Who Wants to Be the Affectionate Cannon Fodder?! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 15

“What are you looking at? Looking to get a beating?”

Lin He pressed down on Yu Lin’s head, guiding him along as they headed to the payment counter to settle Xie Zhizhang’s medical expenses.

Ten minutes later, Xie Zhizhang’s grandmother’s condition stabilized, and she was moved to a general ward. The elderly woman was still unconscious. Needles pierced her loose, aged skin, disappearing into bruised veins. From the outside, there were no major injuries. The only misfortune was that the fall had blinded her; it would likely take a long time for her to adjust and regain her independence.

Lin He had his assistant draft the contract. The following day, after Xie Zhizhang finished signing it, a private car arrived to take the grandmother to the nursing home.

The elderly woman recovered well. Within a few days, she could already get out of bed to walk, and she accepted the fact of her blindness with a resilient mindset.

With professional care provided, the daily pressure on Xie Zhizhang decreased significantly. There were other elderly residents at the nursing home to keep his grandmother company, so he no longer had to rush around as he did before. However, he still headed to the nursing home every day after finishing his part-time jobs, staying until evening before returning home.

As the winter chill gradually faded and the spring breeze arrived, Yu Lin spent his first New Year’s Eve in this world.

The housekeeper had been given leave to go home a few days prior. In the Lin family, everyone except Lin He was the type who never dipped their fingers into spring water. Naturally, the task of preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner fell to him.

Yu Lin followed closely behind him into the kitchen, claiming to be an assistant, but in reality, he was acting like a cat looking to steal a treat. Lin He had long anticipated his ulterior motives and placed a pile of washed vegetables in front of him, telling him to clean and prep them.

Mother Lin was originally worried that her younger son would be clumsy with a kitchen knife and hurt himself; she stood anxiously at the kitchen door, ready to intervene at any moment. To her surprise, Yu Lin simply tilted his head, thought for a second, and then began to chop. With the rise and fall of his blade, he almost carved a radish into a flower.

While Yu Lin absentmindedly shredded radishes and cucumbers on the cutting board, he asked System 007 to pull up the background data.

Through the accumulation of these past months, the Devotion Points had reached over one hundred. According to the original requirements, he was supposed to wait until Xie Zhizhang and Xu Ze’an were officially together before he could retire with honors. But now that the entire plot was scrambled, he did not know what level he needed to reach to complete the mission.

“I remember in the original world line, wasn’t there a plot point about Xie Zhizhang’s heat cycle?”

The two most important turning points in Xie Zhizhang’s life were his grandmother’s accident and the heat cycle he experienced after reuniting with Xu Ze’an. The former completely changed the trajectory of his life, causing his already bumpy path to plummet from the edge of a cliff to the bottom of a valley. The latter bonded him to Xu Ze’an forever; even if he fled to the ends of the earth, he would still carry Xu Ze’an’s mark.

Since the first turning point was unavoidable, would the second one play out as scheduled?

System 007 had lost all hope of returning to the original world line, and its voice was listless: “Yes, it’s a wonder you still care about that.”

Yu Lin ignored its mood and asked: “Since the incident with Xie Zhizhang’s grandmother happened early, will his heat cycle also arrive ahead of schedule?”

“I don’t know,” System 007 answered coldly. “The plot has collapsed so much because of you; how would I know what happens next?”

“Hm,” Yu Lin pondered. “Then when will I reach enough Devotion Points?”

System 007 said: “It’s not enough yet. The system has its own judging criteria, and I have no way to answer that.”

Yu Lin: “Then what do you know?”

System 007: “…”

Yu Lin understood. Ever since he decided to defy the original plot, the information System 007 held was basically the same as his own. It seemed this system’s clearance level was not very high.

A moment later, the spicy beef brisket Lin He had been simmering since morning was ready. He took a small piece, put it in a bowl, and signaled for Yu Lin to taste it.

Yu Lin waved the kitchen knife in his hand and opened his mouth slightly, his eyes meeting Lin He’s with an innocent, direct gaze.

A flash of stiffness appeared on Lin He’s face. Then, appearing quite reluctant, he used his chopsticks to pick up the beef from the bowl and held it to Yu Lin’s lips.

Yu Lin took a bite. His soft, bright red lips left a glistening trace of moisture on the tips of the chopsticks. Some sauce from the beef stained the corner of his mouth, and Yu Lin instinctively stuck out his tongue to lick it away.

Lin He awkwardly averted his gaze, his voice slightly husky: “How does it taste?”

Yu Lin: “Mm, delicious. Brother, you really are a virtuous Alpha.”

Lin He felt helpless: “Don’t use words so loosely.”

As 4:00 PM approached, the dishes for the New Year’s Eve dinner were mostly prepared. Lin He washed his hands and left the kitchen to call Father and Mother Lin. Yu Lin took the opportunity to secretly steal another piece of beef. The tender meat tore easily under his canine teeth. If he had the chance, Yu Lin really wanted to take Lin He with him to the next world.

But this thought was only a fleeting spark, soon forgotten.

On New Year’s Eve, the day of reunion, Father Lin brought out his prized wine and poured it into everyone’s goblets. Before Lin He could even try to stop him, Yu Lin quickly took his glass and took a tiny sip like a pecking chick.

“Xiao Zhou is a big boy now, it’s fine for him to have a little wine,” Father Lin said casually.

Lin He tilted his head and glanced at Yu Lin’s earlobes, which were already turning red, and swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Yu Lin was completely unaware of his brother’s warning gaze. He continued to take small sips of wine while secretly watching Mother Lin constantly add food to his bowl, creating a small mountain.

Yu Lin had never experienced a feeling like this. A family sitting around a dinner table, looking up to meet a woman’s kind and gentle gaze, while a father who was not good with words simply poured him wine, and then pretended to be annoyed when his older brother intervened, only to lean toward his wife to receive a comforting kiss.

After several rounds of drinks, a massive firework exploded in the night sky outside. Father Lin and Mother Lin stood up; every New Year’s Eve, the two of them would go to the riverside to watch the fireworks show, and this year was no exception.

Yu Lin watched them leave, then turned back to tug on Lin He’s sleeve. His eyes, soaked with the effects of the wine, were full of moisture, clearly reflecting Lin He’s cold face.

Lin He paused and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Yu Lin accidentally let his inner thoughts slip out, murmuring, “So, this is what a home is…”

Lin He replied, “Yes, this is home. Do you like it?”

Yu Lin tilted his head, gave a light nod, and then said, “I want to go out and play too.”

Xie Zhizhang had just returned from the nursing home.

Today was New Year’s Eve. He had prepared dishes early that morning and gone to the nursing home to eat dinner with his grandmother. After chatting for a while, he was forced to leave at the elderly woman’s urging.

He did not expect to run into a familiar figure just as he reached the entrance of the alley.

Xu Ze’an was wearing a short cotton jacket. Xie Zhizhang had seen the logo on it in Yu Lin’s wardrobe; it cost three thousand and was quite valuable. He had a cigarette in his mouth, but it was not lit, and the white mist he exhaled dissipated into the air.

The orange stray cat Yu Lin liked most was standing two meters away from his feet, alert, its rounded eyes sizing up this uninvited guest.

Xu Ze’an had known where Xie Zhizhang lived for a long time, but he had never come to such a place before because he considered it dirty and messy.

Xie Zhizhang originally intended to pretend he had not seen him and turn straight into the alley, but Xu Ze’an noticed him first and stepped forward to block his path.

“I thought we already made ourselves clear.”

“I heard about what happened to your grandmother.”

The two of them spoke at the same time. Hearing this, Xu Ze’an’s face darkened.

Xie Zhizhang also did not expect that he had actually come for the sake of his grandmother.

“I took some money out nearby, it’s not much, take it for now.” Xu Ze’an took a thick envelope out of his jacket pocket and held it out to Xie Zhizhang.

Xie Zhizhang took a step back and refused: “Thank you for your kindness, but it has already been resolved.”

Xu Ze’an frowned and quickly forced himself to relax, continuing, “I know, it was Lin Zhou’s brother who resolved it for you. Since you can accept his kindness, why can’t you accept mine?”

Xie Zhizhang replied calmly, “That’s different.”

“How is it different? Whatever he can give you, I can too, even better than what he gives…” Xu Ze’an’s tone became urgent, gradually taking on a pushy quality. “I’ve been thinking about what you said lately, but I don’t understand how Lin Zhou and I are different. Is it that with him, you…”

“Because they respect me.” Xie Zhizhang interrupted him. He looked down at his own shadow under the streetlight. “They respect me and gave me many choices I never dared to dream of. What they gave was not charity; it was a transaction.”

“Fine, even if that’s the case.” Xu Ze’an rubbed his face impatiently and slapped the envelope in his hand. “You can treat mine as a transaction too. You can pay me back later when you have the money. Even if Lin Zhou’s brother helped with your grandmother’s problem, you still have daily living expenses, don’t you? Doesn’t all of that cost money?”

Xie Zhizhang knew there was no point in continuing to reason with Xu Ze’an. He avoided Xu Ze’an’s outstretched hand and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, a black shadow flickered in his peripheral vision. A hunched man suddenly lunged out of the darkness, and before either of them could react, he snatched the envelope and ran!

“Fuck!” Xu Ze’an cursed. His first reaction was to bolt after him, but Xie Zhizhang was faster. Xu Ze’an didn’t even see a clear shadow before he saw Xie Zhizhang chase the man past a street corner.

Even though he knew in his heart that the current Xie Zhizhang was completely different from the old one, this was the first time he truly experienced the magnitude of the change.

There was a huge disparity in physical strength between Alphas and Omegas; how could Xie Zhizhang, an Omega, have movements even more agile than his own!

However, an even greater surprise followed. The man who stole the money was clearly a regular in the area and knew the winding paths perfectly. Even Xu Ze’an was nearly thrown off by him.

Xie Zhizhang bit down hard and chased the man for three streets. Finally, at a traffic light intersection, he grabbed the man’s arm. With a grappling takedown, he pinned the man, who was a head taller than him, to the ground.

Xu Ze’an, who arrived in a hurry, saw every skilled and powerful movement clearly from behind. The shock on his face was impossible to hide.

Xu Ze’an was dumbfounded: “You!” Was this still the Xie Zhizhang he knew?!

Then, a casual and stiff whistle sounded from beside them.

“Xie Zhizhang, did you make an appointment with this guy to watch fireworks tonight?”

Xu Ze’an saw the same Xie Zhizhang who had treated him so coldly just now suddenly break into an expression of pure joy.