Not a single person... that's right, not a single person! could figure out the true reason why 914 couldn't apply the brakes!
If Xu Qi hadn't stopped this disaster from happening, you should have already pinned all the blame on Xu Qi alone by now...
And now, all you dare do is make these petty moves, thinking only of how to quickly get rid of this hot potato. You don't show the slightest intention of accomplishing anything!
Xia Ya's expression was gloomy to the extreme.
Since none of you have the technical ability to surpass me, then... prepare yourselves to welcome despair, Mode Capital Metro.
······
The hospital.
Ever since he had been transferred to the mild-symptom ward, Xu Qi had gained much more freedom.
At the moment, he was wandering aimlessly beside the flower bed downstairs. He looked as though he were scouting the area, but what was there to scout in a hospital?
Could he possibly be a member of some terrorist organization?
"This place seems pretty good..." Xu Qi muttered to himself, resting one hand on his hip and stroking his chin.
"What's so good about it?"
The sudden voice made Xu Qi freeze. He turned around and saw a professionally dressed woman standing behind him. Her long, silvery-white hair made her look exceptionally sharp and striking.
That mature, big-sisterly feeling easily made Xu Qi think of Yae.
Most importantly... from the extremely covert and rapid glance Xu Qi had just taken, he could confirm that she was wearing black...
Thigh-highs!
Heh...
And with such an excellent, full bosom, he had to admit that her charm had caught Xu Qi somewhat off guard.
Of course, he was long past the age when seeing a beautiful woman would leave him speechless.
"Oh, I mean, being surrounded by a sea of flowers like this seems pretty suitable for young people to confess their feelings."
"Pfft!" The woman burst into laughter, bending forward and backward. "You mean... confessing in a hospital?"
Xu Qi tilted his head—it did sound rather strange at first.
No, he had to argue his way out of this.
"No matter how difficult the circumstances, the most beautiful flower of humanity can still bloom. Don't you think that's romantic too?"
The woman stopped laughing. After listening to Xu Qi, she nodded and smiled. "Indeed. Just as you said, even Alahato, a symbol of battle, would be covered in flowers when he fell to the ground."
"!"
Xu Qi was startled. "You like it too? Alahato!?"
"Hm?" The woman blinked, as though she had never expected that someone would still ask her that question even today. But she wasn't offended in the slightest. Instead, she answered from the heart.
"That's right. I like it very much."
"Right? In my opinion, setting aside the earliest 0079, Z Alahato could practically be called a masterpiece!"
"Hm? It seems you know Alahato very well."
"Of course..." Xu Qi put both hands on his hips. Once he sank into his memories of Alahato, he barely noticed that the woman had moved to stand beside him.
"It's a shame that the latest Alahato completely abandoned the ideals of its original creator, Mr. Walter Yang, and turned into nothing more than a robot war."
Xu Qi's words were filled with undisguised sarcasm.
"It's practically defiling the Alahato series! The new producer doesn't understand what Alahato is at all!"
The woman beside him fell silent, and Xu Qi seemed to realize what he had done. He hurriedly said,
"Ah, sorry. I got a little carried away."
"It's fine. Given what you know, it's understandable that you'd say that... Let's get acquainted. My name is Bronya, Bronya Zaychik. I'm from Russia."
A foreigner? Her Chinese was so fluent...
Xu Qi extended his hand and gave hers a light shake. "My name is Xu Qi. Nice to meet you."
"Mr. Xu Qi, have you ever considered that perhaps the market has been corrupted by capital, restricting Alahato's creation in every way and leading to the current situation?"
"I have. Trying to cater to investors while also creating a true Alahato is indeed a difficult path... but it's only difficult."
Bronya froze.
"Just like Karen, the protagonist of Otto's Counterattack, said—'It's nothing but a rock. Watch me use Alahato to push it back!'"
"Pfft! Hahaha!" For some reason, talking with Mr. Xu Qi always made Bronya laugh so happily.
How long had it been... since she had laughed like this?
"So even though the latest installment is truly awful, I'm still looking forward to it... looking forward to Alahato making a comeback, looking forward to it restoring its former glory."
As he said this, Xu Qi seemed like a sixteen-year-old boy, full of beautiful fantasies.
"It will... I promise you that. Ah, it's getting late. I have to go. Oh, right, Mr. Xu Qi." Bronya took out her phone.
"If you don't mind me asking... do you use QQ more often, or WeChat?"
"Huh?"
Xu Qi answered instinctively, "QQ..."
After adding each other as friends and even exchanging phone numbers, Bronya left in a cheerful mood.
As for Xu Qi... he stood there in a daze, apparently still unable to recover from what had just happened.
Huh? No, what was going on? I... Huh? Heaven knows, I really had no intention of picking up a girl this time!
13, I was only one step away from making Mei marry me
When Mei found Xu Qi, he was sitting in the flower bed downstairs at the hospital, wearing a set of patient clothes.
"Xu Qi? Why are you sitting here?"
There was some confusion in Mei's voice, but inwardly, she was still rather relieved. At least this time, there was no other miscellaneous person beside Xu Qi.
Of course, that miscellaneous person had just left...
Although Bronya Zaychik certainly couldn't be considered a miscellaneous person.
There was no doubt that she was an outstanding woman. Xu Qi could recognize the aura of a workplace elite on her after only the slightest sniff. Women like that weren't easy to deal with.
Xu Qi sat where he was, lost in thought. Suddenly, a face was reflected in his deep eyes.
Delicate features, breathtakingly beautiful.
Mei?
Xu Qi came back to his senses. Mei was bending down right in front of him, her lovely eyes blinking as they sparkled with curiosity.
"What are you doing?" Xu Qi asked with a smile.
"I saw you spacing out and wanted to see what you look like when you're lost in thought."
"So, what did you find?"
Mei's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. She straightened up but didn't tell Xu Qi.
"Mei, do you know why I'm sitting here?"
"I wanted to ask you earlier, but you were too busy spacing out."
"I'm looking for a beautiful place. One beautiful enough to match the beauty of someone in my heart."
Mei's pretty face flushed. Although Xu Qi hadn't said anything explicitly, girls tended to subconsciously assume that the person he was referring to was probably them.
"Did you find it?"
Xu Qi shook his head.
Seeing this, Mei also looked rather disappointed.
"To be honest, I'm twenty-four this year... Strictly speaking, I won't be twenty-four until September is over, but let's count it that way for now.
"I've been to quite a few places. I've seen towering mountains, blue seas and clear skies, visited the paradise of Yaochi, and ventured deep into secluded bamboo forests...
"I've seen a sea of flowers stretching toward distant hills, seemingly without end. I've also seen the rushing waters of the Yellow River roaring past me.
"I've witnessed nature's uncanny workmanship and the miraculous gardens built by mortals.
"Yet in the end, I still found them full of regret."
"Why?"
Xu Qi's words were so captivating that Mei nearly forgot the original purpose behind them.
"Because... they were all missing something."
"What were they missing?"
Xu Qi's gaze slowly shifted from the distant horizon toward her, finally settling on Mei.
"They were missing someone's company. That was why I only realized recently that looking for a place to match her was wrong from the very beginning.
"Because to me... she represented an entire world."
For a moment, Mei's breathing stopped. Perhaps she had never known that Xu Qi could say such heart-stirring words.
Of course, she knew that ever since he had been hospitalized, Xu Qi's attitude toward her had gradually begun to change.
It wasn't that he had treated her badly before. It was simply that Xu Qi had never been this proactive—perhaps because I'm still a high school student... He thinks I'm not mature enough.
But it wasn't that Xu Qi only liked mature women either... Well... all right, he did seem to like women who were a little more mature.
That wasn't important.
Xu Qi had always believed that a high school student couldn't possibly understand love. For her to remember a few simple acts of kindness for the rest of her life—such feelings were ultimately too cheap.
He believed that his feelings had been created by a momentary impulse, and that even if they got together, it would only hurt them both.
That was why he had always kept his distance...
But what made Mei proud was that no matter how rational Xu Qi was inside, he still couldn't resist her charm. So he only kept his distance and never directly rejected her.
Xu Qi himself understood this very clearly—he actually liked Mei, which was why he was afraid of hurting her.
Feelings born from a momentary impulse were unstable. He hoped that after that layer of impulsiveness faded away, Mei would still choose Xu Qi from the bottom of her heart.
What an idiot...
When it came to emotions, why were there so many affected excuses?
If you liked someone, you liked them. Even if that affection had begun as an impulse, it was still love!
From the moment Xu Qi appeared at Mei's high school, from the moment he took one step forward and blocked all the malice from the entire school in front of her,
Mei knew—she would never fall for anyone else again.
But... but...
She was surrounded by sweet happiness, yet within it was a trace of a young girl's panic—how should I... accept these feelings?
Perhaps because Xu Qi had always kept his distance, Mei had never considered one question.
What should she do... after they really became lovers?
For an eighteen-year-old girl who had just started university, everything seemed to have come far too suddenly.
Xu Qi sat quietly beside Mei the entire time.
What he had said was no different from a confession.
But unlike Mei, Xu Qi was very calm... He waited beside her without the slightest trace of panic, sensing the girl's small, bewildered thoughts as she experienced happiness.
Why had he suddenly become so proactive?
It was simple...
Xu Qi might never again find another person in this world who was willing to drop everything and come care for him when he was seriously ill.
He wasn't made of stone...
Especially after running away from home.
Before you continue