Chapter 85

This unique interview was completed under the silent gaze of the Special Event Handling Bureau and the Taoist priests.

The animals took turns possessing Huang Mao, then signed their paw prints, officially becoming employees of the Xianyao Sect.

During this time, Assistant Liu helped Zhu Chu complete the contract signing while also directing something on his phone. Once the signing was completed, a luxury car drove into the hospital parking lot and slowly stopped beside them under the watchful eyes of onlookers.

Huang Mao and the animals were about to move aside when the car door opened right in front of them.

Assistant Liu stepped forward and signaled for the animals to get in: "Time is tight, so we can only get this type of vehicle for now. Apologies for the inconvenience."

Everyone was stunned.

Huang Mao opened his mouth wide and turned to Zhu Chu with a confused look: "What kind of car is this? It looks really expensive."

Zhu Chu remained silent for a long time, then spoke with difficulty: "A Kuri Nan, base price around seven million..."

Seven million... base price...

Huang Mao suddenly regretted his earlier pride. He grabbed the big black dog’s tail, tears welling up in his eyes, and asked Assistant Liu: "Is it too late for me to change my mind?"

Assistant Liu: "…"

Everyone: "…"

"It's too late." Xiang Ting, with a complicated expression, withdrew his gaze from the car and looked at Nie Chen for a moment before turning to Huang Mao. "You are suspected of participating in an evil organization, using it for fraud, abduction, and the destruction of legal enforcement. You’ll face at least three years in prison and a fine. If you want to join the workforce, come back after serving your sentence."

Huang Mao’s expression immediately changed: "What! I have to go to jail?!"

He looked like the sky had fallen, leaving everyone curious.

Zhu Chu: "You’ve already joined the evil organization, and you’re still worried about jail?"

"Who wouldn’t care about going to jail!" Huang Mao said, looking at him in shock. "It’ll affect my future career prospects!"

Everyone: "…"

The most shocking thing was not that he had joined the evil organization, but that he was thinking about his future job prospects after that!

Who knew Huang Mao was so determined? When they didn’t believe him, he got anxious and said, "Who are you underestimating?! My master takes me to audit career planning classes at the university every year, okay? The elderly in the community also say that the pinnacle of human life is to take the public service exam!"

Everyone: "…"

The community workers did indeed speak the truth, but it seemed your master wasn’t taking you to those career planning classes to teach you how to plan your future career!Huang Mao sincerely lamented how difficult it was to take the public service exam: "I have no hope left. I applied once before, but they didn’t even print me an admission ticket. The place where I lived with my master was mysteriously discovered by the police. Since then, my master won’t let me take the exam, saying it’s not meant for me... sigh, I can only hope for the next generation!"

Everyone: "……………"

There was an awkward silence, and Xiang Ting’s plan seemed to be faltering. He closed his eyes and spoke in a strained tone: "Then you should try to redeem yourself. Take us to the southwest."

Huang Mao hesitated at first, unsure if this would disappoint his master who had raised him. But when the police nearby showed their silver handcuffs at their waist, he immediately stood up straight.

"Please, this way!" he said.

"…"

Everyone was too exhausted to comment.

The Special Event Handling Bureau paid for everyone’s tickets to the southwest the next day, and booked hotels near the airport, making it easier to head out early the next morning to deal with certain elements.

It was the day when holidays ended, and all the hotels near the airport were fully booked. Xiang Ting had to go through official channels to secure a few rooms, but only standard ones were available.

Ke Xingzhou had planned to ask Xiang Ting about his past life, but Xiang Ting seemed to know what he was thinking, and after arranging the rooms, he disappeared in a hurry.

He left behind a young lady who looked nothing like a worker, exuding the air of a wealthy lady, who introduced herself as Zhu Qi.

Zhu Chu thought to himself that they were actually from the same family, both surnamed Zhu. How was it that her fate was so good, born into a wealthy family, while he was an orphan with no one to claim him?

Zhu Qi wasn’t pleased with the tasks assigned to her by Xiang Ting, but she still handed out the room cards to the Taoists.

When she got to Ke Xingzhou’s side, she couldn’t help but look at the three of them, especially Ke Xingzhou, her gaze curious yet suspicious.

Was this the person Xiang Ting spoke of?

She looked at him for only two seconds when she felt a cold gaze. Zhu Qi turned to look and met Nie Chen’s emotionless gray-green eyes.

Those eyes were like a wolf’s.

Zhu Qi also took a quick look at Nie Chen, her expression becoming a bit playful. Smiling, she handed the room card to Ke Xingzhou: "There’s only one card left, you and your disciple can share a room."

When it came to the disciple, Ke Xingzhou’s first reaction was certainly Zhu Chu. He nodded and reached out to take it, only to be stopped by Nie Chen.

Nie Chen gestured to Zhu Chu: "Take it."

"Ah? Oh, okay..." Zhu Chu instinctively obeyed, and only realized after Zhu Qi left that his junior brother had ordered him around again!

Though helping the master was something a disciple should do, he was the eldest disciple! Shouldn’t the lowest position be the junior brother's? Moreover, the master hadn’t said anything about him doing work. Why was it always his junior brother telling him what to do?

Zhu Chu went to grab the luggage, but noticed his junior brother’s suitcase was missing. Holding a grudge, he didn’t remind him, and instead struggled to bring their two large suitcases to the elevator, pressing the elevator button with satisfaction.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he was about to remind his junior brother that his suitcase was missing and he should check here, but when he turned around, he saw his junior brother protecting their master, walking into a nearby elevator.

Zhu Chu: "?"

Had he taken the wrong elevator?Just as he was about to move his luggage, a hotel staff member came out of the elevator, smiling and nodding at the guests inside while gently stopping him: "Sorry, sir, this is a VIP express elevator. Only guests on the 12th floor or above can use it. Guests on the 11th floor and below can use the original elevator."

Zhu Chu: "???"

Wait, how did those two get up there? Didn’t everyone book their rooms together with their ID cards?

Inside the elevator.

Assistant Liu stepped off the elevator on the floor with the business suite. While swiping his room card, he felt like he had forgotten something.

He opened his notes and checked. The item "Book a room for Mr. and Mrs." had already been completed an hour ago. Tonight, aside from dealing with some accumulated work from the group, there should be no other tasks.

After thinking it over, he still couldn’t remember what felt off. He couldn’t help but sigh, thinking to himself how old he was getting. In two years, he wasn’t sure if he’d still be able to work alongside Mr. Nie. With that, he calmly closed the hotel room door.

This was Ke Xingzhou's first time leaving the capital and heading to a completely unfamiliar city.

With so many things happening earlier, he hadn’t thought much about it. It wasn’t until he handed over his ID and had others arrange his room that he finally felt the emptiness of his first trip.

So much so that, even when Assistant Liu stepped off the elevator, he didn’t notice that Zhu Chu had been left behind. He was still curious about whether all hotels outside were this luxurious, even noticing the artwork inside the elevator.

His Heavenly Eyes function was vast. Not only could he see people’s life and death, fortune and misfortune, but he could also distinguish the value of objects.

The painting hanging on the elevator wall was filled with merit and auspicious energy. It was probably an antique worth about the same as the water tank Ke Zhengye had at home.

The high elevator gave a sense of vertigo, which felt even more pronounced for those who got motion sickness. Ke Xingzhou felt as though a membrane had instantly covered his ears, and he couldn’t help but furrow his brow, closing his eyes briefly.

The presence beside him suddenly drew closer, and Nie Chen’s voice sounded: “Open your mouth.”

No matter how long it had been, this voice could always make him let his guard down instantly. Ke Xingzhou slightly parted his lips, and immediately, a dried tangerine peel candy was shoved into his mouth.

The sour and sweet taste quickly eased the dizziness.

But the person beside him didn’t pull away. Their fingers pressed firmly on his lips twice.

Ke Xingzhou jumped in surprise: “What are you doing?”

As he watched his pale lips turn red, the tension in Nie Chen’s brows finally relaxed. Satisfied, he withdrew his hand and looked up at Ke Xingzhou when he heard him, noticing his eyes shifting between himself and the camera. He couldn’t help but laugh.

“Didn’t do anything. But what do you think I wanted to do?”

“…” Ke Xingzhou wasn’t about to fall for such an obvious trap. He turned his eyes away, awkwardly stepping back a little.

The near-miss with the goat-bearded Taoist earlier still affected him. He couldn’t help but reflect on whether his boundaries with Nie Chen were becoming too low. If others saw them, they might suspect their relationship.

Ke Xingzhou had already been hesitant about repeating his past mistakes. Now, with their master-disciple relationship added, he was even less willing to take that step.

He pressed his tongue against the candy, and the sour taste immediately rushed up: “Why did you buy this?”

Children love sweets. They did when they were younger, too. But things like milk candies or lychee-flavored ones were too extravagant for them. In the countryside, sometimes when there were feasts, a handful of dried tangerine peel candies was the easiest sweet to get.

Ke Xingzhou also suffered from motion sickness, so Nie Chen always found a way to get him dried tangerine peel candies to make the ride more comfortable.He actually hadn’t eaten dried tangerine peel candy for a long time.

When he was picked up from the countryside, he hadn’t thought to check his pockets.

Ke Xingzhou looked at the painting on the elevator wall, “crunch crunch” as he bit down on the candy in his mouth, and the sourness that had only spread in one spot quickly filled his mouth.

Nie Chen took out a bunch of dried tangerine peel candies from his pocket, stuffing a few in each of Ke Xingzhou’s pockets, and even inside his hood.

Ke Xingzhou turned his head and glared at him, but Nie Chen just looked down and quietly met his gaze, his deep brows and eyes shadowed.

“Don’t like this anymore?”

Ke Xingzhou pouted and muttered, “You’re so rich now, and you’re still giving me this.”

“My fault.” Nie Chen’s fingers tapped on his cheek, the spot where the candy had been pressed, and rubbed it, “Next time, I’ll buy a factory just to make candy for you.”

Ke Xingzhou stared at him blankly. The initial sourness faded, and sweetness slowly began to rise, but the tangerine peel’s flavor held it down, leaving only a faint trace.

The elevator reached their floor.

Ke Xingzhou lifted his foot to step out, but in the moment he was about to leave, Nie Chen grabbed him.

The coat he had just taken off was held above their heads, and Nie Chen pinched his chin, placing a kiss on his lips.

Ke Xingzhou, caught off guard, slightly parted his lips, allowing Nie Chen’s lips and tongue to sweep across his mouth. As Nie Chen pulled away, Ke Xingzhou instinctively licked his lips.

Nie Chen froze, his gaze darkening.

He pursed his lips, as if savoring the taste of the candy: “A bit sour, I’ll improve it next time.”