Chu Zhishui didn't mind when the paper compensation form was snatched away. She had successfully provoked Xin Yunmao to stand up, and she returned to the office to inform Jin Yu.
Inside the Logistics Department, Jin Yu and Niu Shi exchanged glances when they saw the taciturn Xin Yunmao. They had never considered him part of the department, and now learning he was going to handle compensation was unprecedented.
Jin Yu carefully tugged at Chu Zhishui's sleeve, anxiously saying, "...Why don't I go with you instead?"
"It's fine, just tell me the procedure. This is part of my job after all," Chu Zhishui saw they were unwilling to deal with Xin Yunmao, so she didn't accept Jin Yu's offer to team up. She couldn't pair Niu Shi with Xin Yunmao either, as Niu Shi probably wouldn't like that.
Jin Yu clearly understood this reasoning and didn't insist further. She informed Chu Zhishui of the process and told her to contact her anytime if she had questions.
Throughout this, Xin Yunmao didn't interact with Jin Yu or Niu Shi at all. His face was expressionless as he stood silently behind Chu Zhishui, completely detached, as if he couldn't see the other colleagues.
Chu Zhishui bid farewell to her colleagues and left with the car keys. Only then did Xin Yunmao unhurriedly follow.
In the courtyard, Chu Zhishui walked straight towards where the car was parked. Xin Yunmao, watching her back, suddenly said, "Just this once."
Chu Zhishui's hand paused on the car door handle. After processing his words, she nodded with a smile, "Alright, then you'd better give it your all. Otherwise, I'll suspect you deliberately left something out to create opportunities for future interactions."
Hearing this, Xin Yunmao's face darkened. He clenched his fist in restraint, giving Chu Zhishui a sense of sweet revenge.
Chu Zhishui opened the door and got in the car. She started navigating on her phone but didn't see the other person enter. She slowly lowered the car window.
Xin Yunmao stood rigidly outside, his expression inscrutable, lost in thought.
Chu Zhishui mistakenly thought he was hesitating about where to sit. She pointed to the passenger seat and said through the window, "Sit in front. I don't want to be your chauffeur."
Xin Yunmao finally reached for the door handle and sat in the passenger seat at a snail's pace. He leisurely surveyed the car interior, sneaking glances at the driver's seat. His lips were slightly pursed, his body tense, appearing quite vigilant.
Chu Zhishui didn't understand his slow movements, as if there were some dangerous beast in the car. Did he think she harbored ill intentions towards him?
Chu Zhishui looked at the open door and patiently reminded him, "Close the door and fasten your seatbelt."
The door was closed.
"Seatbelt," Chu Zhishui saw he wasn't moving. She tugged at her own belt and said seriously, "I don't care what your habits were before, but you must wear a seatbelt in my car."
Chu Zhishui thought Xin Yunmao was being arrogant and putting on airs. Why else would he just sit there after get ting in?
Xin Yunmao stared at her actions for a long time before finally pulling out the seatbelt from the side and fastening it.
Chu Zhishui stopped paying attention to him and set off according to the navigation. The destination was far from the city center, almost in the mountains. Since she had a car, she chose the longer route, not wanting Jin Yu and Niu Shi to be too tired.
Xin Yunmao watched as Chu Zhishui skillfully started the vehicle, a far cry from their first encounter when she had been pale-faced with disheveled hair. Now she was completely at ease, as if back in her element, all nervousness and discomfort forgotten.
"The road ahead is clear, please continue straight..."
Xin Yunmao heard the navigation and asked, "Where are we going?"
"Seems to be near the mountains in the suburbs," Chu Zhishui replied casually.
Xin Yunmao questioned, "Have you been there before?"
"No."
"What if we get lost?"
"We shouldn't. The road isn't difficult, it's just quite far." Hearing his suspicious questioning and recalling his uneasy state upon entering the car, Chu Zhishui suddenly had a realization and asked, "...You haven't ridden in a car before, have you?"
Jin Yu was a supernatural being who couldn't even figure out computers.
He was also supernatural, so by the same logic, he might never have ridden in a car before, hence his slightly dazed behavior after getting in.
Xin Yunmao sat with a gloomy face, saying nothing.
Chu Zhishui immediately knew she had guessed correctly. She pulled the car over to the side of the road in surprise and asked again, "This is really your first time in a car?"
Xin Yunmao tried to maintain his icy demeanor, but was stung by the smile playing at her lips. He said irritably, "We never use this mode of transportation."
If she were to mock him, he would immediately open the door and get out.
Chu Zhishui noticed Xin Yunmao's poor attitude, but for once she didn't feel offended. Instead, she found it rather amusing.
He was so arrogant, yet he had never even ridden in a car.
In Chu Zhishui's mind, Xin Yunmao's image suddenly overlapped with that of a child from an impoverished mountain area. She didn't dwell on his prickly state, instead reaching into the glove compartment and taking out a metal box of mint candies. "Here's some mint candy. You can eat this if you feel dizzy."
Xin Yunmao was stunned.
"I don't know if supernatural beings get carsick, but it would be troublesome if you threw up in the car."
Chu Zhishui handed him the candy and restarted the vehicle. She left the car window half-open for ventilation and drove as smoothly as possible onto the main road.
Outside the window, light clouds and dense shadows flowed by. Driving on the straight highway in the suburbs felt exhilarating.
The gentle breeze flowed into the car, mingling with the scent of mint candy and the soft English songs playing. Bathed in sunlight, Xin Yunmao couldn't help but close his eyes. He secretly observed Chu Zhishui and found her concentrating on driving, not paying attention to the passenger seat.
He decided to rest against the car door.
A long while later, Chu Zhishui accurately arrived at the address on the form. She found a place to park and woke up the supernatural being in the passenger seat. She wasn't sure if he had actually been asleep, as he opened his eyes instantly when she spoke, looking completely alert.
"Human transportation is a bit boring," Xin Yunmao said as he got out of the car, still holding the box of mint candies. He lazily rotated the box, producing a series of rattling sounds from inside. "...Though not entirely uninteresting."
Chu Zhishui ignored his monologue, having already made contact with the local villagers. They were now in a suburban village, where Old Li's small hut stood alone in the fields, with mountains stretching out in the distance, seemingly rarely visited by people.
To be honest, before arriving, she had no idea what compensation she was supposed to verify. It wasn't until she saw the devastated vegetable patch, strewn with broken branches and leaves, that she felt a subtle sense of unease. The damp soil had been turned over haphazardly, and strange claw marks were left on the ruined crops, clearly indicating a fierce battle had taken place here.
"What happened here?"
"Oh my, I have no idea. Those people from your bureau said they needed to take care of something here that day, and when they left, it was like this," Old Li noticed Chu Zhishui's concerned expression and quickly added, "They promised compensation. You can't go back on your word, comrade!"
Chu Zhishui politely replied, "Of course, don't worry. We'll verify the situation here, and then we'll have you fill out some forms. We won't leave until everything is confirmed and in order."
"That's good, that's good. I had just sown the seeds, they hadn't even sprouted yet. What a shame!" Old Li looked at the ruined vegetable patch with regret, then hinted with a wink, "Comrade, they said it was wild animals causing trouble, but we don't have any animals around here... What were you really doing here?"
The strange scene inevitably made Old Li suspicious.
Chu Zhishui thought to herself that she had no idea either, but she still put on a reassuring smile and replied diplomatically, "It was indeed animals. Thank you for your cooperation."
Chu Zhishui and Xin Yunmao took photos and recorded the scene, calculating the total compensation. Old Li had to return to the village to fetch some farming tools and couldn't wait by the field the entire time, so they agreed to meet again in an hour for him to sign the papers.
After getting out of the car, Xin Yunmao didn't engage in conversation with Old Li. He followed behind Chu Zhishui with an air of indifference, looking completely idle.
Chu Zhishui hadn't expected him to do any work. Verifying compensation wasn't difficult, and if it weren't for the bureau's regulations and fear of routine inspections, she could have handled it alone.
The field had been dug up chaotically, and with the sudden downpour near the mountains, it was extremely muddy and difficult to walk through.
Seeing Xin Yunmao hesitate, Chu Zhishui said, "You can wait over there if you want. I'll just take a quick look and come right back."
It would be overkill for both of them to trudge through, and they'd get their shoes dirty.
Xin Yunmao was about to say he could easily cross over, but he saw that she had already walked away without looking back. Watching her trying to maintain balance at the edge of the field, he felt a peculiar emotion he couldn't quite describe. It was truly a novel experience for him, unlike anything he had encountered since his inception.
She seemed to be treating him like the fish in the office.
Xin Yunmao had occasionally witnessed Chu Zhishui's interactions with Jin Yu, where she treated the latter as if caring for a young child.
Chu Zhishui stepped over the uneven muddy ground and discovered a vegetable patch behind the small house, with two or three green bamboo stalks casting pale shadows beside it.
The area was far from the village, sparsely populated. On one side of the vegetable patch stood several dark trellises, with old wooden barrels placed underneath, nearly full of rainwater and fallen leaves.
The vegetable patch was equally messy. Chu Zhishui took photos to confirm the situation, then prepared to slowly walk back.
The ground was covered in patches of varying depth, unclear whether they were shadows cast by the trellises or puddles in the dark areas, making it difficult for her to find solid footing.
At that moment, the dark shadows on the ground suddenly began to twist, even bizarrely rising from the earth, surging towards her like waves.
She clearly felt a cold sensation on her ankle!
"Waaah!"
Not far away, Xin Yunmao was startled by the sound.
If Chu Zhishui's encounter in the hallway of the Observation Bureau could be dismissed as an illusion, now she was genuinely touching something slippery and cold, causing goosebumps all over her body. She tried to run away but was immediately tripped by the mud, losing control and falling to one side.
Behind her was a towering black wave, in front was the hard ridge of the field. She was likely to hit her head and bleed.
The bamboo leaves rustled softly in the wind.
In the next second, Xin Yunmao flashed to the edge of the field ridge. He caught Chu Zhishui as she was about to stumble and fall, steadying her with one hand: "What are you panicking about?"
Chu Zhishui witnessed the black shadow looming over Xin Yunmao's head, moving like a predatory giant python, arching its terrifying body high. She said with a trembling voice, "Behind you..."
Xin Yunmao turned his head, his eyes shining black. He lightly pinched his thumb and forefinger together. With a snap of his fingers, the all-encompassing black curtain was pierced from the center, instantly dissipating into a fine rain!
The misty rain fell softly, vanishing in an instant, settling into the damp soil.
He released Chu Zhishui and casually checked left and right, putting his hands in his pockets: "It's just residual demon energy, even a newly formed little demon could handle it."
"...Alright, alright, you've shown off." Chu Zhishui was still shaken, her voice a bit weak as she said with a headache, "But please understand that I'm not a demon, I'm a genuine human."
She had never encountered demon energy before!
Xin Yunmao saw her pale face and nervous state, and said with great interest: "Are you that scared? You seemed quite capable when you approached me before, but now you're speechless at the sight of demon energy."
He truly didn't understand. She wasn't afraid of demons, yet she feared demon energy.
"You don't understand at all!" Chu Zhishui argued stubbornly, "I'm not afraid of demon energy, I just don't like unknown, intangible things. For example, invisible ghosts, and things without a specific form..."
"Oh—" Xin Yunmao drawled, recalling how she had followed him downstairs before. He seemed to realize something and curled his lips, "So you chase after the good-looking ones and get scared of the ugly ones. Your likes and dislikes are indeed straightforward."
"..."
Chu Zhishui took a deep breath. His interruption had helped her calm down: "You've got it wrong. It's not about chasing after good-looking ones."
But Xin Yunmao didn't believe her. He crossed his arms and said, "Then why did you have the courage to follow me downstairs back then?"
She glanced at him sidelong and said flatly, "I'm simply not afraid of fools."
Xin Yunmao: "?"
