Chapter 62 [VIP]

The moment Jiang Zhuochen got off the plane, he took off his down jacket, stretched, and strode out of the airport with Xu Xing to go home.

I thought the other person could stay at home for another day or two, but the next morning the person dressed up and went to work.

Jiang Zhuochen turned over in a half-awake state, her unfocused gaze falling on his back, and murmured, "Why are you always so busy with work, no matter where you go..."

Hearing the noise, Xu Xing turned around, his tie still draped around his neck, and pinched Jiang Zhuochen's cheek. "Did I wake you up?"

Jiang Zhuochen twirled his loose tie with his fingers, then tugged at it, his voice languid with the weariness of early morning: "The cold woke me up."

Xu Xing lowered his eyes and stared at the mischievous hand. After understanding what he meant by those words, he smiled, dug the person out, and held him in his arms, whispering in his ear, "Then I'll sleep with you a little longer?"

"Come on. You're just... you know," Jiang Zhuochen snorted, pondering for a moment with his still-undeveloped brain, before finally speaking, "workaholic. Your heart isn't in this anymore."

“I’ve been here with you the whole time.” Xu Xing chuckled, rubbed the back of his head, and helped him sit up straight. “Now that you’re awake, come to the company with me.”

"No!" Jiang Zhuochen rammed into Xu Xing's arms, pulling his suit jacket over his head. "Isn't that your company? Why should I go with you!"

"Didn't you complain that I'm too busy to spend time with you?" Xu Xing hugged him and said gently, "Why don't you just come with me?"

Jiang Zhuochen didn't speak, leaning against Xu Xing's chest and tugging at his tie until it was tied into a bow, which finally woke him up completely.

He patted Xu Xing on the shoulder, smugly admired his masterpiece, and then reluctantly nodded: "Alright."

But he was the kind of person who couldn't stay still. After spending several days holed up in the other person's office, Jiang Zhuochen felt like he was about to get moldy.

Although it was good to be together all the time, there was still no clue about finding the remaining souls. Xu Xing also had to deal with a mountain of official business. With nothing to do, he seemed to finally remember that he still had a Taoist temple, and he went back to work after a long time.

Because Xu Xing hired people, the Taoist temple was kept clean every day, but there was very little smoke. Even Chen Sheng and Wu Duo were in class, so the place seemed too deserted.

He sat in the chair, idly playing with his calligraphy brush, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was almost lunchtime, and he pondered whether to go back to find someone or wait for someone to come over.

Just as he was about to contact Xu Xing, a boy suddenly walked in through the door, swiping his phone in one hand and carrying takeout in the other, walking hurriedly toward him.

The boy had dark skin and was covered in sweat, but he smiled heartily: "Hello, your takeout has arrived."

"I didn't order takeout." Jiang Zhuochen paused, realizing he hadn't even developed this skill yet.

The young deliveryman was also stunned. He glanced at the menu and asked, "Are you Mr. Wang?"

Jiang Zhuochen denied it: "No."

"Isn't this No. 16 Jinghe Road?"

Jiang Zhuochen searched his memory for a moment before slowly saying, "If I remember correctly, this should be No. 16 Jinghe Street."

"Huh?" The delivery guy frowned and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, it's my first day on the job and I'm not very familiar with this area. Could you tell me where Jinghe Road is?"

He'd stumbled upon a place Jiang Zhuochen was completely out of touch with; was there anyone here more of a genuine outsider than him? He'd barely even been here a few times.

"I don't know either. You can ask other people."

"Okay, thanks." The delivery guy smiled politely at him, then turned and left.

Jiang Zhuochen stared at the receding figure and came up with a third way to solve lunch. He took out his phone and sent a message to Xu Xing.

How do I order takeout?

Less than five seconds after the message was sent, the doorway went dark again, and a familiar voice came through.

"You want takeout?"

Seeing the other person's serious expression, Jiang Zhuochen touched his nose: "Can't I?"

"No." Xu Xing snatched his phone away. "It's unhealthy. You don't need to learn this."

"All right."

Jiang Zhuochen didn't take this little incident to heart. After being strictly forbidden by Xu Xing, he obediently accompanied Xu Xing to dinner from then on.

However, the next afternoon, he was still idly scrolling through short videos in his office when a local news notification popped up. He was about to swipe away when his eyes were fixed on the accompanying picture.

That ID photo with the憨厚 (honest and simple) smile is clearly that of the delivery guy who took the wrong turn yesterday!

He clicked on the notification, and the headline blatantly proclaimed: Another heinous crime has occurred in this city; a food delivery driver has been murdered late at night! Police are reminding citizens to minimize going out at night, especially male food delivery drivers who need to be extra vigilant…

Jiang Zhuochen frowned. Although they had only met briefly, the person had thanked him with a smile yesterday, but today he had become a cold, lifeless victim in the news. This shock left him with mixed feelings.

He clicked on the video. The report was brief, emphasizing that the police were taking the matter very seriously, were doing their utmost to solve the case, and reminded citizens to be aware of their safety.

Is this a series of cases targeting food delivery workers? He doesn't usually follow current events, and the whole video seems like someone is retaliating against society. Although it's egregious, it's none of his business.

Jiang Zhuochen silently swiped away the video, but he had clearly underestimated the power of big data algorithms. Several similar reports followed, even with almost identical angles. As he scrolled, he inadvertently clicked into the comments section.

The top comment reads: "Breaking news! I heard they were already mummified when they were found! It's really eerie, like they'd been drained of their life force by something!"

Dozens of replies followed this comment:

Is it true or false? Don't spread rumors!

I've heard about it too; several cases have been like this, and the police are suppressing the news.

This is terrifying! What kind of psychopath is this?

[Don't spread rumors upstairs, trust the police!]

"What do you mean by draining someone's life force? You've been reading too many novels. This is just a brutal method of murder."

Jiang Zhuochen managed to discern the words 'dried corpse' and 'drained essence' from the text. He unconsciously sat up straight and focused his attention.

If it were an ordinary murder case, he might not care much, but if what's said in the comments is true, then the description sounds too much like the methods of some kind of ghostly possession.

He immediately revisited those news articles, carefully observed the images of the victims, and discovered that the deceased were indeed young and middle-aged male food delivery workers. The locations where the deaths were found were mostly in remote corners, and the times of death were all late at night.

Jiang Zhuochen fell into deep thought, and a bold idea popped into his head. He had to see the body with his own eyes. Only by confirming the cause of death could he determine whether it was the work of an unnatural force.

That evening, when Xu Xing returned home after work, he saw Jiang Zhuochen sitting cross-legged on the bed with an expression that said, "I have something important to discuss with you."

"What's wrong?" Xu Xing took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie.

“I saw it on the news today, the case where several food delivery workers died,” Jiang Zhuochen organized his thoughts, “I think it might not have been done by a human.”

Xu Xing paused, he had heard about it before, but his mind wasn't on it. "What do you mean?"

"Someone in the comments said those people looked like they'd been drained of their life force. I want to go see the bodies to confirm," Jiang Zhuochen said, trying to downplay the situation.

A hint of helplessness flashed across Xu Xing's face. "The police have already gotten involved. Why are you getting involved?"

Seeing this, Jiang Zhuochen knew that force wouldn't work. He smirked, puffing out one cheek as he did so, and the next second he jumped off the bed and pounced on Xu Xing's back, wrapping his arms around his neck and pleading, "Oh, just go take a look, just one glimpse. I promise I won't cause any trouble! Please help me think of a way, Shizun~"

The way he called out "Master" was incredibly sweet and charming, even though he was speaking in a low voice. Xu Xing's body visibly stiffened for a moment. He was overjoyed by Jiang Zhuochen's sudden intimate contact, but there was always a feeling that he couldn't tell anyone else.

He reached back and lifted the humanoid koala clinging to him, saying in a deep voice, "...Get down and talk properly."

"I won't come down unless you agree." Jiang Zhuochen buried her head in his back, determined to continue her act of being unreasonable.

"Is that so?" Xu Xing's lips curled up slightly, his voice lowering as if he were enjoying the 'threat'. "Then don't come down."

Jiang Zhuochen raised his head, jumped up and down a few times in protest, and unconsciously rubbed his feet back and forth against the outside of the person supporting him.

"No! Master... Xu Xing... let me go..."

Xu Xing, unable to bear it any longer, grabbed his legs, pulled him to the edge of the bed, laid him down, and then pressed himself against him. "You expect me to agree just by saying a few words, without doing anything?"

Jiang Zhuochen rubbed the hand resting on the back of his head and muttered softly, "So what do you want?"

Xu Xing remained silent, his gaze fixed on the lips of the person beneath him, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Jiang Zhuochen wrapped his arms around his neck, grinned, and leaned in to kiss him. A loud "pop" echoed in the quiet dormitory. After that, he continued to kiss him several more times, seemingly without stopping.

"Xu Xing, Xu Xing..."

Just as he was about to back away, his head was pressed down by a hand below, and an irresistible force pulled him back against it.

Jiang Zhuochen opened his eyes and met Xu Xing's naked gaze. He was lightly bitten on the lip, and a wet, hot tongue plunged in, stirring him upside down.

He reacted slowly, his fingers curling in fright at the other person's appearance, groaning incessantly, but his resistance gradually weakened during the kiss.

Suddenly, he felt a chill in his stomach. His clothes had been lifted up without him noticing. A jolt of electricity spread along the direction of his fingertips, making Jiang Zhuochen numb and unable to stop himself from retreating. He was then pulled back by the hand gripping his waist.

"Hmm... Ugh..."

Jiang Zhuochen turned his head to the side, panting, trying to pull the hand that was running rampant inside his clothes out, but the other party noticed his intention and became even more brazen.

A tingling sensation spread through his upper body, and Jiang Zhuochen's breathing became heavy. In his dazed struggle, he touched something that burned him and cleared his mind considerably.

He looked at Xu Xing, who seemed like a completely different person at that moment, and when the other party leaned in again, he trembled and blushed, keeping a distance.

"No..."

Xu Xing's eyes grew increasingly dark, seemingly displeased with the actions of the person beneath him. He bit the other's wrist, his voice hoarse: "You won't give it to me?"

Jiang Zhuochen pouted, her eyes reddened, looking pitiful as if she had been bullied.

Xu Xing brushed away the tears that were about to overflow. He clearly wanted to bully him until he cried, but when he got closer and the tears actually welled up in his eyes, he felt a pity and his mind calmed down a bit.

Seeing that Xu Xing had regained some of his composure, Jiang Zhuochen sniffed, but his words showed no sign of being forced.

"You can only kiss me if you agree to let me go."

...

Xu Xing was amused by his words and, without hesitation, threw his composure to the back of his mind and bent down to continue what he hadn't finished.

"I'll have someone ask for you."

A note from the author: