Chapter 107: Death, Gems, and Cats

“Why don’t you go and take care of your business? You can accompany me tomorrow,” a soft female voice sounded after a long while, with a hint of caution.

“How can that be? I’m not a person who goes back on his word,” Qin Liang raised his hand and rubbed the girl’s head hard. First, he put on a “look at how I’m acting” expression, and then he turned to Gan Dai.

Gan Dai nodded and respectfully turned to leave.

But after just a few steps, she was called back by Qin Liang.

“By the way, Big Sister Gan Dai, find a few barbecue masters to come over. My barbecue skills are really…”

The young man glanced at the burnt baked potatoes on the grill, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, unable to bear looking at them.

“Okay, second young master,” Gan Dai replied and left.

Not long after, Gan Dai returned with three barbecue masters.

The fruitwood charcoal fire was reignited, and the sizzling sound of grilling meat, wrapped in an alluring aroma, once again filled the air.

And as for Qin Liang’s parents, just as Qin Liang had decided, his parents supported his decision. After learning of his decision, they didn’t send anyone to urge him.

Qin Liang lay on the soft-cushioned lawn, his fingertips swiping open his phone screen, and he looked at the chat interface that had not been moved for a long time.

“—Kele, let’s break up.”

“—I have someone I like more… no, a girl, no, it feels a little messy.”

These words, no matter how you looked at them, had a scumbag-like taste. Qin Liang frowned and deleted them, reorganizing his words.

“I’m sorry, let’s break up.”

“If you need anything, I’ll do my best to compensate you.”

“No, these words are too forceful. It feels like I’m in a hurry to cut ties with her at the speed of light.”

“I’m really sorry, Kele. I’ve found a girl I like more.”

“You wouldn’t stand in the way of me pursuing a better happiness, would you?”

Oh… why does this have a bit of a scumbag girl vibe from the internet? Delete, delete, and revise again.

Ever since he had transmigrated to this bizarre H-anime world, he and Kele had rarely been in contact.

More accurately, Kele rarely replied to him. The few times she did, they only chatted about some irrelevant things.

Sometimes he wanted to ask her out, to meet this girlfriend of his who belonged to this world, but he was always politely refused on the grounds that she was busy with her courses.

And now, since he had determined that he liked Tang Yunle, he naturally had to break up with his ex-girlfriend completely.

Although this was a bit heartless, Qin Liang didn’t want to bear the label of “playboy.”

Thinking back, the Qin family had been a single-child family for several generations. Every generation’s family head was a famous playboy when he was young. It wasn’t until his father’s generation that they finally had two children—his brother Qin Wen and him.

Qin Wen had truly inherited the family “tradition,” while he, under his mother’s guidance, had long been determined to be a staunch pure love party member.

After deleting and revising several times, Qin Liang still hadn’t finalized his wording.

At this time, a small head quietly came over.

“Ah Liang, do you think the grilled abalone is better, or the grilled Wagyu beef?”

Tang Yunle was holding a portion of barbecue in her left hand. On her left was a shiny grilled abalone, and on her right was a fragrant Wagyu beef. Her dark black eyes were like translucent grapes, looking at Qin Liang, her expression like that of a child waiting for an adult’s judgment.

“Of course, the grilled abalone is better,” Qin Liang put down his phone, reached out, and snatched the grilled Wagyu beef from the girl’s right hand, taking a bite.

The barbecue was cooked to perfection. Not only did the meat juices not dry out, but they were also firmly locked in the texture.

With one bite, the fresh and tender meat juices, mixed with the seasoning, exploded on his tongue. The rich aroma went straight to the top of his head, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

The grilled Wagyu beef in her hand was snatched away. Tang Yunle was slightly stunned, then she looked at the grilled abalone in her hand.

“Since the grilled abalone is better, why didn’t you eat this, but instead snatched my Wagyu beef?”

“Because abalone suits you better.”

Qin Liang smacked his lips, pointed his fingertip at the abalone in her hand, and smiled meaningfully. “Tender and sweet, it looks like it could drip water at any moment.”

Tender, delicious, as if it could drip water at any moment…

Abalone suits you better…

Tang Yunle was stunned on the spot.

Is Ah Liang… making a dirty joke with her?

Or is she just overthinking it? Was he just talking about the abalone itself, not what she was thinking?

She silently took a bite of the abalone, and then some other barbecue. Gradually, she felt a little greasy, so she took a bite of half an apple and lay down on the lawn with a blanket. Qin Liang also followed suit and lay down beside her.

The two of them looked at the not-so-bright sky together, watching the white clouds drift by, letting the gentle breeze brush past their hair.

“Ah Le, where do you think people go after they die?”

Suddenly, Qin Liang’s voice sounded in her ear.

Tang Yunle turned her head and saw him using his arm as a pillow, his gaze fixed on the sky, his eyes a little dazed, and yet with a hint of seriousness.

Seeing that she didn’t answer, he continued to speak to himself:

“I’ve read a lot of books. Some say the soul exists, and some say it doesn’t. Among those that say it exists, they also say that after a person dies, they either go to heaven or to hell. Do you think… there really are places like heaven and hell in this world?”

“Well, I didn’t believe in it before, but now I’m starting to.”

Tang Yunle rolled over, cupped her face in her hands, and looked at him with her head tilted, her dark black eyes sparkling. “Think about it. Not only have I been gender-bent, but I’ve also transmigrated. All these ridiculous things have happened. It’s hard not to think that there are supernatural forces in this world.”

“Since there are even supernatural forces, then it seems quite reasonable to have gods, demons, ghosts, and immortals, angels and devils, and the like.”

She paused for a moment and then asked, “But why are you suddenly asking about this? Death is still very far away for us young people. After all, we still have a lot of youth.”

“It’s nothing, just some thoughts.”

“Oh~ tell me more!”

The girl’s eyes lit up. She simply moved closer, resting her chin on his chest, her two calves dangling leisurely behind her.

Qin Liang was silent for a moment, then he raised his hand and pointed not far away.

Yanhuo was squatting next to the three barbecue masters, burying its head and crazily gnawing on a grilled fish, eating with great relish.

“Yanhuo is actually not the first cat I’ve raised.”

“Even earlier, I had a cat named Baoshi. My mom gave it to me on my third birthday. It had a coat of snow-white fur, so pure that there wasn’t a single speck of color, and it was especially fluffy to the touch.”

“So that’s the one you were talking about!” Tang Yunle said in a sudden realization, slapping her forehead.

“You’ve seen it?” Qin Liang was a little surprised.

“I snuck into your bedroom and saw a photo, the one in the photo frame where you’re holding a cat.”

Hearing this, the young man nodded lightly and continued.

“Baoshi was very clingy. It always liked to curl up by my pillow and sleep. When I turned over in the middle of the night, I would touch a fluffy thing.”

“One time, I didn’t do well on my final exams, and I was crying my eyes out. It even put its paw on my knee, purring in its throat, as if it were trying to comfort me.”

“It just stayed with me like that, like my family.”

“From just learning to say ‘meow’ to when I was in high school.”

He paused, and his voice became a little lower. “A few days before my sixteenth birthday, it started to act a little strange. It didn’t like to move, and it didn’t eat much. It used to love to jump on my desk and watch me do my homework, but at that time, it would just curl up in its nest, and its eyes weren’t as bright anymore.”

“On my birthday, it was very lively. It even brought me a ball of yarn to play with. And after its birthday, I held it and sat on a chair, sunbathing. As we were sunbathing, I fell asleep.”

“When I woke up again, I found that it was much lighter. I poked its cat nose, trying to wake it up, but it never woke up again.”

“It was dead.”

“It died in my arms.”