The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 621: Insomnia

Single dorm in the Snake Room, -6F of Millennium Tower, one o’clock in the morning.

Dispirited, Fat Jun went to bed early, but couldn’t sleep with all the thoughts in his mind. He rolled and sat up, taking out his phone and playing a simple game to kill time.

It only made him feel more frustrated, however, and he closed the game, unable to resist the urge to go through his call history to make sure if there was any missed call or messages. There was none.

He couldn’t accept it, and he clicked into the social media app to check his private messages. Outside of a few system notifications and ads, there was nothing.

Fat Jun cast his phone away and rolled around to bury his face in his pillow.

Brother Yang, you’ve gone independent. Why didn’t you call me?

You told me that eggs should be put in different baskets, and I believed you, but why did you forget about me?

I can’t reach Wang Zikai either. He must have gone with you. You would even take a monster with you, but not me?

Have you never considered me one of your people?

Someone knocked. Fat Jun started and jerked up into a seating position.

It’s so late. Who can it be? Brother Yang?

Very likely! Brother Yang’s strong. Maybe he’s snuck in with Teleportation.

Fat Jun jumped off his bed and ran up to open the door. His smile went still for a second before turning brighter in pleasant surprise. “Sister Rabbit, why...are you here?”

White Rabbit was wearing a cute pikachu onesie, her complexion dark and her hair messy. She looked irritated from insomnia.

“I can’t sleep, Adept Horse,” she said bluntly. “May I stay here for a while?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course!” Fat Jun quickly turned around. “Give...give me a sec to clean up. My room’s a little messy.”

“It’s fine. We’re not strangers.” White Rabbit walked through the door.

Fat Jun quickly cleaned up and hurriedly turned the swivel chair at the computer desk around. “Have a seat, Sister Rabbit.”

White Rabbit sat down and pressed her legs together, resting her hands on her knees. She looked around with a half-smile. “It’s not that messy, better than Uncle Tiger’s room anyway. And there’s no strange smell.”

“Haha.” Fat Jun was a little embarrassed. He wiped his palm sweat on his pajama pants. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“What do you usually drink when you can’t sleep?” White Rabbit asked instead of answering.

“I go for cola,” Fat Jun said honestly. “I usually get lightheaded from the sugar high and fall asleep easily. It’s bad for health, but it’s fine since I have Healing...”

“Healing only heals wounds, not treats illnesses,” White Rabbit exposed him for his attempt to fool himself.

Fat Jun chuckled while scratching his head.

“Get me a can of cola,” White Rabbit said.

“Sure. Do you want it iced, or room temp?”

“Room temperature,” White Rabbit said in a softer voice.

Fat Jun took out a can of cola each from the fridge and a paper box, handing White Rabbit the room temperature one. They sat on his bed and quietly drank, a meter apart.

After a minute, White Rabbit lowered her can with both hands, resting it on her lap and lowering her voice. She sounded down when she said, “Hey, Adept Horse. I’m quite useless, am I not?”

“Why would you be? If you’re useless, what does that make me?”

“I’m the HR of the Twelve Zodiac Signs. This summer, I recruited Dark Horse, Yellow Ox, Green Snake, and you.” White Rabbit smiled bitterly. “What then? Dark Horse jumped ship. Yellow Ox betrayed humanity for his life monster wife and died. Now Green Snake has followed Dark Horse to start their own group. That leaves only you.”

White Rabbit looked up and stared at Fat Jun directly, her eyes reddening and filling up with tears. “You aren’t going too, are you, Adept Horse?”

Fat Jun paused and smiled with guilt. “What are you talking about, Sister Rabbit? I’m here, right? Don’t worry. I’m absolutely loyal to the organization.”

“Adept Horse.” White Rabbit’s smile turned even more heartbreaking. “Don’t lie to me. You’ve been through a life-and-death situation with them. You must have a strong bond with them.”

“No, no!” Fat Jun quickly waved his hand in denial. “Truly, it’s not the case. I followed them around because I didn’t have a choice. Of course I would choose the organization if I could. The Twelve Zodiac Signs is powerful and treats me well, offering me training and protection like I’m family.”

Fat Jun wasn’t technically lying. Looking back, since he became an official member, the Twelve Zodiac Signs had been treating him quite well, especially White Rabbit. She might not have nice things to say about him, but she had been taking good care of him.

White Rabbit’s voice softened, completely unlike how she usually was. “I’ve been with the organization since I was little, Fat Jun, and the Twelve Zodiac Signs is my home. In my world, there are only two kinds of people: members of the family, and outsiders. Those who join are my family, and everyone else are outsiders. I only treat my family with care.”

Fat Jun nodded. “I know.”

“So.” White Rabbit put on a forced smile. “If you want to follow Dark Horse, I’ll respect your decision, but don’t lie to me. It’ll break my heart to have a family member lie to me.”

Fat Jun paused, feeling a clench in his heart.

The pitying look on White Rabbit’s face made blood rush to his head, and he threw reservations out of the window.

“To tell you the truth, Sister Rabbit, I’ve been frustrated the past few days too.”

“Why?” White Rabbit looked up at him like she didn’t understand.

“Back then, I survived hell with Gao Yang, Qing Ling, and Huang Qi! I thought I was one of them, but Gao Yang didn’t even think of me when starting his own thing. Ha, now it seems that they only see me as a replaceable tool...”

White Rabbit stayed silent.

“Gao Yang once told me that I should judge people by their actions rather than what I think they are thinking, and I’ve been abiding by it.” Fat Jun looked up at White Rabbit with a serious look in his eyes. “Sister Rabbit, I remember what you and the organization have done for me, and now I’ve come to realize how Gao Yang actually treats me.”

“As long as the Twelve Zodiac Signs wants me, I’ll be your family. I’ll devote myself to the organization...”

“It’s good enough.” White Rabbit turned away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I believe you, Adept Horse.”

“Yeah!” Fat Jun finally made up his mind, and he felt so much lighter, as if the energy paths in his body were all cleared up.

White Rabbit put down the cola in her hand and went up to him, leaning so close that her hair fell on his face. She slowly lowered her head like she was going to kiss him on the forehead.

Fat Jun froze, his heart racing and his breathing stuttering to a halt.

Of course, White Rabbit didn’t kiss him. She simply kept her face so close to Fat Jun’s that their breaths mingled as she gently put a white button on his collar. “This is a new SOS button. Every member keeps one on. Crush it if you get in danger.”

“I, I know...” Fat Jun’s mind blanked.

After putting the button on him, White Rabbit took a step back and smiled sweetly. “Thanks for the cola. Good night.”

“Good night.”

White Rabbit left the room and closed the door gently behind her.

Fat Jun remained on his bed, eyes widened and body unmoving, as if his soul had gone with her.