Chapter 1730: I’m Just Exercising
“Not really! I’m just exercising.” He cracked a wide smile at her with a kind expression on his face.
Long Yeyue looked at Chen Xinjie standing before her. She felt as a swarm of mixed emotions surged into her heart. All at once, the anger she felt in her heart seemed to have disappeared.
His face was covered in wrinkles. He was wearing that plain robe. Even though his head of silver hair was combed tidily, he did not look like the all-powerful Boundless Sea Douluo that he was before anymore. He did not look like the War God Hall’s Hall Master.
Who could have thought that this peerless quasigod would actually be reduced to the extent of sweeping the grounds of Shrek Academy.
Chen Xinjie looked for Long Yeyue after coming back to Shrek with Tang Wulin. Long Yeyue refused to meet him and Chen Xinjie did not insist upon it either. He simply asked Tang Wulin that he be allowed to stay in a common room.
From the next day, he began sweeping the campus grounds.
How could Tang Wulin allow a quasigod to sweep the campus grounds?! Tang Wulin tried to dissuade him on multiple occasions, yet Chen Xinjie continued to sweep silently by himself every day. Then, he would return to his room and not attempt to appeal to Long Yeyue any further.
It had been three months since he started this routine.
It felt as if he had already gotten used to life here. He lived on plain tea and simple meals and spent his days sweeping the grounds. Compared to before, his life was so simple. In fact, he had even found it too relaxing.
Only the high-ranking personnel in Shrek were aware of Chen Xinjie’s identity, but there was nothing they could do. Sometimes, Yuanen Zhentian would meet Chen Xinjie for a leisurely session of tea-drinking and chatting after he was done sweeping. These two men were the older generation of Limit Douluos, so they had plenty to discuss.
Even though Long Yeyue did not meet him after all this time, how was she unaware of what Chen Xinjie was doing? The Holy Spirit Douluo came to see Long Yeyue on many occasions. She told her about the Boundless Sea Douluo’s activities and sought to persuade Long Yeyue on behalf of Chen Xinjie.
How was it appropriate to allow a Limit Douluo to sweep the grounds?!
Before coming to see Chen Xinjie on this day, Long Yeyue had been suppressing the rage in her heart. She had always thought that the old fellow was sweeping to purposely embarrass her and compel her to come see him.
Then, she saw him in person. She saw him sweeping the floor alone and watched his aged figure.
For some reason, she felt only misery in her heart.
No matter how much she hated him, she had never denied his achievements. It was no easy feat to become a quasigod as well as the War God Hall’s Hall Master, commander of Sea God Army and the leader of the entire armed forces.
Over a hundred years, Chen Xinjie had been working harder than anybody else.
Nevertheless, the famed, awe-inspiring Boundless Sea Douluo who could shake the four seas with a stomp of his foot was actually sweeping the campus.
It appeared he was sweeping in all sincerity. In fact, Long Yeyue even felt that he was happy and content with his life. Everything seemed very natural, without the slightest ounce of hidden intentions. It was as if he was fully indulging in the process of sweeping the ground.
She had already observed him sweeping in the dark a few times. On this day, she finally could not stop herself from meeting him. On the other hand, this was the first time that they met each other ever since Chen Xinjie came to Shrek Academy.
“You should leave,” said Long Yeyue.
Chen Xinjie shook his head. “No, I’m not leaving. You can’t make me leave even if you were to beat me up. Moreover, I don’t have a home to return to anymore. Can you bear to throw out a homeless, lonely man? At the very least, I can still make enough to feed myself here.”
“You’re homeless? You’re a lonely old man? Where is your family?” said Long Yeyue in an unpleasant tone.
Chen Xinjie beamed with joy. “I’ve already broken off all relations with them, so I won’t implicate them. I’m a criminal now. I’m an old man, all alone in this world. I’m indebted to Tang Wulin for granting me a place to stay. Only Shrek can ensure my safety now.”
Long Yeyue said in exasperation, “Why are you being such a rascal?”
Chen Xinjie chuckled. “That’s something that I’ve learned recently. I regretted not mastering this ability earlier. If I had learned it before, I wouldn’t have ended up in such a state.”
Long Yeyue pointed in the direction of the exit. “Leave. Leave now. Don’t show your face around here anymore. I don’t want to see you.”
Chen Xinjie said in all apparent seriousness, “Yeyue, I won’t leave. Shrek is not yours alone. It belongs to everyone. I’m just going to sweep here. Don’t worry, I won’t disturb you. Shrek has been taking care of you over the years for me, so I only want to repay the favor. I don’t know what else I should do, but I figure it’s fine for me to sweep the grounds. Anyhow, I’m just going to sweep here for the next year or two, or maybe five years, ten years.”
“I’ve already made the necessary preparations before coming here. The former Chen Xinjie is already dead. The only person remaining now is Old Chen the sweeper. Don’t drive me away! I’ll be devastated.”
The corners of Long Yeyue’s lips twitched. She had never imagined that Chen Xinjie would be like this one day. Despite this, she could not bear to muster the courage to beat him up after seeing the kind smile on his face and his sincere gaze.
Meanwhile, Yi Zichen came jogging over to them again after he had done one round on the field.
He saw an old woman come to Old Chen the sweeper when he was jogging. Both of them seemed to be engaged in a conversation.
He was but a newly-initiated student and Long Yeyue was in a state of retirement. As a result, he could not recognize Long Yeyue.
“Uncle, Auntie, are both of you quarrelling?” asked Yi Zichen curiously as he jogged over to them.
Chen Xinjie chuckled and said, “No, we’re not. We’re only discussing an academic issue.”
Yi Zichen was stunned for a moment. He had picked up some of their earlier conversation. Was the act of sweeping an academic issue?
He turned around to look at Long Yeyue. “Auntie, please don’t scold Uncle anymore. It’s quite pitiful that he sweeps alone every day.”
Long Yeyue replied, “You’re just a child. What do you know? Go on with your jogging.”
Chen Xinjie said with a smirk, “Why are you losing your temper with the child? I think the child is rather impressive. Shrek is going to have a worthy successor!”
Long Yeyue shot back in a rage, “Whether Shrek has a worthy successor or not is unrelated to you. Leave now! Your presence bothers me.”
Chen Xinjie smiled gingerly and said, “It means that you still think about me if my presence bothers you. I won’t leave even more!”
Long Yeyue blushed upon realizing that Chen Xinjie had said that in front of Yi Zichen. “Do you even care about your reputation anymore?”
Chen Xinjie said, “What’s the point of Old Chen the sweeper having a reputation? I’ve been pursuing glory all my life. I don’t think it’s useful now, so I tossed it away.”
“You…” Long Yeyue suddenly discovered that Old Chen the sweeper was fearless and shameless. There was absolutely nothing she could do.
“Hmph!” The Light Dark Douluo turned around and left after letting out a furious scoff.
Chen Xinjie watched her leaving with admiration as he held the broom.
Yi Zichen stood next to Chen Xinjie Long Yeyue’s departing silhouette. “Uncle, what are you looking at?”
Chen Xinjie answered, “I’m looking at the old aunty! You don’t know, but she was beautiful when she was young. She was exquisite, but she still looks elegant and graceful now. Of course, a child like you won’t be able to appreciate that.”
Yi Zichen smirked secretly. “Uncle, I’m sure you have many stories with that aunty, right? How did you make her angry? Are you going to appease her?”
The smile on Chen Xinjie’s face finally turned grim. “If I could make things alright just by appeasing her, do you think that I would have to sweep here? It’s fine. I believe that the old aunty will forgive me one day.”
Astonished, Yi Zichen said, “It’s that serious, huh?”
Chen Xinjie said with a bitter smile, “I did something foolish in the past. Let’s not talk about it anymore. Go on with your jog. I don’t want to hold up your morning exercise. I’ll continue my sweeping too.”
“Oh.” Yi Zichen continued his jog in confusion while Chen Xinjie swept the ground in a slow, leisurely manner.