Do you really want to be human?

Fang Mingjie soon signed an employment contract with Meng Yifan.

The two of them were equally eager to make it happen.

Meng Yifan was afraid Fang Mingjie would change his mind, and Fang Mingjie was afraid Meng Yifan would change his, so he did not even read the contract.

When he had told us he had been tricked into working at an illegal coal mine, I had thought it sounded a little far-fetched. Now, it seemed perfectly reasonable.

"All right, have a look around. I still have some work to do."

Meng Yifan smiled and left, delightedly carrying the contract.

After he left, Fang Mingjie put an arm around my shoulders and chuckled. "We got to know each other through a fight, I guess. You helped me sort out my employment problem. I won't forget this favor."

This guy really is trusting, I thought. No wonder he got tricked into working at an illegal coal mine.

"If I promise you something, I'll see it through."

"They've already sent people from the Northeast, and they'll be here soon. I'll help you sort that out too."

At the mention of this, Fang Mingjie's expression grew solemn. "The ones they've sent are my own kind. I know what they're capable of. You're still just a mortal, no matter what. This won't be so easy to sort out."

I asked him, "Do you really want to be human?"

Fang Mingjie nodded. "Whether I'm human or not, I won't go back with them. I don't belong there, and nobody there likes me. At least in these years I've spent as a human, I've experienced what it feels like to be needed and respected."

"If I were alone in the world, it wouldn't matter if they executed me here for refusing to return to the Northeast."