Walking from the sports field to the small hotel took only about ten minutes, but Cheng Yun's physical strength was truly drained. He could barely manage to walk the first half, and during the second half, even walking became difficult.
Undoubtedly, Old Mage had given him a shortcut to martial arts training, but it was just a shortcut.
Finally, they only needed to round the street corner to reach the hotel, and Cheng Yun hurriedly told Heroine Yin to let go of him, saying, "You don't need to help me with this remaining bit, Heroine, I can walk myself."
"Alright." As soon as Heroine Yin let go of him, seeing his body suddenly lean to one side and almost lose his balance and fall, she couldn't help reaching out to pull him back again, muttering, "I told you straight away to carry you back, but you're just stubborn."
"I'm not being stubborn," Cheng Yun said weakly.
How would it look for a one-eighty-meter-tall guy on the street to be carried on the shoulder of a girl who was only one-fifty-five tall?!
"We're here," Heroine Yin reminded him, while also consciously pushing open the glass door for him.
Cheng Yan was sitting on the sofa at the front desk, the air conditioning providing a comfortable temperature. She sat with one leg crossed over the other, her head lowered in silence. An open book rested on her lap, but judging from the mobile phone placed on top of the book, her mind likely wasn't on the reading right now; it looked more like... the posture of someone waiting in a station waiting room.
When Cheng Yun and Heroine Yin came in together from the doorway, she only turned her head to glance at them, her expression calm and breezy.
"Where did you two go?" she asked.
"You're back?" Cheng Yun put on an awkward smile, plopping down directly on the sofa beside her. He then let out a long breath, his whole body going limp against the cushions, and said, "I don't want to cook tonight. What do you want to eat? Let's order takeout."
"Compared to ordering takeout, I'm more concerned about what you and Sister Yin Dan went out to do in the middle of the afternoon, to actually end up looking like this." Only then did Cheng Yan turn her head to look indifferently at Cheng Yun, who looked as if he had been overindulging in debauchery. She rested her hand on her phone, her slender, jade-like index finger tapping rhythmically against the screen of the phone resting on the book, her fingernails making a faint ticking sound as they clicked against the glass.
At the same time, she also glanced at Heroine Yin, only to see Heroine Yin innocently taking a paper cup to the water dispenser to pour herself a drink, as if nothing had happened at all.
Cheng Yan couldn't help falling silent for a moment, thinking to herself that this guy wouldn't happen to have been stirred up by the recent hot weather and let his lust get the better of him, seeing that Sister Yin Dan had a nice figure and was somewhat attractive, and so bullied someone whose mind wasn't quite right and got some crooked ideas into his head, would he?
Thinking along these lines, she shook her head—
No, no, no, this guy isn't that kind of person!
Cheng Yun was truly stunned for a moment, turning to look at Cheng Yan without reacting for a long time before asking, "Do you have to manage things this broadly?"
"Not answering?"
"What could we possibly go out to do?" Cheng Yun blankly shook his head, unable to comprehend the thought process of underage girls, and said, "We just went out for a run."
"A run? Which gym?"
"Yida sports field."
"The sports field?" Cheng Yan suddenly laughed. "You're telling me that in this kind of scorching weather, you went and found an open-air sports field to run in? And you even brought along a... gentle girl wearing slippers?"
"But that's the truth," Cheng Yun said, spreading his hands helplessly. "I have to work the night shift and can't wake up in the morning, so of course the only time I can go out for a run is the afternoon! Besides, Yin Dan was the one who dragged me out. Yu Dian knew we were going out too, didn't you ask her? Why keep interrogating me the moment I get back?"
"Sorry, when I asked Yu Dian, she only said the two of you went out, and didn't mention that you went running."
"Uh..." Cheng Yun immediately looked over at Yu Dian inside the counter.
Yu Dian shrank her neck and put on a guilty expression—she had no idea what Cheng Yun went out to do either!
"Why are you asking so much?" Cheng Yun continued looking at Cheng Yan. "I'm almost starving to death."
"...Fine, fine." Cheng Yan tapped her phone screen to wake it up. "What do you want to eat?"
"Braised pork belly, pig trotters, twice-cooked pork!"
"Eating such greasy food in the middle of summer." Cheng Yan frowned; she had originally wanted sweet and sour pork ribs.
In the end, she still ordered the dishes according to Cheng Yun's preferences, merely adding a plate of greens. Afterward, she went to the jar to fish out some pickled radishes and chopped them into a small dish before sitting back down on the sofa and asking Cheng Yun, "How far did you run? To be tired out like this!"
"Twelve kilometers."
"Twelve kilometers?" Cheng Yan asked in surprise.
"Mmm."
"How long has it been since you last ran! You just ran twelve kilometers like that?" Cheng Yan stared at him blankly. "Aren't you afraid you'll be laid up in bed for a week!"
"My body is just fine." Not wanting to talk, Cheng Yun casually brushed her off.
"Would your body be tired out like a dog if it were fine?" Cheng Yan frowned. "Even I would feel tired running twelve kilometers, let alone you."
"How is that any way to talk!" Cheng Yun said with dissatisfaction.
"You don't even know how to take things step by step. What would you do if you got heatstroke?" Cheng Yan frowned slightly and continued, "Besides, in such scorching weather, after running outside for over an hour, the sun will definitely leave your skin battered and peeling."
"I put on sunscreen."
"Sunscreen? You even put on sunscreen?" Cheng Yan was taken aback. "...Wait, where did you get sunscreen?"
"I bought it."
"When did you buy sunscreen?"
"I bought it for you."
"You bought it for m—" Cheng Yan cut herself off, freezing in place before her eyes narrowed. "So you mean you used my sunscreen?! It's very expensive! A single bottle has to last me the entire summer!"
"Anyway, I bought it."
"Damn it..." Cheng Yan had just spat out two words when she realized something was wrong, her mouth hanging open in a daze. A moment later, she hurriedly corrected herself, "Da... da to the river flowers glowing redder than fire!"
Watching this performance, Cheng Yun looked somewhat dazed. "You just swore, didn't you?"
"I did not," Cheng Yan denied calmly. "I was merely reminding you to consciously buy me a new one once you've finished using it!"
"You definitely swore, didn't you?"
"No, you heard wrong."
"Is that so?" Cheng Yun looked inquiringly toward Heroine Yin.
Heroine Yin finished drinking three cups of water in a row, contentedly wiped her mouth, and set the cup down. Suddenly meeting his gaze, she couldn't help freezing in surprise. "Eh, why are you looking at me!"
"Uh?" Cheng Yun turned his gaze to Yu Dian instead.
Little Yu Dian kept her head lowered, acting as if she knew nothing at all.
Only then did Cheng Yun look back at Cheng Yan, and finding this girl looking entirely calm, he spoke in a deep, earnest tone, "Although you aren't very mature at your age precisely because of that lack of maturity, you need to build habits regarding many things, such as this swearing—"
"Hello, delivery." A delivery driver stood in the doorway, interrupting his words, his gaze shifting between Yu Dian, Cheng Yan, and Heroine Yin. "Which of you is Ms. Cheng Yan?"
"I am." Cheng Yan stood up calmly.
Having replenished her energy through a meal and sprawled out on the chairs inside the front desk for so long, Cheng Yun finally recovered. Yet, thinking of the feeling of having his body hollowed out that afternoon, he still felt lingering fear.
Seeing the sky gradually grow dark, the natural light was once again replaced by neon signs and street lamps.
Little Yu Dian had long since retreated to her room. She had been here for several days already, yet Cheng Yun hadn't seen her step outside even once. She worked at the front desk and spent her off-hours in her room; this little girl's interpersonal interactions seemed almost unimaginably scarce. Heroine Yin, having nothing to do, had also returned to her room. Cheng Yun had put on Titanic for her in her room, telling her that once the movie was over, she could come back downstairs to mop the floor.
Only Cheng Yun and Cheng Yan remained at the front desk.
Cheng Yun was still watching a TV series, specifically the wildly popular In the Name of the People from a few days ago, keeping the volume very low.
Cheng Yan sat right beside him. She seemed terribly bored; she was flipping through a book without actually reading it, instead scrolling through Zhihu on her phone—she treated the app entirely as a collection of stories.
Suddenly, she asked, "What is the background of that Sister Yin Dan anyway? I feel like she and you aren't particularly close, yet you seem to take such good care of her."
"Didn't I say, she's someone I knew when I was a kid." Cheng Yun paused as he spoke, pressing pause on the video as well, and said, "It's just that our relationship wasn't all that great back then, so you wouldn't know her."
"What's her deal anyway?" Cheng Yan asked.
"How should I put it..." Cheng Yun also frowned. "She has some mental issues, and quite a few of them at that."
"For instance?"
"For instance, delusions and violent tendencies. She always imagines herself as some ancient martial artist, the type who kills people without blinking. So if you ever hear her say anything foolish, make sure not to contradict her or lecture her; just pretend you didn't hear it," Cheng Yun said very calmly. "Actually, she was a bit better in the past, but later on, I heard her condition got worse and worse, so her family sent her to a psychiatric hospital. Somehow last year, she must have gotten a lot better and could live outside, so the hospital let her out."
"However, she doesn't remember many things from her past, so don't go asking her either—I'm afraid of dredging up bad memories for her. Moreover, she just left the hospital and is completely unfamiliar with this world. I'm currently doing my best to guide her and educate her, striving to help her adapt to life outside."
Cheng Yan frowned. "Is that so? Then what about her family? They just threw her on you and didn't care?"
"Both parents passed away."
"Uh, alright." Cheng Yan was momentarily stunned, then asked, "So you just took this troublesome chore onto yourself?"
"It's no big deal." Cheng Yun smiled.
"You, oh you..." Cheng Yan sighed, putting on the airs of an adult as she said, "I really don't know what to say to you!"
"..." Cheng Yun didn't take the bait.
Cheng Yan naturally concluded that topic and then asked, "Why did you think of going for a run this afternoon?"
"Because Yin Dan inexplicably insisted on dragging me out to run. Her mind isn't right, so it wouldn't do for me to go against her wishes, so we went." Cheng Yun paused as he spoke, then added, "Besides, why are you so surprised? Didn't you tell me to exercise a few days ago?"
"I told you to..." Cheng Yan fell silent for a moment, then turned her head away and dropped, "I just said it casually, and you actually took it seriously!"
"Exercise doesn't do any harm either." Cheng Yun spread his hands.
"Whatever you say." Cheng Yan waved a hand. "Being in better health truly isn't a bad thing."
Cheng Yun could only feel that the whole thing was inexplicable.
Around nine o'clock in the evening, Heroine Yin came downstairs from above with red eyes. She froze for a moment upon seeing Cheng Yan, but said nothing, silently picking up the mop and beginning to clean the floor.
"What's wrong with you?" Cheng Yun noticed something amiss with her and looked at her in bewilderment.
"It's nothing." Heroine Yin's voice and expression were actually quite calm; she merely rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, looking rather aggrieved.
"Pfft! Did someone bully you, Heroine?" Cheng Yun hurriedly stood up, staring at her in astonishment. "If you're in a bad mood, just sit down for a bit. Otherwise, if people see us later, they'll think I'm so harsh on my employees!"
"Oh." Obediently putting down the mop, Heroine Yin sat on the sofa and looked down at him with profuse apologies, saying, "I've caused you trouble."
"No! What on earth is wrong with you?"
"Jack is dead. I never expected Jack to actually die." Heroine Yin tried her utmost to maintain her composure, and indeed she remained composed. "The world is already this treacherous, yet the heavens refuse to spare even a pair of star-crossed lovers?"
Cheng Yun: "..."
Cheng Yan: "..."
Cheng Yan truly couldn't fathom how a girl like this could have delusions to begin with, let alone why she possessed violent tendencies.
I heard tipping is available now, I wonder if it's true (surface-level indifference).
Before you continue