The ordinary-looking things of every day—being alive and healthy, being loved by the people around you, loving them back with a full heart, having music and the turning of seasons—those, in themselves, are happiness.
Now that the "wanted" status was gone, Qianye's return to Sixth Street turned into a full-blown street celebration. The neighbors practically lifted him off the ground, tossed him into the air, caught him again, and cheered like they'd just gotten him back from the edge of the Hollow. No one was happier than Asa, Elpha, Susie, and Belle.
Once Belle realized there was no chance of slipping past all the "competitive" women and monopolizing Qianye for herself, she made a very practical proposal:
A welcome-back party.
That way, nobody could monopolize him.
The rest of Sixth Street agreed immediately.
There was nothing to debate. In their imaginations, Qianye must have spent those days outside living on pure nerves—jumping at every shadow, shrinking into corners like a hamster in a soggy cardboard box on a rainy day. The thought alone made their chests ache. Chef Jopp and Uncle Enzo—two grown men—were already wiping at their eyes.
As for Qianye, he didn't resist the idea at all. He liked quiet, but he didn't hate liveliness. What he couldn't stand was noise for noise's sake—not warmth, not people, not embraces.
So one shop after another closed early for the night. Everyone gathered at Heal. Qianye was perfectly content—he only insisted on one thing before the party began: carrying Xu Ge Ya upstairs and docking the Bangboo in the charging station.
Maybe it was age, maybe it was simply the way men talked when they finally let their guard down—but once the party started, Chef Jopp, Uncle Enzo, and Master Tinman drifted together into a corner and began reminiscing.
It didn't take long before someone mentioned the wanted notice on the net.
The moment it came up, even Tinman—normally the most controlled and well-mannered of the three—couldn't hide his anger. He slammed a fist into the sofa beside him.
"Honestly, I can't accept it," he said, voice vibrating with restraint stretched too thin. "A man gets more days of sunlight because of Qianye's effort. A man feels grateful. Then his death gets used by rotten people as a weapon. A good story becomes—what—something a dung beetle rolls around like filth. It's disgusting."
He drew a sharp breath, and his words sharpened into a rant that was somehow both poetic and wildly specific.
"And that Bringer—hah. Just thinking about him makes every circuit in my body want to overload. This is worse than someone dumping my hand-ground coffee onto a plant, refilling the cup with instant coffee, chugging it down, then leaning in and telling me, 'Instant is the best coffee.' I would feel less offended."
Chef Jopp quickly laid a steadying hand on Tinman's shoulder.
"Ease up, old friend," he murmured. "It's Qianye's night. Don't let that filth poison the air."
Tinman inhaled hard. His mechanical frame gave a faint hum as he forced his systems—his temper—down.
He lifted his cup, only to realize his metal fingers had tightened without him noticing. A hairline crack ran up the ceramic.
"You're right," Tinman said after a moment, staring at the fracture. "But I can't be calm. When I think about how Bringer used a dead man's name to serve his own—"
Uncle Enzo thumped Tinman's back with the heavy, weathered gentleness of someone who understood rage because he'd lived with it.
"We get it," Enzo said. "Qianye matters to all of us. But anger doesn't fix anything. And right now… it's over."
Tinman went quiet again, lights flickering behind his eyes.
He couldn't let the fury out, but it didn't leave. It just sat there, hot and dense.
And then his thoughts drifted—inevitably—to Zhu Yuan.
"I do feel sorry for Officer Zhu Yuan," Tinman said at last, voice lower. "She was forced. We all know that. Bringer handed her the order to arrest Qianye. She didn't have a choice. But…"
He didn't finish.
All three of them turned their heads, instinctively looking toward different corners of the party.
Even if Zhu Yuan had been forced, people weren't going to accept that truth equally. The men might be able to keep their judgment objective. But the women—especially the ones closest to Qianye—wouldn't necessarily be able to.
And sure enough, the other side of the room was already turning… complicated.
"Qianye~!"
Asa, reeking pleasantly of sweet fruit wine, stumbled forward and threw herself at him. Her signature bunny ears trembled from intoxication, cheeks flushed a soft, dangerous pink. Before Qianye could react, she was clinging to him with both arms locked around his neck.
"Do you know how worried we were?" she mumbled into the hollow of his throat, half sulky, half near tears. "Every day, every day, I stood outside my shop waiting, thinking maybe I'd finally see you come back…"
Qianye smiled gently and patted her back, rising on his toes to do it.
"I'm back," he said, calm as always—like the river through New Eridu at dusk.
"But—!"
Asa jerked her head up. Her eyes were glassy with drink, but her stare was sharp.
"That NEPS officer—Zhu Yuan! How could she do that to you?!"
Her voice climbed, loud enough to draw glances.
Qianye, held tight in her arms, heard every ounce of resentment she wasn't even trying to hide.
"She was laughing with everyone before that! Helping clear change's name! Then she turns around and flips on you—arrests you like you're trash!"
Asa's grip tightened unconsciously until Qianye had to tap her arm to remind her to breathe.
"And honestly, even if she cried afterward, I didn't feel sorry for her. She's an officer—she didn't uphold justice. She became Bringer's dog. Disgusting."
She kept going, heat rising in her words, bunny ears standing rigid from agitation.
"Even if she was 'forced,' she should've warned us! She knew you were innocent!"
Only when Qianye shifted again did Asa realize she'd squeezed too hard. She loosened slightly, but she still didn't let go.
Her anger wasn't just anger. There was worry in it—fear.
And something else, faint and prickly, that looked a lot like jealousy.
"Asa, it's not that simple," Qianye tried.
She immediately pressed a finger to his lips.
"I don't want to hear it!" she declared. "She betrayed us. She betrayed Sixth Street."
Not far away, Elpha sat stiffly in an armchair with a glass of fruit juice she hadn't touched.
Her hearing systems had caught every word.
Part of Elpha wanted to defend Zhu Yuan—because she trusted Wise's judgment, and because she'd seen enough of the world to know what coercion looked like.
But when she tried to speak, her voice module felt… blocked.
The other part of her—some deeper, quieter core—was angry too. The sense of betrayal burned bright enough that she couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud.
Her mechanical fingers tapped the glass in a steady, rhythmic pattern.
Her gaze drifted to Qianye, still pinned in Asa's embrace, and something complex spread through her processor—something she refused to name.
In the end, Elpha only exhaled and chose silence.
Belle was nearby, sitting awkwardly and fidgeting. She wanted to say something—anything—to soften the sharp edge of the conversation, but she didn't know how.
This party had been her idea. She'd wanted a night that was nothing but laughter.
Now the air felt brittle.
"Um… Zhu Yuan, she…" Belle began carefully.
Asa shot her a look.
Belle swallowed the rest.
Asa huffed and buried herself against Qianye again, as if reclaiming him by proximity alone.
"Even Belle is going to defend her? We knew Qianye first. We're the closest to him…"
Belle's shoulders sank.
Wise, sitting beside her, smiled helplessly and ran a hand over her hair, calming her with the simplest gesture. His gaze lifted past Belle's shoulder to the worried older men across the room. He offered them a small, steady look.
Don't worry. Qianye will handle it.
Tinman, Jopp, and Enzo understood. The men's silent agreement loosened the tension in their chests, and they let the topic drift away.
"Zhu Yuan had her difficulties."
Qianye finally found a gap to speak. His voice stayed soft, even, like wind passing through an open window.
"In that position, she had to make choices. What matters is that, in the end, things returned to normal. Right?"
Asa lowered her head and stared at him for a long moment, drunk eyes heavy.
Then she reached up and pinched his cheek.
"You're too kind, Qianye! Always thinking about other people—that's why you always end up in trouble!"
The mix of scolding and heartbreak in her tone made Qianye laugh despite himself.
He caught her hand and gently moved it away.
"It's not kindness," he said. "It's understanding. Everyone has a reason they can't say out loud."
Tinman listened from afar and sighed again, noticing Elpha's silence, Belle's unease, Asa's raw hostility.
It confirmed exactly what he'd feared.
The women's tolerance for Zhu Yuan was far, far lower than his.
"Young people's feelings…" Uncle Enzo muttered, draining his glass.
Chef Jopp nodded. "Time heals. The important thing is Qianye's home, and he's back in it."
The party continued, but a thin current ran beneath it—quiet, persistent.
Music played. Food and drink moved from hand to hand. Laughter still rose in bursts.
But Zhu Yuan's name had left an aftertaste.
Asa clung to Qianye the entire time like letting go would make him vanish again.
Eventually, Elpha stood and walked over.
"Asa, you've had too much," she said evenly, and offered Qianye a look that said I understand.
Asa grumbled, but under Qianye's gentle coaxing she finally released him and allowed Elpha to guide her toward the sofa.
Before she left, Elpha glanced back at Qianye.
Her eyes were complicated—too many unspoken sentences compressed into one look.
Belle took the opening.
She slipped close to Qianye and whispered, anxious and sincere.
"Qianye… I really think Zhu Yuan wasn't doing it on purpose…"
Her voice was so soft she seemed afraid the room itself would punish her for saying it.
Qianye smiled and patted her head.
"I know," he said. "Don't take it too hard. Asa's just scared. That's why she's saying those things."
Belle's eyes brightened.
"You really don't blame Zhu Yuan?"
"What's there to blame?" Qianye said quietly. "When I was in the underground cells, I already told Zhu Yuan—when she came to see me—that I would forgive her."
He looked out the window at Sixth Street's night lights—colors scattered across the road, passersby drifting through their routines, life moving forward as if it always had.
His gaze became calm and distant.
"Almost no one in this world gets to live purely by their own wishes," he said. "What matters is that, when you're forced to choose, you still remember what you wanted to protect in the beginning. Zhu Yuan… chose the path she believed was right."
Belle nodded like she understood, even if she didn't fully.
She edged closer, shoulder brushing his arm, as if verifying he was real.
"As long as you're safe and you're back," she whispered, cheeks warming pink.
By the time the party was winding down, Asa had passed out on the sofa, bunny ears drooping beside her face, a satisfied smile lingering on her lips.
Elpha covered her with a blanket, careful and quiet, then turned to Qianye.
"She just cares too much," Elpha said softly. The light in her eyes was gentle. "We all do. Especially me."
Qianye nodded. "I know. Thank you—for waiting."
Elpha's lips moved as if she wanted to say more, but the words never came. In the end she only smiled faintly, then headed toward the door.
"Welcome back, Qianye."
One by one, the neighbors filtered out. Heal grew quiet again.
Qianye stood in the middle of his clinic, looking around.
This place held everything—laughter, tears, departures, returns.
He went upstairs to his bedroom. Xu Ge Ya lay in the charging dock, indicator light blinking with steady rhythm, like a small dream.
Qianye touched the Bangboo's shell gently, expression soft.
Outside, Sixth Street's lights still glittered. The stars were faint, but present.
He understood, then, what he'd regained—what mattered most.
The people who cared for him. The affection he wanted to repay with all his sincerity.
Even if there were fractures. Even if there were arguments. Even if some wounds couldn't be forgiven quickly.
That was life.
And being alive and healthy, loved by others, loving them back, having music and seasons—
That, by itself, was happiness.
Qianye pulled the curtain closed and let the night end in quiet.
But even as he did, a hesitation tugged at him.
Because he didn't know whether the message he'd sent to Wise—quietly, avoiding Belle—would invite another wave of danger.
"Wise… do your best," he murmured, voice sinking like storm clouds before the downpour. "I don't want you two to get hurt…"
—
Back at Random Play, Wise struggled to carry his exhausted sister to the sofa. Once Belle was settled and a jacket was draped over her, he exhaled, pulled out his phone, and stared at the screen for a long moment.
Fairy's voice immediately chimed in—crisp, smug, and absolutely unhelpful.
"Assistant No. 3. The weather is extremely hot. As the lowest-ranking member of this household, are you attempting to overheat my master to death by placing a garment over her?"
"…Fairy," Wise said flatly, "hot or not, you still cover your stomach when you sleep."
A brief pause.
Then Wise's expression sharpened.
"Fairy. Enough. You received Qianye's message too, right? I need a favor."
"Regarding Assistant No. 3's request," Fairy replied with exaggerated solemnity, "given that Assistant No. 2 has almost singlehandedly funded my food budget…"
Wise's eye twitched.
"…I will activate two hundred percent of my potential," Fairy continued brightly, "to conduct a full search and compile all available intelligence…"
Wise's gaze tightened.
"…on the individual named Sarah—secretary to the suspect Perlman in the Vision Corporation Bombing Case, a fugitive who escaped NEPS pursuit, and highly likely to be the true mastermind behind the incident."
Fairy's tone sharpened with purpose.
"Commencing comprehensive data acquisition now."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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