NHWSG chapter 21

Fortunately, Sheng Zhao didn’t faint for too long. He faintly woke up after half an hour, and the first thing he did was glance at Xing Yingzhu.

In that half-hour, who knew what nonsense he had said to himself in his dreams, but he surprisingly accepted the fact that the “person” in front of him couldn’t be called a “person.”

“So…” What impressed Xing Yingzhu the most was that Sheng Zhao even managed to pick up the previous topic. “Did the guy die?”

“No.” Xing Yingzhu replied disdainfully, “It’s still alive and has lived longer than you. Even if you died, it wouldn’t die.”

Although this was quite rude, Sheng Zhao didn’t get angry—after all, what Xing Yingzhu said was an objective fact. Moreover, despite Xing Yingzhu’s unpleasant words, he had genuinely saved his life. Compared to that, a couple of taunts from him felt rather comforting.

“So…” It seemed like he was about to ask again, but Xing Yingzhu, for some reason, suddenly frowned slightly. He scoffed, then, after a two-second pause, half-supported himself to sit up, turned his head, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Sheng Zhao was scared out of his wits by this. He felt a chilling breeze on the back of his neck, thinking he had almost been frightened out of his wits. There was no time to ask any questions.

“Damn, boss!” Sheng Zhao exclaimed, “Are you okay?”

Sheng Zhao tried to get up from the ground to help him, but unfortunately, his limbs were as soft as noodles, and he couldn’t get up. Not only did he fail to get up, but he also ended up panting heavily.

In contrast, Xing Yingzhu seemed to have no reaction. He simply rolled over and sat up, casually wiping away the bloodstain at the corner of his mouth. His eyes, sharp as knives, glanced at Sheng Zhao.

“Who did it?” Xing Yingzhu’s tone was unfriendly.

“What’s the main point here!” Sheng Zhao shouted while clutching his neck. “Key words, key words! I’m asking if you’re okay!”

“Fine.” Xing Yingzhu said, “I’m just not used to this body.”

“What… Do you mean?” Sheng Zhao asked in horror.

“You see, now it’s a case of you believe whatever I say.” Xing Yingzhu sneered and said, “Still a materialist?”

Sheng Zhao didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

In this desolate wilderness, surrounded by darkness, and having just experienced a life-and-death struggle, Sheng Zhao’s rationality was completely exhausted. He didn’t have the energy to figure out the trivial matter of “where he was.”

Far away from the city, with good weather and bright stars in the sky, the tiny specks of stars were exceptionally bright. Sheng Zhao blinked, feeling like he had returned to his childhood, staying overnight at his grandparents’ house in the countryside.

After a long period of tension, once relaxed, he felt unusually tired. Sheng Zhao felt his mind was completely empty, not wanting to think about anything.

Staring at the stars in the sky, lying on the shore with a wet and bedraggled appearance, he looked like a thoroughly soaked chicken.

Xing Yingzhu was much better off. Despite both emerging from the water, apart from the tips of his hair being a little wet, there was no sign of him being bedraggled. He sat not far from Sheng Zhao, with one leg raised, gazing at the center of the lake, lost in thought.

After a while, Sheng Zhao suddenly spoke up.

“Boss.” Sheng Zhao suddenly said.

Xing Yingzhu made a puzzled sound, indicating for him to continue.

“I lost the specialty products I bought for you.” Sheng Zhao calmly said, “It cost six hundred yuan.”

Xing Yingzhu fell silent for a moment and said, “… Shut up.”

Sheng Zhao obediently kept quiet.

However, he seemed unable to stay still, as if he would start having wild thoughts if he didn’t talk for a while. He didn’t remain quiet for five minutes; he moved his body again, showing signs of wanting to have a long conversation.

Xing Yingzhu glanced at him from the corner of his eye, didn’t say anything, and pretended not to have seen it.

“Actually, my mom didn’t like me when she was young.” Sheng Zhao suddenly said.

“I can see that.” Xing Yingzhu mocked, “Otherwise, she wouldn’t have thrown you into the wilderness in the middle of the night.”

Perhaps it was because he had just experienced a “life and death together” situation, even though he knew that Xing Yingzhu was not of his kind, Sheng Zhao still had a somewhat strange sense of connection with him.

Sheng Zhao wasn’t someone who liked to casually share his personal life with others, but in this situation, facing a boss who could switch between a big snake and a beautiful person at any time, he just naturally spoke out.

“My biological father was a scumbag.” Sheng Zhao said to himself, “My mom was with him when she was still underage. She was deceived by him. When my mom was young, she had good grades and should have gone to college, but she was fooled by his sweet words, ran away from home, and dropped out of school in a fit of passion.”

Xing Yingzhu finally turned his head to look at him.

“He deceived my mom when she was young,” Sheng Zhao continued, “She realized something was wrong after being deceived, and within a year, that scumbag revealed his true colors – drinking, domestic violence, gambling, you name it. He didn’t work, relying on my mom to earn a living. She had two jobs a day, and if she didn’t earn enough, she would be scolded by him. At that time, my mom broke ties with her family for him, so she couldn’t tell my grandparents about her troubles; she had to endure it alone.”

Sheng Zhao chuckled bitterly and added, “Later, after a few years, my mom couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to escape, but things didn’t go well, and she found out she was pregnant with me.”

“Why didn’t she abort?” Xing Yingzhu asked.

“The guy was strict about it,” Sheng Zhao shrugged and continued, “Or maybe my mom couldn’t bear to, anyway, she stayed and gave birth to me amidst all the turmoil.”

“Indecisive,” Xing Yingzhu accurately defined this tragic fate.

“Yeah, indeed,” Sheng Zhao nodded, agreeing, “Fortunately, she eventually got out of that mess. When I was less than a year old, that guy, while drunk, stabbed someone and killed the son of a local village secretary. Although it was proven later that he killed the person in a drunken state, he still got a life sentence and is probably still in there, never to come out again.”

“Congratulations,” Xing Yingzhu said, somewhat insincerely.

Sheng Zhao smiled and responded, “Thanks, thanks.”

“Actually, my mom doesn’t dislike me, but maybe seeing me reminds her of those unhappy times. Besides, she has to make a living, so before going to school, I rarely saw her,” Sheng Zhao continued. “But I’m happy for her today. I hope Li Liangfu treats her well in the future.”

“Happy?” Xing Yingzhu questioned, “They’re a family of three. What’s there to be happy about? Happy that his son dumped you on the side of the road?”

“… How do you know?” Sheng Zhao asked suspiciously.

Xing Yingzhu: “…”

Xing Yingzhu realized he had accidentally revealed too much and decided to ignore Sheng Zhao.

Sheng Zhao was already accustomed to his behavior. Generally, in such situations, leaving him alone to do his own thing was the best option. When Xing Yingzhu felt like answering, it meant his mood had improved.

So Sheng Zhao continued, “How they treat me has nothing to do with me. I don’t expect to live with them. As long as they treat my mom well, it’s enough.”

Xing Yingzhu’s irritation quickly faded this time. He didn’t turn around but made a non-committal sound.

“You’re quite compassionate,” he remarked.

“What’s with that term?” Sheng Zhao casually retorted and then explained, “Actually, not really. Mainly, I never had any expectations from them. I don’t care about them, and they shouldn’t care about me. We can be polite, meet once or twice a year, and that’s good enough.”

Xing Yingzhu, now calmer, replied with a vague hum.

“You’re unexpectedly…,” Xing Yingzhu began, sounding a bit surprised, “quite reasonable?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sheng Zhao asked.

“Never mind,” Xing Yingzhu said.

Sheng Zhao blinked, feeling like he had said something inappropriate. He furtively glanced at Xing Yingzhu; he still didn’t dare to look directly, using the excuse of looking at the lake to sneak glances.

Xing Yingzhu felt the scrutiny and frowned impatiently. Despite the odd circumstances, he decided to warn him to behave. However, Sheng Zhao had a different question to ask:

“Boss… How old are you?”

After asking, Sheng Zhao felt it was a bit inappropriate and quickly changed his wording, “I mean, how old are you?”

“I don’t remember exactly,” Xing Yingzhu replied casually, “Probably close to five digits.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Sheng Zhao’s vision went black, and all the words he had in mind were shocked out of his system. His CPU, just rebooted, crashed again. He realized that in a literal sense, he was too “young” – Xing Yingzhu, this kind of supernatural being with thousands of years under his belt, had probably seen all kinds of weird things. He might consider Sheng Zhao, this little youngster, a blank slate. The absurd drama of this scumbag human might not even make it to the top ten in Xing Yingzhu’s eyes.

“You’re older than my savings,” Sheng Zhao said dryly, “You must be a refined gentleman from before the founding of the country.”

Having said this, Sheng Zhao felt like biting off his own tongue and swallowing it. What kind of epic-level awkward conversation was this? It was like being forced into a blind date.

He covered his face, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself on the spot. He didn’t want to be reminded of this brainless classic awkward moment every night before going to sleep, leaving him tossing and turning.

Xing Yingzhu, a person with no moral compass, didn’t gracefully end the topic. Instead, he nodded and said, “It’s alright. In a few more months, your savings will surpass my age.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

“Forget about that.” Sheng Zhao awkwardly wiped his face, then struggled to pull himself up from the ground. He forcefully changed the subject, asking, “Where is this place, the outskirts of Shanghai?”

Sheng Zhao remembered there was an independent island near Shanghai, part of Shanghai’s territory.

Xing Yingzhu seemed to be familiar with the surroundings. After surveying the area, he said, “We’re at Poyang Lake… It seems like we’re in the north based on the mountain terrain.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

He had just sat up, not yet adjusting his posture, when he turned his head to stare blankly at Xing Yingzhu. The recently rebooted CPU once again crashed.

“Where?!” Sheng Zhao exclaimed, grabbing his neck in shock. “Jiangxi?”

“Or should we go to the east?” Xing Yingzhu found him bewildering. “The east is the sea!”

“Is that the main point?” Sheng Zhao was almost in disarray. “What’s your speed? Over 600 kilometers?”

“It’s a bit faster in the water than in the sky,” Xing Yingzhu seemed to have had enough. He moved his hands and feet, stood up from the ground, then reached into his pocket, pulled out a card, and handed it to Sheng Zhao. “Stop the nonsense, get up, book a flight back to Shanghai.”

Sheng Zhao took the card from him and only then realized how surreal the world could be. The non-human species in front of him, approaching five digits in age, actually had an ID card.

Sheng Zhao’s first reaction was to touch and carefully examine the ID card number. If the lighting weren’t so dim, he would have checked for the anti-counterfeiting layer.

“What are you looking at?” Xing Yingzhu said.

“Boss,” Sheng Zhao swallowed and cautiously glanced at his expression. Boldly, he voiced his concern, “Making a fake ID is illegal.”

Xing Yingzhu: “…”

Why did he even bother to come and rescue him, Xing Yingzhu thought, all he did was annoy him.