Another new day began.
When the alarm went off, Duan Mingyuan felt an unprecedented exhaustion, the main reason being that Jiuyue had left after two o'clock in the morning, and he had to clean up the house until three before he laid down in bed.
It was now six o'clock.
Get up, wash up, then squeeze onto the subway, pick up a chicken, egg, and cheese sandwich at the bakery near the office—the plan was set in Duan Mingyuan's mind as he dressed. Eggs were the breakfast of choice, coupled with a bag of milk, his secret to staying healthy.
It was destined to be a busy day; a junior at the company had resigned, leaving all their work on his shoulders. He had also heard that people from the head office were coming for an inspection. There would be an increase in reports, PPTs, etc., and he expected to work overtime continuously for the coming week.
After finishing his washing up and getting dressed, he grabbed his briefcase and expressionlessly opened the apartment's security door.
Managing expressions is also a skill adults must master. Even if you're dying of fatigue, even if your work environment feels no different than a dump, you absolutely can't let anyone see it.
Yet his plans were being interrupted before he could put them into action.
Stepping out the door, a fiery red ball caught his attention to the right. Turning his head, he saw Jiuyue sitting against the wall, her fiery red tail cradled in her arms as if it were a blanket.
At that moment, Jiuyue's brows were slightly furrowed, her eyes tightly shut as if she were mired in a nightmare.
A homeless stray dog.
The thought popped into Duan Mingyuan's head. From a biological standpoint, foxes belong to the canine family too, right?
Sleeping like this, she was sure to catch a cold.
Duan Mingyuan decided not to dwell on these thoughts. He knew it was a dangerous idea; if he were to follow this train of thought, his record of not being late for 4 years, 2 months, and 7 days could very well end here. Moreover, the monster had proudly announced the day before that she was now 19 years old, a fully grown monster.
Being able to take care of oneself is the most basic requirement of an adult.
He did not wake Jiuyue but turned and walked towards the direction of the elevator. However, within seconds, his steps were interrupted by a violent bout of coughing.
Duan Mingyuan clenched his fists tightly as the thoughts he had forcefully terminated surged forth like bamboo after rain.
Don't pay attention.
He was less than five steps away from the elevator.
If only he could reach that place...
"Cough, cough, cough—"
…
"Didn't anyone tell you that sleeping like this will give you a cold?"
Hearing the reproach by her ear, Jiuyue opened her eyes groggily, only to be surprised to find herself inexplicably lying on a soft bed under a blanket with a warm towel on her forehead.
Her entire body felt weak, her hands and feet cold, she didn't even have the strength to speak.
She saw Duan Mingyuan standing by the bed with a grim expression on his face, yet he held a cup of hot water and fever medicine in his hands.
"Take this," he commanded.
The imperative tone made Jiuyue empty her mind and obediently swallow the pills and gulp down the glass of water.
The water was just the right temperature, seeming to have been left to sit for a while, not the scalding type that had just been poured from the kettle.
"I have to work overtime until late today. If you get hungry when you wake up in the afternoon, just order takeout for yourself. The nearby 'King Soymilk,' 'Tongluo Harbor,' and 'Old Sui's Restaurant' are all good."
His record of four years without being late was about to be broken, but upon taking Jiuyue home, Duan Mingyuan had already texted his supervisor, explaining he might be a little late today.
After giving his instructions, he then hurried off to the company.
A hand extended from the covers and clutched at his sleeve.
"Don't go."
The fever-reducing medicine and hot water restored some strength to Jiuyue, and also brought back the memory of why, after making her exit, she had circled back and waited at the apartment door until dawn, "You may have already been targeted."
But catching a cold and fever was beyond her expectations.
Her pale face strained, she conveyed to him the notification she had received, "Yesterday, the colleague who went to handle the aftermath was killed. That monster has accomplices."
Accomplices?
Duan Mingyuan was stunned for a moment. Up until now, the malevolent spirits he had encountered mostly lacked intelligence, driven by instinct. He had even witnessed two malevolent spirits fight each other over territory. How could such creatures understand the concept of accomplices?
"It uses the remains of its comrades as bait and ambushes when they lower their guard..."
Jiuyue had planned to inform Duan Mingyuan of this news immediately, but after knocking on the door several times without response, she stayed put at the entrance, planning to tell him when he left for work. She didn't expect that she would end up falling asleep right there.
Duan Mingyuan had been very kind to her yesterday, a good person, and good people should not just die like that.
"I understand, thank you."
Duan Mingyuan nodded, "I'll be careful."
"But..."
"If I don't go to work, something worse than encountering a malevolent spirit will happen."
The head of the department was exceptionally irritable today. His response message was already very impatient, and words couldn't convey his feelings. A minute later, he sent another voice message filled with curses.
Jiuyue wanted to stay longer, but the sedative effect of the fever-reducing medication surged, and her hand, holding onto the sleeve, loosened and slipped onto the bed.
Duan Mingyuan tucked her hand back under the covers, feeling a thread of unease.
While the head of the department's temper was not known to be good usually, he rarely resorted to direct verbal attacks, let alone continue to curse after having already expressed dissatisfaction through text.
The head was the type who stayed quiet on the surface but liked to trip people up behind their backs. One of the juniors in the department offended the head with her words once and ended up tormented in various ways, eventually being squeezed out of her position.
Could it be that there was some problem within the company?
Duan Mingyuan had not had time for breakfast today and arrived at the company twenty minutes after taking a taxi.
He considered many possibilities during the journey.
For example, the inspection from the main company had been brought forward, or perhaps the head, having encountered a work-related issue, had been reprimanded by management and had taken out that anger on others.
Everyone knew that the head had always wanted to move up to management, but somehow always fell short by just a little bit.
However, when Duan Mingyuan clocked in and entered the office, he realized the situation was even more serious than he had imagined.
Upon entering, an indescribable sense of oppression swept over him. The curtains in the office were drawn, blocking the morning sun from coming in, and his colleagues sat at their desks with lifeless eyes as if they were puppets on strings.
A faint smell of blood lingered in the air.
"Old Duan, you've finally arrived."
Upon his entry, the man at the desk next to him came over.
This was a colleague who had joined the company with him, and one of the few people Duan Mingyuan had some dealings with. At the moment, the man had obvious signs of a scald on his left cheek, but seemed completely unaware of it.
"Old Luo, what happened to your face?"
"Scalded by coffee."
"Coffee?"
"I was a few minutes late due to traffic this morning, and the head directly splashed coffee on my face... Now is not the time to worry about this. The head said to go to his office as soon as you arrive. Be careful."
Old Luo cautioned him with an expression that seemed to say, "You'd better pray for luck."