Who Wants to Be the Affectionate Cannon Fodder?! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 16

Yu Lin never expected that he would end up watching the fireworks from inside a police station.

He sat on a bench in the station lobby, absentmindedly licking a soft-serve cone while staring expressionlessly at Xie Zhizhang, who was registering information at the reception desk.

The riverside where the fireworks display was held was very close to the tenement building where Xie Zhizhang lived, only a few kilometers away. However, Yu Lin truly had not expected to run into him, let alone witness the feat of Xie Zhizhang chasing a thug through three streets and taking him down right in the middle of the road.

“As expected of me; I really taught him well,” Yu Lin could not help but marvel.

System 007 was weary of life: “Sure, sure. You’ve successfully raised a humble little white flower into a piranha.”

Yu Lin took another lick of the ice cream that was about to drip onto his hand: “A student worth teaching.”

System 007: “…”

Lin He glanced at him, pulled a napkin from his pocket to wipe the moisture from Yu Lin’s hand, and said sternly, “Eat properly. Stop licking it like that.”

Yu Lin had licked the tip of the ice cream into a perfectly flat sphere. Hearing Lin He’s words, he carelessly took a big bite, only to grimace as the cold hit his teeth.

“Hiss!”

Lin He: “I didn’t tell you to bite it directly either.”

Before long, Xie Zhizhang finished his statement and came out. With both witnesses and physical evidence secured, the man who committed the robbery had been detained pending further processing.

“Next time you encounter something like this, don’t go in alone. After all, you’re an Omega. What if he had a knife and something happened?”

Xie Zhizhang nodded obediently, glancing guiltily at Yu Lin on the bench, wondering what he thought of his performance.

Instead, he saw Yu Lin secretly give him a thumbs-up. Before Xie Zhizhang could smile, Lin He pressed Yu Lin’s thumb down and leaned in to whisper something.

Judging by his lip movements, it seemed to be: “Don’t lead people astray.”

Yu Lin curled his lip reluctantly.

The officer in charge handed the envelope to Xie Zhizhang. The latter looked at Xu Ze’an, who had come out with him, and did not reach for it: “This money is his.”

Xu Ze’an did not take it either, saying dissatisfiedly, “I gave it to you, so just take it. I don’t believe in taking back things I’ve given away.”

Xie Zhizhang looked back down at the officer’s hand hanging in mid-air. It seemed he did not want to delay the officer’s work and intended to take it just to shove it into Xu Ze’an’s arms.

Suddenly, Yu Lin spoke up in a casual, lazy tone: “Just take it. Their family has plenty of money anyway; they ought to do more charity. You can just pay it back later.”

Hearing this, Xie Zhizhang’s resistant hand instantly relaxed. He let out a “Fine,” and thanked Xu Ze’an.

Xu Ze’an cursed, “Damn it, you just listen whenever he speaks?”

Xie Zhizhang ignored him.

Yu Lin crunched the waffle cone. Likely finding the taste subpar, he frowned and tossed it into a nearby trash can, then stood up to straighten his clothes and let out a weary yawn.

“Now that it’s settled, let’s go back.”

Lin He also turned to look at Xu Ze’an, who was grumbling behind them, and said with a faint, cold smile, “Young Master Xu can find his own way back, right? Or do I need to notify Chairman Xu to pick you up?”

Xu Ze’an’s face stiffened. He instinctively straightened his back as if afraid of being looked down upon: “No need.”

He then strode past them and left. However, when he reached the outdoor stairs, he seemed to remember something and turned back to look at Xie Zhizhang, his expression full of frustration.

Xie Zhizhang still paid him no mind.

It was exactly midnight when they stepped out of the station. The bells tolled, and massive fireworks burst in the night sky, their multi-colored light instantly illuminating the entire horizon.

A gust of chilly night wind blew, making Yu Lin shiver. He looked up and watched the fireworks intently.

It was as if he were seeing everything for the first time; he was curious about everything. Under the glow of the warm streetlights, his apricot-shaped eyes were filled with a brilliant light, looking stunningly beautiful.

Lin He’s fingers reached behind Yu Lin’s ear to tidy the scarf draped loosely around his neck. The soft fabric pressed against Yu Lin’s cheek, bringing with it the crisp, cold scent of cedar.

Yu Lin lowered his eyelids slightly, his gaze falling on Lin He’s face.

Amidst the magnificent firelight and the deafening crackle of explosions, Lin He’s knuckles brushed against Yu Lin’s cool chin as he tied a loose knot in the scarf.

“Happy New Year, Lin Zhou.”

After the winter break ended, Yu Lin returned to school to continue his final four months of senior year.

Yu Lin actually had very little concept of taking entrance exams. After all, his only mission was to accumulate enough Devotion Points to leave this world. However, Lin He constantly enticed him with fresh rewards if he reached a certain level of improvement on the next mock exam. Furthermore, whenever his results came out, the misunderstandings of those around him would deepen, causing his Devotion Points to skyrocket. Thus, he reluctantly put in a bit more effort.

Besides, Yu Lin was also curious to see just how far Xie Zhizhang could go.

Because his grandmother was at the nursing home, Xie Zhizhang no longer had to travel back to his distant tenement before returning to Yu Lin’s apartment, giving him a lot more free time.

Occasionally, when Lin He was busy with work and couldn’t return in the evening, Xie Zhizhang would take on the role of chef, preparing a few simple dishes that left Yu Lin feeling perfectly satisfied.

After dinner, Yu Lin would sprawl on the sofa to digest his food while Xie Zhizhang’s calm, gentle voice echoed in his ears. Having realized that Yu Lin naturally lacked a “nerve” for humanities subjects and had no desire to waste time understanding the deeper meaning behind the words, Xie Zhizhang intentionally added a post-dinner reading session. He hoped to use this method to force those dry bits of knowledge into Yu Lin’s head.

Yu Lin had long since noticed his motive, but he didn’t say anything.

His memory was excellent. He remembered every vocabulary word and classical text Xie Zhizhang read, but it was difficult for him to grasp deeper nuances.

For phrases like “The sunset glow and the lone duck fly together; the autumn water and the vast sky are of one hue,” he could visualize the red sunset dyeing the water and sky as birds flew across, but he could not feel the same amazement as Xie Zhizhang.

He could also understand that “Knowing it cannot be obtained suddenly, I entrust the lingering echoes to the mournful wind” expressed regret over unachieved ambitions, but he did not feel any rising sorrow or emotional connection to the literature.

The structure of his brain seemed naturally different from others. He could understand messy, complex formulas and memorize every word, yet there was always a thick veil between him and the joys and sorrows of the mortal world, as if he were an outsider. Even when he knew what kind of reaction he should make, his consciousness and his brain seemed to be on two different levels, unable to merge.

Xie Zhizhang finished reading four classical texts and turned to look at Yu Lin. Seeing his blank expression and vacant eyes, he guessed his thoughts had drifted off to the heavens again.

So, he habitually switched to his biology notes. Since these were also dry texts that required memorization, Yu Lin’s interest in biology was slightly higher.

Just as he reached the section on the different hormones secreted by the three ABO types, Yu Lin’s eyes darted around, and he sat up straight.

“Xie Zhizhang, when is your heat cycle?”

If these words were spoken by someone else, they would be somewhat offensive. But Xie Zhizhang knew Yu Lin was just asking a question without any underlying emotion. As for his motivation, Xie Zhizhang could never guess it.

Xie Zhizhang shook his head and spoke the truth: “My pheromone levels are not high. I haven’t had any signs of heat since my secondary differentiation, so I’m not really sure.”

Yu Lin leaned back onto the sofa thoughtfully, staring at the ceiling for a while before saying: “Go get a check-up tomorrow. Once we know the time, I’ll teach you how to use a butterfly knife.”

Xie Zhizhang was confused: “Why?”

“I heard that when an Omega is in heat, their actions are no longer governed by logic. They become slaves to desire, desperately craving an Alpha’s touch. Even if they loathe the person while sober, they become obedient ‘female beasts’ under the control of pheromones, letting the Alpha take charge.” Even when saying these intimate phrases, Yu Lin’s tone was flat, as if he were discussing mundane household chores. “If that day ever comes, I hope you have the logic and the chance to resist. Ideally with a single fatal blow.”

Not just Xie Zhizhang, but even System 007 was shocked by Yu Lin’s outrageous words: “What on earth are you teaching him?!”

“An Omega from a poor family is just an object, that’s what you said,” Yu Lin said casually. “But there are many kinds of objects.”

Yu Lin asked innocently: “If I only stab him once, that counts as self-defense, right?”

Xie Zhizhang nodded blankly.

“But we usually use suppressants in advance before the cycle,”

“What if there’s no time? What if the suppressants fail? What if some idiot Alpha has been planning this for a long time?”

System 007: I reasonably suspect the idiot Alpha refers to Xu Ze’an.

Xie Zhizhang said, “I will learn.”

Having received Xie Zhizhang’s affirmative answer, Yu Lin finally climbed off the sofa and sat at the desk to open his Chinese test paper.

There were still two hours before Lin He returned home. He had to leave a good impression on his brother; perhaps he could even get an extra late-night snack.

So, when Lin He returned, he saw Yu Lin obediently swinging his legs while seriously working on his problems.

Hearing his footsteps, Yu Lin looked up with feigned joy and asked, “Brother, you’re back? Is there anything good to eat tonight?”

Lin He didn’t speak. He motioned with his empty hands, walked to the desk, and scanned the homework under Yu Lin’s elbow. Scrawled handwriting was carefully written on every answer line.

However, when Lin He’s fingertip touched the corner of the book, Yu Lin’s hands stiffened. He instinctively tried to cover it, but Lin He was faster and pulled a piece of paper out from under the homework. On it was a densely drawn guide on how to use a butterfly knife.

Compared to the stick figures of a few months ago, Yu Lin’s drawing skills had improved rapidly.

A strange thought suddenly occurred to Lin He: should he send Yu Lin to study art?

“Nothing tonight. You expect a snack after slacking off like this?”

Yu Lin looked at him piteously, rubbing his belly with one hand: “But I really got hungry from studying.”

Lin He’s gaze followed his movement downward, landing on the boy’s slender waist. His eyes flickered.

After a long silence, he looked away and suddenly said, “Have you gained a little weight lately?”

Yu Lin looked at Xie Zhizhang in confusion, wanting a witness: “Have I?”

Xie Zhizhang also scanned his waist and said hesitantly, “It seems, maybe a little.”

Yu Lin’s pupils shook with shock.

He only had three bowls of rice per meal and occasionally some dessert snacks Lin He brought back, how could he be fat!?