Chapter 11: World 1 [11]

After drying her hair and coming out of the bathroom, Shang Siyu saw Jing Ke sighing in the single-seat sofa, and a hint of curiosity surfaced.

“What’s wrong? Did you see some bad news?” Shang Siyu asked, wearing a sleepwear set of the same style as Jing Ke’s but a different color.

However, Shang Siyu had fastened all the buttons, including the top one, giving her sleepwear the air of formal dress.

“Nothing. I just discovered that common human search engines are rather poor. They didn’t give me the answer I wanted,” Jing Ke said truthfully, her tone tinged with a sigh.

“If you ever want to change careers, maybe you could start from that angle. Build a software with higher search precision; you’d definitely get a lot of praise.”

Shang Siyu laughed upon hearing this. “Some search engines are indeed like that. You look up why you have a headache, and they make you think you’ve got a terminal illness. For everyday searches, sites that pay for promotion are placed near the top. Usually, you need to scroll further back to get the pages you actually want.”

“That’s so unreliable…” Jing Ke couldn’t help muttering under her breath.

“Can’t be helped; that’s the general trend,” Shang Siyu said, her fingers twitching slightly. For a moment, she felt an urge to pat Jing Ke’s head.

Fortunately, Shang Siyu’s self-control was good, and the thought merely flashed through her mind. “It’s almost nine-thirty now. Do you want to go to sleep right away or read for a while?”

“Sleep. Maintaining a good routine is good for health. I need to take good care of my body.” Jing Ke placed her phone on the side table, stood up, and walked to the bed.

Jing Ke looked at Shang Siyu, who was still standing in place. “Can I sleep on the right side? I remember you’re used to sleeping a little more to the left.”

“Of course,” Shang Siyu said, picking up the bolster pillow that lay across the middle of the bed and putting it on the sofa. “If you prefer the left, that’s fine too. I don’t have a strict habit of sleeping on one side.”

Jing Ke made an OK sign. “Then I’ll take the right. A guest follows the host’s lead.”

Seeing Jing Ke draw the curtains and get ready to lie down, Shang Siyu instinctively glanced at the bed. Noticing there was only one quilt, something suddenly dawned on her.

But Jing Ke moved too quickly. Before Shang Siyu could speak, she was already lying stiffly down, the quilt tucked up to her chin, leaving only her head exposed.

After a split second of hesitation, Shang Siyu swallowed the words she’d been about to say.

The quilt was two meters long; it could cover two people. One quilt it is, then. No big deal.

Shang Siyu lifted the quilt and lay down. Turning off the main light, the only source of illumination in the room became the small nightlight by the bed.

“Goodnight,” came Jing Ke’s voice, with only her head peeking out.

“Goodnight,” Shang Siyu replied, opting to lie flat on her back.

The act of sleeping was somewhat foreign to Jing Ke, because as a Consciousness Form, she had never needed sleep. In her incorporeal state, as long as she didn’t expend extra energy, it was rest.

Close your eyes, empty your mind, relax your body bit by bit, then gradually drift into slumber.

Jing Ke rigorously executed every step, but after ten minutes with her eyes closed, she still hadn’t managed to conjure up any drowsiness.

Well, it was her first time being human; she still wasn’t quite used to it.

After about another half hour, Jing Ke finally found the right feeling and slowly fell asleep.

Shang Siyu had a good biological clock. If she slept before ten, she would wake up around seven.

Even with Jing Ke added to the bed, she maintained this routine. Soon after sunrise, she hazily opened her eyes.

She had slept so comfortably, no chaotic dreams, and the bolster pillow in her arms felt as good as ever.

Wait, bolster pillow? Didn’t she put the bolster on the sofa before bed?

When had she retrieved it? Or… was what she was holding not a bolster at all?

Realizing the sensation was wrong, Shang Siyu’s eyes flew wide open. By the faint light filtering through the curtains, she clearly saw what she was holding.

It wasn’t her pillow at all—it was the living, warm Jing Ke!

Jing Ke’s head was resting on her shoulder, most of her body tucked under the quilt just as before bed, with only a fluffy head exposed.

Judging by the slightly messy chestnut wisps of hair, Jing Ke’s sleeping position bore no resemblance whatsoever to how she had been when she’d lain down.

Shang Siyu slowed her breathing, carefully removed her hand from Jing Ke’s body, and then inched backward, trying to erase any trace that she’d been using Jing Ke as a bolster.

Jing Ke had been sleeping with her head leaning on Shang Siyu’s shoulder. As Shang Siyu moved back, Jing Ke’s head, losing its support, shifted too, from resting on a shoulder to her face pressing against the pillow.

For the average person, nine hours of sleep was plenty. And once that sleep need was met, even small movements were enough to wake someone.

The difference between a warm torso and a cool pillow was not small. Detecting the change, Jing Ke’s crow-feather lashes fluttered slightly and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Shang Siyu.” Jing Ke accurately pronounced the name reflected in her amber eyes, her gaze gradually sharpening. “Is it time to get up?”

“Yes, yes, it’s time to get up.” Shang Siyu tugged at the quilt as a cover. “It should be seven o’clock now.”

“Seven,” Jing Ke repeated, then briskly propped herself up with one hand against the bed.

“Can I borrow another set of clothes from you? Yesterday’s aren’t washed,” Jing Ke asked, turning to look at Shang Siyu.

With only three buttons fastened to begin with, and thanks to Jing Ke’s free sleeping posture, only two remained in place now. The hem and collar of the sleepwear were wrinkled and turned out to varying degrees.

Shang Siyu’s gaze moved from bottom to top, and a splendid view entered her eyes.

Realizing her gaze was inappropriate, Shang Siyu quickly averted her eyes.

“Of course, our sizes are similar. Just go pick whatever you want from the wardrobe,” Shang Siyu said, lying flat and staring rigidly at the ceiling.

“Can I choose any piece of clothing in the wardrobe?” Jing Ke asked again to be sure.

“Yes, any of them,” Shang Siyu replied, not daring to let her eyes stray, trying to forget the image she’d just seen.

Yet sometimes, the more you want to forget something, the more you remember it. Just like the monkeys of the Himalayas, the image only deepened in her mind until it was utterly unforgettable.

Jing Ke didn’t notice Shang Siyu’s oddness. Barefoot on the gray carpet, she walked halfway around the bed to the wardrobe.

Since she could pick freely, Jing Ke went entirely by her own preference and selected a combination that was Shang Siyu’s favorite.

In the common-sense knowledge Jing Ke had absorbed, there was no need for many inhibitions between people of the same gender.

So after picking out the clothes, Jing Ke simply undid the last two buttons of her sleepwear and changed right in front of the wardrobe.

Hearing the rustle of changing clothes, Shang Siyu’s body once again reacted faster than her brain, and she instinctively looked toward the source of the sound.

Thankfully, Jing Ke had her back to Shang Siyu, so she only saw Jing Ke’s fair back, the shoulder blades that seemed ready to fly, and the dimples at her waist that appeared with each dressing motion.

A truly striking figure, more perfect than many specimens she had seen during her university days.

Shang Siyu stared, dumbfounded, until Jing Ke had put on her trousers and long-sleeved top. Only then did she belatedly withdraw her gaze and return to examining the ceiling.

“Shang Siyu, which outfit are you wearing today? I’ll bring it out for you,” the now-dressed Jing Ke said, turning around.

“Me? Anything’s fine. You can just pick any set for me,” Shang Siyu replied in a stilted tone.

She was clearly looking at the white ceiling, yet why did the image in her mind remain Jing Ke’s perfect back and those tempting waist dimples?

Could it be she was a lecherous person? No way, right?

According to yesterday’s plan, after having breakfast at a restaurant outside the residential complex, Shang Siyu took Jing Ke to the nearby mall to buy her some new clothes and essential daily necessities.

Jing Ke had no opinion on the price range of what she wore. Every choice Shang Siyu made, she nodded in agreement.

Even when Shang Siyu deliberately grabbed a flashy patterned shirt, smiling as she asked Jing Ke what she thought, Jing Ke’s answer didn’t change.

Jing Ke still nodded. “Looks nice. Let’s buy one.”

“Are you sure?” Shang Siyu looked at the gaudy shirt, which looked like an old-fashioned floral quilt, and felt her head throb.

Shang Siyu asked sincerely, “If you wear this, how would you match your outfit?”

“With black clothes?” Jing Ke pondered and gave her answer. “Black is very versatile. It should work with this shirt, right?”

Alright, black goes with everything. Can’t argue with that.

“Fine, then let’s buy it.” Shang Siyu decided to indulge Jing Ke’s choice. After all, with such a perfect figure, she’d probably look good even in a sack, so she could likely pull off a floral shirt.

Jing Ke flashed an OK sign, directly took two of the shirts, told the store clerk to wrap them, and handed over her bank card at the same time.

“Why are you buying two identical ones?” Shang Siyu asked, puzzled. “For a spare to change into?”

“Your wardrobe doesn’t have this style. Two shirts, one for each of us.” Jing Ke smiled at Shang Siyu. “You lent me your clothes; I’ll give you clothes in return. A friendly exchange, it makes friendships last longer.”

Shang Siyu’s eyelid twitched. She suddenly regretted her earlier indulgence.

Still, her own figure wasn’t bad. She could probably pull off a floral shirt, right?

Before Shang Siyu could finish her mental preparation, an annoyingly familiar voice drifted in.

“Isn’t that Classmate Shang? What a coincidence! I never thought I’d run into you while inspecting my business properties. We really are fated.” Xue Fan had appeared at the shop entrance at some point, looking at Shang Siyu with a beaming smile.

Xue Fan was dressed in a suit and wearing sunglasses for show, followed by two people who looked like assistants—one carrying a notebook and the other holding a camera. They looked quite the part.