Chapter 97: Mr. Cai already has me.
Qin Ge ultimately did not delete Gu Ming’s number.
Gu Ming came from the western office to the headquarters not just to make trouble for Xie Zijing. He had taken a selection exam in June and was now here to confirm his registration materials and undergo the “sea area” test.
“If he passes, Gu Ming can work at the headquarters,” Qin Ge explained to Xie Zijing. “You’ll be colleagues from then on, so stop arguing every time you meet.”
Xie Zijing watched as Qin Ge hung up the phone, clearly displeased. “Why don’t you dislike him?”
“I don’t like him,” Qin Ge said, turning the steering wheel to drive into the neighborhood. “I just treat him as a colleague. However colleagues should interact; that’s how I interact with him.”
He parked the car and turned to look at Xie Zijing. “I can’t help but dislike him for treating you like that.”
Xie Zijing looked at him and suddenly smiled. He found Qin Ge’s businesslike attitude both amusing and sexy. Seeing no one in the parking lot, Xie Zijing leaned in to kiss him. “My dad’s going out for dinner tonight, an old schoolmates’ reunion. I don’t need to go back too soon.”
“Oh?” Qin Ge smiled. “The night is long; how do you plan to spend it?”
“However you want to spend it,” Xie Zijing said, his chest feeling a bit uncomfortable from the seatbelt, but he still leaned close to Qin Ge’s lips to finish his sentence. “Is the new sofa sturdy? We haven’t tested it yet.”
Qin Ge’s small apartment had a few new additions. Xie Zijing had bought a projector to replace the TV, so the rabbit could finally enjoy his beloved half-zombie actor on a huge screen, which made him very happy every time he watched. Xie Zijing also chose the new sofa and floor lamp, with a light blue lampshade that matched the fabric sofa, especially when the lamp was on.
The curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows were drawn tightly, and the indoor lighting was dim, with only the floor lamp glowing, casting a hazy yellow light.
Sweat formed on their skin and was spread around during their entanglement, with something sticky and damp pressed closely against their bodies.
“Don’t scratch the sofa,” Xie Zijing said. “Scratch me.”
So Qin Ge scratched his arm, leaving a few marks.
Xie Zijing felt a mix of pain and pleasure. “I’ll trim your nails later. You really don’t know how to take care of yourself.”
He used his shirt, now removed, to clumsily cover Qin Ge’s head and wipe his sweat. Qin Ge couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re ridiculous, Xie Zijing. How many days has it been since you washed this shirt?”
Xie Zijing replied, “I changed it just yesterday.”
He then laid flat on the sofa, hugging Qin Ge and taking deep breaths. Qin Ge’s body carried his scent, and he seemed to glimpse those silent yet passionate mountains.
After showering, they sat cross-legged on the carpet, eating takeout pizza while watching a movie. Xie Zijing carefully selected a film called “Zombie Hero,” which the rabbit found very exciting, pulling on the Barbary lion’s ears in excitement. The lion bared its teeth, but a touch from Qin Ge on its back made it instantly quiet.
This was a time both Xie Zijing and Qin Ge cherished. They put work and unresolved life problems aside, sharing a moment in the small apartment. If it were daytime, the lion and bunny might be rolling around on the carpet. If it were night, especially a moonlit night, the bunny would climb onto the lion’s head, tugging at its fur and ears, basking in the moonlight together.
Sometimes, Xie Zijing even thought that if he won the lottery, he would immediately retire with Qin Ge, living this kind of heavenly life every day, surely leading to a long life.
He picked a slice of pizza with extra cheese. “This stuff can really make you fat. You should eat less.”
Qin Ge rubbed his belly. Although he took Xie Zijing’s advice, he was still skeptical. “You weren’t saying that when you touched my belly earlier.”
Xie Zijing grinned, his mind instantly filled with countless suggestive comments. Just as he was carefully selecting the best one to say, Qin Ge’s phone rang again.
It was Gu Ming calling.
Xie Zijing said, “I’ll hang up for you.”
Qin Ge replied, “Wait, it might be about the ‘sea area’ test. He’s taking it at nine tomorrow morning.”
He glanced at the time as he answered the call. It was only eight in the evening.
Xie Zijing leaned in, eating while listening, his expression gradually changing.
“Ignore him,” Xie Zijing said immediately after Qin Ge hung up the phone. “He won’t die.”
“Forget it, I’ll go check on him,” Qin Ge said, getting up. “After all, he’s not familiar with Wangdu District. Are you coming?”
When Xie Zijing stood up, the lion and bunny that had been squeezed between them vanished. “Of course, I’m coming,” he said reluctantly. “If we leave him alone in Wangdu District, who knows what might happen.”
Gu Ming’s call was to ask Qin Ge if there were any interesting bars in Wangdu District. He planned to spend a carefree and idle night there, and according to Xie Zijing’s guess, he was likely looking for a new target.
“The western office is small, and he looks down on everyone there,” Xie Zijing gossiped about Gu Ming on the way to Wangdu District. “He even hit on a married sentinel. That lady rejected him several times, and her partner had to step in to resolve it.”
He held up two fingers. “Two female sentinels. Can you imagine how scary that is? Gu Ming almost got beaten to death.”
Talking about these things, he was clearly delighted.
When Qin Ge and Xie Zijing arrived in Wangdu District, Gu Ming had already slipped into Artys Bar.
When they found him inside, he had fully adapted to the bar’s atmosphere, mingling with the crowd and cheering for the pole dancers on stage.
“Your colleague isn’t shy,” Qin Ge said loudly.
Xie Zijing shouted back, “Perverts aren’t afraid of anything!”
“Who’s a pervert?” Gu Ming had somehow squeezed back to them and, upon seeing Xie Zijing and Qin Ge, came over. “We did have a bit of a thing, you know. Don’t slander me in front of the mental health specialist.”
“Who had a thing with you?” Xie Zijing roared. “Those locks on my dorm room were to keep you out.”
“I know,” Gu Ming said. “I could pick them all, but I wanted to save you some face, so I didn’t go in.”
Xie Zijing retorted, “But you went in eventually!”
Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Qin Ge quickly intervened. “Gu Ming, don’t provoke him on purpose.” Qin Ge’s face held a gentle but firm smile. “Even though our ‘sea area’ test starts tomorrow, my impression of you will affect my final evaluation.”
Gu Ming immediately shut up.
But he couldn’t help talking. After looking around for a while, he stared at the new dancer on stage and muttered, “Does that woman have such a large frame?”
Xie Zijing didn’t want to talk to him more; he felt annoyed just seeing Gu Ming. “I’m going to find the Black Battalion,” he whispered to Qin Ge. “Xia Chun told me last month that they had chosen a new leader for the half-zombies and the sentinels and guides, and I haven’t met them yet.”
Gu Ming watched the dance with great interest for a while, then turned around to find Xie Zijing already gone.
Just as he was about to ask where Xie Zijing went, Qin Ge spoke up, “The one dancing now is the owner of Atlantis, Meng Yu.”
Gu Ming squinted his eyes and watched for a moment, gradually showing a look of surprise. He silently asked Qin Ge: A man?
Qin Ge nodded.
Gu Ming pointed to his elbow. “Is it my illusion, or are his joints not very flexible?”
“He’s an underground dweller,” Qin Ge told him. “My friend’s lover.”
Because he was closer now, he could see the subtle change in Gu Ming’s expression. In those brief two seconds, it seemed this guide, who was eager to find a partner, had already foreseen Meng Yu’s future life.
The music finally stopped, and the bar was filled with deafening cheers, all shouting Meng Yu’s name.
Qin Ge and Gu Ming sat in a corner. Unable to suppress his curiosity, Gu Ming asked directly, “Ordinary people and underground dwellers can’t get married, right?”
Qin Ge nodded. He remembered a spring day a year ago. It was his last day in the Crisis Office and the day he was informed by Gao Tianyue that he would become the head of the Adjustment Department. Undergrounders had dug through the floor of the office hall just to paste slogans on his desk and paint “We Want Freedom of Marriage” on the walls.
“Underground dwellers and ordinary humans can’t get married,” Qin Ge told Gu Ming. “But my friend is a guide. They are working hard for their marriage. There’s still hope. The petrification virus in Meng Yu’s body is well controlled. Although it still affects his body to some extent, they should be able to live together.”
“If they succeed, it will be a big deal,” Gu Ming responded. “Marriage for underground dwellers… that would be amazing.”
He downed his drink in one gulp. “I want to get married too.”
Qin Ge grew curious. “But your approach… it’s very off-putting.”
“I’m 28 years old this year,” Gu Ming said. “I must get married before I’m 30.”
Qin Ge was even more puzzled. “Why?”
“Haven’t you read Qing Meizi’s ‘Perfect Marriage and Perfect Destiny’? That book is very accurate,” Gu Ming said enthusiastically. “I did the tests in the book, and if I don’t get married before 30, my life after 30 will be miserable.”
Qin Ge: “…”
Gu Ming continued, “Qing Meizi, you know? A special human who can predict the future.”
Qin Ge nodded, took a sip of his drink, and decided not to shatter Gu Ming’s fondness for Qing Meizi or expose Qing Meizi as a charlatan.
“Then you should broaden your search range,” Qin Ge suggested. “There might not be many sentinels and guides at the western office, but isn’t there anyone in the whole region you like, whether a woman or a man?”
Gu Ming immediately said, “I’m not considering other races. I only want a sentinel or a guide.”
Qin Ge asked, “So is that why you’re trying to get transferred to the headquarters?”
Gu Ming replied, “Yes.”
Qin Ge thought to himself, what kind of place is the western office that produces such single-minded colleagues?
“By the way, if you find my ‘sea area’ problematic during the test tomorrow, will I be immediately disqualified?”
“It depends. No one’s ‘sea area’ is perfectly normal,” Qin Ge explained. “Anxiety, fear, regret, resentment… these negative emotions leave traces in the ‘sea area’, but they are understandable. An abnormal ‘sea area’, simply put, is filled with things that logic can’t explain.”
Relieved, Gu Ming began chatting about Xie Zijing, and Qin Ge, very interested in Xie Zijing’s years at the western office, became increasingly animated in their conversation, not noticing someone approaching.
A blond young man tapped Qin Ge’s head with his glass. “Qin?”
Qin Ge turned around and immediately saw the delighted face of Francisco.
“Long time no see!” The blond vampire shook his hand warmly and greeted Gu Ming, “Hello, I’m Jack Ma.”
Gu Ming: “…What?”
Among the crowd not far behind Francisco, Qin Ge saw seven or eight foreigners.
“Are these your friends or your prey?” Qin Ge whispered.
“Neither,” Francisco whispered back. “They’re my family and elders from the Vampire Alliance.”
After Francisco’s lengthy explanation, Qin Ge learned that the Chinese branch of the Vampire Alliance was finally being established, with Francisco as the head.
“From now on, I won’t need to use a tourist visa to stay in the country,” Francisco said happily. “A work visa is much more convenient.”
He excitedly shared his career and work with Qin Ge, when suddenly a hand heavily landed on his shoulder.
“Mr. Francisco,” Cai Yi said through gritted teeth. “Have you finished evaluating three bars yet?”
Qin Ge: “Cai Yi?! What are you doing here?”
Cai Yi: “Risking my life to accompany a vampire.”
Francisco: “Secretary Cai, I’ve said, please call me a member of the Blood Kin.”
Cai Yi: “Enough, okay? Drinking yesterday, drinking the day before, and drinking today. This isn’t public funds entertainment; you’re spending my money.”
Francisco: “We are working.”
Qin Ge could see that Cai Yi was using great self-control not to lose his temper, but he almost saw the Komodo dragon on Cai Yi’s shoulder baring its teeth at Francisco.
At this moment, Gu Ming interjected. He looked at Cai Yi with bright eyes. “This gentleman… is he a sentinel?”
Qin Ge: “Oh, right! Yes, yes, yes! He’s a sentinel, unmarried, and should be… single, right?”
He looked back at Cai Yi, unsure.
Francisco immediately hooked Cai Yi’s arm. “No, Mr. Cai already has me.”
Cai Yi wore a look of endurance, but this time Qin Ge was sure he saw the Komodo dragon’s claws protruding from Cai Yi’s shoulder.
Qin Ge was dumbfounded. “…What happened between you two while I was unaware?”
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