Chapter 17 Qiao Yanyu's laughter bothered He Zhao, and she asked, "What did I say that was so strange..."

Qiao Yanyu's laughter bothered He Zhao, who asked, "Did I say something strange?"

Qiao Yanyu shook her head and explained, "We—I mean, my profession—are investigators at the official Paranormal Countermeasures Bureau. Our group is roughly divided into two factions: a friendly faction that believes there are good ghosts among ghosts, and a hostile faction that firmly believes all ghosts are bad. A small number remain neutral. If the hostile faction hears what you say, they'll definitely think you're stupid."

He Zhao knew that Qiao Yanyu had toned down her words; saying something like "stupid" would probably have meant pointing her finger and saying "you're mentally ill."

However, He Zhao didn't care. She looked at Qiao Yanyu and said directly, "Then you must be the friendly one, Sister Qiao."

She's also very kind to ghosts. If she were the hostile faction that Qiao Yanyu mentioned, she would definitely have taken direct action against Gossian.

But Qiao Yanyu shook her head again: "I can't be considered a friendly party, I can only be considered neutral."

But in He Zhao's opinion, Qiao Yanyu had already been friendly enough.

They didn't talk much. Qiao Yanyu wasn't a particularly talkative person. Although normal conversation was fine, getting Qiao Yanyu to find topics or keep He Zhao chatting away was a very difficult task for her.

Fortunately, He Zhao wasn't the type to be a chatterbox, nor did he intend to force Qiao Yanyu to talk to him. Occasionally, a new person would come along who was somewhat eloquent, and He Zhao would only exchange a few words with them.

Most of the time, the two of them were relatively quiet.

However, this quiet atmosphere mixed with a little bit of everyday bickering made both Qiao Yanyu and He Zhao very satisfied.

Especially Qiao Yanyu.

She was working for far too long, just as He Zhao had questioned, she hardly ever rested, she was either working or on her way to work. Actually, this wasn't very common among investigators. Although there were fewer investigators, they all had much longer rest periods, because every investigator was working with their life on the line, and they might encounter an insurmountable demon at any time and die in the line of duty.

High salaries and as much vacation time as possible are all benefits offered to investigators.

It sounds contradictory, but that's exactly what the Paranormal Investigation Bureau does. On the one hand, they're short-staffed, and on the other hand, many investigators are on leave. And investigators, in most cases, prefer their free time. The vast majority of investigators aren't government-trained, but rather come from family backgrounds. Compared to working for an official agency, directly approaching wealthy individuals for better pay and a more relaxed job is more lucrative. This is why the Bureau treats its investigators exceptionally well.

Otherwise, if someone gets upset, they might just run away and never look back.

Therefore, investigators like Qiao Yanyu, who are hardworking and have a bit of a workaholic attitude, are really rare.

She has such a strong sense of justice and responsibility; she's a natural for this job.

At the same time, fatigue was indeed constantly surrounding Qiao Yanyu. The lack of sleep and rest kept Qiao Yanyu on edge, and moments that seemed peaceful and comfortable like this were particularly rare for her.

Even though she was working diligently, she couldn't help but think: "These moments are so wonderful."

For He Zhao, the mere presence of Qiao Yanyu provided a profound sense of security, and she was also quite pleasing to the eye. Without Qiao Yanyu, He Zhao might exchange a few words with the guests, but most of the time she would remain silent. She couldn't distinguish whether the ghosts before her were good or bad. If a careless conversation led to a resentful ghost harboring hatred and suddenly overturning the table and smashing things, that would be something He Zhao simply couldn't handle.

It was quite subtle; because of each other's presence, both He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu became much more relaxed.

In this situation, the time spent setting up a stall wasn't so unbearable anymore. The moment the horizon began to lighten, it meant that He Zhao was ending his day's stall business.

Qiao Yanyu was the first to notice the sky turning white, but she didn't say anything. He Zhao was playing a game at that moment, and only after finishing her match did she realize it was almost dawn. He Zhao put down her phone and yawned.

"I can finally go back to sleep!"

After saying this, she turned to Qiao Yanyu and said, "Sister Qiao, you should go back and get some rest! Otherwise, I'll definitely give you a piece of my mind when I see you tonight. Your main task now is to be my bodyguard, and I find it hard to trust you if you don't get enough rest."

Although He Zhao said that, Qiao Yanyu knew that she just wanted her to get some rest. Qiao Yanyu smiled and said, "Okay, I will rest. You should rest too."

He Zhao gave an OK sign.

She took a small step off the stool and landed on the ground with a "whoosh," then began to pack up her stall. After she finished, Qiao Yanyu and Qiao Yanyu greeted each other, said "goodbye," and left in different directions.

He Zhao had never looked forward to setting up his stall in the evening as much as he did now.

The more she anticipated it, the longer the wait seemed to drag on. Fortunately, He Zhao needed to sleep when she got back, and she slept until three or four in the afternoon before waking up. After waking up and calming herself down, she looked at the time on her phone and yawned: "System, it's a good thing you found me. I'm young and strong, which is the perfect time for me to stay up all night. If you had found someone a little older, they would have surely died here if they had been staying up all night every day."

[...] The system felt a moment of guilt; in fact, this was partly the reason it chose He Zhao as its host.

He Zhao, she really can endure it.

He Zhao stretched, feeling that it was still too early: "Sigh, there are still more than six hours before I can see Sister Qiao." He Zhao got up, washed up, ordered takeout, and waited for the food to be delivered to his door, soothing his hungry stomach.

She's not the type of person who would neglect her own taste and health. Before, when they had a housekeeper, every meal was nutritious and delicious. But because she often ate irregularly, she frequently suffered from stomach aches and became thin. Now she's in a terrible state, eating only one meal a day.

However, He Zhao didn't care. She didn't care in the first place, otherwise she wouldn't have made herself suffer from a stomachache.

The takeout she ordered was all expensive stuff, but luckily she earned a decent amount of money, otherwise it wouldn't be enough to feed her. After finishing her takeout, He Zhao played on her phone for a while, but then got bored and just stared blankly at the time, sighing several times as if complaining about how slowly time was passing.

When it was finally time to set up her stall in the evening, He Zhao instantly became energetic. She did a somersault—but didn't get up—and then nimbly rolled out of bed, grabbed her phone and charger, and went straight downstairs. She pedaled her food cart, clattering and clattering, to her stall location.

That night was as peaceful as ever. When it was time to part, He Zhao was a little reluctant, feeling that she and Qiao Yanyu had spent too little time together. However, they agreed to meet in the afternoon, and Qiao Yanyu would pick her up downstairs at her rented apartment, which made He Zhao feel satisfied.

After waving goodbye, He Zhao set an alarm. She was woken by the alarm at 12:30 PM, then got up, washed, and went downstairs to find a small restaurant for lunch. At the agreed-upon time of 2 PM, Qiao Yanyu appeared on time. She went to the door of He Zhao's rented apartment as usual before calling her.

He Zhao picked up a backpack and followed Qiao Yanyu out the door.

The second time He Zhao rode on Qiao Yanyu's motorcycle, he was more at ease than the first time, and the embarrassing scene of their helmets colliding again didn't happen. Practice makes perfect, and He Zhao even managed to put his hand into Qiao Yanyu's pocket on his own initiative.

She pressed against Qiao Yanyu's back; although the thick clothes insulated her body heat, she could still feel Qiao Yanyu's warmth.

Should we go straight to the hospital now?

"Go find Gossian first and bring it with you."

Qiao Yanyu drove the motorcycle very steadily. He Zhao, who didn't get enough sleep to begin with, felt like he was about to fall asleep on her back. Fortunately, she had to brake every time they stopped at a traffic light, and He Zhao would lurch forward and wake up.

Qiao Yanyu also noticed that He Zhao was very tired. She smiled, her voice sounding a little muffled inside her helmet: "You're the one who's talking to me, but you haven't even had a proper rest yourself."

He Zhao couldn't help but retort, "No, these two days are my rest time. I don't even have to set up my stall tonight, so I can catch up on my sleep. Do you have any, Sister Qiao?"

The system wasn't completely malfunctioning; it still granted her the privilege of working seven days and resting two. She first met Qiao Yanyu on the third day of setting up her stall, and counting those days, it was indeed He Zhao's rest time. Qiao Yanyu never expected that the system that had lured her into this world and treated her like a pampered laborer would actually allow He Zhao to rest.

"You're taking a break..." Qiao Yanyu hadn't even realized it. Although it had only been a few days, she had gotten used to checking in with He Zhao every day. Now that He Zhao suddenly said she was taking a break, Qiao Yanyu was obviously a little unaccustomed to it.

He Zhao's little brain worked incredibly fast. She immediately realized: if she rested, wouldn't she never see Qiao Yanyu again? No, that won't do. She immediately said, "But you still have to protect me. Even if I'm resting, you have to come and see me, otherwise you won't even know if I get carried away by a ghost."

"Also, since I'm resting, you should rest too, like giving yourself a break. Don't use the time you're supposed to be protecting me to do other things!"

"..." Qiao Yanyu paused for a moment. It was undeniable that she had that thought for a brief moment.

He Zhao noticed and exclaimed angrily, "Sister Qiao, say something! You're my personal bodyguard!"

Qiao Yanyu had no choice but to say, "Okay, I'll make time to see you and get some rest too."