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Originally, Lin Qin was going to visit XĂź Beijin the night before.
Though because he found the two sneaky persons snooping about Xü Beijin’s door, it ended up delayed; in the Nightmare, Xü Beijin also wanted him to deal with it.
So when the Nightmare was over, and they were all back on Respawn Avenue, Lin Qin immediately accosted Thin and the teenage girl.
Thin was spooked, and was eyeing Lin Qin cautiously, asking, “dalao…?”
He was worried that Lin Qin discovered their private investigation into the relationship between him and Xü Beijin, and why else would Lin Qin have entered that Nightmare…?
As expected, Lin Qin said, “I saw you two poking around outside Beijin’s door,” he says matter-of-factly, and then, with a slightly threatening tone, orders, “don’t interfere with his life; don’t interfere with us.”
Thin “…”
That first sentence from Lin Qin almost made him hold his head down and kneel, worried about being beaten by Lin Qin’s uncontrollable temper.
Though Lin Qin only… warned them?!
Thin was looking all astonished, and had lost the ability to speak.
“We understand,” the teenage girl immediately interjected, breaking the usual appearance of calm and coldness. She triedher best to put on a smile to reassure him, “we will never do that again.”
Lin Qin nodded.
If Xü Beijin didn’t tell him repeatedly not to resort to violence and beating people into submissions, he might actually have done so. Though, he was satisfied with how effective his mere presence has shocked and awed them.
He was happy concluding that he accomplished what XĂź Beijin wished for him to do well.
Then he thought some more and added, “same goes for all the others as well.”
Thin asked, hesitantly, “the others? You mean…”
“People like you,” Lin Qin answered, “there are a lot of people curious about us, I think.”
Lin Qin didn’t think of it before, but after Xü Beijin’s reminder, he realised that this was bringing some trouble; he does not know on whose orders these two are acting, nor is he interested. He only needed the two of them to be the messenger.
It is notable that since Lin Qin started interacting with Xü Beijin, especially after gifting him drinks, he seems to have become… smarter. At least, there is a hint of employing foresight in that course of action.
He realised that only warning these two people is insufficient, because many people have their eyes on himself. Lin Qin didn’t care before, but, learning that this was bringing unwanted troubles to Xü Beijin, then he would deal with it.
He wanted to solve everything as efficiently as possible, so that he could also tell XĂź Beijin about it proudly, of course.
Thin was completely astonished, though, of course.
Well… Lin Qin was the crownless King of the bottom floor, that was a consensus, but Lin Qin never did ‘exercise’ any of that reputation for anything. He was basically ‘out of the loop,’ drifting outside of it. Not a single Missiontaker knew a single thing about his life.
Though here, Lin Qin has decided to intervene for a Tower resident’s sake?
Merely for the fact that people were conducting surveillance right outside of the bookstore, that he would put the kibosh on anyone attempting to glean anything from the bookstore owner’s lifestyle?
Thin was staring at Lin Qin all frozen. His mouth was answering affirmatively, but only one word filled his mind.
‘Keeping the toy boy in your gilded house…’ (TL: A Chinese four-character proverb, which means about exactly as I translated here)
He shook, in spook.
When he finally came to, Lin Qin was already gone. The teenage girl still hasn’t put her calm face back on, as she was visibly troubled thinking about something.
Thin asked, “what’s wrong? Are we not going to do what the dalao asked?”
The teenage girl glanced at him, before coldly chuckling and saying, “this isn’t at all that simple.”
“Huh?”
Thin seemed taken aback.
His entire mind was still preoccupied imagining the possibly amorous relationship between Lin Qin and XĂź Beijin.
The teenage girl explained, “did you forget what this bottom floor is like right now? Did you forget all the chaos that bookstore owner’s Nightmare caused… Oh, right, you weren’t here.”
Thin wasn’t on the bottom floor of the Tower back then, but the teenage girl told him a summarised version recently, so just giving it some thought was enough to bring sudden changes to Thin’s expression.
The teenage girl said with an ominous tone, “with that rumour burning throughout the Tower, do you think the Missiontakers will, or will not, rekindle their interest in figuring out the truth about the bookstore owner’s Nightmare?”
Thin stayed silent.
Naturally… the answer was obvious.
Thin himself returned from a higher floor, so he knew what it was like up there. In some sense, he was worried about the rumour because… It couldn’t be? How could someone have actually managed to escape the Tower?
One of those Missiontakers? Those Missiontakers who were even more dead inside than those on the bottom floor???
Utterly inconceivable!
Well, yes, a sliver of delusion still occupied part of him. The possibility wasn’t, and never was, zero… Yet, he was still largely pessimistic and without hope.
Though he was also aware of how this rumour would definitely energise the enervated Missiontakers into visiting Nightmares once more, and going through another possibly futile journey of conquering all the Nightmares.
… And at this point in time, Lin Qin wanted to stop all others from prying on Xü Beijin’s Nightmare?
That would be pitting him against the greed, the desires of all the other Missiontakers.
Thin bitterly smiled, replying, “as expected of the dalao,” he could be said to have been impressed, even, commenting, “perhaps this is what love means.”
The teenage girl “…”
She appeared lost for a moment, blurting out, “wait… what?! Love what?!”
“What else could possibly make the dalao, Lin Qin, care for a Tower resident so much and on such a scale? Even deliberately, openly pronouncing his protection?” Thin explained with confidence, “you must also know how many Missiontakers had feels for the Tower residents that can be described as…”
Thin thought for a moment and finally settled on a word, “maniacal.”
The teenage girl “…”
Right now, the two of them are the only ones present at the point of respawning.
All five Missiontakers were here when they just left. Shen YĂźnjĂź and Jiang Shuangmei left immediately. After they did, Lin Qin came to talk to them, and after saying what he had to, he also left.
Therefore, the teenage girl has been completely convinced of the wrong idea that Thin had after his ‘forceful’ persuasion.
It makes no sense that love is the only possible explanation for a Missiontaker being nice to a Tower resident.
Though perhaps it was those Missiontakers who are accurately madly in love with the Tower residents that are to blame——At least, on a higher floor, Thin had once seen such a person. That deep impression left on him has completely led him astray.
The same way Muscular has led Jiang Shuangmei astray.
In the end, one additional rumour has been added to the sizzling pile of undercurrents swirling throughout the bottom floor of the Tower——Did you hear? That dalao with the physical prowess that must surely be a bug, Lin Qin, he has fallen in love with someone. He has hidden the person away, not allowing anyone to sneak even so much as a glance at them.
Though strangely enough, this does end up helping Xü Beijin’s privacy a little on the surface. The other effect, though, is that more people have become curious about the person, and not in the sense of wanting to get to the bottom of his Nightmare.
XĂź Beijin has no idea that telling Lin Qin to deal with this ended up causing such a misunderstanding; the same way that Lin Qin had no idea that he now has a brand new romantic interest.
After he left the point of respawn, he was headed for XĂź Beijin directly; just as he said, he finished a book. He wanted to come return it and also borrow another one.
Though when he was making a turn, he stopped as that house Ding Yi told him before popped into his mind. He then made a detour to where Ding Yi once told him, and walked inside.
Then, even someone like Lin Qin was shocked to a halt.
The entire house has been vacated and then made into a large, flat warehouse-like space. There might be dozens of racks at a cursory glance. The drinks are placed neatly within. There are different brands, even different types. All of them enchantingly dazzling under the bright lighting.
Lin Qin couldn’t help but think, that that Necessities Merchant, was certainly… generous?
He didn’t know that Ding Yi, in fact, had abandoned her entire business empire to return to her old days of Missiontaking. That is why she placed basically her entire stock of potable items here.
Yes. Even this large space can only hold the drinks she had.
Anyway, Lin Qin was definitely satisfied.
He walked among the racks, searching for drinks XĂź Beijin said he liked with eagle eyes. He even had an idea inside, that instead of bringing everything to XĂź Beijin at once, he could only bring him some from each, every time.
A while later, with his hands full, he headed for Xü Beijin’s bookstore immediately.
… Then he saw Mu Jiashi.
Lin Qin was surprised and perhaps even slightly unhappy, possibly because, he came to visit XĂź Beijin full of eagerness and earnestness, only to run into him catering to another customer.
Though Lin Qin then realised that this was the Missiontaker who said he was going to visit XĂź Beijin in the Nightmare before, before.
So his mood completes a u-dive, and is even feeling a bit full of himself right now.
Look, he came earlier than Mu Jiashi!