Rebirth of MC Chpt 1 - 101 (unedited translation)

Chapter 46: Li Qing

With a joint effort by Huo Zaiyuan and Long Zhanye, the pair ties the party of eight up with several lengths of rope, locking them in a room. Presently, their temporary hideout is once again safe. Returning to the canteen, Huo Zaiyuan checks on his still unconscious childhood friend, brow wrinkling.

"Why has this brat become more and more lazy?"

Standing aside, Long Zhanye laughs lightly as he hears Huo Zaiyuan's mumbled words. Walking over to the boy sleeping on the table, he leans in and sniffs.

"Knockout drugs? Little Yuan, your friend has been drugged. Feed him more water to dilute the substance in his bloodstream and he will be fine."

Hearing Long Zhanye's observations, Huo Zaiyuan waves his hand, taking out a box of bottled mineral water from within his space. Opening a bottle as though sacrificing it for a greater cause, with no mercy painted on his face, Long Zhanye's heart sweats as he watches. If he doesn't know beforehand that the two youths are childhood friends, he would be wondering what sort of grudge the youth could have against the unconscious person. Tsk, tsk...sure enough, one mustn't provoke a child.

"Uh...cough, cough...urgh - " Following a violent coughing fit, the unconscious person abruptly opens his eyes, sits up and vomits a mouthful of water over the edge of the table.

"Once he vomits it out, then everything will be fine." Long Zhanye looks at the incessantly dry-heaving youth and states lightly. Who knows where he manages to procure a packet of cigarettes but a stick is already lit and in his mouth, faint white smoke rising from the tip, a strong odour settling around him.

Glancing at the man standing in the doorway and smoking, Huo Zaiyuan seems to be thinking something over as he reaches out and pats his childhood friend's back to ease the heaving.

"Hah...hah..." In the end, he stops vomiting and stays sprawled at the edge of the table. Slowly, he raises his head and sees an extremely familiar face. "Little...little Yuan?"

"Eh...un." Huo Zaiyuan replies at his friend's call. "Are you all right? Where is Qin Jun?"

"Uwah..."

Just as Huo Zaiyuan finish asking, the youth who very recently regained conscience scrunches his forehead, the pair of dark eyes fill with glistening tears. Throwing himself into Huo Zaiyuan's bosom, he begins crying loudly, sobbing miserably enough to move the world and shake the heart, as though he can express all his fear and grief through his tears.

~~~

Still bearing two red eyes and lashes wet with teardrops, Li Qing uses a napkin to wipe his continuously flowing tears, clearly still traumatized by the events he experienced.

"Stop crying, it makes you look ugly. Here, eat something and save your strength." Huo Zaiyuan says as he holds out a plate full of mantou[1] in front of his friend. "You still haven't told me why Qin Jun is not with you."

The mantou in his hands wobbles slightly as a desolate expression crosses Li Qing's face, tears rolling down his cheeks again. "I broke up with him. He has nothing to do with me anymore, so why would I be following him n - aiya...ouch! Why did you hit me for?!"

"Nothing." Huo Zaiyuan answered blandly, taking a mantou from the plate and biting into it.

"Little Yuan...that person...is he your...this?" Li Qing glances meaningfully at Long Zhanye who is currently out in the corridor fiddling with the few guns he took off their captives. Then shifting his gaze to Huo Zaiyuan, he slowly extends his pinky[2].