Leeks and Pork Blood

As the group left the ring expressway and approached Chima Avenue, it was already close to nightfall.

The golden sunlight of dusk bathed the seaside boulevard, creating a breathtaking scene.

Seventh Brother leaned against the car window, resting his chin on his hand, watching the speedboats and ships in the bay, lost in thought.

At that moment, she was very, very quiet.

Two prominent canine teeth are visible through her creamy pink lips, suggesting a gentle, fragrant breath.

Jiang Xueming sensed a different atmosphere—

--In the rearview mirror, he could see the quiet and elegant side of his biological father. Oh no, this waiter.

Although this waiter had many strange traits, he was extremely reliable when it came to getting things done, which made Xue Ming feel very at ease.

If my younger sister can grow up to be such an independent person who dares to love and hate—that would be a wonderful thing.

"Xiao Qi," Jiang Xueming called softly to the waiter.

9527: "I'm listening."

Jiang Xueming: "Why aren't you saying anything? What are your plans next?"

9527: "I'll take you back, then pick up 3301. Our holiday is over—we need to go back to work at the station."

Jiang Xueming remained silent after saying "Oh."

A Xing immediately hung up the phone and politely said goodbye to Wool Sheep.

This guy is very sensible. His love radar shows that Ming Ge and Seven seem to have something going on. It's like friends and family feel the atmosphere is right and they have to start teasing each other, leaving a little bit of quiet space.

"Awooo~~~ Ah!~~" Bu Liuxing suddenly roared out, let out a super exaggerated yawn, and fell asleep immediately.

Xiao Qi pursed her lips, grinning from ear to ear in the rearview mirror, her eyes almost crinkling into crescents. "What's wrong with this kid?"

Jiang Xueming simply looked out the window, without saying a word.

"Cough," Xiao Qi felt a little disappointed, she thought.

--One of the things Master A Ling taught her was this:

There are many superstitious things in the world, and love is the most powerful of them all.

People often think that as long as they hold some strange ceremony or force each other to wear a ring, they can get a marriage certificate and live together for a lifetime.

That's how it's told in so many stories.

The men and women in the story can overcome huge gaps in reality, regardless of age, gender, appearance, or family background, because this ritual magic is so powerful that as long as they love each other, they can be together.

Any outrageous exchange of interests for debt, when combined with this magic, transforms into irrational and mindless romance, almost like another Universal Elixir.

Ah, this magic works really well.

But life is probably not like that. Superstition should have been eradicated long ago, but many, many people still believe in it, which is why there are so many lovesick men and women.

--Master A Ling, I seem unable to open this guy's [heart gate], let alone find his [Gate of Death].

He was like a stubborn rock.

Jiang Xueming: "Brake."

9527 wasn't exactly friendly. "No parking here."

Jiang Xueming: "The road is wide here, you can park on the side of the road, I'll pay the fine."

The screeching sound of brakes caused A Xing's head to hit the passenger seat headrest.

Xue Ming then said, "Get out of the car."

9527 gripped the steering wheel, struggling to suppress the inexplicable anxiety in his heart, "Okay."

The two left A Xing in the car and headed towards the seaside road.

On the sidewalk facing the street--

They walked side by side.

Xiao Qi recognized the road; if she walked two kilometers further down Chima Avenue, she would reach A Xing's house.

Xue Ming deliberately raised his arm, leaving a palm-width gap between his arms, and stopped beside Bai Qingqing, turning his head slightly to signal Bai Qingqing to be more careful.

Xiao Qi recognized that gesture.

It's as if it's saying...

Let's go together.

Her mind was buzzing, as if lightning had split a mountain open and Sun Wukong had sprung out from it.

She remained silent, afraid of ruining the romantic atmosphere, and immediately took off her gloves and took Xue Ming's arm.

She walked with her head down for a while, then, unable to contain her curiosity, she looked at the sea and then at Xue Ming.

Why aren't you talking?

Jiang Xueming said frankly, "I promise you, I won't say anything and will quietly accompany you for a while—you have to go back to work, and I'm afraid I won't have enough time."

Xiao Qi quickly explained, "No, no, no! You can speak! Say more, say more!"

Jiang Xueming: "I don't know what to say, Teacher Xiao Qi. I'm not a very talkative person."

Xiao Qi gripped Jiang Xueming's arm tightly. "Let's start with this, how did you learn this move?"

The sound is getting softer and softer.

-- Eventually, it was almost impossible to hear anything.

Jiang Xueming: "Before, the old woman who kidnapped me had trouble walking. When she went to the market to buy groceries, I had to help her. She scolded me, saying that I had to be upright and energetic, otherwise I would embarrass her. If I wanted to take good care of my mother, I had to put on a good show."

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Xiao Qi didn't even know if she should ask that question, and regretted it as soon as it left her mouth.

However, Xue Ming didn't care. "It's just one thing—neither good nor bad. At least it lets me feel that I'm with you. It's not like you go your way and I go mine."

Xiao Qi started to stutter, "Then... you can..."

"Holding hands is too intimate; I think that's something only family members do," Jiang Xueming replied, having already learned to answer quickly.

Xiao Qi scratched her head, completely baffled, but pretended to understand. "Oh, oh, right, right, right."

She felt her heart pounding wildly, and a powerful energy was flowing from the Steel Heart on the finger of the hand linked with Xue Ming's arm, from the ring itself.

They walked to a bench on the seaside path.

The temperature was just right at dusk in summer.

Xiao Qi immediately stopped walking, afraid that the road was too short for her to walk. "Why don't we sit down for a while?"

Jiang Xueming sat down next to him. "Okay, we can't sit for too long."

Xiao Qi looked into the distance, her hand still resting on Xue Ming's arm.

Why can't we sit for too long?

Jiang Xueming confessed: "Because of two things—"

"First thing, Castor's convenience store stops serving dinner at eight o'clock. I want to take you there for dinner—after eight o'clock they only have late-night snacks."

"Secondly, you were too strong when you sat down; you almost broke my elbow."

"Oh dear!" Ms. Bai Qingqing exclaimed, her face paling. She quickly released her grip. "Are you alright?"

Jiang Xueming waved her hand to indicate that everything was alright, and said with a smile, "I was just kidding, a joke I told you, just like how you often lie to me."

Bai Qingqing laughed awkwardly, not expecting Xue Ming to have learned such a dry sense of humor.

Only--

--The hand that had been pulled back was too embarrassed to put back.

To ease the awkwardness.

Bai Qingqing continued, "What are your plans?"

Jiang Xueming gazed at the distant coastline and seagulls.

"I'm having dinner with you. Castor's restaurant recently hired two new chefs from Romania. I was looking for a suitable restaurant while I was scrolling through my phone in the car just now, and I didn't expect to be so lucky."

"Hey LuckyDA☆ZE!" Bai Qingqing mimicked Commander Jessica's tone, grinning, "You arranged all this for me, you're not trying to run away from your debts, are you? Don't get your hopes up! 188,888, not a single penny off! Unless... hehehehehe."

"I didn't mean to renege on my promise." Jiang Xueming noticed that Seventh Brother had started laughing in a desperate manner again, which she was used to. "I just wanted to have dinner with you. I have to keep my promise to you. I'm afraid we won't have enough time. That restaurant is very popular, and it would be terrible if there were no seats. Shall we leave now?"

"You should have said so earlier! You said it was a convenience store?" Bai Qingqing started to get anxious. "Is it a roadside stall? Why don't we spend some money? We could even pay someone to buy a spot!"

"No." Jiang Xueming shook her head. "We can't. We've come this far step by step, and so have everyone else. Bai Qingqing, think about it carefully. If it were you, would you be willing to sell your date seat to someone else?"

Seventh Brother rolled his eyes. "Ha!--"

Jiang Xueming quickly pinched Xiao Qi's philtrum and brought her back to life.

"That's definitely not possible," Seventh Brother said, his mind hazy. "We can't do such a despicable thing."

"Let's go." Xue Ming patted Xiao Qi's back. "Let's hurry."

Xiao Qi silently stood up, no longer daring to touch Xue Ming's arm.

Thinking in my heart--

--How strange!

--That's really weird!

Why do I feel like this guy is both clueless and incredibly skilled at everything?

--That's so weird! Let me take a closer look!

As Xiao Qi pondered, she asked, "Will it be enough time?"

Xue Ming shook his head. "I don't know, should we run there?"

The two hesitated for a moment.

Then, as if on cue, they started walking in unison.

It started with a jog.

We can chat for a bit more.

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Xiao Qi, during this time."

"It's no big deal! You're being too polite."

"I'll pay the money back slowly, but it'll probably take a very long time. As for the interest, Teacher Xiao Qi, you can calculate the rate yourself, but don't make it too outrageous."

"Uh, I don't care about that."

"Then you are really, really good, a very good person."

"I don't want to be your teacher. I want to be your father."

"That's enough cheesy pickup lines, I'm going to speed things up."

A dry, salty sea breeze drifts in from the ocean currents, and the sun, like a golden egg, gradually sinks between buildings and mountains, accompanied by the evening glow.

Hiking boots and flat cloth shoes kicked up dust as they stepped on the cobblestones of the road.

They were only focused on breathing, only focused on feeling the vitality surging through every cell during blood oxygen exchange.

As the water flies by, it sprinkles a cool mist of irrigation water among the flowers and grass.

--Like a pair of butterflies fluttering their wings.

A mother and child passed by on the roadside.

The mother carried chives and pig's blood, preparing to make a lung-cleansing soup for her husband.

The child was holding a pineapple bun from Castor convenience store and enjoying it immensely.

The child asked, "Mommy, why are those two older brothers and sisters running so fast?"

The mother frowned, puzzled. After thinking carefully for a while, she finally began to explain life principles to her baby.

"Look at that brother, he's very handsome, and he's shaved his head. He's definitely an irresponsible scumbag who wants to run away and become a monk. And look at that sister, she's very beautiful. They're chasing each other, just a pair of lovesick fools. Honey, you're still young, but you need to know this: it's like chives with pig's blood, red and green are what make a drama. If they're not compatible, there won't be a good outcome."

"Oh," the child nodded, "Mommy, between you and Daddy, which one is the leek and which one is the pig's blood?"

The mother almost reached out and offered her a large handbag, but in the end she held back.

They sprinted at full speed, running 800 meters in a row.

When they stopped in front of the convenience store, they were all leaning on their knees, panting heavily.

Xiao Qi saw Jiang Xueming's face covered in sweat, looking utterly disheveled.

"Hahahahaha. Hehehahahahaha!"

She burst out laughing for no reason. She felt very happy, very happy, just like when she was a child, seeing bees and wildflowers by the roadside, airplanes in the sky, and anything simple and beautiful.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Ms. Bai Qingqing was panting heavily, and sweat dripped from her forehead to her chin and then into her collar.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha! You can't shake me off!"

Jiang Xueming was only able to catch his breath and couldn't say anything else.

All he knew was that Xiao Qi's physical abilities were truly remarkable—far superior to his own.

They were panting for a very, very long time.

Xue Ming finally spoke.

"I didn't mean to compete with you. I just didn't want you to confess so abruptly. Xiao Qi, every time you blurt out something like that, I don't know how to respond, so I just run forward, run forward as fast as I can. I'm not a conflicted person, but you make me feel like you're hard to get along with."

Xiao Qi grinned, her face full of disdain. "Tch."

"I think your master is right," Xue Ming said very seriously, "We need to take it slow."

At this moment--

--On 9527, joy turned to shock, then to ecstasy; a father's love changed in an instant.

As darkness completely falls, the stars and moon will make their appearance.

A thousand fireworks exploded in her mind, a vast and boundless galaxy of brilliant stars.

At that moment, she thoroughly digested the phrase "take it slow," translating it a thousand times in her mind, but it only ever meant one thing.

She wasn't sure if her casual, teasing declaration of love would turn into Xue Ming's "take it slow" approach.

Could it really mean what I imagined?

--Are all the fun we're having going through all the time going to become our future?

The result was that her body was a step ahead, far ahead of her brain.

She pounced on him, ready to deliver a close-up blow to the little cake, just like when they first met, she wanted to leave a few lipstick marks on Jiang Xueming's face.

Unfortunately, Xue Ming had grown up; he was no longer an ordinary person.

With lightning-fast reflexes, the instant his Inspiration warned of the impending danger, he covered Seventh Brother's head, bracing himself for defense and managing to deflect the shameless kissing attack.

Xiao Qi strained her body, peeking out while shouting, "Didn't you promise?! You! Didn't you promise... ooh ooh ooh! Taking it slow will be faster! Ooh ooh ooh!"

Jiang Xueming covered Xiao Qi's forehead with one hand and pushed Xiao Qi's chin outward with the other, cursing, "What did I agree to? This is what you call taking it slow?! If the genders were reversed, Bai Qingqing, you would have been sentenced to life imprisonment long ago! If Master Su Ling saw you like this, she would be very sad!"

Jason Megan was stunned by the spectacle.

His waiter kept hiding in the kitchen, afraid of being recognized by 9527.

Riverside Road

--The traffic police just put a ticket on the Volga.

Bu Liuxing pounded on the car window and shouted loudly.

Unfortunately, this car has too much soundproof glass and too much bulletproof protection.

The officer glanced at it, gave it a disdainful look, and assumed it was some couple having sex in their car—then immediately got on his motorcycle and drove off.

A Xing was left alone in the car. He took out his phone and called up his two Wool Sheep, to start playing Dou Dizhu (a card game).

--After all, people who enjoy life will never lack for fun.

Written request for leave

I might really have to take the day off today.

My partner came over to discuss whether the story of "The Wife Cut into Sixteen Pieces" could be adapted into a female-oriented comic.

I've found a lead writer to discuss a trial draft, and the company is also having a dinner party, so I'll be busy for a long time. I'm not kidding, it's true.

I'll try to get home as early as possible and see if I can update. If I don't have time, I'll make up for it the next day!

PS: Updated at 11:41 PM.

My second request for leave has been rejected.

This is considered a second time.