Qin Qing walked slowly towards the bustling, noisy night market stalls.
His stomach was still cramping violently, but he had already gone numb. He asked in a hoarse voice, “Did I possess the original Qin Qing?”
996 was startled for a moment, then quickly denied it: “It’s not possession. He voluntarily gave up his life and entered the cycle of reincarnation early. Every identity we arrange for you is authorized by the original owner.”
“Voluntarily gave it up? Why?” Qin Qing suddenly stopped.
“How would I know, meow.” 996 flicked its fluffy tail impatiently.
“Because his own fate was too unfortunate, so he gave up, right? And I am the one who has come to replace him, to continue this cursed fate?” Qin Qing lowered his head and looked at 996 fixedly with his deep, bottomless eyes.
996’s wildly flicking tail stiffened and stood straight up. Its little head raced, thinking about how to answer. The employees of the Bitter Love Supporting Male Department had all run away, leaving it a commander with no troops. It couldn’t let Qin Qing run away, either. Qin Qing was still gazing at 996, his eyes clear and penetrating. Just as 996 finally concocted a decent reason and was ready to properly fool its only employee, Qin Qing unexpectedly let out a low chuckle.
“I was just asking casually. Please don’t mind it.” He nodded politely, then continued walking, as if he didn’t care at all about what tragic fate he was about to step into.
996 let out a dry, forced chuckle, then lowered its head and subtly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Qin Qing came from the cultivation world and didn’t understand anything. But did Qin Qing truly understand nothing? After obtaining the original owner’s memories, he had already come to understand what a supporting male character was.
A supporting male character is a green leaf that sets off the flower, a pebble that paves the smooth path of life for the protagonist, a tool that can be discarded once used. From the night market stalls came the chants of finger-guessing drinking games. The smoky, charred aroma of grilled meat floated in the cool summer breeze. Qin Qing looked ahead at the brightly lit scene, yet he already knew that his own future would only be one of darkness. He curved his lips slightly into a helpless smile, but his eyes shimmered with a determined light.
“It’s okay, as long as I can go back…” He told himself this in a voice so low it was almost inaudible.
“Qin Qing, why is your face so pale? How about you don’t sell alcohol tonight and go see a doctor instead?” The wine shop owner, Brother Jiang, who had been ferocious just moments ago, was now speaking gently to Qin Qing as he walked slowly over.
“Brother Jiang, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern. It’s the end of the month. Let me help you sell off the liquor.” Qin Qing slowly rolled up his sleeves, walked into the storage room, brought out several boxes of alcohol, and neatly stacked them at the shop entrance.
When he bent down to move the boxes, thin layers of muscle bulged on his back, showcasing strength and beauty. His waist was cinched very slim by a leather belt, and his legs were long and straight. When he stood up and lifted the heavy boxes, that slender waist seemed especially powerful, and the biceps on his arms bulged accordingly, pressing against the fabric, looking solid and sexy.
Unknowingly, Qin Qing, moving the boxes, had become the focus of many diners’ attention, but he himself seemed completely unaware. This was the largest night market in Haishi City, covering tens of thousands of square meters with hundreds of stalls, capable of hosting tens of thousands of people dining at once. 996 jumped onto a diner’s table, sneakily stole an oyster when no one was looking, and then licked it happily while flipping through the script.
The script recorded that Qin Qing would only sell a dozen or so bottles of beer tonight, earning pitifully little commission. Agitated, he would provoke a table of guests, leading these dead-drunk guests to pick up knives and attack Qin Qing and another table of guests. To protect a female guest, Qin Qing would disarm a man with his bare hands, have his tendons severed, and become disabled from then on.
“Tsk tsk tsk, what a tragic guy!” 996’s mouth was full of sighs, but in its heart, it felt no sympathy whatsoever for Qin Qing, who was about to become disabled. After all, in the next world, he would return to normal. This injury was nothing.
Meanwhile, Qin Qing, having finished moving the drinks, had already washed his hands and face and casually brushed his semi-wet, raven-black hair back behind his head.
Brother Jiang asked worriedly, “You’ve brought out so much alcohol at once. Can you sell it all?”
Qin Qing smiled slightly. “I can sell it all.”
He picked up the ledger book and a ballpoint pen and stood by the neatly stacked boxes of alcohol. He wore the simplest white shirt and black trousers. His figure was both supple and long. His slightly flushed face and eyes held a half-drunk mistiness, and his body exuded a rich, lingering sweet smell of alcohol and flowers.
He seemed both exactly like the drunk diners around him, yet also so out of place. Amidst the boiling noise and excitement, he was a piece of cool, clean purity, as if never to be tainted by the secular world, yet still merging with the mundane realm. He flipped through the ledger, then looked up and glanced around.
With just this casual glance, countless arms shot up in the bustling night market. “Boss, we need a case of beer over here!”
“Handsome, we need some here too!”
“I need two cases. Please, handsome, carry them over for me personally!”
Shouts came one after another, urgent and full of anticipation, as if they had been coveting for a long time. The alcohol that had seemed like so much just moments ago was half sold in the blink of an eye. Brother Jiang was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look at Qin Qing’s face, adorned with a few droplets of water, looking almost illusory in its beauty under the dazzling lights, and instantly understood everything. All of his inventory today might actually be sold off by Qin Qing.
996, who had looked up after studying the script, said: “…”
“Holy meow! So much for poor sales and agitation? That’s not what the script said!”
996 jumped off the table and quickly scurried to Qin Qing’s side, about to tell him that the plot was in danger of collapsing, when an unfriendly voice came from not too far away: “Kid, come over here and open our beers for us!”
Qin Qing handed two bottles of iced beer to a female customer, along with a gentle smile, before turning his head to look at the person who had called out. It was a burly, ugly, bald middle-aged man with fierce eyes. The man was bare-chested, his arms covered in colorful tattoos, clearly someone not to be messed with. The few men sitting with him also exuded a rough, streetwise aura and were now looking at Qin Qing with ill intent.
“Don’t go over there. They’re drunk and will cause trouble.” The female customer who had ordered two bottles of beer quietly advised.
“This is a plot point, meow! Hurry, hurry, hurry, go over there!” 996 urged anxiously. It had almost thought the plot was about to collapse just now!
Of course, Qin Qing knew that the light shimmering in those men’s eyes carried malice and mockery, but he still gave the female customer a reassuring smile and slowly walked over. If he wanted to return to see that person, he had to be prepared to endure everything…
“Sir, do you need all the beers on the table opened?” Qin Qing took out a bottle opener and asked politely.
“Open them all. One or two bottles aren’t even enough to clean my teeth!” The bald man picked his yellow teeth with a toothpick, his breath reeking of strong alcohol.
As he opened the beers on the table, Qin Qing quietly observed the men, paying particular attention to a metal badge the bald man wore on his chest. The badge had a detailed line engraving of a little girl’s head, only visible when the light reflected off it.
“Sir, the beers are opened. Please enjoy them slowly.” Qin Qing straightened up and said.
“Finish this bottle before you leave!” The bald man grabbed Qin Qing’s wrist.
One of the bald man’s companions slammed a bottle of beer heavily onto the table, making a loud bang, and shouted, “Not only does he have to finish it, he has to chug it!”
“Right, right, right! Chug it! Put on a show for us brothers!” The whole table applauded, their laughter filled with malice.
The surrounding diners looked over one after another, their expressions worried.
Brother Jiang quickly ran over, his smile fawning, his tone ingratiating: “Gentlemen, let me drink for Xiao Qin! Here, here, here, I toast you!”
“And who the hell are you? Did I ask you to drink?” The bald man disdainfully spat at Brother Jiang, then grabbed Qin Qing by the collar and said viciously, “The people I can’t stand the most in my life are pretty boys like you! All sissy and disgusting! Let me tell you, you’re drinking this bottle whether you like it or not!”
Brother Jiang wiped the foul-smelling spit from his face with his sleeve, wanting to plead but not daring to. Several diners nearby had stood up and were watching anxiously. Qin Qing’s stomach was still burning with pain, and now his neck was being constricted, making it hard to breathe. His pupils were unfocused, and he felt like he might faint at any moment.
Sensing Qin Qing’s consciousness slowly fading, 996 quickly scratched his pant leg with its paw and urged, “Refuse this man! Whatever you do, don’t drink his alcohol!”
Only by angering the other party could a series of bloody events be triggered. Qin Qing’s forehead was covered in dense, cold sweat. His eyelids fluttered open and shut as he struggled between consciousness and fainting. He no longer had the strength to continue acting out this part of the plot.
“Do you still want to go back and see that person? Do you still want to ask him that one question?” 996 deployed its ultimate weapon.
Qin Qing’s unfocused pupils suddenly gathered a glimmer of light. His teeth clenched tightly for a moment, and then he spoke with immense difficulty: “I’m sorry, I can’t drink this bottle with you.”
The bald man’s scalp flushed red with anger. He sneered, “You won’t drink? I’ll force it down your throat!”
He picked up a bottle of beer and tried to force-feed Qin Qing. Iced beer is a sworn enemy of gastric ulcers. Under the stimulation of carbonation and alcohol, severe stomach pain could turn into gastric bleeding, and acute gastric bleeding can be fatal. The surrounding diners shouted in protest and reprimand, some even saying they would call the police, but the bald man ignored them all, just holding Qin Qing tightly and trying to pry his mouth open with the beer bottle. Qin Qing reached out a slightly trembling hand and grasped the bald man’s wrist.
“I won’t drink, and you shouldn’t either.” He panted, speaking each word deliberately.
The bald man sneered, “Oh ho! Now you’re giving me orders!” He broke free from Qin Qing’s grip and shoved the beer bottle towards Qin Qing’s mouth again.
“Seeing you drunk, your daughter would be scared.” Qin Qing said weakly.
The bald man was startled, his tone uncertain: “How do you know I have a daughter?”
“You have your daughter’s portrait hanging on your chest all the time. I saw it. How old is she? Looks like only three or four? Not seeing her dad all day, she must miss him a lot, right? When your wife tries to put her to bed, she must shake her head and say she wants to wait for Daddy to come home. So don’t drink anymore. Go home early. Your daughter is waiting for you.”
As he spoke this passage, Qin Qing could clearly feel the man slowly loosening his grip on his collar. He was moved. A man who would have his daughter’s portrait carved into a metal badge and carry it with him must love his daughter very, very much. Qin Qing had eyes that could see into people’s hearts, so he knew how to quell the man’s anger. Now he had one more thing to do: evoke the other’s kindness.
“Sir, why make things difficult for me? My father passed away very early. I started working as a migrant laborer in middle school. Even though I got into university, I couldn’t afford the tuition. I still have a sickly mother and a younger sister to support. Compared to you, what am I? You have a wife and daughter, a house and a car, and social standing, while I have nothing. Sir, if there were really any other way, who would willingly suffer like this?”
Qin Qing shook his head with a bitter smile, his eyes red. People who take pleasure in humiliating others are simply trying to gain a sense of superiority.
The bald man’s sense of superiority was indeed satisfied by this speech. He let go of Qin Qing’s collar, and his fierce, malevolent expression had even softened into gentleness: “Alright, you can go. I won’t make things difficult for you.”
The bald man put down the beer bottle and waved his hand, looking rather bored. Qin Qing bowed to the man to thank him, then straightened up and elegantly smoothed the wrinkles on his shirt before leisurely walking towards another table. 996, crouching nearby, watched this scene with wide eyes.
Meow meow meow? Why no forced drinking! Why no slapping! Why no anger? That’s not what the script said!
But it’s okay. When the female supporting character appears later, the conflict will escalate again! 996 looked down and flipped through the script, quickly regaining its composure.
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