Around five in the afternoon, the two cars arrived at the destination.
The elementary school was small, with only three classes for each grade, totaling nearly 90 students. In addition to one or two adults accompanying each student, there were also the homeroom teachers for Class 1 and Class 2.
Calculating it this way, the place became crowded.
The homeroom teacher for Class 2 went to talk to the village chief for a few moments. He came back sweating, “Teacher Yun, we prepared less space than needed. Fortunately, the school, fearing insufficient space, has contacted the neighboring village. You can take the students to this village, and I’ll ask the driver to go to the neighboring village. It’s about half an hour away. Let’s gather here again on Sunday to return together?”
Yun Baizhou nodded, “Okay.”
The people in the car lazily woke up, carried their bags, and led their children off the bus. Zong Yuan waited at the back. Zong Bao, with tears on his face, buried himself on Zong Yuan’s shoulder without saying a word.
Walking together with the crowd toward the village, Yun Baizhou asked, “What’s wrong with Zong Bao?”
Zong Bao left the back of his head to Yun Baizhou, nuzzling into Zong Yuan’s neck, silently shedding tears.
Zong Yuan patted his back, “He hasn’t fully woken up yet.”
Yun Baizhou followed them, watching Zong Yuan skillfully comforting his younger brother. Suddenly, he froze in place.
Zong Bao and Zong Yuan looked at least eighty percent alike.
The child’s tears flowed from Zong Yuan’s neck downward. Zong Yuan lowered his voice, “If you sleep again, you won’t be able to sleep at night.”
Zong Bao, with a teary voice, said, “Baby is so sleepy, don’t want to talk to bad Gege.”
“Oh, really?” Zong Yuan’s tone was cold, “The snacks are all mine, huh?”
The upset child remained silent.
Zong Yuan walked about five or six meters away before impatiently turning back, addressing Yun Baizhou, “Aren’t you coming?”
Zong Bao couldn’t take it anymore and burst into loud cries, pointing at Zong Yuan with sobbing, “Why are you so mean! Wahh! Baby doesn’t want you, wahh, wahh…”
Zong Yuan took a deep breath, placed him on the ground, and Zong Bao, with short little legs, ran toward Yun Baizhou. After catching him, Yun Baizhou looked up to see Zong Yuan’s cold figure moving forward.
He seemed extremely indifferent, either genuinely annoyed by Zong Bao or trusting Yun Baizhou.
The child’s legs were still weak from just waking up. Yun Baizhou picked him up again. The child was small and light, and people might believe he was a four or five-year-old in kindergarten.
Zong Yuan walked ahead, not glancing sideways, presenting a cool and aloof demeanor. Seeing this, tears welled up in Zong Bao’s eyes.
To divert his attention, Yun Baizhou spoke, “Many flowers are blooming in spring. Zong Bao, these days you can go flower picking with your brother and climb mountains together.”
Zong Bao’s tears dried up, and he excitedly looked at Yun Baizhou, “Really? Is there something yummy?”
“Of course,” Yun Baizhou smiled, “There’s an artificial lake dug by local villagers, and the fish inside are big and fat. Zong Bao can go fishing for big fish with your brother.”
The mention of playing excited most kids, but Zong Bao’s face turned pale. He directly pulled his throat and started crying, “I don’t want fish! I don’t want fish! I’m scared! Brother, brother!”
He struggled to get down, reacting violently. Yun Baizhou couldn’t hold onto him, and he saw Zong Bao wobbling towards Zong Yuan. Tripping over a stone, he ran to Zong Yuan, holding onto his brother’s waist, “Baby is scared…”
He was genuinely frightened, showing slight tremors all over his body.
Zong Yuan squatted down, embracing him in silence, soothing him.
He didn’t know… Zong Bao was scared of fish.
Just like before.
Yet, Zong Yuan, being competitive, endured trembling hands to act as if everything was normal.
Zong Yuan softened his voice, “As a big boy, what are you afraid of, fish?”
“But fish are so scary…” Zong Bao’s cries were muffled in the fabric, “Brother, are you scared?”
Yun Baizhou standing beside them muttered, “He is.”
“I’m not scared,” Zong Yuan glanced at him and said softly, “I’m not scared anymore…”
Facing Yun Baizhou in the sunlight, he asked, “Why did Teacher Yun say I’m scared?”
Yun Baizhou’s pupils contracted, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
—
“Can you come and play with me, Zong…?” The little boy’s hands were behind his back, his smile bright, “For a wife, the husband needs to be there every day!”
“Is it that troublesome?” The cool little kid raised his chin, saying, “Then just come home with me, and we can catch fish in my kitchen!”
“Wow, this escalated quickly!”
—
High school.
A dark alley.
“Hey, kid, not gonna talk?”
“Where’s the living expenses I gave you? Pretending to be clueless?”
“…” The teenager cornered at the end of the alley gritted his teeth, fiercely lunging forward, only to be beaten down by the three senior bullies in front of him.
Licking blood and tears, he defiantly declared, “I will absolutely not give you any money!”
Even in death, it’s impossible!
The more vigorous the resistance, the more excited the assailants became.
Amid the teenager’s daze, a voice came from the alley entrance, “Hey, are you guys bullying someone?”
“Damn it! It’s Zong—”
“Get lost.”
Through the swollen eyes, the teenager saw a figure walking against the light. He saw him throw his backpack against the wall, look at his miserable face, and sighed, “How did you end up like this, Qi—”
Qi what? Qi what???
“You should give them the money and then come find me.”
“I won’t.”
“…That’s, that’s…”
That’s my surgery fee.
He heard another sigh.
“Here you go,” holding a stack of money, the teenager amid voice breaking still sounded pleasant. Half-jokingly, “Take it, pocket money from husband to wife.”
Overjoyed to the point of explosion, as if all the injuries on his body had vanished, he fidgeted, “I will pay you back.”
A hand rested on his head, gently rubbing.
“Mm.”
The surgery had failed.
—
Zong Bao had stopped crying, feeling completely secure by his brother’s side. Zong Yuan breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and subconsciously glanced at Yun Baizhou, only to furrow his brows the next moment.
He walked a few steps forward and patted Yun Baizhou’s shoulder, “Teacher Yun?”
Yun Baizhou’s eyes were vacant, completely unresponsive to Zong Yuan’s words.
Zong Yuan’s anxious breath surged up. He shouted, “Yun Baizhou!”
This shout pierced through endless time and space, bringing Yun Baizhou back to his senses. He looked at Zong Yuan’s face, “Mr. Zong?”
Everything’s fine.
Zong Yuan released his shoulder, stepped back, and took Zong Bao’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Yun Baizhou followed.
The village chief was accustomed to cooperating with the elementary school. The arrangements for accommodation and meals were well-organized. The experience of going out to play with so many people was rare, and the emotions of both adults and children were high.
With parents around, the teachers found it much easier.
That evening, the village chief had a bonfire set up. Everyone gathered around, telling jokes and chatting. The village chief even brought sweet potatoes to bury under the fire, roasting them to share among the group.
The air was filled with a delightful fragrance, accompanied by the crystal-clear starry sky, creating a scene of exquisite beauty.
Yun Baizhou skillfully arranged for the children to come out and line up. “The first-grade students of Class 3 of Grade 1 have prepared a song for all the parents. Please give them a warm applause!”
Parents enthusiastically applauded, watching their children in the lineup.
“Haha, look at my kid, he’s shy!”
“This naughty child’s behavior is quite unusual. I need to capture it and show it to his mom.”
Zong Bao stood in the front row, completely unembarrassed. Proudly puffing out his little chest, he sang with a loud voice.
Zong Yuan opened the camera, aimed at him, and illuminated by the bonfire’s glow, captured a photo of the child.
Not far behind him, Yun Baizhou, feeling a bit guilty, secretly took a photo of his back.
Zong Yuan also had an older brother, but in this world, he became this child’s big brother.
Certainly, at his age, in the eyes of his older brother, he probably looked like this.
Adorably charming!
The children, exhausted from staying up late, were already starting to doze off. It was almost nine o’clock, and for the adults, the night was just beginning. The children, on the other hand, were already fast asleep.
The accommodation was arranged in several houses cleaned up in the village, with one household accommodating three pairs of adults and children. Fortunately, it was March, and there weren’t many mosquitoes. Since there was no internet connection here, the adults also had to avoid staying up too late.
Though Zong Bao had complained about being tired earlier, he obediently washed his face, brushed his teeth, and washed his feet with Zong Yuan. However, when he got into bed, he showed no sign of sleepiness. He kept pestering Zong Yuan, “Zong Yuan, was the song I sang today good?”
“Call me ‘Gege,'” Zong Yuan spoke coldly and mercilessly. “Don’t act cute.”
After teasing Zong Bao for a while, Zong Yuan’s phone rang. It was a message from “Yi Xing”: Mr. Zong, are you asleep?
Zong Yuan closed his phone without replying, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep. Zong Bao, watching his brother seemingly asleep, laughed and played for a while without getting a response. Eventually, he fell asleep himself.
When Zong Yuan opened his eyes, he covered Zong Bao with the blanket and, using his arm as a pillow, replied to the message, “Not asleep, what’s up?”
Yun Baizhou, always attentive to his phone, leveraging his years of being single for quick texting, said, “Mr. Zong… I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
A smirk formed at the corner of Zong Yuan’s lips. “Single.”
“Ah…?” Yun Baizhou involuntarily smiled, “The question I wanted to ask wasn’t about that…”
“Go ahead, what’s the question?”
“I feel like I’ve seen you before.” Yun Baizhou hesitated, deleted the message, and changed the question, “Do you know someone surnamed Qi?”
Zong Yuan furrowed his brows, recalling the memories of the original owner. “No, I don’t know.”
He didn’t know, and Yun Baizhou inexplicably felt anxious. “You really don’t know?”
Zong Yuan put down his phone, contemplating his memories. After such a long time, his own memories remained exceptionally clear, probably thanks to the system. Zong Yuan started recalling from the earliest memories he could remember and worked his way back.
Elementary school, junior high, high school, college.
None.
There was no person surnamed Qi that he remembered.
Confident in his memory, Zong Yuan replied, “No.”
The person involved firmly refuted twice.
Yun Baizhou sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the curtain, muttering to himself, “It’s impossible, someone you know, it’s impossible…”
Drowsiness overwhelmed him.
—
“The previous player traversed a total of five hundred worlds!”
“Can you handle it?”
“Qi… Master!”
“Hmm,” a person who had undergone countless ages and tasks, addressed with respect, wore a cold expression. “I’m thoroughly alive now.”
“More than that,” the familiar mechanical voice sounded, the icy tone devoid of any meaning. “As long as you don’t return to your world, you’ll never die.”
“Immortality, huh,” the man sitting on the high seat casually lowered his eyes. “Then I won’t go back.”
“Do the people in your original world know you?”
“Delete the memories,” he said without a hint of nostalgia. The man even chuckled a few times, indifferent as he added, “Anyway, I don’t remember that world anymore.”
“Yes.”
Author’s Note:
Alright, my darlings, let’s countdown to the completion~
Today, chatting with my bestie, the title of “Weak Top” was criticized for being too straightforward and crude, emitting a strong street vibe QAQ. It also failed to convey the strength of the top role. After thoughtful consideration with my friend, we came up with a less direct title, “Everyone Who Says I’m Weak Got Crushed1说我弱的都被压了.” How do you feel, little angels?【Star-struck eyes】
Naming is so challenging OTZ
