Chapter 77

Openly?

"School starts in less than two weeks and my summer research paper still isn't done." Second was sweating from the spicy chicken feet, and Third handed him an ice-cold cola. "Four — is yours finished?"

The room had acquired the atmosphere of a tea party: someone eating chips and drinking bubble tea, someone else taking photos of Chao Musheng, a general cheerful noise. All of them crowded around the hospital bed.

"If the spiciness is bothering you, stop eating it." Chao Musheng watched him hiss in air. "My topic was straightforward — I finished last month. How have you let it go this long?"

"I have to eat it. You all sat in front of me eating malatang when I was sick — this is payback." Second took an aggressive bite of chicken foot. "My topic isn't hard either, I just need more data — it's about the current state of cybersecurity among small and medium enterprises."

"I actually have some data sets on that." Chao Musheng eyed the chicken foot in Second's hand and affected great suffering. "What a pity I'm sick and can't remember where I saved them."

Second immediately tucked the chicken feet behind his back and filled a cup with water, holding it out with maximum deference. "Brother. Xiao Chao, my brother. Please have some warm water."

"Three seconds of dignity." The class social secretary laughed — she and Chao Musheng had worked enough events together to be easy with each other. "Xiao Chao — whoever is looking after you is very attentive. That backrest for example."

"What about it?"

Everyone looked at the backrest. It seemed perfectly ordinary — what was special about it?

"This particular design supports the full contour of the spine. Sitting against a headboard with it causes zero lumbar strain." The social secretary put her chin in her hand and raised an eyebrow in the manner of someone who knows things. "Thinking about someone's back support — Xiao Chao, you should tell us honestly: is the very attentive friend who's looking after you someone we know?"

Chao Musheng felt the padding behind his lower back. If the social secretary hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have known there was anything to notice.

He looked up. Every friend in the room was watching him with obvious speculation — even Zhou Yi had paused mid-fruit-peeling.

They had brains. They'd just chosen to use them exclusively for gossip.

"You don't know him, but you've probably heard his name." Chao Musheng's gaze moved through his friends and toward the door of the small meeting room. "The person who's been with me here is Kunlun's president, Mr. Xu."

"Sure."

A unified chorus of skepticism. If Chao Musheng hadn't been a patient, several of them would have lunged over to pinch his face and test the thickness of his skin.

"Four — haven't seen you in a while, and the stories have gotten bigger." Second gave him a thumbs up. "Using your direct superior as material for a brag. Respect."

Zhou Yi held out the peeled fruit. "Have some fruit."

Eat fruit. Stop telling stories.

"Room four is lively." You Jiu came back from the rubbish disposal and paused, hearing the laughter coming through the door. He smiled at Qi Shi. "Who's in room four? They're actually allowed that many visitors at once?"

"I don't know." Qi Shi shook his head. "I haven't been in."

The bodyguards at room four's entrance had kept non-medical personnel out entirely. He'd finished six, heard the noise from four, and deduced visitors had arrived.

You Jiu looked at the bodyguards' stance and expressions. Something in their posture felt familiar — like faces he'd seen somewhere he couldn't place.

"Rooms five and six are empty." You Jiu made an overture toward Qi Shi. "If you can't get near room four, how are you getting a thank-you letter? The patient I have in room seven is a very easy-going old woman. If you need a signature, come to me."

The mission only said one letter from a patient. It didn't specify which ward's patient.

Earlier, on his way to empty the rubbish, he'd found an elderly person who'd fallen in the stairwell and carried him back. The old man couldn't speak, but he'd written a thank-you note. The moment it was in his hand, the system counted it as mission complete.

He felt the note in his pocket, his mood somewhat difficult to read.

He'd spent so many instances manufacturing ways to manipulate NPCs into completing his objectives for him. This thank-you had come so easily it left him with nowhere to stand.

Most instance NPCs were unhinged or fixated. He'd been through a livestream instance once where a player had put out their own eye for viewer engagement points. He'd almost forgotten that NPCs could just be... people you might want to help.

"Thank you," Qi Shi said.

Room four's door opened. A small crowd of bright-faced young people emerged, still holding unfinished snacks.

"Four — we'll get together again once you're better." Second waved. "Get some rest. I'll come back in a couple of days."

"Go, go, go." Chao Musheng waved them off, wrinkling his nose at the lingering smell. "Don't come back — I'll be out in a few days."

Second grinned, then his expression turned sincere. "Four — look after yourself. When term starts I'm buying you malatang."

The players took quiet stock of the departing students, extracting what they needed from those few exchanges.

Term starting. The patient in room four was still a student?

Ordinary clothes. Snacks at the bedside. Easy familiarity — probably classmates. A student with this much attendance, this many people circling — in an instance, you didn't have to be a boss to be an important NPC.

Almost every player was quietly speculating about who was in room four. Curly Hair alone said nothing, tucked in her corner polishing the glass, not looking up.

*

"Thanks for taking care of Xiao Chao." Second stopped at the elevator and thanked Secretary Liu, who had walked them out. "He doesn't get sick often, but when he does he needs looking after more than usual. If you're ever overwhelmed, let Xiao Chao call me — I live nearby."

"Don't worry — we'll take good care of him." Secretary Liu looked at these still-unfinished-looking young people and smiled. "I'm Liu — same as Xiao Chao calls me, Liu-ge is fine."

"Thank you, Liu-ge." Another round of thanks, and they stepped into the elevator.

As it descended, Third reached into his pocket — and remembered, in the same moment, that he'd been so busy taking photos of Chao Musheng that he'd left his phone in the room.

Social secretary: "I think mine is in there too."

"Well. Back up we go."

*

"Excuse me." Qi Shi saw Secretary Liu returning and spoke first. "I'm the cleaner for room four. Does it need tidying?"

Secretary Liu looked into the room. "One moment."

The meeting room door opened. Xu Chenzhu walked back to the bedside to find the smile on Chao Musheng's face not yet faded. "Your classmates are enthusiastic."

Chao Musheng laughed helplessly. "We're used to messing around at school — did they bother you?"

"Not at all." Xu Chenzhu touched his forehead — temperature had dropped considerably. He took the fruit core from Chao Musheng's hand, discarded it, pulled out a wet wipe, and handed it over. "You're young people. Warmth and high spirits at your age — that's how it should be."

"Mr. Xu, you're young too." Chao Musheng wiped his fingers. "Please don't mind the jokes they were making."

"You mean—" Xu Chenzhu glanced at the backrest behind Chao Musheng.

"Ahem." Chao Musheng's eyes went somewhere evasive. "They just like stirring things up. If they'd known it was you looking after me, they wouldn't have said any of that."

"They're your friends — if I'd been in the room, recognizing me would have made them uncomfortable." Xu Chenzhu picked up the fruit knife and, in a few cuts, shaped a small cat from one of the pieces. He held it out. "Here."

"This looks like Ink Blob." Chao Musheng took it and looked at it for a while, reluctant to eat. "Speaking of which — where is Ink Blob?"

"I've had someone take it to my home." Xu Chenzhu wiped the knife clean and opened a video on his phone. "This is the room they've set up for it."

A spacious room converted entirely for a cat: cat-specific furniture, toys, surfaces designed for climbing and resting. In the middle of frame, Ink Blob had its entire face buried in a ceramic bowl, working through what was clearly a very satisfying meal.

"What a beautiful room." Chao Musheng asked: "Mr. Xu — did you start preparing this the day I adopted Ink Blob?"

In only two or three days, all of it assembled and ready. His cat had stumbled into the lap of luxury.

"I don't know much about these things, so I had someone professional design it." Xu Chenzhu looked at the side of Chao Musheng's ear. "I like Ink Blob too. I'm something like its second owner — there's no need to thank me."

On screen, Ink Blob ate without looking up. Chao Musheng dragged the progress bar back to the beginning and watched it again from the start.

"Boss." Secretary Liu came in. "The hospital's cleaner is asking to tidy the room."

Xu Chenzhu looked at Chao Musheng holding his small cat-shaped fruit, unwilling to eat it, and nodded slightly. "Let him in."

The room had the most advanced ventilation system in the hospital. By the time Qi Shi entered, there was no trace of any snack smell.

He kept his head down, clearing the packaging from the small round table, and noticed two phones left behind on the surface.

"Mr. Xu — could you put the little cat in the fridge for me?" Chao Musheng looked at the fruit cat once more and still couldn't bring himself to eat it.

"When you finish it, I'll cut you more." Xu Chenzhu speared the cat on a fork and held it out to Chao Musheng's mouth. "I can cut different animals — what do you want next time?"

"Four — I forgot my pho—" Third burst through the doorway and stopped dead, finding a composed and elegant man sitting on the side of the bed, fork in hand, feeding Chao Musheng a piece of fruit.

"Third, what are you staring at?" Second came in behind him and clapped him on the back. "Don't block the doorway."

Xu Chenzhu smoothly finished feeding the fruit into Chao Musheng's mouth and stood to greet them. "Hello."

"Hello." Third came back to himself and walked in with somewhat stiff movements.

"You came back?" Chao Musheng chewed the cat's head with some enthusiasm. His voice came out slightly muffled.

"We forgot our phones." Third went directly to the small table, collected his and the social secretary's, and produced what he hoped resembled a natural smile for Xu Chenzhu and Chao Musheng.

Brother. Next time you say something true, I will never call it a brag again.

"Mr. Xu — hello." The social secretary was standing outside the door and had not gone so far as to actually enter. She'd memorized Mr. Xu's face at the school's May anniversary event — in a room full of executives and business leaders, his bearing and features were in a class of their own.

Oh no.

Xiao Chao hadn't been making any of it up. The person looking after him was actually the head of Kunlun Group.

No wonder he'd stepped out when they arrived. He'd genuinely been worried they'd be uncomfortable.

"Hello." Xu Chenzhu's tone was warm. "It's dinnertime now — please stay and eat before you go."

"No, no — thank you so much, Mr. Xu—"

Unanimous, vigorous headshaking. Standing in front of Mr. Xu, they were afraid to breathe too fast, let alone stay for a meal.

"Mr. Xu." Chao Musheng, watching his friends stiffen progressively, intervened. "They filled up on snacks just now. Don't worry about them."

The room nodded as one: "Yes, yes — we're not hungry at all."

"Then I'll have a car take you home. Thank you for coming to see Zhaozhao." Xu Chenzhu saw them beginning to decline and added: "You're students — I'd worry about you getting home alone. And Zhaozhao would too."

"Thank you, Mr. Xu." There was no polite way to refuse a second time. They agreed.

Downstairs, when they were sitting in the stretch car that had been arranged, they were still only half-present.

The man they'd seen in there was genuinely the head of Kunlun, right?

Third: "Four is that important to Kunlun's president?"

The most legendary figure in the business world, sitting at a bedside feeding his good friend a piece of fruit on a fork. If he put this online, people would say he'd lost his mind.

[FOUR AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]

Chao Musheng received a cascade of screaming emoticons from Third and quietly locked his phone. Those expressions were hurting his eyes.

"Your phone won't stop." Xu Chenzhu, to prove that he could cut different animals, had already produced two small rabbits and a dog.

"It's fine — friends having a meltdown." Chao Musheng smiled. "They were a bit startled to find you in my room."

Xu Chenzhu's hand paused, fruit in transit. "Will that cause you any trouble?"

People were difficult to read. He worried that his presence might, in the future, prompt others to read Zhaozhao's accomplishments as something other than his own.

"What trouble?" Chao Musheng wasn't concerned. "I'll be at Kunlun regularly from now on — they'll find out eventually. I trust them. And I'm not going to pretend I barely know you just because of what other people might think."

"You're Kunlun's president." He split the small dog between them, handing Xu Chenzhu his half. "Anyone who decides to talk — they're just jealous. And I'm going to show off our connection as openly as I like."

Having a boss this good — he'd wake up laughing.

Xu Chenzhu tasted the fruit without registering it. His fingertips were numb with a faint trembling.

Zhaozhao was always so good to him.

But he was not being open.

He was asking for something that hadn't been offered.

Outside the room, Secretary Liu stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, maintaining his most cryptic smile.

You Jiu, getting a clear look at his face, went completely still.

That was the secretary from the supernatural instance.

An NPC from a supernatural instance had followed them into the hospital instance?

What was the Main God doing?