922 couldn't be more happy to find out that they were done with paperwork.
Actually done.
The bulk of the paperwork was regarding some major incident or another that had occurred before Wen Yuan had become an invigilator, but that was all complete. Now, all they had to work on was the minor stuff, or whatever issues were being addressed during the monthly meetings regarding glitches or bug fixes.
No more did they (or really, 154) have to spend half their lives slaving away to finish paperwork while in the middle of invigilating some examinations.
But while 922 thought that this was a good thing, and that they could finally relax... apparently, 154 had different ideas.
922's idea of resting was to sleep, cook some delicious meals that needed hours of preparation, now that he had the time to do so... maybe also trying out some new recipes...
As for 154... his idea of resting was pulling books off the shelves of the invigilator's quarters, even though they were mostly just there as props, and reading through them like a university student studying desperately for their university entrance exam.
How 154 found that relaxing, 922 had no fucking idea, but it was one of the many quirks the younger invigilator had that just made him endearing.
After working together for the past few months, invigilating exams, and occasionally attending meetings... while things between them were initially awkward, with the three of them having seemingly clashing personalities, they actually got along pretty well.
He wasn't one to get attached easily; as friendly as Wen Yuan was... having his memories stolen from him, and suddenly learning that Qin Jiu no longer recognized him... Knowing that any friends he made could be so easily ripped away from him... that made it very hard for him to get close to anyone.
But it was hard to not get close to Qin Jiu and 154.
A boss and a colleague, even if said boss actually didn't give a single shit about his authority, and said colleague acted more like the boss, constantly trying to finish all the paperwork as soon as possible.
They all had their share of issues, but their little group could handle most issues that were thrown their way quite easily.
922 thought it was nice to finally have companions; people he could actually call his friends, instead of just rotating through various invigilator groups, filling in any empty slots when an exam occurred.
And during this period of time, 922 thought that he'd learnt a lot about 154; not to say that he didn't grow closer to 001, but Qin Jiu preferred keeping to himself, and Wen Yuan was already somewhat familiar with him while they were both examinees.
001 also gave off this feeling of longing... perhaps that wasn't the right word; mourning would be a more accurate statement.
154 was a very interesting person. He always tried to give off this feeling that he didn't really care what was going on, but it was just so obvious that he did care.
Just like now, out of the corner of his eye, he could see 154 peeking into the kitchen, watching as he tested out a new recipe for lamb chops.
922 would like to pick up some other hobbies as well, such as knitting, or maybe learning how to fix machines, so they wouldn't have to ask the System for the help in case something broke, but alas, his hands just kept aching and shaking whenever he tried to make small, delicate movements.
Oh well, he'd be content with cooking and learning new recipes for now, especially since he had two extremely compliant taste testers. 001 was the wildest examinee he knew, and would wreck havic whenever he was the given the opportunity to do so.
He'd even sass the System despite being the Head Invigilator, but when it came to 922's cooking, if 922 told him to eat something he had cooked, 001 would eat it without hesitation, even if he had no fucking idea what the lower ranked invigilator had cooked.
As for 154, despite his tiny appetite, he would never turn down anything 922 cooked (even if it took some nudging to get him out of his room while he was filling in some papers).
Sure, he was a little fussy, and sometimes just outrightly refused to eat at times, but 922 found that it actually wasn't too hard to get him to eat; if 922 left a steaming hot plate of food (in a reasonable portion for 154 to finish) outside of 154's room and walked away, he would find an empty plate back outside his room when he came back maybe an hour later.
He was just shy about eating, how cute.
Considering how much he liked to hide in his room before 922 barged into his life, Wen Yuan couldn't help but wonder if 154 had a secret stash of instant noodles or something, and was secretly eating it when he thought no one was looking...
And the coffee. The fucking coffee.
No matter how early Wen Yuan woke to try and intercept the younger, he would always somehow find him sipping some coffee as he flipped through a book.
If Wen Yuan didn't rip the cup out of hands and replaced it with something with a lower caffeine content like green tea, he'd suspect that 154 might suffer from a caffeine overdose or something.
A cup of coffee in the morning for an energy boost while completing paperwork wasn't the worst thing out there. But still, drinking so many cups of coffee a day despite there being no work to do, and never actually seeing 154 go to sleep...
Wen Yuan had to admit, he was rather concerned for his friend's health.
Which is why 922 had stolen every single sachet and packet of coffee he could find, and hoarded them all in his room.
001 wasn't too amused when he woke up and started hunting around for his morning coffee, but Wen Yuan was more than happy to brew his boss his beverage.
The main issue came when 154 started rummaging around the cupboards and drawers, looking for something that Wen Yuan knew wasn't there.
"922?" 154 grumbled grouchily, "Where's the coffee?"
"That's enough coffee for you." 922 huffed, mixing up a new sauce for his lamb chops, "I don't know how your liver survives all that coffee!"
154 muttered something under his breath, but didn't refuse when Wen Yuan offered him some tea he had brewed just moments prior, already expecting the younger to have come in for his second cup of coffee in a day.
"Don't tell me Boss took all the coffee bags. I know he was having some in the morning."
922 didn't bother correcting him. It wasn't like 154 would go up and pester their boss about coffee of all things.
And despite his usual cold and icy demeanor, Qin Jiu was also quite worried about 154's seeming inability to take care of his health. He wouldn't rat 922 out anyways unless he decided to be an ass and wanted to have some fun watching his subordinates chase each other around childishly.
There was some silence for a while before 154 looked up again, "Is there any paperwork we have to do?"
"Pfft. Shouldn't I be asking you?" 922 asked. 154 had always been the more meticulous one when it came to paperwork, and Wen Yuan usually just heeded his instructions when there was stuff to fill out.
154 let out something akin to a pout, before hiding his face behind his cup as he took another sip of tea.
"I saw Boss with another stack. A small one, granted... but still paperwork." 154 stated, "He refused to give me any. I thought he might have gone to you instead."
"That's because you over obsessed with your paperwork and you neglect your health over it." Wen Yuan told him straight to his face, pouring his freshly mixed sauce over his lamb chops.
Hmm... He hoped that the sauce tasted good. It was something more for beef than for lamb, but Wen Yuan had tweaked it slightly to make it more suitable for lamb chops.
He found the flavor to be a bit more mild compared to what he usually cooked, and it was easier for 154 to eat food that didn't have a horrifyingly overpowering taste. Maybe it would help 154 eat a bit more.
Wen Yuan swears, whenever there was paperwork to be done, instead of spreading it out and finishing a reasonable amount of work each day, 154 would just constantly pull all-nighters, trying to finish his work as quickly as possible.
Sometimes, when he leaves his room in the middle of the night to get some water, he'll find that the lights in 154's room were still on, and the little idiot was still fussing over completing his work.
Wen Yuan wondered if the guy even sleeps. There was no way someone could go for so long without any rest; hallucinations and lack of energy aside, 154 should be barely functioning properly at all if that was the case.
But with all the caffeine the little guy consumes and the fact that Wen Yuan had never seen him sleep before...
"You need to take better care of yourself. If Boss or I am not here to make sure you eat and sleep properly, are you just going to run yourself into the ground?" 922 asked, popping his lamb chops into the oven, "Your health is more important that anything else. Putting off your work for a day or two won't hurt anyone. Even the System isn't that stingy."
There was a small warning light that came from Wen Yuan's finger, where his indicator light was located, but otherwise, the System barely reacted to the accusation.
...
Unknown to him... 154 was truly lost.
After all... that was exactly what You Huo had done; doing everything he should be doing to make sure his grades were perfect, completing all his military training perfectly, doing his paperwork in a timely fashion while forgoing everything else.
He didn't see anyone else complaining about whatever his big brother got up to.
Though, to be completely fair, You Huo had years of experience in hiding himself behind a mask to the point where the mask became his face.
154 didn't have any concrete evidence of this, since he had been asleep in the back-up station for quite a long time... but given how it was Qin Jiu of all people who freed him from his fate of non-existence, he must have been the one to pull off You Huo's mask and see him for who he truly was.
As for 154... well... he just existed. Not fully human, yet not fully a program either.
He wasn't meant for this, wasn't supposed to be bothered by hunger or rest, because he was merely a program, and programs didn't require sleep or sustenance to carry out their objectives.
Even the NPCs within the exam centers themselves didn't require food, only if it was a gimmick of that particular exam center (like the survival ones, where examinees have to help the NPC's "survive" the harsh conditions), or if they were examinees who had been consumed by the System and transformed into NPCs.
A contradiction created out everything and nothing.
A being born from the broken lives of two children who didn't have a say in having their childhoods stolen from them to create the baseline of the System's AI.
Something that shouldn't exist, and yet, he existed anyways.
Seeing that 154 seemed a little lost in thought, Wen Yuan just washed his hands and opted to forgo the washing up for now. He shuffled over to his side, sitting next to him, quietly, peacefully, letting 154 ruminate in his own thoughts.
His friend must have had a truly dreadful life, if just being told that he should prioritize his health over work...
Wen Yuan really wanted to find out who 154's boss out in the real world was. Maybe he should go give him a stern talking to or a good beating for making their precious little hardworking 154 value himself so little.
Maybe it wasn't just his boss. Whoever had influenced him into working himself to the bone instead of taking care of himself...
Bah, forget it. That was all in the past, and there was nothing they could do about it. All they should do is live in the present and worry about the future.
-------------------------------
Outside the System, in the hospital.
You Huo sneezed.
He couldn't see anything, his eyes still wrapped with gauze to ensure they healed properly after that supposed accident during training that caused his eye injury.
He wondered who was talking about him.