INSIDER Chapter 159

Yuan Jie and Luo Qi ran to the guest room.

The guest room was spacious, furnished with a 1.8-meter double bed, which was more than enough for Yuan Kejie and the petite Luo Qi.

The two of them rushed to the bed as soon as they entered the room, grabbing pillows and rolling around.

Yuan Kejie said, “This feels great! Time to sleep!”

Even though they might not actually fall asleep, at least they could rest for a while and recharge.

At eight o’clock, Lu Chu knocked on the guest room door to wake them up. He had already prepared new toiletries for them so they could freshen up before heading out.

The “waking up” part turned out to be unnecessary because when Lu Chu entered the room after knocking, Yuan Kejie was staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought, while Luo Qi was sitting nearby, also in a daze, staring at the patterns on the bedsheets.

Lu Chu was speechless for a moment before he commented, “Your way of resting is indeed… unique.”

Yuan Kejie snapped out of her daze, looked at Lu Chu with empty eyes, and chuckled foolishly, “Hehe, no need to praise us, just a little bit is enough.”

“Let’s go then,” Lu Chu said, “The car is ready.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Qi swiftly got off the bed.

Yuan Kejie stretched lazily, “Let’s go! By the way, do we get paid for this?”

“If you do the work, you’ll get paid, of course,” Lu Chu laughed, “I’m not an exploitative boss.”

Yuan Kejie gave a thumbs-up, “Perfect! How much?”

“How much do you want?”

Yuan Kejie pretended to ponder before holding up five fingers, “At least five bucks. Any less and I’ll go on strike!”

“Deal.”

——————

They took car number 7 to the pet store.

Number 7 was driving, Lu Chu sat in the passenger seat, and Luo Qi and Yuan Kejie sat in the back, with the dog Carrot between them.

For some time now, Number 7 had been driving Lu Chu to work before heading to his own company, because Lu Chu hadn’t yet gotten his driver’s license in the real world. He hadn’t gotten one in his original world either, since no one would let a blind person learn to drive.

But he was close to getting it; he had enrolled in driving school a few days ago and had already passed the second part of the test. The third part was in a few days, and soon he would have his license.

Lu Chu explained this to Yuan Kejie, who patted his shoulder from the back seat, “You got this, seasoned driver, you’re confident.”

Luo Qi asked, “Have you ever lost confidence before?”

“Ah, it’s a painful memory,” Yuan Kejie sighed, looking mournful as she petted Carrot’s head, “I failed the second part twice, and I still haven’t passed the third part.”

Lu Chu was speechless.

Luo Qi said, “You’re the legendary female driver.”

“But I’m a great driver now!” Yuan Kejie defended herself, “Once, during an apocalypse scenario, I had to drive to escape from people wielding giant hammers who were hunting me. I perfected my drifting skills then. If I took the test now, I’d scare the safety officer in the passenger seat!”

After she finished, Luo Qi petted Carrot and asked, “Do you believe her?”

Carrot barked twice.

Luo Qi looked at Yuan Kejie, “Even Carrot doesn’t believe you.”

Yuan Kejie was deflated, “Fine, I should probably start over.”

As they joked around, they arrived at the pet store.

The store was already open, with an employee who greeted Lu Chu loudly, “Good morning, boss!”

Then he bent down to greet Carrot, “Good morning, Lord Dog! Ready for another day of work?”

“Good morning,” Lu Chu replied, then introduced Yuan Kejie and Luo Qi, “These are my friends who will be helping out today.”

He then turned to Yuan Kejie and Luo Qi, “This is Xiao Zhao. Two more employees will be here soon, one is a vet named Xiao Li, and the other is a girl named Ranan.”

Yuan Kejie laughed, “Lu Xiao Chu, you sound like you’re giving final instructions!”

Lu Chu was speechless.

Carrot barked twice at Yuan Kejie, who quickly waved her hands, “I’m sorry, Lord Dog!”

Shortly after, the other two employees arrived.

The pet store was quite leisurely, especially on weekdays because most pet owners were working. There were quite a few children, but they too had school on weekdays.

So, the pet store was busier on weekends.

Today was no exception, with few customers. While Luo Qi played with Carrot at the store’s entrance, they attracted a lot of passersby.

Around noon, the doorbell rang, and a customer walked in.

Yuan Kejie was the first to greet them with a fake sales smile, “Hello, welcome to ‘Carrot’ Pet Store. How can I help you?”

The customer seemed unwell, with a faint, hoarse voice, “No… nothing, just looking around…”

Yuan Kejie’s smile grew even warmer, “It’s okay, just looking around is fine. I can give you a tour, after all, you are our esteemed guest!”

Her smile was as warm as spring, her attitude as fiery as magma.

In short, it was overly enthusiastic.

Luo Qi, feeling it was too much, was about to take Carrot elsewhere when she noticed Carrot suddenly stand up from his sitting position, looking very alertly at the woman who had just entered.

Immediately, Luo Qi also became wary, carefully observing the woman.

Yuan Kejie, noticing this, kept her smile but subtly reached into her pocket to call Lu Chu.

At that moment, Lu Chu was in the back room helping Xiao Li bathe a Samoyed that had just been dropped off by its owner.

His phone rang, and seeing Yuan Kejie’s name, he handed the task to Xiao Li and quickly went outside.

The back room was connected to the front, and any loud noise could be heard. Since Yuan Kejie chose to call, it indicated something was up, a way to alert him.

Sure enough, when Lu Chu returned to the front, he saw a woman in her thirties at the entrance, looking pale and haggard, with heavy dark circles and sagging eye bags. She looked soulless and lifeless.

However, what concerned Lu Chu most was not her worn-out appearance but the dense black aura extending from her abdomen, almost tangible.

That dark aura was much stronger than when he saw her yesterday.

Yes, she was the same woman he saw yesterday. After their brief encounter, she must have done something that night, intensifying the ominous aura around her.

While Lu Chu recognized her, she obviously didn’t remember him. Their brief encounter had been completely forgotten in her dazed state.

With this in mind, Lu Chu smiled warmly, “Hello, I’m the owner of this pet store. How can I assist you?”

The woman averted her eyes briefly before hoarsely asking, “Do you… do you have any… black cats?”