The cold and aloof young man named Tu Liao was stunned for a moment before he finally reacted. He shook his head and said, "No."
Under Mu Xiaoyuan's astonished gaze, the young man pushed her hand away and walked toward Jiang Yun, the leader of the research team who had just parked the car and gotten out.
"Close your mouth, close it. Drooling isn't a good look," Situ Jiajia said as she walked over, helping Mu Xiaoyuan close her slightly agape mouth.
"No way? He's still not interested?" Mu Xiaoyuan stomped her foot in frustration.
"Come on," Situ Jiajia said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Mu Xiaoyuan's ear and pinching her cheek with a smile. "Look, Xiaoyuan, you're so pretty and you’ve been so forward, yet he’s still not interested. What does that tell you?"
"It means..." Mu Xiaoyuan suddenly gasped, her face filled with shock. "It means he doesn’t like women!"
"..." Situ Jiajia looked utterly bewildered. "What... what are you talking about?"
What she wanted to say was: 'It means he’s not the type to be casual, and it also means he’s principled and a good man! With your looks, and after spending so much time together after entering the spatial gate, it shouldn’t be too hard to win him over.'
Situ Jiajia walked away holding Xiao Mijou, leaving her comforting words stuck in Mu Xiaoyuan’s throat. It was exhausting.
Tu Liao led the research team into a house. As soon as they entered, Xiao Mijou woke up. Her small nose twitched as the aroma of food wafted into her nostrils. Wiping away her drool, she clung to Situ Jiajia’s neck with anticipation, her little face resting on Situ Jiajia’s shoulder, looking both expectant and adorably clueless.
"Welcome, welcome!"
A man nearing his forties, still youthful, walked out of the kitchen carrying a pot of soup. He warmly greeted the research team: "What are you lazy bums still doing? The research team is here, hurry up and come down!"
"Don’t be shy, make yourselves at home. Sit down, sit down! Here, have some fruit!"
"Let me introduce myself. I’m Wei Jin, the leader of the Jagged Scar team," the middle-aged man said.
"I’m Jiang Yun, the leader of the research team," Jiang Yun replied.
Lazily, three young men came down from upstairs. One of them had a crew cut, phoenix eyes, and a well-defined jawline. He was wearing shorts and a tank top, looking sharp yet aloof. He lit a cigarette, but before he could take a puff, his boss kicked him in the backside.
"What’s the deal, boss?" the young man grumbled, clearly annoyed.
"Smoke, huh? Go ahead and smoke!" Wei Jin smacked him repeatedly. "You just keep smoking, don’t you see all these guests here?!"
"Stop hitting me, boss!" The young man grabbed a pillow from the sofa to shield himself from Wei Jin’s slaps.
"Hopeless," Wei Jin sighed.
Seeing that Wei Jin had stopped hitting him, the young man with phoenix eyes looked apologetically at the group and then started handing out cigarettes to the research team...
Everyone was stunned. Wei Jin took a sharp breath and smacked the back of the young man’s head. "Is that what I meant? If you’ve got nothing better to do, why don’t you just go die!"
The young man with phoenix eyes was pushed into a corner, raising his hands to shield himself from Wei Jin’s slaps. Wei Jin wasn’t hitting him too hard, but it wasn’t light either.
"Idiot," Wei Jin muttered, exasperated. He had hoped to play matchmaker for these single, sloppy men who had been single for over twenty years. But now, thanks to Mang Kui’s antics, the girls probably thought he was a complete fool.
No chance now.
"Mang Kui," Wei Jin introduced the somewhat wronged young man with phoenix eyes.
Mang Kui genuinely didn’t understand what he had done wrong. He had just come downstairs to wait for dinner, lit a cigarette, and got smacked. Then he offered cigarettes to the guests and got smacked again.
Suddenly, he got smacked once more. Mang Kui was baffled. "What now?"
"Your breathing is too loud," Wei Jin glared at him.
"Even my breathing is wrong?!" Mang Kui was utterly confused.
"Everything about you is wrong from the moment you came downstairs!" Wei Jin kicked him in the backside again.
Mang Kui shut his mouth and stood silently in the corner.
Wei Jin was already forty-one, approaching middle age. Mang Kui was a child Wei Jin had taken from an orphanage. He had joined the Night Watchers at a young age and was now twenty-one.
He obeyed Wei Jin without question. To him, Wei Jin was like a father. Without Wei Jin, he believed he would have either ended up in prison or died by eighteen, becoming just another statistic.
Mang Kui had always been fond of fighting and causing trouble. Breaking the law was his favorite pastime, as it was his way of rebelling against society and making quick money.
The first half of his life had been a disaster, living a harsh and calculated existence. He never valued life, believing his own was worth less than a dog’s.
But after Wei Jin had picked him up like a chick and hung him from a tree for an entire day, he gave up his old ways. He submitted to Wei Jin, who then took him out of the orphanage.
He began to receive an education, food, care, and friendship. He cherished this new, unexpected life and started to realize that the world wasn’t as messed up as he had thought.
Mang Kui and Wei Jin had a relationship akin to teacher and student, but it was more like father and son.
Wei Jin then introduced the other three young men. "Yu Ran, Yu Zhao, and Tu Liao. They’re all top-notch in strength! They’ll definitely keep you safe inside the spatial gate."
After sharing a meal, everyone quickly became acquainted.
"Aww, this little girl is so cute! Let me hold her," said Yu Zhao, a member of the Jagged Scar team, reaching out. Xiao Mijou obediently moved from Situ Jiajia’s arms into Yu Zhao’s.
"How old are you?" Yu Zhao handed her a green date.
"Thirteen," Xiao Mijou replied, rolling up her long sleeves to reveal her delicate, fair hands. She took the date, and Yu Zhao supported her little bottom as she lazily wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder and taking a bite of the date.
"Aren’t we going into the spatial gate? Who’s going to take care of the kid?" asked Yu Ran, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he picked up an apple.
"There’s a couple next door who want a child but are too scared to have one. They don’t have much to do anyway, so they can take care of her," Yu Zhao suggested.
"You’re not planning to take me with you?" Xiao Mijou looked up at Yu Zhao, surprised.
The research team members stifled their laughter.
"Take you with us? Who do you think you are, little treasure? If we lose you, we can’t afford to pay for you," Yu Zhao teased, pinching her cheek.
Xiao Mijou tilted her head, her golden hair swaying as she seemed to ponder something. Then, with a hint of uncertainty, she said, "I’m... the nation’s little treasure."
The Jagged Scar team couldn’t help but laugh, and Xiao Mijou joined in. However, they soon noticed that the research team members weren’t amused by the little girl’s innocent remark, and their laughter gradually faded.
"Yes, you’re the nation’s treasure, and ours too," Situ Jiajia said, standing up and gently rubbing the girl’s adorable cheeks.