Shocking! The Protagonist of the Mpreg Story Is a Straight Man - Chapter 5

University life can be both leisurely and hectic; in the blink of an eye, two or three days had passed.

Ever since Pei Nan had straightened out his attitude, the system hadn’t come out to cause trouble anymore. Even 419 sat obediently on his shoulder, rarely making a sound.

Tomorrow was Saturday. Pei Nan had packed his backpack in the morning, waiting only for the last class to finish so he could catch the nearest bus home. If he timed it right, he might even make it back for a warm meal cooked by his mother.

“Nan-ge, you’re really going home? You locals are too much!” Chen Bin watched Pei Nan’s preparations, unable to understand. “A good man’s ambition lies in the four seas. Look at me once every six months, and it’s perfectly comfortable.”

“Your situation is different from mine. I don’t feel easy being far from my mom. If you’ve got nothing to do, you can come back with me.”

Pei Nan extended an invitation to Chen Bin, but Chen Bin shook his head with a cheeky grin. “No, no, maybe next time. Yaoyao, the girl from that dinner party, told me she’s free this weekend. We’re going to go out and walk around.”

Pei Nan felt a brief moment of happiness for his “son.” After a bit of back-and-forth banter that ended with Chen Bin being pinned to the desk, Pei Nan slowly and methodically recommended a few places suitable for couples to visit.

“Don’t waste your father’s kind intentions.”

“Ouch, leave me some dignity! Call me ‘Father’ when we get back to the dorm.”

After finishing the last class with some idle chatter, Pei Nan followed the crowd out and headed straight for the school’s west gate. There were many local students in the same situation, all walking in the same direction.

The school Pei Nan attended was situated between two prestigious universities. It was a sports college spun off from Jincheng University. The faculty was top-tier, and the public facilities were mostly donated by entrepreneurs solid, high-quality engineering. Consequently, the admissions office’s requirements for students had risen accordingly. Had Pei Nan not won a first-class municipal award, it would have been quite difficult to get into this school based on his academic scores alone.

Sitting on the bus, Pei Nan watched the scenery outside turn unfamiliar. Red brick walls occupied his vision, and a solemn, thick atmosphere enveloped him fitting for the reputation of the century-old Jincheng University.

By chance, the bus stopped at a red light right in front of the university’s main gate, so Pei Nan took a few extra looks.

A large Hummer pulled out of the school gate, attracting countless gazes. Pei Nan could even hear the gasps and exclamations from the girls in the back row: “So handsome!”

Pei Nan frowned slightly, wanting to see just how “handsome” the person they were talking about really was.

Through the open car window, he saw half of a well-defined profile. The man had long brows, his eyes were fixed straight ahead, and his snow-white shirt collar was fastened tightly beneath his Adam’s apple. Only his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His movements while turning the steering wheel were light and agile, exuding an air of effortless cool.

He’s alright, Pei Nan added narcissistically in his mind. But still a little bit behind me.

Compared to the person, Pei Nan found the vehicle more attractive.

There probably isn’t a boy in the world who doesn’t like cars, and Pei Nan was no exception. He gave the driver a cursory glance, but his eyes were mostly glued to the body of the car. While he was staring at the car’s rear, he missed the moment the owner’s gaze swept over him.

Even after he got home, Pei Nan couldn’t stop thinking about that large Hummer.

“When will I get a chance to drive one?”

“If you complete your tasks well, you’ll have a chance!” 419 felt its opportunity to shine had arrived. “There are small rewards for completing stage tasks!”

“Alright, I get it. Even if you don’t nag, I’ll do the tasks. I’ll find some time next week to go to Jincheng University and get in touch with… that guy, right?” Pei Nan lay back on his small bed, gradually convincing himself to make contact with the first person.

Starting with a scholarly top student who sounded refined his level of internal repulsion might be lower. Otherwise, if he encountered a real scumbag right away, he might not be able to resist throwing a punch.

If 419 knew what Pei Nan was thinking, it would have shared its experience of coming to this world: what it means for appearances to be deceiving, and what a “beast in human clothing” truly looks like.

Given that the atmosphere was good, 419 immersed itself in the joy of the task finally progressing and left Pei Nan to his own devices. It didn’t have a choice anyway; it couldn’t interfere with Pei Nan, and if it hovered in front of him too much, it would be squeezed into a ball for him to play with. So, for now, it preferred to frolic outside rather than be an eyesore.

In the evening, before his mother finished work, she sent Pei Nan a WeChat message saying they were going for hotpot. Seeing as there was still over an hour, Pei Nan went ahead to wait in line.

“Mom, over here!”

Pei Nan was tall and good-looking; even the way he waved his arms was pleasing to the eye. The “big handsome guy’s” mother was also very beautiful, with her long waves draped behind her. With a few quick movements, she tied them into a bun, making the hair ties provided by the shop unnecessary.

Once her professional suit was off, the “urban beauty” immediately broke free from her shackles. Between Zhu Yun’s red lips was an e-cigarette; she raised an eyebrow mischievously, gesturing toward the subtle, wandering gazes of the people around them. “Nannan has become even more handsome after military training.”

“Mom…” Pei Nan elongated his tone. No matter how many times it happened, he couldn’t stand Zhu Yun’s teasing gaze. “Let’s just eat. I’ll cook the beef tripe for you.”

This hotpot restaurant was one Zhu Yun had visited with a “foodie” client. After tasting it, she came back every time. Their order was very consistent, and both of them always left satisfied.

“Nannan, go make me a fruit bowl. Low-calorie and low-sugar, okay?”

Zhu Yun was replying to WeChat messages and gave the order without looking up.

Fortunately, Pei Nan was used to it. He had mastered Zhu Yun’s tastes perfectly: blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, and a little bit of mango, finally stirred evenly with yogurt. It was a small bowl that was easy to carry, allowing him to free up one hand to grab two slices of watermelon for himself.

419 had followed them for the hotpot. It liked Ms. Zhu Yun too much, wishing it could unbind from Pei Nan and find his mother to be its host instead. At that moment, it was perched intimately on Zhu Yun’s shoulder, bouncing back and forth. Suddenly, its internal mechanical alarm went off. It quickly locked onto a position, extended its body, and lunged onto Pei Nan.

Most of the heat was filtered out. Looking at the situation, the fiery, red, spicy soup base along with all its ingredients was splashed across Pei Nan’s back, trickling down to the floor.

The incident happened in the blink of an eye. Before the crowd could even react, they saw the young man, who had just been drenched in red soup, pull a little girl out from his arms.

“Whose child is this?”

“Brother, are you okay? Hurry and rinse with cold water! Don’t get burned; those things can get infected easily!”

“I’m fine. The temperature wasn’t that high. I’m not hurt.”

The waiter was already at a total loss, doing nothing but apologizing. Pei Nan didn’t feel any pain, but he felt sticky and uncomfortable all over. He was about to wave them off and leave when another victim’s family member arrived.

“I am so sorry, sir. We’ve caused you trouble.” A woman who looked very gentle and kind ran over. After checking the child from head to toe to confirm she wasn’t injured, her gaze toward Pei Nan became filled with even more gratitude. “Thank you so much for your help. Are you hurt? I’ll call an ambulance for you right now.”

As the woman was about to dial, Pei Nan quickly repeated, “I really am fine. As long as the child isn’t frightened, it’s okay.”

The woman looked intently at Pei Nan’s face and then at the arriving Zhu Yun, gauging the situation. “In any case, you were hit by a hot soup pot. It’s better to go to the hospital for a check-up. This is a small token of our appreciation; please accept it. Let’s exchange contact information as well. If there are any problems, we will definitely take full responsibility.”

The woman offered a thick stack of bills in one go. Pei Nan shook his head quickly. “It was just a small thing, really, no need.”

“Please don’t decline. You deserve this,” the woman said with a firm tone.

Pei Nan felt that while the other party’s demeanor was gentle, her attitude was strong. He wanted to refuse, but he saw his mother shaking her head at him, so he had no choice but to accept it.

“That’s more like it. Don’t ever turn away when you’ve done a good deed next time.”

“Thank you, Big Brother.”

The little girl had finally snapped out of it. She was a pretty little thing; her misty eyes made Pei Nan feel a surge of “tough-guy tenderness.” Fortunately, the child didn’t have to suffer. He originally wanted to pat her head, but seeing that his palm was dirty, he settled for a wink instead which ended up making the little girl blush.

The matter was perfectly resolved. Pei Nan’s hotpot meal was on the house, and he received a permanent VIP card. When they walked out, there was even a round of applause.

He carried his changed clothes and threw them into the trash can in the parking lot.

Zhu Yun had no comment on the hotpot restaurant’s work uniform Pei Nan was currently wearing, but as he was about to get into the car, she couldn’t help saying, “Baby Nannan, your smell right now is truly…”

Pei Nan glanced at Zhu Yun sideways and pointedly sat in the passenger seat. “Madam, this is the scent of honor.”

While bantering with his mother, he aimlessly looked out the window. As they passed the front of the hotpot restaurant again, he saw that Hummer once more. He watched as the little girl he had saved skipped over and hopped inside.

Wealthy people, no wonder they were so practiced at stuffing money into his hand. If something can be solved with money, of course they wouldn’t want to leave a debt of gratitude.

It wasn’t until he got home that Pei Nan realized the chatty 419 was missing. He felt a jolt of alarm, thinking back to the sensation when the hot soup hit him, wondering if 419 had gone into hibernation.

“I haven’t! Don’t curse me!”

419 was currently in the “little black room” writing a self-reflection report. It wasn’t supposed to interfere with the host, but because Pei Nan was special, it had actually functioned in that moment of crisis. Fortunately, the impact wasn’t malicious and didn’t cause public panic; a self-reflection report would suffice.

However, because of this action, its system evaluation score had dropped, and some of its permissions had been revoked. 419 didn’t know if this would affect Pei Nan’s tasks; thinking of this made it feel a bit guilty, and it didn’t have the nerve to talk back to him anymore.

“Fine, fine, go ahead and rest. I won’t bother you.”

Knowing 419 was okay, Pei Nan stopped worrying.

Just as Pei Nan thought his fate with the large Hummer ended there, he encountered it again on Monday, on his way back to school.

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