A Morning in the New Life

The next day, Qin An woke up at three in the morning.

His foster parents were long gone. He stretched his legs. Though there were still some lingering aches, they were no longer a problem. Had he not suffered countless injuries from various missions in his past life?

Outside the window, stars shimmered. Everything was silent. Even the earth seemed to be asleep.

His mind was awake, but his body had not yet awakened.

The biological clock from his previous life had inevitably lingered. Qin An touched his smooth chin, revealing an expression far too mature for his age.

He first went to his foster parents’ room and began a ‘looting’ operation. They had left, but living expenses were now a major problem. Though he knew a hundred ways to make money, each came with enormous risks. Especially with his current frail body, he had no idea what the success rate would be.

Qin An tugged at the cabinet. Locked.

But this didn’t stump Qin An. He took out two paperclips. Lock picking was a required course for assassins, whether it was the latest combination lock or this old-fashioned one.

Click…

In no time, the lock opened.

Inside lay several savings cards and bankbooks from different banks. Just as he had guessed, after obtaining a huge fortune, they hadn’t bothered to take this small amount. And figuring out the card passwords was a piece of cake for Qin An.

There was still some time until dawn. Qin An did some basic physical training. With this weak body, he couldn’t even hold a gun steady—the recoil alone would be too much. He then went outside for a run. By now, the sky was faintly bright. Hardworking citizens had already begun planning their day: setting up stalls, laboring, or heading to work. The gears of life’s hustle and bustle were starting to turn again.

Qin An greedily breathed in the fresh morning air. Is this the ordinary life and freedom I longed for? How wonderful!

Back home, he washed rice and vegetables, then lay back on the bed to catch a short nap.

“Hey… big brother, wake up… wake up…” Someone was shaking his shoulder. Qin An rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up.

“Brother, why are you sleeping in Mom and Dad’s room? And where are Mom and Dad? I didn’t see them.”

“They seem to have gone on a trip.”

“A trip? Why didn’t they take me with them?” Qin Yage pouted, looking very upset that their parents went without her.

“Hurry up and cook, I’m hungry.”

“I know, I know.”

“I hate Dad, I hate Mom. They went on a trip without calling me.” Qin Yage scolded her parents, stomping her little feet on the floor. Those cute white shoes probably wouldn’t last much longer.

Same old temper. Only at this moment did Qin An feel that his sister was truly alive, and that he himself was truly alive.

Using somewhat rusty skills, he cooked porridge and stir-fried vegetables. Soon, he was sweating profusely. He couldn’t help but sigh, “Cooking is really more tiring than killing!” Yet his heart was brimming with happiness. In his past life, he would have complained about such drudgery. People are always like that—only after losing do they know to cherish. In this life, Qin An didn’t want to regret anymore. He wanted to grasp everything in his own hands.

“When we go out later, you have to stay at least one meter away from me.” “I know.” “But not too far, no more than three meters, got it?” This conversation happened every day. Although Qin Yage was only nine, because of her adorable appearance, she was adored by many—from eighty-year-old men to three-year-old children.

As for Qin An, he wasn’t exactly handsome; at best, he could be described as somewhat refined and pleasant to look at—the kind that grows on you.

The sibling relationship between Qin An and Qin Yage was known only to a few at school. In the eyes of outsiders, Qin An was just an unremarkable passerby, while Qin Yage was a dazzling star.

“Yo, Yage, Xiao An.” At the door, someone was waving at them from the neighbor’s house. His skin was a healthy wheat color, his hair was a stylish short crop. He wore a tight black t-shirt and jeans, and a red-and-white baseball cap with a big ‘B’ on it. He looked somewhat familiar, yet also strange.

Qin An categorized him as the childhood friend from next door. In his mind, aside from memories of his sister that were as clear as yesterday, most other things had been sent to the recycle bin and then emptied.

Qin Yage walked ahead, towering like a crane among chickens, occasionally looking back to check if her brother was violating their agreement.

After a bit of conversation, Qin An formed a preliminary impression of the boy. He didn’t ask his name—asking would give him away. But people around were pointing and saying, “That’s the little tyrant, right?” “I heard he beat up a few middle school students with a baseball bat the other day.” “Of course it’s true; he used to fight all the time. No one at school dared to mess with him, and the teachers just let him be, ignoring him.”

The little tyrant heard all this but wasn’t angry. Instead, he stylishly flipped his hair and said, “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Heh heh—” Qin An responded with a dry laugh. From his words, Qin An also learned about their past grudges. According to him, every New Year they would have a fight, betting their New Year’s money or toys. Of course, the frail Qin An couldn’t beat him. He probably didn’t realize that the previous Qin An had hated his guts.

As children, they fought a lot too—almost a small quarrel every three days and a big fight every five days. They were truly friends forged through blows.

Qin An carried a single-shoulder bag. No one greeted him on the way. Presumably, besides the little tyrant, his ‘enemy,’ he had no other friends. But he was happy with that.

Right now, he only wanted an ordinary life.

Of course, his sister was still the apple of his eye. He wanted to watch her grow step by step. To prevent her from going astray, he might scold or even hit her. Whether he could bring himself to do it, only time would tell. Maybe she would get bullied. If so, it wasn’t impossible for Qin An to kill for her. Though he desired ordinariness, that was only under the premise that his sister was safe and sound. His sister had always been the most precious existence in Qin An’s heart.

But thinking that his grown-up sister would marry and have children like other women, his heart felt a nameless ache. As long as she was happy, that should be enough. But was that really what he thought? Even he couldn’t articulate this feeling.

However, soon, Qin An’s theory that he was as ordinary and invisible as air at school was immediately overturned by a cute girl.