Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Eleven at night.

Chai Yuhu finally finished working overtime.

Nearly all his coworkers had already left the work area. He was the last person to leave his workstation.

When Chai Yuhu entered the pantry for a cup of hot water, he immediately saw the two long-haired beauties sitting inside.

Chai Yuhu froze. His gaze instinctively shifted to their long hair, and then he fell silent.

Judging by their clothing, they belonged to the same group as the man and woman who had come during the day.

They seemed to be from some kind of Department and claimed they were there to protect him.

Chai Yuhu remained confused as to why a prank involving someone shaving his head required special personnel to protect him. But he desperately wanted to drag the hateful culprit into the open, so he had agreed.

After enduring an entire day of wage-slave torment, Chai Yuhu was utterly exhausted. When he faced the mirror that morning, his temper had been so terrible that he wanted to smash the entire world apart. But a day of work had ground him into nothing, leaving him without the energy for another outburst. As a result, he looked much calmer.

He filled a cup at the water dispenser and drank it in silence. Only then did he address the two figures nearby. “Are you planning to keep following me like this? Are you coming home with me too?”

Shen Huaizhou did not speak.

Xie Qingling nodded and replied gently, “Yes. Until we find the one behind this.”

“You haven’t found any clues? Does finding someone who likes playing pranks really require this much manpower?” Chai Yuhu could not understand.

“We have a few clues, but I strongly recommend that you not learn what they are.”

Chai Yuhu fell silent again.

What the hell? Why were they being so mysterious?

“Fine. I’m going home now,” Chai Yuhu said. “I still have work tomorrow.”

If he did not go home and sleep soon, he felt like he might die from overwork. By the time he got back, cleaned himself up, and played a couple rounds of games, hardly any time would remain for sleep.

Xie Qingling shook her head. “We’ve already requested leave on your behalf. Until this matter is resolved, you don’t need to come to work.”

“Holy shit.” Chai Yuhu’s face went pale.

Trembling, he said, “Once, I had a fever of thirty-eight degrees Celsius, but a single phone call from my boss still dragged me out of bed to work overtime. This time, he actually agreed to let me take leave…”

For that bloodsucker to agree to his leave indirectly demonstrated two things.

First, that bloodsucker of a boss would never give anyone time off unless the sky itself was falling. That meant Chai Yuhu’s situation was genuinely serious.

Second, the people from this Department wielded tremendous authority. Even his boss had to obey them. Chai Yuhu had better cooperate.

Chai Yuhu murmured, “Why do I feel like I’m going to die…”

“…”

Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou exchanged a glance.

They had to admit that, in some respects, Chai Yuhu’s intuition was remarkably sharp.

But now that they were here, they would do everything in their power to protect him.

“I can’t promise anything else, but as long as I’m alive, I won’t let you die.”

Xie Qingling continued speaking very gently. She constantly kept Ye Anran’s warning in mind. Chai Yuhu might look exhausted and relatively calm now, but she had not forgotten that his emotions were teetering on the verge of losing control.

Whenever Xie Qingling’s gaze landed on his completely bare brows, she became even more acutely aware of that fact.

Unfortunately, her reassurance did not help. Instead, it made Chai Yuhu’s hand tremble slightly as he set down his cup.

Chai Yuhu’s imagination had already conjured up a series of convoluted stories: “My bald head might destroy the world,” “Am I being threatened by some terrifying organization?” “Is there some unspeakable secret hidden inside me?” and “Was my hair stolen because it’s some kind of special treasure?”

He almost hoped his hair would never grow back – if it truly possessed some extraordinary quality, that was. After all, an innocent man could be condemned merely for possessing a treasure!

Perhaps baldness meant safety.
But as a competent wage slave, Chai Yuhu knew not to ask questions he should not ask and to cooperate when cooperation was required. He possessed at least that much professionalism.

Chai Yuhu nodded. “Fine. I’ll cooperate with you.”

The three left the office and went downstairs.

Ordinarily, Chai Yuhu would have hurried to catch the last subway at this hour, but Xie Qingling stopped him.

“To avoid any unexpected complications, I suggest you travel with us.”

And so, Chai Yuhu climbed onto Shen Huaizhou’s motorcycle.

Shen Huaizhou drove in front, Chai Yuhu sat in the middle, and Xie Qingling sat at the back.

Seated between two beauties, feeling their long hair flutter in the night wind while constantly worrying that his wig might be blown away, Chai Yuhu experienced a subtle and complicated blend of sorrow and jealousy.

Shen Huaizhou drove extremely fast. In only five minutes, they reached the small studio apartment where Chai Yuhu lived alone.

The apartment was tiny. It contained only a bed, a bathroom for washing up, and a small open kitchen. A dirty rug covered the floor, with game consoles and snacks scattered across it.

The three of them made the room feel extremely cramped.

Chai Yuhu’s life normally consisted of nothing but overtime. He rarely even saw anyone of the opposite sex, and the female organisms he encountered most often were mosquitoes. Now he began to feel uncomfortable.

He glanced several times at Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou, a faint blush rising to his face.

“The place is small. You… you can sit wherever you like.” Chai Yuhu awkwardly tried to play host. “I’m going to wash up first.”

Xie Qingling nodded and watched him enter the bathroom.

Soon, the patter of running water came from inside.

About five minutes passed, but Chai Yuhu did not emerge.

Xie Qingling glanced at Shen Huaizhou.

Shen Huaizhou walked to the bathroom door and raised a hand to knock. When he still heard no response, he pushed the door open –

Inside, Chai Yuhu had removed his wig. Grimacing at himself in the mirror, he was applying medicine to his scalp.

All his hair had fallen out.

His scalp was completely bare and mottled with blood. Some wounds had already scabbed over and been treated with medicine, but the sight remained horrific.

The faucet was still running, and the sound of water had drowned out Shen Huaizhou’s knock.

Suddenly caught in such a humiliating state, Chai Yuhu turned around furiously. When he saw Shen Huaizhou – or, more precisely, Shen Huaizhou’s head of long hair – Chai Yuhu broke down.

There was another, more private reason for his reaction. Humiliating himself so badly in front of a stunning beauty had shattered Chai Yuhu’s heart into pieces.

His hair had not been especially abundant to begin with, but this… this was another blow to what little he had left.

Even if sparse hair was proof of professional competence among programmers, did it have to leave him without a single strand?!

Why? Why had something this absurd happened to him? Who had he offended? Was it that elementary school student he had mocked for being terrible at a game? Aah!

Chai Yuhu’s face filled with bitter despair. Nearly dying of grief and indignation, he demanded, “Do you have any manners? I’m in the bathroom! Why did you come in?!”

“Get out! Get out! I don’t want to see you!”

Shen Huaizhou studied him for several moments and confirmed there were no signs of an attack. Only then did he say in a relatively gentle tone despite his cold expression, “For your safety, we cannot let you remain alone for too long. Staying out of our sight for an extended period may place you in danger. Therefore, we must ensure you remain within our field of vision.”

The explanation was heartwarming, but…

Why did this stunning beauty’s voice sound so deep and rough?

Chai Yuhu froze, utterly dumbfounded.

He looked again at Shen Huaizhou, who stood half a head taller than him. Only then did he belatedly realize that the person before him was a man!

“Holy shit.”

Chai Yuhu looked even more dazed.

This world, he decided, was completely absurd.

And the other men of his species were deeply abnormal.
By the time Chai Yuhu emerged from the bathroom, the self-respect that had shattered across the floor had been glued back together.

In its place came envy and jealousy toward Shen Huaizhou’s long hair.

Could Shen Huaizhou not spare him a little?

Chai Yuhu no longer cared about keeping up appearances. He could calmly remove his wig even in front of Xie Qingling. Nor was he in any mood to play a few rounds of games. He simply returned to bed, lay flat, and closed his eyes.

Before sleeping, he said to Xie Qingling, “I’ve been having nightmares for days and really don’t have the energy to entertain you. Make yourselves at home.”

After speaking, he closed his eyes before long.

Xie Qingling stood leaning against the wall, her body tense and constantly on guard.

According to their estimate, the ghost would only appear after Chai Yuhu fell asleep.

During the first three attacks, it had taken Chai Yuhu’s hair and eyebrows. No one knew what it would take when it appeared tonight…

Shen Huaizhou also entered a state of combat readiness.

His mind was equally taut. He monitored every movement around them, prepared to react the instant any abnormal creature invaded.

Two in the morning.

Chai Yuhu’s breathing gradually evened out. He appeared to have entered deep sleep.

And yet nothing had happened inside his studio apartment.

It was silent. There was not even a mosquito.

Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou exchanged glances. This time, however, Shen Huaizhou was standing while Xie Qingling sat.

Another two hours passed.

Chai Yuhu seemed to be sleeping well. He had even begun snoring during that time.

Xie Qingling remained seated, and still nothing happened.

Propping her head on one hand, she wondered whether the ghost would come tonight at all.

Dawn was almost here.

If it did not act at night, would it wait until daytime?

Or was it waiting until they were exhausted and their defenses had weakened before making its move?

All kinds of possibilities flashed through Xie Qingling’s mind.

She said to Shen Huaizhou, “I’ll close my eyes and rest for an hour. We need to be even more vigilant over the next two hours. I’ll take over for you in a while.”

Shen Huaizhou nodded.

And so, the two took turns closing their eyes to rest, ensuring that at least one person was always watching over Chai Yuhu’s safety.

They maintained this arrangement until morning.

The first light broke across the sky as the sun began to rise.

The Hair-Eating Ghost still had not appeared.

At eight in the morning, Chai Yuhu woke in high spirits after a long night’s sleep.

When he opened his eyes, he found the other two people in the apartment still awake.

Had they stayed up all night?

Chai Yuhu said, “Thank you. I slept incredibly well last night. It’s been ages since I got a decent night’s sleep. I felt like I was on the verge of dying from overwork.”

He had slept for nearly eight hours and was now in excellent spirits.

“Right, did you catch anything last night?” Chai Yuhu asked with tremendous anticipation.

Xie Qingling shook her head.

“My colleagues will come relieve us in a little while,” Xie Qingling said. “We’ll continue watching you.”

At nine in the morning, Ling Fang and Yu Wei arrived to take over.

They were responsible for following Chai Yuhu around the clock that day.

In this manner, the Department’s members revolved around Chai Yuhu for three days.

Nothing happened during those three days. Everything remained perfectly calm.

The Hair-Eating Ghost did not appear, nor did they discover any other ghosts or monsters.

Had it given up on Chai Yuhu and chosen another target?

But…

After Dai Xingyu returned from guarding Chai Yuhu on the third day, he worriedly informed them that the aura of death around Chai Yuhu’s face had not faded. Instead, it had grown even stronger.

He looked like a man on the verge of death.

Worry creased Ling Fang’s entire face.

The Hair-Eating Ghost had not given up on Chai Yuhu.

The enemy hid in the shadows while they stood in the open. If they continued waiting passively, the day when the Hair-Eating Ghost appeared might never come.

Ling Fang pinched his brow, feeling as though the situation had become a hopelessly tangled mess.

At that moment, Xie Qingling asked, “Director, could the Hair-Eating Ghost be refusing to appear because we’ve been guarding Chai Yuhu the entire time?”