GRMFBS CH50

Zhan Yan sincerely turned down the offer from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau by refusing to give them his address.

He really wanted those talismans! But he just couldn’t bring himself to shamelessly ask for six all at once. He’d rather save up slowly on his own…

Having just rejected a free lightning talisman, Zhan Yan felt a deep pang of regret.

After today’s real-time tracking of Anomaly No. 2, even though he hadn’t shown any of the lingering side effects they’d mentioned, Zhan Yan had nearly exhausted all the gossip threads he could scroll through. His mind felt tired—like he’d overworked his brain—a little foggy, like the kind of fatigue that made him crave sugar.

Hmm… no, he needed to cut back. He’d overindulged when he thought sugar really helped, and it had turned into a bit of a habit.

Just one piece. The fruit candy Gu Jiancheng had bought last time was still there.

Zhan Yan popped a candy into his mouth, filling it with the crisp scent of green apple.

Guessing Gu Jiancheng was almost done showering, Zhan Yan exited the gossip system, and when he looked up, he spotted the gray towel hanging on the back of the chair. Gu Jiancheng’s towel—he’d forgotten to bring it into the bathroom.

Zhan Yan picked up the towel and headed to the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, Gu Jiancheng was extremely displeased.

This entire day—every time he’d tried to get a little closer to Zhan Yan—something or someone had interrupted!

He stood under the showerhead, one hand braced against the tiled wall, hot water steaming the room into a misty haze. The water ran down his hair, over his tense brow, straight nose, tightly pressed lips—trickling down his solid shoulders and back, tracing every line of well-defined muscle.

He kept his eyes closed, standing still beneath the steady white noise of water, slowly breathing to calm himself…

The sound of water falling reminded him of the rain.

And the final interruption of the day—had been the sudden downpour! The weather report had clearly said “sunny”!

Damn that wretched sky!

Gu Jiancheng was agitated—really agitated—so much so he wanted to go crush another hundred or so anomalies to vent! Maybe he’d log into the forum later and buy Abnormal Affairs intel from Zoujin Kexue!

Suddenly, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

Gu Jiancheng froze.

“You forgot your towel. I’m bringing it in,” Zhan Yan’s voice came from outside.

With the sound of the shower and the door in between, Zhan Yan couldn’t tell if Gu Jiancheng had replied. After knocking twice more without an answer, he simply opened the door. They were both men, after all—what was there to be shy about?

Steam filled the room, blurring the tall figure inside with its broad shoulders, slender waist, and long legs.

Zhan Yan couldn’t help but whistle lowly, like a proper scoundrel, at the sight of such a model-worthy physique.

Gu Jiancheng’s head jerked up at the sound, eyes going wide and pitch black with disbelief, his face flushing red from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.

Only after the whistle did Zhan Yan realize what he’d just done. Flustered, he quickly put down the towel and backed out.

He stood dazed outside the door for a few minutes, mind screaming.

Ahhh… what the hell was that brain glitch just now?!

Why had he spaced out like that? It must’ve been the heartbreak from refusing that talisman!

What a scoundrel move that had been!

But while half of him was freaking out, the other half was completely unapologetic.

What’s wrong with teasing your own boyfriend a little?

They were dating after all!

They’d held hands, kissed—so what if he’d whistled?

…But why hadn’t Gu Jiancheng come out yet? What was he thinking?

His face had been so red…

Just as Zhan Yan started worrying that Gu Jiancheng might’ve suffocated himself in the bathroom, the door finally opened.

Gu Jiancheng came out looking calm—but the tips of his ears were still faintly pink. Hard to tell if it was from the hot water or… something else.

Neither of them said a word. Zhan Yan sneaked a glance at him—Gu Jiancheng was properly towel-drying his hair, not even sparing him a glance. But the flush creeping down his neck gave him away again…

How could he be so pure-hearted? Wasn’t this the same clingy guy who shamelessly asked for goodnight kisses so skillfully?

Gu Jiancheng was struggling hard to keep control.

Zhan Yan—oh, Zhan Yan—did he have no sense of danger?

Gu Jiancheng felt a fierce turmoil churning in his chest. He wanted—wanted so badly—to pull him into an embrace, to trap him with his arms, lock him away, cover him entirely in his own shadow… and there Zhan Yan was, sneaking glances at him from the side!

Feeling a little guilty, but also a little amused, Zhan Yan brought over a dry towel and sidled up beside him. “Want me to dry your hair?”

Someone had to break the awkward tension, after all.

“No need,” Gu Jiancheng replied, his tone tight with barely restrained frustration.

Seeing him dodge away, Zhan Yan leaned closer like it was some kind of game. “Come on, let me help. Are you mad because of that little joke?”

Gu Jiancheng stared at him deeply for a moment, then pushed him down into the chair. “Your hair’s longer. I’ll dry yours.”

“Sure.” Zhan Yan sat obediently.

Watching Zhan Yan lower his head for him, Gu Jiancheng felt a complicated, indescribable emotion rising in his chest again.

Zhan Yan didn’t like people touching his hair. Living in a shared dorm in college, casual brushes and bumps were unavoidable, but Zhan Yan would always dodge—or plainly tell people off. His natural curls invited teasing curiosity, and once, when someone insisted on touching despite being told no, Zhan Yan had publicly humiliated them into silence.

Gu Jiancheng had touched his hair before… during kisses, hugs—but never deliberately. This wasn’t about closeness—it was about boundaries. Gu Jiancheng wasn’t the type to trample someone’s space just to prove affection.

But at the train station, he’d seen Zhan Yan let his family touch his hair without hesitation. His dislike of being touched wasn’t just a quirk—it was a line in his mind, a way of dividing his world.

Now, Gu Jiancheng gently squeezed the water from his hair with the towel. Zhan Yan kept his head slightly lowered, revealing a clean, smooth nape.

Was he included in that inner circle now?

When had that happened?

Gu Jiancheng felt something heavy yet sweet welling up inside—his palms warm, his chest burning—a wave of emotion quietly washing away the storm in his heart.

Most of the moisture had been squeezed out. Gu Jiancheng ran his fingers through the hair, the damp, slightly curled strands winding around his fingertips, brushing against his palm and leaving behind an itch that wouldn’t fade.

He sighed softly in his heart. “All done.”

Zhan Yan looked up. “Then you—”

He caught sight of Gu Jiancheng’s eyes and immediately fell silent, his face flushing red.

“What is it?” Gu Jiancheng set the towel aside and glanced at him.

“N-Nothing,” Zhan Yan muttered.

He scrambled back onto the bed, burying himself under the covers, his ears burning bright red.

No good, no good!

How could he be flustered just by a single look?

Calm down, calm down!

After forcing himself to settle down for a while, Zhan Yan reluctantly turned his attention to figuring out his cheat skill’s on-off switch.

Lately, he’d constantly heard animals talking. Sometimes when they were behind him, he’d mistake it for someone speaking to him. It had already made him turn his head several times during practical classes, drawing strange looks from the teachers.

If this problem wasn’t solved, it would seriously affect his normal campus life!

Unfortunately, the cheat skill only had an “on” mode and no “off” switch. The system gave him a rather mocking note:

[You’ve learned a language—how do you make yourself forget the meaning of a language you’ve already mastered?]

Though there was no explanation, Zhan Yan still managed to grasp the key to solving the problem.

He had “learned” the language of animals, just as he had learned Chinese and Spanish.

When he heard Chinese or Spanish, he would naturally understand the meaning—unless he completely forgot these languages, he couldn’t return to a state of incomprehension.

However, he could still tell the difference between Chinese and Spanish.

The key wasn’t to switch off the cheat—it was to learn how to distinguish whether he was hearing animal sounds or human language.

Normally this shouldn’t be a problem, but he’d never “learned” animal language in the usual way. Those sounds skipped the “language recognition” process in his brain and went straight to meaning.

But his ears and brain were perfectly capable of distinguishing between different animal sounds. What he needed to do now was link the processes of “identifying animal sounds” and “understanding animal meanings.”

He just needed a bit of practice—consciously focusing on “identifying the sound” every time he heard an animal noise—and this problem would be solved in no time.

Before going to bed, Zhan Yan checked the Chaofan Forum again.

“I Just Saved the World!” had sent him a private message, asking about anomalies in Beiling City.

Zhan Yan still had a little gossip credit left for the day—might as well use it all up before sleeping.

He did a quick search.

Whoa. Without him realizing, Deep Shadow had wiped out all the anomalies in Beiling City!

Zoujin Kexue: “None left.”

I Just Saved the World!: “None left? What do you mean?”

Zoujin Kexue: “As in, no anomalies I can currently find in Beiling City.”

Fine, then. Gu Jiancheng’s mood was good right now anyway—not as eager to beat anomalies to vent. But something about Zoujin Kexue’s wording felt… off.

Gu Jiancheng stared at the message, thinking it over. After working together for some time, he figured he knew this guy’s style pretty well.

Zoujin Kexue had used way too many qualifiers in that sentence.

I Just Saved the World!: “You mean there’s some Abnormal Affairs in Beiling City you can’t detect?”

He knew the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had been making moves in Beiling City lately but hadn’t paid much attention to the details.

If even Zoujin Kexue couldn’t track this Abnormal Affairs… it reminded Gu Jiancheng of what had happened in Yunjin City.

Zoujin Kexue: “Yeah.”

“Interested?”

“Careful not to run into the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.”

Gu Jiancheng, feeling relaxed, merely snorted inwardly.

I Just Saved the World!: “Let me know if you get any updates.”

“How’s your mental state?”

If Zoujin Kexue couldn’t track the Abnormal Affairs, then it probably had the ability to mentally affect or pollute him. Gu Jiancheng liked working with him—didn’t want to lose a perfectly good partner and have to find another.

Zoujin Kexue: “Heh.”

Gu Jiancheng slowly raised an eyebrow. Just as he was about to retort, he realized this exchange felt… familiar.

He scrolled up the chat history:

Zoujin Kexue: “The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau has been active in Beiling City lately.”

“Don’t get caught.”

I Just Saved the World!: “Heh.”

Gu Jiancheng: …

Forget it.

Couldn’t be bothered with this grudge-holding brat.

He exited the Chaofan Forum.

The dorm room was already dark. In the quiet gloom, he heard the gentle sound of breathing above him, faint traces of green apple shampoo lingering in the air—Zhan Yan’s scent.

No headache. No hallucinations. No dizziness. Gu Jiancheng closed his eyes.

He drifted to sleep in the light, crisp scent of fruit.