Chapter 248: My Hobby Adores You
Letting out a long sigh, I let Yuche carry me farther into the house.
I looked at the ceiling again and felt my mood get worse.
The crack was not small.
It ran from the font hallway all the way toward the front sitting room. It was thin in some places and jagged in others, as if the impact of whatever had caused it had traveled through the bones of the house and left a warning behind.
Dust clung to the edges of it, and tiny crumbs of plaster had fallen onto the floor below. I did not know much about construction, but I knew enough to recognize when something was not supposed to look like that.
All that to say that this was not one of those cases where I could just paint it white and move on.
I was 90% sure that I was going to need to do something about it, but just to be sure, I turned to Zhenlan, feeling slightly hopeful.
"Is the ceiling supposed to do that?" I asked. "I mean... a can of paint can fix it, right?"
"No," Zhenlan answered shaking his head like he was disappointed that I even had to ask that question. "A can of paint will definitely not fix a foundational crack that is in the ceiling.
"I was afraid you were going to say that," I sighed before giving him a suspicious look. "How can foundational cracks appear in the ceiling. That seems sus."
"I assure you," sighed Zhenlan, pinching the bridge of his nose. I really missed the old Zhenlan at this moment. At least that version of him wouldn’t squash all my hopes and dreams like that. "An issue with your foundation would lead to cracks on your walls and ceilings."
Commander Li cleared his throat as if trying to stop the fight that he could see brewing. "Miss Shen," he started before shaking his head. "Rouxi. I think it is clear to everyone that this location is compromised."
The entire room went still in a way that told me everyone else had also heard the stupid thing about to happen.
I turned my head slowly toward him. "Excuse me? What did you say?"
His expression did not change, but I saw a brief flicker of fear appearing in his eyes.
Good.
That meant he had at least some survival instincts left.
"The front defensive line was breached. The plant barrier was burned back in multiple areas. The entrance is damaged, and if the ceiling is cracked here, there may be structural stress deeper inside the house. Until a proper assessment can be done, remaining here may not be safe."
His words were all technically right... but I still kept my mouth shut and waited. I wanted to see just how deep he was going to dig the hole before he jumped in it.
The answer was... very deep... because he just made the mistake of opening his mouth and continuing.
"My recommendation is that you relocate temporarily."
The silence that followed was not peaceful.
Even Yuche did not move, his arms staying locked around me like he was worried I was going to launch myself out of them and at Commander Li.
To be fair... that was still a possibility.
"Relocate," I repeated, trying to make sense of the word. I mean, I knew what it meant... but it wasn’t something... yeah... no... that wasn’t happening.
Commander Li stood his ground, which was admirable and also deeply unfortunate for him. "Yes," he said, doubling down with a nod of his head.
"To where?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and settling back against Yuche’s chest. The man’s arms weren’t even shaking after holding me for this long. Truthfully? It was hot.
"The base would be the most obvious option for immediate medical and defensive support."
I stared at him.
He stared back.
Behind him, Chen Minghao looked as though he wanted to be anywhere else. I understood. I also wanted him to be anywhere else.
"You want me," I said slowly, because sometimes people needed to hear their own stupidity repeated back to them before they could appreciate the full flavor of it, "to leave my house, after having decided months ago to stay here... in my house, because other people damaged my house because they wanted to move into....my house."
I thought I had made enough of an emphasis on ’my house’ in that sentence for even Commander Li to catch on to what I was saying.
Commander Li’s mouth tightened. "That is not how I would phrase it."
"No, because you have a good survival instinct," I hummed in agreement.
Zhenlan turned his head slightly away, but not fast enough to hide the faint smile at the corner of his mouth. Chenghai did not smile. He simply stood beside the broken doorway, his arms crossed, looking like a man who had already decided the house needed to be stripped down to the bones and rebuilt stronger.
That probably should have worried me more than it did.
But what actually worried me more was the fact that I agreed with him.
Outside, Lingyun said something I could not make out.
Meilan screamed again.
I lifted my voice. "Can you keep that down? Some of us are having a housing crisis."
The screaming stopped for half a second.
Lingyun laughed so hard that several birds burst out of the damaged trees near the front yard.
Yuche made a sound above me that might have been a sigh. "Rouxi."
"What? It is true."
Commander Li rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Shen Rouxi, I understand that you are attached to the house—"
"Attached?" I interrupted. "Attached is how people feel about ugly mugs with sentimental value. This is my house."
"Yes," he said carefully. "And it is damaged."
"Right. I caught that part. Maybe you should catch the part where we fix it."
"It may not be that simple."
"It is a house, not an international political negotiation. Houses are allowed to be fixed."
Zhenlan looked up at the ceiling again. "Some houses are also allowed to collapse when their owners ignore structural damage."
I pointed at him. "You are not helping."
"I am trying very hard to help."
"By siding with the man who wants to move me?"
"By keeping the ceiling from landing on your head."
I looked up again.
A tiny piece of plaster chose that exact moment to drift down and land near Yuche’s boot.
The betrayal now officially felt personal.
I glared at the ceiling. "Meanie."
Chenghai finally looked at me. "The ceiling?"
"It waited until he was making a point."
"That does sound suspicious," Lingyun called from outside.
I twisted in Yuche’s arms, trying to see him through the broken doorway. "Are you done?"
"No," Lingyun answered cheerfully.
Meilan made a muffled sound that suggested she was also not done, though not by choice.
I faced forward again. "Then why are you participating in the conversation?"
"I missed you."
I felt my face do something incredibly inconvenient, so I looked back at the crack in the ceiling before anyone could comment on it. "Focus on your hobby."
"My hobby adores you."
"Your hobby is murder."
"Exactly."
