Chapter 57
"Let go."
Yu Miaomiao tried to pull her wrist away, but couldn't budge it.
She turned her head, her eyes cold. "What do you want to do?"
Jiang Cheng's lips moved, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, as if he had many things he couldn't wait to say, but in the end he said something very simple, his voice low and hoarse.
"You should have almost finished the food I made for you before, so I made another week's worth and left it in front of your door. Remember to put it in the freezer."
"……Um."
Yu Miaomiao easily broke free from Jiang Chengyi's control this time.
Jiang Cheng watched her cross the road and enter the residential area, watching her figure gradually recede into the distance, becoming a blurry shadow until she completely disappeared, and finally turned and left.
Yu Miaomiao stepped out of the elevator and, sure enough, saw a bag in front of her house.
Upon opening it, I found neatly portioned rice, still slightly warm, as if it had just been cooked.
She threw all those things into the refrigerator and then threw herself onto the bed.
She stared at the ceiling, aimlessly counting the number of moths under the lamp—it was pointless, of course, but she had to keep herself occupied to avoid getting caught up in complicated emotions.
The reason she didn't want to see Jiang Chengyi during this time was because she would get very angry whenever she saw him.
Yes, angry.
He knew nothing at all. He didn't know what kind of environment she had grown up in, how much she hated those monsters, how she would never have passed the Demon Supervisory Committee exam without this special recruitment, or that he himself was a human who wouldn't even live to be a hundred years old.
However, he pretended to be considering things from Yu Miaomiao's perspective, deciding for her which was important and which was not.
Therefore, Yu Miaomiao did not want to see him, communicate with him, listen to his advice, or see his sympathetic or distressed eyes.
Yu Miaomiao doesn't need any sympathy. Sympathy is something only the weak need. Whatever she wants, she can always get it herself.
She counted the moths under the lamp three times, but still couldn't fall asleep—the hunger in her stomach had reached an unbearable level, and since being discharged from the hospital, her physical condition had declined significantly in all aspects.
She had no choice but to get up, take a box of food from the refrigerator, and eat it without heating it up.
The food I put in my mouth tasted slightly different from before, with a bit more layers of flavor.
Yu Miaomiao was eating spoonful by spoonful when she suddenly heard the clanging and banging of kitchen utensils coming from the kitchen behind her. It sounded like Jiang Chengyi was busy in the kitchen. She turned around abruptly, but saw that the kitchen was empty.
She slowly turned around and continued eating, but her stomach started to cramp. She clutched her stomach and it took her a while to get over the pain. She belatedly realized that her body was no longer like before, where she could eat cold food without restraint.
She endured the waves of pain, finished her meal, took a shower, lay down on the bed, and drifted off to sleep.
-
Monster Club.
Xu Zhou came out of the lab, glanced to the side, and said helplessly, "Why are you here again?"
A young man in a black windbreaker stood outside the door. He was tall and slender with a cold demeanor. Many monsters came and went, looking at him out of curiosity, but also casting disdainful glances at him because of his human aura. However, he remained calm and composed, without the slightest embarrassment or discomfort.
Xu Zhou, carrying the materials, hurried along, saying, "I'm very busy right now, let's talk after I get off work."
Jiang Cheng took a big step to catch up with him, "Engineer Xu, have the requirements for the physical examination been adjusted for the next few clinical trials?"
"I've said it many times: based on Miaomiao's medical examination data, no matter which phase of clinical trial it is, she cannot be selected through normal channels."
Jiang Chengyi changed the subject, "When can the clinical trials be completed, and will Miaomiao be eligible to apply after the product is launched?"
Xu Zhou paused, turned his head, looked at Jiang Cheng's determined expression, and sighed.
"You... well, never mind, come with me."
He pulled Jiang Cheng to a secluded corner, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then said, "Originally, this matter was not allowed to be spread, but since you're so insistent, I'll just say it."
"Although this project is highly effective, it requires extremely precious resources. After the clinical trials are completed, it will not be released to the market at all; it will only be accepted by monsters who have lost their inner cores due to official duties."
"Clinical trials are the only way other monsters can access this project!"
...
Jiang Cheng thanked Xu Zhou for the information, slowly walked out of the hall, sat down on a bench, and looked at the monsters in uniforms coming and going. He couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration and confusion.
After realizing Yu Miaomiao's stubbornness, he changed his approach and tried to break through from other angles.
He asked Liu Wenzheng several times if he could transfer his reward to Yu Miaomiao, but the reply was always a refusal; he consulted Xu Zhou about other ways to join the project, but the result was even more disheartening—
If Yu Miaomiao misses this opportunity, she may never be able to obtain the inner core again.
In other words, Yu Miaomiao, as a monster, will spend a short period of more than a hundred years in a state of illness and weakness.
Just thinking about this made Jiang Cheng feel breathless, and his heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
He couldn't understand why Yu Miaomiao was willing to pay such a high price—it could be said to be two or three hundred years of her life—to pursue a position in the Demon Supervisory Committee.
"No, you have to give me an explanation. Why has the job posting changed again?"
A shout came from the consultation window not far away. Jiang Cheng was attracted by the words "Job Announcement" and looked up.
A young man with green hair was jumping up and down in front of the information window.
The staff at the window politely replied, "The recruitment announcement is standardized; we're not aware of it either."
"Then call your manager out here, I'm going to file a complaint!"
"You can express your needs, and we will record them and report them to our superiors."
"Okay, can you ask your superiors for me why social connections require vetting human friends? Just because I signed a joint liability agreement, they won't let me apply. What kind of logic is that!"
"Didn't your Demon Club advocate integrating into human society? I did integrate, so why don't you want me anymore?"
...
The monster hurled curses and rants for a long time, finally venting its emotions. Just as it was about to leave, a human blocked its way.
"Hello, could you please show me the job posting you mentioned?"
The human's tone was polite, but the coldness in his voice sent a chill down the monster's spine. His hands trembled as he opened his phone. "You...you see."
Jiang Cheng read the job posting word by word, his gaze lingering on the requirements for verifying social connections:
Those who have personally signed a "Confidentiality Agreement" that is currently in effect are ineligible to apply.
"Confidentiality Agreement..."
He muttered the word to himself, then suddenly rushed towards the lab, blocking Hu Li's way home. Hu Li was startled, "What are you still doing here? I—"
Jiang Chengyi, unusually, interrupted someone, asking, "What is a confidentiality agreement?"
Hu Li glanced at him in surprise, then snorted and turned away, simply saying, "I don't know."
Jiang Chengyi didn't believe it and continued to ask questions. He was breathing heavily, his voice urgent and slightly trembling, as if he were asking questions or seeking confirmation of a pre-determined answer, hiding a fear and... expectation that he himself was unaware of.
"Did Miaomiao also sign... for me?"
Hu Li suddenly fell silent, and after a long while she said, "You already know, so why are you asking me?"
She pulled her baseball cap up to cover her ears. "The lights are about to go out, let's talk as we walk."
"Miaomiao specifically told me not to tell you, but this time you guessed it yourself, so it shouldn't count."
"Didn't you sign a Confidentiality Agreement back then? It stipulated that a monster had to sign a Joint Liability Agreement, and Miao Miao signed it."
Hu Li's voice was muffled. "The original recruitment announcement, although it had strict restrictions on social connections, wouldn't have been a problem for Miao Miao to get in with her grades. But the new recruitment announcement released half a month ago completely changed those restrictions."
Jiang Chengyi's voice was hoarse and strained, "What will happen to me if she doesn't sign?"
"It's very simple. Just drink the amnesia potion and forget everything that happened in those days. Everyone does it this way to prevent future troubles and everyone is happy."
"But Miaomiao didn't do that. She signed the 'Joint Liability Agreement,' which all monsters avoid."
Hu Li stopped, her eyes turning the color of fire crystal as she scrutinized Jiang Chengyi from head to toe with a critical and puzzled look.
"What's so special about you, human? That makes Miaomiao do so many things for you, and you won't even let me tell you?"
She stopped in front of a red sports car. "I'm leaving. Just say you found these things yourself, don't drag me into it."
She didn't even say goodbye, just got in the car and left.
The sports car left behind a piercing roar and a scorching heat wave, but Jiang Cheng seemed not to hear it, standing still for a long time.
Even though he had already guessed the truth, he still felt a sense of disbelief when he actually heard it from someone else.
It turns out that Miao Miao didn't choose the inner core over the qualification to enter the Demon Supervision Committee, but rather chose Jiang Chengyi over the inner core... Jiang Chengyi.
He recalled Yu Miaomiao's calm reply, "It won't have any impact," when he signed the "Letter of Commitment."
What was her mindset when she said that?
Did she feel upset or regretful after the job posting was updated?
It must be painful, after all, you've worked so hard for so long, and the job that was within your grasp slipped away.
What about regret? If you regret it, why didn't you complain to him even when the argument was at its most heated?
“Miaomiao…”
Jiang Cheng murmured Yu Miaomiao's name, his breath turning into white mist in the cold winter night.
And something solid and profound takes shape after the breath is exhaled.
He didn't linger, but strode towards the parking lot and found his car.
Jiang Chengyi opened the car door, inserted the key, and started the vehicle with practiced ease, yet his hands gripping the steering wheel trembled slightly.
His mind was filled with a jumble of complex emotions, pounding in his chest and making it impossible for him to calm down. But he didn't have time to sort out these emotions, to find a coherent thread; right now, he had only one thought:
Go see Yu Miaomiao.
The parking lot gate opened, Jiang Chengyi let out a deep breath, stepped on the gas pedal to the maximum, and drove towards the residential area.
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