After that day, Bai Xinjian received a fresh, dew-kissed bouquet of Black Baccara roses on his bedside table every morning. It was clear that Claude was picking them from the garden at the crack of dawn each day.
Meanwhile, after reviewing Gu Yue’s memories from the night at the gas station, the system discovered that a memory of Gu Yue kissing Bai Xinjian by the car had been generated in his mind. The system was utterly astonished. Its signal had been extremely unstable that night, constantly dropping and reconnecting, leaving it unable to monitor what was happening with Bai Xinjian. To think its host had been so self-motivated; even while it was away, he had willingly offered himself to advance the mission. The system was deeply moved. To whom else would it award the Employee of the Year bonus if not to its host?
However, the system still earnestly warned Bai Xinjian: “Jianjian, you should be careful and not get too close to that strange gardener. By the looks of it, he likely likes you, and he is just an NPC. Of course, I do not think you could possibly like him, ha ha. But to avoid any accidents, stay away from him. We employees of the Transmigration Bureau are not allowed to fall in love with NPCs from the books we travel into.”
“Why?” Early in the morning, with nothing to do, Bai Xinjian lay in bed, unable to get up.
[Because once you leave this world, you cannot come back! Moreover, the ultimate fate of this world is to be devoured by the monster; that is our goal, is it not? By then, you will never be able to see any of the NPCs in this world again.]
“Is that so…” Bai Xinjian lay on his side, pillowing his head on one hand. “I understand.”
What exactly is liking someone? In truth, Bai Xinjian did not understand. After all, he could not generate feelings for any person or thing. It was just like how Chen Liyan had once looked at him in terror, calling him a monster. He and those Unfortunate Ones were all monsters, after all.
As he was thinking, Bai Xinjian heard a soft click at the bedroom door. He turned his head toward the sound. He knew it was Claude, and he was certain he would be holding another bouquet. Indeed, before even seeing the person, Bai Xinjian smelled the rich fragrance of roses.
Claude was walking on tiptoe, thinking Bai Xinjian was still asleep. When he saw Bai Xinjian lying in bed, eyes open and smiling at him, he paused in his tracks, his entire body visibly stiffening.
He was late today because a new batch of fertilizer had arrived at the mansion that needed his attention. Furthermore, Su Qin had complained that he only knew how to tend to the front garden’s roses and nothing else, so he had woken up early to clean the backyard and clear the weeds. By the time he regained his senses, it was already quite late.
Every morning recently, he had taken advantage of when the Mistress was still fast asleep to place a bouquet of roses by his bed, because he remembered the Mistress telling him that he liked roses. When had he said that? Claude could not recall. It did not matter; the Mistress had said it.
He had walked upstairs holding the roses, secretly feeling happy about the delivery, only to be caught the moment he entered. Bai Xinjian did not get up; he just turned to the side, maintaining the posture of resting his head on his hand, and let out a slow yawn.
“Just leave them there,” Bai Xinjian said with a smile. “If you pick a bouquet every day, won’t the roses in the garden be picked clean in a few days?”
“They will not.” Claude walked in with a stiff, wooden gait. Before coming upstairs, he had specifically changed into a clean pair of work boots to avoid staining Bai Xinjian’s bedroom with the mud from his shoes. He removed the wilting old roses from the bedside and replaced them with the new ones.
Whether it was because Claude had specifically chosen the freshest roses in the garden, they were blooming beautifully and were still dotted with fresh morning dew. Claude looked straight ahead, meticulously arranging the flowers. Although he knew the best course of action would be to finish arranging the flowers and retreat from the Mistress’s room as quickly as possible, his eyes could not help but drift toward the bedside.
The morning light pouring through the window danced on Bai Xinjian’s fair cheeks, making his face look translucent and his skin seem ready to break at a touch. What was worse was that Bai Xinjian’s beautiful eyes were fixed on him without blinking. He was lying there like that, his pajamas hanging loosely, revealing one shoulder.
Claude felt an inexplicable rush of heat surge to his face, causing his entire head to flush red. Then, he felt a tightness in his lower abdomen.
He was going to explode.
Claude clumsily snatched up the discarded old roses from the table and left Bai Xinjian’s room with a chaotic and hurried gait.
At noon, Gu Yue paid an unexpected visit. He had not informed Bai Xinjian beforehand. However, he was dressed formally and carried a gift. Before opening the door, Bai Xinjian glanced at the calendar hanging by the door and realized it was the weekend. It seemed it was not just the weekend, but also some festival unique to this world.
Bai Xinjian opened the mansion gate to see Gu Yue standing outside, offering a gentlemanly smile. “Good morning, Bai Yu. This is a Black Forest cake I just bought from the bakery outside the complex. I heard it was freshly baked and tastes quite good.”
“Really? Thank you!” Bai Xinjian naturally wore an expression of delight. “It looks delicious; I can already smell it.” His fluid acting left no room for doubt. “Why the sudden visit today? Would Captain Gu like to come in for some tea?”
“Today is Wanqing Festival,” Gu Yue said with a smile. “There is a professional horse racing competition at the Imperial Capital’s Central Racecourse. I managed to get two VIP tickets. Would you like to go watch it with me?”
The Wanqing Festival was, as the name implied, a festival celebrating green mountains and clear waters. It was usually a time for outings and horse racing. Every year, horse racing competitions were held across the Alliance. Due to the surge in the number of infected, other places had stopped holding these events over the last two years, and the Imperial Capital had as well. However, this year, perhaps due to a premonition that the end was near, or perhaps to break the lingering downturn and give the people confidence to regroup, the Imperial Capital was hosting a grand horse racing competition at the central racecourse.
The participants were famous professional athletes who were household names before the pollutants spread. In these extraordinary times, sports competitions had become a luxury. This event was essentially an exhibition race, and the organizers had implemented strict security measures for the audience; everyone entering had to undergo a comprehensive pollutant test.
Gu Yue drove Bai Xinjian to the racecourse. Given the special circumstances, he had originally intended to invite Jiang Sui, but it was only yesterday that he learned Jiang Sui had signed up to participate in the race. Although he was in the amateur division, Jiang Sui had been a star athlete in the Horse Racing Association for years. He had always been multi-talented, riding horses and piloting mechs, so his participation was no surprise. It was just a pity about the two VIP tickets.
Gu Yue then thought of Bai Yu. He figured Bai Yu had probably never watched a live horse race in his life and did not know if he would ever have the chance again, so he thought he might as well bring him. Bai Yu was indeed very happy, asking Gu Yue many questions about the race along the way, which Gu Yue answered patiently, feeling a sense of pity.
However, Gu Yue did not know that Bai Xinjian was actually more curious about the Wanqing Festival of this world; it felt very interesting. Every festival had a different historical background, and Bai Xinjian had added a good piece of life material to his database.
Just as Gu Yue parked the car and was about to get out with Bai Xinjian, his communicator rang. Gu Yue frowned, seeing it was an emergency call request from the Amber Theater command center. He answered it hurriedly.
“Captain Gu, you are at the Central Racecourse for the competition today, right?” the person on the other end said as soon as the connection was made. “The command center has just issued an emergency order. General Shen will appear at today’s race. The Alliance has prepared a separate VIP box for him. The live broadcast cameras will scan him, mainly to dispel the rumors circulating among the public during this period. The broadcast will only last a few seconds, and we will take him back to the classified ward immediately after. This mission is very important, and since you are already there, we need your cooperation.”
Gu Yue’s expression turned serious. “How should I cooperate?” A soldier, regardless of where he was, needed to be ready to execute orders whenever command issued them.
The command center sent two new entry tickets; the seats were in the VIP box next to Shen Yuhuai’s, only a few steps away. Upon learning that Gu Yue was not alone, they had even specifically gotten him two tickets. Gu Yue looked at these tickets, hesitating. Should he let Bai Yu sit in his original seat alone? If Shen Yuhuai saw him with Bai Yu… Actually, it would be nothing; they were just out watching a competition together normally. Besides, Shen Yuhuai was now an Unfortunate One; who knew if his way of thinking was still like a normal human’s?
Gu Yue swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He decided not to tell Bai Yu the truth and to take things one step at a time.
The two went through ticket checking and passed the pollutant test. Gu Yue then said to Bai Xinjian, “I have a temporary mission and need to go to the podium. You go find your seat first, and I will come find you once I finish my task.”
All VIP boxes at the racecourse had privacy protection measures. The two-person boxes were independent rooms. If one did not want to be seen by outsiders, one could open the one-way glass of the room, so only those inside could see outside, while those outside could not see in. Bai Xinjian listened to Gu Yue, nodded, and did not ask any more questions. He parted ways with Gu Yue at the entrance and went to find his seat with his ticket.
As he wandered through the corridor outside the rows of boxes, Bai Xinjian finally found his seat number. Just as he was about to enter, he heard a familiar, low voice calling him from not far away in the corridor: “Bai Yu.”
Bai Xinjian turned back toward the sound and saw Shen Yuhuai dressed in a riding outfit. He was followed by several plainclothes Special Task Force members, each wearing an earpiece, with a hand resting on their waists. Their belts were bulging, clearly indicating several guns hidden underneath. Those Special Task Force members were now looking at him as if they were facing a formidable enemy, alongside Shen Yuhuai.
The only difference was the expression on Shen Yuhuai’s face. His brow was gentle, as if bumping into him here was a genuine surprise.
[Oh ho!] Bai Xinjian heard 0048 say in his mind, [To think we have a battlefield of romance situation here; your constitution as a host is truly extraordinary! I did not expect this unexpected joy today!]
Bai Xinjian thought: I did not expect it either. Could it be that this monster actually likes me? And no one told me that my charm was this great!