INHA Chapter 122

Xu Dongyou wasn’t quite sure what to make of his current relationship with Zhu Yuan. He continued to visit the villa every few days to cook for Zhu Yuan and sometimes chatted while strolling around the villa.

However, he no longer felt the joy he had during their last meeting. He was certain he hadn’t argued with Zhulong, so he tried to suppress his swirling thoughts and focused on doing his job well.

Time passed quickly and Xu Dongyou’s work began to get busy. Although the Anomaly Handling Bureau hadn’t launched any new products, he remained committed to his main and side careers, working hard to maintain his presence in the public eye.

Yet, he sensed a decline in the speed at which he was gaining strength, likely due to his frequent appearances without any new surprises for his audience.

When he visited Zhu Yuan, he brought this up.

Zhu Yuan promptly replied, “What you need is for humans to like and anticipate you. Perhaps your recent performances haven’t stirred strong emotions within them.”

Xu Dongyou pondered this. Zhu Yuan was right; it seemed imperative to release new songs and consider live streaming.

The first task was manageable, but the second posed a significant challenge for a well-known idol like Xu Dongyou. Even stepping outside attracted crowds, which could disrupt traffic and normal activities.

Moreover, he always remembered that his purpose for entering the entertainment industry, as suggested by the Anomaly Handling Bureau, was to better engage with this world and effectively handle his cases.

Thus, he considered the possibility of live streaming in this regard, though he wasn’t sure if colleagues who might trigger sinister events would agree to it.

If not, it wouldn’t matter; he could use facial obscuring.

Xu Dongyou then started writing several more songs, needing just two more for an official release. Sitting at home deep in thought, he noticed his parents were quietly tiptoeing around, trying not to disturb him.

For Xu Dongyou’s parents, even though he hadn’t spoken much with them lately, just seeing their child safe and sitting there brought them immense comfort.

They genuinely hoped Xu Dongyou wouldn’t have to take on dangerous tasks anymore, yet they felt powerless to stop their child, just as before.

About half a month later, under the peculiar atmosphere with Zhu Yuan, inspiration struck Xu Dongyou, leading him to write two outstanding songs that could rival his title track. However, he didn’t feel pleased; instead, he was filled with concern.

He even reached out to Tian Ze, saying, “I have a friend who was once close with another friend, and then…”

Xu Dongyou concealed some details and identities, only vaguely describing his—no, rather, this friend’s—predicament.

Tian Ze looked at Xu Dongyou with an understanding expression, not revealing that he already knew this “friend” was actually about Xu Dongyou himself. “It’s simple: these two like each other but one of them is thinking about pulling away for some reason. Your friend sensed this, which is why he’s acting this way.”

Mutual feelings?!

Xu Dongyou’s face turned bright red, and he stammered, “N-no, don’t say that.”

He and Zhu Yuan were both male; how could there possibly be mutual feelings? But then Xu Dongyou remembered something even more alarming: throughout his childhood, many boys and girls had confessed to him, but he had never felt a spark.

Until he met Zhu Yuan in human form, his reaction then was, in hindsight, very much like a love-at-first-sight response.

So did he really have feelings for Zhu Yuan?

And did Zhu Yuan feel the same way? Was that why he sought Xu Dongyou out immediately after breaking free, even giving him a dragon bone in a moment of confusion?

Could it be that Zhu Yuan had developed feelings for him even while he was still in chaos?

This series of realizations left Xu Dongyou dazed. Tian Ze patted his shoulder, wearing a knowing look. “Tell your friend to think it over. After all, it’s not easy to find someone you like who also likes you back.”

Xu Dongyou opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word, sitting there in a stupor for quite some time.

In the following days, he contacted Zhu Yuan, saying he would be busy with work for a while and wouldn’t be visiting, but he was available if anything came up.

Zhu Yuan responded coldly with a simple “mm.”

Looking at the message, Xu Dongyou felt a sharp pain in his heart, making it hard for him to breathe. He tried to ignore this feeling and forced himself to focus on his work.

Over the next three months, Xu Dongyou was busy with rehearsals, learning dances and songs, which eventually led to the release of his title track and those two heartfelt songs that quickly went viral, becoming highly popular.

When Zhu Yuan was online, he often stumbled across news and content related to Xu Dongyou. Sometimes, he found himself staring at Xu Dongyou’s photos for a long time, and other times, he would unintentionally click on links to listen to several of his songs.

As Zhu Yuan read the fervent confessions online, his mood grew even more gloomy and irritable. He had managed to contain his craziness but these comments made him feel an overwhelming urge to vent his frustrations.

He quickly forced himself to calm down, his expression becoming complicated.

It seemed that Xu Dongyou’s importance in his heart hadn’t diminished despite their deliberate coldness and separation; in fact, he missed him even more.

Meanwhile, Xu Dongyou was in a neighboring province filming a program. The host treated him very kindly, unlike past episodes where guests were playfully bullied for the sake of entertainment.

However, for Xu Dongyou, who was not only the hottest idol singer but also held the revered title of the 9th Squad’s captain, the atmosphere was different.

Yes.

Even ordinary people were aware of this. When other team members, who were also streamers, answered questions in the comments about what Xu Dongyou had been up to, they casually mentioned, “Oh, he recently completed several missions and got promoted to captain of the 9th Squad. He must be really busy.”

They further added, “Don’t underestimate being a squad captain; only the most outstanding people can hold that position. He could even become a major captain in the future—super impressive!”

Xu Dongyou’s fans felt a great sense of pride. Wanting to shield him from negative influences, they exhibited excellent fan behavior, refraining from infighting and arguing, and instead supporting all of Xu Dongyou’s activities.

Next, Xu Dongyou finally had some time to rest. He decided to go home and spend time with his parents. As for Zhu Yuan, he still didn’t visit, choosing instead to give himself some time to cool off.

However, this period of calm didn’t last long. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, leading everyone to believe there was an earthquake and people rushed out of their homes.

Xu Dongyou, along with his parents, also ran outside. As a member of the anomaly handling bureau, he reassured his parents before immediately helping others maintain order and using his abilities to create a path for everyone.

As the earth continued to tremble, the sky began to darken, and clouds seemed to form a terrifying face. Those who noticed it screamed in panic because that face appeared to be no coincidence; it looked alive, its eyes swiveling to fixate on the people below, revealing an eerie and sinister expression.

“Must be a resentful spirit!” someone shouted in fear. “Call the police and get the handlers to deal with this resentful spirit!”

Others speculated it might not be a resentful spirit but rather a creature’s ability. Regardless, the face in the sky terrified the people of Fengnian City and this incident quickly trended online. The Anomaly Handling Bureau was promptly informed and dispatched handlers who were not currently on missions to investigate.

This situation was different from past occurrences; previous resentful spirits were fixed in one location and could be handled by just two handlers. Now, this spirit couldn’t have just randomly formed in the sky, could it?

The scope of the investigation had to be broad. The authorities even released information seeking anyone who had seen or known about the current resentful spirit incident.

Unfortunately, the clues provided seemed unrelated to the cloud spirit. Xu Dongyou, unable to investigate on the streets due to his current identity, chose to stay in a vehicle and carefully sense the spirit’s power from various locations nearby.

Four hours passed quickly.

The face in the sky grew increasingly lifelike as if it could emerge from the clouds at any moment. People had stopped staring at the sky; some even tried to drive out of the city, only to find that all exits from Fengnian City were closed. Those who had seen the face in the sky were likely the ones who triggered the spirit event.

This increased the anxiety and panic among ordinary people, but the presence of handlers working diligently around them gradually eased their fears. Everyone was hopeful that the handlers would resolve the sky spirit issue soon.

Xu Dongyou had circled the entire city for five hours, yet found nothing.

Could this thing really be forming in the sky?

The problem was, how had this spirit been triggered? Remembering the previous spirit that had emerged after someone died unexpectedly on the road, Xu Dongyou couldn’t help but connect this to information and professions related to the sky.

He quickly asked the Anomaly Handling Bureau to check for recent deaths of passengers on planes or any other incidents involving people.

Following Xu Dongyou’s suggestion, the bureau promptly began their investigation. They even sought professionals skilled in creating facial sketches based on descriptions to simulate the face in the sky. Soon, they produced a realistic drawing of the spirit’s face.

The spirit appeared to be around thirty, with a somewhat handsome appearance.

Meanwhile, the bureau compared a list of individuals who had passed through Fengnian City in the past year, as well as those who had died from medical issues while flying, against the spirit’s likeness.

And they actually found someone—a thirty-year-old who had died suddenly from a health condition—who looked exactly like the spirit!

---