Draft
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Su Jingyang remembered that the system had indeed warned him that if the person being helped not only didn't appreciate him, but also hated him in turn, his energy would be reduced accordingly. He accidentally stepped into the trap, he was inexplicably wronged again.
But it was an old woman whose foot was half inside a grave, it wasn't good for him to fight back. Putting aside benevolence, justice, and morality, even if wanted to take revenge he couldn't afford it! He could only endure it.
Just take it as a lesson for himself this time, don't ignore everything else just to collect energy in the future and mindlessly help everyone!
After Su Jingyang calmed down, regardless of the schizophrenic system's ridicule, he took a big step and walked towards Ling Li's house. He bought a small bag of sugar balls on the way back for Ah-Xuan.
After hearing Ling Li say that Ah-Xuan hadn't eaten sugar yet, the little guy was fed one ball by Su Jingyang, he laughed in relish with his mouth full.
Ling Li arranged dinner on the table. He saw Su Jingyang holding and teasing Ah-Xuan, there was frustrated anger between his eyebrows. He asked him what was wrong, Su Jingyang had nothing to hide so he told him what happened today.
Ling Li walked over to look at his arm and found that one of his arms was swollen, showing that the hand that harmed it truly held no mercy. He frowned tightly, "She's too much!"
During the meal, Su Jingyang heard Ling Li talk and realized that the old lady wasn't just targeting him alone. Ling Li passed by her door before. He was walking a bit slower because he was too tired. She chased and scolded him for several miles, saying he was a misbehaving harlot, deliberately slowing down so that he could disturb her grandson's study.
She was famous for being like that in the area. Not only did she curse people, sometimes a wild cat or wild dog making a noise would also be driven away fiercely, for fear that because of the sound, her baby grandson wouldn't be able to properly read his books and won't do well in the exams, unable to become an official. Only a few people around were willing to interact with their family.
Su Jingyang was utterly amazed, and became conscious to how unlucky he was. There were so many people, but the one he encountered was such a difficult and unreasonable person!¹
Ling Li also shook his head, "That grandma and grandson are the only ones left in their family. The old lady counts on her grandson, who has been the only scholar in their family for several generations, to become a top official in the future and take her to Jincheng² to enjoy her luck."
In Su Jingyang's mind, the young man with the words "study scum" on his face appeared by the window, he drank the porridge and laughed briefly. What top official? Pigs would have to fly first before that happens³!
What happened this day to Su Jingyang was an unpleasant episode and he soon left it behind. After lunch, he saw Ling Li weaving baskets in the yard. Su Jingyang, a job seeker who failed to find a job, also wanted to learn some crafts. As a result, his hands were always scratched and blood flowed because of his poor technique.
Ling Li took a cloth to wrap him up and didn't let him do it anymore. Su Jingyang had to squat aside and watched him with his eyelashes dropping and his face quiet, but his hand were skillful and rapid so it didn't take very long. A small frame was soon completed, and Su Jingyang took the perfectly made small frame in his hands and praised Ling Li.
Ling Li said, "I was like you at the beginning and I'm better at it now, but Jingyang, you don't need to do this."
Because of Ah-Xuan's special condition, Ling Li was destined to be unable to work outside every day. Besides, he was spurned by the people in the town, and no one wanted to accept him. He could only take care of some chores through a kind-hearted lady, and get the work done at home. Although the reward was only 30% of the normal income, he was also very satisfied. His previous savings were all used to treat the child's illness, so he could only manage support himself and the child with his meager income.
A few days ago, he had been unwell and couldn't receive suitable jobs. The family was short of food and the child was so hungry that he cried. He had find a way to go to the porridge place and ask for a bowl of porridge for the child. As expected, he encountered difficulties, but also encountered Su Jingyang. Ling Li felt that this was his greatest fortune in these years.
Ling Li suddenly stopped the movements in his hand, he turned his face to Jingyang and smiled slightly. His light brown pupils reflected the bright sunlight, flashing with extremely beautiful luster.
Su Jingyang: "......???"
He looked at the surging energy that suddenly entered his body, but didn't react in a daze, he didn't do anything but received energy? What was Ling Li thanking him for? It was so easy to collect from Ling Li!
Su Jingyang looked at Ling Li and couldn't figure out whether to laugh or cry. Ling Li didn't know why his expression changed for a while, and was about to worriedly ask him, but Su Jingyang suddenly stood up and said that he wanted to go out and find a job.
Seeing him running out with great enthusiasm, Ling Li also stood up and chased after, he said fron behind him: "Remember to come back for dinner tonight!"
"Got it!" Su Jingyang ran back and waved at him.
Su Jingyang didn't expect to meet Liang Lu as soon as he arrived on the streets. One of his eyes was still black and blue, which made his otherwise handsome face a bit funny looking. Su Jingyang saw him, he didn't hide but continued to walk forward swaggeringly.
Liang Lu searched him in the crowd, his eyes lit up suddenly, and he ran wildly towards his side and stopped him.
Su Jingyang crossed his arms, staring at him, and said coldly: "What do you want now? Still want to fight?"
Liang Lu smiled bitterly, he opened his folding fan and fanned him, "How can that be? I've just come to you to talk about something. How about we... find a cooler place first?"
Su Jingyang waved away his fan and said, "Just let it go!"
"Jingyang, the night before yesterday, that night..." Liang Lu hesitated, as if thinking hard about his choice of words, not wanting to irritate Su Jingyang, "The marks on you... it actually wasn't me, right?"
Liang Lu also wanted to understand what happened what he became drunk out of his mind. Su Jingyang suddenly passed out during a fight that night, he haf wanted to get up to see how he was doing, but was too drunk and fainted. When he woke up, he didn't even take off his clothes, nor did he feel any satisfaction after venting. Liang Lu was definitely not responsible for the traces on Su Jingyang.
He had thought hard about it, there was only one possibility, that was... the store door was open that day, and there were many rogues on the streets outside...
Su Jingyang naturally didn't want him to misunderstand and said bluntly: "Of course it's not you." Thinking of something, he glanced at him annoyedly, "I don't want to marry you, go away!"
Liang Lu grabbed his arm and refused to let him go. His eyes flushed and he stared at him for a long while. There was a strong forbearance and determination in his eyes, "Jing Yang, I'm sorry... I really am... I drank too mucb alcohol that day, and my brain wasn't working properly. I always thought that we were in love, so I did those unpleasant things⁴, I—"
Su Jingyang pulled back his hand and was speechless, "Who gave you the illusion that we were in love?"
Liang Lu choked, "You usually treat me nicely and smile at me all day long."
"You— nonsense! You're the boss, am I supposed to frown at you every day?" Su Jingyang was really angered by him.
"Anyway, although I didn't do it, after all, I have caused you to lose your virginity. I'll definitely make up to you."
"Pfft..." When Su Jingyang heard those words of losing his virginity he almost choked to death with his own saliva, he knew that Liang Lu must've still misunderstood something, but Su Jingyang couldn't explain it to him anyway, plus he really didn't want to explain it. He flicked him away and walked forward, "You don't need to make up for it, just don't show up in from of me in the future."
Liang Lu hurriedly said as he passed by: "I can help you get an identity card!"
Su Jingyang really stopped when he heard his words. He suddenly turned his head, his eyes were like torches, this temptation/confusion was too strong for him.
When Liang Lu saw him stop, he hurriedly said: "However, you have to go back to my shop. Don't look at me like that. Don't worry, I'm not a lustful person. We've just had some misunderstandings before. I won't do what I did to you again."
Su Jingyang despised him, "Pretending to be a gentleman now?"
Liang Lu said, "I really just want to compensate you. It seems that you're looking for a job, right? You can just go directly to my bookstore to sit and collect money, and the bill would be settled accordingly. The wages there much higher than here, do you want it?"
Su Jingyang looked calm, but in fact he was a little moved. After all, before the identity card was issued, he could only make money from Liang Lu. If he agreed to it then he could alleviate an urgent need. Even if he did have another purpose, Su Jingyang could afford to meet it head-on.
Su Jingyang said: "Alright, I'll go, but... can you still advance my wages as before? "
"That's fine." Liang Lu said as he led the way, "I'll take you over and see. The rest room over there is much larger than the previous one. You can live there in the future." Then he thought of something and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't suddenly appear in the middle of the night."
Su Jingyang said: "I have a place to live, I can't live there."
Liang Lu was surprised. He don’t know how he found a place to stay so quickly. Just as he was about to ask, Su Jingyang interrupted him to ask him about the identity card. Liang Lu told him that it wasn't difficult to do, it just needed to fabricate a relationship with a citizen. He would need to find a few decent people to write documents to prove their identity to the government, as for the identity, it was his distant cousin.
As long as he couldn't get rid of the status quo, Su Jingyang didn't really care that much about this anymore.
He listened to Liang Lu say that for the identity card to be completely processed, it would take at least more than a month.
Su Jingyang began to be curious Liang Lu's bookstore. He thought that it would be about the same size as the shop selling clothes. After arriving there, he was shocked to find that the place was unexpectedly big, and there were actually two floors, and an abundant row of shelves, all sorted into categories. A ton of books were put aside neatly, and many people were reading, copying, and buying books, quietly and orderly.
The scholarly atmosphere was too strong, Su Jingyang walked in and eased his steps, for fear of disturbing others. He used to be a book lover, occasionally reading Chinese and foreign masterpieces, but most of them were interesting and miscellaneous books. To be honest, he really liked the atmosphere here. It was better to work here than at the clothing shop from before.
Liang Lu said some more words and gave him a month's salary in advance. Su Jingyang counted it, it was almost five times more than in the clothing store from before. According to the prices here, with this amount of money, he, Ling Li, and Ah-Xuan would be able to eat and drink for several months.
Su Jingyang took the money and immediately went to the rice shop to buy two packs of rice, he then went to a stall to buy some meat, and went back home in great strides.
When Su Jingyang hurriedly came in with the rice bag into the kitchen, Ling Li was getting worried about the sparse rice grains that were in the porridge pot. The money for making the frame hadn't been settled yet, so the rice at home was accredited to him by a kind-hearted person⁵ who secretly brought him rice. A whole pot of such thin porridge must be less than enough for Jingyang.
Ah-Xuan, who was still wandering around Ling Li's legs, spotted Su Jingyang first. He stumbled over with joy and asked him to hug him. Ah-Xuan remembered that Su Jingyang gave him pastries, gave him candy, and played with him. Ah-Xuan was very sticky to Su Jingyang.
Su Jingyang unloaded the rice bag on the ground, and put the meat on his hands on the chopping board. He wiped sweat from his forehead, and hugged the little guy who was climbing on his lap and kissed him. Ah-Xuan didn't dislike the smell of sweat all over Su Jingyang, smiling and arching in his arms.
Ling Li found out that Su Jingyang had returned and soon saw what he had brought back. His eyes slightly widened, he then asked him in amazement where it came from.
Su Jingyang told him about it and Ling Li's face turned a little ugly when he heard the story. Without saying anything, he asked him to return all his wages and purchases.
Su Jingyang explained it for a long time, saying that it had been a misunderstanding before. Ling Li saw that he couldn't hold him back so he sighed and gave up temporarily.
In the evening, they had a rare full bowl of rice and meat on the dining table. Ah-Xuan ate with relish, he ate two full bowls of rice with his small bowl until his belly bulged. Ling Li hugged his son, who was finally able to eat a full meal, and rubbed his cheek. His heart felt sore.
Then Su Jingyang, who was slumping in the chair, laid down and collected a wave of energy.
Su Jingyang went to bed at night after paying the rent. Ling Li pursed his lips and looked at him after listening. Although his expression wasn't very obvious, Su Jingyang could still feel that he was angry and a little sad.
Su Jingyang hurriedly stopped talking, thinking to himself that if he wasn't charged with the rent, then he only needed to buy more things for the home. After starting to work in the bookstore, Su Jingyang felt that his life was finally on the right track, his days were full and time felt so fast. It was autumn in a blink of an eye.
Su Jingyang commuted to and got off work on time every day, and he happily had hot meals to eat as soon as he got home. In fact, they were all simple home-cooked dishes, and the ingredients were all the same, but he don’t know why, for some reason the ones cooked by Ling Li's hands were are especially delicious!
Every time Su Jingyang ate, he couldn't stop. He also raised the suggestion of lettimg Ling Li open a restaurant to be a chef, saying that he would definitely make a lot of money because it was a good business. Ling Li listened to it with a bit of longing, but he quickly shook his head, "No one would want to eat food that I cooked."
Su Jingyang hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "I do, I do! I want to eat the food that you cooked for the rest of my life, and Ah-Xuan too, right, Ah-Xuan?
He didn't know if Ah-Xuan understood or not, his cheeks were bulging, and he waved the small spoon in his hand and screamed at Ling Li vaguely. Although it was a little silly, he still looked very cute.
Ling Li's light brown eyes bent in a gentle arc, and he gave Su Jingyang a pair of chopsticks and let him eat.
Su Jingyang was now accustomed to the colorful small circles suddenly appearing in odd times, because he would continously collect it from Ling Li many times every day. The system's judgment can't deceive. Ling Li was really a soft hearted and easily touched person.
However, a little annoyance was mixed in his joyful days..
Because the color of the mole on the palm of his hand had never darkened, he still has to continue to be so, so, so, so, and so-so with the man whose face he had never seen once every five days. He didn't know if the man vaguely noticed something. There were a few times when he did some strange things to him. He would grab his hand and seemingly wanting to write something on his palm, but because of the system's control, the man was confused. After drawing a few strokes slowly and forcefully on Su Jingyang's hand, he seemed to have forgotten what he was going to write, falling into Su Jingyang's arms in frustration.
Once, Su Jingyang vaguely recognized two words—you, are...
He should be asking: Who are you? !
So did you actually know that you're not having just a simple spring/wet dream? ? ? !
After waking up, Su Jingyang hurriedly asked the system, "What would you do if he noticed something wrong?!"
Su Jingyang was afraid that the system would change him if he found out.
It was already too unethical to bang a man whose face he didn't even know, he didn't want to bang with a different man next time! ! !
The system said coldly: "Why, are you afraid that he would go look for you specially?"
Su Jingyang said: "Fear, why should I not be afraid."
System: "...Stop being so lovey-dovey, okay?!"
Su Jingyang said: "What kind of lovey-dovey? I'm afraid that he'll ask me to pay for compensation. After all, they're also very innocent, you're the one who forced them to sell their body! I have no money to pay, just so you know!"
System: "Fuck you MD⁶! Didn't you choose him yourself?!"
Su Jingyang was caught by him and said angrily: "Dog system! You really don't make sense!"
The two scolded each other and broke up. Su Jingyang lay on the bed and thought hard about it. The system didn't say that he would be replaced. It seems that it can't be changed after it's decided. He was a little relieved.
Su Jingyang rolled his jet-black eyes again. Of course, he certainly didn't want to get pregnant, but he couldn't help but whisper in doubt, "It's been almost three months... that man, could he be...…"
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Notes:
1- Added some things for clarification
2- Probably the capital of this country. I'm bad with names
3- Changed to an English equivalent, nothing really altered
4- I have no idea what he was referring to but this is probably close enough
5- Said Mr. Huang but I don't know any Mr. Huang so 🤷🏻♀️
6- According to google: [F*ck his/your] mother's [vagina]
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PastTimer: Real guns and live ammunition, yeah