Chapter 203 - 200: No Ordinary People

Chapter 203: Chapter 200: No Ordinary People

"Driver, Dashan Road, Silver Bridge Garden."

After giving the driver the address, Gou Junbao let his body relax.

He’d been back less than a week, and his mom had already, from who knows where, found some matchmaking circle. Operating on the principle that "a wide butt and a sturdy frame are good for childbearing," the blind dates she arranged for him were all rather... "sturdy."

He’d thought today’s meeting was just for the two of them, but the woman’s mother had come along as well. And she was incredibly forward—after just a few questions, it was like she’d already decided he was her son-in-law. Her enthusiasm was overwhelming.

Gou Junbao felt like he’d barely said a word, yet the mother was already discussing dates and customs. The daughter, too, looked quite pleased with him. The whole situation made him sweat more and more. He tried to find an opening to say something harsh several times, but just couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

He used to think that with blind dates, you could just refuse if you weren’t a good match. He was completely unprepared for a situation like today’s. To get out of it, he might have had to burn his bridges. (Adapted from a friend’s true story.)

He couldn’t stay in his hometown any longer. Gou Junbao planned to go home, grab his things, apologize to his mom, and get out of there.

’Right, what was that call from Little Hero about just now? I hope it wasn’t actually an emergency.’

Thinking of this, Gou Junbao called him back.

...

"Pick up, pick up..."

In private room 306 of the Fuhua Grand Hotel, the group had already ordered after-dinner desserts and snacks. A pot of fragrant, stomach-warming tea was served.

They had also asked the waiter to pack up freshly made portions of the tastier or larger dishes they had just ordered, ready to be taken back for Mumu.

Qin Xiaoxia’s phone, which was sitting on the table, started to ring.

Without any fuss, he put it on speakerphone.

"Hello, Little Hero? You really saved me back there. Things would’ve gotten ugly otherwise."

Gou Junbao’s sighing voice came through the phone.

Everyone present had hearing that was more monstrous than the next; even without speakerphone, it would have sounded like he was right beside them.

"What’s wrong, Brother Gou? Did you run into a forced marriage on your blind date?"

Qin Xiaoxia teased.

"It’s a long story, a very long story. I’ll tell you guys when I get back. By the way, what did you call me for earlier?"

Hearing this, everyone in the private room smiled.

"Brother Gou, do you remember Xiao Lili?"

Inside the taxi, Gou Junbao subconsciously sat up straight when he heard the name. Of all the women he’d ever clicked with, she was the one who had come closest to the finish line. How could he forget her?

"Sigh, don’t bring up that sad business. Wait, did you see her? Is she in some kind of trouble?"

She was a good girl. Even though they had broken up, Gou Junbao still asked out of subconscious concern. Of course, most men would just be showing concern at this point; going through fire and water for her was probably out of the question.

"Ahem, well, Brother Gou, don’t get too excited when I tell you this, but... Xiao Lili... she’s pregnant with your child!"

The phone on the table went silent for about five seconds. Gou Junbao was probably rebooting on the other end.

Then came a deafening roar.

"YOU SAID WHAT?!?!"

On a certain road in Shencheng City, the taxi driver was startled by the roar from his passenger in the back seat. The fatigue from seven or eight straight hours of driving vanished along with a wave of cold sweat, and he quickly gripped the steering wheel.

Gou Junbao, for his part, was overwhelmed with emotion.

’Xiaoli is pregnant with my child?’

’Why didn’t she tell me?!’

"Driver, can you go faster? I’m in a hurry!"

"You got it."

Fuhua Grand Hotel, in the private room.

From that one shout, they knew just how worked up Gou Junbao was.

"Little Hero, tell me quickly, where did you see her? At the hospital? Did she tell you?"

"No, no, we came to the Fuhua Grand Hotel for dinner and ran into Xiao Lili taking our order."

"What? She’s still working there at a time like this? Walking around all day with no chance to sit down! That’s not okay!"

Gou Junbao had already slipped into the role of a father and husband.

He and Xiao Lili had broken up several months ago. By now, her belly was probably already showing. And being a waitress during meal rushes wasn’t as easy as people thought. Carrying plates and serving guests was tiring work, and there was basically no chance to sit down.

Then, something suddenly occurred to Gou Junbao.

"Little Hero, when you saw her, did she tell you voluntarily, or did you have to ask? No, no, it doesn’t matter which, tell her I’ll take responsibility!!"

He suddenly felt a secret delight. This way, his lifelong matter of getting married could be settled. If his parents and uncle found out he even had a child now, they’d probably be happier than he was.

"No, she didn’t even recognize us, so how could she tell us? And of course, we didn’t ask her either."

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Qin Xiaoxia told Gou Junbao the facts.

"Oh, I see... Hmm!?"

Gou Junbao immediately realized something was wrong.

"She didn’t say anything, and you didn’t ask. So how do you know the baby in her belly is mine?"

The two words "sucker dad" simultaneously popped into the minds of both Gou Junbao and the taxi driver the moment that sentence was finished.

"Hahaha, you’re pretty sharp, Brother Gou. But there’s no mistake, the child is yours. We’re not messing with you. Hurry back so we can discuss what to do with your child."

Then Qin Xiaoxia hung up the phone.

In the taxi, Gou Junbao wore a baffled expression. Even if he assumed for a moment that Qin Xiaoxia was telling the truth, "discuss what to do with your child"?

’What a strange thing to say!’

Normally, there’s a limit to a joke, and Gou Junbao trusted Qin Xiaoxia’s character. So no matter what the situation was, he had to go back.

Arriving at the entrance to his residential complex, he paid the fare and asked the driver to wait for him. He’d be right back down and was heading to the airport.

The taxi driver, piecing together the snippets he’d overheard, wondered if this guy was being made a sucker dad. As he agreed to wait, his face was a perfect picture of "I’ve got your back, bro."

The excuse he gave his family was the same old story about Qin Xiaoxia being gravely ill. Then, he hurriedly packed his things and rushed to the airport.

...

When Xiao Lili went to settle the bill for room 306, she was still a little apprehensive. It wasn’t that she was afraid they’d dine and dash—that kind of thing was rare these days. She just couldn’t quite stand the way this group of people looked at her.

Fortunately, when she went inside this time, the people were either chatting or playing on their phones. No one paid her any attention, making her wonder if she had just been overthinking things.

Even though they hadn’t ordered any expensive drinks, with the addition of the takeout, the meal still cost Jiutian tens of thousands.

Xiao Lili efficiently wrote up an invoice for them, then returned to the private room to give it to them.

Since Huang Jiutian was paying, the invoice naturally went to him. So she moved past Qin Xiaoxia, intending to hand it to Jiutian, who was sitting a bit further in.

"Just give it to me."

The Red Demoness’s pleasant voice rang out.

"Oh, okay."

Xiao Lili handed the invoice to the lady right beside her, who smiled and looked up at her.

The moment their eyes met, she felt a wave of dizziness and confusion, but it passed almost instantly, as if it had just been her imagination.

"Here is your invoice. Please come again!"

...

That evening, Gou Junbao returned to Qingzhen, dragging a suitcase. Without even dropping off his luggage, the first thing he did after getting out of the taxi was to go look for Qin Xiaoxia.

The sun was setting and the light grew dim as Gou Junbao, suitcase in tow, approached the Qin Family’s old house.

The surrounding farmland rustled in the evening breeze. There wasn’t a single farmer in sight, and not a glimmer of light could be seen from the old house, faintly visible in the distance.

A few crows were perched on the withered trees in the courtyard.

Although the big bolt lock on the old house’s door was gone and the lock had been replaced with a new one, the door itself still looked old and dilapidated.

"GULP."

Gou Junbao swallowed. It was his first time coming here as dusk fell, and the atmosphere felt a little strange. He had a bad feeling.

He decided it was better to be cautious and dialed Qin Xiaoxia’s number again.

"Hey, Little Hero, are you really inside the old house? I don’t see any lights..."

"Yeah, just come on in. I’m right inside. What’s a big man like you got to be afraid of!"

"I’m not afraid of a damn thing!"

Gou Junbao hung up the phone abruptly, thinking defiantly, ’I’ve been to this house many times. So what if I go in for a look, even if no one’s here?’

He gave the door a gentle push and found it wasn’t closed at all. It swung open with a "CREAK~".

As if moved by some unseen force, he took two steps inside. Seeing it was still pitch-black, he decided to back out.

But the moment he stepped back outside, Gou Junbao froze. His phone even slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

The broken road and farmland were gone. In their place was a lush kingdom of flowers and trees. Flowers of all sizes, great trees swaying in the breeze, and dandelions drifting through the air.

The only things he could still recognize in the yard were those few withered trees.

A fresh fragrance wafted on the gentle breeze. Although it was still twilight, when he looked up, the sky was already full of brilliant stars.

"Did... did I transmigrate?"

"No, no, you didn’t transmigrate."

Qin Xiaoxia’s voice came from inside the house. When Gou Junbao heard it and turned his head again, the previous gloom inside the house was gone, replaced by bright lights.

’What is going on?’

Gou Junbao could still tell whether or not he was dreaming, and he was quite certain he wasn’t hallucinating.

At this point, he had completely forgotten what he was there for.

"Little Hero, what in the world is going on?"

Qin Xiaoxia smiled and spread his arms wide.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!"

P.S. Chapter two for Friday.

Everyone can read Chapter three tomorrow.