Chapter 10

World 1 [10]

Shang Siyu was at a loss for words; she didn’t know how to convey her meaning to Jing Ke.

If she refused, it would seem too heartless.

The fact that Jing Ke had been living within her body for over three months was indisputable.

And during those three months, Jing Ke had been able to perceive every non-private movement of hers. From another perspective, they could be said to have already been living together.

Jing Ke’s lack of understanding was genuine, but she could see the hesitation in Shang Siyu’s eyes. After a moment’s thought, she figured out the crux of the matter.

“Are you bothered by my current body?” Jing Ke asked. “If you mind, then I’ll go find a hotel. Once New Life Technology is on track, I’ll revert to something like my previous Consciousness Form state.”

“No, no, I don’t mind.” Shang Siyu immediately denied it, masking the odd look in her eyes. “I just didn’t react in time. You can stay with me.”

Shang Siyu let out a soft breath, started walking again, and even actively took Jing Ke’s hand. “You’re right. We’re friends and partners; it’s perfectly normal to live together.”

Honestly, Jing Ke had simply acquired a human body; she hadn’t truly become human.

Living together it is then. Having another person at home would make things livelier too.

And maybe Jing Ke could help with the housework~

After their walk, the two returned home. It was almost eight o’clock.

Freshly back in the country, Jing Ke had only the clothes on her back, a single phone, and one twenty-inch suitcase containing her essential documents and a slim laptop.

Realizing Jing Ke didn’t have a change of clothes, Shang Siyu generously brought out some new, unworn undergarments of her own.

“For sleepwear, I don’t have anything brand new at home. Pick one of mine from the wardrobe; tomorrow I’ll take you to the mall to buy new ones,” Shang Siyu said.

Shang Siyu had almost never invited friends to stay over, so she hadn’t prepared extra clothes.

“Will this one do?” Jing Ke instinctively picked a sleepwear set that looked familiar—it was the one Shang Siyu had just taken off the drying rack yesterday.

Discovering Jing Ke had chosen the very set she’d worn, Shang Siyu’s eyes flickered with a hint of unease, but she suppressed it well. “Of course, as long as you don’t mind that I’ve worn it.”

“I don’t mind,” Jing Ke answered seriously.

“Alright. There are new towels and toothbrushes. I’ll bring them to you in a moment.” As soon as Jing Ke took the clothes out, Shang Siyu shut the wardrobe door at once.

“If you need anything else, just tell me directly.” Shang Siyu added, “You should be familiar with the layout of the house, so I won’t introduce it further.”

Jing Ke, holding the sleepwear in both hands, nodded. “Okay, I’ll go take a shower first.”

Shang Siyu hummed lightly. “Remember to turn on the ventilation. I’ll look over the materials you gave me first.”

“Alright, you can use my laptop. It doesn’t have a login password.” After saying that, Jing Ke headed straight for the bathroom in the master bedroom, as familiar as if she’d lived there forever.

In less than a minute, the patter of water seeped through the crack of the door, signaling that Jing Ke had started showering.

Shang Siyu let out a soft breath and pressed the back of her hand against her cheek, continuing to mentally steady herself.

Jing Ke probably picked that sleepwear at random. There was no need to read too much into it. Maybe she just happened to like blue.

Once her heart had settled, Shang Siyu opened Jing Ke’s laptop and browsed through the organized files on the USB drive.

As a Consciousness Form, Jing Ke had an exceptional ability to gather and process data. She had not only categorized and summarized the relevant city-level policies but also listed the provincial policies alongside them.

Industry revitalizes the nation, and for enterprises that could boost the local economy, both the City Government and the Provincial Government had corresponding preferential policies.

Flipping through document after document, Shang Siyu quickly discovered a suitable location within the High-tech Park in the East City District, where the government was also willing to sell land-use rights.

The plot covered about forty acres. It had originally been a parts processing factory that did outsourced manufacturing for foreign clients. It had been relocated overseas the year before and was temporarily abandoned. The infrastructure on-site was well preserved, and with a simple renovation and refurbishment, it could be put to use immediately.

If they purchased the land-use rights and continued to set up a factory, the government would provide an additional 30% subsidy, calculated based on River City’s current baseline land-use price.

Simply put, buying land to set up a factory right now would mean a 30% discount.

After reading this, Shang Siyu immediately took out her phone. Using the baseline land price Jing Ke had already researched, she multiplied it by the square footage and calculated the land price.

A site covering over 26,000 square meters, a fifty-year land-use right, after the discount, came to just over fifty million. That amounted to only one million a year in rent—an extremely good deal.

After Shang Siyu had chosen the ideal factory location, the sound of water from the bathroom stopped.

The rustling of clothes came through the crack of the door, a tiny fraction of the sound slipping into Shang Siyu’s ears, catching a sliver of her attention.

Jing Ke had finished her shower? She was wearing her clothes?

Hearing the bathroom door open, Shang Siyu subconsciously turned to look back and met Jing Ke’s amber eyes.

Jing Ke was indeed wearing the sleepwear Shang Siyu had just worn a few days ago, but only the three middle buttons of the entire row were fastened. Not only was her collarbone exposed, but part of the graceful curve unique to a woman was reflected in Shang Siyu’s eyes.

Her undried hair was casually draped behind her head, giving Jing Ke an air of mundane charm.

“Why didn’t you dry your hair before coming out?” Shang Siyu restrained her gaze, stood up, and handed over a fresh towel.

“I couldn’t find the hairdryer.” Jing Ke took the towel, draped it over her head, and casually wiped left and right.

Seeing a hint of puzzlement on Shang Siyu’s face, Jing Ke added an explanation: “When you’re in the bathroom, I cut off my perception. So I don’t know where things are kept.”

“Cough, the hairdryer is in the cabinet above. I’ll get it for you.” Shang Siyu coughed lightly, retrieving the hairdryer while changing the subject. “Do you need me to help dry your hair?”

“Thank you, but I do understand basic common sense. I can manage,” Jing Ke politely declined.

Shang Siyu said nothing else; she simply handed the hairdryer to Jing Ke and watched her drying technique.

Jing Ke, who claimed to have common sense, switched on the hairdryer without hesitation and immediately set it to maximum power.

She aimed the nozzle at her head and moved it left and right in a very regular rhythm, making her waist-length chestnut hair fly wildly in the air.

“Drying it like that is bad for your hair; it damages the scalp.” After watching for a minute, Shang Siyu couldn’t take it anymore and walked over.

She snatched the hairdryer from Jing Ke’s hands and pressed the girl down into a chair.

“When drying the roots, use a gentler wind and a moderate temperature.” Shang Siyu demonstrated as she spoke.

Jing Ke’s hair was of excellent quality. Shang Siyu only needed to comb through it with her fingers a few times to make the long chestnut hair smooth and obedient.

“When drying the ends, you can increase the wind power and raise the temperature a little.” As Shang Siyu’s fingertips glided through the strands, she caught a familiar fragrance.

Jing Ke had used her shampoo and shower gel. Did that mean she was now carrying her scent?

“Okay, I’ve got it.” Jing Ke obediently placed her hands on her knees, seriously committing Shang Siyu’s words to memory.

The humming of the hairdryer buzzed beside Jing Ke’s ear. Noticing Shang Siyu had been quiet for a while, she spoke up: “Is there anything else I should note?”

Shang Siyu blew at the ends for a moment, then switched off the hairdryer. “That’s about it. If you wash your hair at night, it might be a little messy when you wake up tomorrow. You can be mindful of your sleeping position.”

“But you don’t need to get up early for work, so a more natural hairstyle is fine,” she added. “You can take your time tidying it.”

Jing Ke hummed in acknowledgment, touched her hair, and felt the residual warmth on the strands with her fingertips.

It seemed the general life tips she had previously compiled from the internet were far too one-sided. Applying theory perfectly to real life was not as simple as she had imagined.

Realizing her knowledge had gaps, Jing Ke promptly set about remedying it.

While Shang Siyu was still in the shower, Jing Ke took out her phone and searched for things to pay attention to when sleeping with a friend for the first time, reading each word and sentence carefully.

First time sleeping with a friend: you must pay attention to the sense of boundaries; it’s best not to be too forward.

That seemed somewhat reasonable. Noted.

Don’t let the other person’s hand get trapped under you, or it might annoy them, which is not conducive to friendly exchanges.

She’d probably not make that mistake; this one could be ignored.

Prepare a slightly more sensual outfit to create a relaxing environment, then just go with the flow.

Why did this answer not look like a proper one? Why would you wear sensual clothing when sleeping with a friend?

A question mark inevitably popped up in Jing Ke’s mind. Sleep with a friend, wear sensual clothes—was there any connection between the two at all?

Frowning slightly, she clicked on the details page, and the full question and answer appeared.

After seeing the three keywords: girlfriend, overnight, and first time, Jing Ke initially showed a trace of confusion, then expressionlessly closed the page.

Human search engines really were too unreliable. How could they retrieve answers that were completely off-target?

She was sleeping with a friend, not a girlfriend.

The definitions were so different that they should never be confused by a search engine. Such a mistake was far too low-level!

One-star review.