DA chapter 56

“An accountant?” Yan Xu asked.

Lin Jia gave an “mm.”

Yan Xu looked at Lin Jia, thinking no wonder this person gave off an elite aura all over him.

Lin Jia had no time to care about Yan Xu’s scrutiny and thoughts. He reviewed the discoveries Yan Xu had relayed today in his mind and already had a rough idea.

But he didn’t say anything directly. Instead, he looked straight at Yan Xu.

“Why are you looking at me? There isn’t an answer on my face…” Yan Xu said uncomfortably under Lin Jia’s gaze. “Comparing answers again?”

Lin Jia asked, “What is Captain Yan’s answer?”

Lin Jia’s collar was still wet. Although the sweetness of the glucose had been washed away, the area in front of his clothes was still darker from the water stains.

Yan Xu didn’t know the point of comparing answers, but since he had gotten Lin Jia’s clothes wet, he said, “If what is born is sold by weight, then it can be seen as money being born. Of course, the shadow isn’t there to accompany childbirth; it’s there to collect money.”

There weren’t many compressed biscuits that Xiao Yao had left with Lin Jia. Lin Jia tossed the last piece in his hand, and Yan Xu caught it firmly.

Yan Xu casually put it in the pocket of his hoodie where quite a few rewards had already accumulated.

After thinking for a moment, Yan Xu took one piece back out, tore open the package, and held it out to Lin Jia. “Here.”

Lin Jia glanced at it. “Borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha?”¹借花献佛 literally: “borrow flowers to offer to Buddha” is a Chinese idiom that means: Using something that isn’t yours to do a favor or give a gift—usually to gain goodwill or credit.

Yan Xu gave a bitter laugh. “I saw you hadn’t eaten. It’s fine if you don’t want it.”

Although he said that, Yan Xu did not withdraw his hand. Lin Jia took it and lightly bit off a small piece.

Yan Xu knew how bad compressed biscuits tasted, yet, watching Lin Jia eat so elegantly, he unwrapped one for himself and took a bite.

Mm, hallucination.

After temporarily solving the hunger issue, Yan Xu noticed an improvement in Lin Jia’s complexion and said, “I plan to take a look at the next ward tonight.”

Since Ward 302 was between Ward 301 and the VIP ward, the only possible next ward Yan Xu meant was the VIP ward.

Through their observations last night, they found that all sixteen nurses were working during the day, but at night, there were fewer nurses, presumably because the nurses needed rest or for some other reason.

This time, Lin Jia did not stop him. According to Yan Xu, the shadow was an NPC that actively killed people, so it might knock again at night. Judging from the previous night, turning off the lights in the ward might make the shadow leave, but that would expose Lin Jia’s fear of the dark. It would actually be quite good if Yan Xu were not there at that time.

He was still selfish. Between exposing his own weakness and Yan Xu possibly encountering danger, he chose to protect his own weakness.

There was little movement from Ward 202 downstairs. Outside the ward, the sound of nurses’ footsteps came and went.

Since Yan Xu had decided to investigate the VIP ward at night, he used the time before dark to rest.

Lin Jia did not disturb him. Compared to Yan Xu, Lin Jia was better at balancing work and rest. Last night, Lin Jia went to bed on time. He knew Yan Xu had barely slept because he kept hearing him turn over in bed.

Now that Yan Xu had fallen asleep, the ward finally quieted down. Lin Jia leaned quietly against the head of the bed, took out his phone, and found a financial statement saved inside. He read it to pass the time.

The cat jumped to the foot of the bed and peered over to see what Lin Jia was looking at. The cat thought Lin Jia was reading an e-novel, but when it saw the boring numbers on the screen, it also became sleepy.

The cat smoothed the end of the bed with its paw, then lay down and slept.

“Huu—”

Soon after, faint snoring filled the ward.

After keeping his head lowered for a while, Lin Jia raised it to ease the stiffness in his neck. He saw that the cat had fallen asleep on its back, one paw gripping a corner of the blanket.

This was the cat’s habit when it slept deeply; it liked to hold something in its paw. When sleeping by Lin Jia’s pillow before, it would grab the pillow. After being pushed away, it would grab Lin Jia’s little finger instead and receive a kick.

Lin Jia looked toward Yan Xu.

Yan Xu was tall and broad, and the hospital bed could not contain his height. He lay awkwardly on the bed with his two long legs hanging outside and the blanket loosely covering his stomach. One hand was tightly gripping a corner of the blanket.

Lin Jia quietly watched, his gaze slowly moving between the cat and Yan Xu. After moving back and forth about three or four times, Lin Jia reached out and pulled the blanket away from the cat’s paw. The cat was sleeping very deeply. Its claws were digging into the blanket. Even when Lin Jia raised his arm, the cat did not wake up.

After removing the blanket from the cat’s paw, Lin Jia waited for a reaction from the cat. Probably feeling that there was nothing in its paw, the cat subconsciously stretched out its paw and moved it in the air. Its paw opened and closed, trying to catch something.

Since it caught nothing, the cat woke up.

The moment the cat opened its eyes and saw Lin Jia’s probing expression, the cat was startled.

Lin Jia said nothing to the cat, but threw it a threatening look to stop it from making a sound. Then, he turned to look at the patient in the next bed.

Lin Jia locked his gaze on Yan Xu’s hand.

The blanket was wrinkled from being gripped by this person.

Lin Jia reached out to pull the blanket from Yan Xu’s hand but stopped just before touching Yan Xu.

‘Don’t touch me.’

‘Don’t touch me casually.’

Lin Jia remembered Yan Xu’s low warning. Considering Yan Xu’s reflexes and wanting to avoid re-injuring his dislocated arm, Lin Jia lightened his movements.

He gently reached out again and carefully pulled the blanket from Yan Xu’s palm. The cat beside them could not understand why Lin Jia was teasing the sleeping Yan Xu. However, it was infected by Lin Jia’s cautious movements and watched nervously.

It watched as Lin Jia’s fingers landed on the edge of the blanket and gently pulled it out from Yan Xu’s grasp. This process took a long time, as it relied entirely on Lin Jia’s patience to remove the blanket from Yan Xu’s grasp, as if he were drawing silk or peeling a cocoon.

The corner of the blanket still carried the warmth of Yan Xu’s palm. With his hand suddenly empty, Yan Xu subconsciously grabbed at the air as if trying to seize something to fill his palm.

The cat stared at Yan Xu’s hand, thinking this person slept restlessly.

Yan Xu had only planned to take a nap, but the air still carried a faint sweetness, along with Lin Jia’s unique scent. Caught unprepared, he sank into sleep.

When he suddenly woke up, he saw Lin Jia with a somewhat troubled expression.

“You…” Yan Xu sat up. “Why are you standing by my bed?”

He looked at Lin Jia, checking whether Lin Jia had a knife hidden in his hand. Instead, he saw that Lin Jia’s little finger was held in his own palm.

Yan Xu suddenly realized that Lin Jia’s troubled expression was most likely because he couldn’t break free from his grip.

“Just passing by.” Lin Jia lowered his eyes to look at his finger. “Can Captain Yan let go now?”

He created the illusion that he had merely passed by and been caught by Yan Xu. Yan Xu released Lin Jia as if he had been shocked by electricity.

“I…” Yan Xu rubbed his hair and explained, “I’m used to holding something in my hand when I sleep.”

He didn’t specify what he usually held, but Lin Jia knew what it was. Most likely, Yan Xu was used to holding the silver left-wheel gun while sleeping. The way Yan Xu gripped the blanket was exactly like holding a gun.

Lin Jia asked again, “Can Captain Yan let go of me now?”

Yan Xu: “…”

Yan Xu loosened his hand and saw that Lin Jia’s little finger had turned red from being gripped so tightly.

Yan Xu said, “Don’t come near me when I’m sleeping.”

He started warning again.

Lin Jia glanced at him. “Captain Yan, I was just passing by.”

Yan Xu replied, “Even if you were passing by, you were too close. Otherwise, why would I grab you?”

The two looked at each other. One of them was speaking nonsense with his eyes open, while the other had no logic but plenty of confidence.

They looked at each other, neither willing to move their gaze first.

The cat thought they were childish and let out a “meow,” interrupting the standoff where neither wanted to show weakness.

It was already dark. Yan Xu stood up.

It was time for him to go out.

Lin Jia suppressed the understanding in his heart. This was one discovery: Yan Xu and the cat had the same sleeping habit. However, holding something while sleeping was not a unique condition. This evidence was still not direct enough to prove that Yan Xu was the cat. At least, though, the probability had increased.

Lin Jia looked at Yan Xu’s back as Yan Xu walked to the door. Yan Xu suddenly stopped just as he was about to open it.

Lin Jia frowned slightly and stood up too.

The cat, sensing something, looked toward the door, its fur standing up.

Yan Xu did not continue opening the door, which meant there was something outside.

—The shadow.

But the ward lights were still on. Lin Jia frowned tightly. He did not want to turn off the lights.

Fortunately, Yan Xu did not ask him to close the door. A voice came from outside. “Is anyone there?”

Then, as if sensing Yan Xu standing by the door, the voice said, “Xiao Xu, it’s Mom.”

The voice was gentle and pleasant, coaxing him step by step.

“Xiao Xu, are you doing well in the Underwater Wold? Mom misses you very much. Open the door for Mom, okay?”

Soft Wu dialect, the tone full of softness and gentle coaxing.

“Xiao Xu, open the door for Mom. Let me take care of your delivery. Mom is very worried about you. You are a good child. You have always been Mom’s pride, even since childhood. You wouldn’t want to worry Mom, would you?”

From the tone of the voice outside, Lin Jia gained a little more understanding about Yan Xu. This person must be from Su Province, or at least partly from there.

The voice was too gentle, like flowing water.

Lin Jia watched Yan Xu, paying attention to see if he would be bewitched by the voice. However, Lin Jia discovered that there was not the slightest movement on Yan Xu’s face.

Then, Yan Xu gave a self-mocking smile.

He had spent too much time in the Underwater Wold; he could no longer clearly remember his family in the real world. When he heard his mother call out, his heart remained completely calm without any emotion.

The voice outside continued calling for a long while. Realizing it could not bewitch Yan Xu, the voice turned toward Lin Jia.

“Baby, it’s Mommy.”

The situation changed. Yan Xu looked at Lin Jia to see if he would be bewitched.

He saw that Lin Jia’s face was expressionless, without the slightest movement.

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  借花献佛 literally: “borrow flowers to offer to Buddha” is a Chinese idiom that means: Using something that isn’t yours to do a favor or give a gift—usually to gain goodwill or credit.