Chapter 31

As night fell, Qingchen skipping classes had become a habit.

Logically, after skipping so many classes, his parents should have been called in long ago.

But the key was that his homeroom teacher, Du Yihong, had been on leave all along. Since the穿越 incident, the other teachers had never even seen him, and the other subject teachers paid no attention to Qingchen.

So, whenever he could skip class, he should do it without hesitation.

After work hours, the narrow Xingzhu Road had become lively, with vendors selling roasted sweet potatoes, watermelons, and cold dishes lining both sides of the road.

When he was a child, whenever his mother, Zhang Wanfang, went back to her hometown, his father would take him out to eat a bowl of rice noodles for 1.5 yuan.

At that time, Qingchen felt that his father was being too casual with him, but now, looking back, those might have been the best times of his childhood.

Back then, his father hadn't started gambling, his parents hadn't divorced, and his grandparents hadn't looked down on him.

The 1.5 yuan bowl of rice noodles from back then now costs 15 yuan, and it seems that everything has changed and can't be returned to the past.

After entering the courtyard, he suddenly noticed two men squatting by the roadside, smoking.

As the sky grew darker, Qingchen couldn't see their faces clearly, only the red sparks of their cigarettes flickering on and off.

At first, Qingchen thought they were from a mysterious organization, tailing him, because their expressions were not normal, and they kept looking around.

But later, he realized that they didn't react at all when he passed by.

As he walked into the hallway, he smelled the aroma coming from upstairs. Li Tongyun was already waiting at his door: "Brother, Mom is almost done with dinner. She asked me to wait for you here."

"What if I was in evening study? You don't need to wait for me," Qingchen patted Li Tongyun's little head.

"You haven't been to evening study for the past few days," Li Tongyun said, pulling his sleeve and leading him upstairs.

When he opened the door, Qingchen saw that the broken furniture from before was gone, and the house no longer looked as rundown as before. It seemed that many things had been replaced with new ones.

Jiang Xue was busy in the kitchen, tying an apron. Hearing the door open, she said without turning around, "Qingchen, you're here. Sit down quickly, I just need to make one more soup."

Qingchen looked at the dining table, where there were sweet and sour ribs, stir-fried yellow beef, pickled green beans with meat, and spicy stir-fried potatoes. It all looked very appetizing.

Compared to the bland food in Prison No. 18, this was a real improvement in diet.

" Aunt Jiang, what are we celebrating?" Qingchen asked, puzzled.

Jiang Xue came out with the soup pot, her face beaming with joy. "I told you before that I opened a mechanical limb clinic in the Inner World."

"Uh, I remember you mentioning it," Qingchen got up to help her place the soup pot on the table.

Jiang Xue returned to the kitchen to serve rice and get chopsticks. "This clinic was a big worry for me because when I crossed over, I didn't inherit my memories. So when people came to have their mechanical limbs modified, I didn't know what to do."

Qingchen listened silently.

But then he heard Jiang Xue continue, "Those people who came to have their mechanical limbs modified all looked fierce, and the security in City No. 18 is particularly bad at night. It's not safe to be out after 8 PM, so I was quite worried."

This was why Jiang Xue had wanted to temporarily entrust Li Tongyun to Qingchen, as she didn't know if she could return after crossing over.

"But now it's all good," Jiang Xue said with a smile. "I don't know what happened, but the Li Family Corporation suddenly found my small clinic and offered to invest."

"Li Family..." Qingchen muttered to himself.

"I told you before, in the Inner World, the corporations are everything. As long as a corporation invests in a business, criminals will stay away," Jiang Xue said excitedly, sitting down at the dining table. "They not only gave me a sum of money but also replaced my sign with a holographic neon sign with the Li Family logo. Now I'm much safer in the Inner World."

Qingchen smiled. "With the Li Family Corporation's help, we should indeed celebrate."

"Now I don't have to trouble you, and Li Tongyun's grandparents don't have to leave their hometown," Jiang Xue was very satisfied with the current situation. She even said to Qingchen with a smile, "You used to envy the crossers, right? If you ever cross over, come to City No. 18 to find me. Aunt Jiang might not be able to do much, but I can protect you."

Qingchen sighed inwardly. He was indeed in City No. 18, but his situation was beyond what ordinary crossers could help with.

The struggle for the Qing Family's shadow and the inheritance of the Knight Organization had long surpassed the scope of ordinary crossers' understanding.

"By the way, Aunt Jiang," Qingchen asked, "have those black-clothed people contacted you again?"

"They didn't contact me; I contacted them," Jiang Xue said. "After entrusting Li Tongyun to you, I thought about contacting them to see if they could help me in the Inner World."

Jiang Xue continued, "But they said their organization was just starting and couldn't do much in the Inner World, so they couldn't help."

After dinner, Jiang Xue went to wash the dishes, leaving Qingchen and Li Tongyun sitting at the table.

At this moment, Qingchen suddenly asked, "You're a crosser, right?"

Li Tongyun blinked and asked, "What are you talking about, Brother Qingchen?"

"Last time, you specifically asked for your mother's clinic name, and now the Li Family Corporation has invested in her clinic and is protecting it so well," Qingchen said. "You can deny it, but I can also tell your mother these clues."

Li Tongyun instantly became nervous. "Please don't tell Mom!"

Qingchen breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he was right.

Before returning yesterday, he reviewed all his recent memories and noticed something strange.

When Li Tongyun learned that her mother had opened a clinic, her first reaction was not curiosity about the Inner World but to ask for her mother's clinic name, which was clearly intentional.

So, he used one of his trading opportunities yesterday to get the list of members of the Li Family Corporation from Li Shitong.

Li Tongyun's name was indeed on the list.

Traversing between two worlds, with the same name and body, this couldn't be wrong.

Qingchen asked in a low voice, "Why don't you tell your mother?"

"In the Inner World, not many people dare to manage me, but if Mom finds out, she will definitely manage me in both worlds," Li Tongyun said nervously. "Don't tell Mom, I can give you money. I have a lot of pocket money in the Inner World."

Qingchen said without hesitation, "I'm not a crosser, why would I need money from there?"

Li Tongyun, seeing his straightforward response, was puzzled. "You're not a crosser?"

"Of course not," Qingchen denied. "By the way, how much pocket money do you have in the Outer World?"

Li Tongyun was taken aback. "You want to trick a child's money!?"

Qingchen: "..."