Liao Li had taken Qiu Yunru's silence as extreme disappointment and annoyance. He sighed, rubbing his face tiredly.
"Really, I'd tell you if it was less complicated. Getting into the game's code takes a lot of my HP, and it's extremely risky. There's very little I can do at the moment--"
"It's all right." Qiu Yunru shook his head, smiling softly. "It's not as if I want to go back badly anyways."
Liao Li blinked. "Really? Damn. Interesting. Was your life so shitty that you have no interest in it?" He rubbed his chin. Qiu Yunru noticed there were various cuts and scars along his jawline, and he winced. They must be from shaving quickly. Liao Li went on thoughtfully. "Or, is it that your life here is so good? Hmm."
Qiu Yunru shrugged. "A bit of both. It's strange. I had a lot of things people would be jealous of in my past life, but I was still in a lot of pain, so it was difficult."
Liao Li raised a handsome eyebrow. "Oh? What, were you rich?"
Qiu Yunru's face reddened. He coughed, embarrassed.
Liao Li's eyes widened. "Shit. Actually?"
"Well, not me. My parents had a lot of money. They ran a big law firm."
"A law firm? Which one? Maybe I've heard of it."
Qiu Yunru hunched his shoulders, feeling both sheepish and ashamed. "It's not exactly known for doing good things, ah..."
"Oh, come on, what big law firm is? I was a law student--I know how it is."
"Ah...You're right. It was Yilu Law Firm."
Liao Li startled, knocking over Qiu Yunru's demon mask that had been sitting on the ground next to him. His face was pale.
"Yilu...? Are you parents Wang Hualing and Wang Anming?"
"Ah...yes...you're correct."
Liao Li sat there in silence for a long moment, gaping at Qiu Yunru with hide mouth wide enough to let ten flies swarm down his throat. After a few seconds, Liao Li's face slowly turned a bright red color, like a bushel of cherries.
What was he thinking? What a spoiled rich kid this must be! He's going to be such a pain in the ass! seemed most likely to Qiu Yunru. After all, Qiu Yunru's parents often made business newsletters listing out the most successful and wealthy members of China's law industry. A son of such endlessly wealthy lawyers must have grown up with three golden spoons in his mouth, and one in each hand!
This was a perception that Qiu Yunru had always hated, but couldn't deny. Despite all of his illness, he had indeed had the best medical care he could receive, gone to the most expensive schools, and participated in the most expensive activities. It was the fact that no doctor had a cure for his pain that made his daily life difficult and lonely in the end. If his parents had been poor, his life would have been far more of a living hell!
Qiu Yunru began to feel unbearably awkward, so he coughed and waved his hand.
"Let's talk about something else. What about you? You said you're a law student. Where did you study?"
Liao Li snapped out of his open-mouthed wonder, rubbing his mouth and chin again. It seemed to be an absent habit of his. "Ah...I went to Dalian University..."
Qiu Yunru startled. "Really?! I went there too! I was at Dalian Medical University!"
"Haha..." Liao Li laughed weakly. It really didn't seem like a humorous laugh. Perhaps he was already regretting talking to this rich kid Qiu Yunru at all. "What a coincidence. I suppose we have a lot in common." He tried to stand up then by pushing himself off the trunk, but failed and stumbled forward, nearly face-planting into the dust.
Thankfully, Qiu Yunru caught him, managing to not dig his hands into any of Liao Li's wounds. Due to this situation, they somehow ended up face-to-face, only about two inches or so apart.
Qiu Yunru laughed nervously. He truly hated being disliked, so his natural reaction was to put on a face of extra friendliness. In the end, it only came out extremely awkward and desperate as words rushed out of his mouth like water: "Whoa. Haha...Careful. Almost fell...Don't worry, I fall sometimes too. It's normal..."
Liao Li's face exploded red once more. Quickly, he stumbled backwards against the trunk, wincing and holding the bandages around his chest. "Ah...Ahem," He coughed. "You seem to know a lot of alchemical medicine. What do you think? Am I fit to travel again?"
Qiu Yunru shook his head. "No--you'll need to rest somewhere nearby and keep taking Blood Replenishing Tinctures throughout the day. The bandages and Skin-Knitting herbs will also have to be replaced in the morning. Even after that, you should be careful for a week and continue this regimen."
"Huh." Liao Li blinked at Qiu Yunru, seeming impressed. "You know a lot about the alchemy of the Demon Realm. It's not even been released to the public yet."
Qiu Yunru's face reddened again. Ah! Right. His extremely nerdy game-studying tendencies were the talent of a prodigy to the members of this world, but they were an embarrassing characteristic to people from his own world. He should play it down. "I happened across a few of the Demon Realm DLC teasers. They went very viral."
"That's true," Liao Li said thoughtfully. "Well...do you happen to have more tincture?"
After quickly making Liao Li some more tincture and checking all his bandages, the two of them got to talking about their goals. It seemed they were aligned in some ways, but in the end, their greatest goals were very different.
"I'm going to get out of here and back to my body," Liao Li said firmly. "My mother is sick. And..." He swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck this time. "I had someone I was hoping to confess to. I'm not so sure it'll happen now...Hah."
Qiu Yunru nodded. "If you think it's possible, then that's a good goal. As for me...I'll think on it. I think I want to stay here. Even if my body is alive...I really prefer it here. I know it sounds strange, but, ah...I like it very much"
"You like it that much?" Liao Li studied Qiu Yunru's face. His expression was puzzling to look at: he seemed both happy, and a little dejected.
Qiu Yunru rubbed his arm. "I do. I want to build another life here."
After a moment, Liao Li nodded. His expression had become grim. "I understand, but, ah..." He seemed to think for a moment, then thought better of it. "Never mind. Since we're both planning on escaping the Demon Realm first, why don't we stick together until we manage to get out? I've tried to access the game code while down here, but it's impossible, since this region isn't accessible to the public yet. I'll need to be in the Mortal Realm to have any chance of escape anyhow."
Feeling this was a good plan, the two of them shook on it. They set up a small campsite in the forest.
That night, lying on the dirt, Qiu Yunru couldn't help but feel a little happy.
Despite the fact that he truly enjoyed his solitude, there were some situations where it was really better not to be alone.
For example, ah, wandering the Demon Realm.