Chapter 111: I Love the M78 Nebula

Chapter 111: I Like the M78 Nebula

Zheng Jian held no particular affection for Murong Qiudi, nor did he harbor any hatred.

Women were such strange creatures. They could brave fire and water for love, yet they could also turn that love into deep-seated resentment. As the saying goes, the deeper the love, the sharper the hate—this was exactly how Murong Qiudi felt about Xie Xiaofeng.

For Zheng Jian, well, women were simply too much trouble. Why bother with them when he could just farm resentment points, exchange them for great items, and even try his luck at a lottery? Wasn't that much more satisfying?

It was nearly dawn when Murong Qiudi finally stood up to leave. As she reached the doorway, she turned back to steal a glance at Zheng Jian, only to find him not even bothering to lift his head. She felt inexplicably speechless.

"Hey, you surnamed Zheng, answer me a question," Murong Qiudi said, her voice laced with intoxication. Under the lamplight, her small face was flushed, making her look exceptionally beautiful.

"Ask," Zheng Jian replied without looking up.

Murong Qiudi: "..."

Looking at this dead-eyed fellow, she couldn't help but feel slighted. After all, she was the number one beauty in the martial arts world, and yet this guy—sigh.

"I ask you... tell me, is Xiaofeng, is he... is he really dead?" Murong Qiudi asked. As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears again.

"How would I know? I'm not Xie Xiaofeng!" Zheng Jian retorted impatiently.

Resentment points from Murong Qiudi +666.

Murong Qiudi felt like a fool for even asking. She knew perfectly well that nothing but nonsense would come out of this man's mouth, yet she couldn't help herself. Angry, she turned and stormed out.

Zheng Jian couldn't be bothered to care. The resentment points were already in the bag. With the batch Murong Qiudi had contributed, he was less than three thousand points away from the thirty-thousand mark. Ah, keeping her company through the night hadn't been in vain.

...

With less than an hour until dawn, Zheng Jian didn't feel like closing the shop. He simply sat on the roof of the tavern, watching the stars.

It was said that transmigrators had their own troubles, especially when arriving in an ancient world devoid of computers, smartphones, games, live streaming, or even the simplest short video clips. Besides practicing martial arts to kill time, what else was there to do?

"Boss, you didn't sleep all night?" Xue Keren had risen early and was just about to tidy up the tavern when she spotted Zheng Jian sitting on the roof.

"Just sent off an uninvited guest. Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to sit for a while," Zheng Jian replied.

"How about I keep you company?" Xue Keren offered.

"Sure." Since he was idle anyway, Zheng Jian had no objections.

Hearing this, Xue Keren fetched a ladder, climbed onto the roof, and cautiously sat down beside him.

"Boss, what are you looking at?" Xue Keren asked.

Zheng Jian smiled. "Looking at the stars. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, hanging in the sky with your light from afar."

Only at times like this did Zheng Jian feel a hint of loneliness. After all, in this world, he was merely a passerby, and he never knew when he might leave.

Xue Keren gazed at Zheng Jian’s profile, captivated by his focused expression, and felt her heart racing involuntarily.

"Boss, which star do you like best?" she whispered.

Zheng Jian pondered for a moment. "The M78 Nebula."

Xue Keren: "What???"

Zheng Jian laughed. "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. After all, you women don't believe in light; you don't believe that Ultraman exists in this world!"

"...???" Xue Keren grew more confused by the second. "Ultra-what?"

Zheng Jian chuckled, and the distraction helped clear much of the loneliness from his heart.

"Boss..." Xue Keren looked at him, suddenly hesitant. Under the vast expanse of starlight, she felt an urge to speak her mind.

Zheng Jian seemed to sense the change in atmosphere. He turned to look at her beautiful face, paused, and said with a serious expression, "Keren."

"Boss, I..."

Zheng Jian made a "shush" gesture. "Listen to me! Don't love me, it won't end well—unless you can shake your hands as fast as I can!"

As he spoke, he began rapidly shaking his hands.

Xue Keren was instantly petrified.

Resentment points from Xue Keren +999.

"What kind of bizarre man is this..." Xue Keren felt aggrieved. Wasn't it said that a man chasing a woman is separated by a mountain, but a woman chasing a man is separated by a veil?

Unable to find more words, she coughed twice and stammered, "It... it's almost dawn. I, I'll go tidy up the shop, it'll be time to open soon..."

With that, she fled as if escaping.

Only after Xue Keren disappeared did Zheng Jian heave a long sigh. Don't ask, because if you do, the answer is that he was a die-hard straight man—the kind made of diamond, completely immune to being charmed.

Since his time in the *Smiling Proud Wanderer* world, Zheng Jian had realized that he was a standard passerby in these parallel worlds; he would never stay in any of them.

He was as free as the wind, impossible to hold onto.

Rather than capturing a woman's heart and ending up with a mountain of emotional debts, it was better to shut the door completely. Let them part ways cleanly, with no lingering ties.

Therefore, whether it was the junior sister, Ruan Qiuchiu, or Xue Keren—they were all wonderful women, but Zheng Jian could not accept them.

This was what he called passing through ten thousand flowers without a single petal clinging to his clothes. He wanted to remain carefree, living as he pleased, but never getting entangled in the affairs of love.

...

Dawn broke, and a man, drunk as a lord, stumbled into the small town. He walked unsteadily, occasionally taking gulps from his wine skin.

When he reached the front of the tavern, he shook his wine skin—it was empty.

He glanced at the tavern and stumbled inside. It was early, and there were no other customers.

"Shopkeeper, wine!"

Xue Keren, distracted, glanced at the drunkard. "How much?"

"Fill it up..."

Xue Keren approached the man, and an indescribably foul stench rushed at her, nearly making her faint.

"How long has he been drunk..." she thought with disgust, yet she still pinched her nose and took the wine skin.

After filling it, she handed it back, still pinching her nose. "That will be three taels of silver."

The drunkard paused. "I... I have no money."

Xue Keren was stunned. "If you have no money, why are you drinking?"

The drunkard: "..."

She wasn't a heartless person. Looking at this beggar-like man, she sighed, "Forget it, consider this a treat. Take it and go."

The drunkard struggled to open his hazy, drunken eyes, trying to see her face clearly, but everything was blurred. He stumbled out of the shop, swaying as he went.

Xue Keren sighed, deciding not to dwell on it; she would just consider it a good deed.

...

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

One evening, a man with his head bowed arrived at the tavern. "Shopkeeper, I'd like to buy a few catties of wine."

There were quite a few customers in the tavern, and Xue Keren was rushing about. Hearing this, she turned around and saw the ragged man from before. "Oh, you're back to buy wine. Do you have money this time?"

The man raised his head. It was indeed the drunkard from a few days ago. He looked quite sober today, though his eyes still lacked any spark of spirit.

"...I have money." He fished out two small pieces of silver. He was buying wine for someone else.

Xue Keren took the money, and while pouring the wine, she asked casually, "What's your name?"

"My name is Ah Ji. I'm a useless man. Everyone calls me Useless Ah Ji."

...

(Due to plot requirements, the timeline has been compressed. History buffs, please don't overanalyze!)