As soon as I got to the other side of the gates, I froze… Looking to my right and my left, I scanned the area. Not a single zombie was in sight.
Scrunching my nose, I took Hades out of my space. "It's not like I am trying to treat you like the canary in the mine, but a little help here please?" I asked as I put him in his customary spot on my shoulder. He glared at me and walked around, digging his claws into me as he made himself comfortable and laid down.
The anime that I used to watch, and even the books I read where the female lead had a cat that hung out on her shoulder never mentioned exactly how painful it was to actually do it. I was developing new scars there whenever Hades slipped and dug his claws into me. 0/10 would not recommend it unless in the middle of a zombie apocalypse… even then… get a dog and put it on a leash.
Seeing that Hades was happily napping in the sun, I turned back around and knocked on the gates that had closed behind me. "All good," I yelled as the gates slowly opened. "Let's get going!"
The Wang Chao, Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, the guy I was told was Chen Zi Han, and Zhang Hao Ran came out first, then followed by the rest of the men. Looking at the number of people in front of me, I would have cringed if it didn't mean that Hades would have dug his claws into me.
Hopefully, when all this was done, the numbers would be greatly reduced. This many people in a group was just begging for trouble.
I cracked my neck, completely forgetting about Hades… until the murder mittens came out. Cringing, I indicated for the men to go first. I wanted coffee… the chocolate cake would have to wait, but I could drink and walk at the same time. Pulling out a travel mug full of the good stuff (coffee with 5 shots of expresso) I hid back in the middle of the crowd and enjoyed the afternoon.
---
They weren't kidding when they said that the mansion was nearby. Less than 10 minutes later (I hadn't even managed to finish my coffee) we arrived at another set of gates and Liu Yu Zeng stepped forward to speak to the guy guarding the front. Within a matter of minutes, we were all entering the most… unique (?) mansion I had ever seen.
I don't think that unique is the right word… but it was definitely not my type. It seemed to be a cross between gothic architecture and modern, and while I am sure that it cost a fortune, I really wasn't impressed. There was a round tower-type structure on the right, but it didn't have the typical roof that you would think of when you heard the word tower. It connected the two wings of the mansion, one on the right and the other on the left so that the whole house looked like it was an obtuse angle that you would find on a math test.
Once again there was floor-to-ceiling windows that, even before the threat of zombies, I was not a fan of. I know that people off the streets couldn't see in, but still, to be that exposed gave me the heebie-jeebies.
Snorting with the thoughts going through my mind, I didn't notice when the men arranged themselves into their lines, leaving me out on my own. Rolling my eyes, I walked up to where the five men stood in front of the men. As much as I appreciated their discipline, there were sometimes when I thought they went a bit overboard. But that was just me.
I continued walking until I was in my regular spot between Wang Chao and Liu Wei who were looking very intently at a… closed door…
Confused, I looked around and saw that everyone but Zhang Hao Ran was staring at the door. Not wanting to be anything like Zhang Hao Ran, I too… stared at a closed door.
Whelp, this is bullshit, I grumbled. Maybe this was a City H thing? Or a crazy thing? Not like I was one to really say anything… I had a constant dialogue going through my head all the time. Pretty sure that falls under the crazy category.
I heard Wang Chao chuckle beside me as he wrapped an arm around my side and gave me a light kiss on my temple. "You are not crazy; I find your running dialogue extremely cute."
Stupid mind reading… "Then can you tell me how it's not crazy to stare at a closed door? Is someone trying out their spirit powers and what to know if they can open a closed door?"
"It's a sign of respect to Grandfather," said Liu Yu Zeng, still staring straight in front of him. Leaning forward so that I could see around Liu Wei, I looked at Liu Yu Zeng.
"So the man has x-ray vision and he can see us through the closed door?" I asked. You'll have to forgive me… maybe I was because I didn't grow up here so I didn't understand, but why were we doing this? I don't think that anyone even rang the doorbell. How was the old man supposed to know that we were even here if we didn't let him know… and if he didn't know that we were here… would we have to stand like this for hours? Days?
Wang Chao grabbed my coffee cup from my hands and handed it to someone behind him. "I think that is enough coffee for you," he smirked. "You are not going to be able to sleep tonight with all that caffeine running through your veins."
Ha! Jokes on him! I already finished it. Sticking out my tongue inside my head, I hear Wang Chao try to hold back a chuckle. And I don't think that there was such a thing as too much caffeine… the fact that I was vibrating had nothing to do with anything.
Wondering how long we were going to stay here, standing at attention, I took out the slice of chocolate cake I had been dreaming of since I first woke up from my burnout.
Holding the plate in my left hand, and the fork in my right, I took my first bite and moaned. This café really knew how to make a good cake. Too bad they are probably destroyed by now. I guess I was a bit too loud as I could feel countless gazes turn to me. Fearing for the safety of my cake, I hunched over the plate and began shoveling it as fast as I could into my mouth. No one was taking my cake from me… I would kill them first.
When I heard three barks of laughter, I lifted my head up and saw Wang Chao, Liu Wei, Lui Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han staring at me… and everyone but Chen Zi Han was laughing at me. Deciding that Chen Zi Han was now my favorite, I lifted my head, trying to look composed… but not before I licked the last few crumbs and frosting off of the plate.
With a sigh, Chen Zi Han stepped out of line and came to stand right in front of me. Wide-eyed, I looked up at the 6'6 man… what the hell did they feed the people around here? Everyone was fricking giant!
He grabbed my chin to hold my face steady and then proceeded to wipe my mouth and cheeks with his thumb. "Slow down next time," he growled. "You have chocolate all over your face. No one is going to take it from you." Once he felt that my face was clean enough, he went back to his spot in line.
I looked at Wang Chao and Liu Wei, was it okay to not be staring at the closed door? Wang Chao just shrugged his shoulders. "He is right," he said as he looked down at me. "No one was going to take it from you… but I was going to leave the chocolate on your face. You looked like a little kid."
I could feel my bottom lip coming out in a pout. I was not a kid… I was 20 years old in this life and like 70 years old all told. I was not a little kid!
"Sure you're not, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei, still not moving his gaze.
What the Hell! Liu Wie was not supposed to be able to read my mind! That was a Wang Chao thing… I could not deal with both of them inside my head… It was scary enough with just me in there!
"He can't," said Wang Chao, clearly enjoying himself. "You just have a really expressive face… no mind reading necessary."
I was going to have some type of snarky response… if I was given another hour to think about it… but the doors finally opened and everyone around me straightened up a little bit more. I guess the guest of honor has arrived… or are we the guests of honor?
I mentally shrugged my shoulders… either way… Wang Chao was right… I might need to lay off the caffeine.
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