In the end, Yuan Shanxiao still agreed to go on a mission with Gojo Satoru.

Although the battle seemed inconclusive, when Gojo Satoru suggested, “Let’s go again,” Yuan Shanxiao immediately refused.

Yuan Shanxiao shook his head like a bobblehead, “I can’t do it again, I can’t bring myself to hurt Teacher Gojo.”

Gojo Satoru had noticed this too. His hands were still in his pockets, and as he rubbed his fingers against the fabric, he turned his head slightly, deep in thought.

Youngsters can sometimes be too straightforward, like a stone thrown hard into a lake, the large splash drowning out the subtle ripples of silence.

Gojo Satoru took a deep breath, about to counter the straightforwardness with a natural joke. His lips had just begun to curve into a smile when—

“What if Teacher Gojo died?”

Gojo Satoru: …

His breath caught in his throat.

This is just a sparring match, not a battle to the death!

But his thoughts didn’t reach the boy, who was still lost in his own world. “If Teacher Gojo died—”

Gojo Satoru: …

Do we really have to keep talking about this?

Yet, for some reason, Gojo Satoru didn’t voice his objections.

He watched as Yuan Shanxiao’s pupils dilated in thought, sinking into some unfathomable fantasy, then contracted slightly. Gojo Satoru, holding his breath, didn’t hear the response he was expecting, just the boy dragging out his words before finally concluding, “I’d become unimaginable.”

Just as Gojo Satoru was about to speak, Yuan Shanxiao continued, “If it were me who died—”

Gojo Satoru: …

Are we really continuing with this ominous topic?

Gojo Satoru quickly grabbed Yuan Shanxiao’s shoulders to stop him, but the boy lost in fantasy just shook his head, and Gojo Satoru found himself looking directly into his dazed smiling face.

“If it were me who died—”

…

“Hehe.”

Gojo Satoru: …

Gojo Satoru really didn’t want to know what he was hehe-ing about.

Since he had chosen to face a Cursed Spirit rather than strike Teacher Gojo, Yuan Shanxiao, albeit reluctantly, was dragged by Gojo Satoru to receive their assignments from Yaga.

In Yaga’s office, he obediently sat across from the desk, while Gojo Satoru, not bothering to find a seat, leaned lazily on the back of the chair next to the boy. Yaga flipped through the latest list of assignments.

“There’s a task to exorcise a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit in Sendai, can Yuan go?”

“I—”

“Can.”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

Yuan Shanxiao glanced at Gojo Satoru who had answered for him, then at Yaga. Lastly, he looked at his own reflection on the shiny floor, confirming that it wasn’t his own ventriloquism betraying him.

“There was an urban legend in the city center three days ago, can Satoru take you to investigate?”

“I—”

“Can.”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

Yuan Shanxiao replayed the conversation in his mind, making sure that Yaga’s second person reference was indeed himself. He looked at Gojo Satoru again, silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “Teacher Gojo, why don’t you sit here? I—”

“About this Cursed Spirit—”

Gojo Satoru immediately answered, “Can.”

And Yuan Shanxiao was still at “I—”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

Shouldn’t I at least know what the mission is before agreeing to it?

Finally, Yuan Shanxiao couldn’t hold back any longer, calmly looking at Gojo Satoru, “Teacher Gojo, you’ve taken all my lines, what should I say?”

Gojo Satoru looked down at the boy with a calm yet lifeless demeanor, patted his head and turned him back around, grinning, “Just smile and nod.”

Yuan Shanxiao attempted to lift the corners of his mouth.

Watching Yuan Shanxiao turn back around with a still cold and lifeless profile, Gojo Satoru couldn’t help himself and leaned over, peeking at the boy’s expression.

“You aren’t unhappy, are you?”

Yuan Shanxiao finally managed a smile and nodded “Hmm.”

Gojo Satoru: …

Although it was Gojo Satoru taking Yuan Shanxiao on missions, most of the time, as long as Yuan Shanxiao was bound not to run away and was simply placed at the mission site, the terrified boy would resolve the issue at lightning speed.

Gojo Satoru: …

Every time Gojo Satoru carried the limp-kneed boy back, he wondered in his heart, is it really that effective?

It was like igniting a hamster’s tail; the creature would frantically clean the floor in its haste, and now Gojo Satoru found himself staring at a curse-free shiny floor, falling into silence.

He picked up the dazed boy, pondering.

Does scaring him really work that well?

Recently starting missions, Yuan Shanxiao: Thanks for the invite, currently at Tokyo Jujutsu High, just became a child laborer.

Yuan Shanxiao was tired, and although no matter how weary he was, getting scared would make him run like a pricked husky for kilometers before realizing the Cursed Spirits behind him were gone, he was still on a mission period and Gojo Satoru wouldn’t let him go back to Antarctica to rest.

Mainly because Antarctica was too far, and it took Gojo Satoru a long time to fetch him each time. Now, Gojo Satoru had too many missions piled up and no time to really fetch him, and—

“I don’t think Xiao will come back if he goes, you know?”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

Yuan Shanxiao wearily waved his hand, “You know, so why say it and hurt feelings?”

Just probing, Gojo Satoru: …

So, Yuan Shanxiao now really felt like a wind-up robot that’s been wound too tight and not allowed to unwind.

The wind-up robot was Gojo Satoru’s analogy.

Yuan Shanxiao didn’t know why this comparison was made, but he knew that wind-up robots worked without being wound tight, just as he knew Gojo Satoru didn’t need Antarctica to recharge.

“You could have six eyes too, you know?”

Watching the boy half-lying on the couch, half-dragging on the floor after each mission, listlessly staring at the ceiling, Gojo Satoru would hold back his desire to sprinkle some water to revive him, instead patting the boy’s head comfortingly.

Yuan Shanxiao knew Gojo Satoru was talking about using six eyes to distribute cursed energy and use reverse techniques to refresh his brain. He stayed quiet for a long while before seeming to perk up a bit, “…I don’t need six eyes.”

“I need Clairvoyance.”

Gojo Satoru: …

Gojo Satoru didn’t want to understand instantly. But—

“You’ve only not been to Antarctica for seven days and 23 hours and 54 minutes, do you really need to care that much??”

Yuan Shanxiao was very tired, but at the same time, he had a lot of respect for Gojo Satoru.

Anyone who finds out that the person they’re traveling with for work is a relentless workaholic who operates 24/7 would feel a great deal of respect—

But for Yuan Shanxiao, perhaps it was more fear than respect.

Although it was Gojo Satoru taking Yuan Shanxiao on missions, Gojo Satoru usually let Yuan Shanxiao finish his own share and then let him go back to rest. Despite seeing Yuan Shanxiao’s high efficiency later on and assigning some of his tasks to the boy, generally, the boy could return to their hotel base by five in the afternoon to rest, and him—

Yuan Shanxiao once stayed up late scrolling through pictures of Antarctica until five in the morning, waiting for Gojo Satoru, who returned soaked in night dew, to push open the door.

Yuan Shanxiao: …

At that moment, Yuan Shanxiao shivered and quickly hid his phone under the blanket before speaking. “Why are you still—”

Isn’t it, wasn’t Gojo Satoru here before?

“Why did you just come back now?”

Gojo Satoru didn’t notice Yuan Shanxiao’s discomfort at that time; he leaned against the doorframe for a while before coming in. “…Why haven’t you slept? Insomnia? I’ll ask Megumi to prescribe you some sleeping pills tomorrow.”

Yuan Shanxiao then noticed the man’s voice was extremely hoarse, the kind that comes from staying up too late.

Yuan Shanxiao just stared blankly at him; he accurately found his own bed, seemed to think Yuan Shanxiao had responded to him, then collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep instantly.

Yuan Shanxiao: …

This man looked like he definitely didn’t need sleeping pills.

Then, two seconds later, as Yuan Shanxiao was sneakily about to take out his phone again, Gojo Satoru, who seemed to have fallen deeply asleep on the next bed, suddenly sat up—

Yuan Shanxiao: …!!

Yuan Shanxiao shivered and fell off the bed, just to see the white-haired youth with closed eyes accurately set his alarm for six o’clock.

Yuan Shanxiao: …

This scene gave the still part-time child laborer Yuan Shanxiao a huge shock.

…Is it, is this how adults are all corporate slaves?

Is it, he won’t also live like this in the future…

And he can’t go back to Antarctica…

Yuan Shanxiao took a breath, while feeling a heartache from staying up too late, he heard a crackling sound in his mind.

[Fear Value 2%]

Super terrifying.

Although when told to Gojo Satoru, this man who works non-stop all year, not even considering 996 as a holiday, didn’t understand what was scary about it, but—

Yuan Shanxiao felt that this was the most terrifying part.

Does this man not feel how scary his life is…

How can people endure not having weekends, their lives intertwined with work, and still having to get up at six in the morning??

This is a Grade B horror movie!

Yuan Shanxiao thought about his future as Gojo Satoru’s student, possibly having to live like this.

…This is a Grade S horror movie!

After watching Gojo Satoru stay up for over 72 hours, Yuan Shanxiao finally couldn’t hold back, tremblingly and both curiously and fearfully placed his palm on the forehead of the man dozing on the couch.

“…It’s not even hot.”

“…I have the Reverse Cursed Technique, so I won’t get a fever, okay? So don’t worry—”

“Teacher, your head dissipates heat really well.”

“Worry—” Gojo Satoru’s comforting words suddenly got stuck. He paused for a while, grabbed the boy’s hand, and pulled down his eye mask. Looking up, “So this is a head, not a computer case.”

“I know, I was just complimenting the quality of Teacher’s CPU.”

“…You—”

“Teacher, let me join you on a mission today?”

“—Huh?”

Gojo Satoru now completely pulled the eye mask to his neck, his blue eyes slightly wide open, fully taking in the face of the boy reclining behind him.

“I’m tired of living every night (sneakily looking at pictures of Antarctica) waiting for Teacher Gojo to come back (and getting scared off the bed).”

“Let’s go on a mission together today and come back early to rest tonight.”

Listening to Yuan Shanxiao’s words, Gojo Satoru: …

Yuan Shanxiao saw Gojo Satoru lower his gaze for some reason, his eyelashes trembled for a moment before looking up. “You really—”

Yuan Shanxiao was puzzled for two seconds but still quickly grabbed Gojo Satoru’s hand, “Yes, I really want to see what Teacher Gojo’s work is like—”

What kind of work.

What kind of work makes one work until five in the morning without rest, overtime, and no weekends—

He just doesn’t believe that there’s really—

10 hours later, Yuan Shanxiao was kneeling on the ground half-dead, his eyes tightly focused on the time on his phone.

Making sure it’s six in the morning, not six in the evening.

Yuan Shanxiao: …

Yuan Shanxiao almost ran out of emotion to face the Cursed Spirits, as emotions are supplied by the brain, and people who work overtime until six in the morning don’t have brains.

Even a zombie coming over to scoop out such a corporate slave’s brain would have to spit it out.

Wow, a burst of work smell. Disgusting.

Yuan Shanxiao was kneeling on the ground blankly thinking about whether he still had a brain, when he heard a “pfft” from above.

“Hahaha I said you couldn’t handle it, kiddo, roll back and rest. Really, not knowing Reverse Cursed Techniques and still wanting to join me in overtime?”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

What’s going on with this intense work smell? A labor thief?

Yuan Shanxiao now just wanted to die a little to relax. Just as Gojo Satoru heard his unconscious muttering and just laughed as he picked him up back to the hotel, skillfully saying, “If you want to sleep, remember to set the air conditioner to sleep mode.”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

He said he wanted to [die] not [sleep], okay.

Yuan Shanxiao took a breath. “What time did Teacher Gojo sleep last night?”

“Hmm? Haven’t slept yet.”

Yuan Shanxiao took another breath.

“Are the directors at the bureau asleep now?”

Gojo Satoru, who had stayed up much longer than Yuan Shanxiao, even with the constant refreshment from the Reverse Cursed Technique, was still in a state of overload and tinnitus, so his hearing was a bit fuzzy. He laughed, “They should wake up in about four hours.”

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm? The bed’s over there? Ha, confused from staying up? That’s the door.”

“Don’t worry, my head isn’t fuzzy.” Yuan Shanxiao turned back to reply to Gojo Satoru while directly crashing into a doorpost, then emotionlessly covered his newly bruised forehead, pressing down on the door handle.

“I just wanted to see who’s not dead—no, I just wanted to see who dares to sleep at this hour—no,”

Although Yuan Shanxiao’s brain was slightly disordered after staying up all night, it was obvious that Gojo Satoru, who hadn’t slept as much in a week as Yuan Shanxiao did in one night, was still dissipating heat.

So Gojo Satoru just waved his hand and smiled, “Remember to set the air conditioner to sleep mode.”

“Okay, I’ll go turn on the air conditioner for old tangerine head.”

“Well, 27 degrees should be about right.”

Yuan Shanxiao opened the door, nodded firmly. “Find 27 people, right. Got it, will do.”

“OK, I’m heading out.” Saying this, Gojo Satoru walked steadily towards the bedroom, then his forehead collided with the doorpost. He covered his newly bruised forehead with one hand while waving behind him. “No need to leave the door open for me.”

“Okay.” Yuan Shanxiao walked steadily out of the hotel room, nodding to Gojo Satoru heading towards the bed. “Teacher, go early and come back early.”

“Good night.”

Yuan Shanxiao set the temperature to 27 degrees.

…

It seems like it’s the air conditioner.

Oh well.

No big deal.

Yuan Shanxiao was tired, but he knew he was still very awake.

“I’m going to find 27 air conditioners.”

The young man’s voice was firm.