Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System

Chapter 72: Chapter 71: I am here, I have always been here

After Liu Yi left, Zhang Beixing and Lin Siqi took a car back to the North China Food City.

Throughout the journey, Lin Siqi didn’t utter a word. She was thinking about what Lin Pengfei had said that morning, reflecting deeply, which kept her brows furrowed the entire time. Seeing her like this, Zhang Beixing didn’t disturb her. He just gazed out the window, lost in thought.

It was when Lin Pengfei had declared he was Lin Siqi’s half-brother that Zhang Beixing suddenly understood why, in his past life, Lin Siqi had returned as if nothing had happened after being summoned by Dong Shengjie and the others. It was because the other party had sent Dong Shengjie to find Lin Siqi; they genuinely had something to discuss with her, not to cause trouble.

This also made Zhang Beixing recall another incident. A few years after he had graduated, Lin Siqi hadn’t shown up for a class reunion. Upon inquiring from classmates, he found out that Lin Siqi’s brother had died of cancer, and Lin Siqi had been in her hometown mourning, which was why she didn’t attend. At the time, his classmates hadn’t thought much of it, just assuming that Lin Siqi wasn’t an only child. But now, it seemed the matter wasn’t so simple!

As someone reborn, piecing these clues together, Zhang Beixing easily reached a conclusion: Lin Pengfei and Lin Siqi were truly related by blood. And no wonder Lin Siqi had suddenly stopped running her stall in the past life. Zhang Beixing had thought she had encountered some trouble. It turned out she had gone back to acknowledge her ancestors and inherit the family business! And now, it seemed the unlucky fellow who had died the same way as Zhang Beixing in his past life was Lin Pengfei.

That was also why, when Zhang Beixing was furiously beating Lin Pengfei earlier, he had shouted about Lin Pengfei getting cancer—that beating him was actually saving him. He wasn’t cursing; he was stating a fact and intentionally reminding him. Of course, there were many ways to give a reminder, but beating Lin Pengfei was primarily to vent his anger. After all, it was an undeniable fact that the guy had hired people to beat him. If Zhang Beixing didn’t teach him a lesson, he didn’t know if Lin Pengfei would cause trouble for him in the future. But Zhang Beixing did know that he himself would definitely feel frustrated and miserable later on. Then, during sleepless nights, recounting his life’s mistakes, the thought of this incident would anger him so much that he’d jump out of bed and slap himself, furiously berating himself for not beating Lin Pengfei harder at the time!

So, for his own mental and physical well-being, he could only let Lin Pengfei suffer a little. Besides, he hadn’t beaten him that badly. It was just a superficial injury; a few days’ rest would heal it. If Lin Pengfei was worried, he could go to the hospital for a check-up. Who knew, it might even lead to an early detection of his cancer.

The thought that he had indirectly saved a life made Zhang Beixing feel he wasn’t just being benevolent. This was repaying evil with kindness! ”I really am a good person!” Zhang Beixing mused.

Then he and Lin Siqi started to stroll through the North China Food City. They walked around until twelve noon, by which time Lin Siqi had finally purchased all the goods she needed. Afterwards, she called a freight service and looked expectantly at Zhang Beixing, her meaning very clear.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Beixing put on a pained expression, but recalling the promise Lin Siqi had made to him, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work. After loading all the goods into the vehicle, he and Lin Siqi drove back to Shi University and unloaded everything.

Despite Zhang Beixing’s physical strength, by the time they finished, he was somewhat out of breath. He sat on the ground resting, watching Lin Siqi’s busy figure. He couldn’t help but marvel; Lin Siqi was truly a strong woman! For such arduous, uninteresting, and troublesome work, she, a young woman, had persisted for a full three years. It was quite remarkable!

By the time Lin Siqi finished, it was two in the afternoon. After a morning of hard work, both were ravenous. They discussed it and decided to explore the snack street in the afternoon and go for hotpot in the evening.

Once the plan for the day was settled, they set off immediately. Before long, two striking figures appeared on the snack street of Shishi. The young man was tall and handsome, with a strong build, exuding a sunny and cheerful disposition. The young woman was fair-skinned and beautiful, cute and gentle, with a delicate demeanor. As soon as they appeared, they instantly became the most dazzling pair on the entire street.

But at this moment, the minds of these two dazzling individuals were filled only with thoughts of food.

Deep-fried skewers? Eat!

Oysters? Eat!

Rolled pancakes? Eat!

Little Greedy Cat’s Barbecue Rice? Forget it; that dish was better suited for a hotel.

The two of them ate as if they hadn’t had a meal in eight hundred years. They swept from one end of the street to the other, their mouths never stopping for a moment, their hands full of food.

After downing the last sip of milk tea, Lin Siqi’s face bloomed with a happy smile. She leaned against Zhang Beixing’s shoulder and said contentedly, ”Ah, I’m finally full, so happy! Lao Zhang, how about you? Did you eat well?”

”I’m... *uurp*, cough cough... I’m okay, about seventy percent full!” Zhang Beixing replied after chewing and swallowing the lamb kidney in his mouth and taking a sip of water.

If this had been right after he had transmigrated, eating this much would have left him unable to eat anything else for the entire day. But now, after increasing his Power and Constitution attributes to 85, his body had grown stronger and required more nutrition. Zhang Beixing’s appetite had also increased significantly. Although he couldn’t compare to professional eaters or those with massive appetites who could devour a restaurant’s entire day’s worth of food in one sitting, among ordinary people, he was definitely considered a big eater.

”Why do you ask?” Zhang Beixing looked down at Lin Siqi, burped, and asked.

Smelling the gamey scent of mutton from Zhang Beixing’s mouth, Lin Siqi’s pretty face instantly contorted. She pinched her nose and said with disgust, ”Ew, that stinks! You goofball, if you’re going to talk, just talk! Why the heck are you burping in *my* face?”

Seeing her reaction, Zhang Beixing not only didn’t restrain himself but even intensified his efforts. He breathed on Lin Siqi several more times, provoking her to pummel his chest in a flurry of light blows, which made Zhang Beixing repeatedly beg for mercy.

After their playful tussle, they leaned back-to-back, supporting each other as they rested, chatting idly.

After a while, Lin Siqi suddenly spoke, ”Lao Zhang, do you remember Lin Pengfei from this morning?”

”Lin Pengfei?” Hearing the name, Zhang Beixing raised an eyebrow. He had a good idea why Lin Siqi was bringing him up but still feigned ignorance. ”Yeah, I remember. That brat who hired people to beat me up. What about him?”

Lin Siqi sighed, her expression complicated. ”He... he really might be my brother. My half-brother, from the same father.”

”What? So your dad *really* has a mole on his backside!” Zhang Beixing exclaimed in feigned astonishment.

At his remark, Lin Siqi rolled her eyes dramatically and gave him a light smack. ”Is that what I’m talking about right now? What I’m actually trying to say is... Oh, never mind. Just assume I’m full and talking nonsense!” Lin Siqi sighed again, looking somewhat wistful.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Beixing stopped joking around. He patted her shoulder and said, ”Alright. Though I haven’t experienced anything like this, seeing you like this, I can roughly guess what you’re thinking. You’re feeling very anxious and angry, right?”

”That’s not quite it...”

”Oh? Then what is it?” Zhang Beixing was somewhat surprised. Shouldn’t she be resentful or bitter in this situation?

”I was thinking, his family is so rich, wouldn’t it be a pity if they didn’t let me inherit some of it? Look at Lin Pengfei, he looks so foolish, he’d definitely squander the fortune. But it would be different with me; I’m so good at managing businesses, you know.”

”...” Zhang Beixing was rather speechless. He hadn’t expected this girl to be so ambitious; the sparkle in her eyes clearly showed her considerable aspirations.

”But still... I do feel a bit upset. Not so much for myself, but I feel it wasn’t fair to my mom. My heart aches for her.” As she finished speaking, Lin Siqi sighed, her voice growing somber again.

”Uh... okay, well, your emotional journey is quite something. How about we go to the pier—oops, I mean, how about we go to KFC for some fries? Or go to a KTV and sing, or watch a movie? Or maybe buy some drinks and find a place to chill? My point isn’t that we absolutely have to do something right now. What I mean is, don’t worry. I’m here. I’ll always be here.” Patting her shoulder, Zhang Beixing comforted her softly.

Lin Siqi paused, then looked up. She saw that his face, usually adorned with a roguish smirk, now wore an expression of unprecedented seriousness. Lin Siqi was stunned, her eyes widening involuntarily as she stared blankly at Zhang Beixing. In a daze, she even thought she saw a light shining behind him!

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP—

SWOOSH—

With a piercing honk, a motorcycle sped past from behind Zhang Beixing. As it whipped up a strong gust of wind, it also splashed some murky water. The droplets danced in the air before—PLOP!—landing squarely on Zhang Beixing’s clothes.

Seeing his clean white shirt instantly stained, Zhang Beixing’s face darkened. Without hesitation, he whipped his head around and yelled at the rider, ”You f***ing delivery guy! Driving so damn fast on a snack street, are you trying to kill someone?! Damn it, who the fuck are you staring at? Yeah, I’m talking to you! Get down here and let’s go one-on-one!”

Lin Siqi was speechless. Alright, so there wasn’t any light after all. It was just the delivery driver passing behind Zhang Beixing with his headlight still on.

Naturally, the delivery driver wasn’t an idiot. Seeing how tall and well-built Zhang Beixing was, there was no way he would get off his bike for a fight. He retorted with a ”Serves you right!” then twisted the throttle and sped off proudly.

Seeing the driver leave like that, Zhang Beixing was furious but helpless. He couldn’t exactly chase an electric scooter on foot; he was stronger now, but he wasn’t Superman. All he could do was mutter curses under his breath.

Then he turned to Lin Siqi and asked, ”Did you get splashed?”

Lin Siqi shook her head. ”No.”

”Good. In that case, shall we go for a walk in the park now?”

”Sure!”