Chapter 22: Amiya, Let Me Explain

The next day, Zhou Jinru returned from the cafeteria and sat comfortably at his desk with a paper cup, reading a novel he had swiped from Amiya’s desk. It was a cheesy, sugary, pirated romance novel—the kind of book a fifteen-year-old girl who faced life and death on the battlefield would often flip through.

Without a doubt, the paper was rough, the typos were frequent on every page, and the plot was so hackneyed that it reminded Zhou Jinru of the early 2000s back home—the kind of early romance fiction about pure-hearted landlords and pretty tenants.

He stroked his chin, lost in thought. Perhaps it was time to let the little rabbit experience the golden age of web novels, the kind of romance stories that could make even the most stone-cold, straight-laced men chuckle with girlish glee.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sigh. If he hadn’t been shown photos of those authors by his former roommates, who would have guessed that the novelists who captured the hearts of countless boys and girls were actually burly, rugged men?

The illusion was shattered.

Knock, knock, knock.

There was a knock at the door. Zhou Jinru collected himself and said, "Come in." Unsurprisingly, he saw Red standing at the door. Her pace was slow, her complexion pale, and she carried the faint scent of antiseptic.

"Doctor."

Zhou Jinru nodded, interlacing his fingers and propping his chin on them, striking a classic anime character pose. "I heard that you want to settle your wages and return to the wilderness settlement, is that right?"

Red looked up in surprise and pulled the temporary contract from her pocket. If the Doctor signed it, she would receive a generous sum of money to take back home. She couldn't help but wonder how things were back there, whether the debt collectors had shown up, or if they had harmed her family.

Her heart yearned to go home.

"I can sign it, but I need to ask you one question first. How much debt do you owe?"

Zhou Jinru picked up the temporary contract, examined it, and asked nonchalantly.

Red lowered her voice, her ears drooping and her tail dragging listlessly on the floor. "20,000 LMD."

Zhou Jinru frowned. "That’s not right. I’m asking for the principal, excluding interest."

"8,000. After deducting the processing fees, I only received 6,500."

That sounded about right.

He signed his name at the bottom of the temporary contract with a black ballpoint pen. However, Zhou Jinru didn’t return the paper to Red immediately. He stared at the Vulpo girl’s haggard face. "You will never be able to pay off this debt. You know how terrifying the compound interest is. As a wilderness hunter, you have every opportunity to walk away from the bill and go elsewhere. After all, starting a new life isn't exactly difficult."

But Red couldn't do that. The creditors held a hostage, and they knew the Vulpo girl wouldn't abandon that person. From the moment she took the loan, she was trapped.

"Doctor, I have to go. I’ll find a way to pay back the medical expenses."

Red stepped forward, attempting to take the temporary contract back from Zhou Jinru, but the Doctor raised his hand high, holding the document at a height she couldn't reach.

Facing the girl’s anxious expression, Zhou Jinru asked with interest, "How much does it cost to stay a night at your place?"

...

Yesterday, she had handed over the data collected at the collection site to Kal'tsit and had her physical condition checked again. The data on the Originium density in her body remained largely unchanged. When she asked about her concerns, Kal'tsit simply told her to go back and get some rest, without explaining anything specific.

Amiya didn't press for more, went back, and had a sound sleep. It was the first time in many days she had slept peacefully, and she felt much more relaxed.

The Doctor was back, and her heart felt much more at ease. As she walked out of the cafeteria, greeting the operators she passed, she felt wonderful. It was bound to be a beautiful day.

"The Doctor has just returned and is suffering from amnesia. There are still many things he needs to relearn, so we cannot let our guard down for even a second."

With this thought, she walked briskly to the command center. As she stood before the door to the Doctor's office, preparing to knock, she heard the Doctor's voice from inside:

"...How much for one night?"

Amiya: ???

Everything had been fine today, and she had been caught completely off guard.

The cloudless sky suddenly clouded over with thunder and lightning.

What "how much for one night"? What on earth is the Doctor trying to do?!

She didn't bother knocking, instead turning the handle and bursting in. The first thing that met her eyes was the Doctor holding a piece of paper, the Vulpo girl struggling to grab it, and the smile on the Doctor's face looking lecherous no matter how she viewed it. Combined with the words she had just heard...

Amiya’s face darkened. She marched toward the Doctor in a fury. She had almost been fooled! The scumbag Doctor’s acting was truly superb; he hadn't changed at all. He was still the same jerk—lecherous, greedy, and devious!

Zhou Jinru was startled by the sound of the door opening. He watched helplessly as Amiya’s mood shifted from surprise to anger, then to sorrow, and back to rage—a full-blown tantrum. She seemed truly furious. He hurriedly explained, "Wait, wait, wait! Amiya, listen to me, it's not what you think..."

The line was so familiar he could recite it by heart. Amiya glanced down at the book spread across the Doctor's desk. It appeared to be the very book she cherished, the romance novel she had read over and over again, the one she loved so dearly. It was a line often spoken by the male lead: "Listen to me, it's not what you think."

Zhou Jinru looked down as well, and two words popped into his mind: *I'm done.*

He quickly jumped up and dodged to the side of the desk, shouting, "I didn't mean anything else! Calm down, let's talk this through, don't start a fight."

"How can you expect me to be calm! You're already asking 'how much for one night'!"

Red, caught between the two, asked blankly, "What's wrong? Did the Doctor say something wrong?"

*Snap.*

Something seemed to break in her mind. A vein throbbed on Amiya's forehead. The scumbag Doctor wasn't even sparing his own subordinates, casting his claws toward an innocent girl.

"Amiya, don't misunderstand! I was asking how much it costs to stay a night at the wilderness settlement! I didn't mean anything else. You must have missed the first half of the sentence. Red can testify!"

Zhou Jinru had a flash of inspiration and instantly clarified the misunderstanding. He wouldn't dare play around with crossed wires—did she know what a Chimera's true damage was like?

"Eh?"

Amiya’s eyes widened, and she looked to Red for confirmation. Red seemed to realize what was happening, and a blush appeared on her pale, lovely face. She whispered, "The Doctor was just asking how much the lodging costs. He didn't mean anything else."

So it really was a misunderstanding. She had just been overthinking it.

The more Amiya thought about it, the more ashamed she felt. Her face turned bright red, and she looked down. "I'm sorry, Doctor. It was my mistake."

Zhou Jinru let out a long sigh of relief. He had cleared that hurdle. He asked tentatively, "Did I really do some terrible things in the past?"

"You did, and there were many. Miss Jessica has a set of clothes that got a large hole burned into them when she encountered a wildfire during her first mission. When the Doctor assigned her as his assistant, he always insisted she wear those clothes because of the hole in the chest area. The Doctor liked to stare at it every day, and he even made Miss Jessica cry several times."

*Yo, that really is scumbag behavior. Was I really that much of a jerk?*

Zhou Jinru fell into deep thought.

Red raised her hand weakly. "Doctor, can I go now?"

She felt like she had just heard something she shouldn't have. Would she be silenced?