I Want to Slack Off at the Demon Bureau

Chapter 2: 02

Chapter 2Xin Yunmao's arrogance greatly shocked the only human present.

Chu Zhishui remarked, "Indeed, it's rare to see..." someone so self-satisfied.

In the next moment, Xin Yunmao displayed an "as expected" expression, as if he could see right through Chu Zhishui.

Chu Zhishui truly hated her ability to read people's expressions. She particularly wanted to say something rude to strike back at him, but felt it wasn't worth risking her life over something trivial. After all, she didn't even know what he was, and confronting him head-on would be like throwing eggs at a stone.

Fortunately, Xin Yunmao didn't say more. He returned to his initial coldness, hands in his pockets, and continued walking downstairs.

Chu Zhishui followed him back to the spacious yet modest courtyard.

As soon as they left the building, brilliant sunlight poured in, warming the open space outside the office building and dispelling the early spring chill from her body.

The Observation Bureau compound didn't have many buildings. The tallest office building was covered in Boston ivy, with a row of unremarkable low-rise buildings beside it. Next to the buildings was a flat piece of land, now covered in lush green grass, with a corner cultivated for growing some Chinese greens and potato seedlings.

After leaving the building, Xin Yunmao lazily sat down on a stone round stool, narrowing his eyes drowsily as he enjoyed the filtered sunlight through the tree shade.

Seeing that he was no longer paying attention to her, Chu Zhishui, who had been on edge all day in the building and truly couldn't understand non-human thinking, tentatively asked, "...May I take my leave then?"

She wondered if these supernatural beings would playfully catch her halfway through her escape.

"You're still here?" Xin Yunmao heard her voice and slowly opened his eyes, looking her up and down as if quite surprised.

Chu Zhishui suddenly understood his thought process for a moment - he must be thinking along the lines of his "divine and handsome existence," as if she was deliberately lingering to spend more time with him.

She had to admit, as long as he wasn't deliberately maintaining a stern face, his micro-expressions were extremely easy to read.

Chu Zhishui wearily said, "...Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Chu Zhishui headed to the parking lot without looking back. She got in her car and drove away from the Observation Bureau like a whirlwind. Although she had initially been frightened by the shadow on the wall, after being interrupted by the narcissistic ghost-man, her mind was now filled with exasperation rather than fear.

The Huaijiang Observation Bureau was located in a relatively remote area, quite far from the residential complex where Chu Zhishui's parents lived. There was no public transportation between the two locations, and it took thirty minutes by car. While such a commuting distance wouldn't be considered much in a first-tier city, it wasn't very convenient in a small city, and driving to work was clearly an additional expense.

Half an hour later, Chu Zhishui had calmed down during the drive. She carefully parked her car in the underground garage and decided to make a phone call before heading home.

Although she was safe now, she had definitely seen the shadow earlier, and the narcissistic ghost-man had admitted he wasn't human - the new workplace was filled with abnormalities everywhere.

Chu Zhishui called Hong Ximing, but there was no answer. Looking at the time, she realized it was already past 5:00 PM. This was the personnel department's landline number, and it probably wouldn't be answered after office hours.

Despite being haunted, the new workplace was quite punctual about closing time - not a minute over, or perhaps there were just few people there to begin with, mostly strange ghosts instead.

A moment later, Chu Zhishui arrived home. Before she could even change her shoes after opening the security door, she was greeted by the appetizing aroma of food.

The dining room was lit with warm yellow light, and two dishes and a soup were already set on the table. The steamed pork with rice powder was still steaming hot, the stir-fried squash tips were vibrant green, and the winter melon bone soup had a clear, appetizing appearance that made one's mouth water.

"Ah, you're back!" Xie Yan saw her daughter enter and immediately reached out to pat Chu Xiaohe on the sofa, urging, "Alright, stop lounging around, hurry up and cook the last dish!"

"I just sat down for a moment, haven't even warmed the seat yet..." Chu Xiaohe grumbled quietly while reluctantly heading to the kitchen.

Her parents had been waiting in the living room for their only daughter who was coming home late.

After graduation, Chu Zhishui had been working in Yinhai City, living alone in a rented apartment for a long time, never having the chance to have someone waiting for her to come home for dinner.

Since returning to her hometown, she seemed to have become more emotionally sensitive. Especially after experiencing so many strange things today, seeing such ordinary family moments now inexplicably made her chest tighten and her eyes threaten to water.

She felt that while she could be invincible outside, she would crumble once back in this familiar haven.

"Mom, don't let Dad cook anymore, we already have too much food."

"It's fine, just one more leafy green dish. You need a balanced diet now, or your stomach will act up again!"

Ever since Chu Zhishui had fallen seriously ill, Xie Yan had become somewhat overprotective.

Soon, the family of three was happily dining together, and inevitably the conversation turned to her new workplace.

Chu Xiaohe glanced at his daughter and casually asked, "Did everything go smoothly today?"

Chu Zhishui had never been a child who caused her parents to worry, whether in studies or work, she always had her own ideas, but they would still routinely ask about her day.

"Today..." Chu Zhishui hesitated unusually, "was fairly smooth, I suppose."

She couldn't really categorize her experience at the Observation Bureau as either smooth or not. Mainly, talking about the wall shadows and other things would make it seem like she had mental issues, and would likely just add to her parents' worries.

"That's good. Don't work too hard now that you're back, don't be as intense as before!" Xie Yan advised, "You still have to decorate your place, save some energy. Your health is the most important thing."

Chu Zhishui replied, "Today was just paperwork, no real work yet. I officially start tomorrow."

"Then get to bed early tonight, rest up well."

After dinner, Chu Zhishui chatted with her parents in the living room for a while before returning to her room to ponder the supernatural events. Having been away from her hometown for so long, she could only ask childhood friends and classmates about the Observation Bureau's conditions and whether there had been any horrifying incidents in the past.

"The salary at that kind of institution is just average, definitely not as much as you earned in Yinhai, but it's considered decent in Huaijiang."

Chu Zhishui was silent for a moment, then lowered her voice, "...Are there any strange rumors?"

"What kind of rumors?"

"Like haunting and such?"

"That's impossible. I have a friend of a friend who once got accepted there, and even visited the Huaijiang Observation Bureau, but he ended up not choosing it because of the distance, which was purely his personal reason."

This matched what Chu Zhishui had found in her own online

Chu Zhishui's eyes followed the bubbles' movement trajectory, finally realizing the source was Jin Yu sitting in front of her.

The water dispenser happened to be in Jin Yu's upper left corner. Chu Zhishui pretended to be calm as she got up for water, taking the opportunity to see Jin Yu working from the front, finally confirming that her little colleague was blowing bubbles!

Jin Yu seemed to be struggling with the spreadsheet, not noticing Chu Zhishui's expression. She anxiously scratched her head from time to time, her lips unconsciously opening and closing, making soft popping sounds like a fish poking its head above water.

This wasn't frightening, just like biting nails or pursing lips, except for the occasional bubbles that flew out when she opened her mouth.

Chu Zhishui stood silently holding her water cup for a long time before finally speaking: "Jin Yu."

"What is it?" Jin Yu looked up innocently, her voice sweet and lively.

Chu Zhishui stared at her colleague's innocent face, swallowed slightly, and said casually, "Jin Yu, you're not human, are you?"

The air froze, and no one spoke.

Chu Zhishui watched as Jin Yu's expression changed slightly, showing shock and panic. Her face turned blood red, her lips trembled timidly, and her eyes could barely contain two pools of clear tears, displaying an about-to-cry expression as if suffering a great injustice.

Chu Zhishui became confused - had she guessed wrong? Did Jin Yu think she was insulting her?

The next moment, Jin Yu's tears finally broke free as she burst out crying, exclaiming in fear and shock: "...H-how did you know!?"

"..."

Jin Yu cried so hard she could barely breathe, as if facing a world-ending catastrophe.

Chu Zhishui had hesitated earlier about whether to expose this, fearing Jin Yu might become angry and lash out, but now her little colleague was crying inconsolably, making her feel guilty and moved, mistakenly thinking she had said something cruel about species discrimination.

"If you're not human, shouldn't I be the one crying?" Chu Zhishui pulled some tissues from the desk and handed them to the sobbing Jin Yu, patting her back consolingly while saying helplessly, "Why are you crying so hard?"

"I-I'm scared..." Jin Yu cried so hard she couldn't complete her sentences.

As a non-human, what are you afraid of? Shouldn't humans be the ones who are afraid!?

Crocodile tears are just two or three drops, but Jin Yu's tears could flood the office, setting the scene for a rendition of "Bubbles."

As her little colleague cried, she kept producing bubbles, threatening to submerge everything around them, like putting too much detergent in a washing machine. Rainbow-colored bubbles emerged endlessly, quickly engulfing both human and supernatural being.

Chu Zhishui was dumbfounded watching this scene, her clothes almost getting wet.

She wished she had stayed silent, regretting that she had seen through it, or else everything wouldn't have turned into bubbles.