“I say, Serena…”
“Hm?”
“What time did you actually go to sleep last night?”
Looking at the obvious panda eyes on Serena across from him, Wuming could tell at a glance that she had definitely stayed up very late yesterday.
“It wasn’t… that late…”
“Yawn—”
Suddenly, Serena let out a long yawn, looking extremely tired as she replied to Wuming. “I went to sleep at three…”
Then came another long yawn. Serena drowsily sipped her breakfast.
“Reeeally?”
Wuming deliberately dragged out the word, somewhat skeptical of her claim. With her current state, there was no way she had gone to bed that early!
“Tell me the truth.” Wuming spoke in a tone that left no room for argument, making Serena too afraid to keep lying.
“Five… six o’clock…”
She had gotten too hooked on scrolling videos. In reality, she hadn’t slept until six last night, and even when Wuming woke up and came to wake her, she was still deep in dreamland.
As expected—
This girl had stayed up all night the very first day she got her phone.
Serena lowered her head in shame, not daring to meet Wuming’s eyes.
She had sworn last night that she would definitely control her time.
Now it was obvious she couldn’t control herself at all.
“You only slept for three hours then…”
Wuming was starting to regret giving Serena the phone.
Her self-control was clearly lacking.
Unlike him, after Crosti left yesterday, he had gone straight to bed and slept soundly.
“Sorry, Wuming…”
Serena murmured.
“The videos were just too interesting, so I couldn’t help it…” As she spoke, Serena yawned again.
See? Just as I thought.
Wuming had long anticipated this. She had planned to watch videos to help her sleep, but ended up getting more and more addicted.
She knew the feeling all too well.
“After you finish breakfast, go back to sleep, Serena.”
Wuming couldn’t bear to see her like this and still have to clean the house, so he decided to let her return to her room to sleep some more.
As for last night’s mess… he would have to handle it alone.
“Mmm yawn— Thank you, Wuming.”
Serena thanked him in a voice thick with sleepiness. After finishing breakfast, she went back to her room to rest.
As for Wuming, he had to start cleaning up the aftermath of last night’s party.
He decided to give himself the day off and not see any patients.
More importantly, he was worried that staying open might attract the attention of other killers.
Wuming was even considering not opening for the next few days.
His savings could still last a few months anyway.
If it really came down to it… he would just have to act cute and ask his mom for money…
Of course, that was the absolute last thing he wanted.
He had no desire to become his mom’s little plaything…
After clearing the dining table, Wuming’s gaze turned to the living room.
The scene before him was headache-inducing.
The table was piled with empty takeout boxes and cups, the trash can was overflowing, and there were stains scattered across the floor.
Clearly, this wasn’t just tidying up—it required sweeping and mopping too.
“This is going to be a big job…”
Wuming sighed as he looked at the mess, but he had no choice but to roll up his sleeves.
If Serena had been energetic, the two of them working together would have made it much faster.
Unfortunately, he had to tackle this massive task alone.
He quickly bagged up the trash, replaced the liner, and soon had two full bags of garbage.
Next, Wuming fetched cleaning supplies from the bathroom.
After some hard work, the living room was finally spotless.
Only one step remained: taking the trash out.
“This ghost weather is seriously cold…”
Wuming switched back to his male form, carried the two heavy bags downstairs, and grumbled about the biting chill as he walked.
Still, he had heard it would warm up again in a week.
The weather here was always like this—one moment you were shivering from the cold, the next you were melting from the heat.
There was no real “cooling off” period.
It was like doing sit-ups while lying on your back.
Seeing the office workers passing by, Wuming quickly tossed the trash and hurried home.
Before pulling down the rolling shutter, he carefully scanned the surroundings, checking for any suspicious figures watching from the shadows.
“…”
Everything seemed calm.
Only after confirming no one was tailing him did Wuming relax and close the shutter, returning to the second floor.
Next up—
Time to reward himself!
Wuming switched back to his cute loli form, put on the dinosaur pajamas he had bought with Serena, grabbed a big bag of potato chips, brewed a cup of hot tea, turned on the TV to watch the news, and sank lazily into the sofa with a satisfied expression.
“Yawn—”
“This is what solo living feels like.”
Before Serena appeared, this was how he spent every day—watching movies, playing games… enjoying the quiet freedom of being alone.
Although his current life looked almost the same as before, Serena’s arrival had undeniably added a lot more liveliness.
“So relaxing~”
Wuming felt that this moment was pure bliss.
If only he had some fruit… eating oranges while watching TV would make it even better!
He decided that once Serena woke up, he would head out to buy some fruit.
Oranges, tangerines—whatever was in season right now.
Navel oranges, pomelos… and if possible, it had been ages since he last had jackfruit.
He would check the fruit shop later and buy a box to satisfy his craving.
“Fragrant, crispy jackfruit…”
Just thinking about his favorite fruits made Wuming drool in anticipation.
He silently prayed the fruit shop still had some in stock.
For now, he would wait peacefully for Serena to wake up and watch the house for him.
***
After sleeping another four hours, Serena finally woke up.
The moment she pushed open her door, she saw Wuming curled up on the sofa in his pajamas, watching TV.
“Morning~ Wuming.”
Serena greeted him cheerfully, completely unaware of what time it was as she wished him good morning.
“It’s not morning anymore. The sun’s already high in the sky.”
Wuming glanced out the window and teased her.
Seeing that Serena was awake, Wuming stood up, ready to head out for fruit.
“I’ll leave the house to you, Serena.”
“Watch the house? You’re going out?”
Serena was still a bit groggy from just waking up.
“Why are you leaving the second I wake up?”
“I’m going to buy some fruit. While I’m gone, the house is in your hands.”
With that, Wuming went back to his room to change, did a quick touch-up, and came out again.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Be careful on the way.”
After watching Wuming leave, Serena sat down on the sofa, picked up her phone, and started scrolling, quietly waiting for him to return.
“Mmm…”
“Wuming’s not here…”
Serena turned off her phone and looked at the TV.
She had no idea how long Wuming would be gone buying fruit.
She had wanted to play games with him.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted to the leftover snacks Wuming had been eating on the table.
She had never tried them before and was very curious.
“…”
She picked up a potato chip, brought it to her nose, and sniffed.
Just like all pure-blooded blood clan members, she couldn’t smell any scent.
But the faint aftertaste that had lingered from eating melon seeds before had always stuck in her mind.
Almost as if possessed, she stuck out her tongue and gently licked the chip.
In an instant, a rich tomato-sauce flavor exploded across her tongue and filled her entire mouth. Serena’s pupils shrank!
“—!!!”
In shock, Serena shoved the whole chip into her mouth and chewed carefully, savoring it.
The crisp texture of the potato chip mixed with the distinct tomato flavor—this was no illusion. She was truly tasting it!
What was going on?!
She quickly grabbed another chip and tasted it. This time, the wonderful flavor vanished just like before.
The chip became bland and tasteless again, as if the previous experience had been nothing more than a brief gift.
Why… why was this happening?!
Serena was completely baffled. Why could she suddenly taste other flavors, and why did the sensation disappear in the blink of an eye?
Could it be… the experiments made me like this?
That was the only explanation she could think of right now, unless…
Her gaze unconsciously shifted to the ring on her finger.
But she had never heard that signing a contract with another race would grant a sense of taste.
Was it something Wuming had given her?
The whole situation left Serena deeply worried.
She didn’t understand what had caused this change, and she was even more afraid it meant some unknown abnormality was happening to her body.
The unknown was exactly what terrified people the most!
Calm down… calm down…
Serena convinced herself to stay calm.
First, she needed to confirm one thing: exactly what was happening with her sense of taste?
To test it, Serena rushed to the kitchen, opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of soda, and gulped it down without hesitation.
“…”
The soda’s flavor lingered in her mouth for a few brief seconds before fading back into tastelessness.
“…”
It only lasted for a few short seconds…