Chapter 9: His timid and loyal spirit animal, lay on his chest
Xie Zijing carefully slipped off the sofa bed.
He had never seen such a small rabbit spirit, like a fluffy bundle that could fit in the palm of his hand.
The spirit animal felt sensitive, and as he pushed open the balcony door with a crack, the rabbit immediately turned its head, its round eyes staring at him.
Xie Zijing couldn’t help but laugh out loud: the rabbit’s fur was so thick and long that it almost covered its facial features, with only its eyes and nose peeking out, making it look like a small snow-white long-haired ape in disguise.
“Shh…” Xie Zijing raised a finger to it, “I’m a good person.”
Through the glass, the rabbit started to back away. Its four paws, tail, and ears were all trembling, and its thick white fur shivered.
Xie Zijing wondered if he had “rabbit killer” written on his face or something.
He didn’t expect this rabbit to be not only small in size but also incredibly timid.
The rabbit backed up to the edge of the balcony, realizing there was nowhere else to retreat, and in its terrified round eyes, two tears rolled down.
Xie Zijing: “???”
The rabbit’s long fur and ears began to change, and a granular white mist began to rise from its body. Seeing that it seemed ready to run back to Qin Ge, Xie Zijing quickly grabbed the ukulele next to the sofa and plucked a few strings.
“I’m a good person, little one,” he said in a soft voice as he lightly strummed the strings, “If you’re not afraid of me, I’ll sing you a song.”
The sound of the strings was familiar, and the rabbit sniffled, its eyes now fixed on the small guitar.
Xie Zijing grasped the head of the ukulele with his left hand, pressing down on the strings, and gently plucked the strings with his right fingers, producing a faint melody: “Hush, hush, hush…”
He couldn’t think of a specific song to sing, so he began to randomly hum “Little Bunny, Be Good.”
The rabbit stopped trembling, but it was still clearly timid. It quietly buried its head in its thick fur, only revealing its round eyes, which were fixed on Xie Zijing’s fingers plucking the strings.
The cold wind blowing in from the gap in the door made Xie Zijing feel a bit stiff. His clothes were too thin, and the midnight wind was too cold. He had never imagined himself crouching by the balcony’s sliding door, delicately playing the ukulele for a long-haired rabbit.
But he desperately wanted to get closer to it and feel its fur. He liked everything warm, radiating heat to his chest, and the thick fur resembled the lush grass in the last month of spring.
This timid little creature was both afraid of him and curious about him.
The spirit animal reflected the deeper consciousness of a sentinel and a guide. While smiling at it, Xie Zijing couldn’t help but have various thoughts about Qin Ge’s sea.
Is it scared of me? Is it curious about me?… Is its courage really this small?
Not wanting to wake up Qin Ge, Xie Zijing stopped plucking the strings after humming for a while. The rabbit seemed reluctant, twitching its ears, tilting its little head upward, and staring straight at Xie Zijing.
Xie Zijing reached his hand out through the gap in the door and waved at it.
As he extended his hand, the rabbit was startled again. However, it didn’t disappear but immediately reached out to grab its own ear and pulled it down, covering its eyes. After a moment, it blinked through the gap in its ear, sneakily glancing at Xie Zijing.
Xie Zijing: “…”
As he felt like he was about to become the first sentinel in the city to freeze to death on the balcony at two in the morning while playing with a spirit animal, the rabbit finally let go of its ear and moved forward by one centimeter.
With Xie Zijing, the foreign and extraordinary being, in his home, Qin Ge had expected to endure a sleepless night filled with tension and anxiety.
But that didn’t happen.
In fact, he slept quite well and even had a very joyful dream.
In the dream, someone was stroking his head and speaking softly to him. The touch was gentle, with just the right amount of pressure, and every contact was light and tender. The sensation Xie Zijing brought to Qin Ge was like a fierce wind sweeping down from a towering cliff, making him sway, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
In the dream, Qin Ge stood at the center of his “sea area,” standing on the peak of a high mountain, awakening at the roots of a tree. The sound of the wind was like voices, like soft melodies on a stringed instrument, and it called him awake from the dream within a dream. The azure sky was adorned with countless stars, their silver paths crisscrossing the night; the wind passed through leaves and treetops, through his clothes and skin, through his hair and fingertips, racing toward the distant horizon.
His rabbit, his timid and loyal spirit animal, lay on his chest, blazing hot like a burning heart.
Qin Ge even saw stars falling like raindrops from the zenith.
They landed precisely on the peaks of each mountain, igniting towering flames that lit up his expansive “sea area.” The sound of the wind carried with it a clumsy melody from the fiery source, rolling towards him.
When he opened his eyes, Qin Ge realized it had all been a dream. However, his spirit was high, and his mood was excellent, to the point that he couldn’t help but feel puzzled. After sitting up, he extended his hand and released his spirit animal.
“…What did you do last night to be so happy?”
The long-haired rabbit pulled its ears down, almost covering its eyes.
Qin Ge became even more puzzled. “Why are you being shy?”
The rabbit exposed one eye and blinked at him.
Qin Ge’s face gradually turned pale. He jumped out of bed without even putting on his slippers and rushed out of the room.
In the living room, Xie Zijing was wrapped in a blanket, playing a computer game, sneezing repeatedly.
“Xie Zijing! Did you touch my rabbit?”
Xie Zijing had a smile all over his face. “I did. It’s so warm, like a hot water bottle, perfect for keeping your hands warm. We even watched a movie together last night. It’s quite interesting. Despite being incredibly timid, it surprisingly enjoys watching zombie movies.”
Qin Ge took a step back and leaned against the sliding door.
Xie Zijing finally noticed something was amiss with him. “You can’t touch your rabbit?”
“…You can’t touch it,” Qin Ge sighed, rubbing his forehead. “If you touch it, it’ll become attached to you.”
Xie Zijing stared at him for a few seconds and then suddenly realized.
“Oh! Lucky!” He stroked his chin and grinned mischievously. “You’re one of those sensitive types that trigger a sexual response* when you come into contact with a spirit animal.”
Qin Ge: “…It’s not like that! What’s going on in your mind? Can’t you keep it clean?”
He opened his palm, and a white mist rose from it, eventually coalescing into a rabbit-like form. Once the rabbit had fully formed, it immediately jumped down from Qin Ge’s hand and rolled—or one could say, hopped—toward Xie Zijing.
Xie Zijing picked it up, feeling somewhat bewildered. As Qin Ge headed towards the bathroom, he called out, “Rabbit, come here.”
The soft paws of the long-haired rabbit rested on Xie Zijing’s fingers, completely still, while its round eyes stared at the group of zombies on the computer screen and the “Game Over” message.
Xie Zijing: “…”
After finishing his morning routine, Qin Ge came out, and the rabbit had shifted positions but was still nestled in Xie Zijing’s arms.
“That’s the idea,” Qin Ge said. “It’s incredibly timid, but if someone touches it, and it’s not afraid, it means it likes that person.”
Xie Zijing: “So, that means you like that person.”
Qin Ge: “It’s the rabbit, and I’m me.”
Xie Zijing: “But it’s still you. You think I haven’t studied ‘Guide General Knowledge’?”
Qin Ge chuckled. “Comrade Xie Zijing, you probably studied ‘Sentinel General Knowledge’!”
Xie Zijing: “The content is similar, and the spirit animal’s reactions are exactly the same.”
As he was speaking, he suddenly felt pain in his hand. He looked down and saw the rabbit biting his finger.
It was biting quite vigorously, and its small teeth chattered like it was gnawing on a carrot.
Qin Ge placed a milk bun in front of Xie Zijing and couldn’t help but laugh.
“You said it likes watching zombies, right? Well, play a zombie game for it and then pet its ears and back,” he said. “That way, it won’t bite you.”
Xie Zijing: “…You have a unique rabbit.”
Qin Ge: “Don’t stop; keep petting. If you stop, it’ll bite you.”
Xie Zijing continued petting and asked, “There’s a saying that pets resemble their owners, so what about you? Will you bite me?”
Qin Ge was momentarily taken aback, unable to determine if this person was making inappropriate remarks to harass him, so he simply reminded him vaguely, “…Xie Zijing, do you understand the concept of ‘guest under the eaves’?”
Xie Zijing closed his mouth.
But Xie Zijing couldn’t resist teasing Qin Ge further. He noticed Qin Ge changing clothes and rummaging through leftover dishes in the fridge, and he struck up another conversation.
“Qin Ge, you’re really peculiar.”
Qin Ge: “…”
Sorry, I may be a peculiar henchman, but you’re the peculiar entity here, Qin Ge thought. Who can compare to you?
“You don’t turn off the lights when you sleep,” Xie Zijing said. “If you’re afraid of the dark, I can keep you company.”
Qin Ge heated up the leftover food given by Jiang Leyang, washed some rice, and prepared to cook.
Not getting a response from Qin Ge, Xie Zijing decided to try a different approach. “Qin Ge, are you the kind of person who would bring a stray dog home?”
Qin Ge: “No, I’d see a stray dog and take the long way around.”
Xie Zijing: “But you’d take photos and help them find their owners on Weibo or forums, right?”
Qin Ge: “…”
Feeling accurately described, Qin Ge decided to ignore him. Ten seconds later, Xie Zijing shouted from behind him, “The food you brought yesterday was really delicious; I want some too.”
Qin Ge: “Eat in the cafeteria.”
Xie Zijing: “I’ve been eating in the cafeteria since I started college, for many years now… Let me count.” He began counting with the hand that wasn’t touching the rabbit.
Qin Ge: “Stop counting, I’ll pack for you!”
After Qin Ge finished cooking, he packed the food into two lunch boxes. When he turned around, he saw Xie Zijing lying on the sofa, seemingly dozing off. His laptop was open on the table, and the rabbit was lying on his chest, engrossed in watching an R-rated movie where zombies and humans were blowing each other’s heads off. Xie Zijing was wearing headphones and appeared to be napping, but one of his hands was gently resting on the rabbit’s back, occasionally stroking it.
Sensing Qin Ge approaching, Xie Zijing opened his eyes and pointed at the rabbit. “How long do I have to pet it?”
Qin Ge: “Until it doesn’t want you to pet it anymore.”
Xie Zijing: “…Then take it back.”
Qin Ge: “It’s been a long time since it had someone suitable to play with. I can’t bear to take it back.”
Qin Ge deliberately didn’t take the rabbit back with him. As he was about to leave, Xie Zijing finally pleaded with him and showed his swollen finger that had been bitten. Qin Ge realized he had found a way to keep Xie Zijing in check.
“You be good,” Qin Ge plucked the rabbit that was still nibbling on Xie Zijing’s pinky finger and pointed at it. He said to Xie Zijing, “Otherwise, I’ll let it bite you.”
Xie Zijing: “Then I’ll let the lion lick you.”
The rabbit disappeared, and Qin Ge turned and left in frustration. “You should just sleep in the reception room.”
Today, Xie Zijing continued his quest to explore the Jianbing stalls near the Crisis Management Office, but his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. This time, he bought the deluxe version of Jianbing, which included a chicken cutlet and two pieces of ham, priced at a whopping 20 yuan. However, Xie Zijing ate it with disdain from the very first bite.
He regretted spending his hard-earned 20 yuan on it.
Qin Ge arrived at the adjustment department before him and was in the middle of answering a call from Yan Hong.
Yan Hong told him that Cai Mingyue’s son was currently at the 267th Hospital and specifically requested to see Qin Ge.
“From the way he’s talking, it seems like he knows you’re planning to investigate Cai Mingyue,” Yan Hong said, “and he looks really unwell.”
Bai Xiaoyuan hadn’t arrived yet, so Qin Ge rushed to apply for a government vehicle but was told that the application process required 24 hours in advance.
“Last time, when Bai Xiaoyuan applied, it was approved on the same day,” Qin Ge explained.
“Chief Qin, in the future, let Bai Xiaoyuan handle these things. It’s more efficient,” Xiao Liu from the Administrative Department said with a smile. “She’s familiar with the process, and each of us in the administrative department owes her a bunch of favors that we need to repay.”
Qin Ge was half-believing and half-doubting, but when Bai Xiaoyuan arrived, she indeed smoothly secured the government vehicle. Qin Ge felt amazed and increasingly realized that he was completely clueless about the intricacies of these procedures.
“Aren’t I useful?” Bai Xiaoyuan giggled as she took the driver’s seat as usual.
The group then drove to the 267th Hospital, and Qin Ge’s eyelid started twitching again.
He didn’t know whether it was a good or bad omen.
Sexual response: A physiological response that sentinels and guides may autonomously experience when attracted to each other or each other’s spirits. This response is characterized by significant unpredictability and lack of control, requiring suppressants for management. Sexual responses are classified into three levels: primary, intermediate, and advanced. The three levels are hierarchical, with higher-level responses overshadowing lower-level ones and not occurring simultaneously. It is important to distinguish this physiological response from love in both learning and application.
The author has something to say:
The long-anticipated (or not) entry on sexual response has finally appeared! However, its role in this story may not be as significant as one might expect.
In the next chapter, Qin Ge and Scorpion Spirit Animal are getting ready to embark on a mission together.
A potential spoiler (or not): While Qin Ge denies that this is that kind of response… well, this field is quite complex! There may be new developments from time to time, depending on the research results (innocent smile).
