Today, the Foolish Scum Gong Screwed Me Over Again

Chapter 61 - I Want to Marry Him

He Zhou was still unconscious. Qiu Yanzhi watched over him from his bedside the entire time.

At 10 pm, Zhong Yabai called: "Yanyan, why aren't you home yet?"

Qiu Yanzhi was silent for a while. "I'm at the hospital."

"The hospital? Why? Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?"

Qiu Yanzhi: "It's not me that’s hurt, it's He Zhou. He's badly injured so I'm taking care of him at the hospital."

"He Zhou?" Zhong Yabai was a little confused.

Immediately afterwards, Qiu Qingcang came on the phone. He asked in a deep voice, "How do you know He Zhou? Where’s he injured? Why does he need you to take care of him?"

Qiu Yanzhi recalled his ingame character settings. "Haven't you always been working with He Zhou? He comes to our house a lot to talk business with you. I've actually known him for a long time."

"So where’s he injured?"

"...His leg. He got shot in the leg."

"He got shot? What happened?"

Qiu Yanzhi took a deep breath before speaking in a sombre tone, “Dad, there’s something I have to tell you. I’ve gotten in some trouble and someone is trying to hurt us. He Zhou got hurt while protecting me. I need some bodyguards right now. Also, those people might come after you too. You and Mom should bring bodyguards with you when you go out too. Don’t forget to beef up security and stay on your guard.”

Qiu Qingcang was silent for a long time. Then he asked, "How many bodyguards do you need?"

Qiu Yanzhi: "Ten, preferably armed with guns."

Qiu Yanzhi paused before adding: "But not from the An Sheng Group.”

An Sheng Group was the company owned by Zhang Yuxuan's father.

It wasn't that Qiu Yanzhi didn't trust Zhang Yuxuan and his father, it’s just that the first man who shot He Zhou in the last round was one of their employees.

Qiu Yanzhi couldn't afford to gamble that now.

Qiu Qingcang moved quickly. After about two hours, a large group of armed bodyguards arrived at the hospital.

There were 20 of them, all dressed head to toe in black.

According to Qiu Qingcang, they would watch over him 24-7 in two shifts of ten people.

All these people really crowded up the corridor. The other patients passing by were so intimidated by the group that they all took detours.

Qiu Yanzhi had no choice. He moved He Zhou to the VIP ward on the top floor once the patient there had moved out.

This penthouse ward was very spacious. Of the ten bodyguards each shift, five stood outside while the rest were inside. Qiu Yanzhi even had the windows on the ward replaced with bulletproof glass. Security was so tight that not even a fly could get in.

For a while, there was no word from the other player.

Perhaps he had reset to a different point in time.

Just like how He Zhou and Liu Cheng arrived a month earlier than Qiu Yanzhi when he chose Ye Mingxu’s route.

Perhaps this time, that person reset to a later time than Qiu Yanzhi.

He Zhou’s condition the past two days was good. He was recovering steadily with no signs of complications or infection from his surgery. Even his colour improved a bit.

He drifted in and out of consciousness, but his eyes always closed again before he had a chance to say anything.

The doctor said that he would soon be completely awake.

Qiu Yanzhi took a towel to the bathroom. Like he usually did, he collected some hot water to wipe He Zhou down with.

His phone vibrate. A familiar text message popped up again.

[A Reset Card, huh? I really underestimated your finances.]

Qiu Yanzhi glanced at his phone very calmly.

Then he put it back into his pocket and turned the tap back on to get He Zhou’s hot water.

In his pocket, his phone vibrated twice more, but Qiu Yanzhi paid it no mind.

He checked the temperature of the water and found it a little too hot, so he added some cold water.

When Qiu Yanzhi came out with the filled basin, the bodyguard at the washroom door opened it for him. Qiu Yanzhi carried the basin to He Zhou's bedside.

His ringtone sounded.

Qiu Yanzhi took a look. It was the unknown number from before.

He actually called me?

Seems like he’s not as calm and collected as I thought.

Qiu Yanzhi walked over to the window and answered the phone.

The voice on the other end had been deliberately modified to sound hoarse and unpleasant.

"Qiu Yanzhi, how much money do you think you have left to squander?"

Qiu Yanzhi replied calmly: "More than you think."

"Then please continue to look forward to your death. I hope you’ll be satisfied with it.”

Qiu Yanzhi paused before suddenly asking, "There’s something I’m confused about. Why didn't you kill me?"

Qiu Yanzhi had been looking after He Zhou all this time, and when he was free he would think over what he knew about this player. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was off.

Qiu Yanzhi continued, "If you did this because you were afraid of me exposing the existence of this world after I get out, then wouldn’t it be simpler to just kill me while I’m here? But during that first time at the shooting range, the gunman was aiming for my shoulder, not my head. And the second time on the rooftop, the sniper killed my mother and shot He Zhou, but he spared me. Is it really a coincidence?”

After a beat of silence, chilling laughter came from the other end. “You’re grasping at straws here. The sniper’s just not a good shot, that’s all.”

Qiu Yanzhi: "Then what about when I was in the glass elevator? Are you telling me your sniper couldn’t get a good shot in the entire time I was inside?”

Qiu Yanzhi looked down and slowly said, “Or could it be that you’re not actually afraid of me getting out and destroying this game? You’re just using that as an excuse to hide your true motives.”

There was a moment of silence before the other person snickered ominously. But before he could say anything, another person’s voice suddenly interjected from the other end of the phone: "Tongfang, you..."

Qiu Yanzhi’s pupils immediately dilated. But the other people hung up a split second later.

Tongfang?

Which ‘Tong’  is it? (1)

Is that the player's name?

Qiu Yanzhi pursed his lips and dialed a number.

"Hello, I would like to commission a task to help me find someone called Tongfang. I need the information of all males over 20 years old with that name."

After Qiu Yanzhi hung up, he stood in place for a moment longer.

Then he suddenly remembered that he still had to wipe He Zhou down.

Qiu Yanzhi put his phone back in his pocket and turned around.

Then he froze.

--He Zhou had woken up.

He Zhou silently looked at him, his eyes dark and calm.

Qiu Yanzhi's heart skipped a beat. He took one step after the other in He Zhou’s direction. "He Zhou..."

"My leg’s broken?" He Zhou asked.

Qiu Yanzhi went up and took He Zhou's hand into his own, saying hoarsely, "...D-don’t worry, He Zhou. I’ll keep trying. Maybe, maybe the Healing Card’s just bugged. Maybe it’ll fix itself eventually. You’ll definitely be fine”

A little panicked, Qiu Yanzhi licked his lips. "E-even if the card doesn't work, the healthcare here is so advanced that you’ll definitely stand again some day. It’s just a matter of time…  You'll definitely be fine."

Qiu Yanzhi was lying.

The Healing Card wasn’t bugged, it was that all the main character and NPC cards had lost the ability to affect He Zhou.

As that was the case, of course there was nothing the hospital could do for He Zhou.

This game’s healthcare was very strange. It could obviously let someone with a broken bone be as good as new after just ten days…

It could obviously let Qiu Yanzhi recover from his concussion in just two days…

It could obviously let He Zhou, who was shot in the leg, become stable and free of pain...

...Yet when it came to letting He Zhou stand again, it was powerless.

Qiu Yanzhi remembered furiously questioning Big Yellow on why the doctor was so sure that He Zhou would never stand again. Weren’t there prosthetics like in the real world?

Big Yellow’s reply was that this was a dating simulator. The hospital wasn’t designed with complicated medical procedures in mind.

Besides, if the hospital could cure all diseases...

Who would buy Healing Cards?

When he heard that, Qiu Yanzhi was on the verge of strangling Big Yellow to death.

...Even though he knew its logic was sound.

He Zhou had overheard the doctor during his moment of consciousness, so he knew that Qiu Yanzhi was just trying to comfort him. Despite this, he just looked down and faintly said, “En.”

He didn’t seem like he wanted to discuss his leg anymore. After a moment of silence, He Zhou asked, “Were you just speaking to that player?”

Qiu Yanzhi nodded. "He Zhou, I have some good news for you. I might have found out what his name was. During the phone call just now, I heard someone call out to him. They called him Tongfang. I’ve already arranged for someone to look into it. Who knows, maybe we’ll find him soon.”

"Tongfang?"

Qiu Yanzhi: "Do you know him?"

He Zhou shook his head. "No, I don't."

Qiu Yanzhi explained the theory he had developed over the past two days and the points he was still puzzled over to He Zhou.

He Zhou: "You’re saying that player doesn’t want to kill you?"

Qiu Yanzhi nodded. "I think there’s something fishy about how worked up he was when he tried to make me change the player facial recognition function. He might be trying to usurp my player permissions.”

Qiu Yanzhi frowned, a little puzzled. "I don’t get it. Isn’t he a player himself?”

"Maybe there's something wrong with his player permissions?"

Qiu Yanzhi nodded thoughtfully. "It's possible… Maybe he ran out of money. After all, he’s been stuck here for three years.”

Qiu Yanzhi turned and smiled at He Zhou, "Don't worry He Zhou, I have a lot of money. I can buy a lot of cards."

He Zhou’s lips finally quirked up. "You have a lot of money, huh?"

Qiu Yanzhi nodded. "En. I originally thought I could only use the money in my usual accounts, but I accidentally discovered yesterday that I can access all the accounts linked to my ID card, one of which is from my...my father in real life. I’ve never used it before, and I have no idea when he transferred it under my name either, but he’s been regularly making deposits in it.”

"Your father must love you very much."

Qiu Yanzhi's smile dimmed a bit. He lowered his eyes and whispered, "...I don't know about that. Maybe he's just too rich to care."

Qiu Yanzhi blinked and asked He Zhou, "He Zhou, does your right leg still hurt right now?"

He Zhou said, "It doesn't hurt."

It didn’t hurt or itch. There was just no sensation in the limb at all.

Qiu Yanzhi: "You've been in the hospital for quite some time. Want to go out and get some fresh air?”

He Zhou: "It's too much trouble."

Qiu Yanzhi shook his head. "It's no trouble."

He took He Zhou's hand in his. "Do you know why I went to check my accounts yesterday?"

"Why?"

"Because I found out that, although all the main character and NPC cards have no effect on you, the tool cards still work. I spent the entire day yesterday drawing cards. I got 27 Instant Transport Cards, nine of which can move up to 100 km away. There’s even five with no distance restriction.”

Qiu Yanzhi looked up at He Zhou and smiled. "He Zhou, even if you can't walk, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go."

For a moment, He Zhou was stunned.

Qiu Yanzhi held his hand a little tighter, his eyes bright. "He Zhou, you trust me, right?"

He Zhou blinked slowly. "...I trust you."

At that time, there was a sudden knock on the door.

It was Qiu Qingcang and Zhong Yabai.

Qiu Qingcang didn’t think he and He Zhou were close. They were long term business partners at best. The only reason he brought his wife with him to visit He Zhou was because he heard from Qiu Yanzhi that the man had gotten injured for his son’s sake.

Qiu Yanzhi walked over and relieved Zhong Yabai of the fruit basket. "Dad, Mom. What brings you here?"

Qiu Qingcang: "We heard the doctor say that Mr. He was about to wake up, so we came to take a look. When did he regain consciousness?"

"Just now." Qiu Yanzhi answered for He Zhou. Then turned to the man and asked, "He Zhou, what do you want to eat?"

He Zhou shook his head. "I'm not hungry."

Qiu Yanzhi: "You've been on an IV the past few days because you couldn't eat. You should really have something. I'll peel an apple for you."

After that, Qiu Yanzhi took an apple and went off to wash it. Then he returned to his seat and concentrated on peeling it with a fruit knife.

His knife work was atrocious. The thickness of the peel varied, and it broke off with basically every cut he made.

Zhong Yabai couldn't bear to watch any longer. She took the apple and knife from him and helped him out.

Qiu Qingcang looked at Qiu Yanzhi and frowned. He intoned seriously, “Qiu Yanzhi, come here for a minute. I need to talk with you.”

Qiu Yanzhi followed Qiu Qingcang out the door.

Qiu Qingcang frowned. "You still haven't told me what kind of trouble you've gotten into."

Qiu Yanzhi hung his head. "I don't know who he is. I’m still looking into it.”

Qiu Qingcang: “Fine, we’ll skip that for now. What's going on with you and He Zhou?"

Qiu Yanzhi was silent for a moment. Then he suddenly declared, "I want to marry him."

Although Qiu Qingcang had his suspicious, his heart still skipped a beat after hearing Qiu Yanzhi’s words. “When did you two start seeing each other?”

Qiu Yanzhi: "A long, long time ago."

Qiu Qingcang took a deep breath and said, "Then do you know that he’ll never be able to stand again? Are you going to spend the rest of your life with a disabled person?!”

Qiu Yanzhi nodded. "En."

Qiu Qingcang: "Are you doing this because you feel guilty over him saving your life?”

Qiu Yanzhi smiled and shook his head. "No, Dad. I was thinking that, if I had to stay in this world and live my life hand in hand with someone, that someone could only be He Zhou.”

Qiu Qingcang's hands were shaking with anger.

But what could he do? The other party’s leg was broken because of his son, and his son was so deeply infatuated with him as well.

Qiu Qingcang didn’t want to break them up, but he also didn’t want his son to marry a disabled person. So he tried to persuade Qiu Yanzhi again, "...I don’t think you’re in the right state of mind to be making such a decision at the moment."

The ward was very quiet.

The people inside could vaguely discern that they were talking, but not what was being said.

Zhong Yabai handed the peeled apple to He Zhou.

He Zhou took it and quietly said, "Thank you."

Zhong Yabai smiled. "I should be the one to thank you."

Zhong Yabai glanced at the nearby kettle. She poured He Zhou a cup of water.

Just then, Qiu Yanzhi's raised voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"--But I'm about to marry him!"

Zhong Yabai's hand faltered, spilling the kettle’s contents all over the table.

He Zhou also froze.

Zhong Yabai scrambled to pull out tissues to wipe the table.

And He Zhou finally came back to his senses around the same time as well. He took out some tissues of his own and helped wipe down the wet items on the table.

Qiu Yanzhi's phone was one of them.

The water had seeped into the case.

When He Zhou took the case off, a piece of paper fluttered out.

The paper was a bit worn, as if someone had caressed it countless times. All four edges were a little damp from the water, and four or five words were smudged. Still, you could clearly make out what was written.

It was a sticky note he had written to Qiu Yanzhi one morning, consisting of two very simple sentences.

However, someone had taken a pen and drawn a furiously bouncing bunny in the blank spaces.

He Zhou looked down and wiped Qiu Yanzhi's phone clean. Then he tucked that note back inside the phone case.

Qiu Qingcang and Zhong Yabai soon left.

Qiu Yanzhi sat by the bed peeling oranges for himself when He Zhou suddenly asked, "Qiu Yanzhi, I just heard that you're getting married. What's going on?"

Qiu Yanzhi almost choked on the orange slice in his mouth. He immediately launched into a coughing fit, his whole face flushing red.

He Zhou handed him a tissue.

Qiu Yanzhi took and wiped his mouth, saying with some embarrassment, "...That, you...how did you know?"

He Zhou: "You were too loud."

Qiu Yanzhi asked cautiously, "...Then how much did you hear?"

He Zhou: "Just that sentence."

Qiu Yanzhi let out a sigh of relief.

He looked at He Zhou, then coughed and said, "Um, you're the capture target I picked this round…”

He Zhou looked down. "I know."

"That’s not..." Qiu Yanzhi scratched his head, feeling like He Zhou had misunderstood something. "...I'm not marrying you just for the sake of capturing you."

"Then what is it?"

"I-I want to marry you. Me.”

Qiu Yanzhi suddenly looked up at He Zhou, his eyes dark yet bright. "He Zhou, I don't know when I can stop fighting with that player, much less when I can leave the game. Maybe I’ll stay here for the rest of my life. But He Zhou...if I have to stay, I hope that you can be the one forever by my side...alright?”

Something in He Zhou's eyes flickered for a moment, then he nodded. "Alright."

Qiu Yanzhi's eyes immediately curved up into crescents.

It was evening now, and the setting sun dyed the skies in beautiful scarlet shades.

Qiu Yanzhi turned to look at He Zhou. "He Zhou, where do you want to go? I’ll take you there."

He Zhou was just about to refuse when Qiu Yanzhi pursed his lips and said pitifully, "He Zhou, I spent $50,000 yesterday and drew 500 cards to get 27 Instant Transport Cards. You can't let them go to waste."

He Zhou reached out and stroked his hair with a smile. "Then let's go to the beach on Hongming Island."

Qiu Yanzhi happily agreed, "Okay."

Qiu Yanzhi moved He Zhou to a wheelchair and draped a blanket over his legs.

He held He Zhou's hand and used an Instant Transport Card without distance restrictions.

They then found themselves on the beach of Hongming Island.

The sun was slowly setting over the sea, but the sky was still filled with magnificent colours. A current of wind blew by, causing the colours reflected on the water’s surface to waver, like an oil painting being scattered.

At last, He Zhou’s mood seemed to lighten. As the wind blew his bangs into disarray, he stared out into the ocean with a faint smile playing on his lips.

Qiu Yanzhi looked at him. The next thing he knew, he had leaned over and kissed the man.

He Zhou was slightly taken aback.

Qiu Yanzhi's ears flushed. He tried to explain himself, "I kissed you because..."

He blinked, unable to find a suitable excuse. In the end, he could only whisper with flushed cheeks, “...Because I just wanted to kiss you."

He Zhou smiled. He pulled Qiu Yanzhi closer and kissed him back.

In a voice so light the wind could scatter it, a voice tinged with the slightest wisp of humour, he said:

"Qiu Yanzhi, I kissed you because I love you.”