Chapter 63 Part 1

The rumbling sound of the bus starting up faded from his ears.

Bo Ting sat in his seat, his emotions complex.

It wasn’t until the “Rong’an Building” stop that he snapped back to reality and got off the bus in a daze.

The bus driver ahead: …

What was wrong with this young guy?

He had seemed full of energy when he boarded, but now he looked utterly wilted as he got off.

Was he carsick?

But Master Li drove pretty steadily.

Master Li cleared his throat and watched Bo Ting hop off like a zombie before closing the door to put it out of sight.

With a “click,” the doors shut right in front of him.

Bo Ting stood on the platform and took a deep breath.

No, he couldn’t just accept his fate like this.

He needed to… confirm it one more time.

After reassuring himself a couple of times, Bo Ting walked into the Rong’an Building.

Instead of taking the executive elevator straight to the top floor, he first found a restroom and went in to remove his hood.

The fuzzy hood left his head under the bright lights, and it felt a bit disorienting at first.

Bo Ting touched his face.

He felt a bit dazed, unsure if he was feeling his features or just a flat surface.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but ever since confirming he still had a human face through that transparent eye, Bo Ting now looked at himself in the mirror with a bit of subjective bias.

He felt like he did look a little more human than yesterday.

Whatever, whatever.

Since he couldn’t tell the difference himself, he should let someone who could take a look.

Bo Ting pursed his lips, stuffed the hood into his backpack, and washed his face.

He then solemnly glanced at the elevator outside.

Xu Qinglai and Bo Ting had agreed to meet at five in the afternoon.

After his meeting ended, Xu Qinglai emerged from the conference room, thinking Bo Ting should be in the office by now.

Sure enough, as he approached the door, he keenly sensed an extra presence inside.

Xu Qinglai’s brows relaxed unconsciously. He pushed the door open and walked in, seeing Bo Ting sitting on the sofa.

Unexpectedly, Bo Ting sat there looking neat and refreshed today, without his fuzzy hood on.

He held a cup of hot water in his hands, lost in thought about something.

Xu Qinglai was amused by his own thoughts and curved his lips slightly.

“Good afternoon.”

Bo Ting: …

“Uh, good afternoon.”

He was back so soon? Bo Ting wasn’t prepared yet.

Thinking that he was here for one final check on whether he was an air conditioner, Bo Ting felt a bit uneasy.

But it was like sticking his neck out—a quick cut or a blind one, he couldn’t avoid it anyway.

Bo Ting had no choice but to look up.

“Has Mr. Xu finished his meeting?”

Xu Qinglai nodded, his gaze sweeping over Bo Ting’s sharp and handsome features, a bit surprised.

“Why aren’t you wearing the shark hood today?”

Bo Ting: …

He hadn’t figured out how to ask yet, and Xu Qinglai had gone straight to the point!

His mouth moved faster than his brain, and Bo Ting blurted out.

“I thought I’d try a new look today.”

“Does it look okay to you, Mr. Xu?”

Bo Ting quickly added.

Xu Qinglai looked at the other’s human-like appearance, masking the obscurity in his eyes, and chuckled lightly.

“Very natural.”

“You’d be quite popular going out like this.”

Though anomalous gods didn’t need human attention. But in worldly terms, Bo Ting did have a strikingly attractive face.

Bo Ting blinked and quickly analyzed Mr. Xu’s words.

Hmm.

Popular…

That translated to people not being afraid of him?

So… he hesitated, then boldly said, “Could you come a bit closer, Mr. Xu?”

Closer?

Xu Qinglai was slightly taken aback but complied, drawing nearer.

Since Bo Ting was sitting, it forced him to lean down a bit.

Their posture somehow felt… ambiguous?

Their eyes met, and he wondered what Bo Ting was up to.

The tentacles hidden beneath his proper suit stayed naturally alert.

Xu Qinglai pondered, but as a thought flashed through his mind, he noticed those slightly downturned peach blossom eyes drawing near.

Bo Ting’s sharp, affectionate eyes, tinged with the laziness of an office drone, instinctively leaned closer to him.

As if observing his reaction.

Staring intently at his pupils.

Bo Ting: …

His heart sank; no need to struggle anymore.

What Mr. Xu saw in his eyes was indeed human.

He blinked, his eyes growing numb from staring into Mr. Xu’s for so long, and briefly closed his lashes.

“Alright, Mr. Xu.”

“I’m fine now.”

Xu Qinglai: …

His heart seemed to stutter with Bo Ting’s sudden approach, only resuming its simulated beat slowly after a moment.

He wasn’t satisfied with his own reaction.

As he straightened up and withdrew his gaze, he asked casually.

“What was little Bo just doing?”

The nickname he’d used in his mind slipped out, unnoticed by either.

Bo Ting snapped back: …

Crap, he’d only been thinking about one last observation.

That gesture seemed a bit rude.

Bo Ting gripped his cup, racking his brains. “Hahaha.”

“Nothing much.”

He had a sudden idea. “I just saw something online about a test between good bros. It said that if good bros suddenly get close and hold still, it creates some weird chemical reaction, so I wanted to try it.”

“By the way, Mr. Xu, did you feel anything?”

Xu Qinglai: …

“No.”

The amusement vanished from Xu Qinglai’s eyes, though his voice remained as mild as ever.

The oblivious Bo Ting noticed nothing amiss and inwardly raged at his performance art.

After taking a deep breath, Bo Ting suddenly remembered another issue.

Wait, something still felt off?

If he was crazy, then how did he explain the cooling and heating?

The dehumidifying in the theater could be chalked up to imagination—no evidence. But last time on the bus, he had definitely scalded the driver into jumping up.

Bo Ting’s expression turned serious.

Was that bus driver crazy too?

Did he see a fellow nutjob and enthusiastically play along?

The air grew tense.

Xu Qinglai noticed Bo Ting’s expression shifting again as he spoke and grew doubtful.

What was wrong with Bo Ting today?

He did seem a bit off.

Xu Qinglai neither fully believed nor dismissed the “brotherly bond test” explanation.

He undid the top button of his shirt and lightly tapped the desk.

“Anything else?”

“Ah, no.”

Bo Ting decided to put the doubts aside for now, pretending to be normal as he went to eat with Mr. Xu first.

For the first time in his life, Bo Ting found eating so difficult.

Aaaah.

Why were so many people staring at him?

Sitting in the restaurant corner, Bo Ting realized the gazes on him were even more than when he wore the hood.

Bo Ting: …

This felt so weird.

The office drone kept a straight face, panicking inside, and pretended to eat calmly to mask his embarrassment.

Only after Xu Qinglai turned and gave the surroundings a cool glance did the stares vanish.

Bo Ting exhaled.

He heard Mr. Xu laugh. “Hmm, like this, the attention you got during your cosplay was actually on the lesser side.”

Bo Ting: …

C-Cosplay?

Did Mr. Xu think he was just cosplaying before?

The unwilling trend-follower gave a subtle smile.

“Is that so.”

“They’re probably just curious.”

No, what was so interesting about a lunatic?

It wasn’t like an air conditioner spirit hitting the streets.

Bo Ting didn’t get it, but at least it was quiet now.

After the meal, Bo Ting politely bid Mr. Xu farewell and refused the offer to drive him home.

Joking aside, he still needed to check if that bus driver was crazy. How could he go back with Mr. Xu?

If they got too close, would Mr. Xu notice he was mentally off?

Bo Ting saw this as a serious issue. Until he adapted to this new identity, he needed to keep some distance from Mr. Xu. He didn’t even mention Miss Du’s invitation for friends to visit.

After smiling faintly and waving as Mr. Xu got into the car, Bo Ting relaxed, flexed his still-unfamiliar human face, recalled the Bus Route 055 line, and headed to the bus stop.

In the car, Xu Qinglai didn’t leave immediately. He sat in the back seat, watching.

Uncle Sun hesitated and glanced at the rearview mirror.

“Mr. Xu?”

“Let’s go.”

Xu Qinglai withdrew his gaze and spoke.

Bo Ting was about to board a bus and leave; he couldn’t linger. But his mind kept replaying Bo Ting’s actions today, his brows furrowing in puzzlement.

…

The Resurgence Management Office was puzzled too.

After Yan Qian at the milk tea shop uploaded her conversation with the anomalous entity from Taiping Luxury Garden as usual, Lu Jingshan finished patrolling the streets and was about to check the daily updates. But after skimming through, something suddenly triggered his memory.

As his gaze lingered on “The weather changes were normal,” his body stiffened, and he spotted something overlooked.

“Wait.”

“What was the earliest network ID used by Taiping Luxury Garden?”

Lu Jingshan stopped and asked instinctively.

Wang Dong, who was also following the latest updates, thought quickly upon hearing the captain’s question.