NHWSG chapter 37

The lead in Suzhou was almost cut off. Sheng Zhao was worried about Xing Yingzhu, but it seemed Xing Yingzhu was carefree, as if he didn’t know the word “worry”. He went back to rest comfortably and even got up early the next day, taking Sheng Zhao to eat a bowl of crab roe noodles priced at 208 yuan.

Sheng Zhao swore that if Xing Yingzhu hadn’t promised to treat, he would have run away the moment he saw the price list.

“To be honest, boss, you don’t go to work all day, so where do you make so much money?” Sheng Zhao asked while stirring his noodles, “Is Zhang Jian’s family paying you a high salary?”

Xing Yingzhu, a cold-blooded reptile, wasn’t interested in human starchy food. He just ordered a pot of cold tea and lazily rested his head on his hand, browsing something on his phone.

He lazily raised his eyelids at the question and said, “Rent.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

He had forgotten that Xing Yingzhu was a hidden capitalist.

So, while Xiong Xiangsong and others worked hard every day, Xing Yingzhu reaped the benefits. It was really heartbreaking for those who knew.

“Eat up,” Xing Yingzhu urged, “Finish up and let’s go.”

“Watch your words, boss,” Sheng Zhao couldn’t help but roll his eyes, jokingly saying, “You make it sound like you’re fattening me up to eat me.”

Xing Yingzhu raised an eyebrow, placed his phone face down on the table, and was about to speak when he saw Sheng Zhao blurting out his lines first.

“With this little meat, I’m not even enough to get stuck in your teeth—” Sheng Zhao blinked and said, “Right, I know.”

Sheng Zhao seemed to have inflated a bit after finishing the noodles. Not only did he snatch the lines, but he even took a bite of noodles afterward, as if he could proudly wear the words “I predicted your actions” on his face.

Xing Yingzhu couldn’t be bothered to argue with him, so he just curled his lips and remained silent.

After finishing breakfast, Sheng Zhao felt so full that walking was difficult. He dragged Xing Yingzhu’s clothes and followed him out of the shop, feeling as if he was going to be fattened up and eaten.

“Boss—” Sheng Zhao burped, trying to settle his roiling stomach before asking, “Where are we going now? Back home?”

Xing Yingzhu glanced at him, originally wanting to joke about how he wasn’t too reserved, but then decided against it.

“To Shanghai, to find Zhang Jian,” Xing Yingzhu said, “And to take back the chain from him.”

It was funny that over these days, Sheng Zhao’s worldview had been turned upside down in a night, as if someone had fast-forwarded his life eight times. He followed Xing Yingzhu here and there, but he was still confused and often forgot what he was saying.

Now that Xing Yingzhu mentioned it, he suddenly remembered that just a twenty-minute drive away in Shanghai, things were still in full swing.

Thinking of this, Sheng Zhao subconsciously glanced upward.

It was early in the morning, with clear skies and the sun shining brightly outside.

Looking at this scene, he found it hard to imagine that just a city away, according to the videos of flooded streets on his phone, the situation was completely different.

For some reason, he felt a strange and inexplicable melancholy rise in his heart. Perhaps it was because of sympathy or perhaps some other unknown emotion.

“Boss,” Sheng Zhao suddenly asked, “Do you guys see humans as very insignificant and inferior beings?”

“How so?” Xing Yingzhu casually replied, “Have you come to discuss philosophical questions with me on a full stomach?”

“No—” Sheng Zhao hesitated for a moment, seeming unsure how to proceed.

Xing Yingzhu had almost gotten used to his endless questioning. Suddenly, he noticed Sheng Zhao stopped asking, which felt a bit unusual.

He tapped his ankle impatiently, “Spit it out.”

“I was just suddenly thinking, that guy from last night could cause an earthquake with a casual movement, and that… whatever in Shanghai could cause a storm with a flip,” Sheng Zhao said, “You say that demons shouldn’t disturb human life, but they have and haven’t been struck by lightning.”

Xing Yingzhu paused in his steps.

Sheng Zhao muttered to himself with his head down, not noticing Xing Yingzhu’s abrupt halt, and accidentally bumped his forehead into his back.

Sheng Zhao hissed in pain, instinctively holding his forehead. He thought, what material is his boss made of, it hurts so much.

He rubbed his face with a pained expression, about to complain, but was caught off guard as he collided with Xing Yingzhu’s gaze.

Then, he suddenly froze.

It was a very indifferent gaze, his reflection clearly visible in Xing Yingzhu’s beautiful dark eyes, yet the gaze was both cold and distant, making Sheng Zhao shiver.

In that moment, he finally felt the oppressive feeling from Xing Yingzhu, something he had not felt from a non-human in a long time.

Instinctively sensing danger, every pore on Sheng Zhao’s body seemed to open up, feeling a sudden chill down his spine, he unconsciously stepped back.

Such an obvious evasive action couldn’t escape Xing Yingzhu’s eyes. Seeing this, Xing Yingzhu’s  gaze darkened slightly, and he couldn’t help but curve his lips, revealing a very obvious smirk.

It was at that moment that Sheng Zhao suddenly realized, Xing Yingzhu had always been extremely restrained when talking to him — though it seemed like a similar smile, at this moment, Sheng Zhao couldn’t find any warmth in it from his face.

So he never really gets angry with me, Sheng Zhao suddenly thought.

No wonder Xiong Xiangsong and the others are so afraid of him — this was Sheng Zhao’s second thought.

“First, don’t be too arrogant. The human race may inhabit this land, but it doesn’t belong to you. Before your appearance, the ones you referred to as ‘they’ were the rightful inhabitants,” Xing Yingzhu intentionally emphasized the word ‘you,’ saying with a smirk, “Secondly, according to the rules, ‘we’ cannot harm you. But if some people just love to get struck by lightning, I can’t do anything about it, understand?”

Sheng Zhao was scared by him, subconsciously nodded along with his words, indicating he understood.

“Third,” Xing Yingzhu looked him over, saying, “Since you’re afraid of me, then leave. It just so happens that the building back home also needs someone to watch over it. You don’t have to follow me anymore.”

Xing Yingzhu didn’t seem to have any intention of discussing this with him, it was more of a routine notification.

Before Sheng Zhao could react, he saw Xing Yingzhu had already turned around and started walking away briskly!

As he left, Sheng Zhao’s feeling of being targeted by a dangerous creature instantly diminished a lot. He stood still in a daze, staring at Xing Yingzhu’s retreating figure for a while, before suddenly realizing a problem.

—Xing Yingzhu was angry.

This was different from every other time before, his boss was clearly serious this time, so much so that he didn’t even bother to be disdainful, but directly drew a boundary between them.

From frugality to extravagance is easy, but from extravagance to frugality is hard. Initially, Sheng Zhao just felt uncomfortable witnessing Xing Yingzhu’s indifferent attitude towards Zhang Jian, let alone now when he himself was also excluded by him.

What’s going on, Sheng Zhao wondered blankly, what did I say that made him angry?

Even though he had asked stupid questions before, Xing Yingzhu had always mocked him, but he had never been angry. Why is he so capricious today?

He just stood there for a moment, and Xing Yingzhu’s figure had already gone far away, seemingly about to disappear into the crowd.

Sheng Zhao’s heart started to beat rapidly subconsciously. Almost without hesitation, he simply discarded the option of “going home to watch over the building” and chased after Xing Yingzhu.

In fact, he himself didn’t understand. Following Xing Yingzhu around was obviously much more dangerous than staying in the building, and even this boss himself was like a combustible material that could explode at any moment. As an ordinary human graduate, it seemed much safer to retreat.

But for some reason, Sheng Zhao just felt extremely unacceptable the moment he thought about parting ways with Xing Yingzhu.

The street they were on wasn’t exactly bustling, but there were still quite a few pedestrians. Although Xing Yingzhu walked fast with his long legs, he was still moving at an ordinary human speed. Sheng Zhao ran after him, finally catching up.

“Boss, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Sheng Zhao gasped and intercepted him, panting heavily, “You’re an adult, don’t stoop to my level, I won’t say anything next time.”

Xing Yingzhu ignored him and continued walking.

Sheng Zhao felt miserable. He thought, Xing Yingzhu’s temper is really hard to bear, one moment bad, the next moment good. Who knows what he’s thinking.

He took a few deep breaths, about to chase after him with renewed effort, when suddenly something occurred to him.

—Xing Yingzhu doesn’t seem to be angry because of his questions, Sheng Zhao realized.

In a flash, he recalled Xing Yingzhu’s peculiar tone and words just now, and his heart sank.

“Oh no,” Sheng Zhao muttered to himself.

Indeed, he had said the wrong thing.

It wasn’t that Xing Yingzhu was angry and wanted to distance himself from him, but that he himself had subconsciously divided Xing Yingzhu and himself into “you” and “us”.

Even he himself hadn’t realized it; he had already harbored biases in his heart, and Xing Yingzhu just keenly brought those biases to light.

With this realization, Sheng Zhao almost wanted to slap himself.

Xing Yingzhu hadn’t been consorting with those creatures, he followed the rules, even knew to pay for takeout, yet with just one sentence from Sheng Zhao, he was rudely labeled as “you guys” — even if it was someone as petty as Xing Yingzhu, Sheng Zhao himself, in the same situation, would probably feel aggrieved.

Moreover, what nonsense had he asked? If Xing Yingzhu really regarded him as a worthless ant, why bother saving his life in Shanghai first, then taking him everywhere, treating him to meals, and even going out of his way to save face for him in front of others?

Xing Yingzhu treated him as one of his own, while he treated him as a monster — no matter how one looked at it, it didn’t hold up.

Sheng Zhao couldn’t help but grind his teeth, feeling a pang of guilt.

“Boss—”

Regretting deeply, Sheng Zhao reflected on himself, then, within a short thirty seconds, he made amends. Like a highway robber, he spread his arms wide and caught up to Xing Yingzhu, standing in his way.

“I said the wrong thing, I’m sorry for hurting your feelings!” Sheng Zhao earnestly apologized, “I truly realize my mistake, I apologize to you.”

Xing Yingzhu furrowed his brows, ignoring him.

“Move aside,” Xing Yingzhu said.

“I won’t!” Sheng Zhao, not knowing where he found the courage, suddenly stood tall, full of confidence, and somewhat unreasonably said, “I won’t let you pass! Since you haven’t flown away or disappeared and I managed to catch up to you, you must be waiting for me to appease you!”

Xing Yingzhu: “…”