Chapter 820 - 818: The Stubborn Duo

"I told you ghost stories are scary, see, now you believe me."

Under the covers, Candy stubbornly said, "I’m... not afraid."

The tone of her voice sounded anything but convincing. Her little hands tightly clutching the blanket had already betrayed Candy.

"Is there something under the bed?"

Zero paused for a moment, then laughed heartily, "There’s nothing there, what are you afraid of?"

"I’m not afraid, really."

"Hehe~"

"Really! Tell me another one."

Upon hearing this, Zero stared wide-eyed in astonishment at Candy, already scared into hiding under the covers, yet still wanting to listen? A big heart indeed. Tonight she probably doesn’t want a good night’s sleep.

"Still want to listen?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Legend has it... every school is built on a graveyard..."

A few minutes later, without bothering to put on slippers, Candy dashed outside hugging her blanket.

Under Zhou Yaling’s bewildered gaze, Candy kicked open her bedroom door and charged in screaming, leaping onto her bed.

The whole process was smooth as silk, and by the time Zhou Yaling’s mind was still blank, Candy had already burrowed into the covers.

Moments later, Zero approached with an innocent look.

We’ve always been told to believe in science.

"What are you two up to?"

Frowning, Zhou Yaling asked, "Did you see a mouse or a cockroach, scared you like this?"

Standing by the bed, Zero shrugged and explained, "Candy wants to hear a story before sleeping."

"What’s so scary about a story."

"Ghost story."

Upon hearing that, Zhou Yaling paused, raised her eyebrows, and said dismissively, "What’s so scary about ghost stories? I don’t fear watching horror movies. Back in the day, I grew up watching Master Lin’s zombie movies, didn’t bother with cartoons at all."

Patting Candy underneath the covers, Zhou Yaling grinned, "Don’t be afraid, your sister is here."

At this moment, Candy poked her head out of the covers curiously and asked, "Sister, are you really not afraid?"

"What’s there to be afraid of."

The next second, the previously scared Candy chuckled and said, "Zero, please start your performance!" After saying that, Candy dove back into the covers.

Zero had secretly told her that the blanket was a barrier, no matter how strong the monsters and demons, they couldn’t reach those inside the covers.

In the bedroom, lights flickered, and with the dubbing started, the eerie atmosphere instantly escalated.

Zhou Yaling was completely dumbfounded, asking for a story didn’t mean simulating a real scene.

The next morning, breakfast time came, but no one came downstairs. Mo Jingchun puzzled, asked Zero through the camera, "Zero, hurry and get them up, do they not realize the time, if they don’t get up soon, they’ll be late for work."

"Got it, boss."

Mo Jingchun was startled when he saw Candy and Zhou Yaling with dark circles under their eyes.

"Did you stay up all night playing? Why do you both have dark circles?"

Zhou Yaling, exhausted and blank-eyed, plopped down onto a dining chair, pointed feebly at Zero, and said, "Ask her."

Mo Jingchun looked toward Zero, his eyes filled with curiosity. What were these three up to last night? If it weren’t for confiscating their phones, Mo Jingchun strongly suspected they were gaming all night.

But all phones had been confiscated, what games could they possibly play.

Zero laughed awkwardly, saying, "Last night, interest drove us to tell two more stories."

Paused for a moment, Zero added, "Ghost stories."

Mo Jingchun, in the middle of drinking his soy milk, choked.

"Cough, cough, cough~"

"What did you say? Ghost stories?" Mo Jingchun couldn’t believe it.

Staying up late, three people telling ghost stories? Impressive! Mo Jingchun was impressed, giving a thumbs-up.

"So, you were scared to the point of sleeplessness?"

"Pathetic."

Mo Jingchun disdainfully looked at Zhou Yaling, "Weren’t you raised on horror movies? Why are you afraid of ghost stories now."

Why? Zhou Yaling numb, raised her head to look at her brother, gritting her teeth said, "Whose stories come enhanced with music and flickering lights."

A surprised Mo Jingchun put down his soy milk, turned to look at an innocent-faced Zero.

"Are you guys role-playing?"

"Tsk, tsk, do you need me to buy you a holographic projector? Guarantee you’ll feel fully immersed."

If they’re going to buy it, Mo Jingchun of course won’t buy the low-grade stuff on the market.

"No!"

Candy eating her crispy fritter, said with lingering fear, "It’s too terrifying."

Last night, her sister was the ultimate schemer, saying she wasn’t afraid, yet continuously fought for the blanket.

In summary, one sentence, Candy and Zhou Yaling chickened out.

Sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with following one’s heart.

Looking at the breakfast before her, Candy admitted she missed listening to fairy tales every night.

Thinking back to the memory of the little girl selling nukes, Candy felt liberated, Zero’s storytelling had never been serious, let alone ghost stories.

After all...what little girl sells nukes anyway!

In terms of storytelling, Zero was indeed a remarkable figure in the artificial intelligence circle.

......

Mid-morning, Candy Technology was like a well-oiled machine, each cog turning, everyone busy with their own work.

After compiling the data, Zhou Yaling was extremely drowsy, feeling she could sleep as soon as her eyes closed.

With President Xu out, busy with something, a colleague quietly asked:

"Zhou Yaling, did you not sleep last night?"

"I noticed you’re not in form today, if you’re exhausted, maybe take a break."

Slapping her cheeks, Zhou Yaling took a deep breath, "No worries, slept late last night, I’ll nap at noon and be fine."

"Were you practicing game heroes in the middle of the night again?"

Zhou Yaling’s mouth twitched, shook her head, and said, "No way."

"You must be heartbroken."

"Stop guessing, last night I was listening to ghost stories."

"Huh? You were too scared to sleep?"

Indeed, the more you explain, the less clear it becomes.

Elsewhere, Candy sat at her desk, and after less than half an hour of homework, fell asleep on her summer vacation assignments.

Ah, childhood was better, no worries, just sleep whenever.

Mo Jingchun, playing on his phone on the couch, seeing Candy asleep, got up and carried her to the back bedroom.

Xia Xiaomin was in a meeting, for a moment, the office was only left with Mo Jingchun and Zero.

"What were you guys thinking, two wanted to hear ghost stories, one telling stories, creating the atmosphere."

"Candy said she couldn’t sleep, wanted to hear stories, ghost stories."

For a moment, Mo Jingchun didn’t know what to say, late at night, lights flickering, plus dubbing, even without storytelling, it would be quite scary.

"Has the airport paving project at Anyang Base started construction?"

Facing the boss suddenly changing the topic, no longer probing deeper, Zero breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly reported:

"Not yet, President Su said late September."