Death Progress Bar Chapter 40 - Crescent Bay Island

Crescent Bay Island

Shi Jin said hello to the club staff on night duty and left, carrying a disposable bowl of still steaming dumplings. He headed for a military jeep parked at the entrance which stood out like a sore thumb and was impossible to miss.

Xiang Aoting got off and stood by the car, watching him approach.

Shi Jin stopped two steps away from his brother and handed him the bowl. “Here, eat it, it’s about ti for supper. I made these earlier and reheated them, so they might not taste as good. Still, they’re edible.”

This stunned Xiang Aoting. His eyes dropped to the paper bowl. After a mont of hesitation, he took it and set it on the car hood. As he split the disposable chopsticks, he said, “I didn’t know you could make dumplings.”

“It’s not that difficult to learn.” Shi Jin put his hands in his pockets and watched his brother. As soon as Xiang Aoting took the cover off the bowl, Shi Jin reached out and stuffed a dumpling in his mouth. He couldn’t resist asking, “Aren’t you afraid I put laxatives in them?”

Xiang Aoting obediently opened his mouth and swallowed the dumpling. “Would you do that?”

“Of course,” Shi Jin said. “I used to think you were horrible, and I was angry at you because every ti you visited , you said I was too fat and made exercise. I ca up with a lot of pranks to play on you, but you never ca. I had no chance to use any of them.”

These were the original ‘Shi Jin’s’ thoughts. Shi Jin had no qualms about saying them out loud.

Before everything broke apart, ‘Shi Jin’ was the least intimate with Xiang Aoting. ‘He’ wanted to get closer to him, but at the sa ti, was afraid. The original ‘Shi Jin’ was an ordinary boy. Xiang Aoting, his brave elder brother who could fly fighter planes, was pretty much how ‘he’ imagined a hero.

It was a pity this hero, in front of his youngest sibling, occasionally played the role of a villain.

Xiang Aoting said nothing in reply to Shi Jin’s words. He lowered his head, picked up another dumpling, and stuffed it into his mouth. He looked indifferent, but the slight shaking of his hands caused the soup to splash on his clothes and proved his heart wasn’t unperturbed.

“Did you know about the deal?” Shi Jin asked.

Xiang Aoting started. He swallowed the dumpling in his mouth and wiped his clothes. The white, plump dumplings in the soup suddenly made him rember the mont he first t his sixth brother.

It was in M country, in Shi Xingrui’s magnificent but desolate residence. Shi Jin was less than a year old and had just lost his mother. Held in Shi Xingrui’s arms, he looked like a fat, white dumpling. When he saw Xiang Aoting, he broke out in a wide, pure smile.

Children were innocent—this he learned in the army.

“I didn’t know.” Xiang Aoting suddenly felt unable to face Shi Jin. The dumplings he’d eaten stuck in his throat. He continued, his voice subdued, “But I guessed sothing. I was assigned to the best service branch, had the best instructors and the best resources. This happened every ti I t with you… I didn’t know how Shi Xingrui managed it. I just hated the feeling as if I got in through the back door. Army is a place where strength speaks, and most people look down on guys who get in by pulling strings.”

Shi Jin realized sothing. “So that’s why you visited less and less, and why, every ti I asked, you were busy with training you couldn’t avoid and tasks you had to do.”

Xiang Aoting neither confird nor refuted. He stirred the soup in the bowl and asked, “Xiao Jin, do you hate us?”

“I didn’t hate anyone until after I knew the truth. Now, I hate my other brothers, but you are different. I don’t hate you,” Shi Jin answered.

Xiang Aoting’s hand on the chopsticks stiffened. He glanced at the teenager and asked in a rough tone of voice, “Why am I different?”

Shi Jin recalled the original ‘Shi Jin’s’ thoughts at the end of ‘his’ life and sighed inwardly. He said, “Because you’re a hero. Even if the hero occasionally makes a mistake, it’s fine as long as his heart stays pure and noble.”

Xiang Aoting put down the chopsticks and braced himself against the car hood. It took a long mont for him to speak, and when he did, his voice was hoarse. “I’m sorry, I guess you’re disappointed with … No one is truly pure and noble. Certainly, from the mont we returned to that house while feigning affection, none of us was.”

It was a painful conversation. They both spoke the truth buried in their hearts and, in return, heard the truth they’d rather not hear.

Suddenly, Shi Jin didn’t want to continue anymore. He asked, “So what did you want to tell ? I need to go back and wash, we’re leaving early tomorrow.”

Xiang Aoting lowered his head. He got a hold on his emotions, straightened, and faced Shi Jin. He gazed at the teenager unblinkingly, took in his face, and squeezed out an ugly smile. “I heard you were hurt and wanted to take a look at you… It’s late, and it’s cold outside. You should go back.”

This clearly wasn’t what Xiang Aoting originally wanted to say. Shi Jin watched as he struggled to maintain his calm and decided not to tangle with him anymore—either way, he’s already said everything he wanted to say. So, he nodded to his brother, turned and walked towards the club.

After he took a few steps, Xiang Aoting’s call ca from behind, so he stopped and turned to him.

“If you want, I will always be your brother,” Xiang Aoting said, with a slight, awkward smile. “Of course, it’s fine if you don’t want sothing like that… Xiao Jin, I’m sorry.”

“I should thank you.” Even if just for rescuing ‘Shi Jin’ in the original plot.

Shi Jin said nothing else. He turned around and continued walking towards the club. He glanced through the printed glass door—Xiang Aoting had picked up the bowl with dumplings. His eyes dropped to the floor. In a low mood, he headed for the elevator.

When he ca out of the bathroom after taking a bath, he found a text ssage on his phone. Rong Zhouzhong sent it and, as usual, it was short and unfriendly: [Little bastard, you didn’t watch the New Year’s Gala where I appeared.]

Shi Jin stopped rubbing his hair and opened the ssaging app. He recalled the original plot—it wasn’t just Rong Zhouzhong’s mouth that was poisonous, his actions were all kinds of toxic too. He texted back: [Yeah, I didn’t want to see you, you big bastard.]

Then he deleted all the ssages and ignored Rong Zhouzhong’s follow-ups, laid down on the bed, wrapped himself in the quilt, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

After the over twelve-hour flight, the plane landed in a coastal city in M country. Shi Jin observed his progress bar nervously and was relieved to find it didn’t rise—on the contrary, it dropped a little.

Xiao Si said happily.

Watching the bar drop to 490, Shi Jin was happy too. He sighed with emotion: “It’s been a long ti since I was this relaxed. It’s good we left.”

the system echoed.

Shi Jin leaned to the side in the backseat. Though he pretty much broke off relations with Shi Weichong, there was no change in the progress bar. He recalled the survival factors he’d gained from his brothers and sank into thought. In the end, he shook his head and dismissed the matter from his mind.

Whatever, it’s fine. I’m safe now.

He took a piece of toffee from his pocket, opened it, and offered it to Lian Jun. “Here, have a candy to wake up. You’ll feel great all day.”

Lian Jun, who was sowhat pale after the tiring flight, glanced at him. He caught Shi Jin’s wrist and ate the toffee from his hand, then leaned back against the car seat, closing his eyes.

Satisfied, Shi Jin retracted his hand and pulled out his phone to play mahjong.

Gua Two, watching from the driver’s seat, stopped looking in the rearview mirror and silently put a lollipop in his mouth.

The car drove all the way to a private port. Shi Jin followed everyone to a dium-sized cruise ship docked in the harbor, his eyes taking in the unfamiliar sight. He sighed in wonder. “I thought we were going to the island by helicopter. I never expected a cruise ship.”

“We could, but it would be too much of a strain on Jun-shao’s body. Gua One got a ship so we could have a good night’s sleep on board,” Gua Two explained. He eyed Shi Jin strangely. “You used to be a rich young master. Haven’t you seen a cruise ship before?”

“Uh… Of course I have, but I was always studying and didn’t have ti to go play on a cruise ship.” Shi Jin tried to save his image.

Gua Two’s expression said, ‘Yeah, right, do I look ntally retarded?’ but he gave it a rest. When they ca on deck, sothing occurred to him. “Do you get seasick? It will take us a while to arrive on the island. If you do, you’d better take so dicine right now.”

Shi Jin pondered this question for a mont and answered confidently, “I don’t. I have a good sense of balance; I heard only people with bad sense of balance get motion sickness.”

Gua Two’s eyebrows rose. No longer persuading him, he led the way to the cabins.

Ten minutes after the ship set sail, Shi Jin collapsed on the sofa in the lounge. The entire world spun.

“This doesn’t make sense!” Feeling half-dead, he covered his mouth and tried not to vomit.

Xiao Si was very sympathetic: