5 Chapter 5 You're a Good Person

Hearing this sudden confession, Xia Xinyu seemed to sober up instantly. Her eyes widened as she quickly waved her hands in response, "Let's not go there, I didn't plan on dating before college, I'm sorry!"

You were planning on killing yourself before college?

"..." Chen Yuan had only intended to use those words to delay her suicide, thinking if she really agreed, and her mood improved, no longer harboring thoughts of suicide, he could then explain it all to her later.

But the girl from Just Believe seriously rejected him.

LOL, you're such a poser; I never really thought about dating you for real.

"Alright then."

Although he'd been rejected, and so bluntly at that, bruising his male ego, he wasn't really a sheepish Afei. Chen Yuan just felt a sense of wistfulness.

Having reached this point, he had done everything he wanted to, everything he could.

It was time to let go of the savior complex.

Even though lifting this girl off the bed and seeing her slowly open her eyes had given Chen Yuan a sense of redemption and healing, what he could do was ultimately limited.

"We haven't really spoken before... but I think you're a good person, I've never seen you do anything bad." Facing the boy before her, Xia Xinyu spoke with genuine seriousness, "Chen Yuan you're tall, and you have nice features. Even though you rarely show emotion, and you seem to equally hate everyone, you also swipe kids' skateboards and scare noisy children by saying their mommy doesn't want them..."

"Are you drunk?"

Just two short sentences in front of her?

And, not doing bad things is the standard for being a good person?

Maybe start with a compliment about having nice features next time.

"Dating me would be bad luck; better not. You'll definitely find a better girl." Struggling to bring out a smile, Xia Xinyu sincerely wished him well.

"Alright, sure."

Chen Yuan nodded in response, quickly ending the topic, then got up to clear the bowls.

"Let me do that, can't just eat for free."

Xia Xinyu hurriedly helped, taking the initiative to gather up the dishes, stacking them, and bringing them to the sink to wash. She then turned to the faucet, puzzled, "Why isn't the water coming out?"

"You need to turn the one on the right."

Watching Xia Xinyu blindly fiddle with the air, repeatedly reaching out to nothing, then turning to him with a clueless face for help, Chen Yuan pointed to the side.

"Wow, your sink has two faucets!"

Xia Xinyu stepped briskly to the right, twisted the identical faucet there, and upon the water flowing, she looked surprised.

"Yeah, how novel."

Chen Yuan had been expecting her to spill some sobering truths after drinking, to tell him something sad, but all he saw was her true self emerge in her drunken state.

Even with double vision, Xia Xinyu still unsteadily managed to clean all of Chen Yuan's dishes and chopsticks, placing them aside on the stove. Then, wiping her hands on the bulky apron, she took it off and hung it on the wall.

"Hang it on the hook to the right."

"Eh? Why does one apron need two hooks?"

"Hang it up and you'll see."

"Oh, it's two aprons. Wow, everything in your house comes in pairs."

Wait until later, even Chen Yuans come in pairs at our house.

Blade of the Assault, Heist.

"I won't disturb you any longer, I'm going back to rest, thank you for your hospitality today."

"Goodbye."

After helping Chen Yuan tidy up the dining table, Xia Xinyu politely bade him farewell and left the place.

Her high ponytail, swinging gently with her hesitant steps, swayed lightly until she collided with the wall with a bang, yelped in pain, and then, rubbing her forehead, Xia Xinyu made her way through the right door back to her own single room.

Because she had broken the door lock, all she could do was pull the door shut.

It didn't bother her though; after all, the fifth floor was the top, and aside from her and him, and the occasional delivery guy, people rarely came up here.

Right up until she entered her door, the red numbers above her head remained at [3].

Chen Yuan closed the door.

Standing in front of the mirror, he saw his reflection without any numbers displayed.

That's right; he could only see the life countdown of other people, not his own.

Upon gaining this ability, he had considered showing his parents, but out of a certain fear, he dared not do it. So instead, he rarely called them, urging them to get a full health checkup that week.

His unusual behavior prompted his off-tune dad to exclaim, "Huh, growing up, huh?"

His mom also agreed, "Alright, we'll listen to our son and get the checkup."

So, does he really need this ability?

It'd suffice to simply care more about the people around him.

Because even with it, he felt as powerless as he did now.

"Why can't she just let it go?"

Lying in bed, hands behind his head, Chen Yuan said this while staring at the ceiling, but inside he was truly struggling.

How could it not bother me.

Got a golden finger, and the system doesn't issue tasks?

A love simulator would be fine, too.

So, it's just about me seeing other people's lifespans and setting up a fortune-telling stall?

But being a fortune-teller isn't about being prophetic, it's about eloquence; no one likes to hear they're cursed with a short life.

Just wait, maybe there'll be a ding sound soon, and system instructions will appear, telling me what to do.

Chen Yuan had read a novel before where the system showed up only after 158 chapters, leaving even the readers totally confused—what the heck, this is a system novel?

With his eyes closed, the image of the girl who could get intoxicated just by listening to Snow Beer, stubbornly refused to leave his mind.

He had no choice but to fall asleep with her in his thoughts.

...

The next day, after waking up and getting ready, Chen Yuan donned his school uniform, shouldered his school bag, and left the house.

The lock of the door opposite was still broken, but it seemed to have been blocked by something, so it was quite secure.

Chen Yuan paused for a few seconds, then headed downstairs.

Right then, he ran into the old man in the white tank top, sunning himself downstairs.

Sorry, I really don't know what that exercise is called where the old man is bumping his belly against the tree.

But I do know the one where you lean against a tree—that's Iron Shirt lean, right, genius.

[3542]

The landlord, nearly seventy now, still had ten years to live, so maybe sunning the tree really was somewhat helpful.

"Old man, do you know who that girl across from me is?" Chen Yuan asked.

"Little Chen, eh?" The old man stopped sunning himself, turned around, and asked with a smile, "Why, you got a crush on her?"

"... Yeah."

"You've got good taste, youngster. That girl's a real beauty."

"Yeah, she's pretty."

Chen Yuan couldn't avoid the old man's teasing if he wanted to get information; he wasn't the sort of arrogant idiot who'd pretend not to be interested in her.

What's the harm in the old man saying a few things?

Moreover, he didn't feel unworthy of Xia Xinyu.

How was that girl—well, kinda okay.

"Seems like she's from Jingnan Province, brought here by her dad. Their accent is so interesting; it's all like this→way↑haha," the old man said, unable to suppress his laughter.

"Her mom and dad are both out of town?"

"Yep, apparently she has an aunt here who's a teacher, so she moved here to study."

"Do you have her aunt's contact information?"

"You've gotten that far already?"

"Yeah, want to find out about the bridewealth in Jingnan, so I can tell my dad to start saving," Chen Yuan replied earnestly.

"Hahaha, sure, I'll give you the number."

The old man genuinely enjoyed watching the fun, and upon hearing such an interesting request, he immediately took out his cellphone, put on his reading glasses hanging around his neck, and slowly scrolled through his contact list with font as big as cockroaches: "Yeah, this is it, Xia Fang."

"Thanks, old man. I'll save it."

"Are you going to call her now? What are you going to say to her..."

"Old man, I've got to go to school, let's talk later, okay?"

Having secured the number, Chen Yuan bolted toward the subway.

At the same time, he couldn't wait to dial the number.

The aunt—Xia Xinyu's father's sister.

If it's her, she would certainly know the family affairs.

And learning from the aunt wouldn't further hurt Xinyu.

Maybe this aunt could even help Xia Xinyu move on, since family often works better than outsiders.

Lost in thought, the call connected just at the right moment.

"Hello, aunt?"