Delicate, Yet Shamelessly Freeloading [Quick Transmigration] Chapter 35

Chapter 35: The Blind Widower in the Infinite Game (2)

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When lunch break ended and they were getting ready to head back to school—

 

He saw that person again.

 

Guan Yizhou frowned.

 

All alone, sitting under the big banyan tree in the center of town.

 

No one knew how long he’d been sitting there. By now, the sun was getting intense.

 

The air was stifling and hot, making that snow-pale face flush pink. His eyelashes were damp, clumped together in little tufts.

 

Guan Yizhou had never seen any guy or girl with skin that fair or eyelashes that long.

 

Was he really some kind of fairy?

 

His friends noticed he wasn’t walking and followed his gaze, easily spotting what had captured his attention.

 

“Why’s he still in town? Doesn’t Brother Yuan Zhou live in Qingtian Village?”

 

“Not that far, is it?”

 

“Maybe he got lost? I mean, the guy’s blind…”

 

Teenagers were quick to anger, and on Qianyan Island, people didn’t shy away from talking about death. They still casually referred to the late Yuan Zhou as “brother”.

 

“No idea what’s up with Yuan Yu either. He didn’t come to school today. Otherwise, we could’ve asked him to take this guy back.”

 

“Brother Yizhou…? Brother Yizhou! Where are you going?!”

 

Guan Yizhou took a couple steps, then seemed to think of something. He threw his school uniform jacket to one of his friends and turned back toward the banyan tree. Casually waving over his shoulder, he said, “You guys go on ahead. Don’t be late.”

 

He had only brought the school jacket to avoid being caught during attendance checks. Underneath, he wore just a tank top—more convenient for helping unload the family fishing boat after school.

 

His skin was a tanned wheat color, built from years under the sun and rain.

 

With a flex of his arm, the muscle cords tensed, and he effortlessly lifted the red plastic bag off the ground.

 

Shui Que sensed the tall shadow stop in front of him, bending down and then straightening up, the rustle of plastic bags clearly audible. Though he knew the island folk were mostly honest, he still couldn’t help reaching out to stop the person’s hand. “What are you doing?”

 

He had expected to feel rough fabric under his palm, but instead, he felt only solid muscle.

 

His hand shifted slightly downward.

 

Judging from the size of the wrist and joints—it was a man.

 

Guan Yizhou was startled by the touch.

 

How shameless could this guy be?

 

Did he just grope anyone?

 

Disgusted, like he had touched something dirty, he flung Shui Que’s hand away.

 

That action clearly alarmed the other boy. Guan Yizhou realized then—he thought he was being robbed.

 

No good deed goes unpunished.

 

“Helping you carry it,” he said impatiently, looking down at Shui Que, who was still sitting on the stone ledge around the tree. “Aren’t you going home?”

 

Shui Que sounded doubtful as he asked softly, “Do you know where Yuan Zhou… where Yuan Yu’s house is?”

 

The boy gave a curt answer: “Yeah.”

 

Shui Que propped himself up with his hands, stood up, and patted the dust off the back of his pants.

 

Guan Yizhou stared at the motion. His pupils suddenly shrank, and he barked, “Let’s go. Hurry up!”

 

How did someone so thin, who looked like a gust of wind could knock him over, have such a perky backside?

 

He’d heard that kind of guy… used their butt…

 

His temper flared, shooting straight to his head, and his face turned red.

 

When he glanced back, the boy with the perky butt was still sitting obediently under the tree, completely unmoving.

 

Guan Yizhou nearly burst from rage. He almost laughed from sheer frustration at his own misplaced kindness.

 

He had already reached the corner of the street when he turned around and stormed back with long strides.

 

“Are you going or not? What are you still doing here?” Guan Yizhou sneered. “Planning to take root and sprout or something?”

 

Not like he was tall anyway.

 

He looked like a little mushroom.

 

Perfect for growing under a canopy—no wind, no sun.

 

Guan Yizhou thought he really must’ve been sun-struck. Why the hell was he imagining a small boy turning into a mushroom?

 

Wait. Not even a boy…

 

He was Brother Yuan Zhou’s—fiancé.

 

He was a full head shorter than him—was this really the age to be talking about marriage?

 

Guan Yizhou was momentarily lost in thought.

 

But his bulging, muscular arm quietly reached over and took hold of a hand. The owner of that hand spoke slowly, “Don’t sprout…”

 

“I don’t know the way—you have to lead me, or I’ll get lost,” Shui Que added, a bit disgruntled, letting out a soft huff. “Don’t be so hot-tempered and impatient… you need to be more gentle. I’ll teach you how to guide someone with visual impairment.”

 

All Guan Yizhou could think about was how the hand holding his felt so soft—like it didn’t have any bones at all.

 

“When you meet a blind person in the future, you should first politely say hello, greet them properly.”

 

Shui Que taught him seriously. Because of this role, he had come to empathize more deeply with people who were truly blind.

 

“And don’t just grab other people’s things—it gives the wrong impression,” he mumbled, his voice soft and delicate. “You really scared me…”

 

His eyelashes trembled in fright.

 

Guan Yizhou instinctively wanted to apologize but held himself back. He only replied, “…Oh.”

 

Shui Que didn’t really need an apology anyway. He simply continued teaching the second step: “Then you need to ask, do they need any help?”

 

“Hurry and ask me.” He poked Guan Yizhou’s arm with a finger—it was all firm muscle. “Don’t be so tense. Relax.”

 

Guan Yizhou mumbled stiffly, awkwardly repeating what he was told like copying from a template: “Hello, do you need help?”

 

Shui Que happily nodded up and down, his eyes curved in a smile. “Yes! I do. Please help me carry my things and take me home to Yuan Yu’s place.”

 

He wouldn’t follow a stranger unless the whole routine was done properly.

 

Why did doing a good deed have to be so complicated?

 

Guan Yizhou pressed his thin lips into a straight line, but didn’t impatiently interrupt Shui Que.

 

“Then I’ll take your arm, and you need to walk half a step ahead of me and lead me forward.” Though he couldn’t see, his eyes still seemed to speak, looking charming and full of life. “Alright, let’s go home.”

 

Go home…?

 

The side of Guan Yizhou’s body being held went numb and tingly.

 

Was this how he usually spoke to Brother Yuan Zhou too?

 

“Let’s go home?”

 

Guan Yizhou suddenly realized he wasn’t just helping some gay guy—he was helping someone else’s fiancé.

 

Oh right, Brother Yuan Zhou had died. So this person was actually someone’s widower.

 

As he led him along, the little widower leisurely directed, “Don’t walk so fast.”

 

Not even walking fast was okay? So delicate. How had Brother Yuan Zhou managed to tolerate him?

 

Guan Yizhou couldn’t understand.

 

His brain felt a little foggy, like it wasn’t working properly anymore.

 

What did this guy eat growing up? Did city folks drink milk every day or something? His skin was as white as milk, his elbows barely had any pigmentation, just a hint of pink.

 

He even smelled nice.

 

The weather was oppressively hot, and that thick, sweet scent drifted out from under his white shirt.

 

Guan Yizhou suddenly blurted out, “What do you use for bathing?”

 

He’d heard city people were super particular—bathing with fresh flower petals and all that.

 

Shui Que replied, “Hm? Soapberry. Doesn’t your family use it too? But Yuan Yu bought me sulfur soap—it’s in the bag you’re carrying.”

 

People in town usually used regular soap, while villagers, trying to save a few coins, used soapberries picked from the fields. They cleaned well and, most importantly, were free.

 

“Oh.” Guan Yizhou glanced into the bag. “I use this sulfur soap too.”

 

Shui Que couldn’t see, so he didn’t know the livestream comments were blowing up.

 

【I can’t take it anymore. Looking this good? Damn. This guy just needs to smile to bend straight guys into spirals.】


【Little Boat Bro and his classmate… you guys better be straight, okay.】


【They keep calling him Brother Yuan Zhou… what, are they constantly reminding themselves this is someone else’s wife to get even more turned on?】


【Shui Shui was just chilling under the tree for a break, and these mutts came sniffing along.】


【OMG, am I the only one who noticed how good Shui Shui is at training dogs? That Boat Guy had a nasty temper, rushing a blind person like that—but once Shui Shui said a few words, he listened. Fine, give my wife a reward—let him hold your arm. Next time, don’t be rude!】


【Shui Shui… hehehe… no wonder No.1 wants to hide you away. Afraid we cyber-hubbies will lick you down to the bone…】


【Xie Qian, you selfish man! Admit it! You already licked our baby! Write a grave inscription for us—tell us how tender Shui Shui is…】

 

Since the streamer couldn’t see, the comments got bolder and more outrageous. Not wanting to expose the host to that mess, System 77 had no choice but to act as a manual filter. But with over ten million viewers online, it was overwhelmed and dizzy from the flood.

 

Because someone was holding his hand and leading him, Shui Que safely folded and stored his collapsible white cane.

 

Guan Yizhou had only ever left the island once, when he visited his aunt who had married off to a coastal city. He’d never really had contact with visually impaired people, so he curiously glanced at Shui Que’s cane.

 

There weren’t many blind people on the island, and those who were rarely went outside due to inconvenience, spending their whole lives at home. Their needs weren’t prioritized, and there was certainly no infrastructure like tactile paving, which was only found in big cities with human-centered planning.

 

A blind person walking alone on uneven roads was very dangerous. Once they reached the village entrance, the roads grew narrower and more rugged. Tripping on a stone could mean tumbling straight into the fields.

 

How could Yuan Yu let him go out alone to buy things?

 

With that thought, Guan Yizhou couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s Yuan Yu? I didn’t see him today. And he didn’t come to class either.”

 

Yuan Yu and he were both in their third year of high school, cramming for college entrance exams. He shouldn’t be skipping class casually.

 

“Our Coalball is sick,” Shui Que’s eyes remained fixed ahead, the light brown irises even clearer under the sun. “There’s no pet hospital in town, and the vet clinic wasn’t open. Yuan Yu took the first boat out before dawn to get help on the other coast.”

 

Shui Que hadn’t expected this either. In the last world, he had tried to bring Coalball with him, but the system had told him that living creatures couldn’t be brought out of small worlds.

 

He’d already gone through six story arcs in this new world and had given up hope. But last night, after entering this arc, he’d been surprised to find a dog at the Yuan household leaping excitedly toward him. He couldn’t see it, but from touch and the sounds it made, it felt just like Coalball.

 

He’d asked Yuan Yu about it, and Yuan Yu had been confused, thinking he’d hit his head or something. He said the dog was a stray he and Yuan Zhou had picked up in the capital and brought back to Thousand Smoke Island.

 

That was just how the logic of this infinite game worked.

 

It automatically filled in backstories and world-building based on the player’s personality and character setup, ensuring the original NPCs wouldn’t feel something was off.

 

So now it was as if Shui Que had really met a young man from the island while studying at the National Maritime University, fallen in love, and adopted a stray dog to bring back to his boyfriend’s hometown.

 

“Oh, oh,” Guan Yizhou muttered.

 

He had seen a dog he didn’t recognize. It was black and yellow—not like the local mutts or wolfhounds. Its coat was sleek and glossy, and it had a strong, athletic build. He’d once seen a picture in the school library’s encyclopedia—it looked like some kind of foreign shepherd breed.

 

But no one on the island raised sheep. What was the point of keeping that kind of dog?

 

“You and Yuan Yu are classmates? Sounds like you two are really close.” Shui Que turned his head. Once again, Guan Yizhou saw those long, dense lashes and those thin eyelids that looked like they belonged to some kind of water bird.

 

Feeling awkward, he wanted to scratch his face, but his right hand was holding the bag and his left arm was wrapped by Shui Que’s, so he gave up.

 

“Just normal. We’re not that close. Just classmates.”

 

Sometimes when they had free time, they’d play ball together. But most of the time, they had to help their families with work. Being around the sea so much had made him smell of saltwater. After unloading cargo, all he wanted was a shower—he had no energy left to hang out with anyone.

 

But the person in front of him wasn’t like that.

 

He didn’t have that damp, salty, chaotic scent of the sea.

 

He only smelled faintly sweet—like cotton candy being spun at a festival stall.

 

Guan Yizhou suddenly asked, “How old are you?”

 

Shui Que blinked, puzzled, but answered honestly, “Nineteen, turning twenty soon.”

 

Guan Yizhou’s pupils shrank.

 

Only a year older than him…

 

He’d heard city schools were strict about grade skipping. At most, the guy in front of him could only be a sophomore?

 

Brother Yuan Zhou had definitely already graduated from college. So… was this guy lured back home?

 

No wonder they called him a fiancé. He probably wasn’t even old enough to legally marry.

 

Guan Yizhou was about to ask, “Brother Yuan Zhou, he—”

 

But Shui Que, reflexively following his character setup, lowered his eyes and pretended to be stricken with sorrow at hearing his deceased fiancé’s name.

 

He was still worried that Guan Yizhou would start asking about Yuan Zhou. After all, he had just entered the instance and only had the basic information about his own character. There was no way he knew more about Yuan Zhou than Guan Yizhou did.

 

Fortunately, a timely male voice interrupted their conversation—

 

“Guan Yizhou?” The tone carried a light trace of confusion.

 

A tall and lean young man in a white short-sleeve shirt stood by the water basin in the courtyard, holding a black-and-yellow dog by a leash in one hand and a spraying water hose in the other.

 

Turned out they had already followed the uphill path and made their way back to the Yuan household in Qingtian Village.

 

As soon as the German Shepherd saw Shui Que return, it stopped playing with the water hose. Still dripping wet, it ran toward its owner.

 

Yuan Yu let go of the leash and roughly rinsed the sand off his feet before tightening the tap.

 

He walked over without even glancing at Shui Que, who was still tangled up with the dog.

 

He simply took the items from Guan Yizhou’s hand, opened the bag to check everything, and after confirming the contents, nodded at Guan Yizhou. “Thanks. Want to come over for dinner tonight?”

 

He said “our house,” and Shui Que also referred to him as “our Yuan Yu.” That phrase stung Guan Yizhou like a bite from an ant—an inexplicable irritation burned inside him. His gaze grew hot as he looked away, wanting nothing more than to leave immediately.

 

“No, thanks. I need to head back to school now.” As he spoke, he turned to leave the way they came.

 

Truthfully, there was no conflict between going back to school now and coming to the Yuan house for dinner after school.

 

Guan Yizhou just didn’t know what to say.

 

And he didn’t say goodbye to Shui Que either.

 

Behind him, he heard Yuan Yu call out, “I’ll treat you to a Coke later.”

 

“Want mung bean porridge this afternoon?” That sentence was clearly directed at the little widower.

 

Guan Yizhou clenched his fists.

 

Shui Que reached out and passively petted the German Shepherd’s head.

 

Because of its visual impairment, the dog had especially sensitive touch. It kept nudging his palm, making Shui Que’s hand itch so much he laughed out loud.

 

“Sure,” he responded to Yuan Yu.

 

He squatted down, and the wet fur of the German Shepherd rubbed against his clothes. Under the sunlight, his white shirt grew increasingly see-through when wet, faintly revealing soft, pink-tinted shoulders.

 

Yuan Yu: “…”

 

Yuan Yu: “Coalball.”

 

“Come here, let’s dry you off.”

 

“Go on,” Shui Que added, also worried the dog would catch a cold from staying wet for too long. He gave the German Shepherd a little push to send it over.

 

As he straightened up, he asked, “Did the doctor say anything? Is Coalball okay?”

 

Yuan Yu picked up a towel draped over the water hose and began roughly drying the dog’s wet fur. He didn’t bother to make it completely dry—just damp enough. The scorching sun could handle the rest.

 

“Nothing serious. Took an X-ray. He just ate something bad. The vet gave us some meds.”

 

Shui Que looked worried. “Did it cost a lot?”

 

It was hot. Yuan Yu had sweated through his clothes while squatting to dry the dog. He casually rolled up his pant legs above the knees, revealing lean, toned calves.

 

Hearing the question, he glanced at Shui Que and replied offhandedly, “My brother left some money.”

 

The local fishing cooperative had also given their family a condolence payment. For now, the delicate, physically weak widower didn’t need to worry about expenses.

 

“Oh.” Shui Que nodded toward the direction of his voice. He didn’t really know what to say to this man who was, nominally, his brother-in-law. His cane tapped awkwardly on the floor. “I’m going inside… to change clothes.”

 

He had been standing outside too long. His clothes were soaked in both sweat and water, clinging to his skin uncomfortably.

 

Tapping his cane, he made his way back to his room.

 

Though calling it “his” room didn’t quite feel right, since this wasn’t his house.

 

The house was a single-story, three-room cement bungalow with ceramic tiles. Compared to the red-brick houses of other villagers, it was considered quite decent. Even the outside had decorative tiles to give a polished look.

 

The inside wasn’t large. Past the living room was the main room, and to the left and right were the bedrooms of the two brothers.

 

Shui Que had heard Yuan Yu mention that the main room was unused and held the memorial tablets of the Yuan parents.

 

The room on the right… was Yuan Zhou’s. That was the room Shui Que slept in.

 

With his limited vision, Shui Que could still navigate around the larger furniture and made his way back into the room.

 

He opened the creaky wooden wardrobe.

 

It was stuffed with clothes, some of which were too small—likely Yuan Zhou’s from childhood—and had remained there all this time.

 

In the corner of the wardrobe was a small section set aside for Shui Que’s clothes.

 

He groped around until he found what felt like a cotton white shirt and pulled it out.

 

He wasn’t sure if it was from sticky sweat or from the dog’s wet fur earlier.

 

His chest, now exposed, was damp with moisture.

 

A bead of sweat rolled down from his neck, pooled in the dip of his collarbone, then continued down, clinging to the faint rise and fall of his chest.

 

Small and flat, with a tiny pink nub—so delicate it looked like it could be swallowed whole into a warm, wet mouth.

 

With a single flick of the tongue, it would softly spring back up.

 

Drip.

 

The water droplet hit the floor.

 

Due to his impaired vision, Shui Que didn’t see the tall black shadow blending into the curtain in the corner of the room.

 

A strange Observer’s voice, one he hadn’t heard before, echoed in his mind—

 

【Someone is watching you.】

 

Shui Que froze, his mind instinctively conjuring images of zombies in the wilderness or green-furred giants from previous instances.

 

In broad daylight, a chill crept over his skin, making him shiver uncontrollably.

 

A tiny orb floated up into the air.

 

The Observer’s voice was innocently puzzled:

 

【Why is he staring at your chest?】

 

Shui Que hugged the half-wet shirt to his chest and stammered, “…Who?”

 

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Huge shoutout to @candycorns2 on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.

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