Capturing My Demon King Costar

Yao Shen and the mutilated woman exchange looks of mutual shock.

No one else in the restaurant seems to notice her. Either that or all the other patrons are just incredible polite in the face of open wounds on someone's face, and Yao Shen is a huge asshole.

Xin Hulei notices Yao Shen's stunned expression, his chopsticks raised midway in the air as he stares at the next table over.

"What are you staring at?" Xin Hulei asks.

Yao Shen tries to explain himself just as Xin Hulei turns in the direction of the laughing woman. In that same moment a waiter passes across her table, hiding her from sight.

When both he and Xin Hulei can take a good look at her table again, there's no one there besides a single unremarkable man eating his food in silence.

Yao Shen grits his teeth. "Nothing. I thought I saw something."

He sends out a screaming call for the System, demanding an explanation from it, but all he gets is a lukewarm:

[Probably a Ghost.]

Yao Shen isn't feeling as balsé as the System, and demands to know more.

[A result of the Night Vision upgrade.]

The System goes silent after that and Yao Shen stops trying. He has already attracted plenty of attention without needing to have mental conversations with himself.

No longer in the mood for his silly competition with Xin Hulei, Yao Shen starts filling up his own bowl. 

Xin Hulei looks between him and Gao Wu before doing the same. 

---

The food is as good as Gao Wu promised, but Yao Shen finds his appetite spoiled after the grisly view of the mutilated ghost.

He can't help wondering what happened to her to destroy the lower half of her face like that, which makes him space out all through dinner.

Gao Wu tries to pay for everyone's food, since dinner was his idea. Yao Shen is mildly horrified by the idea of him paying for Xin Hulei when he's the one who intruded on their date.

"It's already taken care of," Xin Hulei says, cutting their conversation short after he returns from what Yao Shen assumed was a trip to the bathroom. "Gao laoshi can treat Yao laoshi next time. Consider this my apology for tagging along."

Yao Shen shoots him a suspicious look as they make their way out of the restaurant.

Now, Xin Hulei develops a conscience? Yao Shen will have to leave a glowing review regarding the miraculous healing proprieties of the restaurant's hot pot.

Outside, Gao Wu shoots Yao Shen sheepish smile and kicks his feet against the pavement. "Well, I know there's work tomorrow, but there's a night market nearby, and I wanted to know if gege wanted to take a look."

He cuts his eyes to Xin Hulei briefly, to add, "I understand if it's too late for Xin laoshi and he would rather return to the hotel."

Xin Hulei shrugs, his hands still shoved in his pockets. 

During the ride to the night market, Yao Shen can't make up his mind whether Xin Hulei is just that oblivious, or if he actually noticed Gao Wu's veiled suggestion that he leave and decided to ignore it.

---

The night market is a bustling and lively as Yao Shen hoped.

The warm late spring air is fragrant with the delicious scent of street food, greasy and hearty, making Yao Shen's mouth water despite how full he feels.

The three of them stroll through all the stalls, ignoring some of the vendor's boisterous sale pitches in companionable silence, pointing out some items to each other on occasion.

Yao Shen feels himself unwind. The night is warm but as the hour grows later the cloying heat turns from unpleasant into relaxing, softened by a mild breeze that invigorates the senses and uplifts the spirit.

"Hey handsome! How about some handmade fans to help you withstand the heat!" a vendor calls out to Yao Shen, waving him over towards the stall. "Yes, you handsome, I'm talking with you! A cool and fashionable guy like you needs a fan in the summer! These classic items never go out of style."

Yao Shen is amused by his confident pitch, and buoyed by the return of his good mood, makes his way towards his stall.

Xin Hulei and Gao Wu follow after him, after exchanging a single look behind his back.

The vendor's smile grows as he sees the other two approach. "Ah handsome, you're friends are handsome too! They need a fan as well."

"Does gege like any of them?" Gao Wu asks, looking down at the exquisitely made fans with amusing sayings, memes, and internet slang written in refined calligraphy across them. "Gege can chose one and didi will get it for him as a gift for agreeing to come out tonight."

The vendor's eyes glint. "Ah, how about that, handsome? It seems your friend thinks you're handsome too, come on, don't leave him hanging. Rejecting such a kindly offered gift wouldn't be polite," he says, quickly changing his sales' strategy to fit the situation.

Xin Hulei peers down at the fans. "Pick two. I'll get you one too."

Barely restraining himself, the vendor grins widely and claps his hands together. "How about this handsome, whoever buys you the most fans gets a super-tight, 'best buddies forever' hug from you?"

The vendor's eyes greedily seek Yao Shen's, but he's gone, having drifted away as soon as it became obvious he was about to become a prize to be fought over.

He's inspecting a stall selling plastic cellphone cases, when he feels a sudden chill. Incongruous with the warm night.

When he looks towards his left, where the cold current seems to be coming from, he finds the disfigured girl from the restaurant. Standing a few paces away from him, staring him down intently.

"How come you can see me?" she asks, her voice rough with disuse. As if it's been a long time since she has purposefully made any sound.

Yao Shen lowers his eyes and goes back to studiously inspecting cellphone cases, pretending as if he can't see her.

"Can you help me, mister?" she asks, materializing at Yao Shen's right side, bringing with her the cold current.

Yao Shen picks up a random case and brings it up to his face, inspecting it closely. His eyes almost cross with how fixedly he's looking at it.

He's so immersed in pretending not to see the ghostly apparition nearby that he nearly jumps out of his skin when a hand lands on his shoulder.

"Aren't you going to answer her?"