Chapter 2 The Second Person
The second person was an old man carrying a basket on his back, resting on a rock at the mountain peak. The basket was filled with mushrooms. I figured people of the Shan Hai Demon Tribe wouldn't be interested in vegetarian food like mushrooms, so he wasn't one of them either.
I searched for nearly three hours. Checking the time, it was already 4 AM. Yao Yao was yawning incessantly, and my eyes were tearing up, yet I had only scoured less than a quarter of the Zhong Nan Mountain area.
"How about we stop here for now? Let's get some rest, and continue searching when we're feeling better. It's Sunday, so I doubt anyone will be working in their command center today," I said.
Yao Yao yawned again, a long, drawn-out sound. "You go up and sleep first. I'll keep looking."
"I can't sleep without you," I chuckled.
Yao Yao pouted. "With the little beauty Xing Yue with you, of course you can't sleep. Hurry up, she's already waiting for you in bed."
Saying that, Yao Yao pointed at the ceiling. I activated my Qi sensing technique, but my Qi sensing wasn't as strong as Yao Yao's. I could only vaguely sense Xing Yue's aura, not her exact location.
"Alright then, I'll go up and rest for a bit. You come up if you get tired," I said.
"Stop dawdling and go," Yao Yao punched me lightly and sent me away.
Taking the elevator to the third floor, I was about to knock when I noticed the door was slightly ajar, leaving a centimeter gap. I pushed it open and saw Shen Xing Yue sitting upright behind the desk, engrossed in the computer. She was wearing glasses, and the characters on the screen were flashing rapidly on them. Hmm, was the company name Douyin inspired this way?
I knocked on the door. "Still awake?"
Shen Xing Yue looked up. "Not sleepy yet. You go to bed."
"Then I won't be polite," I said. I walked around the desk, and only when I reached the side did I notice that Shen Xing Yue was only wearing a suit on her upper body, but pink pajama pants on her lower half, with slippers on her feet.
I understood. Yao Yao hadn't lied to me. Shen Xing Yue was indeed ready to rest, but upon seeing me through the monitor, she had quickly put on her top and pretended to be back at work.
I didn't expose her. I entered the small room inside. Although it was described as a double bed, it was quite narrow due to the limited room size. The double bed was likely only about 1.5 meters wide, essentially a large single bed. The quilt on the bed was messily folded into a misshapen square. Next to it, on a pile of clothes, hung Shen Xing Yue's suit pants and pajama top, with a strap peeking out. Curious, I flipped it over and found a complete chest protector, soft armor. It seemed she had been in too much of a hurry to put it on.
I went into the bathroom. Though small, it had a bathtub, a compact model about 1.4 meters long, usable by a normal person. The water heater was full, but I felt it would be too much trouble to fill it. I also didn't have a penchant for bathing, and having just returned from the underworld, I didn't want to bring any bad luck to Shen Xing Yue.
After a quick rinse, I wrapped myself in a bath towel and came out.
Shen Xing Yue was still pretending to be busy. I didn't close the bedroom door completely, leaving it half-open. I turned off the bedroom light, lay down on the pillow, and my head swam. I felt like I hadn't slept in ages, always busy with something. Finally, having the chance to sleep comfortably and peacefully was truly rare.
Within two minutes, I drifted off to dreamland.
My dream was filled with aerial views of various mountaintops, some even covered in snow. I knew it was a dream, so I let it snow.
I don't know how long I slept. I felt a change in the light. I opened my eyes and saw Shen Xing Yue standing in the light cast by the office. Seeing me awake, she exclaimed in surprise, "You're not asleep? You were snoring. Why did you wake up so suddenly?"
"I'm very sensitive to light," I said, pointing to the light on my face.
Shen Xing Yue shifted her position. The light from the office shone on my face again. I closed my eyes and asked, "What, are you going to sleep too?"
"Can't I?" Shen Xing Yue retorted.
"Of course, you can. This is your bed. Do you want to sleep inside or outside?" I asked lazily, narrowing my eyes.
"Uh... Either is fine."
I was too lazy to move. I reached out from under the covers and patted the inside of the bed. "Roll over and sleep here."