Residence Of Monsters

The day cla.s.ses had concluded . Through the renting of homework, they had earned about four thousand five hundred on the first day . Although a majority of people had some veiled criticisms about this change, the family circ.u.mstances of most of the students of Zephaniah were pretty well off, so they did not place much importance in this amount of money .

Evening, Shadow Academy .

When the bell for cla.s.s rang, Feng Ping Lan’s hair was a little damp, his body having a familiar soapy scent as he entered the cla.s.sroom . There were only five Contracts behind him, missing a snow-white figure .

The cla.s.s started, and Yin Su Shuang stood on the lectern with a chilly expression, starting the prologue to this evening’s cla.s.s in a low voice .

Feng Ping Lan took notes in his notebook seriously . Conglong and Morris’ faces were incredibly ugly, staring at the blackboard in boredom . They would usually do their own things with their laptops below the desks, but now that the internet was gone, the two of them had lost their center of gravity .

Simo still kept her laptop open, nesting in the corner and typing at fast speeds . No one had any idea was she was doing, and would only hear her let out bouts of t.i.ttering at times .

Byriel had his head propped up as he played on his phone . His monthly phone line had been given to him by someone else, he was absolutely unaffected by this economic crisis .

“Is the house back to normal yet?” Kaido turned his head to ask in a lowered voice .

“I’m not sure, we went to turn in the fees this morning, so the water and electric supply should be back to normal by now . ” Feng Ping Lan replied as he lowered his head to sniff at his body .

“Did your white Contract faint again?”

“Oh, no, we were just washing our clothes at the swimming pool, he’s drying them on the rooftops at the moment . Don’t worry, we’ve already reported this to the cla.s.s advisor, as long as a Contract doesn’t leave the school compound it’s not counted as skipping cla.s.s . ”

“Just what—” Just what are your origins?

“Kaido . ” Feng Ping Lan gazed solemnly at Kaido, saying seriously .

Kaido froze, “What?”

“Can you help me check if my body smells strange? Although I’ve showered, I’ve worn this uniform for two days now, I keep smelling a subtle sweaty scent…” Feng Ping Lan sniffed at his body twice more, “What do you think?”

Kaido rolled his eyes with all his might, “I don’t know!” He didn’t want to know either!

“Oh, alright then . ” Feng Ping Lan paused, “Then I’ll let you smell it . ” With that, he abruptly reached out his hand, clasping Kaido’s head, pulling him towards him .

Kaido hadn’t expected Feng Ping Lan to move so suddenly and wasn’t able to react fast enough . His forehead was forced to stop five centimeters before Feng Ping Lan’s chest .

He wanted to go crazy and roar in outrage, but his attention was stolen away by his other senses .

Feng Ping Lan’s hand was warm, placed on his cheek . He was seldom touched by anyone else, and to be accurate, very few people were willing to touch him . Ever since he could remember, he had been forced to appear independent and unyielding, and the contact on his body was usually out of punishment, never from concern or care . Although Tan Hua was a sole one to frequently touch him, her skin was too delicate, like silk cloth, smooth and supple, yet not of a human’s .

The long-awaited body contact and warmth caused a temporary lapse in concentration in him .

Then, he detected a light fragrance, an incredibly familiar scent . This was the smell of the cheaply-priced soap hung on top of the toilet sinks .

This guy had actually used handwash soap to shower?! Wasn’t this just too poverty-stricken!

“How is it?” Feng Ping Lan questioned hurriedly, “Does it smell bad? If it’s not as smelly, I plan to wear it for another one or two days . ”

“You—”

“Those at the back, exercise restraint!” Yin Su Shuang reprimanded heavily, vein bulging on his forehead . “Take the time after cla.s.s to foster your relationship…”

“Oh oh! Sorry sorry!” Feng Ping Lan laughed twice, but his hand was still on Kaido’s face .

Kaido angrily tore off Feng Ping Lan’s hand, moving his chair several inches away, pulling distance away from Feng Ping Lan .

Liu Yi Chen mocked in a lowered voice, “Who’s nested into Feng Ping Lan’s deficient b.o.o.bs? Dar~ ling~ Kai~ do~”

A few students surrounding them couldn’t help but secretly laugh . Kaido glared fiercely . Liu Yi Chen provoked him by doing a chest-squeezing motion in the air, but was seen by Yerde, and reprimanded .

During their practice session, the students scattered throughout the enlarged cla.s.sroom, conducting sparring in pairs .

Feng Ping Lan was paired up with Su Li Wan, as usual, the two of them exchanging blows with tacit understanding . Feng Png Lan had no idea how to control demonic power, or use curses . As the cla.s.s progressed, it became increasingly harder to hoodwink the others by just using blows, since whenever the other groups were using spells to attack, they would shoot out clashing lights of power, and Feng Ping Lan’s group was clearly an exceptional case .

Later on, during their self-practice session, Simo secretly summoned two to three little bird familiars to conceal beneath Feng Ping Lan’s clothes, and Morris and Dongya added weak elemental spells on the back of his hands . There was no actual use for them, and could only create pretty good light and sound effects to pa.s.s off the fake product as genuine .

Su Li Wan whipped her red string, throwing out seal paper simultaneously . Feng Ping Lan dodged the string, leaping back, summoning the shadow blade, and used this chance to launch the elemental spells on his hands, creating the light of fire and the sound of wind .

With that Feng Ping Lan moved against Su Li Wan . Su Li Wan could always block his attacks with ease and skillfullness, and could make out Feng Ping Lan’s next move, guarding against it beforehand and also adjusted her strength so that it would create any damage .

The black sword stabbed at the corner of Su Li Wan’s waist, and she dodged gracefully . As she prepared to leisurely return the attack, the tip of the sword had unexpectedly shifted to her front .

Out of instinct, Su Li Want shot her red strings out, instantaneously binding the shadow blade . One of the strings transformed into a whip, lashing at Feng Ping Lan .

“Ah!” Feng Ping Lan and Su Li Wan cried out at the same time .

As Su Li Wan became aware that she had gone too hard on him, retracting her hand, the red string sc.r.a.ped through Feng Ping Lan’s clothes, leaving a huge split through it .

“I’m sorry!” Su Li Wan was ashamed and anxious, “I slipped up, I’m really sorry, I’ll make up for your losses!”

“Oh, it’s fine, I can just fix it up with a few staples . ” Feng Ping Lan looked at his own clothes, the torn hem falling to his thighs, revealing most of his waist, “It’s become hollow, hahaha!”

“I’m sorry!” Su Li Wan lowered her head, “Ping Lan’s movement became nimbler, so I temporarily forgot, and actually fought you seriously… Please forgive me!”

“Really?” Feng Ping Lan spoke excitedly, “So, you’re saying I’ve gotten stronger?”

Su Li Wan raised her head, seeing that Feng Ping Lan wasn’t blaming her, and released a sigh of relief . She smiled in reply, “Mm, that’s right, you’ve improved so much from when you first started learning . ”

“Yay yay yay!” Feng Ping Lan cried out and jumped for joy, longing to rush out of the barrier to share this with Quetzal . He turned his head to find Quetzal’s figure, and caught his eye right then . Feng Ping Lan happily waved at the other, who indifferently moved his gaze away .

The bell rang, and next was wushu cla.s.s, all the students traveling up to the rooftops . Dongya hurriedly took in the clothes before the students arrived, it was all kept secretive . He stealthily left the rooftops, and started ironing the clothes in the empty cla.s.sroom .

Conglong and Morris’ tempers were especially large, starting up arguments with quite a lot of people on the way there .

“What’s with those two?” Looking at Conglong and Morris, Liu Yi Chen asked curiously, “Going through their menopause?”

“They’re both addicted to the internet . Now that that’s been cut, they’re going through a withdrawal . ” Feng Ping Lan answered .

“They can go to the library if they want to surf the internet . ” Liu Yi Chen proposed .

Conglong humphed heavily, “We’ve been blacklisted, because a certain someone used the school internet to go on some strange website this morning!” As he said that he glared at Simo .

Simo lowered her head in embarra.s.sment .

“Is there anywhere else we can use the internet around the school compound?”

“The computer lab, but you have to apply for that . ” Liu Yi Chen considered it for a moment, “There’s actually wireless internet around the entire school compound, but only the staff can use it . ”

“d.a.m.n it!” Conglong cursed in vexation .

…Mm, the staff? He raised his head to look Yerde who was speaking frankly with a.s.surance on the stage, suddenly coming up with a bright idea .

Conglong scooted towards Simo, muttering something into her ear . Simo’s eyes lit up, nodding hard . Morris who had been standing by the side joined the conversation after hearing this .

“Right, Cla.s.s Rep, are there any places for part-time jobs that you can recommend?” Feng Ping Lan asked .

“You want to work?”

“Yup, me and Conglong and the others too . ”

Liu Yi Chen raised her eyebrows . It was hard to see Summoners working part-time jobs, and bringing their Contracts along too? It was unprecedented .

Yerde had told her before, that Feng Ping Lan’s situation was special, and had asked her to help take note of him, in case Feng Ping Lan’s disclosed his private matters about himself, but Yerde hadn’t explained the full details to her . It was common for Summoners’ privacy to be strictly controlled, and she was tactful enough to not ask for more .

But, as the time they got to know each other increased, the more she felt, that Feng Ping Lan was really exceptionally lofty, no matter his personality, the performance of his capabilities, or the att.i.tude he had with his Contracts, they were all rarely seen .

The feeling of estrangement as someone out of the loop…

Liu Yi Chen threw that notion out of her head . “If you want to go to a restaurant, there’s a newly opened diner and a chain coffeeshop recruiting part-timers . There are also beverage stores, department stores and cram cla.s.s for little kids, you can find quite a lot of jobs there . ” She said curiously, “So, are all of you going?”

“That’s right, we’ll be able to earn money quicker this way . ”

Liu Yi Chen glanced at Quetzal who was standing by the side with a chilly expression, “Including him?”

“Of course not!” Feng Ping Lan hurriedly denied, “Quetzal already has a full job, and how could he serve anyone? If Quetzal ever goes out to get a part-time job, I’ll definitely pick him to serve me, I won’t let anyone else dip a finger in the pie! I also want to ask for a doggy bag and take-out!”

“What nonsense are you spouting this time!”

“Right, Cla.s.s Rep, doesn’t your family have a store?” Feng Ping Lan revealed an antic.i.p.ating smile, “Are you interested in recruiting us?”

Liu Yi Chen glanced at Feng Ping Lan, then turned her head to look at his Contracts, considering it for a moment, “I’ll wait till our shop is due for a renovation . ”

After school .

When all the students were headed for the school gates, three silhouettes flitted at high speeds toward the composite building .

The large building under the dark night had each of its pitch black windows glaring emptily at the school compound like pupilless skulls .

Suddenly, a bit of light flashed through a certain room, a dismal blueish-grey of secluded chartreuse .

“Let me use it first! I was the one who thought of using the computer here!” Conglong grabbed the mouse, “I definitely won’t let that stupid thief steal away my gems!”

The three of them had run off to the composite building after school had ended . Although Aunt Liang was guarding the front entrance, they had bluffed that they were members of the Deportment & Aesthetics Club, that Yerde had sent them over to get something, and so under Aunt Liang’s half-doubtful eye, they had entered the clubroom .

Of course, there was a lock on the door . But Morris had the way to open the lock, although there was no way to lock it back up anymore .

“…I want to read the newest update of my novel…” Simo requested quietly, “Just for a moment…”

“You’re going last! It’s all because of you, you got us banned from using the library computers!”

“If Conglong hadn’t started randomly opening spam mail, inviting the virus to spread through the school computers…”

“Get through the online television first! I want to watch ‘Disciplining Vicious Cats’!” Morris pushed aggressively, pushing the two of them to the side, his large body getting into the seat in front of the computer without consulting the others .

“You’re the one that needs to be disciplined…”

“You have a problem?” Morris clicked the mouse a few times, a notification window notifying them of a connection error, “What happened?!”

“Why is there a connection error? It was fine before this—”

When he turned his head, he saw Simo seated in the corner, her own laptop turned on . The connection that had originally been connected to the clubroom’s computer, had now been received by her laptop .

“Simo!” The two of them shouted . Simo stared at the screen, lips lifting in satisfaction .

Pa!

The lights of the cla.s.sroom were suddenly switched on, illuminating the three uninvited guests till there was nowhere to hide .

“Thou sneaks! What brings thee h’re!” Yerde’s rebuke sounded from the entrance .

Conglong grumbled in humiliated anger, “You don’t have any members anyway, what’s the problem with coming in for a moment!”

“Not of mine own club, thee shalt not ent’r!” Yerde rebuked gravely, then his tone switched to one that had a more coaxing gentleness to it, “C’rtainly, if ‘t be true these gentlemen art willing to join this club, thou art v’ry much did welcome…”

“No need, I just want to use the wifi and electricity here . ” Morris said frankly .

“Impudent!” Yerde glanced towards Simo who was sitting in the corner quietly surfing the internet and ignoring his roar, widening his eyes, “A lady such as thee, having the cheek to gaze such obscene and filthy matt’rs, thee— my G.o.d! What is he putting in there!”

Yerde froze, glaring disbelievingly at Simo’s laptop, chin falling onto the floor .

“You forgot to speak in cla.s.sical Chinese . ” Conglong reminded him, laughing up his sleeve .

“…Teacher, do you want to watch it with me?” Simo mustered up the courage to invite him . After all, with a teacher to support them, they could come visit this place frequently later on .

Yerde came to his senses, angrily turning his head to roar down the hallway, “Aunt Liang! There are students trespa.s.sing!”

Aunt Liang, who had heard the indication, let out a thunderous beastly roar . The three trespa.s.sers hurriedly got up, and left without delay . They didn’t forget to quarrel before they left, spitting of resentment .

“Stingy!”

“There will never be any members willing to join this club!”

“Aunt Liang! Give them ten lashes, expel those folk to another place!”

The night was as dark as ink . The crescent’s weak moonlight painted the light wind-borne clouds a silver-gray . The shadows on the ground seemed to flow to the movements of the subtle reflection of the clouds .

The shadows were, true enough, moving . A black denser than the night was mixed in, hard to distinguish to the naked eye, shuttling through the shadows within shadows, similar to an arrow .

The arrogant figure amongst the shadows pa.s.sed the street alleys, through the river bridge, and through the small town . As he moved, he felt the shadow’s murmuring messages .

Southeast… A similar type who devoured human flesh and blood…

The figure within the shadows changed direction, heading towards the outskirts .

By the desolate path, a car paused on the gra.s.s beside the road, the car’s form twisted . It was apparent it had gone through a high-speed crash, and the one that had let the car halt was a crooked tree at the head of the car .

The smell of alcohol, fuel, blood, and ruptured internal organs . It looked like an accident caused by drunk driving .  

However, apart from those, there was also the scent of a demon .

The woman on the driver’s seat was covered in blood, both hands on the board, fractures all over her body, but she was still a distance away from death . A man with fashionable hair and expensive clothing stood by the car, looking inquiringly into the car through a shattered window .

But he was not here to offer help, rather to eat . His hand caressed the woman’s face, and dark brown blood flowed out of her mouth . He cursed lowly . Then, a goose-yellow luminous band flowed following the blood streaming from her mouth . He grasped that luminous band, pulling it down hard, then stuck out his tongue, placing the luminous band on it and slowly chewed, savoring the taste of a near-dead soul . The handsome features twisted into a repulsive beastly appearance .

A low cry sounded from the woman’s throat, and then she was completely dead .

The man gave a sigh of praise a gourmand would give while tasting a culinary delicacy, then picked up a tattered branded bag beside the woman, taking out a valuable purse, and pulled out the cash and credit cards within it .

His movements were extremely practiced, absolutely unaware of the shadow slowly rising up behind him . It was until a thin blade rested on his throat that he became aware of another’s presence in a panic .

“Who is it?!”

As the man let out the cry, his arm transformed into a sickle-like insect foot, stabbing backward, but the shadow behind him slashed down lightly, and his entire arm fell like a falling leaf .

“Ah—” A horrific shriek rang out, but the one behind him was not a patient person, and directly gave him another attack to silence the cry .

Two of the man’s legs were punctured by the shadow rising above the ground . A sharper stabbing pain transferred over, but his instincts told him, something even more painful would occur if he did not stay silent .

Who was it? Miemoshi? His movements had always been cautious, his guise invulnerable, and every prey chosen had always gone through a long period of observation, and only when he made sure this was not bait set up by the a.s.sociation or the Summoners did he make his move . He had even put up a one-kilometer radius barrier, and as long as a human approached it would give him a warning, so that he could escape immediately . Even if it was just a normal human, he wouldn’t risk it, he definitely wouldn’t leave a single trace behind . This was his secret for surviving in the human world in the past twenty years .

But, why— 

Why had all his defenses lost effect tonight? Who was this person?!

“You are very smart, entering a state of alert in a short period of time, very good . ” A chilly voice sounded over behind him, “Do not speak unnecessarily . I’ll ask, you’ll answer . Understood?” 

Although the man was hesitant and uneasy, he still nodded, he knew that complying was the best policy at the moment .

The cold voice started to interrogate, “Do you know a miemoshi who wears a black mask?”

“Miemoshi? Of course I don’t! Every demon who’s seen a miemoshi is dead, how could I know anything about them?” He gave a false answer .

Although he did not know why he was asking this, he didn’t plan on letting someone else know his ins and outs . Since the other was asking information on the miemoshi, it was obvious that he wasn’t part of the a.s.sociation, that meant he wasn’t to be afraid of…

As his words dropped, the sharp awl stuck on the sole of his foot lifted up, shifted, stabbing into his thigh .

“Ugh!”

“You still have one more chance…” The indifferent tone bearing a hint of threat said softly, “The blue-eyed demon says you are a cowardly person, which is why you go around collecting information on the Summoners and miemoshi, just so you have a chance of escaping them . ”

The man cursed lowly . He knew it, those useless guys would one day pull him down!

“…A month ago, a demon I knew died . He lived in New York . One of the informers found a monitoring video where he lived, and it had captured that miemoshi’s back, but it was blurry, and it was only his back . ”

“Give it to me . ” The icy-cold tone gave an undeniable command .

“Why would I bring something like that everywhere I go—”

“Someone like you, who seeks only ease and comfort, planning on escaping at any moment, would not let something as important as that leave your side . ”

The man cursed again, obediently speaking, “My necklace is a USB flash drive…”

Then, he felt a cold breeze through his neck, and the chain was cut, the adornment taken away .

The cold voice sounded once again, “Do you know of a raven with heterochromatic eyes?”

“I don’t know…” The man said resentfully, “I forgot . ”

“…This is not a sensible act . ”

The sharp awl on the man’s thigh slowly trembled into action, about to release its next attack .

In the car by the side, a phone started ringing . The thin blade lowered by the neck trembled slightly, he had lapsed momentarily in concentration .

Taking advantage of this chance hanging by a thread, the man broke his own legs, transparent insect-like wings growing out of his back . The wings fluttered at high speeds, instantaneously bringing the battered body into the air .

Although the wounds were severe, this body could be regenerated, losing a pair of legs was nothing—

Electricity tore through the air, hitting the figure in the sky, and the body of a giant insect fell to the ground .

The man moaned painfully on the ground, looking at the person approaching him slowly in terror .

“That was a demon’s curse…” The man looked at the person before him, startled and confused, “You’re  a demon?” 

“One last question,” The footsteps stopped before the man, purple eyes shining a demonic light due to the moon’s rays, “Do you know who I am?”

The man suddenly understood .

Purple eyes, a demon who could control shadows and electricity?!

“You’re that little prince’s—”

“A shame . ” The blade flashed, and before the man became aware that he had been hit, his body was dismembered, “This was the question you shouldn’t have known the most . ”

The demon’s corpse and blood splattered onto the ground, then as if falling into a swamp, slowly sunk in the shadows, not leaving a single trace behind .

He put away his blade . As he turned around to leave, a strong scent of blood was brought before him by the wind .

Icy purple eyes glanced towards the car, looking at the corpse drenched in blood . His throat tightened .

Consecutive days of searching at squandered quite a lot of his strength . This was the fifth exiled . On one hand, he had to conceal his aura, and on another, he had to do and wide-ranged search for the exiled’s auras . This conduct had continued for more than a month . Joining the Shadow Academy had shortened the time to search by a lot, making him fall behind in progress .

He walked towards the car, extending a hand through the car window, a pale fingertip touching a bit of blood by the neck .

Purple eyes stared at the blood on the fingertip .

For some reason, he suddenly felt that the blood was dull, before even tasting it, he could tell that this blood was absolutely unappealing to him, it was an odorless existence .

His tongue and throat, thirsted for something else sweet and mild…

He had thought all human blood was the same, but it looked like it wasn’t after all .

But, was it really different, or was it just that he felt there was something distinct himself?

…For some sort of stupid reason, it made him feel that it was different…

He frowned .

The fresh blood on his fingertip quickly hardened and dried under the hot summer heat . He rubbed it away, as if he was treating that perplexing contradiction in his heart, throwing it away, ignoring it . Entering the shadows, he left .

There was already a tide of people on the street of shops in the morning .  

The Contracts had never taken a part-time job before, and neither had Feng Ping Lan . They had applied for two jobs, one at a western restaurant and an apparel shop .

The six of them had set their work shifts to Sat.u.r.day and Sunday, working ten hours a day, and were responsible for opening and closing shop . Most people wouldn’t set their work shifts like this, but with a bit of suggesting from Byriel, it had been easily arranged .

Why had they arranged six new workers here in one go… The restaurant owner grumbled inwardly, as he looked at the six new employees before him .  

Excluding the introverted girl who kept on looking down and the boy who was smiling foolishly, the four others were pretty pleasing to the eye . He considered it for a moment, and quickly a.s.signed them tasks .

Feng Ping Lan stood at the cashier, Byriel, Simo taking charge as outfield staff, Morris, Conglong helping infield, and Dongya’s was responsible for cleaning . Dongya’s had originally been sent out to receive the customers, but he held an extreme longing for cleaning, so after pleading many times, the owner could only let him wash the dishes and clean the toilets .

The restaurant’s door opened, the wind chimes on the door letting out a crisp sound, informing them of a customer’s arrival .

“W-welcome…” Simo said hurriedly, holding a menu as she walked towards the customer with a lowered head, “P-please come with me…” With that, she jotted down the orders submissively, then ran to the kitchen to report .

“Newcomer, raise your voice higher!” The owner pointed out .

“Mm! I will…” Simo lowered her head, walking to the cashier to wait .

“Don’t be tense, it’s just the first day, you’ll become more proficient as time goes on!” Feng Ping Lan encouraged Simo, “Is there anything you’re excited about working for the first time?” 

Simo tilted her head to think, “There’s a book I read once of a scientist nouveau riche who broke up with his girlfriend who had a different system of values as him in a coffee shop, and was emotionally affected by a waitress who accidentally spilled tea on him…”

“Oh oh oh! I know! The scientist nouveau riche who has his lower half scalded will have problems urinating and taking care of certain private hobbies, which is why he asks the waitress to look after his toilet needs until all his physiology problems are restored, am I right!”

Simo furrowed her brows, “…It doesn’t seem the same…” She thought about it for a moment, suddenly lifting her lips into a smile, “But it’s not bad either…” She took out a small notepad the size of her palm out of her pocket, turning back to jot it down excitedly, nodding as she wrote .

“What are you writing? Will you let me see it?” Feng Ping Lan leaned over, half of his body over the front desk, asking curiously .

Simo shook her head, hurriedly keeping the notepad away .

“Newcomers stop gossiping around! Concentrate!” The shop owner who happened to pa.s.s by reprimanded .

“Oh! Yes!” Feng Ping Lan hurried back to his original position, standing upright .

Although Byriel’s att.i.tude was a little frivolous, no matter the male or female customers ate that up, submitting obediently under his evil yet brilliant smile, even ordering the amount of food that had been scheduled in advance .

In the kitchen, Conglong, under the instructions of the head chef, helped make the simple preparations and setting up the plates . Morris had an outstanding performance cutting up the frozen meat with his st.u.r.dy arm . Dongya cleaned the toilets to the point that you could even use the toilet bowl to wash your face, and use the urinal as a water dispenser .

Everything seemed to be proceeding very smoothly . Until close to afternoon, where the crowds started increasing .

The first place to go wrong was the kitchen .

“Where did all the fresh milk go?” When the chef was about to cook some b.u.t.ter rice stew, he abruptly realized the entire bucket of fresh milk that had just been refilled this morning was already empty .

“Oh, I was a little thirsty earlier, so I finished it . ” Conglong admitted .

The chef widened his eyes, “You finished the entire bucket yourself?!”

“Of course, I don’t waste food . ” Conglong said confidently, “Right, your fresh milk tastes weird, doesn’t feel fresh or genuine, it feels like fake milk . ”

“You’d better be able to taste it! Who gave you permission to drink that milk!”

“The working terms say that food will be provided for the employees . ”

“That was talking about the lunchbox! Who would consider milk an actual meal!”

“Oh, lucky that I drank that milk, then . I don’t eat lunch boxes, it would be a waste if you gave that to me . ”

“Tell that to the owner first!” The chef bellowed furiously, “Anyway, you’re not allowed to eat the food in the kitchen without permission! Also, go to the warehouse to get a new bottle of milk . ”

“Oh, got it . ” Human chefs had pretty bad tempers .

The chef looked at Dongya who had washed the plates to the point that they could reflect, “The one with white hair, exchange jobs with him, you’ll help with the ingredients!”

“Unless you want this shop to end up on the newspaper headlines, you’d better not…” Morris warned in a low voice .

The chef did not take these words by heart, and by chance, the shop owner walked by . He then requested the change in positions .

“Let him help out in the dining hall then, that girl’s too introverted, she’s absolutely no good . ”

With that, Conglong put on the uniform, took out the menu, and started to receive the customers .

“Want do you want to order?” Conglong stood beside one of the tables, asking three female customers who were laughing nonstop and talking loudly, tone a little impatient .

This was the second time he had come to ask, the last time he was here was fifteen minutes ago . The answer he had been given was to wait a minute .

The three young women sitting at the table looked at Conglong, “We’re not ready, come back in a little while . ”

With that, they flipped through the menu that was already open on the table, pointing into it .

“This looks pretty good! But baked rice makes you fat . ” The woman pouted in vexation, “I’ve gotten fatter recently . ”

“No way! Vivi, you’ve always been thin! Like spare ribs! I’m the one who’s fat!” Another girl smiled in line with her .

“Can the two of you pretty girls stop saying stuff that makes others envious of you?” The third woman feigned ruefulness and raised her hands in surrender .

“You’re the pretty one! David and Andy from the other group are always asking about you, you’re such a charmer!”

The three women belittled themselves without meaning it, flattering each other, then giggled amongst themselves unable to contain their joy .

“Do you want to order now?” Conglong asked again . So freaking annoying…

“Oh . ” The woman lowered her head, “The angel noodles look pretty good, mm, but I feel like eating baked rice . ”

“Waiter, what’s the white sauce fish steak made of?”

“It’s called fish steak, do you think it’s made out of beef . ”

The woman rolled her eyes, “I mean, what kind of fish is it?”

Conglong paused for a moment, thinking of the preparation of ingredients in the kitchen, “It’s cod . ”

“Cod, huh?” The woman pouted, “Then is the meat fresh?”

Conglong frowned, “…It doesn’t look like it’s been dead for long . ”

The three women lowered their heads to discuss for a moment . Conglong wanted to leave, but was worried once he left, he would have to start over again .

“Where does your cod come from?”

“…I’m sure there’s no cod on dry land . ”

“I’m talking about the sea!” The woman rolled her eyes again, as if Conglong was a b.u.mpkin from the wild mountains, “Some sea areas are polluted, I don’t want to eat any fish that’s contaminated . ”

“Even if it’s contaminated, that’s caused by the humans . It makes sense to eat something you dirtied yourself . ” So d.a.m.n annoying, why were this group of humans so irritating? “Are you guys planning to order by elimination? If that’s so I suggest you eliminate everything that has milk in it, the fresh milk doesn’t smell very good . ”

“What’s wrong with you? Kid, watch your att.i.tude . ”

Conglong was highly displeased, “I’m not a kid, you guys aren’t pretty girls either . ”

The woman let out a violently high-pitched noise of complaint, calling the owner over, gabbling criticisms about Conglong .

In any case, after the shop owner placated the customers, he reprimanded Conglong for a while, then reminded the workers over and over again the prerequisites, only then did he let Conglong return to his position .

“h.e.l.lo, welcome, may I ask if you would like to order anything?” Conglong smiled stiffly, rigidly asking the customer who had just entered .

“Why is the new item advertised outside the shop not on the menu?” The customer asked overbearingly .

“h.e.l.lo, the new item will only be sold next Monday . ”

“Why can’t you sell it right now?” The customer asked again .

Conglong was puzzled, “Because today’s Sat.u.r.day . ”

“What I’m asking is, why do you have to wait till Monday to sell it?” The customer picked up the menu, slamming the table rudely, “Since it can only be sold next week, why is it advertised this week? My friend was supposed to bring me to another restaurant, but I came because of this dish, but I find out that it’s not selling? You must be kidding me!”

Conglong kept up the smile on his face, the corners of his lips a little twisted, but answered politely as instructed .

“h.e.l.lo, the advertis.e.m.e.nt has already indicated that the selling date will be next Monday . Your friend must be very glad that you did not keep your appointment . I am not kidding you . Thank you . ”

The customer snarled, about to slam the table and get up to make a scene . Suddenly his entire body stiffened, slumping onto the table .

“Don’t cause us to get our pay cut…” Byriel smiled as he pa.s.sed by, lowering his voice to remind him .

“What did you do to him?” Conglong looked at the unmoving customer, abruptly realizing that there was a golden needle as thin as a strand of hair on his neck .

“Let him sleep for a while . ” Byriel smiled, “I learned that from the cartoons on TV, hehehe . ”

“…Thanks . ” Conglong let out a breath, lowering his head to consider for a moment, “I think we can’t do this anymore, we’re wasting too much time on those humans with problems with their mentality or intellect . ” Like that group of idiotic people or Mr . Uncontrollable earlier, it had wasted half an hour of his time, which had caused him to put off other customers’ orders .

“So?”

“I think we should put a checkpoint outside the shop, so every customer that wants to come in has to take an IQ test, the ones with too low IQ won’t be allowed to come in . ”

Byriel smiled a smile with deep dimples, “This idea is incredibly brilliant, I hope to see the results of it . ”

When the shop owner realized that the workers outside had gone missing, with Feng Ping Lan remaining to hold the fort, twenty minutes had already gone by .

“Where’s Conglong and Byriel?”

“Conglong is outside receiving the customers, Byriel is chatting with them . ”

“What?”

The shop owner went around the shop, and found Byriel sitting in amongst a circle of upper-cla.s.s women, talking cheerfully with the young married ladies . His eyes were blindfolded by a woman’s silk fabric, and the upper-cla.s.s women were competing to feed him macarons .

“Guess who this is?” A young married woman placed a macaron close to Byriel’s mouth, and her companions behind her asked .

He took the delicate hand before him, biting the macaron held within in one mouthful, then licked her fingers . “Such soft hands, undoubtedly, it must be Lenjie . ”

Giggling rang out .

“This is not a brothel!” The owner rushed in to stop it . Byriel and the girls parted sadly and very reluctantly .

The shop owner then rushed out to find Conglong .

There was a long queue of people out the shop, everyone holding a piece of examination paper, heads lowered as they racked their brains . Conglong had placed a collapsible table by the door, and those who were done writing came to hand in the paper, and with that proceeded with the second stage which was an interview .

“Your written examination results are quite good, you answered ninety-three percent of it correctly . I think that you answered the incorrect seventh question quite thoughtlessly, the question was asking you that if a certain limited product hit the market on March 1st, when would the shop be able to consume this product . You chose March 1st at 10pm, forgetting to consider that the business hours were only until 9pm, this can be considered a technical mistake . ” Conglong wrote the marks on the top with a red pen, returning it to him . “This is your exam paper . ”

“Oh…” The man received the exam paper .

“Wrong!” Conglong suddenly shouted, “You didn’t say thank you! Fundamental politeness takes up half of the exam, huge apologies, you don’t pa.s.s . Please come back in three hours to retake the exam . ”

“Weird guy…” The man mumbled before turning to leave .

The owner hurriedly rushed toward Conglong, “What are you doing?!” 

“Helping you guys filter your customers . ” Conglong answered righteously and self-confidently, “With ethics and intellect as a standard, I eliminated those rude and self-centered customers . This way the shop’s standard will rise, and it’ll also cut down the needless wastage of manpower . ”

“Only the customers can choose the restaurant, the restaurant can’t choose its customers! The customers are above all else!”

“Why? Isn’t this too unreasonable?”

“You—” The shop owner was about to berate Conglong, but by this time an odd smell transferred over from the kitchen, “Take those things away! Bring the customers in!” After instructing, he rushed frantically to the kitchen .

Thick smoke and an odd smell congested the entire room, coming from a pot of dense impure substance with a complex color, looking like a witch’s potion .

“What’s going on…”

“It’s written that the dessert, puree and main course has to be served together . ” Dongya explained, “I am preparing it, everything is in the pot . ”

“That’s instructing you to bring the dishes there at the same time, not cooking all of it in the same pot!”

The owner glanced left and right, not seeing the chef’s figure . Only Morris and Dongya was left in the kitchen, and Simo, who has sneakily hugging a bottle of wine . “Where’s the head chef?!”

“After he ate the food Dongya prepared, he spat out white foam and fainted, another chef drove him to the hospital . ” Morris answered .

There was a small bowl in his hand, inside was chopped high-quality tuna . There was a similar bowl in the corner, chicken breast inside, and a fat cat eating wildly from it .

The shop owner suddenly felt his head spin .

Ten minutes later, the coffee shop abruptly announced that it would close ahead of schedule .

Twenty minutes later, the six new employees were told not to come back tomorrow, and they needn’t come back in the future .

The six of them stood by the roadside, opening the incredibly thin salary pouch .

Deducting the damage reparations, the pay the six of them had worked from the morning was: Three hundred forty-six yuan .

Looking at the meager small change in the salary pouch, excluding Byriel, everyone was in low spirits .

“It’s all fine, at least we earned a little hahaha!‘ Feng Ping Lan tried to boost some morale, “Let’s go to the other shop! Get used to working first, and we won’t need to worry about doing anything wrong when we start officially tomorrow . Besides, the apparel shop won’t need us to bring the customers to their tables or serve them meals, it should be much simpler!”

Everyone roused their spirits, and departed for the other workplace, the apparel shop on the other block .

Two hours later, the same situation happened at the intersection .

When Simo changed the mannequin into new clothes, she also moved them into new positions, the entire display window like a static scene from a ukiyo-e-painting/eight o’clock drama, its name being ‘The Pa.s.sionate CEO and Charming Secretary Have a Tryst In The Office And Encounter The CEO’s Wretched Fiancee and Unrestrained Director Having An Affair’ .

Byriel still disappeared halfway through his work, and just when the others were unable to find him, he elegantly walked out of the changing room with a beautiful female customer, who was wearing the shop’s newest style blouse, b.u.t.tons b.u.t.toned up in the wrong place starting from the first hole .

Dongya washed the clothes the customers had worn on his own initiative, and although his movements were so fast that it was almost seamless, but the overly well-ironed clothes that had been applied starch quickly gave it away .

Just when Morris was putting a stop to a little kid from taking the clothes from the hangers to play as a cleaning rag, he was met with a monster parent .

“Stop that, where are your parents?”

The kid started to scream, sobbing loudly .

“Why are you bullying a child?!” A fat married woman who had ignored the rules for the fitting trial and was holding seven to eight items, hissed as she ran out of the fitting room .

“I wasn’t bullying him!” Morris roared, “He pushed an entire rack of clothes onto the ground!”

“So what if he pushed it onto the ground? The shop a.s.sistants are responsible for picking it back up! That is your responsibility!”

“You’re being unreasonable—”

“What’s with your att.i.tude?! I want to file a complaint! Everyone, look at this! This shop employee is bullying a child and a female!” The married woman started making a big fuss, and the kid very cooperatively screamed and bawled .

“Nonsense—”

Suddenly, the mother and child’s voices halted, the two of them widening their eyes, legs giving away, and collapsed to the floor .

Morris realized there were golden needles sticking out of the back of those two’s necks, and raising his head, he saw Byriel smilingly walking over with a cloth in his hand . Both his hands then trembled, the cloth covering the mother and child, and it looked like a pile of junk in the corner .

“Deal with it after we get off from work . ” Byriel spoke with a smile . “You owe me one, hehehe . ”

“Mind your own business…” Morris humphed, sparing Byriel a glance, “There’s a red mark on your neck . ”

“Oh, thanks . ” Byriel calmly lifted a hand to wipe it away .

Conglong and Feng Ping Lan made the same mistake—

“I think the design of this clothing isn’t bad, but the stripes on this might make me look fat easily, do you think I’m suited for this?” A slightly wide-looking guy wore a striped T-shirt, standing before the mirror, and asked Conglong uncertainly .

“Of course, it looks great on you . ” Conglong spoke frankly with a.s.surance, “The folds on your stomach fit ingeniously with the stripes on the shirt, no one will realize it’s all flesh . ”

A middle school girl, after circling around the shop, bashfully walked towards the seemingly harmless Feng Ping Lan, “I want to buy clothes suited for going out on a date, do you have any recommendations? What would a guy your age would like to see a girl wear?”

“What kind of clothes a guy would like?…” Feng Ping Lan tilted his head to think for a bit, he knew no particular concept about dating, the only one he could use as reference was Bai Li Rui, “It doesn’t actually matter what you wear, guys only care about the things underneath the clothes, hahaha!”

Not long after, the six of them were notified to not come to work tomorrow, there was no need for them to come in the future either .

Because tomorrow was when they were officially supposed to start work, and they had come in ahead of schedule today, so, the salary was zero yuan .

The group of people stood by the road, looking at the cars and tide of people pa.s.sing through, momentarily not knowing where to go .

“The human world is much more complicated than we had thought . ” Dongya smiled faintly, “It reminds me of our lives as Discarded Citizens . ” But yet there was a difference .

The Discarded Citizens had a low status, and suffered irrational treatment, but were essentially free; the humans appeared free, but lived in the midst of fetters, restricting each other, persecuting one another .

“…Do we find a new job?” Simo asked softly . “Or do we go home?”

“Does a CEO have any distinctive features?” Morris was starting to give up and stop bothering, “We’ll skip through the first few procedures, capture him back to our house, then tell him to give us the money!”

“Don’t give up too soon, there’s still a beverage shop, let’s go there and try it out . ”

“Oh, I’ve already earned enough, if there’s nothing else I’ll be going . ” Byriel said smilingly .

“Where did your money come from?”

“My friends are very generous to me . ” Byriel replied with a smile, “All my new friends were competing to pay for my lunch today . ” The had attended today’s trip purely just to watch the show . He was done watching, and could stop now .

Feng Ping Lan was about to persuade him to stay, but then a pink vehicle pa.s.sed by on the road, catching his gaze .

“Ah!” Feng Ping Lan’s eyes lit up, as if he was a drowning man who had just stopped a floating piece of wood, “There’s hope! Hurry! Chase after that car!”

The pink van rushed through the traffic lane, Feng Ping Lan and the Contracts chasing after it . The speed of the car was not a problem to the Contracts, but Feng Ping Lan ran with all his might, and could only catch up to the end of the group with difficulty .

After running for a distance, Feng Ping Lan’s face flushed red, sweating . But he did not complain, exerting all his strength at the back . Just because he did not complain, the Contracts at the front had forgotten he was just a human .

Just as Morris turned in the road, he saw a figure in dire straits in the convex mirror behind his back, the thin and weak figure doing his best, swaying as he followed the group .

He paused, turning his head to look at the battered and exhausted Feng Ping Lan, frowning .

Reaching out a long arm, Morris scooped Feng Ping Lan up in one movement, carrying him as if he was clipping an office bag .

“Troublesome humans…” He berated impatiently .

“Tha… Thanks… Ah… Haha cougough…”

“You’d better just shut your mouth!”

“Oh…” Feng Ping Lan was silent for a moment, then opened his mouth again, “I, I… I feel like a respectable woman from those costume dramas… seized by the great mountain king to, to become the wife of a brigand chief… haha… cough cough!”

“Shut up! Or I’ll throw you into onto the traffic lane!” If he let Feng Ping Lan stupid things, he might lose control and strangle him .  

But Feng Ping Lan ignored the threat, imagining a bunch of scenes . “Ya ya! No, great king! Before the formal wedding is performed, how could one dare to perform the wedding festivities, hahahahahaha!”

Simo who was accompanying them silently nodded her head like a clove of garlic that had been aroused, taking out a little notepad and writing in it as she ran .

Brigand . Woman from an ordinary family . Forced wedding festivities . Not a bad development .

Morris really wanted to throw Feng Ping Lan down, but as he lowered his head he saw that face flushed red from running under the scorching sun, that neck covered in sweat .

Where did this weak little creature find the courage to team up with a group of demons, become friends with Summoners? Was it purely because he was just too naive, too idiotic?

Feng Ping Lan turned his head, realizing Morris was looking at him, and cracked his lips into a smile, then winked stupidly at him .

Morris grumbled in disgust, flinging his wrist, turning Feng Ping Lan’s face towards the ground .  

Never mind…

The tiny pink van pashed through a small alley on the large street, at last stopping right in front of a certain shop at the corner of the lane .

There was a long and pink square shaped signboard above the shop, the surrounding LED lights flashing rich and diverse colors, the signboard in the center with the girly handwriting ‘Pink Meatball’ written on it, a kitten licking its lips by the side .

Morris widened his eyes, staring at the signboard in a daze, then turned his gaze on the French window of the shop .

The wide French window was filled with cans, feed, as well as a few display windows, a different variety of cats lying in the display windows . In the afternoon, all the cats were lazily lying about the window, enjoying the warm raylight .

Morris’ heart thumped wildly, and for a second almost lost the ability to breathe . “What is… this place…”

“The pet shop . ” Feng Ping Lan looked at Morris’ serious expression, “Haven’t you come here to buy cat food before this?”

“I bought it at the marketplace…” The marketplace had cat food, as well as various products for nurturing pets, but there weren’t any cats .

“Why are they raising livestock here?” Conglong looked at the cats in the display window, “Is there also a livestock farm? But the livestock here doesn’t seem to have any meat— Aiyo!” Before he could finish his words, his head was given a hard knock by Morris’ fist .

“This is not funny at all . ” Morris said fiercely, “That is not animal meat, you idiot . ”

The group of people walked into the shop, pushing the thick gla.s.s doors open .

Just as they stepped in, a familiar voice rang out . “Welcome—” The face that had a professional smile on, turned stiff as she saw the people who had come .

“Hi, Cla.s.s Rep, good afternoon!” Feng Ping Lan smiled waving his hand .

Liu Yi Chen furrowed her brows, she was really unused to people seeing her at work .

“Why are you guys here?” Liu Yi Chen asked very bluntly, “Aren’t you guys supposed to be working? Skipping on the first day of work?”

“Aiya, to tell you the truth, a few problems arose during our work, so…”

“You got fired?” Liu Yi Chen humphed, “Not a surprise . ”

The demons all had great self-esteem, and would only express goodwill and devotion towards the people they had acknowledged . They would have no patience towards most people, how would they let themselves be ordered around by them, even standing the minority of deliberately provocative customers?

“Oh, right . ” Feng Ping Lan scratched his head in embarra.s.sment, “So I thought—”

“We’re don’t lack employees . ”

“I see…” Feng Ping Lan looked a little dispirited .

Liu Yi Chen frowned, then after falling silent for a moment, at last spoke out grudgingly . “It’s fine for a short period of time . ” She would definitely regret making this promise . But if she refused directly, that would make her regret much more . “Before you guys find a new job, you can help out at the shop . But let me tell you beforehand, the pay isn’t much, since the shop isn’t lacking any workers . ”

“Oh oh oh! Thanks Cla.s.s Rep!”

Liu Yi Chen walked out of the counter, only then did Feng Ping Lan see her working clothes clearly . The black t-shirt had a huge mackerel tabby licking its mouth printed on it, the three letters PMB inked beneath it .

“Yerde!” Liu Yi Chen shouted into the shop .

Two seconds later, a tall and long figure with combed hair conforming to the norms of society appeared from behind the shop shelf .

“A well-br’d young mistress ought speaketh in a graceful and subdu’d mann’r, ‘tis inadvisable to conv’rse liketh a shrewish jointress . ” Yerde froze as he saw Feng Ping Lan’s group, “An infrequent visiteth’r! What hast hath brought thee h’re?”

Yerde wore the same clothes as Liu Yi Chen did, Feng Ping Lan and the others felt this was very novel, this was the first time they were seeing Yerde wearing something other than Western-style clothing .

“Why are you wearing such a ridiculous outfit?” Conglong laughed mockingly . “It looks very stupid— Aiyo!” Before he finished speaking, his head was whacked .

“It’s not ridiculous at all, you’re the stupid one!” Morris rebuked severely .

Conglong looked at Morris perplexingly, humphed, then stood further away from Morris .

“They’re here to work short-term . Please get the uniforms from the storeroom, then let them understand the situation around the shop . ” Liu Yi Chen instructed Yerde, “Don’t complain, I know what I’m doing . ”

Yerde raised his eyebrows, not saying anything else, and did what Liu Yi Chen had instructed .

“Why is it this picture? I don’t like black, and I don’t like cats . ” Conglong grumbled as he took the uniform in his hands .

Morris fisted his palm, his knuckles letting out a cracking sound . Conglong immediately shut his mouth .  

“What does PMB stand for?” Feng Ping Lan asked curiously .

“PINK MEATBALL . The abbreviation for pink meatball . ”

“So cool!”

After changing into their uniforms, Liu Yi Chen and Yerde led the group of people and introduced the shop’s inner surroundings with simplicity, as well as the employees’ work .

“It’s not usually busy, but a new stock just arrived today, so you’ll need to store the feed and cat litter into the storeroom . The fish tank area needs to be replaced periodically, but don’t bother for the moment, you just need to remember to feed the fish and take out the fish manure . Grooming the animals mainly consist of washing, cutting their fur and tr.i.m.m.i.n.g their nails . Additionally, the litterbox needs to be removed twice daily . The feed is given thrice a day . You guys are responsible for cleaning every room, storing and feeding, the other matters will be asked of you when there’s really a need . Do you understand?”

Everyone nodded their heads, and only Morris looked far out of the shop with an absent-minded gaze .

“We won’t force you if you don’t want to work . ” Liu Yi Chen thought that Morris wanted to leave, and immediately opened up the subject .

Morris turned back to look at Liu Yi Chen, eyes filled with various kinds of envy and jealousy .

“You… live in heaven…” Sixteen, there were actually sixteen cats in the shop! And there were still some walking freely in the shop! “Are those all goods?”

Liu Yi Chen froze, “Our shop does not sell living things, except for fish . The cats in the display window were all collected from the streets, for people to adopt . The ones in individual displays cases were sent in by customers to lodge . ”

“Adopt?”

“An employed adult with an economic foundation can adopt them . ”

Morris looked at the kittens languidly rolled into a ball in the display, turning his head to look at Dongya, “Can I—”

“No . ” Dongya said tenderly, but his tone gave no room for protest, “We have no more money . Besides, we already have Feng Ping Lan and Kaido at home . ”

“But—”

“No . ” Dongya overruled him once more, his manner of speaking making it hard for someone to question him .

Morris growled lowly, and no longer spoke, feeling wronged, going into the storeroom to carry the goods alone .

After everyone was delegated jobs, they set out to work .

Conglong was first to run over to the fish tanks, poured a bunch of fodder, and stuck both hands on the fish tank, staring at the fish inside without turning his gaze . Feng Ping Lan wasn’t sure if he should remind Conglong that the fish in the fish tank couldn’t give him gems .

Dongya was responsible for cleaning the area, the acc.u.mulated dust on the goods, the hairs on the ground and cater fragments of cat litter . He cleaned very happily . Simo was tasked to watch the online orders and answer their customers’ inquiries .

Byriel and Feng Ping Lan had nothing to do, and sat by the counter with Liu Yi Chen, waiting for customers to come in .

“Is it alright for me to do nothing?” Feng Ping Lan asked a little worriedly .

“There’s nothing for you to do even if you want to, there wasn’t a need for workers here anyway . ” Liu Yi Chen answered as she looked at an English flash card . “Besides, the pay is really low, the six of you can only earn three thousand yuan even if you work till 10pm, the box meal attached . So you don’t need to care so much . ”

“Three thousand yuan isn’t bad at all, that’s thirty times more than the money we earned this morning!”

Liu Yi Chen raised her head to glance at Feng Ping Lan, “You guys are really that short of money!”

“There’s no choice, everyone’s just too destructive . ”

“Why aren’t you going to your family for help?”

Feng Ping Lan smiled, “Aiya, it really sucks to always trouble your family…”

“You have a strength of character . ” Liu Yi Chen clapped Feng Ping Lan’s shoulder in admiration, “I’ve never seen a Summoner bring his Contracts out to work part-time jobs, I never thought you’d manage to persuade your Contracts to cooperate with you .

“I’m here purely to watch the show, I don’t lack money . ” Saying this, Byriel continued scrolling through his phone . That was the newest model that hadn’t even hit a market a week ago . Of course, it hadn’t been bought with his own money .

“Cla.s.s Rep, don’t you bring Yerde to work with you too? You’re really amazing too!”

Liu Yi Chen rolled her eyes impatiently, “This is my dad’s shop, he freely ran off with my mom, so I was forced to take over . All my school fees and living expenses are all paid by the shop’s income, there isn’t even an opportunity to slack off . ” Taking on a difficult task for no reason, creating a huge burden for herself .

“I see . ” Feng Ping Lan nodded his head, “This shows that they trust you . ”

Liu Yi Chen paused for a second, muttering with a frown, “Oh, mm… That’s complete nonsense…”

Byriel chuckled lightly, leading Liu Yi Chen to glare at him . He languidly scrolled through his phone, completely ignoring the fiery eyes of anger .

Liu Yi Chen turned her attention back to Feng Ping Lan, continuing, “Don’t you need to return to your hometown on the weekends?”

“Oh, my family isn’t in the country . ”

“I know . ” Feng Ping Lan had previously mentioned to her that one of his parents had a weak const.i.tution, and his older brother working overseas had brought the two of them away, to receive better treatment and a better environment out of the country . “Aren’t there any other relatives?”

Feng Ping Lan scratched his head, “We don’t really connect with our relatives, and I find it embarra.s.sing to bother them . ”

Byriel glanced at Feng Ping Lan . He could tell, there was helplessness and awkwardness in his tone, as if he felt this was a very th.o.r.n.y topic .

As if he was escaping from it .

He was very curious, what kind of environment a piece of work like Feng Ping Lan had grown up in, and he was more curious about the reason why he was shirking from this subject .

“Since you guys don’t really connect much, how could you be bothering them?” Liu Yi Chen caught the contradiction within Feng Ping Lan’s words .

“Oh, I used to live near one of my relatives . My aunt would come to take care of me every day, helping me prepare my lunchbox and handle some of the trifling matters in my life . ” He had no idea which side of the family this relative was, but knew she was his aunt . She would help him tidy up his place, and sign his contact form before leaving . “I’ve already troubled her for three years, she’s probably feels vexed whenever she looks at me, hahaha . ”

“So you didn’t live with your relatives?” Liu Yi Chen was a little astonished, “You lived by yourself?”

“My aunt lived very near my house, it was only two buildings away . Jing Lan arranged this especially for me, so my aunt could take care of me at a close distance, and not bother anyone by living in their houses . And it’s super liberating living by yourself! You can do anything you want!” He said this happily, as if this was something to be envious about .

“So you lived by yourself with your six Contracts for three years?” Liu Yi Chen was really astonished that Feng Ping Lan had lived individually with his Contracts .

She guessed Jing Lan had arranged this so as not to let any outsiders know of the existence of the Contracts . Some Summoner families only had their core members knowing of their secret, and those who were ordinary members of the family or distant relatives had no clue about it .

But she what she didn’t know was that her guess was wrong .

In an instant, Feng Ping Lan’s smile turned rigid, but it was just that instant .

“That’s right!” He replied with an even happier tone, “I have my own room, TV and laptop, my parents are not present, this is practically paradise to a junior high school student, hahahaha!”

Byriel paused in his scrolling, glancing at Feng Ping Lan in the corner of his eye .

They had met in the city two months ago . Before this, they had never been in Feng Ping Lan’s life .

If not even his family was there, no close friends, who had been there to accompany him by his side?

No one .

“You’re pretty self-disciplined . ” Liu Yi Chen praised sincerely, “You never walked down a different road although you lived on your own, and you even got the top spot on the entrance exam, you’re not simple at all . ”

There wasn’t a lack of Summoners who committed crimes with their powers, and although the a.s.sociation had a tight control on things, there was always someone who ignored the rules .

“It’s nothing much . ” Feng Ping Lan scratched his head in embarra.s.sment . “Besides, it’ll have more meaning displaying your unruliness and rebelliousness to the people you care about . ”

Golden eyes were fixed on Feng Ping Lan’s face, silently watching, observing .

Hehe, his luck was quite good . He loved interesting things, and Feng Ping Lan would always induce his interest whenever he was close to being bored out of his mind .

Humans were just that complicated .

The most complicated parts, would look the simplest; the ones that seemed complicated and demanding, would be just that simple .

What was actually white would appear black, what was actually would be reflected into white .

He loved to death this unexpected feeling of contradiction and invertedness .

A burnt smell transferred over from the shop, and Liu Yi Chen stood up in alert, “Something’s on fire?!” She rushed out of the counter, following the smoke to the source of the fire, but her way was blocked by Conglong .

“Don’t block my way!” Liu Yi Chen reprimanded, but immediately remembered that he was a water-type demon, “Help me out!”

“Wait a minute, I want to talk to you about something . I want to adopt the fish . ”

“The fish can’t be adopted!” She pulled Conglong’s hand, rushing towards the source of the fire .

“I see, then why is it that Morris can take it? I want the fish he took, it’s big and beautiful, it looks like a knife . ”

“He took the fish? Knife? …f.u.c.k! Did he take the golden Arowana?!” Liu Yi Chen had a bad feeling about this . She hastened her footsteps, at last finding the source of fire in the corner of the storeroom . She had found Morris, and had also found the golden Arowana .  

“What are you doing?!” Liu Yi Chen cried out in fear .

Morris panicked, turning his head as if he was a kid who had gotten caught doing something bad .

Yes, he was indeed doing something bad . He had summoned the fire, he could control it freely, nothing had been scorched even the golden Arowana on the ground . The fire was lit just perfectly, and although the flesh was cooked it had preserved its meat juices, its golden outer flesh cooked to a yellow crisp .

And his furry tabby accomplice was curled up by his feet, eating the Arowana with without a care in the world .

“I don’t want to adopt it anymore . ” Conglong frowned, grumbling, “You were too slow…”

Liu Yi Chen raised her hands and elbow and struck Conglong’s stomach, turning to Morris with gritted teeth, “Explain…”

“Uh, h-he was hungry…” Morris stammered, but immediately became self-confident, “He kept on looking at that fish and meowing, I did that so that he could keep quiet . You should feed him more cat food . ”

“The flab before his chest so fat you can squeeze out whey! He’ll get a stroke if he eats any more!”

“…I cooked it through…”

“Who cares if you cooked it through! Idiot!” Liu Yi Chen glared at the ma.s.sacre site .   The plump cat felt the atmosphere change and ran away with its tail between its legs . “That fish is worth forty thousand yuan! You actually took the shop’s merchandise! You actually used the litter box to place the fish?!” Calm down, Liu Yi Chen, calm down… 

“Because… The fish was too big…”

“Idiot! You muscled r.e.t.a.r.d!” To h.e.l.l with calming down! She grabbed the cat’s scratching post placed by the side, ruthlessly striking it at Morris’ head .

Morris knew he was in the wrong, and didn’t return the hit . “Satisfied now?”

“Satisfied my a.s.s!” Liu Yi Chen grabbed the parrot stand with her other hand, hitting it on Morris’ body, both hands aiming, an explosive hit from the two weapons .  

Morris was about to let her hit him until her anger dissolved, since he was the one at fault . But Liu Yi Chen’s strength was larger than he had expected, every hit st.u.r.dy and critical, full of resentment and anger .

“Hey! Don’t go too far!” Morris reached out his hand, blocking the next hit .

“To h.e.l.l with your far!” Liu Yi Chen switched to fists, wrist bending, striking Morris’ chin from below his chin, then heavily throwing the weapon in her hand to the ground .

She breathed in deeply, steadied her breathing, then announced lightly, “Your wages today, will all go to pay for the fish and litter box . ”

“Oh . ” Morris was completely unconcerned .

“You,“ Liu Yi Chen pointed her finger that had gone red from the continuous blows at the display box, “Clean up the litter box immediately, or I’ll pour citrus essential oil on your body . ”

Morris’ face instantaneously turned just like the dead fish on the ground . ”

All cats hated the scent of citrus, he feared he wouldn’t escape in time .

Just too vicious!

“Hurry!” Liu Yi Chen urged .

Morris muttered, “Witch…”

While Yerde was out delivering goods, his phone rang . He looked at the screen, it was Yin Su Shuang .

“How’s the situation?” Immediately after the call picked up, Yin Su Shuang asked, as if he had known where Feng Ping Lan’s group had gone from the start .

“Still in the shop . ” 

“They would think of coming to your place to find a job . ” Yin Su Shuang laughed lightly, “Are there any damages?”

“Morris boiled a golden Arawana and fed to a fish . This fish was valued at forty thousand . ” Yerde paused for a moment, “Apart from this, their performance was adequate . ”

“Although they’re honest, they just wasting their talent . ” Those six Contracts were the imperial guard of the Royal Clan, their stage was in battle, not in the market . “The Director has new instructions . ”

“Is the time ripe?”

“The actors are ready, the prologue is about to start . ”