Chapter 1241: Next Time, Certainly

Clack

. The dice soon came to a stop, both facing six. Twelve points. The lucky number in the game.

“Whoa!”

“We win!”

“A miracle!”

“Yanyan’s amazing!”

As soon as Gao Yang entered Vermilion Bird’s room, he heard the cheers erupt outside.

Inside, warm light poured onto the desk from the desk lamp, illuminating the stack of files Vermilion Bird was studying. She was dressed in cozy pajamas with a pair of grey glasses perched on her nose and a fringe sticker putting up her bangs. She twirled a fountain pen in one hand while holding a mug with her other hand.

A blackboard was hung before the desk, covered in a collage of pictures and clues, like the setup for a private eye looking for a serial killer.

When she heard the door open, she said without turning around, “You play the game. I’m not joining to—”

“Xia Li,” Gao Yang called out.

After a pause, Vermilion Bird put away the fountain pen and mug and removed her glasses. She took a deep breath, stood up, and then turned to level Gao Yang with a serious stare. Under the dim light, the young man cut a sickly, melancholy figure—always ready to wander further like he had no home.

Vermilion Bird smiled with mock hurt. “I thought you would seek me out first thing when you woke up, but I turned out to be the last one you visited.”

Gao Yang gave her a small smile. “I’m leaving the most important to the last.”

“Smooth-talking me already? You must be recovering quite well.” Vermilion Bird went up to him and spread her arms, giving him a gentle hug. “Welcome back, Gao Yang. I’m glad to see you.”

“The sentiment is mutual,” Gao Yang said.

Vermilion Bird let go of him and stepped back, giving him a once-over. “You feel different again.”

Gao Yang met her eyes and said noncommittally, “I can say the same about you.”

“Really?”

Gao Yang nodded. “Your room doesn’t smell like cigarettes.”

Vermilion Bird let out a self-satisfied laugh. “I quit.”

Gao Yang looked at her with surprise.

Vermilion Bird frowned, annoyed. “What’s that look for? Do you not believe me?”

“Why did you quit so suddenly?”

“No reason,” Vermilion Bird shrugged. “One day I woke up and found my pack of cigarettes empty. I asked Gregor for one, but he had just finished his pack. It was a hassle to go out and buy more. And it was cold that day. I thought:

if only Gao Yang were awake. He could buy me cigarettes in a flash.

Then I realized:

Gao Yang would never buy cigarettes for me. Instead, he would tell me to quit with a long face

. That made me even more annoyed...”

“So you quit?” Gao Yang asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, I quit just like that,” Vermilion Bird said. “I surprised myself.”

“That’s worthy of praise.” Gao Yang looked at the blackboard before the desk. “Any lead?”

Vermilion Bird sighed. “None.”

Since the Battle of the Curtain Call, Vermilion Bird had been looking into the keyword Wenzi left her—Captain.

If anyone found a lead, they would give the information to Vermilion Bird, letting her compile and analyze it. Vermilion Bird spent seven months looking for a needle in a haystack, finding nothing.

“Did you know about Dragon?” Vermilion Bird asked.

Gao Yang nodded.

She asked bluntly, “Do you think Dragon would be the Captain?”

Gao Yang didn’t respond.

“Didn’t the Godbearer Cult lie about giving its followers tickets out of the doomsday?” Vermilion Bird paused. “Dragon said before that we were all on the same boat, only we had different missions. He also said that his mission came after yours. Could his mission be steering the ship?”

She shook her head. “But then why did he vanish with the Miracle Rune Circuit? There’s so much I don’t understand.”

She paused. “Sorry, you just woke up, but I’m already talking to you about work.”

Gao Yang shook his head. “While I was unconscious, it was thanks to you that the others were still united.”

“That much is true.” Vermilion Bird smiled wryly. “To maintain team synergy, I even organized New Year gatherings. I hated New Year gatherings.”

“I don’t have much of a clue yet, Xia Li,” Gao Yang said. “I’ll talk to you once I find something.”

“Alright.”

“I’ll be leaving.”

“It’s late,” Vermilion Bird offered. “You should stay the night at the S Base and catch up with everyone.”

“Maybe next time,” Gao Yang said. “I want to go home first.”

Vermilion gave him another hug—this time with more care and warmth. “You can drop by anytime, Gao Yang.”

“I know.”

...

Half an hour later, Gao Yang returned to the Shanqing District. He got out of the taxi near his neighborhood. He suddenly felt like walking the street he used to walk to go to school.

After a while, he heard a voice behind him: “Cap...Team Leader Gao!”

Gao Yang turned around to see a petite girl jogging up to him. She wore a red coat and a scarf with her hair blanketing her shoulders. Half of her face was drowned in the scarf.

Gao Yang broke into a faint smile. “Hong Xiaoxiao.”

“Team Leader Gao, what a coincidence to run into you here.” Hong Xiaoxiao came up to him with a beam. She had chosen to go home and spend time with her family after the Battle of the Curtain Call. She reported back to the Millennium Tower once a week.

A boy came up to her with two large bags of groceries. “Sis, that’s Team Leader Gao? I thought he would be a balding old man, but he’s young.”

“He’s young and successful!” Hong Xiaoxiao gave Gao Yang a look. “When I was with the company, Team Leader Gao took good care of me.”

Gao Yang played along without missing a beat. “I took care of you because you were a good worker, Little Hong. The new hires nowadays are getting worse and worse. How about returning to the company?”

Before Hong Xiaoxiao could answer, her brother said, “Have mercy on my sister, Team Leader Gao. She’s really not suitable for sales. She’s gonna hit menopause early if she goes back.”

“Wanna die?!” Hong Xiaoxiao hit him on the shoulder.

“Who is this, Little Hong?” A middle-aged couple and an elderly man joined them.

“Dad, Mom, Grandpa, this is the Team Leader Gao I often talked to you about. That time when our whole team lost our passports and got stuck overseas, it was thanks to him that we managed to return.”

“Oh, Team Leader Gao! A pleasure to meet you!” Her father immediately came up to shake Gao Yang’s hand.

“You’re younger than we expected!” Her mother approached Gao Yang with a bright smile. “You aren’t married yet, are you, young man? Got a girlfriend? What’s your zodiac sign...”

“Mom!” Hong Xiaoxiao hurriedly cut her off.

“Why are you being so loud? I’m not setting you up for a blind date or anything!” Her mother huffed. “I’ve got KPI to hit. You must know that your aunties are dead worried about their daughters.”

“Grandpa!” Hong Xiaoxiao sent an SOS signal.

“Enough with that, Little Fang. We just met him.” Her grandfather chuckled and inspected Gao Yang more closely. “Our Little Hong has troubled you, Team Leader Gao.”

“She didn’t,” Gao Yang said.

“My daughter-in-law is a little lacking in tact. Please don’t take it personally.”

“I won’t.”

“Would you like to come in for tea if it’s not too troublesome?” The old man offered.

“Unfortunately, I have something else to take care of.” Gao Yang smiled. “Next time, certainly.”

“Alright, alright. Good man.” The old man patted him on the shoulder before turning away and leaving with the family.

Once they thought Gao Yang was out of earshot, Hong Xiaoxiao’s grandfather said, “Why would you introduce such a good man to someone else’s daughter? Do you think our Little Hong isn’t good enough...”

“Grandpa!”

“No, Father. I was being tactful. I didn’t want to be too blunt. Young people these days like the indirect approach...”

“Mom!”

“That Tea Leader Gao is clearly popular with women. Sister can’t win him over...”

“I’m going to get mad, real mad!”

...

Gao Yang stood rooted to the spot while he watched the loving family of five slowly walk away.

After a long while, he turned around with his hands in his pockets and disappeared into the crowd.