No Time

I had fought zombies, evaded mutant plants, and hunted down mutant beasts.

But never have I been more troubled than now.

The usual nightmares for people come with darkness, unknown creatures, terrifying events, and such.

I bet they don't involve flame-throwing babies.

But they'll appear in my dreams now.

The fire ball babies.

...Alright.

I know, Shui Yu is scary, but I had to stand up for my rights.

And the rights of my colleagues.

I'll even get on my knees, kowtow, and beg for a psychic ability user!

My colleagues and I couldn't stay in this situation without some help. We would definitely become mentally unstable and get depression, I mean, some of them already seem to be mildly depressed.

Guards arrived as soon as my time was up for today.

I was ready to get out of this hellhole.

Looking mournfully at me, my colleagues watched me enviously as I got out earlier than them as parents would arrive later.

I mouthed 'Good luck!' to them and left with the guilt of not being able to help them out.

Through the hours of pain, all four of us had formed a close bond.

So, while they fended the fort, I would go meet the boss and try my best to ask for some accommodations.

At this time, there weren't many people out on the streets. Students would be in school, workers in offices, and the like.

In the center of the city existed the Chief's office.

It looked grand, but compared to other glamorous modern buildings, it looked older in terms of style.

We went up to Shui Yu's office and one of the guards knocked politely.

"Come in."

Shui Yu was currently on a call with somebody.

The guards left me after Shui Yu nodded at them and I just stood there awkwardly.

The call seemed to take forever and I eventually plopped onto the sofa since my feet began to hurt.

After an eon passed, Shui Yu ended the call coolly with an "Alright then, see you tomorrow."

"Sorry, that was Ge."

Shui Jing?! I should've listened closer! No, how could I have failed to recognize his voice! I'm an utter failure as his admirer and fan...

I cried my heart out in my head and Shui Yu looked at me like I was pathetic.

I felt pretty pathetic right now, but his gaze made it worse.

"So, first day at work. Pleasant?"

"No, I couldn't have imagined children with abilities to be that... terrifying. Shui Yu, please, I don't care if I have to keep working there, but for the sake of my comrades who have broken limbs and mental trauma, you've got to send a psychic ability user! Please!"

"Ah? It's that bad huh. No wonder volunteers never go back."

"Yea-"

"But when I went, all the kids played and ate quietly. They didn't make one mess and put all their toys back neatly after playing with them."

"That's because they know how strong you are. Their parents must've warned them severely too."

"Hm, I can consider sending a psychic ability user over."

"Really?!"

"But they are considerably rarer than other ability users."

I got the gist.

"What do you want me to do?"

"There's a kid I usually play with. Used to be his bodyguard actually. But now that I'm busy, I don't have time to play with him. Why don't you go in my stead? He's not like the children in the nursery, so rest assured, he won't behave badly."

I-I guess I could do that. As long as my colleagues and I were safe and wouldn't be harmed, anything was worth it.

"Ok, I'll do it."

"Then, we should go right now. I'll drop you off. I've got something else soon."

I followed him to the first-floor lobby where everyone respectfully gave their greetings to Shui Yu.

Some ladies were swooning and squealing at the sight of him. Wait, wrong, it wasn't only ladies, there were also men who were pretty smitten with him to it seems.

Many also looked at me and gossiped. Of course, although I was quite out of it, I was an outstandingly handsome individual. Only Shui Jing and Shui Yu could equal my status.

What I heard most from the gossipers was "I wish I qualified for that show!!!"

In the end, I got curious, so I asked Shui Yu, "Are you in some show?"

"A matchmaking show. I was asked by a family friend to participate."

"So what, you're being pursued by several people?"

"Yes. There are only a handful of contestants left. That's what I'm supposed to decide right after I drop you off."

I looked at his profile.

Clean cut jawline, high straight nose, long lashes. What a stud.

...Snap out of it! Although he looks good, his personality was awful! And you've got Shui Jing! What are you thinking about!

Of course, I didn't like him. It was obviously another one of the author's plots to boast about how handsome her kid turned out to be.

At least I turned out to be taller than him. 189 cm was considerably taller than Shui Yu. I used to be as short as Shui Lai when I was a kid, but now, I was probably taller than any of them.

As a 20-year-old, almost full-grown man, I had toned muscles, a handsome face, a great height, everything a man could want.

Yeah, I didn't have to put myself down. I was always chased after, had a lot of people asking me out. I even had powerful abilities. I was great!

I was gr-

"We're here. Let's go in."

When I realized we arrived. I looked properly at the place and stood awestruck.

What a huge mansion! So decorative! So... grand! It even has a maze garden! A rose garden! A huge fountain! The naked cupid statues! What was this place?!

My vocabulary was limited and I could only keep my mouth shut and follow Shui Yu in.

"Zuan~!" a cheerful voice burst in.

Shui Yu explained, "My nickname. I gave him diamond earrings before."

Ah, so "Diamonds" meaning "Zuan". Got it.

I looked at the kid.

Bright blinding smile. Cheeks with baby fat. Eager eyes.

I wasn't falling for it. 

The babies at the nursery had the same look.

Urgh, just thinking about them gave me the shivers.

"Little Blue, how are you? I can't stay here, but I brought someone who could play with you."

"You aren't staying?"

"No, I'm sorry, we'll have to have our playdate another time."

Pft. Playdate. What a childish word.

This "Little Blue" shot me a look.

I knew it, all kids are scary.

"Zuan, are you going to a shoot for that reality show?"

"Yup, it only has a couple episodes left. I only need to go two more times."

Oh, I got it now.

This kid liked Shui Yu too.

...What was with people falling for him left and right?!

"Zuan, lots of people want to date you. What are you going to do about it?"

"They'll have to beat me first."

"..." Does that mean I have no chance at all?

Poor little blue.

Poor Calix.

Poor me.

Wish I was taller.

A/N: Author notes are cut short these days. Anyways, thank you readers for providing so many useful facts and suggestions! And I really want to delete the old chapters and start writing anew, but that's really... taxing, so I'll edit when this novel's over. Which is something I don't know when it will happen... 

Anyways, if you can, please support me. Even a few cents or a dollar will do. If you don't want to give monthly, then give donations through coffees, please. You don't need to give, of course, I'm not pressuring. But if you've got enough and you want to help me out, you're more than welcome to.

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