The chat with Jiang Roulan lasted until the sun rose, and everyone inside began to stir and move around.
Should I scold them?
It would be troublesome if more people noticed this building, and thanks to the damaged lower floor, most would ignore it.
"We should try getting some rest."
Jiang Roulan looked up at me, her eyes barely open, as she nodded sleepily. Without a word, she shuffled into the living room and collapsed. I guess she was too exhausted after the adrenaline faded... it was a wild day though.
"Haa…"
I didn't feel tired, but my head throbbed with a dull ache.
'The mental exhaustion is real.'
A voice entered my head while I cleaned the table, watching the streets, worried for groups or stragglers that might notice me.
[System Tutorial: Would you like to activate Affection notifications?]
"Damn.... scared me half to death!"
'What's that?'
Though quite clear, did it apply to everyone I know or only to people whom I added to my System?
[System Tutorial: The System will notify you whenever a person of interest's affection or loyalty towards you increases or decreases to avoid trouble]
'I see…'
This System was so helpful. Hmmm? The moment I tapped the plus sign beside the tab, it brought up options for me to mess with.
[You have gained 10 Affection Points with Jiang Roulan]
I could fiddle around with the look and style it displayed, but since it took up too much room, I just kept it simple and direct for now.
'Well, I still can't recruit Jiang Roulan..... but Shen Yifei? She is someone I can recruit whenever I want to."
I wondered if having her serve as our chef would be best for now.
The hotpot smelled great.
"Forget it." I crept through the living room. Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan slept on the black couches while snoring away.
At least they managed to get some sleep, now I should at least try....
With a snap, I closed the double-bolted locks and went into my bedroom.
Mu Qinglan lay under the quilt, her body still with faint breathing, although she might get angry, I wasn't about to give up my bed. So I climbed onto the other side of my king-sized mattress.
"Goodnight."
To my surprise, the moment I touched the pillow with my head before I could even think, the world became dark, and I fell into a deep sleep.
***
Rustle!
I suddenly became aware of a rustling under the sheets.
I tried to swallow and couldn't help but cough.
"Ugh…"
My throat burned. As if someone rubbed sandpaper against it, the prickly heat from outside made me damp with sweat, irritating me. The summer heat could be unbearable, but this was ridiculous!
"Damn..."
A grumble of frustration escaped my lips as someone shuddered and fell off the bed with a bang.
"What's that?"
I rolled out of bed and found Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan looking into the room, probably because of the noise.
'Huh, and where's Qinglan?'
I covered my face and headed to the kitchen.
The two looked at me with a strange glance, both with red cheeks... I wondered why they were being weird, but then looked down.... A towering morning wood stretched my linen boxers to the limit.
The shape and outline were obvious.
How embarrassing.
"What?"
She then pointed towards me with a knife—at first, I tilted my head and mouthed "What?" trying to understand her, but then she lowered the knife, and I looked down.
I went to bed in a black pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
That's where I found Mu Qinglan sitting on the edge of the bed with a pleasant smile. She waved at me with a wink while peeking at my crotch. She tilted her head and then rushed past me and joined the others in the kitchen; her speed made me jealous.
I want to become stronger...
Although I couldn't defeat her head-on, I could probably deal some damage. I decided to prioritise my growth from this point onward.
"Do you want to eat something, John?"
"What are you cooking, you should get Yifei to help you."
Roulan smiled awkwardly at my words, but Yifei's cooking skills were higher. In the corner of my eye, I noticed Shen Yifei looking at me with red cheeks from behind the counter.
The naive atmosphere she gave off made me curious about her forward actions, which seemed like a defence mechanism.
"Yifei found some ingredients about to spoil, so she's making a hot pot.... Is that alright? We did try to wake you earlier, but even with Qinglan you slept like a dead pig."
Qinglan didn't seem to mind the other two women as she stared outside at the fading sunlight, only turning to glance at me a few times.
"Yeah, I'll have some if Yifei made it..... what about the others?"
"Ah...? Them, well, they should be fine."
Shen Yifei then pointed at me with a smug grin. "You locked the doors, so they probably couldn't get in."
"I'm sure I left the keys on the side though..." I muttered.
"Did you look for it properly?"
"I searched everywhere and only found useless things!" Shen Yifei said in a sharp tone.
"What? How is that possible? I am sure it should have been—"
I gazed at the usual place where all my keys might be, and only the spare window keys dangled. All the others vanished.
The amount of panic I felt made my stomach drop.
'Hmm?'
Then I noticed the flashing Key Ring in the top-right corner of my view. It contained all the keys to my house, the apartment and even a strange key I found.
'Did I do this last night?'
[Affirmative! Host stashed all his keys in case of an accident during sleep.]
"Okay, I'll go and see if they are alive."
Thus, I pretended to enter my bedroom and grabbed the 'Front Door Key' before opening the two bolts and putting it back in my pocket.
"Where were they?!"
Shen Yifei seemed curious about the keys, or maybe she was just curious about me.
"John Wang, don't you ignore me, or see if I spit in your food!"
"Haha, then why don't you just do it directly into my mouth, idiot."
Somehow, it was fun to antagonise Shen Yifei.
When pushed like this, Yifei showed her true personality. She huffed and puffed out her cheeks before turning away, muttering to herself about me.
[You have gained 10 Affection Points with Shen Yifei]
'Well, she's a little strange....'
My gaze narrowed, watching her cautiously as she cooked.