Chapter 6: Words taken to the extreme
Reaching out, he took the cocktail from Duan Siqi's hand and let out a heavy sigh. "Business these days is really tough."
Duan Siqi raised an eyebrow. "Well, your kind of shady business was never going to do well."
Heavy Li Tianji wasn't offended. "You wouldn't understand, this industry has its own ins and outs."
Duan Siqi felt speechless and immediately stopped talking.
Seeing that Duan Siqi wasn't saying anything, Heavy Li Tianji didn't insist on a reply. Instead, he went on lamenting to himself. "You're not in the industry, so you wouldn't know, but the 'Mother of Spirits' down the street and that 'Spring Flow Sword Dojo' are both involved in this line of work."
Duan Siqi grew interested and asked, "I understand 'Mother of Spirits,' but what's up with the 'Spring Flow Sword Dojo'?"
"This doesn't really matter to you. In any case, exorcising evil spirits is a tough business..." Heavy Li Tianji spoke half in conviction, half in lament.
Indeed, exorcism. "Si Tian Tai" primarily deals with supernatural events, or more precisely, handling various paranormal occurrences.
The two of them chatted aimlessly for a while, and then Heavy Li Tianji stood up, preparing to leave. "Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to tell you, it's a bit dangerous lately. Make sure to head home early after work, don't linger outside."
Duan Siqi was wiping a glass when he heard Heavy Li Tianji's words. He froze for a moment, a warm feeling filling his chest. "Got it. It's because of that martial detective assassin, right? Don't worry, I won't stay out too long."
Heavy Li Tianji walked off without looking back. "Yeah, more or less..."
At midnight, Duan Siqi's shift was over. According to the laws of Fuso Province, students aren't allowed to work past midnight, and 24:00 is the limit.
"I'll leave first. Kawasaki, be sure to rest well. Also, you heard about the martial detective assassin, right? It's not very safe lately, so make sure to head straight home after work."
Perhaps because he was used to being in the caretaker role, Duan Siqi unconsciously took on that persona even with people he was familiar with. This was no exception.
Whenever this happened, Kawasaki Saki would always turn her head away and give a few indifferent responses like "Mhm, oh, ah."
Duan Siqi, thinking this was Kawasaki's way of signaling she didn't want to listen, felt a bit awkward. "Ah... oops, said too much again. Now Kawasaki must be annoyed. Sure enough, 'Words cannot be taken to extremes; extremes lead to decline'..."
[Note: From Records of the Grand Historian – Biographies of Fools. During the Warring States period, the state of Chu attacked the state of Qi, and King Wei of Qi sent Chunyu Kun to Zhao to ask for help. After Chunyu Kun successfully brought back reinforcements, King Wei invited him to a feast. Chunyu Kun, knowing the king would want to drink all night, took the opportunity to offer advice.]
The next day, around 5:30 AM, Duan Siqi got up. He had morning papers to deliver.
In Fuso Province, newspapers come out of the printing press quite early, around 2 AM, and are distributed to various delivery points.
The delivery workers pick up the sorted papers from these points, organize them, and deliver them to homes. However, Duan Siqi, being a student, didn't have to do the sorting part. He just picked up the sorted papers from a designated point.
So, Duan Siqi needed to ensure he could deliver the papers before 7 AM.
For him, waking up at around 5:30 wasn't a big deal. Since he had been waking up at this time for school back on the mainland since elementary school, the early wake-up wasn't much of a hassle for him, though he was a bit sleepy when first getting up.
Around 5:50 AM, Duan Siqi got on his bike and headed out from the delivery point to deliver the morning papers.
After coming out of the elevator of a gray-white brick apartment, Duan Siqi made his way to the next building to deliver papers.
Normally, delivery workers don't have to bring papers to the doors of residents in apartment buildings, as most of them have a designated mail area at the bottom. However, there are some exceptions, like this particular building.
Duan Siqi didn't mind this kind of setup; in fact, he preferred it because in such buildings, the papers would be concentrated on a few floors, which saved him time and energy.
"Hey, Duan-kun~" Just as Duan Siqi was riding his bike, a voice suddenly called out behind him.
"Huh?" He turned, seeing a black-haired, bespectacled boy riding his bike toward him.
"Oh, it's Aki. Looks like you're just starting your paper deliveries," Duan Siqi remarked, glancing at his bike basket for confirmation.
"Of course, but Duan-kun is almost done..." The boy, Aki Renya, caught up and rode alongside Duan Siqi.
In Fuso Province, paper delivery routes are fixed, so the delivery workers' pace doesn't change much, allowing Duan Siqi to immediately gauge Aki Renya's progress.
"By the way, did you read the novel I recommended last time?" Before Duan Siqi could respond, Aki Renya brought up a new topic.
"You mean Love Metronome?" Duan Siqi nodded. "I've read it. The writing is even better than I expected..."
"Right? Right? Let me tell you..." Aki Renya continued to recommend more books.
Aki Renya was someone Duan Siqi had met while doing his paper deliveries, though they hadn't been close at first. They hadn't even spoken before, but one time, Duan Siqi had forgotten to take out a light novel from his bike basket, and Aki Renya had seen it. That's when they started talking.
They later realized they were both students at the same high school, even in the same grade, though one was in Class 2B and the other in Class 2F, making them quite distant.
Soon, they passed a traditional townhouse, and the owner, an old man, came out while stretching, toothbrush in mouth.
Aki Renya immediately stopped his bike, greeted the man, and took a paper from his bike basket. "Good morning, old man."
Duan Siqi was about to part ways with Aki Renya, as he still had to hurry home to cook for his sister. "Well, I'll head off first, need to get home and cook."
"Ah, okay, you go ahead."
"Huh? Renya, are you doing paper deliveries now? What about your other part-time jobs?"
"Both the rental shop and the family restaurant part-time jobs are still going on. I just added the morning paper delivery."
"Really hardworking. And still keeping up with your studies, isn't it hard?"
"It's fine, because I have a big goal. So, I'm really making every second count now. See you."
"Let me guess, are you obsessed with a new anime again..."
Even though Duan Siqi had already ridden ahead a little, he could still vaguely hear their conversation...