RITAAB 79.2

There was definitely something off about Liu Zhongyuan. Was he like him? Or had he encountered some other strange event? Clearly, Xia Liansheng wasn’t the only special person in this world.

As long as Liu Zhongyuan was around, there was no way he could win Qin Jiulin back. So, the only option left was to forge a close friendship with Qin Jiulin, at least becoming someone they could trust and rely on.

That way, when the time came to pull the strings, things would be much easier. He knew very well how hard it was to deal with a special beastman in a direct confrontation—especially someone like Qin Jiulin, who was one of the main characters. His combat abilities were not to be underestimated.

He had seen several videos of Qin Jiulin’s battles, where he had transformed into a giant tiger. What shocked him the most was the video of Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan fighting together against a half-beast hybrid with a snake form.

He could say with certainty that if he had been the one fighting that hybrid, he would have lost. There was no chance of winning.

Though Qin Jiulin had Liu Zhongyuan’s help in the video, Liu Zhongyuan’s speed and small size made it clear that he wasn’t adept at dealing with smaller, agile enemies. Most of the time, it was Qin Jiulin doing the heavy lifting.

From the way Qin Jiulin handled the fight so effortlessly, it was clear that his combat skills were already formidable. If Xia Liansheng wanted to take him down in the future, a direct confrontation would be impossible.

That left only one option: an ambush. And for an ambush, he would need to lure Qin Jiulin out of Modu, into the wilderness. He couldn’t bring Liu Zhongyuan along either. In that case…

If he couldn’t be Qin Jiulin’s lover, then at least he could be a trusted friend. And during their time as friends, he would have to keep his relationship with Qin Jiuzhen a secret.

After all, he had promised Qin Jiulin that he wouldn’t help the Qin family anymore.

Suddenly, Xia Liansheng realized it had been a while since he had seen Qin Jiuzhen. Just as he picked up his phone to message him, he saw a message from Qin Jiuzhen pop up.

If that woman Cheng Lin weren’t outside, he would have called Qin Jiuzhen right away. But no matter, texting would suffice.

Qin Jiuzhen: “Brother Liansheng, I haven’t seen you in so long.”

Xia Liansheng’s heart ached, “I’ll come see you in a couple of days.”

Qin Jiuzhen: “Really? I’m so happy! ^^”

Xia Liansheng: “Of course. Don’t worry. You’re the person I love the most.”

Qin Jiuzhen: “I know you love me, Brother Liansheng. I’ve always wondered why someone like you would be interested in someone like me. But… but, I guess I’m just being selfish. I want to have you all to myself!”

Xia Liansheng: “It’s fine. Just wait. When the time is right, you’ll be able to stand by my side.”

Qin Jiuzhen: “I know. You’ve told me that before.”

Xia Liansheng: “You haven’t told anyone about this, have you?”

Qin Jiuzhen: “No, I haven’t told anyone. Not even my parents, grandma, or my other relatives. They’ve always supported me, but I’m not sure if they would still stand by us if they knew what we were planning.”

Xia Liansheng thought they were likely to stand by Qin Jiuzhen, but even a small chance of rejection couldn’t be ignored.

“Don’t worry. Your brother is already with someone else. It’s going to be hard to win him back, so I’ll have to settle for something else…”

Qin Jiuzhen: “I’m sorry, Brother Liansheng. It’s all because of me that you’re going through so much trouble.”

Xia Liansheng: “It’s fine. You’re not in trouble. This is all for our future.”

Qin Jiuzhen: “Thank you, Brother Liansheng.”

Xia Liansheng: “Rest well. I’ll come to see you in a couple of days and bring some food. But remember, you mustn’t tell anyone where the food comes from. Keep it hidden and don’t let anyone see it. If your brother finds out, he’ll definitely figure out that I brought it, and all our efforts will be for nothing…”

Qin Jiuzhen: “Don’t worry, Brother Liansheng. I’ll make sure my parents understand.”

Xia Liansheng: “Good. Now, it’s late. Get some rest.”

Qin Jiuzhen: “Goodnight, Brother Liansheng. Hope I dream of you.”

Xia Liansheng: “Goodnight, Xiao Zhen.”

After setting down his phone, Qin Jiuzhen looked at his parents, Qin Shanzhou and Yao Meimei, who immediately asked, “So, what did Liansheng say?”

Qin Jiuzhen replied, “Brother Liansheng said he’ll come visit in a couple of days and bring us some food.”

Qin Shanzhou and Yao Meimei finally breathed a sigh of relief. Yao Meimei asked, “Why wait a couple of days? Can’t he bring it sooner?”

Qin Shanzhou said, “Alright, we still have enough food for two or three days. We just need to hold on a bit. And when Liansheng comes, don’t show him that sour face!”

Yao Meimei replied, “Alright, alright. How could I show a sour face to Liansheng? He’s our golden ticket! We should be kissing up to him!”

Qin Jiuzhen added, “By the way, Brother Liansheng said we shouldn’t let anyone know he’s bringing us food. If other people find out, they might get jealous and cause trouble for us.”

Yao Meimei brushed it off, “No worries! Liansheng’s got our backs, right?”

Qin Jiuzhen said, “Mama, what if all that trouble makes Brother Liansheng stop caring about me? He’s a special beastman now, and I’m just a regular person…”

Qin Shanzhou made a swift decision, “We won’t say a word! We’ll keep the food hidden and eat it ourselves. No one else needs to know.”

If a bunch of small troubles made Xia Liansheng give up on Qin Jiuzhen, how would they survive? Were they supposed to turn to that ungrateful brat Qin Jiulin?

Qin Shanzhou might be willing to swallow his pride and ask for help, but Qin Jiulin wouldn’t necessarily give them anything.

Yao Meimei thought it over and said, “Alright, I understand.”

Though she would be frustrated not being able to show off, it was better than Xia Liansheng abandoning Qin Jiuzhen. At least this way, they’d have enough food to eat.

Wasn’t that better than most people?

While Yao Meimei felt a bit stifled, she didn’t say anything more. As long as Xia Liansheng kept liking their little Zhen, nothing else mattered.

Meanwhile, Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan went to see Gao Siyang the next day and told him the secret that Xia Liansheng had revealed to Qin Jiulin.

Gao Siyang didn’t show much surprise after hearing the news. It seemed he had already predicted this situation. “Thank you for telling me this information.”

Qin Jiulin said, “Captain Gao, you don’t seem too shocked. It looks like you had already anticipated this?”

Gao Siyang replied, “I know what kind of person Zhou Lie is. He’s obviously opposing me now, but someone like him wouldn’t put himself in a dangerous position without some backup plan. So…”

Liu Zhongyuan jumped in, “So, among his people, there must be some variant beastman, or at the very least, three or four dozen ordinary beastman, right?”

Gao Siyang nodded, “That’s what I suspected before. But your information confirms it. Don’t worry too much. I’ve made my preparations.”

Qin Jiulin said, “Since Captain Gao has it all under control, we’re relieved.”

Liu Zhongyuan stood up, “Alright, we’ll head out then. The recovery of Modu is going well, but we still need to make a few more trips to the military base before winter.”

Gao Siyang stood up as well, “Thank you both, really. I can’t express how grateful I am.”

Thanks to the ammunition Liu Zhongyuan and his team had brought back, the soldiers were now better equipped, and their morale had greatly improved. The current supplies could last them about two months, assuming normal usage.

If they rationed carefully, it could last three months. But rationing would lead to unnecessary casualties, and that was something Gao Siyang didn’t want to see.

Liu Zhongyuan asked, “Two or three more trips should be enough, right?”

Qin Jiulin replied, “As long as we have time, we should keep going. After all, you can never have too much of this stuff.”

Gao Siyang agreed, “Exactly. You can never have too much. Keep bringing it back, even if you take everything.”

Qin Jiulin added, “Soon we’ll need to transport those machines back too, right?”

Gao Siyang nodded, “Yes, we’ll definitely need to bring them back. But for now, we don’t have the means. Hopefully, when the time comes, you can escort the convoy that’ll be transporting those machines.”

Qin Jiulin assured him, “No problem. We’ve taken this route several times now. We know exactly where it’s safe and where it’s not. Leave the escorting to us.”

Liu Zhongyuan urged, “Let’s go, let’s go. Zhang Yuankai and the others must be getting impatient waiting outside.”

Gao Siyang watched them leave, feeling quite good. But as he sat back in his chair, he suddenly remembered that the information Qin Jiulin had shared came from Xia Liansheng.

That meant Xia Liansheng’s intentions might not be entirely sincere.

This was supposed to be Zhou Lie’s secret. Gao Siyang and Zhou Lie had been entangled in a decades-long rivalry, and they knew each other well, inside and out.

He could usually guess what Zhou Lie was planning or hiding. This time, even though Zhou Lie had been quietly biding his time, he had clearly taken a firm stance against Gao Siyang.

That’s why Gao Siyang had guessed that Xia Liansheng had sided with Zhou Lie. On the surface, this meant he was now an enemy. But why would Xia Liansheng reveal this secret to Qin Jiulin? Was he trying to win favor with Gao Siyang?

Trying to gain favor with the enemy?

Gao Siyang figured that Xia Liansheng wasn’t certain who would come out on top between him and Zhou Lie, so he was leaving himself some options with both sides.

Gao Siyang couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated by Xia Liansheng’s scheming. After all, if what Xia Liansheng said helped him succeed, he wouldn’t do anything to Xia Liansheng in return.

Still, it was frustrating. Really frustrating!

Gao Siyang hadn’t expected Xia Liansheng to be this cunning. Fortunately, he didn’t need to play along with Xia Liansheng’s manipulations anymore, since Xia Liansheng had clearly chosen Zhou Lie’s side.

Of course, if Xia Liansheng ended up joining Zhou Lie in attacking his people, Gao Siyang wasn’t some saint. If killing became necessary, he wouldn’t hesitate.

“Xia Liansheng… let’s see what you ultimately decide.”

Xia Liansheng had no idea what Gao Siyang was thinking. After learning that Liu Zhongyuan and Qin Jiulin had left again to carry out a mission, Xia Liansheng gathered some supplies that evening and quietly headed to Qin Jiuzhen’s house under the cover of darkness.

Luckily, Qin Jiuzhen’s home was on a lower floor, making it easy for Xia Liansheng to climb up to the balcony with the supplies. He placed the goods in the living room and, carrying a backpack full of neatly packed snacks, knocked on Qin Jiuzhen’s door.

When Qin Jiuzhen opened the door, he blinked in disbelief. Covering his mouth in surprise, he exclaimed, “Lian… Liansheng-ge?”

Xia Liansheng took his hand and led him into the room, locking the door behind them. He hugged Qin Jiuzhen and sat on the bed, opening his backpack. On top was a lunch box filled to the brim with meat. “Eat up. It’s still warm. I packed it from the cafeteria.”

Qin Jiuzhen couldn’t resist the delicious smell of the meat. “It smells so good! Thank you, Liansheng-ge…”