Apartment Building 1/3
However, just as the cub who had been teasing the divine beast was about to continue speaking, he suddenly stopped. After eating the mushrooms, his mind became a bit muddled.
After a brief two-second pause, he completely forgot what he was about to say.
Some words flashed through his mind—something about touching porcelain, absorbing spiritual energy…
But in the end, all those thoughts were pushed aside by the sight of that striking icy-blue color.
Lu Congxing stared dazedly at He Zhouyan’s icy-blue vertical pupils and blurted out in amazement, “So pretty.”
He reached out and gently touched the man’s thick yet straight eyelashes.
He Zhouyan allowed him to do so, patiently repeating his question, “What’s your secret?”
Lu Congxing blinked in confusion. His round pupils were no different from a human’s, dark in color and always appearing particularly fragile and innocent when moistened.
He hesitated for a moment, trying hard to recall what he had originally intended to say. “M-my secret is… I’m a really powerful ghost exorcist!”
He Zhouyan’s instincts told him that wasn’t the real secret. It felt like he had just missed something important.
He looked down at the boy obediently nestled in his arms, noticing a cute little hair whorl on his jet-black head.
In the end, He Zhouyan couldn’t bring himself to press further. Holding Lu Congxing carefully—one arm supporting his shoulders and the other under his legs—he carried him to his bedroom and gently laid him down. Feeling a deep sense of guilt, he said, “I’m sorry.”
If only he had been more thoughtful and asked about the boy’s dietary restrictions before cooking, the whole mushroom drunk incident could have been avoided.
Fortunately, the cub was merely intoxicated by the mushrooms and showed no allergic reactions. After scanning his body with spiritual energy, He Zhouyan finally relaxed.
Lu Congxing squinted his eyes in comfort. The spiritual energy that others might find overbearing felt incredibly soothing as it washed over his body. Once it withdrew, he actually felt a bit disappointed. Tilting his head, he asked, “Why are you apologizing?”
“Because I made you uncomfortable,” He Zhouyan replied, his icy-blue pupils fixed on the boy with serious intensity.
“Oh.” Lu Congxing didn’t quite understand the complex emotions in his eyes. Instead, he flopped backward and wrapped himself snugly in the blanket.
He Zhouyan’s initial guilt quickly transformed into an overwhelming sense of possessiveness at the sight.
The cub, now wrapped with his spiritual energy and carrying his scent, was obediently sleeping in his bed.
It deeply satisfied his instinct to protect. Like a dragon tucking its treasure safely away in its lair.
After casting a cleansing spell on the boy, He Zhouyan gently switched off the light. But he didn’t leave right away. Instead, he quietly watched as the intoxicated cub slowly drifted into sleep.
Back in the village, he had already seen how peacefully the boy slept. But now, with him lying in his own bed, that inexplicable joy transformed into an even stronger sense of fulfillment—an emotion he had never experienced before.
. . . . .
When he opened his eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling came into view. Lu Congxing stared blankly for a few seconds before realizing he wasn’t at home.
Sitting up, he shook his head and instinctively checked the spiritual energy within him. It was calm and completely stable.
That’s when he noticed a significant amount of Bai Ze’s spiritual energy clinging to him.
“Mm!”
As the realization hit, he suddenly understood where he was—he was still at He Zhouyan’s house!
Yesterday… he must have eaten mushrooms. He Zhouyan had added so many ingredients to the porridge that he hadn’t even noticed the mushrooms’ presence before downing the whole bowl.
He had learned about his sensitivity to mushrooms by accident—when he and Di Jiang had once mistakenly eaten them together, and Di Jiang had pointed it out to him. Before that, he had simply assumed he just hated their taste.
Completely unaware that he had almost blown his cover yesterday, Lu Congxing only thought he had fallen asleep from mild mushroom intoxication.
Just as he finished gathering his thoughts and was about to get up, the door swung open.
Standing there, He Zhouyan was dressed in casual homewear, his expression utterly natural. “Breakfast is ready.”
For a moment, the familiarity of the scene made it feel as if they had already been living together for years.
“Okay,” Lu Congxing responded obediently, getting up and heading to the bathroom.
Inside, there were also newly prepared toiletries for him.
He had taken over his bed last night… so where had he slept?
All of Lu Congxing’s worries disappeared the moment he saw breakfast.
Just like yesterday, the table was filled with food. Ever since his father went missing, he hadn’t experienced such a warm and homely feeling.
A guardian demon, huh…
Lu Congxing stole a glance at He Zhouyan.
Sensing his gaze, the man straightened his back even more. Because he had exercised that morning, he was wearing a sleeveless shirt, fully revealing his toned muscles.
Lu Congxing quietly murmured a “thank you.” The two of them tacitly avoided mentioning yesterday’s mushroom mishap.
He Zhouyan pulled out a chair and sat down, keeping a safe distance from the young one—not too close, but not too far.
“I wasn’t sure what kind of breakfast you’d like, so I prepared both Chinese and Western options.”
The table was laid out with beef pastries, steamed buns, and fried dough sticks, as well as sandwiches and milk bread.
Lu Congxing took a sip of milk, his eyes curving into a smile. “It’s really good.”
Wanting to sound more sincere, he tilted his head, thinking about how to praise the food. After a long pause, he finally blurted out, “It tastes just like my dad’s cooking!”
He Zhouyan placed a soup dumpling into his bowl and raised an eyebrow. “You like your dad a lot?”
“Mm, I do.” Lu Congxing took a bite of the warm soup dumpling, and the flavorful broth instantly filled his mouth.
Even though he abandoned you when you were sixteen?
He Zhouyan didn’t voice the question. Instead, he restrained himself, pressing his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
It’s fine. From now on, I’ll take care of you in place of that useless man.
The meal left both of them satisfied. Lu Congxing, now full to the brim, flopped onto the sofa to rest.
Watching him, He Zhouyan suddenly found the scene oddly familiar.
After thinking for a moment, he realized—Lu Congxing looked exactly like that little hedgehog that had stuffed itself with a whole bowl of cherry tomatoes.
The feeling came out of nowhere, but it grew stronger.
Lu Congxing abruptly stood up, breaking He Zhouyan’s train of thought.
He Zhouyan: “What’s wrong?”
“I forgot my panda alarm clock!” Lu Congxing hurriedly dashed back to his house.
Panda alarm clock?
He Zhouyan followed him at a leisurely pace.
Lu Congxing didn’t notice the man following behind. The moment he got home, he immediately started searching for the panda alarm clock.
The panda alarm clock rushed out of the room, looking at him sadly. “You didn’t come home last night.”
The clock was powered by simple spiritual energy, functioning similarly to an advanced human AI. It couldn’t comprehend the idea of staying out overnight.
Its purpose was to remind the cub to eat and sleep on time—but no one had told it what to do if the cub never came home.
The Mirror Ghost had originally wanted to come out too, but the moment He Zhouyan entered the house, it vanished without a trace, terrified that a single mistake might lead to its doom.
Lu Congxing picked up the panda alarm clock and sincerely apologized. “I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you.”
Last night, when the cub didn’t return home at dinnertime, the panda alarm clock had immediately sent a report to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.
That’s why the Deputy Director sent He Zhouyan the list of important care instructions for the cub.
Because just thinking about it, they already knew exactly where he would be.
He Zhouyan walked over from behind, his gaze fixed on the panda-shaped alarm clock in Lu Congxing’s arms.
His voice didn’t carry much interest: “What’s this?”
The object carried traces of spiritual energy from Taotie. The cub seemed to like it a lot, which displeased him.
Lu Congxing held up the panda alarm clock to show him. “The Director gave it to me.”
Even though the Director had reluctantly agreed to let him live alone, he had still placed the panda alarm clock beside him—to keep watch in his stead.
It was the last request of a high-ranking demon who fiercely protected the cub.
He Zhouyan politely asked, “Can I take a look?”
Having rediscovered a sense of “fatherly love” from He Zhouyan, Lu Congxing now had no defenses against him at all. Without hesitation, he handed over the panda alarm clock.
He Zhouyan examined it briefly, flipping it over to get a sense of its basic setup. Once he understood, he decisively infused it with his own spiritual energy, forcibly expelling Taotie’s aura and replacing it with his own.
The panda alarm clock felt a moment of darkness overwhelm it—as if its connection to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs had been severed. In its place, all it could perceive was the man standing before it.
It blinked in confusion, its tiny mind unable to process what had just happened.
He Zhouyan was very satisfied as he watched the panda alarm clock, now infused with his spiritual energy, and returned it to Lu Congxing.
Lu Congxing noticed nothing amiss. After setting the clock down, he said, “Let’s go find Miss Huang1.”
He had promised He Zhouyan the day before that he would bring him along whenever he visited that couple to observe their ghost possession case.
Since Di Jiang was busy filming recently, Lu Congxing decided to consider He Zhouyan an unofficial member of the agency.
Although He Zhouyan agreed quickly, Lu Congxing still felt uneasy and asked again, “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the office?”
He Zhouyan sent a message to Qu Xiu, informing him that he was skipping work today. Then, ignoring the ten rapid-fire “Why?” messages in response, he simply put his phone away. “No need. Pi Xiu is watching over the company.”
He Zhouyan felt no guilt whatsoever. With Pi Xiu—a creature that attracts wealth—at the company, profits would soar even if he completely ignored his duties.
The “unofficial employee” He Zhouyan drove his flashy luxury car to the meeting spot with Huang Xin. The location was on the outskirts, far from the city center, where most of the residents seemed to be elderly.
The car couldn’t make it all the way inside. The area was old and rundown, with narrow alleys that weren’t suited for large vehicles. To avoid any trouble, He Zhouyan parked outside.
The two of them walked to the residential complex Huang Xin had mentioned and found the building she had described.
Their first impression? Old, cramped, and shabby.
Before they could take a closer look, Li Guodong came up to meet them.
Lu Congxing asked, “Where’s your wife?”
He asked that simply because he felt that compared to the man, Huang Xin seemed to be the one in charge.
Li Guodong, looking somewhat hesitant, avoided He Zhouyan’s gaze and instead spoke to Lu Congxing. “The weather is getting hot. I told my wife to stay home more.”
Lu Congxing nodded in understanding.
This old apartment building didn’t have many residents left, so naturally, there was no elevator.
They had to take the stairs, but fortunately, Huang Xin’s home was only on the fourth floor—not too high up.
Li Guodong introduced, “There are four units on this floor, all belonging to my wife and me. We live in one, another is empty, and the remaining two are rented out.”
He pointed upstairs. “There’s also one more unit up there that we’ve rented out.”
“How many units do you and your wife own in total?” Lu Congxing asked.
It sounded like they had quite a few tenants.
“N-No, they’re not mine. They’re my wife’s pre-marital property,” Li Guodong hurriedly explained before adding, “We have five units in total. Three are currently rented out, with five tenants living in them.”
His anxious explanation made it seem as if he feared someone would scold him for being shameless if he didn’t clarify right away.
It looked like he was probably a live-in son-in-law.
Lu Congxing glanced at him but didn’t comment on his explanation.
Li Guodong let out a small sigh of relief and offered a smile.
But his slightly awkward smile vanished the moment he opened his front door. At the sharp sound of a woman’s voice, his timid demeanor returned instantly.
Seeing Li Guodong walk in empty-handed, Huang Xin immediately raised her voice unhappily. “Why didn’t you buy me a watermelon?”
She quickly realized that he had brought two guests with him, so she quieted down and walked over, one hand resting on her waist.
Li Guodong mumbled an explanation, “The watermelon vendor didn’t come today.”
Annoyed that he was in the way, Huang Xin gave him a little push. “Alright, go make some tea.”
Only then did Lu Congxing and He Zhouyan step inside.
- The original text uses ‘xiǎojiě’ (小姐) for Huáng xiǎojiě (黄小姐), so I am translating it as ‘Miss Huang’ to stick to the original text, even though she is already married. (・_・;) ↩︎