GRMFBS CH103

As Zhan Yan’s worries faded and his excitement wore off, the aftereffects of staying up all night caught up with him.

He was so, so sleepy!

Wrapping his blanket tightly around himself, Zhan Yan lay down to sleep.

Xingxing, who had just gotten hyped up, thought: Huh?

He stretched out a paw and patted Zhan Yan.

What are you sleeping for? Get up and party!

Zhan Yan grabbed the kitten and stuffed him under the blanket. “Sleep!”

On the other end, Zhan Yunkai had called Xia Yuexian to ask if their Yan Yan had been especially close to anyone while on set—the kind of close that looked like they were dating!

Meanwhile, Ji Yueming logged onto the chaofan forum. She had already received a message from Nie Yu, informing her that Approaching Science had important news for her.

Ji Yueming was quite curious. An important message from Approaching Science was definitely not a trivial matter. However, this kid had somehow recently started leaning toward the Wan Yao Alliance, which she still found very regrettable.

Ji Yueming received the file Approaching Science sent her and clicked it open. The more she read, the colder her expression grew. With a slip of her hand, a spark of electricity shot out.

The specially customized phone from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau flickered. The screen, demonstrating remarkable stubbornness, continued to light up… halfway.

Ji Yueming: “…”

Fortunately, she had brought back a spare in advance.

Zhan Yunkai, having just finished his call, returned to see Ji Yueming’s poor complexion and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Ji Yueming hastily covered the scorch marks on the phone case. “Nothing, I just accidentally dropped and broke my phone. I’m going to switch to another one.”

“The quality of this phone is terrible!” Zhan Yunkai sided with his wife unconditionally. “I’ll go with you to buy a new one tomorrow?”

“No need, I have a spare.” Ji Yueming smiled, pulling on his arm while casually slipping the broken phone into her bag. “You finished your call? What did she say?”

“She said Yan Yan had a few classmates on set he was very close with, and he was especially close with one of them—his roommate.”

“A roommate, huh…”

Neither of them was entirely sure what to make of this. After discussing it for a while, they decided to find an opportunity to meet this person first.

“If he can make a really close friend, that’s a good thing,” Ji Yueming sighed softly.

This child, Yan Yan, had always been trouble-free since he was little. He had a great personality and was incredibly likable, so everyone assumed he definitely had tons of friends.

But as his parents, they knew that this child was actually a bit of a “loner.” He seemed to get along well with everyone and was always surrounded by a lively atmosphere, yet he didn’t have any deep friendships. Growing up, he had never once invited a classmate home to play, and during the holidays, he only ever wanted to spend time with his family.

It was as if Yan Yan had a circle in his heart; he placed his family inside the circle and kept everyone else outside. It wasn’t that prioritizing family over friends was a bad thing, but he kept himself cooped up within that circle, refusing to give others the chance to deeply understand him or establish closer relationships with outsiders.

Because of this, growing up, he had almost always swapped out his entire social circle every time he moved to a new environment.

This was the first time Zhan Yan had a very close friend, making both parents a bit nervous.

What if this person turned out to be no good and broke Yan Yan’s heart, causing him to shrink back into his shell again?

They had to find a way to meet him!

If this person dared to treat Yan Yan poorly…

His Majesty the Demon King and Boss Tianshi simultaneously narrowed their eyes.

After switching to her spare phone, Ji Yueming read through all the materials Approaching Science had sent her. Then, using a private channel, she contacted Vice Bureau Chief Ning Xi and forwarded the file to him.

Ning Xi really had been sick at first.

His cultivation base had been crippled twenty-six years ago. Although his body had been nursed back to health, it was inevitable that some lingering aftereffects remained. Every so often, triggered by some unknown cause, he would fall ill.

During the suburban sacrificial ritual, Da Wule had specifically checked on him. After the ritual ended, however, Da Wule’s brows had been deeply furrowed in confusion. Da Wule said he didn’t feel anything wrong with Ning Xi’s body, but there was some strange, inexplicable power lingering on him. However, it shouldn’t be malignant, or else the cleansing power of heaven and earth would have reacted to it.

Since that was the case, Ning Xi hadn’t paid it much mind.

This time, Ning Xi had only been genuinely sick for the first few days; after that, he had been faking it. The scheming of those people in the Bureau could only hide from him for so long. Once he noticed the issue, he began faking his illness, using the time to gather clues and coordinate with Ji Yueming’s plan.

Ning Xi received the file. A few minutes later, he replied to Ji Yueming:

[Where did you get this information?]

It was far too comprehensive. The direction of the investigation was slightly different from his own, but it was highly useful.

Tianshi: [Approaching Science gave it to me.]

[This kid is incredibly thoughtful.]

Ning Xi sighed as well. [It’s too much of a pity.]

How could such a good kid lean toward the Wan Yao Alliance?

Ning Xi: [Can you put in a bit more effort to poach him? If he’s willing to send you this, it means you’re still very important to him.]

[I think there’s a lot of hope. True talent is hard to come by.]

[Besides, the atmosphere at the Wan Yao Alliance is far too undisciplined and free. Any kid with talent will end up ruined in their hands.]

[Such a good seedling needs to be properly cultivated.]

Tianshi: [Reel it in.]

Ning Xi had this terrible habit: whenever there was a goal he had hope for but couldn’t achieve, he would harp on it endlessly, trying to nag people into submission. Control freaks were all like this.

Tianshi: [The Bureau is a mess right now. We’ll think about headhunting people after we’ve sorted out this situation.]

Ning Xi regretfully changed the subject: [You have to attend a tribunal hearing in a couple of days.]

[Hold back a bit. Don’t beat people up in court.]

Approaching Science was a great kid, but the information he provided was a bit too direct. Even with his excellent composure, Ning Xi felt furious reading it. If it were the Tianshi, who had just recently erupted and hadn’t fully adjusted her state yet, he was afraid her lightning techniques might become a bit hard to control…

Tianshi: [I know.]

Zhan Yan slept straight through until the afternoon and woke up starving.

Running his fingers casually through his messy, curly hair, he headed downstairs to look for food. Chestnut chicken and fishball soup had been left for him in the pot, both still warm.

Ah, this is absolute bliss!

Smelling the aroma, Xingxing wove around his ankles, meowing daintily: “Meow~ Meow~“

I wanna eat, I wanna eat~

No way. This had seasoning in it; he’d make some cat food for Xingxing later.

Zhan Yunkai had taken charge of making the cat food.

While chopping a pumpkin, Zhan Yunkai asked, “Yan Yan, do you have any classmates at school you hang out with a lot?”

Confused, Zhan Yan replied, “I do. I get along pretty well with everyone.”

Zhan Suiru chimed in, “Then you can bring them over to the house to hang out during the break.”

The whole family had already discussed this again. Since they were “very close,” regardless of what kind of relationship it was, it couldn’t hurt to meet them first!

Hearing this, Zhan Yan glanced at his sister and understood.

They suspected he was dating again, didn’t they?

Aiyah, his sister’s acting was really terrible!

“Sure, I’ll invite them over when I have time.” Zhan Yan put on a face of serious consideration. “Hmm… I’ll have to see if they’re free. When the weather warms up, we could go hiking at Qixia Mountain.”

The topic ended there.

The others exchanged glances. Seeing how open he was, maybe there wasn’t a situation after all, and it really was just a very close classmate?

Zhan Yan smugly gave a small raise of his eyebrow.

Hmph!

You aren’t getting any of my gossip!

For the next few days, Zhan Yan constantly scrolled through the Gossip System, hoping to find a way to resolve the conflict between the Wan Yao Alliance and the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.

But the more he searched, the more depressed he got:

[Da Wule cosplayed a nine-tailed fox at an anime convention, intentionally dressing up in the frail and cute style that the Nine-Tailed Demon King despises the most. Upon learning this, the Nine-Tailed Demon King got into a fight with Da Wule.]

[Hearing someone say that the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s ‘Traveler’ could run faster than him, the Qing Yun Demon King was extremely dissatisfied. Convinced the Traveler was spreading rumors to step on him, he secretly seized an opportunity to pour superglue into the Traveler’s shoes. The human and the demon got into a fight.]

…

Zhan Yan despaired. Had the relationship between the two sides truly deteriorated to the point where top-tier bosses would throw down over such petty squabbles?

How was he supposed to mediate this?!

Zhan Yan spent days searching and days despairing.

Right around this time, he suddenly received a message from Weng Yan.

Ever since meeting Zhan Yan at Old Man Luan’s place, the elder from the Scarlet Sun Sect had kept the matter in mind.

No matter how you looked at him, this young man was a completely ordinary human. Yet, he had inexplicably dreamt of a Candle Dragon and could even sense that the stone containing the Candle Dragon’s power was extraordinary. Even Weng Yan himself hadn’t noticed it the first time around; he only realized it after the young man pointed it out.

This couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.

After returning, Weng Yan studied and restudied the stone multiple times, but simply couldn’t find any issues with it himself.

Consequently, he would occasionally check Zhan Yan’s WeChat Moments, keeping an eye out for any signs that the young man was awakening supernatural abilities.

After observing for a while, Weng Yan didn’t observe any supernatural awakenings, but he did learn a massive amount of internet slang and gorge himself on a ton of internet gossip.

Hey, this gossip is actually pretty tasty!

This time, Weng Yan reached out to Zhan Yan to invite him to attend a cultivator convention. This convention had no ties to any major organizations and was primarily aimed at cultivators from various lineages. Sect disciples, rogue cultivators, human cultivators, demon cultivators, and ghost cultivators could all attend. It was incredibly free and open for casual exchange.

Weng Yan figured there would be plenty of capable people at the convention, and someone would surely be able to figure out what was going on with this kid!

Zhan Yan checked the dates. It took place after the Lantern Festival and lasted for seven days, during which attendees could come and go whenever they pleased.

Zhan Yan was tempted!

This cultivator convention was open to humans, demons, and ghosts alike, and had been held peacefully for many years. This proved the conflict between humans and demons wasn’t insurmountably deep. He could use this opportunity to build some connections and find more ways to understand the Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance. This might just be the breakthrough point for mediating their grievances!

Moreover, he might also be able to gather some information about the Candle Dragon Remnant at the convention. There were some hidden secrets the Gossip System couldn’t load, but possessing the Candle Dragon Remnant changed that. Perhaps the key to smoothing over the relationship between the two factions lay hidden within!

Zhan Yan happily accepted Weng Yan’s invitation, booked his tickets, and expressed his sincere gratitude to the old man.

Thank you, boss, for being willing to bring this uninitiated junior along to broaden his horizons, and for always checking up on me. It’s so wonderful that you’re willing to look after a junior like me this much!

Weng Yan blushed a little at the praise.

Ahem, yes! Exactly! I am exactly this kind of caring senior!

With that matter settled, it was time for the evening workout.

The retired uncles and aunties possessed soaring enthusiasm for their workouts. When it had just finished snowing a few days ago, they organized everyone to go shovel the snow in the small public square to ensure it wouldn’t interfere with their exercises.

Bai Linghui sent Zhan Yan a message, mysteriously telling him they were going to start trying a new workout method.

Because the temperature had dropped, everyone was bundled up in thick down jackets. Dancing in the public square was too cumbersome in such heavy clothing, so they had researched a new routine.

Curious, Zhan Yan went to join them. Unfortunately, he couldn’t drag his brother or sister along.

But he wasn’t exactly lonely:

[The Ghost Spirit Shan Yankai was wandering aimlessly around the residential compound. Feeling terribly bored, he decided to follow you for a stretch of the road.]

At the small public square, the sky was dim, illuminated only by the faint glow of streetlamps. A group of people stood in a circle facing inward, completely silent.

What were they doing?

Just as Zhan Yan was about to walk over and ask, he suddenly heard them erupt into collective, uproarious laughter:

“Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!”

Zhan Yan jolted in shock.

What were they doing?!

[The Ghost Spirit Shan Yankai was terrified by the square dancing troupe’s “Laughter Fitness Regimen.” Convinced they were being mind-controlled by an anomaly, he shrieked, “Oh my god! Help! There’s an anomaly!” and drifted off to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau to report it.]