meal.

“Food is already prepared; if you don’t eat, all that stuff will go to waste,” Fu Lian would say each time, as if he knew Gu Qingshi would not waste food.

The young man would furrow his brows each time with subtle unhappiness, but he always went. Gu Qingshi still could not imagine having such a lavishly wealthy friend whose net worth was so vastly different from his own. How did they even become friends? It felt unrealistic.

The car drove smoothly. Gu Qingshi was looking at messages, his script set aside.

—”Little Huo is eating very well today, finished everything, not wasting a single bit of food!”

—[Photo]

996 scoffed ruthlessly: 【When does the protagonist not finish his food?】

—”Little Huo playing the violin.”

—[Video]

Gu Qingshi clicked to watch. Huo Chen seemed to have grown a little taller, standing in the music room and playing—it actually looked quite professional.

996 commented: 【Host, don’t say I didn’t warn you, but the protagonist deserves to be the protagonist; he looks quite handsome. Though, he is still slightly inferior to you.】

996 said this sincerely, without a hint of sycophancy. It had compared the looks of the previous seven hundred or so mission-takers, and its current host had the highest rating. He could practically go to other worlds and be the protagonist himself.

Gu Qingshi dismissed this as 996’s nonsense: 【Are you bored?】

996 was suddenly poked, feeling wronged: 【Host, there is no next mission yet. The second stage only opens when the protagonist enters Qionglin Elementary School. Can’t I just chat with you…】

Qionglin Elementary School’s opening day was next week, September 1st, and he had promised to take Huo Chen.

Gu Qingshi scratched the skin on the inner side of his ring finger with his fingernail. His eyes drooped, seemingly exhausted. His gaze swept over the photo of the boy eating, and he found it somewhat amusing—a fuzzy head nearly buried in the bowl.

A puppy.

He tapped a few words and sent them back.

—”Done very well.”

Fu Lian sat beside him, saw him smile, and assumed he had seen something interesting, so he leaned over to look.

“What are you looking at?”

Gu Qingshi had long since switched screens to a generic social media post showing a marketing account playing a video of a puppy drinking milk. It was a coincidence.

“Haha, you like this? I will pick out a good breed and get one for you later.” Fu Lian was amused and bounced his leg.

Gu Qingshi felt a bit awkward but simply refused: “No.”

The other party seemed even more amused, insistently browsing for puppies on his phone and showing them to him every so often.

At the same time—

Huo Chen waited in the living room for a long time, his expression growing impatient. The nanny looked awkward.

“The master is probably busy. He will reply when he sees it.”

Huo Chen’s expression remained unchanged, but he stood stubbornly by the cabinet, waiting. No one could persuade him otherwise.

The nanny also felt a massive headache. Ever since the boy found out they would send messages to Mr. Gu, he frequently demanded they take photos and videos, wanting to send hundreds a day. However, the employer had stated from the beginning that reporting three times a day was sufficient. It was definitely over the quota now, but she could not explain that to a child.

It was very difficult for the nanny; posing for photos every day was killing her old back. Little Huo was also very picky: “This angle is wrong,” “That angle is not pretty.” The things sent were all carefully selected.

Finally—

The phone chirped.

—”Done very well.”

The nanny breathed a sigh of relief and said happily: “Oh, the master is praising our Little Huo!”

Huo Chen’s little tail was almost wagging with happiness, but he kept a stiff lip: “Mmm. Auntie, I am going to go study now.”

He slipped away in a flash.

The nanny thought to herself, Didn’t he wait forever for this message? Why did he run off?

Huo Chen was distracted during the second half of his lesson. He told the teacher he had already learned everything and simply started the exam. He finished quickly, then could not help but wander behind the nanny…

When the nanny turned around, she was startled. “Lesson over? So fast?”

“Auntie won’t be done cooking for a while~”

Huo Chen gripped her apron, his lips pursed into a sweet smile. “Auntie, let me help you chop vegetables. You work so hard cooking for me every day.”

The nanny felt a warmth in her heart. The child was so polite and sensible at such a young age; what a good boy.

“Could you take a few photos of me?”

Nanny: “…”

Forget it, another photo session. My back will need a pain patch tonight.

Gu Qingshi rested at the hotel after work in the evening. He took the day off from the director, so everything was basically arranged. He turned on Do Not Disturb on his phone; only now did he have time to check his messages.

When he opened the app, his eyes were met with a pile of red numbers.

—”Little Huo cooked today, so well-behaved!”

—[Photo]

—[Photo]

…

There were about ten photos attached.

Gu Qingshi could not help but smile, then switched pages to check the tutor’s messages.

—”Solved problems very quickly; your child is very talented.”

—[Photo]

—[Photo]

…Still several photos.

Even the hourly worker who cleaned the yard regularly sent him messages.

Gu Qingshi finally made a call. It was answered almost immediately; the breathing on the other end was very audible.

“What is it? Why are you breathing so heavily?” He frowned slightly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the breathing stopped instantly. Gu Qingshi had to say again, “Do not hold your breath.”

Huo Chen’s neck turned red. This was the first time the man had called him. He had rushed over, worried the man would hang up.

“Why are you not speaking?” Gu Qingshi asked again.

Huo Chen stammered: “Nothing… you have not slept yet?”

“No,” Gu Qingshi replied.

Huo Chen gave a soft “oh” upon hearing this, but quickly grew anxious. He had to say something; otherwise, what if the man hung up?

Just as he was about to stutter something out, a muffled chuckle came from the other side, followed by a few coughs.

Huo Chen froze, his ears feeling numb.

“Do not always bother the auntie at home. I will be back on the day school starts.” Gu Qingshi finally got to the point.

Huo Chen’s face flushed bright red, but he felt conflicted.

You were the one who brought me back… Why have you not returned for several months?

Even if he had other motives, he should still pay attention to him!

“Did you hear me?” the voice on the phone asked again.

Huo Chen hurriedly said, “Mmm, mmm.”

There seemed to be laughter on the other end, though unclear. By the time Huo Chen realized it, the call had already ended.

One minute and two seconds.

Pathetically short.

Huo Chen stood there for a while; the sound of those muffled coughs seemed to linger in his ears.

Is he sick?

A week passed quickly, and September 1st arrived soon. Huo Chen packed his things early and waited at the door, craning his neck for the man to return.

But the clock hands kept turning until it reached 8:00 AM.

Huo Chen’s face sank bit by bit.

He promised to come. Where is he?

The nanny answered a phone call, repeatedly saying “Okay, okay” and other such things. The moment she put the phone down, she saw the boy’s cold face.

“What did he say?” Huo Chen walked closer and questioned her.

The nanny felt cold sweat forming. When she had first brought the boy over, he had been quite well-behaved—eating and studying when told. But outside of those tasks, he showed no childishness. The only time he showed major emotional fluctuations was when contacting their employer.

But—

The child would not even call him “Dad.”

He is adopted, they say. What kind of family is this…

The nanny could only explain: “The master said for us to go first; he might not make it back in time…”

Huo Chen’s expression turned cold. He did not say anything, just walked out by himself.

The car was ready, and the driver was already waiting. Huo Chen pulled the car door open.

“Eh?” Li Xu looked confused, his eyes widening slightly.

Who is this? Is this not, is this not…

He was about to ask, but Huo Chen had already thrown his backpack into the passenger seat and sat in the back row without saying a word.

Li Xu was shocked to the core. Since he returned from the welfare home, he had not been working much. According to Brother Qingshi, he was supposed to be studying for an adult undergraduate degree, with his salary still being paid. He had been given three months of leave to study.

He had only just been contacted by Brother Qingshi recently, presumably because his brother was too busy to pick someone up himself. But Li Xu never expected it to be this kid. How did he end up living there?

He could not help but peek in the rearview mirror, but an auntie had also sat in, looking very embarrassed.

“The master has to support his family after all…”

Li Xu perked up his ears, feeling it was a bit strange. Why explain to this kid?

Huo Chen whispered, “I know, Auntie.”

After saying this, he raised his eyes to look at the driver in front, his expression cold.

Li Xu felt goosebumps all over; he thought, Why stare at me when you are explaining to her? He quickly averted his gaze and shrank his shoulders as he drove.

But in his mind, he could not help but recall his conversation with the child at the welfare home.

Gloomy. His psychology was not exactly healthy.

That was Li Xu’s first impression. After all, what had Huo Chen told him back then?

“All these kids will die. Some have broken arms; no one treats them; they will rot and die in the bathroom. That pair of dog-man-and-woman think I have four sound limbs, so they send me to bury them in the back mountain in the middle of the night…”

It was truly terrifying. Little Li felt a chill on the back of his neck.

Qionglin Elementary School was imposingly decorated, with layer upon layer of security checks at the parking lot alone, but fortunately, they arrived just in time.

Huo Chen stood at the gate, his expression cold. Is it necessary to go to school here? Isn’t it the same at home?

His mood was already at rock bottom. Gu Qingshi seemed like an odd person, but also not entirely. Huo Chen could not figure it out.

But he was also extremely curious.

Where did this person come from? Why take him away? Why tell him he was also “Charlie Gordon”?

But before Huo Chen’s curiosity could be answered, the man frequently stopped coming home. Gu Qingshi really did what he said.

He would not play the part of his “family” at all.

Huo Chen felt inexplicably unhappy but refused to admit it was grievance.

Why not come home? No guardian should be like this.

Perhaps because his dejected, head-hanging appearance was too obvious, the nanny could not bear it anymore and patted his shoulder: “Little Huo, hey, Little Huo.”

Huo Chen was extremely irritable. He had been pretending to be happy at home all day, but the man had not been acting back.

“Auntie, I am not in a bad mood, what could not—” The front part of his tone was extremely impatient until he looked up and saw a man in a black woolen coat standing before him, watching him with a mocking yet gentle expression.

Huo Chen’s tone made a sharp turn: “Could not be told to me after we return.”

This “coyness” did not go very well; it was a bit stiff.

Gu Qingshi chuckled softly, then reached out. Huo Chen automatically raised his arm, wanting to grab hold.

“Thank you for your trouble. It has been hard for you taking care of him during this time.” The young man was clearly not speaking to him.

He was shaking the nanny’s hand!

Huo Chen did not even touch the sleeve; he pulled his arm back, his neck turning red as he turned his face to the side.

Excessive.

“Cough, cough… then the driver will take you back first. I will take him inside.” Gu Qingshi seemed truly ill. Huo Chen could not help but look up until the man looked back down.

“You have not come here before; why are you pulling a long face?” Gu Qingshi patted the boy’s face and said flatly.

Huo Chen had been slapped twice and was caught off guard, but he felt incredibly ashamed; this did not even count as hitting.

“B-but I did not see you at home.”

The warmth of the touch did not last long before the other party pulled his hand away—it was too brief.

Huo Chen suddenly felt unhappy. As a parent, shouldn’t he pat his head again? Other people patted heads.

He could not help but lean forward a few steps.

“Too busy.” The newcomer said this, then prepared to go inside, hooking his finger behind him—just a directional gesture.

Huo Chen scrambled to hold on—

“Hey, why did you run over here alone? What about your scarf? Where is your scarf?” Fu Lian pulled Gu Qingshi over, the movement too wide, causing Huo Chen’s fingers to slide off.

He was not holding his hand.

Gu Qingshi frowned slightly and said, “Thanks, I can do it myself.”

He wound the scarf himself, his expression still perfectly calm.

But Fu Lian was still grinning, helping him adjust it. After about two minutes, he leaned over, squinted, and asked rhetorically: “Whose child is this? Where did Gu Qingshi steal him from? Return him to his parents immediately!”

Huo Chen’s face turned white instantly.

Gu Qingshi was displeased: “Fu Lian.”

“Oh, oh, just teasing him! You are really dedicated, not going to the hospital to get your IV drip and running over here with only half an infusion!” Fu Lian’s tone sounded like a compliment, yet mixed with sarcasm.

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener took it to heart.

Huo Chen stared blankly at Gu Qingshi’s hand; sure enough, there were a few pale blue needle marks.

So he really was sick.

Gu Qingshi did not look very well and just said, “You should go back first.”

Fu Lian’s smile faded, returning to a normal expression: “Sure, but come back with me too; you have to finish the drip. Aren’t you already at the door? Let’s go, time to return to the hospital.”

Gu Qingshi frowned slightly, feeling unusually irritated. He had never had friends in his past life.

He was a bit too tired to deal with this.

Huo Chen grabbed Gu Qingshi’s finger immediately and hid behind the man’s coat, lowering his eyebrows and assuming a cowering appearance.

“Are we not going in…” he whispered urgingly.

Fu Lian: “…”

“I checked with the doctor before I left. That bottle of glucose was the last one; it is nothing serious, so don’t worry.” Gu Qingshi organized his words, but his voice was low, pausing afterward. “Also, this is Huo Chen, my foster son. I promised him I would come today… cough, cough…”

Having spoken too much and too densely, a wave of blood rose in Gu Qingshi’s throat, and he could not help but cough muffledly again.

Fu Lian just wanted to take the chance to say a few words, but the other party opened his mouth again: “But I have already taken leave; I will not be on set for the next few days. You do not need to look for me there; attend to your own business.”

After speaking, he turned and left without mercy, waving his hand behind him.

He did not need Fu Lian to say anything else; it seemed like just a notification.

That was how this man was—indifferent no matter how close you were.

Fu Lian’s smile struggled to hang on. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, staring at the little thing glued to Gu Qingshi’s side.

How many years can he last?

Fu Lian checked his watch, then turned and walked away.

But the moment he walked away, Huo Chen looked back, his expression cold, but his gaze just barely missed him.

“What are you looking at?” Gu Qingshi pulled Huo Chen’s hand away. Huo Chen’s train of thought was instantly pulled back, and he subconsciously wanted to grab it again.

But the other party just glanced at him sideways and politely refused: “It is too cold.”

He dislikes that my hands are cold!

“Let’s go.” A gentle voice sounded.

Huo Chen felt stifled. He thought he had only been holding it for three minutes, but he had nowhere to vent.

He had to settle for grabbing the hem of the man’s coat.