"Go on in."
Mu Yi followed Zhong Xuezhi into the large villa with mixed feelings, only to be surprised yet again.
It was completely dark by now, but there wasn't a single lamp in Zhong Xuezhi's front yard. Instead, countless little balls of eerie blue light floated in the air.
The little lights drifted aimlessly about, illuminating the entire yard together and clearly revealing all the flowers, plants, and trees within it.
Mu Yi looked around and spotted spring plum blossoms, peach blossoms, magnolias, early-blooming cherries, yellow dogwoods, and more.
There were also plenty of unusual varieties he didn't recognize, some of which he'd never even seen.
Among those unusual varieties, quite a few were clearly mutated plants.
He couldn't help asking, "Is it safe to keep these things at home?"
Zhong Xuezhi explained patiently, "Not all mutated organisms are violent by nature."
"All the little fellows you see here have neither attack desire nor the urge to feed, and their infection levels are negligible."
"They just want somewhere safe to stay quietly rooted in the soil. As it happens, my yard could use their company."
Mu Yi recalled all the unusual things he'd eaten along the way from the Dread Gloom Forest, as well as the little mutated pets he'd seen everywhere after entering the city, and nodded in understanding.
A moment later, he scooped up a handful of the little blue lights floating around him and asked, "What about these? Are they mutated organisms too?"
"Yes." Zhong Xuezhi smiled and explained, "They're called Floating Glow, a kind of single-celled, luminescent plankton. They originally lived in water, but after mutating, they evolved into Sky Floaters."
"But they're still organisms with no minds of their own."
Mu Yi brought the balls of light in his palm up to his eyes and discovered that their physical bodies consisted of only a thin, transparent membrane, forming hollow spheres filled with eerie blue, cool light.
The balls of light felt completely weightless in his palm, and before long, they floated away.
Watching them drift off, Mu Yi asked again, "Did you catch them specifically to decorate your yard?"
Zhong Xuezhi fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. "No. Professor Yin caught them to amuse me when I was little, and they ended up settling in the yard."
"They keep dissipating and producing new Floating Glow. They've been here for twenty years."
"Professor Yin?" Mu Yi guessed right away. "Your adoptive father or mother?"
"My adoptive mother," Zhong Xuezhi said. "And the real owner of this house."
His explanation was brief, and he had no intention of revealing anything more about his adoptive mother.
Mu Yi didn't ask any further questions, though he couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Most people addressed their adoptive mothers as at least "Auntie," even if they didn't call them "Mom." Using such a strictly formal title was rare.
Living under the same roof, wouldn't calling her "Professor" all the time feel awkward?
He'd barely finished that silent complaint when Zhong Xuezhi, having apparently learned nothing, draped an arm over him again and said in his usual tone, "It's getting late. Let's go inside first."
"They shut off the water and power after nine."
Mu Yi was stunned. "Wait, a city this big has not only a curfew, but water and power restrictions too?!"
Zhong Xuezhi answered as though it were perfectly reasonable. "That's how you get everyone to behave and go to bed early."
Mu Yi couldn't understand it. "How's that any different from a prison schedule?"
"Hey...!" Zhong Xuezhi sounded thoroughly in agreement. "You've got it exactly right. It really isn't any different."
"..."
Mu Yi was rendered speechless. After walking quietly for a few steps, he suddenly spotted a small pond a short distance ahead.
The blue water mingled with the reflections of the colorful flowering branches along its banks, forming a natural oil painting.
He narrowed his eyes at it for a while, then couldn't resist looking up and asking, "Why does your yard's whole aesthetic feel so disconnected from you?"
Zhong Xuezhi pursed his lips. "How is it disconnected? Don't I look like someone who'd have a yard like this?"
"Ha..." Mu Yi laughed. "You really don't. It's about as jarring as seeing you carry that huge combat scythe and then say you're off to weed the garden."
Zhong Xuezhi kept walking with his arm draped over him and replied with a smile, "How do you know I've never used the Ice Scythe to weed?"
"Hmph. What a waste."
As they talked, they reached the front door of the main house. The moment they stopped, Mu Yi shoved Zhong Xuezhi off him.
"I told you to stop hanging all over me."
His shove was merciless, and Zhong Xuezhi was completely unprepared, so he ended up plastered against his own front door.
"..."
Zhong Xuezhi finally behaved himself. Grimacing, he peeled himself off the door and unlocked it with his fingerprint.
After a series of beeps, the villa's front door slowly opened. The motion-sensor lights inside detected their owner's return and switched on automatically.
Under the warm yellow light, the interior furnishings looked neat and cozy, nothing like the home of a bachelor who was frequently away.
After looking around for a moment, Mu Yi felt that Zhong Xuezhi seemed to put an unusual amount of care and attention into his life.
Viewed that way, the oil-painting-like yard outside didn't seem so disconnected from Zhong Xuezhi after all.
"Come in." Zhong Xuezhi turned to beckon him. "Help yourself to the slippers by the door. There should be a pair in your size."
Mu Yi glanced at the shoe cabinet in the entryway. Four or five pairs of soft slippers sat on it, probably intended for the four teammates who often dropped by.
He left the four pairs lined up together alone and put on the separate pair before stepping into the hall.
But the moment he set foot inside, something soft suddenly bumped into his calf.
He looked down and saw a strange creature covered in long brown fur.
The strange creature made no sound after the collision. It worked to steady itself, shook its fur a few times, then slowly spun away.
Mu Yi watched it rotate out of the entryway, duck beneath the living room sofa, emerge again, and spin its way over to the next patch of floor.
Watching closely, Mu Yi noticed that there seemed to be some kind of inward suction beneath its fur.
What was this, a floor-cleaning sprite?
Then he discovered that there was more than one strange creature in the house.
A flat, rectangular one clung to the wall. It looked like a thick blanket and was moving back and forth over the surface, not particularly fast, but very nimbly.
Another lay on the sofa, long and thin, looking just like a feather duster. Its job seemed to be dusting the furniture, and its furry head swayed busily from side to side.
Incredible. A fully automated cleaning set that didn't even need charging.
Mu Yi had never seen anything like it. Fascinated, he watched with keen interest.
Before long, Zhong Xuezhi, who still hadn't seen him follow, came back to the stairs and called, "Mu Yi, what are you doing? You've been standing by the door forever."
Mu Yi tore his gaze away from the creatures and followed him. "Coming."
Once they were upstairs, Zhong Xuezhi shoved a set of short pajamas and a new pair of underwear into Mu Yi's hands, urging him to take a shower.
Noticing that the underwear wasn't Zhong Xuezhi's size, Mu Yi asked, "Whose are these?"
"They're new. No one's worn them," Zhong Xuezhi explained.
"Those four on the team often insist on staying the night here, so I keep some spare clothes in their sizes."
"Beibei looks about the same build as you. His size should fit you pretty well."
Holding the new underwear, Mu Yi stubbornly objected, "His won't do. I need your size."
Zhong Xuezhi paused briefly, and an inscrutable smile curled at his lips. "Oh? Do you?"
Mu Yi shot him a sideways glare. "What's with that tone?"
Zhong Xuezhi put away his smile and wisely refrained from calling him out. He only said, "You'll have to make do, then. I don't have any new underwear in my size for you."
Mu Yi grudgingly took the offered way out and muttered reluctantly, "Fine."
Once he had turned and carried the clothes into the bathroom, Zhong Xuezhi finally couldn't hold back anymore. Leaning against the wardrobe door, he laughed silently.
How entertaining...
A little over ten minutes later, Mu Yi emerged from his shower. Zhong Xuezhi didn't dawdle either, finishing his own in another ten minutes or so.
On this rare day off, Zhong Xuezhi suddenly felt inspired. Still damp from his shower, he leaned close to Mu Yi and softly invited him.
"Mu Yi, want to have some flower wine in the yard?"
Mu Yi immediately looked up and accepted gladly. "Yes!"
Before you continue