Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 145

Chapter 145

This was a place that felt utterly alien to He Jiarui.

Her eyes had been drugged, leaving her vision blurred and shadowed. The air was thick with a cold, damp chill that sent her heart racing with panic.

“Mmph… mmph…” She tried to cry out for help, but her wrists were bound behind her back. The ropes were tied so tightly they cut into her skin, restricting her circulation and causing a dull, throbbing pain.

Fear consumed her mind.

Dark childhood memories she had long since buried came rushing back like a tidal wave.

When He Jiarui was small, she had been kidnapped by unknown assailants. At the time, Ji Xuan had gone out to work, leaving her home alone. When someone knocked on the door, she had opened it, thinking her Keeper had returned. Instead, she was struck over the head and knocked unconscious. She was kept locked in a pitch-black room for seven days and seven nights until Ji Xuan and the police finally rescued her.

Ji Xuan told her he had paid a ransom to get her back.

It was from that moment on that she became deeply attached to him.

She thought she had forgotten it all.

But now, trapped in this gloom, she felt as though she were that helpless little girl again.

Who would save her?

***

When Lin She returned, Gu Huaiwei was curled up on a lounge chair, clutching a half-edited script in her arms. She looked peaceful in her sleep, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow. She looked like any ordinary schoolgirl you might find on a campus, someone who would easily vanish into a crowd.

There was no trace of worldliness or aggression about her.

Gu Huaiwei had intended to wait for Lin She to return to ask him about the phone. However, she had been so exhausted, and the blanket on the chair was so soft, that her plan to just rest her eyes had quickly turned into a deep slumber.

Seeing this, Lin She reached out a pale, bony hand, casting a shadow over Gu Huaiwei’s sleeping face.

Gu Huaiwei had previously instructed Lin She to wake her as soon as he returned with news.

True to her request, Lin She prepared to wake her.

Before he could touch her shoulder, however, He Xueyi caught his wrist.

“Let her rest. Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow.”

Although He Xueyi’s skin was snow-white, it held a healthy flush. When his fingers gripped Lin She’s cold, white wrist, the two men’s temperatures were starkly different.

“No,” Lin She’s logic was simple. Gu Huaiwei had told him to report back upon his return, so he intended to complete the task.

“Is work really that important?” Under the lamplight, He Xueyi cast no shadow, giving him an ethereal, hollow appearance. A faint crimson hue touched the corners of his eyes as his golden gaze fixed on Lin She. “The Shop Manager Miss has been staying up late every night lately. You should show a little more consideration for humans.”

“Don’t you want to open the gates to Paradise sooner?”

“The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“Don’t get in my way. Your presence lowers my efficiency; you are redundant.” Lin She’s dark green pupils locked onto He Xueyi. With just a light touch of his other hand against He Xueyi’s, two bleeding puncture wounds appeared on the back of He Xueyi’s hand.

“Don’t be so violent.” He Xueyi flicked out his pink tongue, licking away the small beads of blood from his hand.

Their methods were diametrically opposed, and neither could stand the other’s approach.

In the end, Lin She woke Gu Huaiwei anyway.

Gu Huaiwei startled awake, and the script she had been editing slipped from her grasp. He Xueyi bent down quickly, catching it before it hit the floor.

“You’re both here,” Gu Huaiwei said, rubbing her bleary eyes. She glanced at the time on her phone; it was three in the morning.

He Xueyi handed the script back to her.

“Shop Manager Miss, if you’re tired, you should rest a while longer.”

“No need. Lin She is back, and for the sake of the upcoming filming schedule, I need to put in some overtime tonight.” Gu Huaiwei’s soft hair fell gently over her shoulders. She noticed the obvious concern in He Xueyi’s golden eyes. “It’s late. You should go get some rest first.”
Bai Miemie had the most regular schedule of them all. She went to bed early and woke up early, always full of energy. At this hour, she was already in the Matchmaker’s Cottage, sprawled out asleep under her quilt.

“You two really are workaholics. Paradise certainly made the right choice with you,” He Xueyi said as he turned to leave, giving the lobby back to Lin She.

Lin She reported his results immediately. “Miss Gu, I managed to copy the data from He Jiarui’s phone.”

“I knew you could do it.” Gu Huaiwei climbed out of her lounge chair. She had just woken up from a nap and felt lazy all over.

In the middle of the night, even the chirping of insects outside the Matchmaking Agency had ceased. The lobby was exceptionally quiet, with only the faint glow of the computer screen reflecting on Gu Huaiwei’s face.

“Come here and import the data you copied into the computer.” Gu Huaiwei returned to her workstation sluggishly. She let out a yawn, her eyes slightly hazy and her movements a bit slow as she tapped on the keyboard.

Lin She pulled an office chair over to sit beside her and imported the information he had gathered today into Gu Huaiwei’s computer.

Gu Huaiwei scrolled slowly with the mouse. As she read the text messages copied from He Jiarui’s phone, her sleepy, unfocused eyes gradually sharpened, and her expression turned serious.

Over the past two days, He Jiarui had been constantly messaging Chen Liuxiang, questioning the nature of her relationship with Lu Beijiu.

He Jiarui: Is Lu Beijiu really the most special one in your heart?

He Jiarui: Why did you even enter a Bonding with me? You keep us in the manor, but you never touch us or let us lay eggs for you. Xiangxiang, I really can’t see through you.

He Jiarui: Xiao Gao said that every time you go on a long trip, you’re with a man. Is that man Lu Beijiu?

He Jiarui: If you really care about him, then just dissolve the contracts with all of us and take only him back to the manor.

He Jiarui: If you treated everyone equally, I wouldn’t demand both Magnetic Value and love. But you can’t be special only to one person; it makes me feel so cheap.

He Jiarui: Give me a straight answer. If I know the truth, I’ll give up and stop bothering you.

Chen Liuxiang’s attitude toward He Jiarui was exceptionally cold.

She stated that if He Jiarui wanted to return to the manor, they could resume their relationship. If she wanted to part ways completely, she wouldn’t stop her.

As for the Magnetic Value compensation, He Jiarui could name any price she wanted.

Gu Huaiwei rested her face in one hand and speculated, “Do you think He Jiarui might be playing missing on purpose to get Chen Liuxiang’s attention and make her worry?”

“It’s a possibility.” Lin She couldn’t quite understand the human thought process, but he had only seen such behavior-placing oneself in danger to gain attention-in the fragile sacrifices within Paradise.

“If that’s the case, she’s being too naive.”

Gu Huaiwei continued scrolling down. Whenever He Jiarui felt wronged by Chen Liuxiang, she would complain to Ji Xuan to seek comfort.

The initial conversations were normal.

However, because Ji Xuan was overly indulgent and submissive toward her, the things she said later on began to cross the line.

He Jiarui: I want to go back to your side, but I have no reason to.

He Jiarui: Why are you just a minor clerk? If your Skin Suit were a bit more perfect, if you weren’t so ordinary, if you had enough Magnetic Value… we could live very happily.

He Jiarui: In the end, it’s still your fault.

Two hours after that message was sent, Ji Xuan sent a final reply.

Ji Xuan: I’m sorry.