Life Is Always Full of Surprises

In many fantasy novels set on other continents, authors liked to give the protagonist the identity of a transmigrator. It was not that transmigrators had any special advantages, but rather a matter of reader immersion. A lowborn native as the protagonist often felt somewhat traditional and dull, whereas a transmigrator immediately gave readers a sense of anticipation. What changes would he bring after transmigrating?

In truth, the identity of a transmigrator often only had some significance at the beginning. By the middle and later stages, the plot usually had little to do with that identity anymore, and neither the author nor the readers cared about it.

That was why, after reading My Wife Is the Empress of Zhou, Qin Luming had only now remembered that the book's protagonist, Gu Qing'an, was actually a transmigrator whose soul had crossed into the Kingdom of Zhou.

Under the current circumstances, however, this transmigrator identity had become crucial... What Qin Luming could not figure out for the moment was how Gu Qing'an had managed to transmigrate into the world of the book and become its protagonist while still remaining alive in reality.

Qin Luming wanted that too. If he could write a book, remain alive in reality, and also transmigrate into the world he had created to become its protagonist... that would be amazing.

Being a supporting character, though, could forget it. Many supporting characters were basically delivery captains, walking wallets, meant to be gazed at tenderly by the protagonist as he said, "Go be cannon fodder without worry. After you die, I'll take good care of your wife and children."

After eating teppanyaki, Qin Luming still left Zuozuo and Caicai working in the kitchen. Carrying a number of questions in his mind, he sat on the sofa in the living room and reopened Ma Shilong's My Wife Is the Empress of Zhou.

After a while, Zuozuo and Caicai each carried over a small plate with a piece of ice cream cake drizzled in black vinegar. They came into the living room and sat on either side of Qin Luming.

As Qin Luming read the novel, the two little girls leaned against his shoulders and slowly ate. They were at their quietest when they were watching television and eating at the same time.

Once they finished their cake, they were no longer quiet. Qin Luming held his phone in his right hand, and since he had not raised that arm, Caicai could only lean against the outside of it. Then she saw Zuozuo lift Qin Luming's left arm and burrow into his embrace so that he would hold her.

The two of them began fighting over the spot beneath Qin Luming's left armpit. Before long, they had rolled onto the carpet, never returning to the sofa.

Qin Luming watched them fight for a while, then looked at the book for a while. He still could not make sense of certain details concerning Ma Shilong's book, Gu Qing'an's transmigration, Zhou Nan's arrival, and all the rest.

It was not merely curiosity. Perhaps if he figured out other people's affairs, he could draw inferences and understand what had happened to him back then... His life had been changed, his hands had been ruined, and he could no longer see the true face of this world clearly.

As he kept reading, Qin Luming's phone ran out of battery. He yawned, feeling as though he had forgotten to do something important that evening.

Oh, hadn't he promised to update ten thousand words?

First, Gu Shuiyun and the police had come. They were doing good deeds, so it was fine if they had delayed him. If he felt resentful because of that, there would be no point.

Second, he had gone out for teppanyaki. If he had not eaten his fill, hunger would have affected his ability to concentrate.

Third, after eating his fill, blood would gather in his abdomen, slowing his thoughts. Everyone knew that being full was not suitable for purely mental labor.

Fourth, he needed to read Ma Shilong's book. His heart was full of doubts, and with his worries unresolved, how could he have the mind to write?

In short, there was no helping it tonight... After thinking up so many reasons, Qin Luming still felt a tiny bit guilty, so he went to sleep carrying around fifty grams of guilt in his chest.

When he woke up in the morning, Qin Luming felt somewhat stifled.

After getting out of bed, Qin Luming walked to the window as usual and pushed open the glass, looking at the lush bamboo leaves in the indoor courtyard.

He let out a long breath, and the stifling feeling finally dispersed. Qin Luming understood that it was because the fifty grams of guilt from last night had been pressing on his chest.

Anyone knew that if something pressed on your chest all night while you slept, you would feel stifled, wouldn't you? It seemed that in order not to feel stifled or guilty anymore, today would be another day of diligently updating and writing.

A day's plan began in the morning. The moment he woke up, he had already planned to work hard today. Qin Luming had no classes that morning, so he decided to write at home.

Scientific research showed that breakfast was extremely important for maintaining energy throughout the day's work. Skipping breakfast made it difficult for the body to adjust to its best condition. Thus, Qin Luming first went to the kitchen and steamed a basket of shumai, prepared a dish of dipping sauce, squeezed a glass of juice, then tore open a packet of cold-eaten rabbit. He placed everything on a tray, carried it out, and sat beneath the bamboo in the courtyard to eat breakfast.

There were three rooms in the front living area, and the courtyard lay beneath Qin Luming's bedroom. Gray floor tiles stretched around the courtyard all the way to the stairs leading upstairs. Fine white pebbles filled the gaps between the tiles, while trickling water flowed through stone channels. Thin streams of water dripped from around the skylight, denser toward the inner side, like a waterfall in a spring mountain ravine cascading over a stone bench. Carved into the surface of the bench was a poem from the Classic of Poetry, "Deer Cry," which happened to suit his name.

After breakfast, Qin Luming cooked two pots of congee: one savory meat congee and one sweet fruit congee.

After resting for a moment, Qin Luming received a call from the renovation company. Only then did he remember that he had scheduled them last week to come that morning and replace his stair panels.

Qin Luming was a premium customer of this renovation company... Renovating many houses was not a one-time thing. To renovation companies, clients who occasionally changed the layout or details were far more welcome than those doing whole-home renovations, because such orders came quickly and were efficient. There was also basically no need to cut profits just to secure the job. Such clients usually only demanded reliable, worry-free, high-quality service and did not insist on value for money or anything like that. The profits were actually very high.

The stair panels had been custom-made by Qin Luming from a type of wood he particularly liked. He had chosen to have Song-dynasty paintings carved into the panels, making them both beautiful and slip-resistant. The custom order had taken a long time because the carvings were handmade, and he had waited a full half year for more than ten panels.

When the renovation engineers arrived... to make themselves seem high-end, the workers at renovation companies were all called engineers... Zuozuo and Caicai had also gotten up. The two little girls stood nearby holding the two pots of congee as they watched the workers replace the stair panels.

"I think Brother Qin replaced the stair boards because you rolled down the stairs last time and crushed his little sapling," Zuozuo analyzed angrily. "I liked sitting on the second stair to read the most. Now that stair board has been replaced, it will definitely affect my mood when I read in the future."

"You only sat there and read once! Besides, those boring novels you read are nothing but leveling up, fighting monsters, killing people, and stealing treasures from beginning to end. What mood do you need?" Caicai looked down on Zuozuo's taste. "Only the kind of novels I read, which focus on emotions and everyday life, require a good reading environment and atmosphere."

"The novels you read are just stories about one woman being liked by many men while also wanting to kill every other woman in the world, then giving birth to a bunch of children who do not know who their fathers are."

"That's reality, reality, understand? Only children like to read fantasy stuff."

"You're the child. So immature."

"I'm not immature. I'm cute."

"Cute my butt."

"You're the butt."

"You're a stinky butt."

After Qin Luming inspected everything and signed off, it was already noon. After lunch, he left home and prepared to go to school for class.

There were several shared electric bikes across the street. Qin Luming went over to scan them, only to discover that every one of them had already been occupied.

"Mr. Qin?"

Qin Luming turned around and saw Gu Shuiyun lower her car window to greet him. She seemed to have seen him scanning the shared electric bikes.