The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 23

Is the fruit ripe?

Why would he suddenly ask such a question?

Jiang Yi searched his memory desperately; every word Xie Cheng had ever uttered flashing through his mind. It was as if a door had suddenly been pried open in a room that was perpetually sealed, and he was lucky enough to discover something within. In a moment that could not have been more ordinary, their hearts pressed together, their beats transmitting their innermost thoughts.

Fruit. Right, fruit.

The sensor door of the hidden laboratory was forced open by Jiang Yi’s sheer strength. Carrying Xie Cheng on his back, he walked toward the rising sun.

It was a rare beautiful day. The morning light poured down like a waterfall, instantly drenching them. The warmth was almost dizzying, and Jiang Yi couldn’t help but shield his eyes.

“The fruit is ripe.”

A soft, fresh breeze brushed past them. Jiang Yi took a deep breath and gave his firm response. Xie Cheng, slumped against his back, let out an extremely soft sigh, almost like a mutter in a dream.

After the struggle, all his strength was spent. Xie Cheng couldn’t hear Jiang Yi’s voice; he had fallen into a deep slumber, losing the boundary between reality and dreams.

He had told a massive lie. The people who had moved toward “rebirth” through his hands would likely loathe him. This wasn’t a groundless fear; he had always been skilled at deducing every possible ending, and the conclusions he reached were invariably filled with suffering.

Of course, these deductions weren’t mere speculation. He had seen countless “rotten fruits” fruits that remained rotten even after reincarnation. He knew these things better than anyone.

Carrying pity in one hand and creating destruction with the other. He was likely the coldest person in the world.

“Xie Cheng”

Is that a prayer?

Xie Cheng thought distantly. It was just like when he was first born; countless people knelt beneath his divine image, looking up at the newborn deity and praying for their futures.

Regrettably, he could not protect their futures.

So, once they could no longer bear the pain of the world, once their resentment grew too heavy and began to poison everything else, he would personally sever the “branch,” leading them to rebirth. And then. the cycle would repeat.

“Xie Cheng”

That voice appeared again. Unlike those pathological prayers, this voice was clear and pure. It wasn’t demanding anything; instead, it was filled with a deep sense of worry.

What are you worried about?

“Xie Cheng, look! Old Qian and the others are here to meet us! Wow, look at that flashy car. I wonder where they got it? I love it.”

Chatter, chatter. So noisy. He didn’t have such a noisy follower.

“Gosh, look at Bulala in Xiao Yu’s arms. She changed her hair color! It’s so green—how ugly.”

“And Tang Ling! We’ve only been gone a few days, why is her waist covered in different types of butterfly knives?”

“Eh? That’s weird. Where’s Jiang Shui?”

Xie Cheng felt himself being hoisted up. The hand that had been gripping his thigh moved upward until it was… fingers spread wide, its presence impossible to ignore.

The chaotic dreams were forcibly dispelled. Xie Cheng snapped his eyes open.

He was still on Jiang Yi’s back. However, as the one doing the carrying, Jiang Yi was being quite restless. He stood before a flashy, extended limousine, his right leg propped up as he tried to help Xie Cheng climb onto the roof.

Xie Cheng stared at Jiang Yi for a few seconds before reaching out to pinch his cheek. “Dummy.”

“Xie Cheng, Xie Cheng! You’re awake!”

“What are you doing?”

“Taking you to catch a cool breeze!” Jiang Yi pointed to the roof. “Feel the wind; it’ll blow the unhappiness away.”

“I’m not unhappy.”

“Liar. You definitely are.”

Xie Cheng pursed his dry, cracked lips. He didn’t hide it much further. “Fine. I am unhappy.”

Jiang Yi immediately followed up: “Why? Why are you unhappy?”

“It’s just a common emotion.” Xie Cheng didn’t answer directly, brushing it off vaguely.

Jiang Yi carefully set him down on the ground. He turned around, cupped his face, stuck out his tongue, and made a series of funny faces for Xie Cheng to see.

“Dummy,” Xie Cheng repeated.

Undeterred, Jiang Yi crouched down, placing one hand behind his back and the other in front of his mouth, mimicking a duck waddling forward while making “quack quack” sounds.

“Dummy.”

Jiang Yi stood up straight, took a deep breath, and puffed out his cheeks until he looked like a fish. He “swam” over to Xie Cheng, bumping his puffed-out fish face against Xie Cheng’s cheek.

Xie Cheng lightly patted the mock fish-face. His tight lips finally relaxed, curving into an almost imperceptible arc. “Still a dummy.”

“A dummy it is then,” Jiang Yi said, mimicking a bear’s voice.

“Dummy Jiang Yi.”

“So, do you feel even a little bit happy?” Jiang Yi ruffled his own hair, intentionally making a piteous face. “Do you? Do you?”

“Mm.”

“Really? Really?”

“Mm.”

Jiang Yi was so happy he immediately climbed onto the roof of the limo. Standing there, he waved his hand majestically.

Xie Cheng: “…”

“Xie Cheng, give me your hand.”

“No.” Xie Cheng didn’t want to become a dummy too.

“Hurry, hurry, please!”

Xie Cheng didn’t move. Jiang Yi sat down cross-legged, patted his bulging pocket, and said mysteriously, “Xie Cheng, if you come up, I’ll give you a super big surprise.”

He reached out his hand. “Come on, give me your hand.”

****

Xie Cheng ended up climbing onto the roof like a fool anyway. It wasn’t because of the “super big surprise,” but because the rest of Jiang Yi’s squad was cheering and heckling beside them. It was noisy. A whole group of people was even noisier.

Jiang Yi had said the wind on the roof felt great. It was true; in this freezing weather, the wind was biting no matter how thick your coat was. But today there was sun. As it hit the “flower,” a warm current flowed through his body, making him feel cozy and comfortable.

Jiang Yi sat opposite him, dutifully reporting on the situation. “Old Qian brought a bunch of people from our base. We’ll be able to transport that Level 4 zombie out soon. When we let out a howl, everyone will know the truth.”

“You do the howling,” Xie Cheng said.

Jiang Yi mimicked zipping his lips. “Fine. I’ll definitely be the one howling the loudest.”

Xie Cheng stared at the mouth that would be howling for a few seconds. “Continue.”

“In a bit, Tang Ling and Jiang Shui will split off from us. They’re going to the Central Base to file a formal complaint.”

“Split off? Then what about us?”

“We’re going back to rest, obviously.”

Xie Cheng tapped the roof of the car. “We’re not going back yet.”

The car soon came to a stop. Old Qian was a much more stable driver than a certain someone; the stop was gradual and smooth.

“Why not?” Jiang Yi glanced at the tiny sprout emerging from Xie Cheng’s temple and resumed his “verbal attack” mode. “You can’t do that. You’re exhausted. You killed so many zombies; you can’t keep pushing yourself. You need to balance work and rest”

“Stop.” Xie Cheng cut him off.

Jiang Yi blinked. “So, we’re going back?”

Xie Cheng let out a soft “mm” under his breath.

“Great! Back to rest!” Jiang Yi threw his arms up. “Otherwise, working 365 days a year is exhausting.”

Xie Cheng, who had previously worked 365 days a year: “…”

“Xie Cheng, you’ll never guess what super big surprise I have for you…”

Jiang Yi fished something out of his pocket, cupped it in his palm, and held it out. “Guess.”

Xie Cheng felt like there was something wrong with himself. Hearing Jiang Yi say that, he actually looked down and tried to guess what a surprise of that shape and size could be. Hmm. a bar of shampoo?

“Ta-da~!”

Jiang Yi slowly opened his palm. In the center of his hand lay a green plum. it was a bit shrivelled; it must have been sitting out for a long time.

“I found this in the lab. I grabbed a bunch of them. Eat as many as you want.”

“It doesn’t look very tasty.”

Jiang Yi grew anxious, repeating the word over and over. “The fruit! It’s a fruit! A ripe fruit!”

The sounds passing his ears suddenly grew blurry. Xie Cheng could only hear the clear repetition of “fruit.” Something in his chest fluttered softly, like a petal unfurling. For a fleeting moment, the world grew quiet.

“A ripe fruit.”

Xie Cheng took it. His slender fingers held the softening fruit as he inspected it from all sides. “The skin looks intact, but it’s been out too long. The flesh inside has likely started to rot.”

“Then” Jiang Yi looked panicked. “Is it… is it too late?”

“In this situation, I would pluck the fruit immediately. Firstly, the process of rotting is painful. Secondly, it prevents the rot from affecting the whole tree. Jiang Yi, you did well,” Xie Cheng said softly. His voice carried a sense of habitual, almost weary decisiveness.

“Xie Cheng, you’re amazing!” Jiang Yi suddenly shouted enthusiastically.

“Amazing?” Xie Cheng was confused.

“Yeah!” Jiang Yi gestured wildly in the air, trying to make Xie Cheng feel the magnitude of it. “It’s so great!”

“Great?” Xie Cheng let out a short laugh.

“It just is.” Jiang Yi’s logic was simple and direct. “They begged you, and you ended their pain for them while protecting the other fruits. Isn’t that amazing?”

“How do you know they begged me?”

“If they didn’t beg you, how would you know they were in pain?” Jiang Yi countered instinctively.

Xie Cheng was silent for a moment. “A fruit that grows on a branch again, even if it starts out healthy, will have a day when it rots.”

“Who cares if it rots or not?”

Xie Cheng was slightly stunned.

“Isn’t that true?” Jiang Yi didn’t quite grasp what the “fruit” symbolized, but he was blunt and straightforward. “What matters is that you helped them end their current pain. As for whether the fruit will be in pain in its next life that’s the sun and rain’s business.”

Jiang Yi leaned forward, placing his hands on Xie Cheng’s shoulders. “In that moment, you made the most difficult yet most decisive choice. That, in itself, is a truly, truly wonderful thing!”

“Their pain shouldn’t be added to your burden.”

Jiang Yi rambled on for a long time until he was out of breath. His voice grew softer, yet remained firm. “Little Flower. Little Flower gets very tired taking care of the baby fruits. It’s time to rest.”

“The Little Flower needs to rest now.”

Jiang Yi moved to Xie Cheng’s side, letting Xie Cheng’s head rest on his shoulder. He reached out and gently stroked Xie Cheng’s cheek. “The Little Flower really needs to rest.”

“Thinking too much about everything makes you very tired.”

Xie Cheng didn’t refuse. Jiang Yi’s voice continued, “You’re going to have a very good dream. In the dream, the baby fruits you took care of grow up strong, overcoming all the wind, rain, and disasters.”

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