Quick Transmigration: I'm Really Not A Scumbag - Chapter 5

The air around them suddenly fell silent.

Both Zhou Fan and Chi Hanqing stared fixedly at those two words. For a moment, even the sound of their breathing seemed to stop.

Six years ago, after they officially started dating, Chi Hanqing had taken Zhou Fan’s phone and personally typed in that contact name. Zhou Fan had tousled his hair and teased him, saying that while he looked cold on the outside, he was actually quite cute on the inside.

On this freezing, snowy night, those sweet, intimate memories only made their bones shiver.

Zhou Fan moved his finger and hid the two words. He had forgotten to change the contact name. He could have easily brushed it off with that simple sentence, but because of the ghost of a system bound to him, he could not speak.

Was this a Scumbag Transformation System? Zhou Fan was almost angry enough to laugh. He felt as if this thing was actually a Meddlesome System specifically designed to push him and Chi Hanqing back together.

He quickly cut the call. “My number has not changed either. Let’s stay in touch if anything comes up. I still have work to finish in the shop, so I will head back now.”

“Wait,” Chi Hanqing said. He stepped forward and grabbed Zhou Fan’s wrist.

Under the dim streetlights, Chi Hanqing’s previously expressionless face now carried a trace of shock and a flicker of hope that had not yet faded. In their youth, he had harbored a secret crush on Zhou Fan for a long time. He knew very well that with Zhou Fan’s personality, once he stopped loving someone and broke up, he would immediately scrub all traces of that person from his world. Contact information was always the first thing to be deleted.

Yet, this Zhou Fan had not only kept his number but had also kept the contact name from years ago.

He whispered, “Zhou Fan, are you”

“Chi Hanqing,” Zhou Fan sighed, interrupting him. “It is late. Someone is waiting for me at home.”

Chi Hanqing froze. His heart felt like a balloon filled with water; a tiny prick caused it to burst, shattering completely. He felt no pain, only a sense of numbness. His fingers slowly loosened. He stared at Zhou Fan, and after a long while, the corner of his lip twitched. “A boyfriend?”

Zhou Fan said nothing. Silence was as good as an admission.

Chi Hanqing closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his gaze had turned completely cold. He tucked his hands into his coat pockets, his voice terrifyingly calm. “I see.”

He took a few steps back and slowly exhaled. The white mist blurred and drifted away. He gave Zhou Fan a nod, turned around, and walked away.

Chi Hanqing’s thoughts were in such a mess that he did not notice that after he turned his back, the expressionless Zhou Fan suddenly looked pained. Zhou Fan knelt on one knee, his face turning pale as cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Dammit! Why does it hurt so much! The warning in his head was still blaring like an air raid siren.

[Ding! Detection: Host is engaging in scumbag behavior by intentionally leading the target into a misunderstanding. Electric shock warning!]

This broken system.

“Damn it,” Zhou Fan cursed through gritted teeth. “You don’t know anything.”

He knelt on the ground with his eyes closed for a long time before the sharp pain began to fade. After slowly climbing to his feet, Zhou Fan leaned against the wall, took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one.

Chi Hanqing’s gaze, the gloves he offered, and his cautious tone all suggested that even after six years, the young master still harbored feelings for him. Was it because he was his first love? Or was it because the breakup had wounded his pride so badly that he still could not let it go today?

Zhou Fan laughed mockingly at himself.

When he returned to the repair shop, his hair and shoulders were covered in snow. He was pale and covered in cold sweat, looking less like he had been chatting and more like he had been beaten up.

“My goodness!” Feng Ruirui said. She nearly threw the pliers in her hand when she saw his disheveled state. “What happened? You went out to catch up, but you look like you were in a fight! Did you argue?”

“No,” Zhou Fan replied. Facing her rapid-fire questions, he remained calm. He brushed the snow from his hair. “The conversation was quite pleasant. I just suddenly felt a bit unwell.”

Given how strange Zhou Fan had been since the morning, Feng Ruirui did not think much of it. She frowned and said, “You really are sick. I will give you tomorrow off; go to the hospital.”

Zhou Fan went behind the counter and picked up his oil-stained work gloves. “No need. It is not a major illness. It will heal itself after a night of sleep.”

“Heal itself, my foot.” Feng Ruirui guessed that Zhou Fan simply did not want to spend money. She rolled her eyes but did not push further. Instead, she leaned in and whispered, “Hey, was that man your ex?”

Zhou Fan’s heart skipped a beat. He looked down, using the motion of putting on his gloves to avoid her gaze. “No.”

“Really?” Feng Ruirui pursed her lips. “Don’t hide it. The way he looked at you was so despondent.”

Despondent? Zhou Fan squinted lazily. “It is because I owe him money. I owe him a lot, so he was shocked to see me.”

Feng Ruirui gasped. “How much do you owe?”

“I won’t be able to pay it back in this lifetime,” Zhou Fan said calmly. He picked up his tools, walked to the car he was responsible for, and opened the hood.

Recalling the suit, manners, and speech of that man, Feng Ruirui felt a bit of emotion. She looked at Zhou Fan’s back and muttered to herself: Meeting a creditor you can’t pay back, and you still say the conversation was pleasant?

After years of working together, she knew Zhou Fan hated talking about the past, so she said no more and went back to work.

At eight in the evening, Zhou Fan packed his tools, took off his gloves, and said goodbye to Feng Ruirui and the remaining apprentices. The snow had not stopped; if anything, it was getting heavier.

In the security booth at the entrance of the residential area, the gray-haired security guard sat with his arms crossed, half-asleep. A phone on the table was still playing an audiobook. The air was damp and freezing, carrying the faint scent of trash. In the dark night, the dilapidated unit building looked like a haunted house.

Zhou Fan, covered in snow, entered the building and walked up the stairs one step at a time. After opening the door to his home, the first thing he did was rummage through a drawer for cold medicine.

Miaomiao rolled out of the master bedroom in her wheelchair. Seeing him, she asked worriedly, “Brother, are you sick?”

“No,” Zhou Fan replied. He swallowed two capsules dry and turned to smile. “This is just a precaution.”

Miaomiao nodded. “The weather forecast said the snow won’t stop until tomorrow afternoon. You must remember to take an umbrella tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Zhou Fan said. He looked at his sister in her wheelchair, and his heart softened. He walked over and stroked her hair. “What did you eat tonight?”

“Scrambled eggs with tomatoes!” Miaomiao said. She smiled and shook Zhou Fan’s hand gently. “I saved half in the fridge. You can mix it with noodles tomorrow morning.”

Zhou Fan nodded. “Okay, thanks, Miaomiao. It is late, and you just got over your illness. Go to sleep early.”

“Okay! Goodnight, Brother.” Miaomiao gave him a wide smile.

“Goodnight.”

The bedroom door closed softly. Zhou Fan straightened up and sighed almost inaudibly. He went to his own room to grab a change of clothes and entered the bathroom.

The bathroom was tiny, barely fitting a sink and a toilet with the shower squeezed between them. There was no heater, making winter showers a form of torture. While waiting a few seconds for the water to heat up, Zhou Fan stared blankly at the permanent stains on the wall.

He did not mind the cold, but Miaomiao was still young. Because they were of different genders, he could not help her with her showers. He had planned to hire a caregiver as he had in previous years, but this year, Miaomiao insisted on doing it herself. The little girl did not show it on the surface, but she was very sensible and stubborn; she avoided asking for help whenever possible.

Zhou Fan knew she was trying to save money. Furthermore, their finances were tight—Miaomiao’s ongoing treatments were expensive, and despite his hard work, their bank balance was never generous—so he had agreed. But the result of her attempt was that she stayed in the bathroom for nearly two hours yesterday and immediately came down with a fever.

I should hire a caregiver. I need to take Miaomiao to the hospital for a checkup next month. Rent, utilities, food, transportation. A few thousand yuan in salary vanished in the blink of an eye.

As the hot water poured down, Zhou Fan closed his eyes. He picked up the soap and thought of the Chi Hanqing he had seen at the shop today. He remembered the expensive suit, the cologne, and the red Ferrari.

In his mind, the Chi Hanqing standing in the alley looked at him, the light in his eyes flickering. As he thought about it, the corner of Zhou Fan’s mouth curved into a smile. However, a second later, the smile vanished as if it had never existed.

He hoped that after knowing he had a boyfriend, the young master would not show up again.