The chat with Jiang Roulan lasted until the sun lifted above the horizon, and I noticed the sounds of people scavenging in the daylight.
"We should try getting some rest..."
It would be troublesome if more people noticed this building, and thanks to the damaged lower floor, most would ignore it.
At least, that was my hope.
Jiang Roulan turned to me, her eyes fluttering as if her eyelids were filled with sand, and nodded before slipping back into the living room.
I don't think she made it to her room because there was a dull thud a moment later.
I didn't want to sleep.
It wasn't because of lingering thoughts or emotions affecting me—I just didn't feel sleepy.
'The mental exhaustion is real, though.'
Suddenly, as I cleared the table while watching the streets for groups of people or stragglers, a sudden voice echoed in my head.
[System Tutorial: Would you like to activate Affection notifications?]
"Damn it... scared me half to death!" I scolded the damn machine.
Although I guessed what it meant, my mind wasn't working at full capacity.
[System Tutorial: The system will notify you whenever a person of interest's affection or loyalty towards you increases or decreases to avoid troubles]
This system would be great, as long as it wasn't annoying... oh? The moment I tapped the plus sign beside the affection tab, it brought up options for me to mess with.
I could make it show singular points or in the tens or hundreds.
[You have gained 10 Affection Points with Jiang Roulan]
This style was the format I chose in the end—although it could show the reason for their increase. It felt a little excessive, and the voice would eventually annoy me if it kept telling me they were happy that I was considerate.
'Well, I still can't recruit her, so let's sleep and consider recruiting Shen Yifei; at least she can help build points in another way.'
The thought of giving her a role suiting her skills, like cook or nurse appealed to me.
I checked the room and noticed Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan had taken both the black couches—it couldn't be helped.
So I snapped the double locks and went into my bedroom.
The shape of Mu Qinglan was obvious, and to avoid her anger in the morning, I climbed onto the other side of my king-sized mattress.
"Goodnight." My voice echoed in the dark room.
To my surprise, the moment I touched the pillow with my head...
I fell into a deep sleep.
The rustling of sheets broke me free of the darkness.
I tried to swallow and couldn't help but cough.
My throat burned and felt like rubbing sandpaper against it. Not to mention, the prickly heat made my body damp with sweat, and I became angry.
The summer heat could be unbearable, but this was ridiculous!
A shout of frustration escaped my lips, and someone seemed shocked, creating a bang.
As I rolled out of bed, I noticed that Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan were looking into the room while chopping things in the kitchen.
'Did I leave enough food to make a meal... huh, and where's Qinglan?'
I covered my face and headed to the kitchen.
"Kya?! What is that... a weapon?" Shen Yifei's face turned red, and she turned away, acting stupid, like usual.
Jiang Roulan gazed at me with a strange glint in her eye.
"What are you talking about?"
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.
Then I noticed something strange...
'Why is my cock out?'
I went to bed in a black pair of shorts and a T-shirt.
Confused by the situation, I grabbed a pair of cotton boxers and quickly wore them, and only then did I notice Mu Qinglan sitting on the couch.
She gazed at me with the most proud smirk I had ever seen. Qinglan's eyes narrowed as she lifted her chin before turning away with a fwip.
With the traitor found, I shook my head and gave up.
Although I couldn't beat her right now, the future was on my side. From this point onward, I lowered her upgrade priority in my mind.
"Do you want something to eat, John?" Qinglan asked in a bright tone.
"What are you cooking? I think Yifei should choose what we eat."
Maybe shocked by my words, Shen Yifei's head popped up from the counter, but the red colour of her cheeks remained.
'Is she really the type to sleep around with this level of innocence?'
"Ah, Yifei found ingredients in the fridge about to spoil, so she's making a hot pot... is that alright? We sent Qinglan to wake you, but you were 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.
I'm still angry with you, zombie girl!
"Yeah, I'll have some if Yifei made it. Also, what about the other two?"
Shen Yifei suddenly lifted her hand and pointed at me with her cheeks puffed out.
"The door is locked, and we couldn't find the key!"
"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.
Then I noticed the flashing Key Ring in the top-right corner of my view—all the keys to my house, the apartment and even a strange key I found as a kid were stored in there.
'Did I do this last night?'
The image of me taking the keys and storing them replayed through my mind as I couldn't help but cover my face and attempt to hide my smile.
"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.
Shen Yifei seemed really 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 , 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]
'What, is she a pervert?'
My gaze narrowed, watching her cautiously as she cooked.