"What do you mean by 'sleep position like a haunted ghost'? How does that work?"
Ansheng looked puzzled, unable to figure out how any sleep position could be described as haunted ghost-like.
"Curious?" Momo lifted her hand, tapping her cheek lightly, hinting strongly to the little fox.
"...You're despicable!" Ansheng pouted, turning around to nudge Momo's cheek with her mouth.
"I'll show you later."
While speaking, Momo sent a message with her phone to Tang You in the next room of the suite, asking her not to lock the door when she sleeps soon, as she would bring the little fox over to observe the 'spirit clinging sleep position'.
Tang You agreed, half an hour later.
Momo placed the little fox on her shoulder and tiptoed to the neighboring room's door.
Lingren was cuddling someone to sleep, while Tang You slept facing the bedside table, her back to Lingren.
"Wait a bit, they should merge soon," Momo said with a smile, glancing around the room.
"Oh?"
Ansheng and Momo squatted at the door together, and about five minutes later, Lingren on the bed began to move.
The sleeping Lingren turned over, raised her hand to rest on Tang You's right arm, hooking Tang You's thigh with her foot, clinging like a cicada on Tang You's back.
Tang You turned to sleep on her stomach, with Lingren creeping onto her back.
Tang You instinctively moved, and Lingren pursued throughout.
"Ridiculous..."
Ansheng was dumbfounded, witnessing Tang You slip to the side of the bed, yet Lingren followed as though guided, tailing Tang You.
However, what happened next almost left Ansheng bewitched.
Tang You stopped moving, instinctively turned around, facing Lingren, extending her arms as if grabbing a pillow, pulling Lingren's head towards her chest.
Lingren felt short of breath and began to struggle, as Tang You rolled over, pinning her underneath.
Lingren's little foot kicked, no longer moving.
"..." Ansheng was left speechless, glancing at Momo, asking, "She...won't actually die from suffocation, will she?"
"Don't worry! Youyou doesn't weigh that much, but it's enough to suppress a ghost."
Momo chuckled, nonchalantly waved, yawned, and turned to bring the little fox back to sleep.
Lingren liked to chase people to cuddle when waking up, Tang You always liked to press against something soft while sleeping.
Both of their sleep positions were restless, if they moved to Ah Qing and Momo's bed, they'd both be insomnia-stricken.
But when Lingren and Tang You sleep together, it's a genuine complementary relationship, both can sleep well.
"Goodnight little fox..." Momo turned off the lamp, pulled the blanket over her chest, and prepared to sleep.
...
The next morning, Ah Qing's phone sent a notification sound.
Ah Qing sleepily poked her head out, fetching the phone from the bedside table into the covers.
Zhang Lin: [Are you awake? Time for breakfast.]
"Ugh..."
Ah Qing yawned, checked the time, realizing it was almost eight o'clock.
She texted Zhang Lin back, saying everyone played quite late last night, just waking up now, might need a half-hour before heading out.
Zhang Lin replied with an OK.
"Wake up, wake up..."
Ah Qing patted the little fox and Momo, and then went to the next room to wake up Tang You and Lingren.
"Looks like Lingren slept pretty well..." Ansheng looked at Momo and joked.
Lingren, suppressed by Tang You all night, woke up looking refreshed as if nothing happened, completely lacking the suffocation crisis from last night.
"That's why I said they're a perfect match..." Momo shrugged while brushing her teeth.
"You two are the best to me, I want to keep sleeping with you..." Ansheng said full of emotion.
Everyone took turns washing up, changed clothes.
"Xiaolan, it's almost time to leave, why are you still in the bathroom?"
Sitting by the suite's door, shoes changed and ready, Ah Qing called out to the bathroom curiously.
"Coming! Not sure whose catfish swam upstream in the bathroom, making the toilet 'thump thump'..."
Ansheng emerged from the bathroom, threw the broken toilet brush into the trash, leaped onto Ah Qing's shoulder, complaining about the bathroom incident.
A Nile catfish, origin unknown, lurked in the hotel's drainage system, though not large in size, extremely eccentric in temperament.
As she squatted on the toilet, it dared to peek out a head, startling her almost into a mishap.
"Really something like that in the bathroom?" Ah Qing showed a puzzled expression.
"There is." Ansheng nodded firmly, just after finishing peeing, the peculiar foreign fish appeared.
If it were any slower, she would have clubbed its head not with the toilet plunger but the bathtub.
"Then... let the front desk know later."
Ah Qing nodded, took the little fox along, heading to the hotel's third-floor restaurant.
Sister Zhang Lin was already there waiting, saying she'd treat them to some Imperial Capital specialty breakfast.
Arriving on the third floor.
The hotel's restaurant was empty, unlike other hotels bustling with guests.
The hotel's main purpose is for academy and Security Bureau internal use, not open to the public; it doesn't even have a sign.
"Sister Zhang Lin, sorry to keep you waiting... eh!?"
Upon pushing open the door to the agreed private room, Ah Qing saw a familiar figure, dressed in black slacks and a white shirt, sitting on a chair.
Ah Qing took a closer look, then showed a shocked expression, "Se... Second Uncle, you're here?"
"Morning!"
Yu Zhengxi turned, smiling slightly, greeted Ah Qing:
"I live not far away, when I saw you sending the hotel location, I thought, I might as well come over for breakfast and pick you up."
"Ah Qing...your uncle?"
Momo looked surprised, glanced at Ah Qing, slowly forming a question mark.
This hotel is supposedly exclusive to Security Bureau and the academy's use, isn't it?
Ah Qing's Second Uncle...
"Did you meet on a forum or something?"
Seeing Ah Qing stunned, while Director Yu showed a faint mysterious smile, it left Zhang Lin somewhat speechless.
Last night, Director Yu called, asking if his niece was in the third bureau, and if there were any arrangements.
"Everyone, please sit, don't just stand there." Yu Zhengxi smiled, inviting Ah Qing to sit:
"Second Uncle being here scares you all?"
"A bit..."
Ah Qing came to her senses, baffled, "Didn't you say you're in ironworks? A state enterprise steel plant worker..."
"I do work in iron, but I'm a technician researching special alloys and metals, our professions and identities are part of a confidentiality agreement."
"But since you know about the Security Bureau and Spirit Beasts, the confidentiality agreement regarding me becomes void for you..." Yu Zhengxi smiled and said, "It's not that I purposely hid it, but it's not something I can talk about."
"Hm?"
Ansheng showed a peculiar expression, wandering her eyes between Ah Qing and Second Uncle, pondering briefly before raising her voice at Second Uncle:
"Hail! Second Uncle, stay vibrant and energetic!"
In the silent private room, Master Fuli suddenly burst into a shout, startling everyone.
But among all, Second Uncle's expression was the most animated and shocked, his hair stood up as though electrified.
Second Uncle: "Huh?"
Ansheng: "Huh?"