Chapter 18 : I’m really not heart-broken!!!

The cold air in the morgue was like a slippery snake, drilling into the man’s collar from the back of his neck.

On the dissection table, half a pitch-black body maintained the rigid, desperate posture of a drowning person, its fingernails almost poking into the incandescent light.

“It abandoned 47% of its body and planned to escape, but unfortunately, it was instantly frozen into the lake surface by the ultra-low temperature.“

The automatic door suddenly opened, and Ye Zi’s voice, accompanied by the clatter of high heels on the metal floor, came in.

“Why didn’t the Hetu System sound an alarm when it attacked the first few victims? Explain?“

She casually pushed aside the curly hair falling on her neck, her tone more chilling than the cold air in the cold storage.

“This matter is not that simple.“

The man turned around, the faint smell of sandalwood on his body drilling into Ye Zi’s nasal cavity.
“The higher-ups want to close the case, so let’s end it here. Don’t dig any deeper.“

“What about the sudden appearance of the demonic energy reaction? You’re not planning to investigate it either?“

Ye Zi casually picked up a dissection knife from the metal tray and played with it.
The blade spun nimbly in her hand, like a silver flower blooming.

“The higher-ups said they will set up a special investigation team. The Lin’an Demon Suppression Division should not interfere.“

“A special investigation team? That bunch of bureaucrats who can’t even tell the difference between a mirage demon and a Skin-Painter?“

The dissection knife in Ye Zi’s hand suddenly “dinged” and stuck into the metal tray.
“I’m telling you, Cheng Yu! Don’t even think about putting the blame on my boys and girls!“

She stared at the man, the coldness in her eyes captivating.

The man was named Cheng Yu, and he was the Demon Suppression Supervisor of the Lin’an Demon Suppression Division.
Nominally, he was Ye Zi’s direct superior, but Ye Zi often slammed the table and challenged him, which was a common occurrence.

“I won’t. I’ll take the pressure from above.“

Cheng Yu passed by Ye Zi’s shoulder, his voice accompanied by the sound of the automatic door opening.

The steam in the corridor blew his hair, and the sunlight squeezing in from the window stretched his shadow long.

“You’d better be able to handle it, and…“

Ye Zi suddenly took out her phone and waved it in front of Cheng Yu.
On the screen, Chengzi was hugging a cup of milk tea and making bunny ears at the camera, her pearlescent nails almost poking through the screen.

“How come I didn’t know you had a daughter?“

Ye Zi’s wine-red nails lightly tapped the screen, her previously sharp tone suddenly softening.
“She’s already in university.“

She deliberately dragged out the end of her sentence, as sweet as honey.

“Eh? You didn’t know?“

Cheng Yu suddenly turned around and smiled.
The cold atmosphere of questioning that had been hovering between them was shattered by their one-sentence exchange.

The morgue instantly returned to the friendly atmosphere they usually had when they were together.

They were always like this.
One second they were arguing fiercely over work matters, and the next they were huddling together to discuss which restaurant to order takeout from.

“Next time something like this happens, I’ll tell you right away!“

Cheng Yu stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away in his flip-flops.

“It’s really not what you think!“

Bai Ling wailed as she arched her back, her canvas shoes leaving two shallow drag marks on the ground.

Chengzi and Lin Xiao Xia held her on the left and right, ignoring her wails and dragging her forward.

Su Jiu Li pulled open the back door of the taxi with a “click,” waiting for her two roommates to stuff this girl, who seemed to have gone crazy after a breakup, into the car.

“We get it! We all get it!“

Chengzi grabbed Bai Ling’s arm and stuffed her into the back seat of the taxi.

“Every stubborn, heartbroken patient thinks they’re Astro Boy.“

Lin Xiao Xia nodded vigorously in front.

“What do you guys know! I’ve never even been in a relationship!“

Bai Ling wanted to struggle, but she was afraid of accidentally hurting them, so she could only be half-pushed and half-shoved into the taxi.

These three, for some unknown reason, insisted on going shopping with her to cheer her up.
They dragged her out of the dorm without taking no for an answer, hailed a taxi, and headed for the commercial district.

“The denial phase usually lasts for three to five days.“

Su Jiu Li sat down in the front passenger seat and slowly applied lipstick while looking in the rearview mirror.
“A medical miracle. Skipping the denial of sadness and directly denying the existence of the relationship. It’s indeed uncommon.“

“Uncommon, so it’s rare?“

Lin Xiao Xia quipped.

“You’re the rare one!“

Bai Ling “thumped” the back of her head on the back seat and resigned herself to her fate.

Chengzi slammed the car door shut, sandwiching Bai Ling between her and Lin Xiao Xia.

Su Jiu Li turned the air conditioning knob to the maximum, and the lavender sachet hanging from the air vent rustled loudly.

The car started, and the street scene outside the window continuously receded.
The fleeting shadows of the sycamore trees danced on Bai Ling’s face.

It wasn’t until the glass dome that refracted the colorful sunlight came into view that Bai Ling realized they had arrived at their destination.

The largest commercial district in the whole of Lin’an.

“Yay!  Park Right Here!“

The taxi stopped at the side of the road.
The driver had just pulled the handbrake.
While Su Jiu Li was still taking out her phone to scan the code to pay, Lin Xiao Xia had already thrown open the car door and jumped onto the sidewalk.

The scorching summer heat lingered over the crowd.
Sunlight poured down through the glass dome at the top of the pedestrian street.
The asphalt road was clean and clear.

It wasn’t until the taxi had driven away that Bai Ling slowly squatted down.

“I told you I didn’t go through any break up!“

She wailed, pulling at her hair.

“Right, right, right! You didn’t break up!“

Chengzi grabbed her and walked towards the inside of the mall, not looking at all like she believed Bai Ling’s words.
“We’re just here to buy battle robes to attract new love!“

“I…“

Bai Ling was speechless.

Thinking about it carefully, Bai Ling actually did need to buy a few clothes.
All her current clothes were men’s clothes, at most a bit androgynous.
She only had the one bra that Guan Qing had given her, and it was a bit small, so much so that Bai Ling would occasionally have trouble breathing.

Although she used to be a boy, she was now more or less a novice girl.
She couldn’t still wear men’s clothes and shout, “I’m a boy,” right?

Now that she was like this, Bai Ling didn’t want people to find out she used to be a boy.

“Ah! I’m alive again!“

Lin Xiao Xia, who had rushed into the mall entrance, opened her arms towards the central air conditioning vent, her skirt billowing like a jellyfish.
“Thank you, Willis Carrier! This cold air is much warmer than a man’s heart!“

“Who is Willis Carrier?“

The little know-nothing Chengzi pulled Bai Ling into the entrance and then turned to ask Su Jiu Li.

This girl, Su Jiu Li, spent her days with her nose in a book.
The bookshelf in their dorm was stuffed with all kinds of books she had brought.
She seemed to be the most knowledgeable one in their dorm.

“The guy who invented the air conditioner.“

“Then we should really thank him. What a great sage!“

Chengzi cheered and pulled Bai Ling to the information desk.
“Let’s go! Let’s go get new battle robes!“

She then threw an arm around Bai Ling’s shoulder and pointed to the women’s clothing section on the third floor.
“Look at you, wearing this T-shirt all day. You’re not cute at all!“

“Look at this bra!“

Lin Xiao Xia hooked the strap that was digging into Bai Ling’s flesh and flicked it lightly.
The lace trim rolled up with her pulling motion.
“Only old ladies would wear this style.“

Far away in the beauty salon in the old alley in the north of the city, Guan Qing suddenly sneezed.

Bai Ling’s cheeks instantly turned bright red, and she slapped away Lin Xiao Xia’s restless little hand.

“Big sis will show you what a ‘winning bra’ is today…“

Before Chengzi could finish, Bai Ling had already covered her head with her sun-protective clothing.

“If you mess with me again, I’ll stuff you in the fitting room and hang you up like a salted fish!“

Bai Ling grabbed the corner of her clothes and tied a dead knot.