Start with iron blocks, upgrade them into armor summoners.

Xing Yun bent down and picked her up. A sharp pain shot through his right shoulder, but Xing Yun endured it and made his expression appear normal.

"Did you thank Aunt Bai?"

"Thanks!" Yangyang nodded vigorously. "Dad's noodles are delicious, and Aunt Bai's are delicious too!"

In the living room, Bai Zhiqing was sitting on the sofa, holding a glass of water in her hand.

Su Nian sat next to her, holding a plush toy in her hands, looking at them timidly.

"I'm sorry," Xing Yun said, carrying Yangyang over. "I was working overtime today and forgot the time. Thank you for your help."

"It's nothing," Bai Zhiqing put down her water glass and stood up. "Yangyang is very well-behaved, and Niannian likes playing with her very much. I noticed you hadn't come to pick her up, so I brought her back on the way."

Her gaze swept over Xing Yun, settling on his right shoulder.

It happened in an instant, and then it moved away quickly.

"Have you eaten?" she asked.

"not yet."

There's some noodles left in the kitchen, I'll heat them up for you.

"Need not……"

"Don't be shy," Bai Zhiqing said, already heading towards the kitchen. "You're injured, so don't push yourself. Just sit and wait."

Xing Yun opened her mouth, but didn't say anything to refuse.

Yangyang wriggled out of his arms and pulled Su Nian to the room to play.

Xing Yun sat down on the sofa, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Bai Zhiqing's busy figure in the kitchen.

Her movements were very practiced, as if she did these things often.

A few minutes later, a steaming bowl of noodles was placed in front of him.

"Eat."

Xing Yun took the bowl and said thank you.

The noodles were in clear broth, topped with a poached egg and sprinkled with chopped green onions.

He took a bite, and it did taste quite good.

Bai Zhiqing sat on the single sofa next to him, quietly watching him eat.

"You're injured," she said suddenly, not as a question, but as a statement.

Xing Yun paused with her chopsticks: "It's a minor injury, nothing serious."

"The injury on your shoulder, and the one on your abdomen." Bai Zhiqing's voice was calm. "When you walk, your right shoulder is a little lower than your left, and when you sit down, your right hand never goes above shoulder height."

Xing Yun remained silent.

"I'm a doctor, I can judge a person by their demeanor first." She paused, a hint of something in her voice, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but the wound needs to be treated to prevent infection."

"...It's already been taken care of." Xing Yun lowered his head and continued eating his noodles.

Bai Zhiqing didn't ask any further questions.

The room was quiet for a while, with only Yangyang and Su Nian talking.

"Miss Bai," Xing Yun said, putting down her bowl after finishing the last bite of her noodles. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Don't be so formal, just call me by my name." Bai Zhiqing stood up, took the bowl, and said, "We're neighbors, it's only right to help each other out."

A few minutes later, she led Su Nian out of Yangyang's room.

"We're heading back now. Yangyang has school tomorrow, so let her go to sleep early."

Xing Yun escorted them to the door.

Bai Zhiqing stopped outside the door, turned around and glanced at him: "By the way, I'm off tomorrow. When you drop off Yangyang in the morning, you can drop off Niannian at the same time. You can sleep a little longer."

"Need not……"

"Your injury requires rest," she interrupted him, her tone leaving no room for argument. "It's settled then."

After saying that, she took Su Nian's hand and walked towards the elevator.

Su Nian turned around and waved to Xing Yun, whispering, "Goodbye, Uncle."

Xing Yun waved his hand.

The elevator doors closed, and the corridor fell silent.

Xing Yun closed the door and leaned against it for a while.

His right shoulder injury started to throb again. He looked down and saw that there was no blood seeping through the bandage, thankfully.

"Dad!" Yangyang ran out of the room, holding a drawing in her hand. "Look! I drew this!"

The drawing depicts two adults and two children, drawn crookedly with colored pencils, with a few words written crookedly next to them.

Dad, Aunt Bai, Yangyang, Niannian.

"Aunt Bai said she'll take us to the park next time!" Yangyang said, holding up the drawing with bright, sparkling eyes.

Xing Yun squatted down, took the painting, and patted her head: "Okay, I'll take you when Dad is done with this busy period."

"Really?"

"real."

"Pinky promise!"

Yangyang extended her little finger, and Xing Yun smiled and made a pinky promise with her.

"Pinky promise, for a hundred years, never to be broken!"

Yangyang ran back to her room with satisfaction, carefully placed the painting on the bedside table, climbed into bed, and covered herself with the blanket.

Goodnight, Dad.

"Good night."

Xing Yun turned off the lights, closed the door, and went back to the living room.

He sat down on the sofa and took the business card out of his pocket.

Black, with a slightly heavy feel.

S City Abnormal Affairs Administration Bureau

Zhou Hai.

Then he leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes.

My mind is a mess.

Factory, monster, stone pillar, man in a suit, bloody hand, management bureau...

He opened his eyes and took out a summoner from his bag.

The silvery-white metal surface gleams coldly under the light.

Inside the system space, Lu Zhuo was lying in front of the panel, staring blankly at the number.

99.8.

It's just 0.2 away.

"Just a little bit more..." he muttered as he rolled over.

"But why can't this broken bone provide any more upgrade points?" Lu Zhuo looked at the Walderley Bone that he had thrown into the corner of the system space.

He originally planned to use this bone to upgrade to the second level, but after absorbing a little bit, he could no longer absorb it, as if something was blocking it.

He closed his eyes and continued to lie flat in the system space.

Xing Yun fiddled with the summoning device in his hand, but his mind was filled with Bai Zhiqing's words.

You are injured.

"Your right shoulder is slightly lower than your left shoulder when you walk."

"When I sat down, my right hand never went above shoulder height."

She's a doctor; she judges people by their demeanor first, which makes sense.

But he always felt that something was wrong.

Would an ordinary community doctor observe a neighbor they've only met a few times so closely?

Perhaps he was overthinking it.

Bai Zhiqing is a doctor, and doctors' way of observing patients is an occupational hazard, so there's nothing strange about it.

Moreover, she helped by picking up Yangyang, cooking noodles, and even offering to help take the child to school the next morning.

Would a normal person be this nice to a stranger?

Xing Yun frowned.

No, they are not strangers.

They are neighbors, and the parents of my daughter's classmate.

She probably just wanted to get along with Yangyang's parents so the two kids could play together. Isn't that how social interactions between adults work?

He looked down at his right shoulder; the bandage was covered by his clothes and couldn't be seen from the outside.

"You're overthinking it," Xing Yun muttered, stuffing the summoner back into her bag.

Perhaps she was simply being kind-hearted.

Not everyone in this world has a purpose.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, it was a pitch-black night, and most of the windows in the neighborhood had their lights off, with only a few still lit.

Downstairs, in the direction of the three buildings, one apartment still had its light on. That was Bai Zhiqing's home.

Xing Yun stared at the window for a while, then looked away.