Red-Haired Demon

Fang Jia plopped herself down on the seat beside Song Zhuyu and deliberately leaned closer to him, batting her lashes as she spoke, 

"I received a report that everything went smoothly. The comatose child has regained consciousness and is now undergoing thorough examination. You're so amazing, Song-Ge, for bringing his lost soul back from the other side before it's too late. But…" mild concern etched on her features as she inquired tentatively, "Is everything okay? Your heart rate suddenly spiked in the last few seconds. Did something happen over there?"

Upon hearing her words, Song Zhuyu straightened up at once, inadvertently increasing the distance between them. However, he failed to notice the flicker of disappointment in the other person's eyes, for he was too consumed in his own thoughts. 

That's right, how could he forget? 

The Special Department's cutting-edge technology could now measure vital signs of the person crossing over to Hell in order to intervene timely if unexpected circumstances arose. The rush of adrenaline Song Zhuyu experienced in the last moments must have been recorded in the database to be inspected and scrutinized. 

He couldn't help but grimace. Oh well, he supposed he should feel lucky that the technology was not advanced enough to capture what happened in real time over the other side, enabling him to blunder his way out. 

Nonetheless, he knew he couldn't let his guard down. Sooner or later, if this abnormal phenomenon kept happening, people would start to get suspicious and he would be done for if they began to pay closer attention to him. 

It was the last thing he'd ever wanted to happen.

But fortunately, he could breathe easy for now. 

Without warning, Song Zhuyu flashed a dimpled smile, his beautiful silver eyes curved into crescents. Fang Jia was so bedazzled by that one smile that she nearly forgot how to breathe, and of course, the words Song Zhuyu uttered next merely went into one ear before exiting through the other. 

"Of course not, what could have happened to me?" His voice, deep and gentle, seemed to contain tender affection that could easily intoxicate and ensnare one's senses— though slightly muffled by the lollipop in his mouth. "You're worrying too much, Miss Fang. Everything is as fine as it could be."

"O–Oh…" Fang Jia stammered, unable to tear her gaze away, let alone blink.

All of a sudden, she recalled the secret nickname that the women in the company gave him – red-haired demon. It was because everything about this person was just too bewitching, like a striking crimson rose dripping with sweet nectar. If he wasn't born a male, he would be femme fatale for sure— the kind who could topple cities and incite wars with a mere glance. 

Song Zhuyu tilted his head, causing his cross earring to sway gently. "Hmm…" his measured gaze sent Fang Jia's heart racing, her pulse rising to her throat. "Did you trim your bangs?"

"Ah, y–you realized it?" Fang Jia cupped her blushing cheeks, pleasantly surprised. "Song-Ge, you're sharp! Even my boyfriend didn't say a word about my bangs!" 

"It looks good on you," he praised, deepening her blush even further.

Oh God, he paid so much attention to me. Could it be… did he also—

Fang Jia's heart soared when that sudden notion invaded her mind. It was akin to a virus – once rooted, it immediately multiplied itself with an alarming rate, impossible to be eradicated. Driven by a sudden impulse that came out of nowhere, Fang Jia mustered the courage to ask him out, 

"Song-Ge, you know… if you are free tonight, would you—"

But before she could finish, Song Zhuyu suddenly yawned, causing the rest of her words to be stuck in her throat.

"Ah, sorry. What did you say again?" He offered an apologetic grimace. "My bad, I must have dozed off for a second there."

Song Zhuyu's words and expressions were so genuine that she couldn't even feel offended about it. Despite feeling that he was lying through his teeth, she could do nothing but force out a smile, "A–Ah, don't worry about it. It's nothing important. You must be tired after the mission, Song-Ge."

"Indeed." Rising to his feet, Song Zhuyu rolled his shoulder with an exhausted sigh. "Then I'd better go and rest first. See you around, Miss Fang."

"S–See you around…" Fang Jia waved after his back. In the matter of seconds, her hopeful and soaring heart instantly plummeted to the ground, waking her up to the cold reality. 

There was actually more to Song Zhuyu's nickname.

Just like a demon, he placed no mortal in his heart. He could act as if he loved you deeply at one moment, only to turn around and abandon you in the next. He toyed with your hearts as easily as breathing, and when you thought that you finally managed to grasp onto him, he would slip away and make you realize that it was all mere wishful thinking. 

Gentle, captivating, and heartless— that was Song Zhuyu. 

***

After the brief encounter with Fang Jia, Song Zhuyu intended to take a nap in the resting lounge, but he ended up sleeping all the way until wee hours in the morning. When he woke up, it was nearly one in the morning.

Rubbing his tousled hair, Song Zhuyu stretched his waist and yawned. Now that he had slept for so long, his body felt sore and aching instead. As such, after downing a glass of water to soothe his parched throat, he abandoned the resting lounge and wandered through the deserted corridors, planning to have a short walk. 

The personnel of the Special Department was too few in number, and most of them worked remotely from the office. 

Song Zhuyu only dragged himself here because he needed to use the pool to cross over. He could have done it in his own house, but he didn't want to break his bathtub and wasted money and effort to purchase a new one. 

If he could make use of the company's facilities to their full extent, why not? 

Humming a random tune, his feet ended up carrying him to the monitor room. The door stood slightly ajar, and from the gap, Song Zhuyu could peek into the room which was completely empty. He couldn't help but click his tongue in disapproval, "Those people in the night shift, can't they get any more careless?"

Even though it was rare to receive an emergency signal, they should have left one person to keep watch even if it was to maintain appearances. Feeling bored, Song Zhuyu decided to put himself to the task. He entered the room, sat down on a random empty chair, pulled out a strawberry lollipop from his pocket and tossed it into his mouth.

His gaze swept over the panoramic screens before him that filled the entire wall, displaying the map of the entire Yacheng City. The computers were running 24/7 to process the data, making sure that nothing was amiss. Thus far, all signals remained stable, and it appeared to be a peaceful night without any disturbances.

As time dragged on, Song Zhuyu let out a huge yawn. Ah, he could now understand why those people ditched their work— this was indeed boring.

He leaned against the back of the chair, his eyelids drooping.

But alas, before he could even doze off, a shrill alarm shattered the silence and jolted him back to awareness. "For the love of…" his eyes widened as he gaped at the screens before him, almost dropping the lollipop in his mouth. 

At a glance, his vision was dominated with red; it strangely reminded him of the crimson moon in Hell.

Almost 75% of the green dots had turned red, and it continued to spread like wildfire across the screens, as though a deadly virus was trying to seize control of the systems. 

Fuck, this was an emergency signal!