Vivi only felt like she had just listened to some kind of fantastical story — things like Saiyans, chat groups, traveling across worlds — all of it was completely beyond her understanding.
But compared to those things, Vivi was more concerned about something else at the moment. She looked at Su Xiaoqi with a complicated expression and said:
"So you approached me, and everything you did for me was actually for those points?"
In that instant, she felt all those beautiful images in her mind shatter. The sweet romance of a prince rescuing a princess was nothing more than her own fantasy.
"This…" Facing Vivi's gaze, Su Xiaoqi didn't know how to respond. After a brief silence, he decided to tell her the truth.
"At the beginning, yes, it was like that. But now I truly regard you as a friend. No matter what kind of ending you want Alabasta to have this time, I'll help you."
Vivi forced a small smile onto her face.
"I understand. Thank you for telling me honestly. Can I meet your girlfriend?"
Su Xiaoqi replied, "She's busy right now. In a few days, when we reach Alabasta, you'll be able to meet all of us."
"I'm looking forward to meeting them." Vivi nodded, then turned to Nami and said:
"Nami, there are some things I'd like to tell you. Can we talk over there in private?"
While the two women were whispering, Su Xiaoqi took the chance to tell Zhu Zhuqing about what had happened here and that he would be staying for a while.
Zhu Zhuqing expressed understanding, only reminding him to be careful in everything, to try and argue less with Nami, and that she would arrange for Ning Rongrong and Meng Yiran to come over soon to keep him company.
Su Xiaoqi then asked the other members in the chat group if anyone wanted to come over to keep him company now. In the end, this bunch of "dog group members" all mercilessly refused, claiming they didn't want to disturb his "three-person world."
Gin-san actually did want to come, but when he heard that the trip would involve several consecutive days on a ship, those unbearable past memories came flooding back, and he gave up this golden opportunity to show off in front of Vivi.
Meanwhile, Vivi and Nami talked for a long time. When the two returned to Su Xiaoqi, neither mentioned the chat group again.
Nami looked at Su Xiaoqi and said:
"Since Wapol has already been dealt with by Luffy, there won't be any more trouble here. You go tie up Chopper, I'll go talk to that Kureha. We're short on time, so we'll have to use some unconventional means."
"We need to leave here as soon as possible and head to Alabasta."
Hearing this, Su Xiaoqi twitched the corner of his mouth. Sure, that logic made sense — but did she really have to say it that bluntly?
Seeing him frozen in place, Nami snapped:
"Move! Hurry up and take me and Vivi to the top of the mountain."
On the mountaintop, Nami was practically grinding her teeth at the sight of the man in front of her, who was clearly enjoying her embarrassment.
This annoying guy had actually carried her like a little chick all the way here through the air. Only God knew how scared she had been.
What made her angrier was that he had held Vivi in his arms instead, claiming, "She's a princess, while you, Nami, have been through storms and waves. This bit of hardship is nothing."
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Grabbing Vivi's hand, she walked into the castle, not wanting to speak to Su Xiaoqi right now.
Su Xiaoqi shook his head at the sight of the two women's backs. In truth, he had wanted to carry Vivi like a chick too, but since she had been earning him points and had treated him well, he couldn't bear to do that to her.
Entering the castle alone, Su Xiaoqi soon spotted the cute little blue-nosed reindeer — mainly because it didn't even try to hide. Every time, part of its body would stick out, making it impossible for him not to notice.
Su Xiaoqi didn't rush to "kidnap" it. Instead, he started playing hide-and-seek with it.
"Little guy, I caught you again. You're really adorable."
Holding Chopper in his hands again, Su Xiaoqi thought it was so much fun. Who said only girls liked cute, silly animals? Guys liked them too, okay.
Suspended in midair, Chopper wiggled around happily and said:
"No matter how much you praise me, I won't be happy, you bastard\~!"
At first, Chopper had been a little afraid of this human, but after several encounters, it could tell that he meant no harm — in fact, he liked playing with it. Slowly, it became bolder.
And even if it wanted to resist, it was useless. No matter what form it took, it couldn't beat him.
Su Xiaoqi was amused by Chopper's cuteness. Hugging it in his arms, he said:
"Little guy, let's go play something fun. I'll tell you a few interesting stories too."
The first time Chopper flew into the sky with a bamboo-copter, it was ecstatic. What it enjoyed even more were the stories Su Xiaoqi told.
Tired from playing, Chopper leaned against Su Xiaoqi's leg and, with a silly-cute face, asked:
"Su Xiaoqi, is it true that that human woman named Nami can breathe fire from her mouth and then turn into a mother T-Rex?"
Su Xiaoqi nodded:
"Of course. And she eats people too — especially cute little animals like you. If you don't join her pirate crew, when she gets mad, she might eat you."
Just then, Nami and Vivi emerged from the castle. Nami said:
"I'm done here. Let's take Chopper and head out now. I've already packed its things."
Su Xiaoqi's expression suddenly changed. He stood up, pointed at Nami, and shouted:
"Chopper, that woman is Nami. Your Doctor Kureha may have already been eaten by her!"
"What?!"
Startled, Chopper hid behind Su Xiaoqi's leg, trembling as it peeked out:
"You… you bad woman, stay away from me! I'm… I'm not scared of you at all!"
A vein popped on Nami's forehead. Clenching her fist, she roared:
"Su Xiaoqi! Are you talking bad about me behind my back again?!"
"Uh-oh, the enemy's about to transform — let's retreat!" Su Xiaoqi scooped Chopper into his arms and flew into the air.
"Su Xiaoqi, get down here! I'm going to beat you up today!"
Su Xiaoqi crooked his finger at her.
"Come up here if you can."
Nami's anger shot up even higher.
"Fine! Stay up there forever if you dare!"
Chopper swallowed hard as it looked at Nami on the ground.
"S-she really did breathe fire… women are scary."
The playful scene outside was entirely witnessed by Kureha in the castle. Though Nami had just told her many unknown secrets, what mattered most to her was that she could see Nami truly liked Chopper.
"My foolish son, you have a group of good companions. Go, and see the vast ocean for yourself."
In the end, Su Xiaoqi let Chopper say a proper goodbye to Doctor Kureha. The tearful scene from the original story was too melodramatic for his taste — wasn't it better for people to speak their hearts openly like this?
"Young man, you're quite good. Interested—"
Before she could finish, Su Xiaoqi interrupted:
"No. You're old enough to be my great-grandmother. We're not a match. Goodbye."
Grabbing Chopper and Vivi, he flew off, thoughtfully leaving the bamboo-copter for Nami this time.
Watching his hasty retreat, Kureha chuckled:
"Kids these days are really timid. I just wanted to ask if he was interested in letting an old lady like me join his crew. Look at how scared he got."
"Hehe…" Nami forced a laugh and said, "I'll be going too. We'll take good care of Chopper, please rest assured."
"Wait a moment, young lady. I have something else to tell you."
Meanwhile, Vivi noticed Su Xiaoqi frowning.
"What's wrong?"
After a moment's thought, Su Xiaoqi said:
"Vivi, I think I forgot to tell Nami how to use the bamboo-copter. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Heh… hehe…"
In her mind, Vivi could already picture exactly what would happen when those two met again later.