Chapter Sixty-Eight: Help Me Wash the Dishes
“… You can’t be joking, right?”
“No, I’m serious.”
After exchanging glances with Ye Wanjing’s enchanting red eyes for about half a second, Sumu finally laughed in relief.
As expected, I should have been cautious the moment this guy mentioned good things.
“Don’t rush, let’s play a few more rounds.”
“Uh, well, it’s already quite late today, so…”
Feeling the suddenly gloomy atmosphere beside Sumu, Ye Wanjing felt a sense of unease and quickly prepared to find an excuse to escape, but Sumu grabbed her wrist and ominously said:
“The winner can’t run away; otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Ye Wanjing nervously held her breath and reluctantly nodded.
Of course, she guessed that Sumu was letting her win. Although Sumu acted very well, Ye Wanjing still knew how bad she was at the game.
She had brought this game she wasn’t good at tonight purely to cooperate with the key deceit of the Wooden Mouse, allowing herself to willingly be trampled.
Hehe, it was quite enjoyable, but what came next was uncertain.
In the following rounds, she barely got to move at all, being constantly pressed down on the ground by Sumu, often needing to set down the controller and cluelessly turn her head to look at the outside world… there were no windows in the underground, so she could only gaze at the KO icon appearing on the screen.
Sigh, this was basically torture.
“Ugh, can we call it a draw?”
“Of course not.”
Wooden Mouse, you’re no longer the gentle figure I once knew.
“Actually, I can help take care of the room, but about the rent…”
“No, I still remember how you turned my room into a mess last time.”
Scattered potato chips, a foldable bed filled with drinks, and an extremely casual outfit.
Can you really handle housework, you useless girl? It would be good enough if you didn’t make things worse.
“Actually, I’m very disciplined in the dormitory; I always protect my image in front of others, so I’m quite good at keeping things clean.”
“Then you should at least treat me like one of those others…”
“Does Wooden Mouse not like this feeling?”
Suddenly being asked this by Ye Wanjing made Sumu’s helpless mood solidify at once.
Speaking of which, I almost forgot how it had become this way between us.
We could almost completely disregard any reservations, meeting in the sofa area every day, comfortably spending some enjoyable time together.
Ye Wanjing was the first close friend, the first reader to urge me to update, and perhaps the only one who actively proposed to live together with me.
“Hey, hey, anyway, I need to think about it.”
“Okay, but make sure to agree soon; otherwise, I might soon be kicked out of the house.”
Hearing this, Ye Wanjing felt a bit disappointed.
But at least she didn’t refuse, and the rent was somewhat secured!
It’s not that Ye Wanjing was very poor, but she tended to spend money rather extravagantly.
Moreover, she certainly ate a lot; otherwise, it would be hard to have such good development.
The corner of Sumu’s mouth twitched; this guy really thought too optimistically.
However, my budget for renting was indeed pretty generous; I could just toss the contract to Dad.
There shouldn’t be much need to save money for him.
But before that, let me keep Ye Wanjing hanging for a few days!
—————————-
“Why do I feel like something’s off with you these days?”
Luo Jialan raised one eyebrow, looking at the absent-minded Sumu.
This chipmunk seemed to be sneakily eyeing her from time to time lately.
“Not at all.”
Although Sumu said so, she was indeed paying attention to Luo Jialan.
She hadn’t figured out how to bring up the memories related to Luo Linglan.
It wasn’t so much that it was something hard to talk about; it was mainly because the information was too fragmented.
At most, she could only organize the origin of that scar; any useful information was simply nonexistent because Luo Jialan hadn’t shown up then.
Would Luo Jialan be interested in that woman’s past?
The more she said, the more troubles would arise; it would be better to find ways to gather some intel from Ning Ling.
“No, I feel like you definitely have something you’re hiding from me… Never mind.”
Luo Jialan was about to press for more but stopped that thought.
No, she can’t be like that woman; Sumu has her own secrets, and it’s better to wait until she’s willing to share.
Recently, this nearly possessive thought kept appearing in Luo Jialan’s mind, only to be hurriedly extinguished.
Otherwise, it would end up like before, when she inexplicably lost control and pinned her down.
“I’m hungry; let’s go to the hotpot restaurant.”
Having finished the fresh orange juice, after her strength gradually recovered, Sumu heard her stomach growling.
This was a good opportunity to seek out Ning Ling and see if she could inquire about some news.
“Sure.”
A moment later.
“Master isn’t here, so there’s no free meal.”
Ning Ling calmly said this, showing no signs of concession.
“Please, at least give me a discount.”
“No way, this is already the lowest price. If I lower it any further, the profit wouldn’t even cover the rent.”
Of course, that was a lie; Ning Ling’s prices were considered high compared to her peers, after all, she offered dishes infused with magic power.
Even in a five-star restaurant, you wouldn’t have the chance to taste them.
Looking at Ning Ling, who was still lying effortlessly, Sumu couldn’t help but smile wryly.
What a terrible person.
However, according to Tang Nai’s words, this person had some major secrets.
Other experiment subjects were driven by the core of Luo Linglan, but where did Ning Xi’s core go?
This question was worth investigating.
But Ning Ling was quite tight-lipped; whenever the relevant topics were brought up, she would feign deafness, which was quite bothersome.
“No, I must score a free meal today.”
After thinking it over, Sumu decided to call Tang Nai.
But on the other end, she quickly got a busy tone and a message from Tang Nai.
“I’m playing games; don’t bother me. If you want hotpot, spend your own money.”
How does she know what I’m up to?
After a while, another message came through.
“You can try revealing the info you just learned to her; she might be interested.”
Reveal? How to reveal it?
Confused, Sumu realized that mentioning Luo Linglan would certainly get Ning Ling to shut up.
“Just directly tell her Tang Nai’s speculation; let me eavesdrop on her thoughts.”
Irina’s sudden appearance was quite unexpected.
So you can eavesdrop on other people’s thoughts?
“When their emotions fluctuate, I can catch a glimpse of some; as long as what you say can disrupt her inner peace, I can sense it.”
Seeing Irina look so confident, Sumu cleared her throat.
“Tang Nai told me that in that experiment, Luo Linglan’s core was split into six parts, embedded in the bodies of subjects 1 to 6, but Ning Xi’s core has gone missing. Do you know anything about this?”
Upon hearing this, Ning Ling froze for a moment, and even Luo Jialan beside her appeared a bit dazed.
The topic changed way too quickly.
Luo Jialan immediately realized that Sumu must have entered 6th Subject Ning Xi’s dreams a few days ago, which was why she acted so strangely. She suddenly crossed her arms in anger.
You, Sumu, didn’t think to tell me such an important matter?
Ning Ling, not surprisingly, fell silent.
“She will speak the truth next!”
Irina reminded in Sumu’s heart, making her instantly alert.
“Are you saying this to get me to help you get a free meal? Not possible, unless you help me wash the dishes.”
