Chapter 48 (1/2)

Qi Zimo slept very deeply. No matter how strong his consciousness was, he was after all only ten years old. After holding on for so long, he was truly at his limits.

Due to the fact that his memories had been sealed, some of the exercises Qin Mo had been using to adjust his body had been forgotten. Due to that, there was no way for him to recover quickly. As for why Qi Zimo was able to endure without fainting directly or getting sick, it was all thanks to how Qin Mo had spent most of his points on strengthening his body.

Even though he was sleeping so deeply, his left hand was still holding Shi Qing tight with a death grip. His grip was so strong that even an adult like Shi Qing had no way to break free.

Of course, Shi Qing had no intentions of breaking away. He brought Qin Mo back to his car and wanted to allow him to get enough sleep first. Otherwise, if he went home in such a way, both Father and Mother Nuo would definitely be shocked silly.

It was fine if he had only made friends with a little kid, but why was his little friend holding onto Shi Qing so tightly without letting go? How was his obsession so strong that he would not let go, even while he was asleep?

That would not be easy to explain. However, in truth, Shi Qing did not even know how he was going to explain this to Yan Qi.

Thankfully, Yan Qi had always obeyed Qi Zimo without question, so he did not ask anything at all.

He had arrived home at around 10 o’clock in the morning, whilst Qi Zimo ended up sleeping all the way until four in the afternoon.

With Shi Qing at his side, besides being slightly hungry, he did not feel annoyed in the slightest. It felt like the sky was already going down in the blink of an eye.

Qi Zimo slept very well, but when he woke up, he had woken abruptly in shock.

His black eyes swept open without any hint of haziness, and they were sharp like the edge of a blade. However, after he saw the youth by his side, he calmed down again.

Just like a cheetah retracting its claws, he had returned from his fierce offensive state to his current relaxed and calm state in an instant.

——Only because his prey had not run away.

Shi Qing would not have thought of that, all he saw was the young boy being awoken from his dreams, and could not help but worry, “Did you have a nightmare?”

Qi Zimo ignored his questions, instead deciding to stare at the person in front of him: soft, short hair, beautiful eyes, a shapely nose, and rosy lips all paired up to create a very good-looking face. Even so, he could also be very sure that he had never seen him before.

Why would he feel such a strong sense of familiarity from someone he did not know at all? That pull was so strong it felt as if this person was his possession, that he belonged only to him. He could not ever bear to let him go, even if it was just for a minute.

That was abnormal. Due to the environment he had grown up in, having vigilance against a stranger was something that was simply part of him. To have such a strong obsession towards someone he had met for the first time was really inexplicable, even to him.

Even so, he did not wish to let go at all, and he would never think of doing so.

Qi Zimo could not stop himself from holding Shi Qing’s hand. He could not explain what he was feeling, but he did not want to reject it. Just leave it like this, he belonged to him after all, that’s what he told him.

Qi Zimo was silent, but Shi Qing thought he had guessed correctly, and quickly tried to comfort him, “It’s fine, don’t worry, I’m right here.”

Qi Zimo raised his head to look at him, and his lips curled up into a smile, “Mm.”

Seeing that smile, Shi Qing could not help but suck in a breath. Cu… Cu… So cute! I want to rub those soft little cheeks!

En… En… Endure it! You’re not a pedophile!

Shi Qing cleared his throat, and just as he was about to add on a few more words of coaxing, he suddenly heard the sound of a stomach growling.

He smiled adoringly at Qi Zimo, “Hungry?”

However, Qi Zimo’s sight ended up on Shi Qing’s stomach instead.

Shi Qing could no longer hold up that ‘adoring’ look on his face… It’s not his stomach, right? It definitely wasn’t!

In response, his stomach rumbled again. This time, it rumbled with resounding clarity, and he could even feel a trace of pain. He was so hungry that it hurt…

Shi Qing could not hold his head high, and his gaze just so happened to have met with little Yan Qi who was standing silently at the side. Shi Qing quickly put on a magnanimous smile, “Haha, hahaha, was it Yan Qi? haha, Xiao Qi is also hungry, right? We’re all getting hungry, so let’s go, let’s have some food at my house.”

Yan Qi, “…”

Qi Zimo smiled and help Shi Qing’s hand tight, responding softly, “Okay.”

The expression on Shi Qing’s face was extremely dry. That was really damn shameful, why did it feel like he was being ‘adored’ by a ten year old kid instead? This was quite a messy setting!

Shi Qing had long messaged Mother and Father Nuo, and made up a random reason to tell them he would only be going back at dinner. So, at this moment, Mother Nuo had already prepared a table full of amazing dishes. As soon as he entered his house, the fragrant smell of rice filled his nose, causing his rumbling tummy to become even more excited.

After introducing each other, both Mother and Father Nuo were very surprised. After all, Qi Zimo was a big name recently. He was the eldest son of Qi Lu, who would be having his dimensional assessment this year, and all the common folk were already looking forward to the emergence of a level eight dimension carrier.

One had to know that due to the pedigree of the Qi family, every generation had a 50% chance of giving birth to a dimension carrier at level five or above. Qi Zimo’s grandfather gave birth to six children; the eldest came out with a level six dimension carrier, the second was a level four, the third, a daughter with a dimension of level five, the fourth and fifth were a pair of twins, both also at level five, and it was only the sixth who was Qi Zimo’s father, Qi Lu who came out with a bang; he was a rare level eight dimension carrier!

Their qualifications were all very high. Their lineage was one part of it, but most of it was the large amount of resources they had for nurturing and cultivation, allowing their dimensions to grow at a very good rate.

One also had to know that, amongst the ordinary people, even a level four dimension was already very good, but level four was the absolute weakest in this generation of the Qi’s.

Such elite qualifications were the base level of the family.

So to say, through every year of their annual qualification assessments, all the children from noble families would always be the focus of the crowd. The common people loved discussing their qualifications, and at the same time, they were also quite eagerly looking forward to the news.

It was truly the level of one’s dimension that would directly determine whether there would be a shortage of resources in the region. If their levels were too low, it would directly affect the standard of living for everyone else for the next few decades!

Just like with Qi Lu’s level eight dimension, when it had just been identified it became a great event for the entire region. Everything was decorated with coloured lanterns and whatnot for a whole month, and after Qi Lu enrolled into school, people paid even more attention to him. He was the best at everything, the top of the elite, and it seemed like his greatness was constantly being revealed to the people at every moment.

Qi Lu himself did not betray their expectations either. He had a smart mind and was a serious student. His dimension grew steadily, and at graduation, it had already grown to a very large size.

Up till now, not only had he succeeded the Qi family as its patriarch, he even expanded the region to hold more residents, attracting more people to stay, and turned Lanxin Region into an even more powerful and prosperous region.

Meanwhile, Qi Zimo was Qi Lu’s eldest son. As the first successor of such an outstanding father, high hopes had been placed on him almost as soon as he was born.

After more than a decade of waiting, and now that it was only two months away from him becoming eleven, Qi Zimo’s name resounded even louder as a household name. This was truly something capable of riling up the crowds.

If there was another level eight dimension carrier… Or perhaps, even one of the extremely rare level nines. The benefits they would obtain would be simply unimaginable!

For Father and Mother Nuo to suddenly see someone from the legends pop out, they would definitely be quite tense. However, Shi Qing had already thought of an excuse early on. He explained that he had received his teacher’s recommendation to be responsible for easing Qi Zimo into his pre-school basic training during the next two months.

That was a rule that had always existed in history, and was indeed the responsibility of recent graduates. However, because the burden of the graduation examination was too heavy, most of the graduates who could be selected for this task were all outstanding students, only then would any disruption to their studies be avoided.

Xia Nuo did have this opportunity, and the teacher had also mentioned it to him many times, but Xia Nuo was too nervous. He valued his test scores too highly, so he did not dare allow any chance for them to slip. Thus, even though he knew that the great young master of the Qi family would be amongst them this time around, he still did not dare to take any risks.

After all, there was only one Qi Zimo, but the number of new students entering the school was in the tens of thousands. It really was not worth it for him to take the risk when it was accompanied by such low odds.

Fortunately, Xia Nuo had not managed to tell Father and Mother Nuo about this, so for him to bring up that he had been selected now would cause no issues.

Hearing what he said, both Father and Mother Nuo revealed expressions of pleasant surprise. It was extraordinary luck. Even if you did not consider what were to happen after his graduation, as long as he could become Qi Zimo’s pre-school instructor, he would definitely become very famous in the future.

What’s more, Qi Zimo was currently still an adolescent, and children had simple hearts. As long as he treated him well and left a few good memories between them, he would definitely benefit greatly in the future.

Father and Mother Nuo were not powerful people, but they were not stubborn either. They would definitely never seek such a thing if they were never given that chance, but if they did get that chance, they would definitely cherish it.

Mother Nuo said she had to go and prepare a few more dishes no matter what, but she was stopped by Shi Qing. After some thought, Mother Nuo decided to let it go, so she could only smile at Qi Zimo, “Do tell auntie if there’s anything you want to eat, I’ll make it for you.”

Xia Nuo inherited his mother’s face, and since Qi Zimo was very familiar with Xia Nuo, he had a good impression of Mother Nuo as well. A small smile had also curved up his usually deadpan face, and he spoke to her in a very proper tone, “No need to bother, auntie, this is already very good.”

Their dinner passed full of joy and harmony. Shi Qing helped Mother Nuo clean up the tables, and just as he had entered the kitchen, he was pushed out by Mother Nuo, “I said you didn’t have to do anything, quick, go and play.”

Shi Qing did not insist on it either. After all, he still had a little friend sitting in wait for him in the living room, and that little friend’s gaze had also been fluttering over to him constantly. So as to not rouse the suspicions of his parents, it would be best for him to stay by his little host’s side.

When he returned to the living room, Father Nuo was still fervent. Even though he knew of Qi Zimo’s identity, he still was not too cautious about it. After all, this was just a small child, his appearance was truly adorable and he could not help falling for his charm. Father Nuo was an authentic child fanatic(T/N: wow this sounds terrible, it’s like son-con, but that sounds even worse) so when he saw the young Qi Zimo who was only ten years old, he ended up recalling how Xia Nuo was in his childhood. Fatherly love burst forth in him, and with eyes curved pleasantly with happiness, he was playing with Qi Zimo.

Father Nuo would also expose Xia Nuo’s past about matters that happened when he was ten, and Qi Zimo was very happy to hear this gossip material, so his acceptance of these ‘childish’ games were also much higher.

When Shi Qing came over, Father Nuo just so happened to have received a reminder from his dimension. It turned out his ores had matured, and they could now be collected.

That was a big deal, it had to do with whether his family would be eating or not. Father Nuo did not dare to dally either, so he told them, “You two have fun, I need to be busy for a while.”

Shi Qing would also help Father Nuo with the collection of ores in the past. He knew very well that it was tough work for him and really wanted to help, but he could not just abandon Qin Mo here by himself.

Just then, a thought came up, thus he turned to Qin Mo, “Want to go in for a look?”

Qin Zimo was slightly stunned, but he responded with a question, “Can I?”

When Father Nuo heard this, he said with some embarrassment, “My dimension is a bit dirty…”

Qin Zimo’s eyes darkened, but Shi Qing went on to say, “It’s fine! We’ll have to wash up tonight anyway.” Then, he turned to Qin Mo, “Are you scared of getting dirty?”

Qin Zimo’s disappointment slowly brightened up again, and he quickly responded, “Not scared.”

Mirth filled Shi Qing’s eyes, “Then, let’s go!”

Qi Zimo looked at Shi Qing with a stunned expression, but he also followed with a smile.

He had never been inside anyone’s dimension before, so this would be his first. Even though the dimension was very small, and also filled with grey rocks, as well as floating dust, he still felt like everything was fresh and new.

Although Qi Lu was the proud carrier of a level eight space, he was truly too busy. In addition, his dimension was too important. The huge grain output of his dimension meant that Qi Lu’s entire person was an important object that needed protection, so the interior of his dimension was stationed with an army all year round to prevent accidents.

One had to know that just one season of bad harvest would cause a great impact on the entire region.