Chapter Ch143.1 - Raising a Big Cat in the Apocalypse (22.1)
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
There was a big change in Gu Xinzhi after he returned from the slave town.
This change was something that even the others noticed.
On a certain day, Sun Yan went out on a night trip. When he came back to the town in the morning, he encountered Ding Qiuyun and Gu Xinzhi, who’d gone out for a morning jog.
He casually tossed Gu Xinzhi a packet of cigarettes and received an indifferent ‘thank you’ in reply.
Sun Yan was stunned for a moment. “...... Vice-captain Gu, what did you say?”
Gu Xinzhi looked up, his voice a little flat. “Thank you.”
Sun Yan: “......” Who was he thanking? Who had thanked him? What was the thanks for?
While Sun Yan’s brains were still scrambled, Gu Xinzhi flipped his white towel over his shoulder and ran off behind Ding Qiuyun.
Gu Xinzhi really listened to Ding Qiuyun. He tried to interact with the children in town, but almost all of his attempts failed at the start.
The only ones who were willing to talk to him were He Wanwan, a new human, and Jing Yiming, who liked playing with his Big Sister Wanwan.
“They’re afraid of me. They’re not afraid of Qiuyun, and they’re not afraid of his leopard.” Gu Xinzhi asked He Wanwan and Jing Yiming this in a rather confused way, “Why is that?”
Jing Yiming hid behind He Wanwan like a little rabbit, peeking out carefully at Gu Xinzhi but not daring to speak up.
He Wanwan had been taken in by Father Ding and Mother Ding for these few years, and her tone had taken on a bit of an elder’s serious tone when she spoke, “Well, I think that you’re too serious. You don’t like to smile. You have to smile, like Big Brother Ding.”
Gu Xinzhi frowned slightly. “Is this very important? No one smiled at me when I was a child, and it didn’t matter.”
He Wanwan’s actions held all the arrogance of her ‘seniority’ as she patted him on the shoulders. “In that case, you’re really pitiful.”
Gu Xinzhi was taken off guard by this little girl’s comfort. He thought seriously about how he should react in return before pulling out a pack of cigarettes and giving one to He Wanwan.
Ding Qiuyun just so happened to come across this dirty business deal, so one adult and one child were punished with standing facing the wall for five minutes.
Gu Xinzhi wasn’t discouraged.
He was very proactive, cutting out dozens of pieces of cardboard into a circle and bringing them to Chi Xiaochi, simply outlining what he wanted to do.
Chi Xiaochi was surprised when he heard his idea, but he still drew several sets of cartoon pictures for him. It took him nearly a month, and the art wasn’t particularly detailed, but it was clear that he’d put effort into it.
Gu Xinzhi took the pictures and went to find the group of boys who got together to play in the town. He sat down beside them, then distributed the cards, his actions concise and his words getting straight to the point. “Smacking cards, wanna play?”
These half-grown children were used to VR games and had never played old street games like smacking cards and Marbles. They were soon brought into this pit by Gu Xinzhi.
In less than half a week, the streets were filled with the sounds of children playing smacking cards.
When people rode through the towns on their bicycles, they had to ring their cycle bells the whole way along the street while letting out long cries. “Maaake––way, be careful and don’t get hit!”
Chi Xiaochi felt that this move that Gu Xinzhi had come up with wasn’t bad at all.
But two days later, he found that something wasn’t quite right.
... As the initiator of the game, Gu Xinzhi was actually competing seriously with children over who won and who lost.
By the time Chi Xiaochi took Boss with him to catch him competing like this with the children, Gu Xinzhi had already accumulated a stack of cards beside him. The children who were playing cards with him were crying and sobbing as they used their milk-drinking baby strength to smack at the ground, but they were completely unable to fight against Gu Xinzhi’s casual skill.
The scene and atmosphere was tearful and miserable.
Gu Xinzhi was already familiar with the sound of Ding Qiuyun’s footsteps.
He turned his head back and looked up at him.
The other party shifted his gaze, signaling for him to go outside.
Gu Xinzhi put the cards he’d won into his pocket, got up, and approached in confusion. “I didn’t smoke.”
Ever since Ding Qiuyun told him that he wasn’t allowed to smoke in front of the children, he’d never done it again.
... He’d never cared about the eyes of the world, but he could learn to pretend to care if Ding Qiuyun did.
It had to be said that Gu Xinzhi was a good student. He cherished his score and was seriously studying the social etiquette he’d never concerned himself with before.
He’d been very disciplined since the last time he’d been deducted five points, so he didn’t understand what Ding Qiuyun’s purpose was in calling him out, until he heard the other party ask, “How many rounds did you win?”
Gu Xinzhi faintly understood something and said vaguely, “Not that many.”
Ding Qiuyun pointed it out directly, “You’ve been a soldier. Are you competing against children in hand strength?”
Gu Xinzhi calmly argued for himself, “That’s because they can’t do it and don’t understand the skills required.”
Ding Qiuyun didn’t bother circling around the topic with him. He stretched his hand out towards him.
Gu Xinzhi clutched tightly at his trouser pockets and leaned away. “I won these.”
During certain times, Gu Xinzhi was terribly mature. But in some other cases he was as stubborn and willful as a child, and especially persistent about what he liked.
Ding Qiuyun looked at him quietly, his open hand with its palm facing up. “... Vice-captain Gu.”
Gu Xinzhi was still leaning over, but the bottom of his heart had already turned to ice.
He had a lot of treasures that had Ding Qiuyun’s mark on it. Some were from the past, and some were from the present.
Socks that Ding Qiuyun had bought back but hadn’t yet had a chance to wear, the chips he hadn’t finished and had forgotten in the corner of a drawer, the camouflage coat that he’d draped on Gu Xinzhi when he’d pretended to be asleep. These items were the only grace and light in his life, and he didn’t want to discard them. So, he collected these things and took them out occasionally, placing them in front of him just to look at until his heart felt full.
Now, he was really reluctant about having to return this loot back to Ding Qiuyun.
Gu Xinzhi looked down sadly for a while before finding a glimmer of hope. He proposed a wish that had no hope of being fulfilled at all, “I’ll return these to you if you draw a set for me.”
Ding Qiuyun: “Sure.”
Gu Xinzhi was laughing at himself derisively and it took him a few seconds before he understood Ding Qiuyun’s words.
His eyes opened a little wide, and he was stunned for a moment. He didn’t even have time to smile and hurriedly spoke out his request as though afraid that Ding Qiuyun would go back on his word, “I want <The Little Prince>.”
“No way.” Ding Qiuyun was clear with his refusal.
“Why?”
Ding Qiuyun smiled a smile that wasn’t really a smile. “Vice-captain Gu, don’t force me to say words that you don’t want to hear.”
Gu Xinzhi didn’t talk anymore. His expression didn’t change much either as he obediently pulled out the stack of cards he’d accumulated and put them into Ding Qiuyun’s hands.
But only Chi Xiaochi knew that his regret value rose up a little, going from 60 to 65.
... Every little thing that was different from the past would remind Gu Xinzhi that they could no longer return to the Ding Qiuyun and Gu Xinzhi from the past.
After taking the cards, Chi Xiaochi didn’t leave, nor did he directly distribute them among the children. Instead, he went back to the group of children from just now, sat down on his heels, and very naturally joined their game. “Whose turn is it?”
A little girl with short hair said softly, “Big Brother Gu’s turn.”
She took out a card and peeked at Gu Xinzhi. “Is Big Brother Gu not playing?”
Chi Xiaochi said, “He gave his cards to me. I’m his captain, and he’s afraid of me.”
The children exclaimed in awe, “Ah––”
Chi Xiaochi drew a card as he spoke. His hand went up, then smacked down, creating a loud sound that didn’t dislodge a single card.
The children: “......”
Chi Xiaochi: “......”
He showed an awkward expression, and the children all burst out laughing.
Chi Xiaochi scratched his head and said in a slightly dissatisfied tone, “Again.”
After over ten rounds, he’d reasonably managed to lose all the cards in his hands.
The children laughed at him for being weak. Not only did he take whatever laughter they threw at him, he was even very cooperative in showing an embarrassed and dissatisfied expression. Even his earlobes grew red.
The fragrant smell of cooked rice came from the house nearby, and as the sun was setting, the children all left happily with the cards they’d won.
Ding Qiuyun dusted off the dirt on his behind, then got up and went back to Gu Xinzhi’s side. He smiled and asked, “Did you see how to lose?”