CH 53.2

xiao jingfeng, the chairman, who came in to drop off the two kids and joined for the meal, knew he arrived at the perfect time. without any hesitation, he asked si di to prepare another set of utensils and casually discussed at the dinner table, “we’re still negotiating with the sentinels’ union of the sylvania land united nations. we hope they provide us with some of mp’s experimental records. we can check if there’s any way to salvage the situation based on those records. but negotiation failure is highly probable. this country is short of sentinels and has been at war for years. the government has invested a considerable amount in mp’s research, and it seems they’re determined to see it through to the end.”

“chairman…” si di put down his chopsticks.

“i know what you want to say.” xiao jingfeng looked at him, “first, get your spiritual domain in order. don’t worry; you’re an s-rank sentinel. there will be plenty of places to use you afterward. don’t think you can have a few days of leisure.”

then xiao jingfeng turned to xiao zhenyun and said, “zhenyun, i’ve been thinking. would you consider getting an auxiliary prosthesis? no need for amputation, just a metal frame supporting your thighs, with only two functions: walking and slow running.”

si di spoke before xiao zhenyun could respond, “chairman, i don’t recommend little uncle going to the front line.”

“i didn’t say he had to participate in those dangerous missions with you. can’t he stand up in daily life?” xiao jingfeng said.

xiao zhenyun swallowed the food in his mouth, nodding, “i am considering it. does the chairman have any acquaintances in this field?”

“yes, i’ll give you the contact information later.”

“…” the administrator paused with his chopsticks, instantly realizing that xiao zhenyun hadn’t given up the idea of exchanging bodies with xiao jiali; otherwise, he wouldn’t need to consider prosthetics. after the meal, he took the initiative to find xiao zhenyun in his room and said helplessly, “don’t waste your effort. with this effort, why not think about how you’re going to explain to si chu when you have to give him a lot of gifts in the next month or two.”

humans tend to seek compromise.

earlier, xiao nian was so averse to xiao zhenyun’s ambiguous relationship with si di, but when xiao zhenyun wanted to play big and save xiao jiali, xiao nian eagerly hoped that xiao zhenyun would wholeheartedly attach himself to si di.

xiao zhenyun neither confirmed nor denied, only asking, “what’s the completion rate of the collar’s plot?”

xiao nian conjured a hardcover book in his palm, flipping through it and replied, “95%. the only discrepancy is in si chu’s handling of the gift. the original text had him casually tossing it aside and forgetting, but in reality, he returned it to you. however, since the overall behavior leans toward a ‘refusal’ type, the rating is relatively high.”

“…i seem to have a solution,” xiao zhenyun said.

five days later, si chu received a courier package, with the sender signed as xiao.

there were plenty of people with the surname xiao, but the only one who would send him a gift was his little uncle, xiao zhenyun. si chu, who was already stressed about the sudden increase in workload that day, thought happily that his little uncle was the best. upon signing and opening the package, he discovered an entire set of high-quality kitchen knives, ranging from chef knives, boning knives, cleavers, to paring knives, and more.

si chu: “?”

he flipped through the bottom and found a card:

si di, happy birthday.

si chu: “…”

working at the guild, chocolates fell from the sky, and doggy can’t eat them; he’ll die!

he angrily initiated a video call with si di, “brother, little uncle sent your gift to me!”

“huh?” si di frowned. he was about to ask, ‘why did it end up with you again?’ could it be that xiao zhenyun is evil-minded? he confessed his jealousy so straightforwardly, and they even had mutual confessions. yet, this roe deer still insisted on sending gifts to si chu?

si chu then raised the card, “look, si di, happy birthday. little uncle sent you a set of kitchen knives, and i can’t cook, so it must be for you.”

“but he already gave me a birthday present.” si di raised his left wrist, “he bought me the latest terminal.”

si chu: “…”

the little dog distorted in sourness. it wasn’t because the family has no money and couldn’t afford anything; it was discovering that there could be double birthday gifts.

“well, that’s good. bring it over when you come for dinner later.” si di said, “come early; we’re already in the dining room. mom and dad are about to arrive, and little uncle has a bad stomach. don’t make him wait.”

“okay, okay.”

after si chu hung up, si di frowned and said to xiao zhenyun, “how can you mess up even the delivery address for a courier? you haven’t changed it from before?”

“no, i did it on purpose,” xiao zhenyun sipped his tea, “asserting some sovereignty.”

“you intentionally sent the things meant for me to si chu. what kind of sovereignty are you declaring?” si di puzzled. it took him a while to understand. if he saw this as xiao zhenyun deliberately letting it happen, it made sense because he was particularly concerned about the relationship between xiao zhenyun and si chu. so, he intentionally showed affection in front of si chu, signaling, ‘look, how much my little uncle likes me. you and him are absolutely impossible.’

in a world where only the little dog was hurt, a deal was reached.

“but it makes me seem petty. that’s not my style,” si di squinted his eyes.

“then it’s my style. i want to proudly announce to the world how good we are,” xiao zhenyun calmly set down his teacup. si di couldn’t help but gaze at him. after xiao zhenyun took another sip of tea, he suddenly leaned over and pecked the other person’s lips moistened by the tea.

“what’s wrong? running low on guide elements?” xiao zhenyun intentionally found a seemingly serious reason, and si di nodded in agreement, “yeah, without some guide elements, i’d be in pain.”

“where does it hurt?”

“here.” si di took xiao zhenyun’s hand and pressed it against himself.

“…damn,” xiao zhenyun couldn’t outplay this increasingly direct pervert, “your parents will be here soon.”

“but haven’t they arrived yet?”

“even if they haven’t…”

“then be a bit more careful.” xiao nian angrily came out from behind the chair opposite, “just because i’m short, and my whole body is hidden behind the chair, don’t think it’s just the two of you here. there are others!”

xiao jiali also weakly peeked out from the corner of the wall, “uh, i’m wearing a five-sense suppressor; i didn’t hear anything.”

“their voices are so loud!”

xiao jiali immediately covered his ears, wide-eyed, and lied, “really didn’t hear anything!”

si di cleared his throat and let go of the guide’s hand with some shame. instead, it was xiao zhenyun who glanced at xiao nian, not caring much, saying, “you don’t count as a person.”

xiao nian: “…” you need a scolding, huh?

when si di left the private room to greet his parents at the door, xiao nian angrily jumped down from the chair, pattering over to xiao zhenyun, and said in a somewhat evil tone, “xiao zhenyun, finding a bug in the gift-giving plot, are you feeling proud?”

“…you completely have the malicious face of a villainous boss.”

that was precisely the effect xiao nian wanted, saying even more ‘maliciously,’ “don’t forget, a month and a half from now, you’ll be confessing to si chu, i want to see how you’ll handle that part of the plot.”

“…”

the author has something to say:

xiao zhenyun: believe it or not, i’ll just quit, and the world will be destroyed!

hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). i hope you enjoyed the story! if you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ