Chapter 89: To appease

Inside a noodle shop near the hospital.

Bai Yao ordered a bowl of fresh beef noodles and sat across from Qiu Ye.

He maintained his usual cold, expressionless face, but the distress and sorrow in his almond-shaped eyes were nearly overflowing.

He lowered his gaze, silently playing with his phone.

‘What a mess… Why did I have to encounter the System?’

But if he had not encountered the System, perhaps his future really would have been as it described—becoming a 100-Person Slayer slut.

‘But becoming a girl now is also unacceptable…’

Bai Yao looked down at his lap.

He felt his mind was inexplicably clearer than ever before, calmly analyzing details that had once confused him.

No wonder his ‘little brother’ had never shown much of a reaction, and no wonder his body had been developing all this time.

It turned out the System had planted a “surprise” for him at some unknown point.

Qiu Ye could not figure out the situation.

Seeing Bai Yao’s state, he did not feel right asking questions and could only worry in silence.

Had some incurable disease really been discovered? Or was it late-stage cancer?

The waiter brought two bowls of noodles.

Bai Yao put down his phone and took a sip of the hot soup before picking up a piece of beef.

Fortunately, the noodles at this shop tasted good, giving his spirits a slight lift.

Qiu Ye took the opportunity to ask, “What’s wrong?”

“…”

Seeing that Bai Yao remained silent, he could only settle his mind and comfort him first.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s… it’s nothing.”

Bai Yao lowered his head to eat, his mind filled with worries.

‘Would the System turn his ‘little brother,’ which only functioned for peeing now, into a ‘sister’?’

But what about his parents?

After only one semester of college, their son had become a daughter.

Could they accept that?

‘Maybe the System will help? Just like with the Skin Improvement and appearance beautification, it might make it so the people around me don’t notice anything strange.’

And then?

And then…

Before he knew it, scalding tears slid from the corners of his eyes and fell one after another into the noodle soup.

The soup tasted salty, mixed with the flavor of tears and mucus…

Bai Yao hung his head even lower, struggling to control his emotions.

He was terrified that Qiu Ye would see his pathetic, tearful state or that passersby would laugh at him.

His nose stung sharply, and he sniffed hard, but clear fluid still ran down, smearing his philtrum.

Tears blurred his vision until the bowl of noodles became a fuzzy haze.

He began to breathe through his mouth unconsciously, his throat dry and parched.

A tissue was handed over.

Bai Yao looked up slightly at Qiu Ye and took the tissue, wiping away the tears and snot to try and maintain some semblance of a clean image.

However, as soon as he finished wiping, the tears continued to flow uncontrollably.

Qiu Ye stood up and sat down beside Bai Yao, hoping that being closer would offer some comfort.

He remained silent.

There was no need to ask so much between friends; it was enough to know that Bai Yao was in a bad mood.

Bai Yao would talk when he wanted to.

As Qiu Ye ate his noodles, he kept an eye on Bai Yao.

After only crying for a short while, Bai Yao’s eyes and nose were already bright red.

The tears and snot made him look a bit disheveled, yet he still cared enough about his image to keep wiping, afraid of being noticed.

His stubborn lips were pressed tight, not making a sound as he buried his head almost entirely in the bowl.

He looked like a “pear blossom bathed in rain,” inspiring a sense of pity in anyone who saw him.

This was the first time Qiu Ye had seen Bai Yao cry.

It made his heart ache, yet he could only stay by his side in silence.

Suddenly, a weight pressed down on his shoulder.

He froze for a moment then turned to look.

Bai Yao had leaned his forehead against his shoulder, hiding his face in the shadows.

Qiu Ye could feel the tremors rack Bai Yao’s body as he sobbed.

Qiu Ye recalled the scene when he had been drunk and suffered a fracture.

Back then, he had been in an unfamiliar place and felt utterly helpless, leaning on Bai Yao’s shoulder.

That was the first time he had shown his weak side, yet he had received comfort instead of a lecture.

“Aren’t I here?”

He could not help but raise his hand to stroke the back of Bai Yao’s head, speaking in a soft, gentle voice, “I’ll always be here for you.”

‘Isn’t this a bit ambiguous?’

Even while crying, this thought flashed through Bai Yao’s mind.

‘Whatever, let it be ambiguous… it’s already come to this anyway.’

Besides, the feeling of his head being stroked was actually quite comfortable.

“Yeah, I…”

A strong desire to confide welled up in Bai Yao.

He wanted to explain his encounter, his suffering, and everything he was thinking to Qiu Ye.

But he held the words back.

Putting aside whether Qiu Ye would believe him, it was not appropriate to discuss such a topic in a public place.

Nor was it the right place to cry…

He tried his best to hold back the tears, but once he felt comforted, he felt even more aggrieved.

His tears were like a broken dam, flowing faster the more he cried.

Qiu Ye felt his shoulder getting wet.

He could only continue stroking Bai Yao’s head as if soothing a child.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

“Your face will look messy and ugly if you keep crying.”

Bai Yao spoke with a heavy, nasal voice.

“I wasn’t good-looking to begin with…”

“If you aren’t good-looking, then what does that make Wang Zuhao?”

“He… he’s at least tall.”

Once Bai Yao responded, Qiu Ye’s pressure decreased significantly.

At least they could communicate now.

This Bai Yao really did care about his image.

“What’s the point of being tall? Anyway, I think you’re handsomer than him.”

“…”

‘Don’t stop talking again.’

Qiu Ye felt helpless yet amused.

He rubbed Bai Yao’s head, thinking that his hair felt so soft it gave him the illusion of petting a small animal.

“Want to go play later? Where do you want to go? My treat.”

“I don’t want to…”

Bai Yao finally looked up.

His eyes were still filled with shimmering tears, and he was still sniffing.

His face was flushed from crying, and tears were still trailing down from the corners of his eyes, yet he quietly lowered his head to continue eating his noodles.

Qiu Ye reached out and used his fingertip to catch a tear at the corner of Bai Yao’s eye.

Bai Yao froze.

His tear-filled eyes looked at Qiu Ye, his messy face looking both pathetic and cute.

Qiu Ye handed him a tissue with a hint of embarrassment, knowing his actions had overstepped the boundaries of normal friendship.

“I want to sleep. I’m a bit tired.”

It was not just the exhaustion from crying; his heart felt as if it were weighed down by a giant boulder, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Bai Yao had no desire to continue the physical examination.

If he had known he only needed an abdominal ultrasound, he would not have wasted so much money on the Physical Examination Package.

Qiu Ye did not care about the money either and nodded without hesitation.

“Then let’s go back to the Dormitory to sleep? It should be empty right now.”

“A quiet place.”

“Then let’s find a hotel.”

Bai Yao blinked, almost thinking that Qiu Ye was planning to take advantage of his vulnerability.

But then he realized Qiu Ye had no idea about his current situation and only viewed him as a Femboy roommate.

Even if Qiu Ye really wanted to do something, he no longer cared…

“Okay.”

Bai Yao lowered his eyes and began picking out the remaining beef to eat.

He suddenly understood the mindset of the Chinyu from the future… indifference, self-abandonment, and perhaps a genuine sense of pleasure from feeling needed and loved.

That was likely how the 100-Person Slayer achievement was completed in just one year.

Sure enough, that Chinyu was his future self.