Chapter 158

Chapter 158

◎Midnight Call◎

Chi Xingyao works in the gaming industry, specifically in the art team. Her team is currently developing a game, and the selection for funding is next week.

Their company is divided into Group One and Group Two, each specializing in different areas of gaming. However, the investment budget is limited, so to secure financial support, they need to demonstrate the game's profitability to the company.

Recently, not just her, but the entire team has been working overtime. Artists like her have been pushing themselves to the limit, to the point where they can fall asleep standing up.

So, Chi Xingyao didn’t pay much attention to the hazy phone call she received in the middle of the night. She checked her call log—the last one was a food delivery call at noon yesterday. She figured it was just a dream.

With a pile of work to do, she didn’t have the mental energy to dwell on such trivial matters. Soon, she was back in meetings with her colleagues, constantly revising and perfecting various details.

After finally finishing a round of work, Chi Xingyao stretched and checked the time—it was already 2 PM. She rubbed her growling stomach and said, "I’m so hungry."

Her colleague sitting next to her suggested, "Order some food. The cafeteria probably doesn’t have much left at this hour."

Chi Xingyao agreed and picked up her phone to order, but then she saw a call from her boyfriend. She quickly told her colleague, "Can you order for me? I need to take this call."

She dashed to the break room and answered the phone. On the other end, her boyfriend’s voice carried a hint of reproach: "It’s been eleven days since we last saw each other, Yao Yao. People who know we’re in the same city would think we’re doing long-distance. Even long-distance couples manage to meet once a week."

Chi Xingyao chuckled and cooed, "I’ve just been swamped, you know? Next week is the selection for funding. If our game loses the investment, it’ll be demoted to a B-level project. It’ll get better after this period, I promise. Don’t be upset, okay? I’ll make it up to you once I’m done."

Her boyfriend was still unhappy: "How long will that be? You’re always busy. Can’t I just come and keep you company?"

Chi Xingyao replied, "But I get home at 11 PM. Even if you come, there’s hardly any time. Let’s wait until I’m less busy, okay?"

There was silence on the other end—he was clearly upset.

Chi Xingyao knew she was being unreasonable. What kind of relationship goes ten or fifteen days without meeting? But she was genuinely swamped and couldn’t spare the time. Even if her boyfriend came over, she’d be so wiped out after work that she’d just crash. She wouldn’t even feel like talking.

If her boyfriend were there, she’d have to talk to him, but she was just too tired. Even if they just slept without talking, she’d been sleeping alone her whole life, and having someone else there would disrupt her sleep quality.

But she couldn’t keep brushing off her boyfriend. In a relationship, everyone wants to stay connected. She kept saying she was busy, and while it was true, it probably made her seem neglectful.

Chi Xingyao offered, "How about I get you a game skin?"

Her boyfriend scoffed, "I told you last week my computer broke and I took it in for repairs. You totally forgot. What good is a game skin if I don’t have a computer to play it on?"

Chi Xingyao then recalled her boyfriend mentioning this and realized she’d forgotten. She asked, "It’s been that long and your computer still isn’t fixed?"

Her boyfriend replied, "It’s a dinosaur. Even if it’s repaired, it’s still a piece of junk. I sold it a couple of days ago and I’m looking at new configurations to buy a new one."

Chi Xingyao said, "Then I’ll buy you a 4090! Don’t be upset. I’ll come see you once I’m done."

Her boyfriend’s tone softened a bit: "A 4090? Really? That’s not cheap."

Chi Xingyao assured him, "Yes, yes, I’ll order it right now and have it sent express. It’ll be here tomorrow. Once you’ve set up your new computer, you can play some games to pass the time. I’ll be done in a few days."

Her boyfriend gave in, "Alright, but you have to come see me as soon as you’re done, or I’ll come to your company!"

Chi Xingyao repeatedly promised she’d spend time with him once she was free, finally calming him down. After hanging up, she felt like her energy bar had been drained again.

Her colleague, who had already ordered the food, was brewing some fruit tea nearby. Seeing Chi Xingyao heave a sigh of relief, she chuckled, "Your boyfriend seems really clingy."

Chi Xingyao sighed, "Can’t blame him, though. Going ten or fifteen days without meeting—anyone would have complaints in this kind of relationship."

Her colleague finished brewing the tea and noticed Chi Xingyao preparing to make coffee. She leaned against the counter and waited, asking, "Do you really like him? When you like someone, no matter how busy you are, you’ll find moments to miss and care for them. You seem totally indifferent when you’re busy. Earlier, when we talked about dates, others would start getting excited and dress up in the morning, but you just felt tired and wanted to go home and sleep. Do you really like him?"

Chi Xingyao stirred her coffee, feeling somewhat adrift. "I do like him, it's just that I've been alone for so long, it takes time to adjust to sharing life with someone else. Sometimes I really enjoy being alone, but other times I think it's nice to have someone around. I can’t just ditch him when I crave freedom and then call him up when I need company. Relationships need time to settle in."

Her colleague chuckled. "Alright, you take your time to adjust. But as someone who's been through it, I'll give you a piece of advice: if you feel tired, don't compromise just for the sake of temporary companionship. We women don’t actually need men that much."

Chi Xingyao sipped the bitter coffee without saying much, just smiling at her colleague.

She didn’t rely on men much; her physical needs were practically nonexistent. But she did need emotional companionship.

Chi Xingyao was raised by her grandmother. Her parents passed away when she was very young. Since she took her mother's surname, her paternal grandparents showed little affection for her. To them, she was even less than a stranger.

At least they were courteous to strangers, but they demeaned and pressured her, simply because, after her parents passed away, she lived with her grandparents, her cousin grabbed her toys, and her grandparents helped him, saying she was too stingy with her toys, clearly not part of the family, not close at all.

She was only five or six years old then, and the toy was something her father had bought for her, a memento of sorts, but it was taken away.

She cried and called her grandmother, who came over that night to take her away. From then on, ties with her paternal grandparents’ side were practically cut.

Her grandmother had been a young lady from a well-to-do family. At their peak, they were known as "Half the City of Chi." Even after the upheaval, their family held onto a large piece of land. By her grandmother’s time, they lived more comfortably than most just on rental income.

Her mother had no head for business and was raised with a carefree, artistic, and romantic spirit. While studying abroad, she met her father, and they fell head over heels in love. They were very affectionate, and though they had no drive for business, their family could afford it. After marrying and having her, they didn’t mind her taking her mother’s surname.

Her father figured their family had two sons and a daughter, so succession wasn’t a concern. But her mother was an only child, and having a daughter take her surname was important. Moreover, her father thought the surname Chi sounded nice; his surname was Zhang, which he thought was too ordinary.

Chi Xingyao, Zhang Xingyao—totally different vibes.

Her parents died young, and she grew up leaning entirely on her grandmother. Their family owned several private homes and large storefronts, some torn down, some still standing, all now in her name.

Her grandmother never worked a day in her life, having several nannies from birth. She traveled extensively when young, but as she aged and couldn't travel as much, she devoted all her time to being with her at home.

As long as she was at home, whether doing homework, painting, or even lying in the yard daydreaming in the breeze, her grandmother was always by her side. No matter the big or small things, her grandmother always praised and supported her, never dampening her spirits or negating any of her decisions.

Her spiritual needs were well met, but this was contingent on her grandmother's presence. When her grandmother was gone, and she was left alone, she couldn't bear it.

When busy with work, it was fine; she didn't have time to think too much or feel too lonely. But once idle, she longed for someone to be with her, even if they didn't speak, even if they did their own things, just having someone there was enough.

But as she told her colleague, one can't have it all. You can't have the companionship of a relationship and the freedom of being single; you have to find a balance.

Her boyfriend was two years younger, having just finished his master's degree and planning to enter the workforce to get a feel before deciding whether to pursue a Ph.D. So, he had plenty of time now, and it was normal for him to complain about her not spending time with him.

If she could offer some financial compensation, she would; after all, she wasn't short of money.

When her father married her mother, their living expenses were covered by her mother because they were both romantic souls. To paint lions, they could live on the African savannah for half a year. They loved chasing sunrises, auroras, and all the beauty nature bestowed.

Her mother didn't care about expenses, and her father didn't care about public opinion, whether they called him a live-in son-in-law or accused him of living off her mother's wealth, even suggesting he was only with her for the money.

But Chi Xingyao knew that wasn't the case; they were simply in love. It was just that her mother had the means and didn't mind sharing with her father, so they ignored the outside noise and enjoyed their lives.

This also led Chi Xingyao to not think it was shameful for a man to spend a woman's money. If she could buy the companionship she desired at any time, she was willing to pay for it.

After ordering what her boyfriend wanted, Chi Xingyao sent him a screenshot of the order. Seeing him reply with several cute emojis, she breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed he was appeased.

Just a few more days of hard work, and once the internal competition was over and the development priorities for the next quarter were set, they could relax.

Another busy day ended, and today she finished early, getting home just after nine.

Chi Xingyao ordered herself some takeout, took a shower, and by the time she was done, the food had arrived.

The apartment she lived in now was bought just two years ago, very close to the company, just two subway stops away, or a ten-minute bike ride if she didn't feel like taking the subway. The 120-square-meter apartment originally had three bedrooms and two living rooms, but she had it remodeled into a large living room and a single large room.

The living room also served as her office, designed like a study. The bedroom had a small balcony filled with plants, giving it a very lively atmosphere.

When she wasn't feeling low and her spirits were high, she quite enjoyed her alone time, eating her favorite food, taking a bath while listening to music, and then sleeping comfortably.

Just as she was halfway to comfort, Chi Xingyao was awakened by a phone call. Dazed, she heard the ringtone and was a bit surprised because she usually kept her phone on vibrate, as she was almost inseparable from it.

But she didn’t dwell on it, fumbled to pick up the call, and said "hello" several times, but there was still no sound from the other end, just static and noises like a rustling plastic bag.

Chi Xingyao tutted, hung up the phone, but this time she didn’t go back to sleep immediately. Instead, she turned on the bedside lamp and sat up, determined to find out who was behind these harassing calls.

Unlocking her phone and checking the call log, the last call she answered was from the food delivery guy around ten o'clock. No matter how many times she refreshed, there was no record of the call she just answered.

At that moment, Chi Xingyao felt a shiver run down her spine. She instinctively wrapped herself tighter in her small blanket, breaking out in a cold sweat, and even felt as if a pair of eyes were watching her.

She jumped out of bed, turned on all the lights in the house, checked the bathroom and kitchen to make sure no one was hiding, closed all the curtains, turned on her computer, played a random TV show, and then sat on the sofa hugging a pillow, vigilantly scanning her surroundings.

Except for that unrecorded call, everything in the house seemed normal, and nothing strange had happened. But she had definitely answered a call, so why didn’t the person on the other end speak, and why was there no record on her phone? Who was pulling this scary prank in the middle of the night?

She stayed awake until dawn, and Chi Xingyao left the house before it was even time to go to work. She only felt a bit safer once she reached the bustling streets. She sat in a breakfast shop until almost nine o'clock before heading to the company.

At noon, she didn’t eat at the company but went out to buy a new phone. She specifically inquired about the phone's built-in anti-harassment call feature, which could filter out abnormal numbers once set up.

But even then, she wasn’t at ease. Last night's incident had truly frightened her, especially since the middle of the night is such a sensitive and vulnerable time.

When she got home, Chi Xingyao logged into WeChat on her tablet, so that if any colleagues needed to contact her for work, they could still reach her. Then she turned off both phones.

She put the old phone in a drawer and placed the new one by the bed.

When the new phone by the bed rang at the same time again, Chi Xingyao went from slightly scared to deeply terrified.

She was positive she had turned off the phone, yet now it rang. Looking at the lit-up incoming call screen, she felt that things had become incredibly frightening.

In the indoor water world, many attractive men and women strolled around in revealing swimsuits.

Chen Shiyi, lying on the beach chair next to Ji Nanxing, occasionally lowered his sunglasses to catch a glimpse of particularly eye-catching individuals before putting them back on and lying down again.

Ji Nanxing, sitting beside him, was playing a mobile game but couldn’t help noticing Chen’s exaggerated movements: "Why are you wearing sunglasses in an indoor water park? There’s no sun here."

Chen Shiyi chuckled, "Isn’t it a bit sleazy to openly ogle handsome guys and beautiful girls? I’m a pure high school boy."

Ji Nanxing laughed, "Pure high school boy? You can’t even go into the water but came here just to check out people?"

Chen Shiyi swung his feet, showing off a dimple on one cheek, and sighed, "I’m either locked up at home doing homework or watching videos from craft bloggers. I feel like this national treasure is wilting. I needed to come out and change the scenery and mood. It’s good that Nanxing is here; since I can’t go into the water, you came to sit with me."

Ji Nanxing laughed again. As the game ended, he put down his phone, "I just ate too much and needed to sit and digest. Since we’re here, how could I not go into the water?"

With that, he placed his phone next to Chen Shiyi, removed the towel covering his legs, and walked towards the pool.

Looking at his long, fair legs, Chen Shiyi swallowed hard, truly appreciating the view.

Jiang Tangtang, who was fooling around with Xiao Xiao, hugged her and exclaimed, "Those killer legs of the academic god, can our wild brother resist?"

Lin Yi followed her gaze and turned to see Ji Nanxing walking towards them. Water droplets splashed onto him from the people playing nearby, dripping from his hair, sliding down his cheeks, and disappearing into his clothes, causing her to blush slightly.

Jiang Tangtang was still lamenting, "Why is the creation of humans so unfair?"

Ji Nanxing, who had walked over, asked, "What’s unfair?"

Jiang Tangtang replied, "Why did the academic god come over? Wanna play ball?"

They had all experienced supernatural events together. Although Ji Nanxing hadn’t explicitly told them, they more or less knew that his sick leaves were for dealing with supernatural events. Despite his seemingly frail appearance, he wasn’t as weak as they had thought.

It’s partly because of preconceived notions, and partly because Ji Nanxing is quite slender, making it hard for them not to feel protective. They’re even afraid their loud voices might startle him.

Ji Nanxing smiled and said, "Of course, I came here to have fun."

Jiang Tangtang quickly raised her hand, "Me! I want to team up with the academic god!"

Xiao Xiao, spinning the water volleyball, looked at Lin Yi, "Come on, let’s team up and crush them."

When Xiao Ye, carrying a pile of coconuts, and Zhang Yuan, with a bunch of snacks, arrived, they saw only Chen Shiyi alone and quickly looked around, "Where's Ji Nanxing?"

Chen Shiyi lifted his chin, gesturing forward, "Over there, playing ball."

Xiao Ye turned his head and saw Ji Nanxing just jumping up from the water that only reached his calves, raising his hand to hit the ball back. The leap and swing pulled up his soaked shirt, revealing a glimpse of his slender waist—a flash of white—before the view vanished.

Zhang Yuan exclaimed, "Why’s your little desk mate actually moving today?"

This was the first time he had seen Ji Nanxing get up and move around; usually, he wouldn’t budge if he could help it.

Xiao Ye was already staring straight. He was used to seeing Ji Naonao still, but seeing him in motion was a rare treat, like a limited-edition sighting.

Zhang Yuan pushed him, "Wipe your drool. Look how many people are eyeing him, and you’re just standing there like a fool."

Xiao Ye subconsciously wiped the corner of his mouth, realizing he was being teased, glared at Zhang Yuan, then looked around. People not playing were watching from a distance, while those playing kept glancing at his little desk mate. Some were even secretly taking photos.

Xiao Ye felt a surge of irritation, put the coconuts on the beach chair, and directly took off his colorful beach shirt and went into the water.

Zhang Yuan called out to him, "What are you doing? Going to drag him back?"

Xiao Ye casually scooped a handful of water from the pool and splashed it on him, "Drag him back? No, he’s finally moving, so I’m joining him."

After saying that, Xiao Ye ran towards Ji Naonao with great joy.

Zhang Yuan chuckled, "A peacock showing off, a dog protecting its meal."

Chen Shiyi put on his sunglasses again and lay on the lounge chair, "Comfortable, easy on the eyes—I love summer."

As soon as Xiao Ye arrived, he took Jiang Tangtang's spot, "Come on, let's have a men vs. women match."

Jiang Tangtang protested, "Isn’t that unfair? Who can take you on?"

Xiao Ye pushed her over, "Three against two—sounds fair, right?"

No one’s falling for that trick. Jiang Tangtang rolled her eyes at her, then walked to the girls' side, raised her fist, "Come on sisters, let's beat them!"

Fairness was out the window—Jiang Tangtang had Lin Yi target Xiao Ye with every serve, then she and Xiao Xiao either splashed water to disrupt or shouted that the academic god had fallen, what's wrong with the academic god, the academic god's eyes got water in them, or directly yelled, academic god!

Even though he knew she was messing with him, Xiao Ye couldn’t help but look every time, resulting in the basketball center forward struggling with water volleyball—ten balls, nine lost. Finally, the three girls dunked him and splashed water all over his face.

Looking at Xiao Ye, soaked and without any hairstyle left, Ji Nanxing threw a towel on his head, smiling, "Why’d you even come? If you hadn’t, I might’ve actually played. But now, I haven’t touched a single ball."

Xiao Ye wrapped the big towel around him, "Blame Jiang Tangtang—she was messing with me."

Jiang Tangtang, running all over the field, was already out of breath, but still stood with her hands on her hips, "Loser buys! You’re treating us to hot pot tonight!"

Xiao Ye, "Fine, fine! Tonight, it’s mutton hot pot—eat as much as you want!"

As they ate, Ji Nanxing scrolled through his phone, saw a case that had been sitting untouched for hours, and curiously clicked to take a look.

Xiao Ye piled a lot of meat into his bowl, then glanced over: "Got a case?"

Ji Nanxing: "Yeah, let me see what it is."

Xiao Ye scanned it quickly and said, "Midnight phantom calls, that sounds pretty spooky."

Ji Nanxing took a brief look at the content and felt it wasn't too troublesome. Plus, it was local and relatively close to where they were, so he casually accepted it: "Let's check it out after we eat, it's close by anyway."

He looked up and saw his bowl was piled high with meat.

Xiao Ye smiled and said, "Dig in, we’ll need the energy to handle this!"