The Fang residence, seven in the evening.

The Fang family had a two-story duplex in the most exclusive landmark building in City A.

When Fang Qian’an returned from Beijing with his gloomy father, they abandoned the other houses and immediately took up residence here.

In his opinion, there was nothing to dislike here. In any case, a well-known designer was hired for the building. The house was very well-decorated, with large swathes of black, white, and gray. The place didn’t look lived in, devoid of human touch.

But today, in this humanless house, the uncommon aroma of food wafted through.

“Qian’an, what’s wrong? I see you’ve barely moved your chopsticks. Does the food today not suit your tastes?”

A slightly fawning female voice sounded at the large dining table.

Fang Qian’an raised his head from his phone and sent a cold glance at the young woman.

Even the facial features brimming with artificiality couldn’t hide the abundant collagen on the woman’s face. Fang Qian’an thought she looked a bit familiar, and distractedly checked online. Sure enough, she was a little star. According to the web page, she was…..not a few years older than him.

But such a woman had become his father’s female companion.

Fang Qian’an’s eyes turned toward the tall man at the end of the dining table, and it was very difficult to hide the ridicule in his eyes.

But he could probably understand the woman’s choice — although in Fang Qian’an’s eyes, that man was just an old fuck, the other’s appearance did have a distinct advantage compared to other wealthy entrepreneurs of the same age. Coupled with the wealth and power represented by the Fang family, it was no surprise that the man made others stick to him like a moth to flame.

As for the woman who had appeared at the table now, she was not the same as those voluptuous, heavily made-up ones from before. She looked faintly like a good wife and mother…..

Well, the old man had reached the age where he couldn’t take all the women crowding around him and was thinking about maintaining his health.

No wonder he even brought someone home.

Thinking aimlessly, Fang Qian’an said nothing.

The woman observed the indifferent young man at the other end of the table, a trace of anxiety flashing through her eyes. She knew better than anyone how important this “dinner” tonight was for her, and couldn’t help but make overtures toward Fang Qian’an at this time.

“Qian’an is still a student now, and is using his brain more. Come, eat some sea cucumber, it’s good for your health…..”

The woman’s tone was extremely loving and gentle, as if she truly regarded Fang Qian’an as her own child.

But this “gentleness” fell into Fang Qian’an’s ears and directly had the opposite effect.

There was a fishy taste in Fang Qian’an’s mouth, and he felt entirely nauseated.

“Don’t put this plaything in front of me. It disgusts me.” He finally spoke, but his tone was incredibly rude.

The woman’s face immediately paled.

His father, Mr. Fang, raised his head at once to give his son a warning glance. “Fang Qian’an, where has your good upbringing gone?”

The moment the man finished speaking, Fang Qian’an suddenly stood up and overturned the entire table.

The expensive slate fell to the floor with a deafening sound. The stone imported from Italy at an astronomical cost shattered everywhere, the expensive bone china tableware was smashed to pieces, and the equally expensive high-end ingredients were mixed into a mess of soup and water on the floor.

The woman was frightened, and ran away screaming to her benefactor.

The live-in housemaid and the security personnel also rushed out from where they were resting in the housemaid’s room and surrounded the dining room in an instant. Then everyone exchanged confused looks at this chaotic scene.

After having done all of this, Fang Qian’an stood up and kicked over his chair, looking at his father with his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t know where my good upbringing has gone. I only know that, well, someone with a good upbringing probably wouldn’t bring the mistress he found home while his wife is still alive, right?” He tilted his head, looking straight at the man. “…..By the way, it seems you and mother haven’t gotten divorced yet. You asked me where my good upbringing went, and I also want to ask you, Fang Chengke, where has your moral integrity gone?”

He finished speaking with a cold sneer. Immediately afterward, he saw his father stand up as well.

The man was in the prime of his life and had a robust figure. And Fang Qian’an’s amazing height was also inherited from Fang Chengke.

“Little beast…..you’re asking for it again.” Fang Chengke’s expression was extremely ugly.

“Heh, humans beget humans and beasts beget beasts. If I’m a little beast, then doesn’t that make you an old beast—”

With a pa, Fang Qian’an’s voice was interrupted by the man’s slap.

“You’re crazy, just like your deranged mother.”

It was clear that Fang Qian’an’s behavior had caused Fang Chengke to lose face in front of his young lover, and the man was furious.

With a command, Fang Qian’an was directly shoved to the ground. That was Fang Chenke’s security personnel that he had hired at a high price. Even though Fang Qian’an could be considered invincible in a school fight, he was ultimately defeated by the well-trained professionals.

There was sharp pain in his knee and elbow joints as Fang Qian’an half-knelt on the ground with his head pressed down.

The timid housemaid came forward tremblingly and gave Fang Chengke a belt.

The belt was not cheap goods, and was very heavy.

The tall man wrapped the belt around his wrist and stuck the remaining part in his palm. The other end of the belt hung down from his hand, swaying slightly like a black python.

Fang Qian’an stared at his father and wanted to scream: You old waste of oxygen. If you have the ability, let me go and fight me one-on-one.

But his voice stuck in his throat, and he found that he couldn’t say a word.

In fact, the two people behind him really hadn’t used much force. After all, Fang Qian’an was still the sole heir of the Fang family, and no one would dare to be truly ruthless. 

If he struggled like his life depended on it, Fang Qian’an knew that he could still break free of their control.

But in reality, he could only kneel motionlessly under the control of the security personnel. The moment Fang Chengke had taken out the belt, he was instantly unable to move, as if a spell had been placed on him.

Fang Chengke didn’t miss the fleeting fear on Fang Qian’an’s face, and the man instantly felt at ease.

He raised his arm high, fiercely swinging the belt toward Fang Qian’an.

With a crack as the air split, the belt hit Fang Qian’an hard.

The first thing that registered was not the pain, but the force of impact. Then, an intense, burning agony began to ignite his nerves like flames.

Fang Qian’an was beaten heavily on his back and arms — Fang Chengke was very experienced in beating him, and would never leave marks in conspicuous places.

Fang Qian’an struggled for a moment, a fishy taste in his mouth. He raised his head and glared at Fang Chengke.

The pain was obviously great, but he couldn’t help but smile with a twisted expression. “How about you just beat me to death and fulfill your dream.”

Under Fang Qian’an’s provocation, Feng Chengke hoisted the belt again.

Pa—

“You’ve lost your mind!” The man cursed. “I should have put you and that demented woman in the mental hospital together.”

“How could you let me go…..cough…..if you sent me away, how could you take advantage of my mother’s money…..”

“If I had known you were such a little beast, I would have let you die.”

Pa—

“It’s exactly as the experts said at the outset, you deserve to die in a mental hospital. You were born to die early. I tried my best to fucking raise you up, but it turns out that I just raised a bearer of ill luck. I haven’t seen anything good about you as you’ve grown up, and I let you ruin my good fortune…..”

Pa—

In the luxurious, modern dining room, the sounds of a heavy beating lasted half an hour.

Seeing the pale-faced Fang Qian’an covered in cold sweat yet still silent, Fang Chengke’s expression changed unpredictably and he put the belt down, panting.

“One day you’ll be staying in the same place as your mother…..lunatic…..”

Fang Chengke looked at his son on the floor. That face clearly resembled his own. But he seemed to see that woman in it too, that woman who was, strictly speaking, his “wife.”

That woman who was as emaciated as a skeleton, like a monster, had looked like this back then. Had fallen to the floor expressionlessly, not looking in any particular direction.

[Fang Chengke, he won’t let us go.]

[I know…..he will definitely come back to find us….wuwuwu….]

[It’s our fault. Chengke, we really did something wrong. How could we treat a child like that? And Xue Lin, we owe her too…..]

[But what can I do…..wuwu…..sorry, Xue Lin, I’m so sorry…..but Xiao An, Xiao An is my child, there was no other way…..]

[Chengke, I know you think I’m crazy, but I’m not…..heehee…..I know this better than anyone else. Look, that child Xue Lin is always watching us…..haven’t you seen? He said he would make our lives worse than death, falling into hell forever…..]

[We can’t escape, Chengke…..]

[No one can escape.]

The babbling words his wife had repeated before her mental breakdown seemed to ring in his ears again.

Fang Chengke felt an inexplicable chill, but very soon, that trace of cowardice that flashed through his heart gave rise to an increasingly powerful anger.

He kicked the weakened Fang Qian’an to the ground, then turned his head to regard his female companion.

“Xiao Mei, you change clothes and we’ll go out to eat.”

After this experience, the woman was so frightened that her face was ashen, and she could barely stutter.

 “B-but…..” She looked at Fang Qian’an, her tone panicked.

“Be obedient.”

Fang Chengke’s face darkened. The woman fell silent for a moment, then obediently snuggled up to his side and left the room with him.

After watching the elevator descend with that man and counting the floors to the first floor, the live-in housemaid who had been caring for Fang Qian’an rushed to him in a fluster.

Aunt Su, the housemaid, watched the boy stand up from the floor unsteadily and said with an expression of distress:  “Young Master, oh heavens, how are you, ah? Why are you so obstinate? You know Mr. Fang has a bad temper, don’t just confront him head-on, ah. Look at your injuries, ai, wait for Auntie to get you medicine…..”

“No need.” Although his body felt like it was on fire, Fang Qian’an resisted the urge to grimace, and pretended to be calm.

“I’ll just go to my room and apply it myself. The medicine from last time hasn’t been used up yet.”

As he spoke, Fang Qian’an turned and headed for his room on the second floor. 

With a face full of awkwardness, Aunt Su followed two steps behind him.

But Fang Qian’an didn’t look back. He forced himself to rush into the room, then slammed the door.

As soon as he closed the door, Fang Qian’an could no longer control his facial expression. He cried out in pain and sat on the ground. “Fuck, it hurts to death…..”

After a long period of gasping for air, Fang Qian’an finally regained some strength. Hunched over, he went to the attached bathroom and gingerly removed his clothes in front of the mirror.

As a young man, he had an excellent body shape with broad shoulders and well-defined muscles.

However, such a body that should be pleasing to the eye was actually covered in deep and shallow bruises and scars of different colors. Some had begun to turn yellow and fade away, while others were still a shocking purple. As for the ones that had just been left on his body, each one was still bright red.

Fang Qian’an didn’t pay much attention to the bruises. He turned slightly sideways and observed the side of his waist through the mirror. After making sure that there were no traces of the beating near the thirty-centimeter surgical scar on his side, his tense expression softened a fraction.

“Old beast—” Fang Qian’an cursed with a distorted face. “That kick was no good. You dared to kick laozi in the waist…..”

Fang Chengke’s kick before he left was so sudden that Fang Qian’an could protect that area. It had almost scared him to death. 

Fortunately, the man hadn’t kicked this area.

Once his mind relaxed, the pain became less bearable.

While Fang Qian’an was enduring hard, there was a knock on the door from Aunt Su.

“Qian’an, ah, you didn’t eat anything tonight. Auntie made you some midnight snacks. If you’re hungry, you can pad your stomach.”

Knowing Fang Qian’an’s character, Aunt Su left after setting the food tray on the floor.

And once Fang Qian’an ensured that there was no further movement at the door, he opened it quickly and dragged the food tray into the room.

He was really starving to death—

It should be known that today at noon, he had gone to the cafeteria with his followers to eat. He didn’t know why, but the chef who was said to have been hired from a five-star hotel went crazy today.

The food he made tasted terrible.

In addition to being given a severe fright in the morning, Fang Qian’an promptly gave up on eating after one chopstick-full. He had been famished until now, and his stomach was practically tied in knots.

Fang Qian’an picked up the cup of soup first. Aunt Su was from the south, and the soup he had drank since childhood tasted particularly delicious.

However, just as the thick and delicious fish maw chicken soup entered his mouth, Fang Qian’an could only retch.

Disgusting.

In fact, it still tasted like chicken soup, but Fang Qian’an could inexplicably taste a fishy flavor.

Just like when he was eating in the cafeteria at noon.

Fang Qian’an instantly lost his appetite.

If these were normal times, Fang Qian’an would certainly not wrong himself, and would certainly find a way to get someone to get something for him to eat. But now his whole body hurt everywhere, and he was no longer in the mood to enjoy it.

Forget it, he felt like sleeping.

As Fang Qian’an thought, he lay on his bed. His back burned with pain as he laid down helplessly. He rolled back and forth in bed for a while, unable to fall asleep. Finally, in order to divert his attention, he had to look at his phone.

There was a group on his app that had been flashing a lot today. It was originally a group specially established for each school class to facilitate communication. Usually, other than the teachers who posted announcements and the like, nobody spoke on here at all. But today, Fang Qian’an glanced at it and found that the zombie group was actually a fake corpse. When he clicked in to have a look, there were countless people chatting at a rapid pace as the chat scrolled. Before he even finished reading a sentence, tons of new messages popped up below.

What was going on here?

Fang Qian’an concentrated his attention, and when he took a closer look, he realized that the reason for the group’s livliness today was because of an incident at school.

To be precise, something had happend to the much talked about celebrity English teacher — he had directly sent a voice message to each class group.

The conent was unclear and incoherent. At first listen, it sounded like a madman talking to himself after a complete mental breakdown.

In this voice message, Ouyang-laoshi directly confessed that he had been thinking of ways to molest, abduct, and have sex with minors since he was young. It sounded a bit like a confession, because Ouyang kept apologizing and saying, “I was wrong, I’ll never dare to do it again.” But if his conscience had really discovered repentance…..why was there so much wailing and crying in his voice?

As if to prove the authenticity of the message, Ouyang had also uploaded many unsightly photos to the group.

It was unknown if it was intenetional or not, but every photo was more or less overexposed and out of focus. The victims’ faces were obscured by blurred and distorted light and shadow, but Ouyang’s proud face appeared exceptionally clear.

The the most astonishing were the last few.

Judging by the automatically generated electronic dates on the photos, these ones had been taken today. In the photos, the no longer handsome man was haggard and warped, standing in a dark environment. The lighting was all due to the camera flashes, so he was deathly pale, but the surroundings were so dark that it was impossible to identify the location. The man’s face was entirely distorted by panic, his eyes slightly bulging, as if they would pop out of their sockets in the next second.

He was holding a noose in his hand, and his pose in the photo showed him putting his head into it.

Fang Qian’an’s hand shook as he quickly flashed through the remaining photos, connecting them together like an animated picture.

Ouyang raised his head to look desperately at the viewers outside the photos.

Then he seemed to kick off the stone he was stepping on.

The rope tightened.

As he dug his hands into the noose, his neck seemed to suddenly become very long. And his face. His face took on a strange, deep purple color.

His mouth grew so big that even the corners of his mouth split open, blood oozing out.

And his tongue squeezed out of his mouth. The red and purple ball of meat didn’t look like an organ belonging to a human being, but instead like a parasitic monster crawling out of Ouyang’s throat.

In the photo, Ouyang opened that mouth in a high, silent scream.

Then…..

Thud.

The phone fell from Fang Qian’an’s sweaty palm.

Fang Qian’an was stunned for several seconds before he returned to his senses and picked up the phone again. But this time, when he clicked into the group, the photos and voice message that were there just now had been deleted.

Apparently, the school officials had discovered that something was amiss and took remedial measures. It was a pity that they were too late, and almost everyone had seen those things.

The group’s scrolling speed was even faster than before.

There were also many people poking Fang Qian’an in his private messages. It seemed they also wanted to use this hot topic to strike up a conversation with the school’s renowned prince.

However, Fang Qian’an had no interest in gossiping with others. On the one hand, it was because he was a little frightened by Ouyang’s last few photos, but on the other hand, it was because he suddenly thought of Li Xiu’s unconcealable stiffness and resistance when he saw Ouyang in the complex that morning.

That scumbag Ouyang…..had he ever had thoughts about Li Xiu?

Fang Qian’an’s mind was suddenly in chaos.

It was as if an invisible hand had tightened around his heart, so suffocating that he almost forgot about the pain in his body.

And when Fang Qian’an reacted, he found that his cell phone was already on a call — to Li Xiu.

“Hello? Who is this…..”

Li Xiu’s voice on the other end was a little hoarse, with the slight nasal sound of having just woken up.

Fang Qian’an had his ear to the phone. Hearing that person’s unexpected whisper, his face suddenly felt a little hot.

“It’s me, Fang Qian’an.”

“…..Fang Qian’an? Why do you have my number…..what do you want?”

Li Xiu’s voice was suddenly on guard.

Fang Qian’an gave a faint cough, quickly suppressing his messy thoughts as he told Li Xiu about Ouyang.

Although he was not very close to Li Xiu, Fang Qian’an had a strong intuition that a “good student” like him who only cared about studying would definitely not bother paying attention to gossip in the group.

Sure enough, after hearing Ouyang’s confession and seeing the shocking behavior in the photos, the boy on the other end of the line fell into a long silence.

“Hey, A-Xiu, are you still listening? I…..I just thought you should know about this.”

Li Xiu said nothing, and Fang Qian’an became inexplicably nervous.

“En, I already knew.”

At last, Li Xiu spoke. His tone was a bit strange, but he sounded calm.

“Before, that scumbag…..I mean, I saw that he went to find you today—”

Fang Qian’an hadn’t finished speaking when he was interrupted abruptly and bluntly by Li Xiu.

“The matter of Ouyang-laoshi will be handled by the police. Fang Qian’an, it’s really loud on your side. Before you call next time, comfort your girl so she doesn’t cry again. I’m really tired today. I’m going to bed. Hanging up.”

“Wait, what’s so noisy? I’m the only one here — A-Xiu?!”

Fang Qian’an put down his phone, dumbfounded, and looked at the screen. Sure enough, the call had ended.

“Damn, you want it like this, ah, classmate Li Xiu?”

The young bully’s face was a bit unsightly.

As he looked around, he was pretty sure that his room was silent.

After all, it was a first rate duplex villa high in the sky, with no neighbors around it. There were usually very few people at home. The cleaners and the live-in housemaid had also undergone rigorous training and basically didn’t make too much noise. Not to mention the second floor where Fang Qian’an was, there was no way someone could come up without authorization.

So, before he hung up the phone, why had Li Xiu said it was “really loud?”

Why had he told him to comfort his girlfriend so she wouldn’t cry?

What Li Xiu heard…..was crying?

A chill instantly spread up Fang Qian’an’s back.

He was hit by shivers, and it took him a long time to calm down.

He was a second away from calling Li Xiu back to ask for details, but when his fingertip was about ot press the button, Fang Qian’an let out an irritated three-character curse and threw the phone back onto the pillow, falling heavily onto the bed.

“Don’t think that I’ll be scared once you’ve figured out my weakness. Damn, do you really think I’m that timid?”

Fang Qian’an said this to himself, deciding to treat Li Xiu’s last words as a stupid horror joke.

After such an episode, Fang Qian’an didn’t even bother to look at his phone, just planning to sleep.

When the lights were turned off, darkness enveloped the entire room.

Fang Qian’an closed his eyes, and then…..

[Wuwuw…..wu…..]

He found that there seemed to…..seemed to be crying.

There was a faintly discernible cry, as thin as gossamer.

And once he noticed the sound, it seemed to become more obvious.

It was a woman crying.

Fang Qian’an stopped breathing. His body had already pulled up the quilt before his brain could react, then he opened his eyes and looked in the direction the crying was coming from.

The stars over the city were dim.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the light reflected in the room was the unique reddish illumination caused by urban light pollution. 

And in this sheen of red light, Fang Qian’an clearly saw a faint shadow in the corner of the room.

A woman.

She was standing in the corner with her head bowed. Her long black hair hung down, covering her face. The continuous sound of crying came from behind that dark mess of hair.

Fuck—

Fang Qian’an stared blankly at the shadow.

Once he confirmed that it really wasn’t an illusion, he hooked the quilt with trembling fingers, then held his breath and carefully pulled it over his head.

Inside the quilt’s darkness, his mind went blank.

However, even such a high-end silk quilt couldn’t block out the woman’s crying.

“Wuwu…..”

“Wuu…..”

In fact, the sound of crying became even clearer.

Wait.

The crying was getting clearer?

When in terror, the human brain became slow.

It took a while for Fang Qian’an to realize what the increasingly clear crying meant.

The shadow was approaching him.

He didn’t know if it was his fear that caused poor blood circulation.

But he could indeed feel that as soon as the crying grew louder, a biting chill spread along his spine.

“Wuwu…..”

Even through the quilt, Fang Qian’an could imagine that woman with her lowered head slowly walking toward him in bed, step by step.

Fang Qian’an thought he might be losing his mind.

In extreme fear, he kept his head covered by the quilt, hands reaching blindly for the pillow. He still remembered that his phone was next to the pillow. If he had his phone, at least he could call somebody for help—

Fang Qian’an’s fingers suddenly touched something wet, cold, and sticky.

Very thin, like twigs wrapped in wet plastic.

He abruptly stopped moving.

For a moment, Fang Qian’an even forgot how to breathe. He couldn’t move. His blood froze, and his mind completely fractured.

In his entire body, the only thing moving was probably his heart.

His heart pounded like a bull against his ribs.

Just at this moment, a glimmer of light flashed in the corner of Fang Qian’an’s vision.

It was the light emitted by the cell phone screen when it automatically detected someone. Fang Qian’an reflexively turned his eyes in the direction of that light.

Then he saw the face.

Strictly speaking, it couldn’t even be called a face, because there wasn’t even a layer of skin intact. The skin still attached to the skull was a strange gray-purple color with corpse spots, and at the edges of the gray skin and flesh, pink bones, muscle, and viscera spread everywhere.

One of her eyeballs had squeezed out of its socket and hung slightly against her chin, connected by nerves and blood vessels. And the other one also looked severely deformed. There was no white to that eye, or the part that was originally white had become bloodshot, with a mass of bruising.

The pupils were covered in gray, and there was no light to them.

Her teeth could be clearly seen below her torn cheek, each one stained scarlet by blood.

[Wuwu…..wu…..]

That crying came through the gap in her cheek, which couldn’t be closed.

She tilted her head slightly, resting her head on the edge of the quilt to stare at Fang Qian’an inside it.

And Fang Qian’an’s hand was pressed to her cold, bleeding palm.

“Ahhhhh—”

Fang Qian’an let out a guttural scream, jumping up from the bed.

In a panic, he tried desperately to hide at the foot of the bed, but accidentally fell to the floor. Although the woolen carpet didn’t hurt him, the fall finally brought him back to his senses.

It was a nightmare.

Fang Qian’an sat on the floor blankly, staring at the silent room, and belatedly regained his mind.

It turned out that he had fallen asleep just now.

But he supposed that what Li Xiu had said about the crying before bed was why he’d had such a terrible dream.

Damn…..

Fang Qian’an cursed to himself, feeling a little embarrassed.

When he stood up, he realized that his entire body was soaked in cold sweat.

Although it was a nightmare, Fang Qian’an still had some lingering fear after waking up.

He planned to turn on the bedside lamp to calm himself, but the light didn’t come on when he pressed the switch.

Fang Qian’an stared blankly. He tried the other lights in the room and got no response.

“Are you kidding me?”

Fang Qian’an was at a bit of a loss. He had never thought that there would be a power outage at his house.

Babump—

Babump—

Babump—

After realizing that it was a power outage, Fang Qian’an’s calmer heart seemed to accelerate again. That inexplicable uneasiness struck once more. He wiped his cold sweat, then put on his nightgown, opened the door, and walked toward the outer door.

The housemaid should know where things like flashlights were, right? Or he could ask someone to deal with the circuit problem….

As he thought, Fang Qian’an walked downstairs.

The power was also out on the first floor. The wide space was shrouded in thick darkness, and even that darkness seemed to have weight, pushing down on Fang Qian’an as he gradually stepped into it.

Fang Qian’an frowned on the stairs.

That’s weird, he thought.

It was still the familiar first floor. 

It was normal for the light to be dim in a power outage.

However…..a strong sense of uneasiness slowly returned.

Turning his head, Fang Qian’an suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a dim light coming from the first floor kitchen.

He hurried toward it, and hadn’t even taken a few steps when he heard a sequential thud, thud coming from the kitchen. Fang Qian’an saw a small person with their back to him, busy in front of the counter.

The person held a stone pestle in one hand, the other hand holding something like a mortar.

As her arms moved up and down, the sound Fang Qian’an had heard previously also sounded.

“Aunt Su?”

The moment he saw the other party, Fang Qian’an reflexively thought it was Aunt Su.

However, he realized in the next second that Aunt Su was not so thin.

The person standing in the kitchen was not at all the Fang family’s live-in housemaid—that was an old woman Fang Qian’an had never seen before.

The old woman was stooped over, her hair completely gray.

As she pounded the stone mortar hard, her hands exposed outside her sleeves were covered in liver spots, veins as distinct as earthworms under her shriveled skin.

And at this time, Fang Qian’an was finally able to get a clear look at what the old woman was smashing—

It was ashes.

Rows of urns were piled up next to the old woman’s hands, with oval gray-white portraits of the deceased inlaid. 

The old woman opened the urns simply and roughly, pouring the gray-white powder into the mortar in her hand.

Not all of the human ashes were as fine as powder. Many of the ashes had lumps of bones, and the old woman was very careful to grind those large bones into powder bit by bit.

Fang Qian’an’s body was completely frozen in place.

The old woman seemed to be aware of the movement behind her. She tilted her head with a smile, her voice high-pitched and hoarse when it fell into his ears, like steel wire scratching his eardrums.

“Don’t worry, ah, don’t worry. Grandma knows you’re hungry…..Grandma will cook a meal now so that you can eat well…..”

As she spoke, the old woman turned around.

On that emaciated, shriveled body, there was an upside-down face.

“Come and eat.”

She smiled, and her lips parted where her forehead should have been, revealing red gums and a dark throat.

She reached out and grabbed a handful of ashes. 

Then, her arms stretched out to stuff the handful of ashes directly into Fang Qian’an’s mouth.

*

“Fuuuuck—”

Fang Qian’an screamed again and jumped up from the bed.

Although he didn’t fall off the bed like in the last dream, he still lay in bed and retched for a while due to the vivid memory of that nightmare.

Fang Qian’an curled up rigidly in bed.

He stared at the familiar furnishing in the room with dull eyes, waiting for a long time while trembling in fear.

There was no female ghost. 

Of course, there was also no weird old woman grinding ashes.

Fang Qian’an listened for a long time and seemed to faintly hear the subtle sounds of the housemaid cleaning downstairs.

Having already suffered no small amount of fright, his nerves relaxed little by little.

“So what the fuck is with a nightmare within a nightmare?”

Fang Qian’an felt soaked all over, but didn’t want to get out of bed and change clothes at all.

Naturally, because of the trauma of those nightmares, he didn’t dare get under the quilt.

In desperation, Fang Qian’an habitually picked up his phone for a quick look and found that everyone in the class group was still eagerly discussing the Ouyang matter.

[So disgusting. A beast like that deserved to die.]

[He actually decided to commit suicide? Isn’t that too easy?]

[Hahaha, garbage like that should be sent to hell and tortured for eternity.]

[It’s fine, even though he’s dead, he probably won’t find peace.]

Fang Qian’an stared at the various curses popping up on the screen, somewhat distracted.

In his daze, he didn’t know which button he pressed with his fingertips. Only then did Fang Qian’an realize that he had called a number.

Fortunately, this call was to one of Fang Qian’an’s followers. What was his name…..

Fang Qian’an stared at the title [Yellow hair] on his phone, but couldn’t remember the name of his follower.

The result of such a moment of confusion was that when Fang Qian’an started to hang up, the call had already connected.

“Huh?”

“Fang-ge? Why are you suddenly calling me?”

Yellow Hair’s voice was ecstatic. He sounded wild with happiness to have received a call from Fang Qian’an.

“Ah, it’s nothing…..”

Holding the phone, Fang Qian’an actually didn’t know what to say.

To be honest, he didn’t even know why he made the call.

Yellow Hair on the other end didn’t seem to notice Fang Qian’an’s silence, and was still chattering on inanely. 

After a brief moment of absent-mindedness, Fang Qian’an suddenly said: “Do you know the core values of socialism?”

“……”

Yellow Hair instantly fell silent.

He supposed the other was dumbfounded by this nonsensical question.

And at this time, Fang Qian’an came to a realization — his behavior was abnormal, and his words were too strange.

He took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

“Never mind.”

He moved to hang up the phone.

But just before he hung up, Fang Qian’an asked one more question out of nowhere.

“Hey, do you hear any other voices here other than mine?”

Then, he heard Yellow Hair’s answer.

“…..Actually, I was just about to say something. Young Master Fang, that girl over there is crying so noisily.”

---

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Chapter 17 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 19

As a child raised by a “witch,” Li Xiu’s courage was already very great compared to his peers. He had originally thought that after seeing so many of the tricks his grandmother used to fool people, he had long been indifferent to myths and ghost stories.

However…..

Since returning from the Xiao family villa the other day, Li Xiu had encountered so many strange things. 

Even though he had nerves of steel, he was still more or less afraid.

Before the sky grew completely dark, Li Xiu had already forcefully suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and ran back home like he had wings.

Thud, thud, thud. He stepped on the edges of the glistening black concrete stairs all the way to the door of his house. Before Li Xiu opened the door, he once again heard the familiar sound of sobbing.

Was it still the customer who regularly came to his grandmother’s house? Li Xiu lowered his head and tried to adjust his breathing. While neatly placing the slightly well-used women’s shoes at the door, he pushed the door open and entered the house.

Everything was exactly as usual.

The room was still extremely dark. His grandmother still sat before the shrine in the dark living room, muttering, and the middle-aged woman with her back to Li Xiu had her head lowered as she cried sorrowfully.

The familiar scene relieved Li Xiu as he peered through the door curtain.

“Grandmother, I’m back,” he called out of habit.

His grandmother seemed to give a light hum in response from deeper in the living room, her voice vague and unclear.

Li Xiu didn’t mind that they had a guest. He went to his room with his school bag on his back.

He had just changed out of his school uniform and was about to go to the bathroom and wash his face, and when he turned around — he saw his grandmother’s stooped form. The old woman made very little movement, and Li Xiu didn’t know how long she had been standing there.

Her black eyes had become blurred many years ago, and their edges were covered in a layer of gray haze. When she looked at someone, they always seemed to be only half open. And due to old age, the fat under her shriveled skin had long been lost and there was only a thin layer of skin left. Two thin membranes drooped between her chin and neck.

“Grandmother?!”

Even Li Xiu was given a shock.

Feeling uncomfortable under his grandmother’s direct gaze, he could only ask: “What is it…..did the guest leave?”

His grandmother was silent for a long while, and then slowly blinked her eyes.

“A-Xiu, go deliver food to your gege,” she murmured without answering the question.

“You must give your gege enough food…..only after he has enough food will he be obedient…..”

Ever since his grandmother had become confused, similar things had happened more than once or twice. The old lady had been shrewd and cunning in the past, and could trick guests just relying on her mouth. Now it seemed that there was just one thing left in her mind, and that was to feed Li Xiu’s non-existent “gege.”

The old woman seemed to be extremely afraid that his “gege” would not have enough to eat.

But if Li Xiu asked specifically, she would only give a vague response, never explaining in detail.

After several repetitions, Li Xiu could only assume that his grandmother had a strange personality and delusions of victimization due to Alzheimer’s disease, and stopped worrying about it.

As always, Li Xiu comforted his grandmother and said: “En, I know. I’ll go after changing clothes.”

However, just as he was about to go to the kitchen and serve up the rice, he happened to recall what the pale-faced woman in the park had told him.

[“Making food offerings is not something a tiny child like you should do. The things crawling out of the Hungry Ghost Path are all ferocious, not to mention the one you’re carrying now…..”]

“Grandmother…..”

Li Xiu paused slightly, and the words were out before he realized it. “What on earth is the meaning of delivering food to gege, ah? Is this what those people say about offering food to hungry ghosts?”

The youth’s voice grew smaller and smaller.

In fact, before going home, Li Xiu had used his cell phone to look up the “food offerings” the park woman had spoken of. It was a metaphysical method of giving offerings to beings on the Hungry Ghost Path so that they could escape that evil realm.

But Li Xiu thought about it and realized that he didn’t recite sutras or mantras when he fed his gege, and there were also no prayers. It didn’t seem to have anything to do with offering food to hungry ghosts.

“What? It’s just giving your brother a meal, what else could it mean?!”

Sure enough, even if he asked, his grandmother would be bewildered.

Looking at her, Li Xiu subtly felt that she might not even know the term “offering food to hungry ghosts.” Although he didn’t want to admit it, Li Xiu had always known that his grandmother was actually a fraud with no professional knowledge at all.

But for some reason, Li Xiu felt a little more relaxed when he thought of this.

…..Just take it as Grandmother’s superstitions, Li Xiu told himself.

Then, as usual, he filled a bowl with uncooked rice in the evening, carried it to the cramped, narrow room, and placed it under the bed.

“Ge, time to eat,” Li Xiu said habitually.

After setting down the bowl, he remained in the room without knowing why.

This time, there was no sound of the bowl being knocked over beneath the bed.

On the contrary, heavy footsteps came from upstairs, followed by a muffled bang. The shadow of something dripping wet fell upon the dusty table in the middle of the room.

Startled, Li Xiu looked around but couldn’t clearly see what was hanging outside the window, just that it was a soft, dark object.

Like…..a mop?

Li Xiu’s brow furrowed slightly as he regarded the blurry, slightly swaying shadow and the wet marks it left outside the window glass.

The building he lived in was extremely outdated, so most of the tenants were not of high quality.

Li Xiu surmised that after the person upstairs washed the mop, they placed it on the protruding anti-theft window grate and the mop head stuck directly to Li Xiu’s window.

Many similar things had happened before, but Li Xiu was truly exhausted at the end of this day and really couldn’t spare the energy to go upstairs and start a confrontation. Plus, there was nobody using this room…..

Forget it.

Rubbing his temples, Li Xiu left the room in exhaustion.

*

“Wuwu— —”

Of course, the exhausted Li Xiu was unaware that after he left, the “mop” outside the window began to tremble.

The bloodshot eyes of the hanging man shook with terror. 

Putrid traces of water seeped out of his body constantly, brushing out branch-like moisture trails on the surface of the window, where dust had been accumulating for who knows how long.

In the silent, cramped room filled with clutter, a tall, thin figure appeared.

He sat upright on the dusty double bed, slender, nailless fingers carefully resting on the edge of the bowl filled with uncooked rice.

[My family’s A-Xiu, ah…..]

A faint murmur came from the shadow.

[So incredibly cute.]

The tall figure slowly leaned down and buried his face in the bowl.

One bite. Another bite.

He devoured the uncooked rice in the bowl with satisfaction. Constant chewing sounds came from the shadows.

[So, he always provokes things like you…..]

[Ai, what would my A-Xiu do without me?]

_______

The Author Has Something to Say:

Water Ghost Fish: …..fuck.

---

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Chapter 16 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 18

Xiao Gu: “The bulk of the shopping mall renovation project is complete and passed inspection for acceptance. It is ready for operations at any time.”

Xiao Gu: “The classification of internal structural modules has also been re-optimized. In addition to being more convenient to the public, it is also easier for us to manage internally.”

Xiao Gu: “However, according to the feedback from testing, the visual design of the entertainment facilities in the children’s area is not childlike enough. It seems somewhat overly standard and formal, and many people don’t like such—”

“That was just a statement made while unconscious.”

Pei Xi suddenly interrupted with a frown: “I actually don’t care whether or not he likes…..it.”

“……Ah?”

Xiao Gu looked up in confusion: “President Pei, whose opinion don’t you care about?”

Pei Xi: “…..”

Xiao Gu: “…..”

After a long and slightly awkward silence, Pei Xi pressed a hand to his lips and coughed. He relaxed his expression with difficulty: “It’s nothing, go on.”

Xiao Gu didn’t know what was going on and didn’t dare ask further questions. He continued to conscientiously report on the remaining work, then finally closed the documents and asked Pei Xi: “President Pei, is there anything else that needs to be corrected?”

Pei Xi: “No, that’s it for the time being. It will begin operations in stages, and adjustments can be made later if problems are discovered.”

Xiao Gu nodded and prepared to leave.

But Pei Xi stopped him: “Are there any upcoming work arrangements?”

“There are.” Xiao Gu swiftly stood at attention: “First we need to convey your instructions and sort out some important documents in the data room, then adjust the small-scale content of some plans. And after screening the visitors—”

“These are your jobs.”

Pei Xi couldn’t help but interrupt him again. “I mean mine.”

“Ah? Oh!”

Xiao Gu hurriedly changed his words: “As far as you are concerned, today’s work arrangements are finished and there is nothing to busy yourself with.”

Pei Xi: “There are no meetings?”

Xiao Gu scratched his head: “Today’s meetings are over.”

Pei Xi: “What about the visitors?”

Xiao Gu: “You already saw them this morning.”

Pei Xi: “What about the quarterly summaries from each department and plans for the next quarter?”

Xiao Gu: “You already took care of all that half an hour ago, ah.”

Pei Xi ceased asking questions.

Xiao Gu felt unsure as he observed his expression: “President Pei, do you want other work done ahead of schedule? Or do you have some other pressing matters that require some free time?”

Pei Xi: “Is there any work that can be done in advance?”

“Well…..”

Xiao Gu mentally assessed the work progress of the past week and shook his head: “Not right now.”

Pei Xi: “Understood. Go do your work.”

“All right.” Xiao Gu walked out of the office with the documents in his arms and closed the door with a sigh.

Was this what they meant when they said accompanying your sovereign was like accompanying a tiger?

It was really hard to guess the minds of successful people.

Pei Xi sat for a long while after Xiao Gu left. He rummaged through the folders and clicked on an unmarked meeting record, then started to read from the beginning.

From the first paragraph to the second, from the second paragraph to the third…..

Then his brow furrowed and he returned to the first paragraph.

After repeating this cycle several times, he could only close his eyes and press his temples hard with his fingertips.

Pei Xi, stop thinking about it.

That was just a random emotional reaction caused by memory loss, it wasn’t the real you.

Words and actions expressed without conscious autonomy couldn’t be counted at all.

He attempted to draw a line between his conscious self and the confused one, but every time he thought he was going to succeed, those “unbearable to recall” images emerged in his mind as if in opposition to him. 

His mind immediately turned into a tangled skein of yarn. Giving in to despair, he buried his face in his hands as his initially fair neck turned red.

He didn’t want to face it.

But he had to admit that he was grateful.

Fortunately. Fortunately, it wasn’t someone else with wicked intentions. Fortunately, from the beginning, the one he “picked” was He Chuzhou.

The computer screen automatically dimmed after being idle for a long time. 

He patted his forehead and lowered his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the flashing screen of his cell phone next to him.

It was on mute, and a missed call showed on the screen. It was from his father, and the calling location was specially marked as overseas.

Once Pei Yansong had left the office, he was busy spending time with his young wife and young son and rarely called him. If Pei Xi didn’t pick up, he would just wait for him to call back, and would never waste time calling him a second time.

As for the content, it was nothing more than some routine inquiries about the work status, business advice, and then goodbyes before hanging up.

Even though it was like this, he normally would have called back without hesitation. If only for the fact that although the calls were only occasionally received, at least he could clearly hear that he was thought about.

But today…..

He looked at the phone silently. His mind was blank for a moment, and he found that the anticipation-like emotion no longer seemed as strong as usual.

He didn’t want to call back.

But it was precisely today that, for the first time in history, Pei Yansong called a second time after hanging up.

He let out a low exhale and picked up the call.

And the person on the other end didn’t even give him the time to say ‘Dad’ before asking directly: “Have you cooperated with He Group recently?”

Pei Xi looked at his blurry reflection on the computer monitor and answered in the negative: “No.”

Pei Yansong: “What about an intention to cooperate?”

Pei Xi subconsciously started to say no, but something came to mind and he changed his answer: “Not at the moment. Why?”

Pei Yansong: “He contacted me not long ago and said you were staying at his place. Have you been very close recently?”

Pei Xi remembered very quickly when Pei Yansong said ‘contacted,’ and paused for a moment before answering: “Fortunately, we’ve met more frequently due to unforeseen circumstances.”

His words were vague, and he obviously omitted a lot of things.

Pei Yansong, however, didn’t ask any questions. He only said in a tone of warning: “I don’t care about unforeseen circumstances. In short, you should have less contact with him in private outside of business cooperation.”

“I don’t need to tell you what his reputation is like outside. You are not the same kind of people. Don’t let him affect your or Pei Group’s reputation…..”

Pei Xi: “He’s quite good.”

Pei Yansong paused: “What did you say?”

Pei Xi repeated coolly: “He is quite good, not as bad as you imagine.”

“Do I need to imagine how unbearable he is?”

Pei Yangsong’s tone dropped at once, with obvious displeasure at being disobeyed: “I have no time to think about this, and you shouldn’t care about it either.”

“You just need to know that this is the truth in the eyes of the public. Pei Group is in your hands now. You must be responsible for it and take precautions against anyone or anything that harms Pei Group’s interests…..”

Listening to the harsh and almost aggressive reprimands over the phone, Pei Xi felt an indescribable irritation rise up in his chest, making him doubt himself for the first time.

After so many years, did he really need this sort of care that was general enough to encompass everything, so much so that when it was assigned to him, there was already very little left?

When Pei Zhen’s voice squeezed through the receiver, his patience reached its limit.

“Dad, I have a meeting. I’m hanging up now.”

Having said this, he simply hung up the call without waiting for Pei Yansong’s response.

The rebellious impulse had come so suddenly that at almost the same time he hung up the phone, he opened the call log and dialed another number he had been in contact with recently. 

Inside the He Group building’s high-rise conference room.

A foreigner speaking Japanese-accented English was boasting so much that he was frothing at the mouth.

Yun Ji was typing the meeting notes when from the corner of his eye, he saw the person next to his phone pick it up, look at it, and put it down again.

After Yun Ji typed a long paragraph, the person in his peripheral vision picked up the phone again and put it down again.

He continued to type, and that person picked it up and put it down once more.

“Tsk.” He couldn’t help it anymore. “Why is it like you’re counting down the seconds for steamed buns in a pot?”

The corners of He Chuzhou’s mouth twitched. He said casually: “How did you know I’ve always wanted a pot to steam buns in the office?”

Yun Ji: “…..”

Yun Ji rolled his eyes at him: “You’re sick in the head. Whose call are you waiting for?”

He Chuzhou: “I’m not waiting, I’m just taking a look.”

Yun Ji: “Lying, eh? Do you need me to teach you how to set up an individualized ringtone? Don’t wait here like you’re waiting for your wife—”

Yun Ji was startled: “Wait, waiting for your wife…..?”

He Chuzhou scoffed at him: “You really do treat me like a seven-year-old, teaching me things.”

Yun Ji stopped typing the useless meeting minutes. He tilted his head in silence and approached He Chuzhou: “Cousin, there’s been gossip circulating around the office recently. Do you want to hear it?”

He Chuzhou asked thoughtlessly: “What gossip?”

Yun Ji: “Your gossip, ah. I thought it was nonsense at first, pure nonsense, but now I think there are some clues. Do you know that everyone says—”

He Chuzhou: “I’m leaving to take a call.”

“ ? ” Yun Ji looked at He Chuzhou, who appeared to be in a better mood. “No way, you…..”

He Chuzhou picked up the phone: “Write down everything he says. You can omit the fancy adjectives according to the situation. Send it to my email.”

Yun Ji: “? ? ?”

“As expected, this sort of thing happened.” He Chuzhou’s lips rose as he patted Yun Ji’s  shoulder. “Thanks for your hard work, good luck with your tasks.”

Yun Ji wore a look of disbelief as he was heartlessly left to suffer alone. The other man stood and nodded apologetically to the enthusiastic foreigner, then gestured toward his cell phone and turned to leave the conference room.

As he answered his phone while walking to the office, the calm, distant voice that came from the other end brought him to a stop.

“…..Pei Xi?” he called tentatively.

“It’s me.” Pei Xi’s voice was steady and clear. “Is President He free now? I want to talk.”

*

*

The cafe was very quiet, with live violin music accompanied by the occasional sound of clinking ceramic, melodious and relaxing.

But it still didn’t alleviate He Chuzhou’s surprise at finally finding out the so-called rules of the game: “What President Pei means is that each time you fall asleep, it turns on and off?”

Pei Xi hid nothing: “That’s right.”

It sounded outrageous.

But when he thought about it carefully, it made sense. No wonder he woke up every morning as if opening a blind box.

He Chuzhou: “So now you plan to swap part of the project with me, have me take care of you during your confusion, and help you hide it?”

Pei Xi once again answered affirmatively: “Yes.”

Then he quickly added: “You know I don’t remember anything about what happens when I’m confused.”

“I know.”

He Chuzhou was helpless: “President Pei, you emphasized this several times just now. There’s no need to repeat it again.”

“……”

Pei Xi unconsciously bit his lower lip and didn’t respond.

He Chuzhou tapped his fingers on the tabletop and said as if curious: “Can I ask why? Why did you decide to talk to me after going through this situation so many times?”

Pei Xi: “Because I can’t stop myself from seeking you out.”

He Chuzhou heard the hidden meaning in his words: “You tried to stop yourself?”

Pei Xi: “En.”

He Chuzhou: “How?”

Pei Xi hesitated before speaking the truth: “I tried hiding my phone and locking the door, but they both failed.

Hide his phone?

Lock the door?

Hu Chuzhou finally understood.

No wonder. No wonder.

No wonder Pei-calico always lost his cell phone.

No wonder he had to look for it for so long every time.

No wonder that person was locked up at home for no apparent reason and eventually had to call a bunch of people to break the lock.

This turned out to be the inside story.

He imagined Pei Xi carefully considering it while he was in his right mind, making these meticulous preparations, and the corners of his eyes curled up uncontrollably.

Pei Xi frowned: “You’re smiling.”

“What?”

As soon as he spoke, another conversation appeared in his mind.

Of course, He Chuzhou couldn’t admit it: “No, I just feel that President Pei lives up to his reputation. He is thoughtful and well-prepared to deal with unexpected events.”

If he was really thoughtful and prepared, he wouldn’t be waking up in He Chuzhou’s bed the next day.

Pei Xi felt like he was coaxing him again. Even his expression, demeanor, and tone were the same as when he hugged him in the living room of the villa last night…..

Untimely memories resurfaced again. His eyes flashed slightly, and he immediately lowered them. He picked up the coffee and took an uneasy sip, which filled his mouth with a bitter taste.

“If it isn’t resolved as soon as possible, it may continue to cause trouble to unrelated people. Of course, it is the same for you.”

He Chuzhou: “That’s exactly right.”

Pei Xi raised his eyes: “So you agree?”

“I agree.” He Chuzhou said: “But those items you proposed in exchange…..”

Pei Xi said at once: “If you aren’t satisfied, I can give you other alternatives to choose from.”

“Forget it.”

He Chuzhou smiled: “The project team has been busy enough recently. If I stuff more projects onto them, I’m afraid they’ll curse me behind my back enough to shorten my life.”

Pei Xi was unsure: “What do you mean?”

He Chuzhou: “There’s no need to make a deal. I’ll just be taking care of one more person, and you eat very little, so it’s not a loss for me.”

Pei Xi frowned slightly, hesitating: “This is unfair to you.”

As a person with a vested interest, it was difficult for him to feel at ease unless he compensated him with something.

His thoughts were written on his face. He Chuzhou could see through them at a glance, but what he was willing to do was not something Pei Xi needed to pay for.

After some thought, he simply compromised and said: “Let’s just swap that piece of land by the river.”

Pei Xi: “But Pei Group doesn’t have the right to operate on that piece of land.”

He Chuzhou spread his hands: “We’re competitors, aren’t we? If you choose to quit, that’s no different than giving it to me.”

That piece of land was indeed worth a lot and could be used in trade, but Pei Xi had never heard of using an inconclusive possibility as an item to exchange.

After all, judging from the current situation, He Group had a greater chance of winning. How much of an advantage could he get from using the land he already had a high probability of winning in exchange for withdrawing from the competition?

But he couldn’t admit that Pei Group would lose, so he could only nod: “Okay, it will be as President He says.”

After their conversation, Pei Xi left with haste.

When he exited the cafe and went to the car, he lost his strength and closed his eyes, then looked down at the palm of his hand.

For some reason, even though he’d known He Chuzhou would agree, he was still so anxious that he had broken into a light sweat.

At the cafe.

When Wu Qing called, He Chuzhou was in a good mood as he threw two sugar cubes into his coffee.

“What is it?” he asked Wu Qing.

“Lao He, I’ve done some thinking.”

Wu Qing’s voice was filled with the heavy vicissitudes of life: “A cuckold who doesn’t know his place won’t affect our relationship at all. I told him to scram, so don’t worry, we’re still good brothers!”

He Chuzhou: “It had nothing to do with me in the first place, so I have nothing to worry about.”

Wu Qing: “That makes sense, but I’m still very sad. You know that, even though I fall in love frequently, I’m loyal in every relationship, ah, wuwu.”

He Chuzhou: “How miserable. There, there.”

Wu Qing: “……”

Wu Qing: “Your tone sounds really happy, ah. Why are you still so happy when my heart has been broken?”

“It does?” He Chuzhou put down the stirring spoon and took a sip of the unusually sweet coffee. He said in a loose, brisk tone: “Maybe it’s because…..my cat came back?”

Wu Qing: “Your cat? What your cat. The one that kicked you and ran away last time?”

He Chuzhou corrected him: “He just has a free nature.”

Wu Qing: “…..Fine. He ran back again?”

He Chuzhou: “Ah.”

Wu Qing: “A stray cat is capable of coming back again after running away? Has the great god recognized his master?”

“That…..seems to be the case.”

He Chuzhou readily accepted this depiction: “But the order may need to be reversed. He is the master, and I have to work my butt off.”

Wu Qing had just been cheated on, and couldn’t understand what was so exciting about a cat coming back. He said sourly: “A stray cat isn’t cute, you’re better off without it.”

“What do you know?”

He Chuzhou laughed: “Have you ever met a cat that could turn on a computer, hide a cell phone, and lock itself up?”

“There is no one cuter than him in the entire world.”

“You’ve been cheated on, you know nothing.”

---

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Chapter 24 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 26

T/N: Sorry for the super long wait! Work has been hell on my mental health, but I’m crawling out of that pit to update!

---

Because of Tang Mu’s warm hospitality, Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie moved directly into the City Lord’s manor.

Hearing that there were doctors coming to treat Liu Zhenqing, and who didn’t want to be disturbed by outsiders, Tang Mu was gracious and directly arranged a secluded courtyard for them. Once the courtyard door was closed, they could make their own arrangements.

On that same day, Han Ye picked up the Master.

It was unknown what Han Ye said to the Master. In any case, as soon as he came over, the Master caught Liu Zhenqing and scolded him, saying that he couldn’t treat a patient well and made subsequent treatment very troublesome. 

The Master was likely too embarrassed to scold Huo Fenglie, but Huo Fenglie stood next to Liu Zhenqing with his head down, as if he was being scolded too. Liu Zhenqing, on the other hand, looked like a dead pig that wasn’t afraid of boiling water as he grinned at his master. The Master was so angry that he didn’t even know who he was rebuking.

With two great doctors there, Huo Fenglie’s treatment was naturally well arranged. Liu Zhenqing wanted to help, but was continuously rejected by Huo Fenglie.

Later on, Liu Zhenqing figured out that this was because Huo Fenglie feared he would see the tattoo, which really made him increasingly curious. Liu Zhenqing was no fool, so since he couldn’t see it, he asked outright. However, both master and disciple said that the patient’s privacy was not suitable to be disclosed, and then looked at him with taunting eyes. Liu Zhenqing really felt that he was being squeezed out.

Huo Fenglie was regularly dragged out to patrol the garrison, arrange city defenses, and more. Basically, he remained outside all the time and only returned when he needed treatment.

And Liu Zhenqing originally wanted to learn medical skills from his master, but there was a master above and a disciple below. It was pure torture for an ordinary person to face two geniuses, so he gave up after one day and went out for a walk, leaving these two people to concentrate on studying medical skills and not disturb their medical inspiration.

Thus, Liu Zhenqing just spent time with Tang Mu, so when Huo Fenglie returned for treatment, he would go to the City Lord’s Office of Government Affairs and take him back to the courtyard, where he would join him after his treatment was completed. It was really a bit like marital harmony.

According to Liu Zhenqing’s plan, Tang Mu had already sent people to the Western Shu Kingdom for negotiations, and he happened to receive a reply this day.

Liu Zhenqing stepped into the hall and heard Tang Mu say: “The King of Western Shu has agreed.”

“This answer was pretty swift,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile that wasn’t a smile.

“There’s really a problem?” Tang Mu also felt that something wasn’t right. He asked Liu Zhenqing to sit down and took the initiative to pour tea.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “Don’t be afraid of problems. I really don’t believe that they’ll be willing to take action with General Huo here.”

“That is true.” Tang Mu smiled faintly and rubbed his brow with slender fingers. He said helplessly: “It’s just that I fear it will be difficult to tell after you leave.”

“At that time, it will be clear whether the King of Western Shu is capable of doing the job.” When he finished speaking, Liu Zhenqing looked at the books stacked on the table and said in surprise: “You sorted them out so quickly?”

“You said you wanted to read them, and I wanted to get it done as soon as possible so that I can use Young Master Liu’s talent to help me think more,” Tang Mu said, smiling.

“I just mentioned it casually yesterday. Chengzhu is truly thoughtful and quick to action,” Liu Zhenqing praised.

Tang Mu was stunned by the praise, and couldn’t help but lower his eyes. A small blush showed on his fair cheeks, and he was a little shy.

“It’s better not to call me Chengzhu. Young Master Liu and I have been getting along well these days. Just call me Brother Tang.” Tang Mu’s smiling expression was extremely genial, giving a person the sense of a spring breeze.

“Then Brother Tang should also call me Brother Liu,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile, and then began to read the information prepared by Tang Mu. It was all about the King of Western Shu’s seizure of the throne and the subsequent reforms and other policies. Liu Zhenqing was rather surprised to see these, because this King of Western Shu was truly young and promising. He was originally a prince that the king sired after forcing a slave. Naturally, he was not welcomed by the royal family and was given to the servants to raise. As a result, he was presumed lost in battle. Everyone thought he was dead, and never expected that he would return more than ten years later with a token and evidence to take up his surname.

Once his identity was recognized, the more than a dozen brothers ahead of him died one by one either through internal fighting or accidents. Within a year, there was no one who could inherit the throne but him. However, the remaining royal family belittled his identity and was unwilling to agree. The old king disliked this son and even tried to have the harem produce more children, but he immediately died during intercourse.

Straightaway, Western Shu fell into turmoil. The King of Western Shu besieged the royal family with only the five hundred slaves under his command. The obedient prospered and the rebellious perished. After the killing had gone on for a day and a night, he took the bloody throne and launched a new method of governing the country. Not only did he begin to change slavery from the inside, he also broke up the power of the nobility. 

He even began to send troops to occupy the territories of the two surrounding countries. Because people could be stripped of their slave status if they performed meritorious service under these new policies, the slaves worked extremely hard, and slaves from neighboring countries were naturally more willing to surrender after hearing about this. At present, the Western Shu Kingdom was in the process of complete annexation.

Liu Zhenqing read about the methods he had implemented and the decisions he had made, and couldn’t help but marvel. He was truly both civil and military, brave and resourceful.

Liu Zhenqing had originally wanted to see what shenanigans this kid was up to, but the more he read, the more excited he grew, and he actually became fascinated.

When he returned to his senses, Huo Fenglie had already been sitting next to him for a long while.

“It’s so late?” Liu Zhenqing asked in surprise, looking at the sky.

Huo Fenglie was accustomed to not disturbing Liu Zhenqing while he was reading, so he sat aside and waited in a well-behaved manner. This caused the other officials who came to handle government affairs to hardly dare to breathe. Only Tang Mu could talk to Dai Tingyu, who was accompanying him.

“Do you want to keep reading?” Huo Fenglie asked.

Liu Zhenqing shook his head, stretched his stiff body, and then turned sideways so that his back was to Huo Fenglie. Huo Fenglie naturally put his hands on Liu Zhenqing’s shoulders and neck to massage them, leaving the two people opposite them stunned.

Liu Zhenqing was very satisfied with Huo Fenglie’s hand strength, and said comfortably: “No need, I’ve already read them.”

As soon as he said this, both Tang Mu and Dai Tingyu looked at the books on the table in disbelief. Was he actually saying that he had read them all in a day and a half?

Dai Tingyu wouldn’t have read one single book in that amount of time, and Tang Mu felt that it should take at least five or six days to finish reading the life story of the King of Western Shu that he had collected.

Huo Fenglie wasn’t surprised. Looking at Liu Zhenqing’s expression he said: “Was there any useful information?”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s lips rose. In front of outsiders, he turned to look at Huo Fenglie and said teasingly: “How could saying it benefit me? I’m not an official.”

Huo Fenglie, of course, didn’t understand Liu Zhenqing’s tricks, so he could only say with a blank look on his face: “What do you want?”

Liu Zhenqing suddenly leaned back, moving nearer into Huo Fenglie’s arms as he said ambiguously: “You know what I want.”

Huo Fenglie was ill at ease. Because his last treatment had lasted all night…..they hadn’t been close since then. He thought Qing-ge probably wanted it.

Just as he didn’t know how to answer, he heard Liu Zhenqing say with a laugh: “I want you to go shopping with me. I haven’t been out for a while, I’m so bored.”

Huo Fenglie returned to his senses and said at once: “We can go at any time.”

Presently, the two dog food eaters also spoke.

“I have been negligent. Brother Liu has done so much for our Nanfeng City, and he should of course be treated well,” Tang Mu said promptly.

“Right, right, right, I still need to take Brother Liu out for a drink.” Dai Tingyu also grew excited.

Liu Zhenqing looked at the two of them speechlessly. Sure enough, they were both single men with no discernment at all. He wanted to go on a date with Er-gou alone, ah.

Seeing Huo Fenglie agree without hesitation, he was a little unhappy. Liu Zhenqing leaned back slightly and truly reclined in Huo Fenglie’s arms. Holding onto him weakly, Liu Zhenqing leaned toward his ear and said deliberately: “What did you think I wanted just now?”

Huo Fenglie froze. He felt the hot breath next to his ear, then heard a smiling voice that hooked both his heart and soul: “Were you thinking about sex, Er-gou?”

Er-gou could do nothing against this false accusation, and could only let Liu Zhenqing bully him while his cheeks heated up. 

Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie’s embarrassed appearance. After teasing him for a moment to boost his mood, he began to speak of what he had analyzed from the information.

“First of all, either the king of Western Shu admires Great Zhou’s culture and studied it a lot, or has an advisor from Great Zhou at his side.”

“Because of the slavery reform?” Tang Mu asked.

“No, because the core of many of his methods for dealing with courtiers, wooing power, and making reforms were learned from major events that occurred in the past two decades,” Liu Zhenqing said.

Everyone was a little surprised when they heard this.

Huo Fenglie said: “It seems their relationship with the rebels is deeper than we thought.”

“Do you believe it’s more likely that an advisor from Great Zhou is helping him?”

“Do you think it’s him?” asked Huo Fenglie.

Liu Zhenqing thought for a moment before saying: “I think it’s very rare for a king of Western Shu under the age of eighteen to be able to do things like this. It’s preferable to believe that heroes come from among the youth.”

Dai Tingyu disagreed: “What good will it do us if their king is so capable!”

Liu Zhenqing said in an unclear tone: “A foreigner being too capable is better than…..people from the Zhou Dynasty helping foreigners fight against it for their own selfish purposes…..it’s not as sad.”

The venue gradually went quiet.

After a while, Tang Mu shook his head with a chuckle and said in seeming disbelief: “Right, ah, in a sense, it would be a good thing if it’s only that their king is capable.”

Liu Zhenqing had seen a lot, and his emotions were not as volatile: “Secondly, no matter the direction of my speculations, they still made the mistake of being too radical.”

“Indeed. Although their progress is fast, there is also a lot of opposition. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many fugitives,” Tang Mu agreed.

Liu Zhenqing nodded and said: “He could actually build a very good country if he worked slowly and steadily, but he is in too much of a hurry. Not only will the act of annexing neighboring countries draw backlash, but even internal resistance will break out at certain times. Their government is currently divided into three forces. There are those who are stimulated by the slavery issue and want to establish themselves as independent kings, and there are those who want to support another royal family. Only one third is controlled by the king of Western Shu, and half of that should be due to fear of the king’s bloody methods. It is also extremely unstable.”

Liu Zhenqing said with a sigh: “Reforming slavery is not a feat that can be accomplished overnight. His violent, bloody methods can boost him for a short period of time, but in fact, the consequences are endless, and it can even be said that he is destined to fail.”

“And they still covet us like this?” Dai Tingyu said in consternation: “This is all because of external and internal troubles.”

Huo Fenglie also said: “Transferring conflict toward outsiders is also a method of resolving internal conflicts. Perhaps he is cooperating with some Great Zhou people, and feels confident in using Great Zhou to secure the throne.”

Liu Zhenqing accurately pulled four books from a selection of informational material and handed them to Tang Mu: “As you said, how do you deter them after General Huo departs? They have so many problems, so how could you not find a way to deal with them?”

Liu Zhenqing raised an eyebrow at Tang Mu with a smile, his unrestrained expression incredibly dazzling.

Tang Mu took the materials and looked up at Liu Zhenqing blankly. It seemed as if he could vaguely glimpse a familiar figure. Were all those surnamed Liu equally capable? Tang Mu indeed fell for Liu Zhenqing’s tricks once again.

With a bow and a salute, Tang Mu admired him in his heart.

When Liu Zhenqing was finished speaking of this matter, it was time for Huo Fenglie to go back for treatment. Just as they were about to leave, an elderly woman led a group of people into the Office of Government Affairs. This was an official office, and family members were not allowed inside unless they were female counselors.

Therefore, the woman’s arrival was rather a surprise.

Huo Fenglie was the only one who didn’t recognize her. Liu Zhenqing still has some impression of the scars on her face, burns from an incident with fire. The person coming should be Tang Mu’s mother.

When they entered their accommodations before, they heard Tang Mu say his mother had gone out with with other family members to worship Buddha. Why had she brought people to the Office of Government Affairs as soon as she returned? It seemed a bit aggressive.

“Mother, why are you here?” Tang Mu stepped forward and spoke with a frown. He glanced at the proud-looking man behind Tang-furen. “Uncle is here too.”

Uncle Tang scoffed coldly. Tang-furen stepped forward to say: “Son, let me ask you, don’t you care about your subordinates? You even arbitrarily removed your uncle from his official position. This is treating our Tang family’s face high-handedly. In the future, who will treat you as the city lord!”

Tang Mu’s expression darkened. Dai Tingyu behind him couldn’t help but rush forward and say: “Tang-furen, your brother not only left his post without authorization, but also took his men to play in a brothel, the result of which was that nobody patrolled where they were supposed to be. Dozens of lives were lost overnight. I didn’t execute him for such a crime for the sake of the Tang family’s face.”

Uncle Tang hollered: “Nonsense. This is Nanfeng City, under the surname Tang, not Dai. I think you just want to seize power! Besides, even if I took people there, it was too late to save them, ah, so why should their deaths be put on my head!”

“You!” Dai Tingy was immediately infuriated. If they thought people couldn’t be saved and didn’t even try, what were they doing as soldiers? 

Tang-furen saw that Dai Tingyu was about to come up and beat this person, and directly rebuked: “Son, you really don’t care about your subordinates!”

At this time, Tang Mu finally spoke up: “Commander Dai is my equal in terms of position, not my subordinate. Moreover, my uncle did violate military discipline, and everything is subject to Commander Dai’s judgment.”

Dai Tingyu breathed a sigh of relief and admired Tang Mu even more. He felt that scholars should have such character and courage, not influenced by external circumstances.

“Sister!” Uncle Tang immediately called out, tugging Tang-furen’s sleeve.

“You! You are so disobedient. Simply disobedient and unfilial. He is your uncle. We orphans and widows depend on Uncle Tang to take care of us and keep us from being bullied, but now you don’t care if others bully him. As expected……Nanfeng City should not have been handed over to you. Also, what can you even do?” Tang-furen said to herself. 

Tang Mu’s expression shifted: “Mother, be careful what you say!”

Tang-furen was agitated: “What’s wrong with what I said? You’re about to give Nanfeng City to the Dai family. How is this worthy of your dead father and grandfather, as well as…..do you have the face to stand before them?!”

“Mother, you seem confused!” Tang Mu said angrily.

“What are you talking about! Since you can’t handle the position of City Lord, why not let your uncle take the seat? He’s older than you. In fact, it should have been him…..”

It was initially fine for them to wallow and make a fuss, but the topic Tang-furen brought up now was shocking. Saying such ridiculous things, it was like this old woman had been brainwashed or made stupid.

“You’re actually crazy,” Dai Tingyu said in disbelief.

“Mother!” Tang Mu practically shouted.

Tang-furen said angrily: “Don’t forget who you are! Do you think you can continue like this? Your didi was a pedant, so it was only a matter of time before the title of chengzhu was given over to your uncle! You keep dragging it along like this…..”

Uncle Tang also raised his voice: “Your mother is right. You’re not worthy of sitting in this position. Don’t make us force you to step down. We are all family, and I don’t want to make you look bad.”

Tang Mu’s face was entirely discolored at this time.

“You’re actually crazy.” Dai Tingyu was a straightforward fellow and couldn’t stand to see the boss he recognized being bullied like this. Even though the two of them were relatives, he drew his sword and forced them to retreat.

The two of them shouted in anger. Tang Mu wore a look of exhaustion.

Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie watched from the sidelines and shook their heads at the sight. Liu Zhenqing said: “It seems there’s no problem with her backbone. I didn’t expect that after so many years, Tang-furen would still be so forceful and unreasonable. Sure enough, Nanfeng City has been governed so peacefully that some people no longer know their place.”

Unable to bear it anymore, Liu Zhenqing clapped, and the stir called the attention of the people around him. 

They saw a tall, majestic warrior and an elegant young master standing next to them.

“Who are you, ah! W-who allowed you to watch the excitement here?” Uncle Tang was the first to shout, as if he was the master of this place.

Liu Zhenqing liked mocking people like this the most, so he said properly: “We aren’t watching the excitement, we’re watching a joke.”

When he spoke these words, the troublemakers immediately flushed red.

Tang Mu stepped forward and cupped his hands: “Apologies. I’ve made you two laugh.”

“It is rather ridiculous,” Liu Zhenqing said to Huo Fenglie next to him. “Hey, do you know what this is called?”

Huo Fenglie shook his head and asked cooperatively: “I don’t know.”

“This is called the maternal family interfering in politics,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile.

Huo Fenglie nodded.

Liu Zhenqing asked again: “Do you think Dai Tingyu is handling it right?”

Dai Tingyu instantly became nervous.

Huo Fenglie shook his head: “His heart is a bit soft. According to military discipline, these sort of people should receive fifty military strokes, so that they won’t be able to get out of bed for half a year, but I see there haven’t been any at this point.”

Dai Tingyu was at a loss: “Brother, I…..”

“What nonsense are you speaking? Who are you people?!” Uncle Tang reprimanded him angrily, and Tang-furen also regarded them with displeasure. “Son, how did a small official become so naive?”

Before Tang Mu could speak, Liu Zhenqing swiftly cupped his hands and said: “I have no official position. Just like this uncle.”

Uncle Tang smiled, pointing directly at Liu Zhenqing’s face to scold him, but Liu Zhenqing turned to Huo Fenglie and said as if no one else was watching: “Right, haven’t the City Lords of Nanfeng City come from generations of the Tang family?”

Huo Fenglie said coldly: “It’s been four generations.”

“Wa, a hereditary system?” Liu Zhenqing asked in surprise.

“Of course not. The position of city lord is the emperor’s prerogative, and it just happens that every city lord has been a member of the Tang family who have accomplished meritorious deeds and are loved by the people of the city. This was up to the emperor’s discretion.”

“Really, ah? Then Tang-furen and this uncle are so powerful that they can surpass the emperor to appoint the next city lord.”

When these words fell, Tang-furen and Uncle Tang’s expressions changed. They leveled Liu Zhenqing with looks of shame and anger.

Liu Zhenqing narrowed his eyes slightly and said: “It’s better to report this to the emperor and see if he listens to Tang-furen.”

Tang-furen’s expression shifted again and she said at once: “That’s not what I meant. Where did you come from? Stop slandering me. Our Tang family is meritorious in Nanfeng City, and even if we continue on, the city’s people will support us.”

“Oh, it turns out that Uncle’s surname is Tang, ah? Did you change your name after marrying?” Liu Zhenqing asked Uncle Tang with a smile. The question stifled Uncle Tang directly.

Tang-furen’s face colored even more, and Dai Tingyu sneered from the side: “His surname isn’t Tang. It’s just that some women turn to outsiders instead of their own family, and want to steal all the Tang family’s glory for their natal family. They don’t even look at what comes out of their own house!”

“You’re speaking absolute nonsense!” Tang-furen was so angry that she nearly fainted. She expected Tang Mu to speak up, but only saw him standing aside with a cold gaze, which made her even angrier.

“We aren’t speaking nonsense, unlike Tang-furen, ah. Orphans and widows rely on the uncle? Madam, you can really tell a joke! Why is it that I remember that Tang Mu became the city lord because he intercepted foreign envoys and saved Nanfeng City when he was young? Did this uncle also join the war?”

“Join the war. Haha, he was the first to use his connections to flee.” Dai Tingyu had recruited people for the military camp and naturally investigated, so he was disdainful of this.

Uncle Tang’s face was about to bleed, and Tang-furen was even more embarrassed, but she was unwilling to be suppressed by a group of juniors. After all, she was the mother of the city lord. How could she let herself be humiliated by her child’s disobedience?

“You have no official position. How are you allowed to be so presumptuous in the City Lord’s Manor!” Tang-furen said angrily.

Liu Zhenqing smiled. “I have no official position, but I’m also…..” He pointed to Huo Fenglie next to him and said: “…..a close friend of the general who guards the country, ah. An uncle with no official position can rely on the prestige of the city lord’s mother, but I can’t borrow the prestige of the general who guards the country? General Huo, these people in front of you ignore Imperial power and regard the laws of Great Zhou as child’s play. They even dare to say that Nanfeng City’s surname is Tang. They really aren’t afraid of the news spreading to the emperor and being punished for the crime of rebellion.”

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Chapter One Hundred Three << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Five

When afternoon classes began, Li Xiu was still a little worried that Fang Qian’an would run to the room again and disturb class.

Fortunately, after the prince had experienced a full politics class, he didn’t seem to want to continue torturing himself. The empty desk that had been dragged into the classroom temporarily was still placed sideways next to Li Xiu’s seat, but its owner didn’t appear again.

Li Xiu inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Without Fang Qian’an’s interference, Li Xiu’s life seemed to have gotten back on track.

Suffering from a low-grade fever, Li Xiu mustered up the energy to survive the four afternoon classes. His mind was occupied by papers and test questions, and no longer had room to hold those nonsense supernatural stories.

The so-called “ghosts” he encountered in the complex at noon must have been due to his nerves in the dark. Could it have been a hallucination caused by the constant influence of the guy next to him who had a ghost phobia?

However…..

Although he thought this way, Li Xiu still found it hard to keep calm once he was distracted from studying.

It felt like leaving home and forgetting that the gas stove was still on from cooking porridge. Obviously, his consciousness had forgotten everything on the surface, but subconsciously, there was still uneasiness and panic.

“That’s enough.”

As the school bell rang, Li Xiu rubbed his temples and shoulders.

All day today, his shoulders had felt so heavy. His poor physical condition and even worse mood made Li Xiu not want to stay at school any longer. As soon as school was over, Li Xiu uncharacteristically picked up his book bag and walked right out.

In the hallway, Li Xiu met the math teacher face to face.

The forty-something female teacher with glasses was considered a harsh and difficult person by many students, but Li Xiu had a good relationship with this teacher surnamed Chen. He could sense that Teacher Chen was actually a very nice person. Even in a school like Qiming, she still tried to get those pampered princelings to study seriously.

When they ran into each other, Teacher Chen was holding a thick lesson plan with a cell phone between her shoulder and ear, chatting with the person on the other end as she walked.

“En, right…..I took his place in both of his afternoon classes…..they say everything is still in his office, but he’s missing and hasn’t asked for leave…..I don’t know what’s going on…..anyway, I’m pretty much exhausted…..”

Seeing that the other party was still on the phone, Li Xiu just nodded politely in greeting.

Just as he was about to leave, Teacher Chen stopped him as if she had just thought of something.

“Teacher Chen?”

“Li Xiu, I heard that you went to see your Teacher Ouyang this morning?” the math teacher asked him, distracted by her phone.

Li Xiu went blank for a moment, then nodded. “En, that’s right. He said he would help me with some questions, but I left when the Academics Affairs Office called for me at the beginning of third period.”

“So, ah, how was your Teacher Ouyang at that time?”

“How was he?” Li Xiu was somewhat at a loss.

The teacher frowned unconsciously, and continued to ask with some awkwardness: “Just like…..um…..if there was something wrong with his mood…..” 

Something wrong?

Li Xiu instantly thought of Ouyang’s ashen face when he left and those abrupt questions.

[Li Xiu, what did you see just now?]

After a lengthy silence, Li Xiu lowered his eyes and shook his head slightly.

“There wasn’t. Teacher Ouyang told me to leave when he saw I had something to do.”

Li Xiu’s voice was without fluctuations.

The math teacher paid no attention to Li Xiu’s slight awkwardness. It could be seen that she had thought of it just now and asked Li Xiu casually. After hearing Li Xiu’s reply, she turned her head slightly and said into the phone: “…..En, a student said there was nothing unusual.”

After saying this, she forced a smile and waved to Li Xiu. “It’s fine, Li Xiu. You should go home first. Don’t stay outside, it’s been getting dark early recently, so it’s safer to go home early.”

As her words fell, Teacher Chen continued to hold the lesson plan and walked in the opposite direction of Li Xiu.

Li Xiu stood there for a moment, then shuffled out of school.

Ouyang had vanished suddenly and didn’t attend his classes in the afternoon…..this was his guess based on the few words Teacher Chen had inadvertently leaked just now.

Although he knew that as an adult male, Ouyang would theoretically be fine, Li Xiu couldn’t help but keep replaying that seemingly normal scene in the dark office.

He felt inexplicably uneasy.

The chill continued to seep down his shoulders, penetrating his whole body once more. Li Xiu automatically wrapped himself tightly in his school uniform, still feeling cold.

Although he really wanted to go right home to take a hot shower and lie in bed, there was still the uncooked rice from his gege’s meal that had been messed up in his school bag before.

Li Xiu’s brow furrowed. Without delay, he took a detour as usual and went to the small park he normally frequented.

This park was close to the Old Quarter, and had been around a long time. There was no landscaping at all in the park, let alone entertainment structures. The trash cans had long been defective, and the bald grass was covered in garbage, making it look neglected. It was precisely because of this that although the streets at dusk were still bustling with people coming and going, Li Xiu felt the emptiness of the surrounding area when he turned into the park.

The trees and bushes that hadn’t been pruned in who knows how long cast large shadows under the setting sun, making the illumination in the park seem much darker than elsewhere. When passing by the dilapidated children’s play corner, he could see the swings swaying in the wind. The rusted metal parts made a creak, creak sound as they swayed, making the atmosphere all around feel lonely and desolate.

Li Xiu didn’t waste any time. Once he entered the park, he went directly to the artificial pond.

The water in the pond had turned a little green, and there were more fish than usual.

Perhaps because he regularly fed the fish a lot of uncooked rice, the fish were used to Li Xiu. As soon as he walked to the side of the pond, layers of ripples formed in the thick green water as a dense shoal of fish gathered in front of him. 

In such a semi-abandoned park, it was natural that the fish in the pond were not cute koi or goldfish — even if they were once beautiful, they had gone wild and their colors had faded. Nowadays, most of the fish in the pond were mottled and dull in color, and the harsh water conditions had caused many fish to develop bulging blisters and tumors between their scales. Only the big eyeballs on the fishes’ heads somewhat revealed their ancestors’ origins as ornamental fish.

But…..

Had these fish been so disgusting before?

Li Xiu habitually tossed the uncooked rice from his school bag into the water. There were sudden splashing sounds in the water as all the fish swarmed in, opening their big mouths and frantically grabbing those small white grains.

They fought fiercely. Li Xiu only looked into the water and frowned over the fishes’ disgusting deformed bodies.

He recalled that when he started feeding these fish, hadn’t they been a little darker at most? But now they looked somewhat…..disfigured.

As he was thinking, Li Xiu suddenly sensed many prying eyes.

He reflexively looked in the direction the gazes were coming from — only to meet the empty eyes of the fish.

It was at this moment that Li Xiu realized that the fish here had protruding eyeballs that looked very much like human eyes falling out of their sockets. And that the fat, swollen heads of the strange fish suddenly looked less like fish and more like faces that were swollen, blackened, and deformed after soaking in water.

And now, those faces were crowded together in layers, staring directly at Li Xiu from beneath the turbid water.

“Wu—” 

Li Xiu gasped and backed away again and again.

He accidentally stepped on the slippery bricks by the shoreline, and he nearly fell down and slid into the water through the mud.

“Careful!”

Fortunately, somebody suddenly tugged him hard from behind at the critical moment. This allowed Li Xiu to stabilize himself and avoid falling into the water while suffering from a fever.

“Where did this reckless child come from? What would you do if you fell in the water—”

There was a rough-voiced yell that sounded like it was criticizing someone.

Li Xiu shuddered as if being awakened from a half-dream, and his mind instantly became clearer.

An old woman who looked to be in her fifties or sixties stood beside him with raised eyebrows, uttering profanities. She looked familiar, but Li Xiu couldn’t remember actually seeing her before. 

“S-sorry…..thank you!”

Although the other party seemed to have a bad temper and a bad tone, Li Xiu could only take a deep breath and thank her repeatedly.

He couldn’t help but look at the mud on the shore, where his footprints still remained.

And he himself didn’t know how he had come to be so close to the pond. He clearly always stood on the steps and threw rice into the water randomly, but this time, he had drawn closer and closer to the water as if possessed.

And there was still something wrong with those fish…..

Li Xiu’s breathing was a little heavy, his heartbeat frighteningly fast.

He couldn’t help but take another look at the pond, but those fish had long since returned to the bottom and disappeared. All Li Xiu could see were the remaining ripples on the surface of the water.

Li Xiu blinked his eyes, suddenly unsure of what he had just seen.

Did the fish really have human faces? 

“Hey, what are you looking at here? Do you just want to try falling into the water?!”

The old woman suddenly reached out and tugged Li Xiu roughly. Before Li Xiu could react, she dragged the youth with the disabled leg all the way back to the park trail.

“I….I don’t….I just wanted to….”

“Wanted to what? You shouldn’t come to a place like this at all.” The old woman interrupted Li Xiu promptly and rudely, pushing him toward the park exit. 

“It’s too dangerous here, don’t come back again.”

“Ah?”

Only then did Li Xiu realize that the old woman had an armband on her arm. However, the red armband was faded, and the yellow characters on it were already so mottled that it was difficult to see what they were.

Was this…..a park keeper?

Li Xiu had been coming here for so long, yet he had never met a park keeper. He was a little puzzled when he was driven away by the other party this time.

However, Li Xiu was not the type of rebellious youth who enjoyed confrontation. He had nearly fallen into the water just now, and when he was scolded by the old woman, he shrunk his neck and turned around very obediently, moving to leave the park as he was told.

Just as Li Xiu was about to step out of the park, he heard the old woman yell from a distance behind him again: “Hey, young man!”

Li Xiu turned his head and found that the old woman with the red armband was still standing on the park trail, watching him.

“What?”

“Kid, please don’t do such a dangerous thing again.”

The old woman’s face was somewhat gray, and perhaps due to the distance, her voice sounded muffled.

“Oh. I understand. I was just careless today.”

Li Xiu thought at first that the old woman was talking about him feeding the fish by the water, and just as he was about to explain that he wasn’t usually so absent-minded, he heard what the old woman said next.

“Making food offerings is not something a tiny child like you should do. The things crawling out of the Hungry Ghost Path are all ferocious, not to mention the one you’re carrying now…..”

“What?”

Li Xiu’s eyes opened wide in astonishment.

Before he could figure out what the other’s bizarre words meant, the old woman went silent and looked directly at Li Xiu, her face becoming increasingly pale. 

She had still seemed fierce just now, like the kind of stubborn old woman who would fight for a seat on the bus. Now she looked incredibly frightened, as if she was looking at something terrifying.

“Evil…..such evil…..”

From a distance, Li Xiu could guess the old woman’s panicked whispers from her mouth movements. Then, the other party turned around quickly and left with haste.

Li Xiu chased after her for a few steps, but when he was standing on the park trail again, the old woman was nowhere to be found.

Gurgle…..

Something in the pond suddenly seemed to move, emitting a watery sound.

The park seemed to be even quieter than before.

But Li Xiu found that he no longer dared to look in the direction of the pond.

…..He didn’t know what he would see.

_________

The Author Has Something to Say:

What would he see?

He would see…..

Gege: Hey, Wife!

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Chapter 15 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 17

In the eyes of the public, He Chuzhou had never been an ordinary person.

He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and his starting line might be the finish line that most people would never reach in their entire lives.

Under favorable circumstances, the highest standards of educational resources and upbringing had allowed him to develop in practically all directions.

Coupled with his appearance that was blessed by the heavens, from childhood to adulthood, from home to abroad, he was an eye-catching appearance among the masses.

In other words, He Chuzhou had never lacked the admiration and adoration of others.

Male, female, older and younger, the countless expressions of affection in various manners and intonations were so numerous that they could be collected and compiled into a book of confessions.

But he had never felt like this before.

It was much like the small current generated by the friction between a sweater and one’s body in the winter, concentrated to the maximum extent. The infusion of blood made him tipsy, an astringent tingling flowing throughout his body.

His mouth was a little dry, and he was somewhat dizzy.

His heartbeat filled his ears, and he needed to move any part of his body to determine if he had lost control of more than his heart.

It was a very mystical feeling.

A feeling he had never experienced before.

So turbulent that it could only be experienced, complex and too wonderful for words.

It was a pity that this feeling didn’t last very long.

Before his brain could even process and interpret the precise answer, the rest of Pei Xi’s words were like immediately effective medicine, waking him from his dream in an instant.

“You’re all I have.”

“Chuzhou, don’t throw me away.”

The overly spacious living room was unable to retain the warmth of daylight, and even the light reflected on the marble tiles made everything around them look cold and stiff.

Pei Xi felt cold all over, and the body in front of him was the only heat that could warm him up.

All he could do was press close to him, hug him tightly, greedily draw the body temperature he needed from him. 

Like an ostrich in urgent need of safety, he tried to bury his head tightly, but couldn’t resist the gentle but forceful grip on his lower jaw as his face was tilted upward.

Two sets of completely different eyes met each other across the distance, and he seemed to catch sight of something in the other’s deep eyes that he had never seen before.

“How did I almost forget you’re not the sober one?”

He Chuzhou pinched his cheek angrily: “What throw you away, Pei Xinxin? What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You are a person, not an object. You can choose to share areas of your life with others, but no one is qualified to tell you whether or not you should.”

“You just have a temporary bad memory, it’s not like your brain is actually broken. Don’t lose the important things.”

“Remember, before you are “He Chuzhou’s spouse,” you are yourself first, a person with all social rights, an independent individual who is so outstanding that he can easily surpass 99 percent of people on the street.”

“No matter what the occasion, you must put yourself first, rather than as someone’s humble accessory.”

He spoke every word very patiently and clearly, for fear that the person in front of him wouldn’t understand if he spoke faster.

“You are the most beautiful Pei-calico, with proud assets. There’s no need to reason everything out or consider changing things about yourself. Think more about if the other person is worthy.”

“You should sit high above the masses, deserving of the very best. Don’t doubt yourself, understand?”

Don’t doubt yourself…..

You should sit high above the masses…..

Pei Xi released a light breath and stared at He Chuzhou, not speaking for a long while.

Understand?

He didn’t understand.

No one had ever said these words to him.

How long had it been?

He always seemed to be doubting himself and striving to put on a performance. It wasn’t uncommon for him to feel unworthy or to comfort himself alone when he didn’t get what he wanted.

Never had anyone told him to put himself first, to be proud of himself, that he was entitled to the best of everything.

Extraordinary emotions swelled up and filled his heart, leaving him at a loss for what to do. He was eager to express himself, but didn’t know what to say.

He was like an ant that had been hit in the face by bread crumbs, tossing around in confusion. And in the end, he could only say one thing: “But what if that person is you?”

What if it’s you I want to put first?

What if I don’t want to be high above you?

“It can’t be done for me either.”

He Chuzhou wore a rare solemn expression: “You can tell me, ‘I won’t want you if you keep doing this,’ but you can never say ‘don’t throw me away,’ got it?”

“Just like you should have gotten mad at me as soon as you found out I was hiding our relationship, and made me reflect on myself or kneel down. Instead of being considerate of me first, I would rather endure the grievance first than have a good rest.”

“Xinxin, you are the proud son of heaven, the moon the stars cluster around. There is no need to lower yourself. This humble begging doesn’t suit you.”

As these words were spoken in front of him, Pei Xi himself didn’t even notice a tear roll down without warning.

It wasn’t until the grip on his cheeks disappeared and dry fingertips rubbed the tips of his eyes that he belatedly realized he was crying again.

He Chuzhou was helpless: “Why are you sad again?”

“I’m, I’m not sad.”

At his denial, the moisture accumulating in his eyes was increasingly uncontrollable.

But his mood was the exact opposite of his depression just before now.

“I don’t mean to cry.”

“Really, I can’t help myself.”

“There’s nothing to be done, just ignore it.”

He Chuzhou took out a tissue and carefully dried his tears: “Do you understand what I just said?”

Pei Xi nodded earnestly.

He Chuzhou: “Then what if I make you sad again?”

Pei Xi blinked, his eyelashes sticking together wetly: “If you make me sad again, I won’t want you anymore.”

He Chuzhou was very satisfied: “The young can be taught.”

Pei Xi: “But I can’t bear to not want you.”

Hu Chuzhou raised an eyebrow and frowned for a second, then hissed: “You—”

“So, President He, pay more attention.”

Pei Xi held his face with both hands, a faint smile in his red eyes: “Don’t provoke me or make me sad.”

Cool, soft fingertips brushed against his ears, and it tickled so much that the tip of his heart did too.

He Chuzhou couldn’t help but tilt his head, his ears slightly warm. He thought with good cheer, sure enough, the moon is the most beautiful when it hangs high in the sky.

“Okay, I’ll pay more attention. I’ll definitely pay more attention.”

His hands held Pei Xi’s waist: “So can we go to bed now?”

Pei Xi shook his head.

He Chuzhou: “Huh?”

“Chuzhou, I’m very awake now and not sleepy at all.” He looked at He Chuzhou with bright eyes. “You think of a way to put me to sleep.”

He Chuzhou: “…..”

Three minutes later.

The two of them sat side by side at the desk in the study, each with a university entrance exam math test paper in front of them.

Seeing that Pei Xi’s attention was finally not on him, He Chuzhou switched the pen to his left hand and lowered his right hand, shaking it out vigorously in Pei Xi’s blind spot.

Tsk, he’d been careless.

He’d thought everything was fine, but when he picked up the pen, he found that his entire palm was still numb and soft, as if he was holding a ball of cotton.

As expected of Pei-calico, his call of “I like you” was too powerful.

In the stillness of the night, the clock hanging on the wall ticked rhythmically, the second hand diligently dragging the hour and minute hands in circles.

He Chuzhou was like an impatient high school student who couldn’t settle down and study. He spun his pen around from the left hand to the right, and from his right hand to the left.

After a while, his energy finally calmed. 

He pressed his arm on the test paper, breathed out surreptitiously, and slanted a glance at the person beside him. 

Pei Xi worked very seriously, with his back straight, his eyes slightly lowered, and his expression as focused as if he was really taking the exam.

It was very odd.

If a person just lost their regular memory, would their personality undergo such a drastic change?

But why did he feel so insecure?

This was hard to figure out without any clues.

And soon, he discovered something else that was equally hard to figure out.

—How could Pei Xi complete a university entrance mathematics exam so quickly?

The function question was so huge that it defied the heavens, yet he didn’t even need to work it out and simply put the answer at the top? ? ?

No way, he was a top student?

It had been so long since graduation, but he could still remember so clearly?

As soon as he moved closer, the keenly aware Pei Xi covered the test paper: “Chuzhou, pay attention to the rules in the examination room.”

He Chuzhou: “…..?”

He Chuzhou’s brain was momentarily in knots: “When did we start the exam?”

Pei Xi stared blankly for a moment before he quickly realized what he was doing. He pursed his lips in embarrassment and loosened his hold on the test paper in his hand. “I forgot. Do you want to see?”

He Chuzhou hooked his hand: “Let me see.”

Pei Xi obediently slid the test paper in front of him.

Before He Chuzhou’s effusive praise could reach his mouth, he lowered his head to see the paper clearly and his expression froze at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was different from what he had imagined.

The answers were either none or very few, accounting for only the first handful of multiple-choice questions. 

The drawing style got increasingly outrageous the further it went. All of the blank answer spaces were filled with love hearts drawn in a bold black that showed through the back of the paper.

He bit his back molars, and his expression gradually became puzzled.

After trying and failing to find patterns for the correct answers from the hearts, he pointed to one of them and humbly asked for advice: “This heart is a little fatter, so does that mean the root of the number is two?”

Pei Xi shook his head and said in denial: “It’s just that the space is a little bigger.”

He Chuzhou: “……”

He Chuzhou: “Boldly asking little classmate Pei, what were you thinking about while doing these problems?”

Pei Xi considered it briefly: “The first few questions are so simple that the solutions can be seen at a glance.”

He Chuzhou agreed with this point: “What about after?”

“I don’t know about after.”

Pei Xi said calmly: “I didn’t have much focus to read the questions. As I was doing them, I started to miss you.”

After explaining the basics, he suddenly drew closer and gave that handsome face a light kiss.

Then, as the other party held his breath and stared, he said ceremoniously, with an idle expression: “Chuzhou, I’ve thought about it. If you want to kiss me, you can kiss me casually. You don’t have to worry about shooting accidentally while polishing the gun.”

“I can’t overexert myself, but if I just use my hands to help you, it’s okay.”

He Chuzhou: “——!”

On this night, He Chuzhou dreamed that he exploded, spiraling upward into the sky and exploding repeatedly.

Then, in the blink of an eye, he was reincarnated as He Xinxing’s son and made friends with a piece of meat bone that became a spirit.

The meat bone had hands and feet and smelled very fragrant. It was also very polite. He saw heaven and earth shaking before him.

It was a pity that he could only look but not eat. He was so entranced that his toes dug into the ground and his tail practically transformed into a propeller.

He had never had such a physically and mentally taxing dream in his life. He felt something moving next to him early in the morning, but couldn’t open his eyes for a long time.

After turning over with difficulty, his eyes finally struggled open a crack. His vision suddenly dimmed as someone lifted the quilt and covered his head.

He Chuzhou: “…..?”

Soon, the person who buried him seemed to realize there was a threat of suffocation, and hesitantly held the quilt up a bit to give him room to breathe.

He Chuzhou: “ ? ? ? ”

Then there was a weight stepping over him as if fleeing, and after lightning-fast steps and the chaotic rustling of fabric, there was the turmoil and chaos of war at the entrance door.

When he lifted the quilt and sat up in bafflement, he saw He Xingxing run in with his bowl in his mouth and suddenly realized what had happened at the door.

“My dear son, did he just knock over your bowl?”

He Xinxing listened without understanding. Putting the bowl on the floor, he scratched at it with his paw to signal to his father that it was time to put the food in.

He Chuzhou accepted his fate and pulled away the quilt, getting out of bed.

Just as he picked up the bowl, his phone rang. He connected while walking out and said: “What are you doing so early in the morning?”

He Aiyue was in high spirits: “Boss! Did you see the test papers I put in your car? Help me, I need to hand them in Monday morning!”

Test papers…..?

He Chuzhou suddenly stopped mid-yawn.

He Aiyue didn’t hear his voice on the other side for a long moment, and pressed him: “What are you doing? You didn’t fall asleep again, did you?”

Right when she finished speaking, the person on the other side cleared his throat: “Can’t help. No negotiation.”

He Aiyue: “You’re such a—”

“And,” He Chuzhou added lazily, “that test paper’s pretty good. I’m keeping it. You can ask your teacher for a new copy.”

He Aiyue: “ ? ”

He Aiyue: “ ? ? ? ”

He Aiyue: “Boss He, do you have a cat disease, taking food but still not lending a hand? Do you know that teachers also have days off on the weekend?”

He Aiyue: “Believe it or not, I’m going to tell Mom!”

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Chapter 23 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 25

Due to Fang Qian’an’s presence, even the teacher and students were a little distracted during class.

However, as the initiator of disturbing classroom discipline, Fang Qian’an had no awareness of this. All of his thoughts were focused on the vague figure he had glimpsed just now…..in fact, when he thought about it carefully, he couldn’t even remember if he had seen something strange or not. After all, people normally didn’t take a close look at the reflection on their phone screen.

He supposed he was frightened by that thing in the complex before, so was that why he was so paranoid?

Fang Qian’an smoothly pulled a reference book out of the pile of texts on the desk of a student next to him. He flipped through it uneasily without reading it.

Naturally, the student didn’t dare to get angry and speak out, and his face changed slightly. He didn’t say anything, but his expression was extremely ugly.

Sitting next to Fang Qian’an, Li Xiu was even more directly affected. The fingers holding his pen became faintly white, and it was extremely hard to restrain himself.

Thus, when the bell rang out, everyone breathed sighs of relief.

……

Once the politics teacher announced that class was dismissed, Fang Qian’an couldn’t even wait for the other party to leave the classroom. He jumped up from his seat and walked directly in front of Li Xiu, saying eagerly: “Hey, A-Xiu, hurry up, hurry up. Tell me the method you mentioned for exorcizing ghosts.”

Li Xiu was startled by the cold breath that suddenly fell on his ear, and subconsciously avoided it. But Fang Qian’an put one hand on the desk and the other against the back of his chair, and Li Xiu’s whole body seemed to be wrapped in Fang Qian’an’s arms. Even if he tried to get away, there was nowhere to go.

“Wu…..wait a minute, wait until the others leave,” Li Xiu hummed faintly, trying in vain to make himself less noticeable.

However, looking over Fang Qian’an’s shoulder, Li Xiu was not surprised to see that as early as when Fang Qian’an took the initiative to talk to him, the other students had all invariably turned in his direction, casting glances full of inquiry and confusion.

Li Xiu was silent.

In fact, it was not the fault of the others in class who couldn’t help but peek at the two of them.

To outsiders, Li Xiu’s figure looked increasingly frail under Fang Qian’an’s suppression. Not to mention using his power and position to suppress him, just because of their physical differences, Fang Qian’an looked like he could crush Li Xiu to death at any time.

It could be said that Fang Qian’an disliked Li Xiu to the extreme and planned to personally teach him a lesson, but judging from the current situation, this didn’t seem to be the case.

It could even be said that the way Fang Qian’an bowed his head slightly and whispered in Li Xiu’s ear seemed……to have a very subtle hint of an intent to please.

Wait, wait a minute, since when did the prince of the Fang family, Qiming’s most feared bully, Fang Qian’an, need to “please” others?

Someone who was still looking at Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an thought wildly.

But the moment the thought “Fang Qian’an is trying to ingratiate himself to Li Xiu” flashed through his mind, he came back to his senses due to the extreme absurdity of the idea.

In the next second, he shuddered again due to his thoughts at that moment: Damn, what on earth was he thinking? If he accidentally revealed what he just thought, it was likely that he wouldn’t be able to attend Qiming anymore.

The student wiped his cold sweat and looked at the other classmates curiously. He found that everyone else had also retracted their gazes, acting as if they were busy with other things.

He breathed out a tiny sigh of relief.

……

Li Xiu’s expression was not quite right. Seeing Li Xiu like this, the extremely nervous Fang Qian’an felt to his surprise that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the classroom.

The boy looked back with a frown.

“What, you haven’t finished class yet?”

Young Master Fang’s cold words caused everyone to instantly shrink their necks. They directly abandoned the curiosity in their minds to a distant place and left the room in a fluster one by one, so as to avoid offending the prince.

Watching the classroom empty out at an astonishing speed, Fang Qian’an raised his eyebrows and turned back in satisfaction, smiling solicitously at Li Xiu.

With a hint of unconscious eagerness, Fang Qian’an continued to urge: “Okay, can you say it now?”

Li Xiu sighed from the bottom of his heart.

…..He didn’t have any serious methods for exorcizing ghosts.

A faint, bitter smile appeared on the weak, pale young man’s lips. His dark eyelashes fluttered, and he tore off a piece of paper from his notebook, writing a flamboyant line of words on the white piece of paper.

[Prosperity, democracy, civilization, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendship]

After writing it, he handed the note to Fang Qian’an.

Fang Qian’an stared blankly at the familiar words on it, his expression frozen.

“What is this?” he asked in astonishment.

He had thought that Li Xiu, who was born in a family that practiced witchcraft, would draw some charms and spells for him.

But what he saw now was…..

“The core values of socialism.”

Li Xiu had actually answered him seriously.

Fang Qian’an’s expression turned a bit ugly: “Are you playing a joke on me?”

His tone was a little heavier, and the aura lingering around him instantly became a bit sinister. In that moment, the indifferent, arrogant boy who didn’t care about violence and school bullying seemed to be back in front of Li Xiu. Li Xiu couldn’t help but tremble slightly, inching back. The underdeveloped ankle obviously didn’t suffer from any external forces, but an unbearable stabbing pain began to appear for no apparent reason.

However, Li Xiu’s gaffe only lasted for a short moment.

“Who would dare to play a joke on you, Fang Qian’an. I don’t want to be bullied at school again,” Li Xiu said with an indifferent expression.

Fang Qian’an was taken aback: “Didn’t we make it clear that the matter is settled? And I swear, is it not enough that nobody will bully you in the future?”

Li Xiu didn’t respond to Fang Qian’an’s various promises about the school bullying.

His eyes and expression were ice-cold, so cold that Fang Qian’an felt inexplicably flustered.

Fang Qian’an scratched his hair and said in a muffled voice: “Hey, A-Xiu, um…..I’ve said it before, I’m sorry and I won’t do it again…..I didn’t mean it…..”

Li Xiu looked at him steadily. It was obvious that Fang Qian’an, as a young master at the top of the pyramid, simply could not understand what his previous actions meant for an ordinary student like Li Xiu.

After a couple seconds of silence, the corners of Li Xiu’s mouth twitched.

He thought mockingly, what exactly are you expecting?

After suppressing all emotions, Li Xiu opened his mouth expressionlessly and easily dropped the topic. 

“Reason and science are the most useful weapons to drive away strange forces and chaos. If you want, the next time you encounter something like this, you can face them directly and memorize mathematical equations…..but you can’t memorize such complicated mathematical principles, right?”

Li Xiu spoke softly to Fang Qian’an, without the slightest ripple in his tone.

As for what he said, it did sound a bit strange at first, but with Li Xiu’s solemn expression, it seemed he was serious.

“There are only twenty-four words in the core values of socialism. Even you should be able to memorize it.”

“……Oh.”

Fang Qian’an was a little confused by Li Xiu’s words, and didn’t know how to answer for a moment. He could only tighten his grip on the note Li Xiu had given him and respond blankly.

“En, well, I’m leaving.”

At this time, Li Xiu also picked up the reference book he would read during lunch break. Holding the book under his arm, Li Xiu pulled the seat away and limped toward the classroom door.

Fang Qian’an looked after him in confusion and asked: “A-Xiu, where are you going?”

“Lunch break,” Li Xiu replied.

Fang Qian’an said subconsciously: “You aren’t going with me?”

Hearing these words, Li Xiu turned around and gave him a strange look: “Why should the two of us go together?”

Fang Qian’an was startled, and realized that after encountering the ghosts, he also took a politics class and memorized the core values of socialism. The two of them were not close friends, so there was really no reason to stick together even during lunch break.

This was the reality. But why did he feel so uncomfortable?

Fang Qian’an felt lost.

Seeing that Li Xiu paid no attention to him and turned to leave, Fang Qian’an suddenly felt an impulse surge in his heart.

He didn’t want this person to leave him.

There seemed to be a voice whispering in the back of his mind.

[A-xiu can only stay…..by my side.]

“Fang Qian’an……it hurts, let go!”

When he returned to his senses, Fang Qian’an realized that he had rushed into the hallway and directly stopped Li Xiu. Not only that, but in order to arrest the young man’s movements, he had inadvertently caught the other’s wrist.

Perhaps due to the excessive force, Li Xiu gasped and grimaced, with a slight look of silently enduring the pain. 

Fang Qian’an’s pupils instantly shrank.

He stared at Li Xiu’s face. The other party still had that slightly pained expression. Inexplicably, his mind flashed back to the time he had humiliated Li Xiu. Because the latter was at the mercy of others, his eyes had been red with anger and full of tears.

An unexpected dark heat suddenly surged deep within his body.

Fang Qian’an’s hand trembled as if he had been burned, and he quickly shook off Li Xiu.

“Sorry,” the youth said hoarsely.

“What else do you still want?”

Li Xiu didn’t notice Fang Qian’an’s abnormality.

He rubbed his wrist with a frown. No matter how he reminded himself that the person before him was a school bully, his tone still became uncontrollably harsh.

“N-nothing,” Fang Qian’an stammered. “It’s just……”

Halfway through, Fang Qian’an fell silent again. Li Xiu looked up at him sourly, and then realized that for some reason, the other party had a look of bewilderment and uncertainty on his face.

Had he been scared stupid before?

Li Xiu thought this maliciously in his heart.

And at this moment, a flattering call suddenly came from the hallway.

“Young Master Fang!”

Li Xiu turned his head and saw at a glance that Fang Qian’an’s few goldfish shit followers had all come to this floor.

“I’m leaving.”

As soon as Li Xiu saw those privileged children, he had a headache and couldn’t care about anything else. Taking advantage of Fang Qian’an’s lapse in concentration, he made a quick decision and escaped while holding his book.

[A-Xiu— —]

Fang Qian’an subconsciously went to follow him again, but the others had already come over at this time, blocking his way.

“Young Master Fang, I thought they were lying to me when I read the messages in the group chat. Unexpectedly, you were actually in the classroom?”

“Hahaha, that old thing in class must have been shocked, right?”

“Right, Young Master Fang, I saw a particularly funny joke in the other class group text. It said that now you and that little cripple…..” Halfway through speaking, the follower suddenly remembered the message sent by Fang Qian’an and quickly changed his words. “It said that you have a good relationship with that guy Li Xiu now, hahaha.”

“I could die laughing. Don’t those people know about your status, Young Master Fang, ah? And they still dare to talk nonsense.”

The followers had actually seen Li Xiu long before. At this moment, someone finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and nonchalantly asked as if it were business as usual:  “But the person with you just now was Li Xiu, right? What’s going on, ah, Young Master Fang? Are you looking for fun for yourself?”

Fang Qian’an’s eyes were still fixed on the direction Li Xiu had gone. He didn’t immediately respond to the probing of his followers, but his expression…..

The group of people exchanged glances back and forth, all of them feeling that Fang Qian’an expression was truly strange.

He didn’t look like he was angry, but if he was happy, his stiff facial muscles seemed to have nothing to do with the emotion.

These were all ambitious people who had worked hard to grab a space at Fang Qian’an’s side. They had been with the prince for so long but had never seen Fang Qian’an like this—

“Young Master Fang, did that guy offend you?”

Fortunately, there was also this fool Wang Rongfa in their group.

While everyone else remained silent and tried to figure out Fang Qian’an’s thoughts, this one just shouted out regardless of the situation.

“How about I go and show him what’s what? I say, this little cripple hasn’t suffered enough. He’s still an eyesore…..”

Due to the malicious intent in his heart, Wang Rongfa naturally disliked Li Xiu. Now, when he saw that Fang Qian’an’s expression wasn’t right, he took it for granted that Li Xiu had offended him.

As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Fang Qian’an suddenly turn his head to give him a cold look.

“You dare—”

For a moment, the sound that fell into Wang Rongfa’s ears was somewhat distorted.

It was clearly noon in the school hallway, but the moment he was caught in Fang Qian’an’s gaze, Wang Rongfa felt that his surroundings seemed to darken in an instant. Fang Qian’an’s light irises looked like the eyes of a living corpse, containing the gloomy, chilling air of death.

Wang Rongfa’s body was unable to move.

“Hey, Young Master Fang, Lao Wang was probably just talking casually.”

“Haha, he’s also bewitched by the goddess. Young Master Fang, just as you said, who would dare bully that little classmate Li Xiu?”

“That is…..”

Fortunately, after noticing the tense atmosphere just now, someone in the crowd naturally spoke up and started to smooth things over.

At the same time the other spoke, the terrifying aura immobilizing Wang Rongfa vanished in an instant, so fast that Wang Rongfa himself was somewhat dazed.

He couldn’t help but look at Fang Qian’an again.

Fang Qian’an expression was still very ugly as he regarded him, his eyes full of admonition…..however, Wang Rongfa didn’t feel the slightest bit spooked.

“…..You are already high school juniors, yet you’re still engaging in school bullying. Don’t you know how very pathetic you are?”

Fang Qian’an felt increasingly unhappy when he saw Wong Rongfa staring at him in a daze.

With his status, he naturally didn’t have to take into consideration the self-esteem of a little shrimp like Wang Rongfa.

“Bullying Li Xiu, who has no background or family ancestry. Ha, ridiculous. From now on, how about you marry into the Cheng family, or maybe battle with the Xu family, ah? Those two families are the marriage partners the Zhang family would choose.” As he spoke, Fang Qian’an scoffed coldly. “But you don’t dare, isn’t that right?”

“I, I—”

“The Wang family business relies entirely on those two families, so how dare you compete with them?”

Fang Qian’an’s tone was calm, but his words were not polite.

Wang Ronfa’s face reddened, but he didn’t dare say a word.

Fang Qian’an regarded Wang Ronfa as if he was looking at garbage.

“A toad can’t eat swan meat. You can’t blame that on anyone. Wang Ronfa, don’t even think about venting your anger on anyone else. When you have the time, take a look in the mirror and see what virtue you have.”

…….

It was rare for Fang Qian’an to say so many words at one time.

And his unabashed disgust no longer allowed Wang Ronfa a place in the group.

He was effectively expelled.

When the others gathered around Fang Qian’an, chatting and laughing as they left for lunch break, Wang Ronfa was the only one left in the hallway. Looking at the departing figures of those boys, the face that was originally flushed purple gradually paled.

“Wa, that guy is finished now…..”

“I suppose the business will be affected, right?”

“Ha, he’s nouveau riche. Him being able to enter Young Master Fang’s circle must be due to luck and shamelessness. It’s normal for him to be kicked out.”

There were many students who witnessed the scene just now.

Wang Rongfa stood stiffly on the spot, easily hearing the laughter of others. After he was expelled by Fang Qian’an, the other students in this school naturally didn’t need to worry about his thoughts.

Humiliation.

Pain.

Panic.

Everything had happened so fast. Even now, Wang Rongfa couldn’t comprehend how he had ended up in this situation. Clearly, he was talking and laughing with those second-generation friends just ten minutes ago.

Just because he said he would cause trouble for that cripple, the social circle he had worked so long and so hard to build was completely destroyed.

Now that Fang Qian’an had spoken, it was likely that no one in Qiming would want anything to do with him.

This time he was really finished.

Countless terrible ideas flashed through his mind. Wang Rongfa’s body felt chilled, his chest felt like heavy stone was pressing down on him, and his eyes were filled with darkness.

He didn’t even know how he left that hallway. He was only aware that he was running away in a panic, because no matter where he went, he seemed to hear those people’s wild and vicious taunts.

“He’s just a little cripple…..when did he hook up with Fang Qian’an? Fuck, with those androgenous looks, there was probably no other way except selling his ass.”

In order to avoid other students, Wang Rongfa unknowingly walked to the side of the complex. The teachers had already gone to eat at this point, and students wouldn’t come here.

The vast, magnificent complex therefore appeared particularly quiet.

Wang Rongfa found a corner at random and sat down on a bench with his back hunched over. While grabbing his hair, he lowered his head and stared at the ground — He recalled the Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu he had just seen, and his expression gradually became ferocious and twisted.

He wasn’t broad-minded in the first place. After being so openly humiliated, the number of people he resented changed from one to two.

“That bastard Fang Qian’an really thinks he’s the crown prince, and wants to punish me for the sake of a cripple? A person like that is so fucking perverted…..”

Wang Rongfa’s voice suddenly stopped.

Because just now, he happened to catch a glimpse of a familiar shadow walking past not far away. He could never mistake that limping and slightly skewed figure.

It was Li Xiu.

Wang Rongfa’s eyes lit up at once.

He never thought he would have such good luck…..see, when he was at his lowest, he still had someone to vent his anger on.

It was unknown why Li Xiu had come to the complex at this time, but in Wang Rongfa’s opinion, Li Xiu had suffered bullying at some point and looked gloomier than usual.

His head was lowered, almost touching his chest, and his long hair fell down to cover his face.

Wang Ronfa didn’t overthink it. He sneered and followed him directly.

Thud—

Thud—

Thud—

Unfortunately, Wang Rongfa had forgotten that the complex was very quiet at this time. He had only taken a few steps when he found that the sound of his footsteps echoed very clearly in the empty hall. 

Li Xiu, standing not far in front of him, seemed to pause for a moment. At that moment, Wang Rongfa thought he had been discovered, but the other party unexpectedly didn’t stop at all. After that slight pause, he continued to walk toward somewhere on the first floor of the complex, not even turning his head.

Wang Rongfa chased after him and found that Li Xiu had gone directly downstairs via the fire escape.

Fuck, this little bastard had actually discovered him just now, hadn’t he?

Wang Rongfa no longer cared about the sound of his footsteps, and opened the door directly to pursue him. However, he had to say that although this cripple was lame, his steps were actually quite fast. Wang Ronfa thought he could run pretty fast, but across the stair railing, Li Xiu’s shadow always loomed ahead.

Fortunately, Wang Rongfa didn’t lose sight of him in the end. He watched as Li Xiu ultimately pushed open the fire door at the end of the stairs and walked into the negative third floor.

Kacha—

Wang Ronfa also pushed open the fire door, and once he reached negative three, he saw a long corridor.

At one end of the corridor was an elevator, at the other end was a public restroom, and in the middle were several offices, which all appeared to be locked.

A dusty chill spread up his ankles, and Wang Rongfa shivered.

Fuck, it was really cold.

He grumbled softly, glancing at the elevator with a sneer—the elevator lights were completely dark. It was obviously not running.

Li Xiu had apparently discovered Wang Rongfa just now and fled to the third underground floor to escape. His original plan should be to press the elevator button and use the elevator to return to the first floor while Wang Rongfa was still on the stairs, then flee.

As a result, that guy had a bad fate. When he came down, he found that the elevator wasn’t working and had no way to escape. 

So…..

That little cripple only had one place to go.

As he thought, Wang Rongfa also walked into the public toilet at the end of the corridor.

Drip, drip—

It was eerily quiet here.

Even the sound from an untightened faucet could be heard clearly. There was a faint stench in the air, masked by the thick, nauseating scent of sandalwood. There was no one else in the bathroom. 

Wang Rongfa poked his head in to take a look around and found that there was nobody in the other stalls. Only the compartment at the far end was closed.

Obviously, Li Xiu was inside.

He could only say that God was helping him……

Wang Rongfa couldn’t help but grin.

He looked around again, and after ensuring that there was no one around, he picked up the mop behind the door and approached the stall.

…..In fact, at that very moment, Wang Ronfa wanted to drag Li Xiu out of the stall and end him.

However, Fang Qian’an’s previous warning to him still rang in his ears. Even as he cursed fiercely, Wang Rongfa still didn’t have the courage to confront Fang Qian’an directly.

However, this didn’t mean that he intended to let Li Xiu off.

Because just now, he had discovered that Li Xiu had nothing on him, not even his school bag or jacket.

And as he walked with his hands down like that, they had been empty.

This guy hadn’t brought his cell phone.

“……So, who made you not bring your cell phone? Otherwise, you could call your husband who loves to fuck the disabled to save you, ah.”

Wang Rongfa laughed, taunting the person in the bathroom stall.

As he spoke, he put the mop through the door handle of the stall and locked it firmly from the outside.

In this way, Li Xiu was blocked into the stall by him and couldn’t push the door open. And that guy’s leg was no good, so even if he wanted to climb out from above, it wouldn’t work. Unless someone actually heard his cries for help and removed the mop from the outside, Li Xiu couldn’t escape.

It was a pity that Li Xiu had arrived at the negative third floor. It could be seen from the desertedness just now that no one was using this floor at all, and nobody would come.

Bang—

There was a light knock from the inside of the door.

Wang Rongfa clapped his hands and took a step back.

“You just stay here,” he said to Li Xiu spitefully.

“Wait a day or two, and I’ll let you out when I’m feeling better.”

Inside the stall, Li Xiu remained silent.

There was another knock on the compartment door.

Bang—

“Tsk, you’re still putting on an act here.”

He had to say, it was rather refreshing to lock someone in a stall himself, where they could only bang on the door.

Once his boiling blood cooled, Wang Rongfa calmed down somewhat.

Of course, Li Xiu would definitely tell on him when he got out, but there were no flesh injuries on his body. En, at worst, he could gather a few people as false witnesses to say he hadn’t done anything…..there was no evidence or proof. Was it possible that Fang Qian’an would really make things difficult for him in front of so many people for a damn cripple?

With a hint of apprehension, Wang Rongfa swallowed his saliva as he considered this.

He turned and walked toward the stall door.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Wang Rongfa glanced at the mirror above the bathroom sinks.

Occupying almost an entire wall, it faced the bathroom stalls.

The reflected scene froze Wang Rongfa in place.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

There were still regular knocks on the stall door.

Wang Rongfa’s breathing gradually became heavier. Like a robot that had not been oiled for a long time, he turned his head with difficulty and looked above the stall in the corner.

When he’d entered, he was busy searching for a figure inside the stalls, and naturally had no intention of looking at the ceiling above them.

But now, he finally set his sights there.

Above the stall at the end of the row hung a long, thin figure.

A piece of waste wire that was not hidden during renovation hung from the ceiling to make a rough noose, and in that noose was a blue, swollen face. That face was drooping down so that its chin almost reached its chest. 

A long tongue had fallen out to block the gaping mouth. The handsome face that was once popular among students now looked extremely twisted and hideous. 

Maybe…..just maybe, the man had struggled too hard when the noose tightened, which was why his neck was so long and thin now.

And in the windless bathroom, the stretched-out dead man was swaying regularly.

Because of this, its toes hit the stall door in a regular pattern, one after another.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

---

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Chapter 14 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 16

“Accelerating scientific and technological advancement is necessary to promote high-quality development and achieve a high quality of life for the people. It is necessary in order to create a new development pattern, and to successfully begin the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country…..”

Class A1, sophomore year, politics class.

The politics teacher’s voice was the same as before, echoing in the classroom without any ripples.

It was the fourth class of the morning that day, and since it wasn’t a main subject, this class always had the most people asleep.

But now, no one in the entire classroom could sleep peacefully.

Whether they were taking meticulous notes or hiding their phone under the desk and furiously pressing the keyboard…..the absent-minded students would get distracted from time to time and glance at the uninvited guest at the back of the classroom.

A tall, handsome boy with an unusually poor expression had simply occupied a corner of the classroom.

The crooked, empty desk in front of him looked very awkward, destroying the originally neat arrangement of the classroom desks. There were a few scratches on the ground, making it obvious that this desk and chair had been temporarily dragged from another classroom.

Fang Qian’an didn’t do anything out of the ordinary in class A1. He chose to sit directly at the back of the classroom, likely to reduce his sense of presence. However, his stature, appearance, and even his status in the school and various rumors made it impossible to ignore his existence. Not to mention the classmates in attendance, but even the politics teacher Wan Nian, who had a straight face and lectured as if reciting scriptures, looked as if he had seen a ghost when he walked into the classroom and saw Fang Qian’an.

After all, everyone in Qiming knew that as long as Fang Qian’an stayed at the school safe and sound, it could be seen as a favor to the school. As for making Young Master Fang study seriously…..haha, was that a joke?

For the most part, Fang Qian’an only needed to show his face in the morning, and could then leave at any time. Qiming had luxuriously decorated student lounges and study rooms on each floor, and that was where Fang Qian’an usually spent his time.

After teaching at Qiming for so long, the politics teacher didn’t even know the last time he had seen Fang Qian’an in class.

Yet now, not only had Fang Qian’an come to class, but he also seemed to be listening.

…..This was a bit terrifying.

While the politics teacher was lecturing, he was shocked to see Fang Qian’an turn away, casually snatch the politics text from the student beside him, and read it with a frown for a long time.

“Hey, Xiu-er—”

Fang Qian’an was so sleepy that he was battling against his eyelids. He reached out and poked Li Xiu.

“I’ve found that your method is really useful. Now I can only think about being sleepy, and nothing else at all,” he mumbled vaguely.

Li Xiu: “……”

“Why don’t you look like you’re dozing off at all? How are you doing it?”

Li Xiu reached out and retrieved his textbook from Fang Qian’an’s hands with a blank expression.

The youth frowned and said in a brief whisper: “Don’t call me Xiu’er.”

Fang Qian’an yawned. “Then…..yawn…..Xiuxiu?” he said nonchalantly, leaning his head toward Li Xiu to read the notes he had written.

Li Xiu closed his notebook. He glanced at Fang Qian’an and expressed his disgust for the nickname with frigid eyes.

Fang Qian’an was cut by Li Xiu’s eye knives.

If others dared to look at him like this, Fang Qian’an wouldn’t hesitate to let them know how powerful he was.

But as it happened, this was Li Xiu.

He was clearly being looked down upon, but his heart felt itchy, as if something was scratching it.

Unpleasant, but also a bit pleasurable.

En, he inexplicably wanted to make this person become a little more displeased.

“If you’re still not satisfied, ah, then I’ll just call you…..” As Fang Qian’an thought about it, the title appeared in his mind like a brand.

“A-Xiu.”

[A-Xiu]

Yes, ah, the slender young man currently sitting next to him should be called A-Xiu.

[Poor A-Xiu, ah]

Although it was a bit girly, A-Xiu was A-Xiu.

[…..My A-Xiu]

……

“Hey, A-Xiu, don’t ignore me.” 

The boy’s voice at this moment was extremely low and hoarse.

It was clearly the brisk voice unique to young people, but when he called “A-Xiu,” his tone was permeated by a touch of sinister greed.

Fang Qian’an didn’t notice the change in his tone at all. He cracked open his mouth and whispered with a smile: “ “Since you have no objections, I’ll call you A-Xiu from now on.”

At the sound of “A-Xiu,” Li Xiu’s hand suddenly shook. The red pen he was using to mark key points fell onto the notebook, and the tip of the pen splashed a small bit of scarlet ink on the snow-white paper. 

He subconsciously turned his head to look at Fang Qian’an.

In fact, his grandmother would also call him A-Xiu. However, when this title came from Fang Qian’an’s mouth, Li Xiu felt inexplicable discomfort.

The hair on the back of Li Xiu’s neck stood up, and he pressed a hand to his temple.

The low-grade fever was starting to give him tinnitus.

When Fang Qian’an said “A-Xiu” just now, the sound seemed to create an echo deep in his ear canals, the repetitions small and vague.

Picking up the pen, Li Xiu tore off the ink-stained notebook page and said to Fang Qian’an expressionlessly: “You’re so noisy.”

“Also, don’t call me A-Xiu.”

But Fang Qian’an had no intention of changing his tune.

“A-Xiu, tell me, what happened back then? Did we really bump into ‘that?’…..Politics class is really useful, that kind of thing shouldn’t follow us…..”

The tall boy didn’t maintain an air of aloofness with Li Xiu now. In order to communicate smoothly with Li Xiu, he had even unscrupulously pushed his desk next to Li Xiu’s. However, Fang Qian’an completely forgot about the size difference between he and Li Xiu. Squeezed in like this, such a big person was directly touching Li Xiu’s thigh and arm.

The situation was extremely odd.

Countless gazes believed to be covert fell upon them, and the probing and curious intent inside them was oppressive and scorching hot. Fang Qian’an could obviously turn a blind eye to these observers, but Li Xiu’s feelings differed greatly.

“I have a method that can effectively drive away ghosts,” Li Xiu said to Fang Qian’an with a taut face.

“If you want to know, just shut up and listen to this lesson.”

……This time, Fang Qian’an was finally silent.

*

Fang Qian’an closed his mouth tightly, but he didn’t leave.

Even through the school uniform, Li Xiu could feel that Fang Qian’an’s body was completely different from his own. Scientific training and high-quality food intake had allowed the nearly-adult young man to grow broad shoulders and strong thighs.

Even Fang Qian’an’s body temperature was much higher than Li Xiu’s.

Li Xiu silently exerted some force to push Fang Qian’an away, but it was no use.

Instead, Fang Qian’an stared at him. He had noticed that small movement and wanted to say something—knowing that it would just be some stupid teasing, Li Xiu immediately put a finger in front of his lips and mouthed, ‘silent.’

A method to expel ghosts.

Fang Qian’an pursed his lips, leaning back in his chair resentfully.

But his body was still pressed against Li Xiu.

Li Xiu lowered his eyes and stared at the reassuring sentences in the politics textbook. What came to mind was the look of the boy next to him, so terrified that his face was ashen.

Whatever.

Li Xiu sucked in a deep breath, decided to stop resisting, and focused on listening to the class.

Of course, the class was a complete mess at the end, and he didn’t remember a single useful word—first of all, halfway through the class, there were suddenly more people outside the window. They seemed to just be passing by, but if they really happened to pass by inadvertently, they wouldn’t all be looking carefully through the window.

When their eyes fell on Fang Qian’an, it was as if they were dreaming, with expressions of complete disbelief.

[Boss, what happened?]

Fang Qian’an’s phone vibrated. He was bored stiff, and took it out to have a look. It was from one of his closer little brothers.

[If you want to teach the little cripple a lesson, we’ll absolutely handle it. Why does Young Master Fang have to deal with it and stay in that kind of place?]

Fang Qian’an frowned.

In addition to Li Xiu, Class A1 also had other high-scoring students who were recruited by Qiming from other schools. Although those people were not as poor as Li Xiu, they were also “poor people” from a completely different circle in the eyes of others. Although they were only words, the message sent still revealed something unconcealable, disdain for the entire class and even the “cripple,” Li Xiu.

“Tsk.”

Li Xiu suddenly heard a disdainful scoff from the young master beside him.

He glanced at Fang Qian’an, who also happened to be looking at him.

“Ai…..”

Under Li Xiu’s baffled gaze, Fang Qian’an shook his head.

This person, with his skinny, solitary appearance, was indeed easily bullied.

A certain young master felt a little tight in his chest when he recalled what Li Xiu had suffered before.

Subsequently, he took his phone and began to type.

[Firstly, I can stay wherever I like, and it has nothing to do with you.]

[Secondly, mind your eyes. Are you treating me as a monkey when you walk back and forth outside?]

[Thirdly, don’t just call other people “cripple.”]

After typing, Fang Qian’an clicked the group send button.

As expected, before too long, there were fewer people looking from outside the window.

When Fang Qian’an noticed this, he closed the WeChat dialogue box with satisfaction and exited the phone screen.

Then, in the next second, Fang Qian’an’s hand shook and the phone fell to the floor with a crisp sound.

Everyone jumped, including Li Xiu, who had just calmed down and was listening to the lecture.

As he met Li Xiu’s gaze, Fang Qian’an’s expression was a bit stiff.

“I accidentally dropped my phone,” Fang Qian’an said dryly.

While he was talking, someone had already picked it up for him.

Fang Qian’an eyed the phone and hesitated before taking it back.

“What is it?” Li Xiu asked.

Fang Qian’an shrugged. “It’s really nothing.”

It was just an accidental lapse in sight, Fang Qian’an told himself.

The smooth digital screen would show its owner’s reflection when it went dark.

This was a normal state of affairs.

And just now, at the moment the phone screen turned off, it also reflected a dark, blurry figure.

Fang Qian’an hadn’t seen anything clearly, but for some reason he felt that it…..was not his face.

---

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Chapter 13 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 15

Li Xiu stared at Fang Qian’an. The tall boy was currently in front of him. Under the weak light of the cell phone, the boy’s shadow seemed gigantic—or rather, bloated.

Li Xiu hadn’t paid much attention before, but now it seemed that the reason Fang Qian’an’s shadow was so big was because there seemed to be a “person” leaning on Fang Qian’an’s arm.

His heartbeat instantly quickened. Li Xiu was thinking desperately about how to deal with this situation when Fang Qian’an turned around. 

“Hey, why aren’t you saying—”

He seemed to also feel like something was wrong due to Li Xiu’s silence.

As he muttered, Fang Qian’an pointed the phone in his hand toward his side.

Then, he saw the “person.”

The figure was almost human-like. But the head resting on Fang Qian’an’s shoulder only had half of a complete face, blue-white and inlaid with a strange smile. And the other half of its face was red muscle not covered by skin, pulsating slightly. The bulging eyes rotated with a gurgle, bloodshot and scarlet.

It was latched onto Fang Qian’an’s arm.

When Fang Qian’an lowered his head, he could see the internal organs falling out of its body.

The tall, 1.9 meter-tall boy opened his mouth slightly. He thought he would let out a hysterical scream, but when he actually opened his mouth, he could only squeeze a breathy sound from his throat. 

His mind went blank.

Bam—

When rational thinking utterly failed, only the most primal physiological instincts remained in Fang Qian’an’s body.

In other words, muscle memory.

Fang Qian’an gasped, and subsequently raised his hand to attack the “person” directly. Years of training in boxing allowed him to punch fast and hard. The shadow clinging to Fang Qian’an issued a brittle sound under such a fierce attack. Then it was hit by a standard Muay Thai high kick and launched right into a dark corner of the hallway.

A strange brittle sound seemed to come from the shadows.

It wasn’t until this moment that Fang Qian’an let out a fierce and breathless scream: “Fuck me, fuck me, what the hell is that thing—”

He was obviously a 1.9 meter-tall boy, but his face was already gray with fear.

“I—I don’t know either.”

It must be said that Li Xiu was also shocked by what had just happened: whether it was the half-faced ghost that suddenly appeared on his classmate, or the fact that the ghost was punched away by said classmate…..they were both beyond the scope of what a brain could comprehend.

“I realized it was next to you when you said I was squeezing you,” Li Xiu murmured, with no idea what he was actually saying.

Fang Qian’an said nothing.

For the next few seconds, the hallway was silent. Fang Qian’an looked at the pale-faced, incoherent Li Xiu, and Li Xiu could only look back at him in alarm.

All of a sudden, Li Xiu felt somewhat strange.

Fang Qian’an looked a little…..wrong now.

The boy remained in the same position as before, staring at Li Xiu. However, the way the color drained from his face was even worse than when he had first seen the ghost. As Fang Qian’an stared, his eyes opened wider and wider…..

His eyes were full of horror.

W-wait a minute.

Li Xiu realized that Fang Qian’an’s expression of horror was not aimed at him.

Fang Qian’an was looking behind him.

Li Xiu’s body immediately stiffened.

…..How did he not realize it earlier? Li Xiu thought.

When he saw that shadow beside Fang Qian’an, his shoulders were obviously very heavy.

Li Xiu’s breathing became labored.

Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look, don’t look—

There seemed to be a voice screaming in his head, but Li Xiu couldn’t help but glance toward his shoulder from the corner of his eye.

A hand was resting there. 

A gray-white hand with a bluish glow.

Like that of a mummy, the skin of that hand had no luster at all, and was tight over the bones.

There were no nails, just dark nail beds behind the fingertips and a small section of white bone protruding from under the skin.

[A-Xiu.]

He didn’t know if he was hallucinating due to excessive fear, or if the “thing” was actually calling to him. 

Li Xiu heard an extremely hoarse, strange murmur: [My A-Xiu.]

Just like a python, that hand proceeded to move toward Li Xiu’s chest, and the biting coldness continued to spread along the places where it touched his skin. He knew he should be moving to run away, but Li Xiu was unable to do anything but tremble, as if his body had been completely separated from his soul.

A chill that could almost freeze his bone marrow soon took over his entire back. Although he didn’t dare to look, Li Xiu knew that he had been completely embraced by that “thing.”

He was about to be devoured.

Li Xiu was more aware of this than ever.

“Wu…..”

In that dark corridor, that frail young man could only cry for help with a weak whimper.

Cold droplets of water fell slowly down his cheeks. They could be tears that filled Li Xiu’s eyes due to overwhelming fear, or they could also be cold sweat.

Dry fingers traced slowly up his neck, carefully rubbing the wetness on the soft cheeks of this living person.

In a state of overwhelming fear, Li Xiu watched helplessly as Fang Qian’an staggered back.

Unlike him, who had been completely possessed by a ghost, Fang Qian’an still had a chance to escape.

Li Xiu would not be surprised if the boy ran away.

But what he didn’t expect was that just when he thought that Fang Qian’an would turn and leave, the other party suddenly let out a harsh scream and then……

Rushed toward him and embraced him.

“Fang Qian’an?!”

Li Xiu almost fainted when Fang Qian’an threw himself onto his shoulders like a sack.

After a violent jolt, Li Xiu realized belatedly that he was being carried by Fang Qian’an as he ran wildly through these strange and spooky corridors.

“Hu…..hu…..”

Fang Qian’an was running very fast. Li Xiu could hear his heavy breathing, and also feel his out-of-control heartbeat. The darkness seemed to extend continuously around Li Xiu. This corridor was so long that it utterly defied the laws of reality.

Li Xiu’s back still retained the terrible coldness left by “that thing” before, but the places where he touched Fang Qian’an were hot. 

“Cough…..Fang…..Fang Qian’an…..stop…..put me down…..quickly…..”

Li Xiu raised his hand and patted Fang Qian’an’s back, calling out weakly.

However, the boy beneath him was so terrified that he had fallen apart, and even after hearing his voice, he continued to run as fast as he could.

“How can I stop, what will I do if that fucking thing catches up? What the hell is that—”

Would it be fair to say that he was a star member of the school basketball club? After running all this way, Fang Qian’an could still shout such a long sentence in one breath. 

It was just that he shouted somewhat incoherently.

By the time Fang Qian’an ultimately exhausted himself and had to stop, it was already more than ten minutes later. Li Xiu didn’t wait for him to let go, and directly struggled to jump down. Then he half-knelt on the ground and began to retch.

—Fang Qian’an’s shoulder had pressed on his stomach, causing him to jolt headfirst all the way.

Li Xiu felt that he hadn’t vomited directly on Fang Qian’an for the sole reason that this person had taken him with him to escape.

When he finally caught his breath, Li Xiu whispered feebly to Fang Qian’an: “Can…..can you use a better position the next time you run away…..?”

“Hey, aren’t your demands too high? You were almost dragged away by a ghost just now, why bother worrying about that?” Fang Qian’an’s expression was still terrible. He muttered breathlessly as he searched around with the phone in his hand.

Li Xiu could see that Fang Qian’an was still in a state of shock.

After a moment of silence, a soft “Thank you” sounded in the darkness.

Fang Qian’an was taken aback to hear Li Xiu’s thanks and instantly felt uncomfortable, avoiding Li Xiu’s eyes.

“There’s nothing to thank me for. You’re a cripple and can’t run…..”

The boy responded forcefully, unaware that when Li Xiu heard him say the word “cripple” again, the slight softness in his expression disappeared at once.

Li Xiu’s expression tensed: “It’s really hard to say that you’re a nice person…..”

Hu—

Almost at the same time Li Xiu finished speaking, an extremely cold wind suddenly blew through the enclosed corridor.

Li Xiu’s wrist hurt as Fang Qian’an screamed and suddenly grabbed him. It seemed this was round two of them running for their lives. There was a click in the darkness, and then all of the lights above them lit up.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

Fang Qian’an braked suddenly and almost fell to the ground with Li Xiu.

On the other side, the figure also let out an “aiyo” and took several steps back.

“Oh my god, you scared me to death!!”

An old school janitor was holding a toolbox in one hand, pressing the main switch to the corridor lights with the other as he looked at Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an in front of him with astonishment.

After recovering from his initial fright, the janitor raised his eyebrows and shouted at them angrily: “How old are you? Why did you come here?! Don’t you know this floor is closed? Still coming to a place like this without electricity, you must have a death wish, oh—”

*

The floor where Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an were trapped was not that weird negative thirteenth floor, but the complex’s negative third floor.

Due to year-round water leakage, the wires on this floor were always short-circuiting, and it was in a state of maintenance at all times. Taking this into account, the negative third floor had not seen normal use since the building was built.

The school’s teaching aids were replaced each year, and when a scrap company couldn’t be found to deal with them, the teaching aids, desks, and chairs were stored in the vacant offices on this floor.

The elevators in the building had long been programmed not to stop on this floor.

…..It was precisely because of this that Li Xiu explained for a long time, but couldn’t make it clear to the janitor how he and Fang Qian’an had appeared there.

Indeed, it was difficult to explain clearly. After all, he himself didn’t understand what had happened in the corridor just now: Once the lights turned on, he immediately discovered that the negative third floor corridor was not very long. But he and Fang Qian’an had been running steadily for a long while not long ago. Even now, Li Xiu’s chest still hurt, and his defective right foot was so swollen that he could hardly lift it.

To make matters worse, as the janitor interrogated them, he also found that the debris originally piled in the corridor had been overturned.

“Did you two come here to cause damage on purpose?! Why are today’s youths so stupid? It’s infuriating…..”

The school janitor rushed with an imposing manner to the boxes that had poured onto the ground, continuously nagging as he looked at the things scattered everywhere: “Which class are you in? I must tell your teacher. You will definitely pay for any damages to the school!”

Li Xiu only noticed the debris behind them after being told by the janitor, and as the janitor was cursing and packing his things, his expression became extremely stiff.

He could clearly see that the things the janitor was picking up one by one were the exact mannequins often used in biology classes.

Qiming Secondary School had a lot of money, and these mannequins were the most exquisite ones. They were half as tall as a person. The normal half of the body was plastic, while the other half was skinless muscle tissue. And below the abdomen were obvious internal organs.

Of course, these parts had now become incomplete pieces of plastic rolling around on the floor, the damage visible to the naked eye.

Especially one mannequin, the chest of which had a large, gleaming hole. Through the uneven gaps in the plastic, its empty interior could be seen. 

Li Xiu couldn’t help but look at Fang Qian’an.

*

The fact that Young Master Fang had appeared on the negative third floor, which was off-limits, and “accidentally” destroyed a biology class human body model was essentially no big deal at all.

Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an quickly returned to the exit on the first floor of the complex—of course, this time they chose to take the fire escape instead of the elevator.

As soon as they reached the flower beds at the exit, Fang Qian’an suddenly swayed and collapsed onto an outdoor bench.

“Fang Qian’an, what’s wrong with you?”

Fang Qian’an gritted his teeth, trying his utmost to hide how weak his legs were. Feigning calmness, he said to Li Xiu: “I….I’m fine, I just need to sit down.”

“Oh,” Li Xiu said dully.

Then he turned around and prepared to leave.

“Hey, where are you going—”

As a result, Li Xiu hadn’t yet taken a step when Fang Qian’an swooped in to stop him.

“In any case, we’re comrades who’ve gone through thick and thin together. Are you going to leave me alone now?”

Fang Qian’an looked at Li Xiu with great embarrassment. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hide the fact that he was too scared to stay alone.

“I’m going to class,” Li Xiu muttered dully.

He had discovered after exiting the complex that although he and Fang Qian’an had physically been trudging helplessly in that dark corridor for a long time, from the moment they entered the elevator, only ten minutes had passed in the outside world.

He could still make it in time for his last morning class.

When he finished speaking, Li Xiu saw Fang Qian’an’s eyes open wide in disbelief: “Y-you’re going to class? After what happened just now, you still want to go to class?”

Fang Qian’an’s tone was sharp, and he looked like he was breaking down.

Li Xiu lowered his eyes to regard Fang Qian’an’s hand on his wrist: “It’s because of…..encountering that thing just now that I need to go to class.”

The midday sun was shining brightly, but under this light, Li Xiu’s pale face was still without a trace of blood, and even his lips were covered in a thin layer of gray. 

“The fourth period class is politics,” Li Xiu explained in a murmur. 

He said to Fang Qian’an: “…..I feel like I need this class to calm down.”

---

The author has something to say:

Li Xiu: I think the basic viewpoints of Marxism can effectively eliminate all strange forces of chaos.

Dog Qian’an: ……Huh?

Gege: …….

In short, the most important thing in school is studying.

---

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Chapter 12 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 14

Stupified, Liu Zhenqing stared at the jade pendant in disbelief. Because they were quite close, he could see the unique mark he had left on it, so it had to be his jade pendant.

And he indeed brought a jade pendant to Nanfeng City back then.

But why was this jade willow leaf pendant on Fang Mu?

He didn’t remember giving it away, ah!

Liu Zhenqing stared at it with a face full of bewilderment.

He watched as Tang Mu gently picked up the pedant with his long, slender fingers and rubbed it in his hand. Looking at the shine on the jade, he likely caressed it often.

Goosebumps popped up all over Liu Zhenqing’s body. The corners of his mouth twitched. No way, Tang Mu liked him?

“Is General Huo inquiring about this?” Tang Mu asked.

Huo Fenglie nodded with a look that was anything but encouraging. Looking somewhat ill-at-ease, Tang Mu said: “This…..is a gift from my sweetheart. This type of jade pendant is quite ordinary. As General Huo can see, it is extremely common.”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth twitched. Why did Tang Mu lie, ah? He definitely never gave it away. But now was not the time to argue.

“A token of love?” Huo Fenglie’s frigid eyes moved away from Tang Mu.

Liu Zhenqing looked at the wide-eyed Tang Mu, who slowly shook his head: “It doesn’t have such a blessing.”

Liu Zhenqing breathed a sigh of relief. At least the lie wasn’t too outrageous.

Huo Fenglie lowered his eyes. His mood seemed to have recovered, but his expression was desolate, which made Liu Zhenqing extremely uncomfortable. But there was not much he could say since Tang Mu was in the carriage, so he could only be troubled.

All three of them played dumb and naturally didn’t speak more on this matter. After Tang Mu greeted Liu Zhenqing, he soon brought up the method Liu Zhenqing had proposed the day before.

“I thought about Young Master Liu’s method all night and found it extremely interesting.” Tang Mu said: “Did the young master find out that Western Shu was ignoring this matter?”

Liu Zhenqing saw Tang Mu’s earnest look and understood that he was really considering the feasibility. Thus, he explained: “My guess is that they don’t lose anything anyway if those people flee. There is no need to waste manpower and money to deal with the fugitives, so they will naturally leave them alone.”

Tang Mu said thoughtfully: “Once trade with us comes to a stop, they will be forced to take a stance and deal with their own messes.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and nodded: “We’re not the ones committing an injustice, so why should we clean up after them? We can naturally use the same method to deal with such unethical behavior. If they don’t act, they won’t have a share of trade benefits in the future. We can even divert Nanfeng City’s trade to other countries. Even if the journey is longer, it will at least be a bit safer, so nobody will object too much. The only losses will belong to Western Shu.”

Tang Mu’s eyes brightened incrementally. He regarded Liu Zhenqing with pleasant surprise and said: “That’s right. When it comes to dealing with the fugitives, it is indeed more convenient for Western Shu to handle it themselves than for us to capture them. They just can’t be bothered to care. Young Master Liu is highly talented. Other officials and I have been thinking it over for so long without coming to a suitable conclusion, and Young Master Liu made it clear in a few sentences. As expected of a member of the Liu family.”

Tang Mu was quite excited when he said this, but then paused.

Liu Zhenqing forced a smile.

Tang Mu coughed, and instead of making excuses for his gaffe, he went on to say: “What if they don’t agree?”

“Then we’ll just do it. The common people cannot be allowed to suffer, and…..they should agree,” Liu Zhenqing said with a slight frown.

Tang Mu stared at Liu Zhenqing with a bit of shock. The common people cannot be allowed to suffer. These words……Prime Minister Liu once said this, and his expression was similar to Young Master Liu’s right now.

As expected of…..people related by blood.

“If they don’t agree, they actually have something hidden in their hearts. In fact, there is another speculation as to why they are allowing the fugitives to escape.”

“What is it?” Tang Mu returned to his senses.

Liu Zhenqing glanced at Huo Fenglie. Because he didn’t know if his speculation was correct, he could only look toward the one who would know best.

Huo Fenglie seemed to have been listening to them the entire time, unhappy and never speaking.

It wasn’t until Liu Zhenqing looked over that he spoke in a deep voice: “I heard Commander Dai say that the attacks force them to rush around. This situation is actually a method of defensive investigation.”

“Defensive investigation!” Tang Mu had misgivings.

“To test the operations, defense, and combat ability of Nanfeng City’s defenders,” Huo Fenglie said. “If their king is ambitious, it is entirely possible that he deliberately allowed the fugitives to escape in order to probe and make calculations.”

When Tang Mu heard this, his expression changed drastically and his entire body went stiff. “If they don’t agree to our request, then it proves that they really do have such a plan?”

“This is just speculation,” Liu Zhenqing said. “And even if they agree, it doesn’t mean they don’t have ulterior motives.”

The speed of Tang Mu’s brain could no longer keep up with Liu Zhenqing’s.

Liu Zhenqing was all smiles: “They will receive news about Huo Fenglie soon. In order to avoid the general’s suspicion, they should obediently agree. But never mind that, protecting the common people is critical.”

Tang Mu regarded Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing with lingering trepidation. He felt that the two of them were singing the same tune. One civil and one military, they were incredibly capable. In just a few words, they determined the current situation, gave a solution, and even predicted the opponent’s actions.

Ever since Prime Minister Liu left, he had never met anyone whose ingenuity amazed him to such an extent.

Tang Mu cupped his hands again and said: “Thank the both of you very much.”

Once he gave thanks, Tang Mu couldn’t help but wonder what official position Young Master Liu held now. People so far south usually didn’t know the specific situation in the north, so he asked this question.

Liu Zhenqing could only say awkwardly: “The Liu family are Imperial merchants, so we aren’t allowed to take the Imperial examinations.”

Tang Mu was taken aback for a moment, and then his expression gradually became one of embarrassment. Looking at Liu Zhenqing, he hesitated to speak.

Finally, the carriage arrived.

Tang Mu disembarked first to make arrangements.

The two of them had to tidy themselves before getting out of the carriage. Liu Zhenqing feared that Huo Fenglie would be dragged off to perform official duties as soon as he stepped out and they would have no time to talk, so he stopped him and said: “Er-gou, don’t be unhappy, ah.”

Liu Zhenqing made an opening in hopes that Huo Fenglie would ask.

In the end, Huo Fenglie said: “He seems to not hate you?”

Taken aback, Liu Zhenqing said: “Of course he doesn’t hate me, he’s someone who knows the truth.”

Huo Fenglie wasn’t surprised. Although he was unaware of the specific situation, he knew there must be a secret. It was just unexpected that the party involved also knew the secret.

However, it was no surprise that Tang Mu regarded Qing-ge’s jade pendant as a treasure.

Huo Fenglie nodded and moved to go out. He didn’t even ask.

Liu Zhenqing grabbed the man again in consternation. “Aren’t you going to ask me about the jade pendant?”

Huo Fenglie paused, saying with an indifferent expression: “This isn’t the first time.” He had become accustomed to Qing-ge’s arbitrary behavior. He had witnessed him giving them away to others with his own eyes. It was only that he couldn’t accept at first that Qing-ge had also given them away to men, but considering the current relations between the two of them, it seemed…..it was nothing unacceptable.

Liu Zhenqing was stifled for a moment. Looking at Huo Fenglie’s expressionless face, he saw that he had a sad kind of look in his eyes. All of a sudden, he felt like he was being called a scumbag right to his face.

He used to be a bit…..a bit casual with women, but his heart wasn’t swayed and he never touched anyone. On the other hand, Er-gou had kissed him, and he didn’t make a fuss. But Liu Zhenqing just gave out a few more pendants, which led to a few more rumors of romance, and Er-gou was unhappy.

Liu Zhenqing felt somewhat wronged when he thought about it. He wanted to speak a few words of displeasure, but when he saw Huo Fenglie’s dispirited appearance, he still couldn’t bear to, ah. How could he make his Er-gou sad?

He was quick to explain helplessly: “No matter how many times, this really isn’t the case. Didn’t I tell you before? Did you forget? I never gave one to a man. I swear an oath on this. In fact, I also don’t understand. He was originally such an honest child, so why would he lie about such a thing? Does he really like me so much that he dared to make up this lie?”

Liu Zhenqing suddenly had a face full of helplessness.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing as if his trust in him was in jeopardy.

Liu Zhenqing raised a hand and said: “I swear, I honestly didn’t give him anything. Back then, weren’t we at most just an adult and a child? He wasn’t grown then.”

Huo Fenglie asked the key question. “Did you come here with that jade pendant? Did it fall? Was it stolen?” He had dropped one once and said it was a gift.

Liu Zhenqing’s expression became unnatural.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes darkened again: “You gave it to someone?”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and touched his head: “It seems I was drunk. I saw a girl…..she looked pretty. I don’t know who she was, but I was grateful to her for sending me back, so I just handed it over…..Tang Mu probably got it from her by chance.”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes seemed to fill with fire. He stared at Liu Zhenqing and said: “You gave it to someone you didn’t know while drunk?”

Liu Zhenqing gave a dry smile, searching for an excuse: “So…..some jade pendants are just objects, unlike the sword I gave to a certain person, which is…..” Damn, it didn’t seem to be unique. Huo Feihan also had a similar one. It seemed he really hadn’t given Er-gou a unique gift.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing coolly. He gave a silent sigh and said no more, moving to disembark.

But Liu Zhenqing grabbed him again.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing. In fact, he thought Liu Zhenqing had said everything there was to say. He also felt that no matter how much he said, it would only make him feel like…..one of many.

Just as he was thinking, he felt someone suddenly hold his face. 

Huo Fenglie was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, he sensed a figure approaching and his lips softened.

He felt Liu Zhenqing pressing against him. He could only hold onto the wall of the carriage with one hand and embrace him with the other.

Qing-ge’s kisses always caught him off guard. He couldn’t understand. He thought he was just helping Qing-ge to relieve his loneliness. Even a kiss when he lost control was understandable, but what was this kiss?

Huo Fenglie looked up blankly and heard Liu Zhenqing say: “Neither the jade pendants and the sword are unique, only I am.”

After saying this, Liu Zhenqing lowered his head and kissed him deeply. In the carriage with only the two of them in it, this kiss gave Huo Fenglie peace of mind.

Liu Zhenqing thought to himself, I’ll give it all to you. How can others compare?

But what Huo Fenglie thought was, yes, Qing-ge was unique. He should be satisfied with being so close, being greedy would only make him annoying.

Huo Fenglie looked obsessively at the person kissing him with his eyes closed and couldn’t help but wrap his arms around Liu Zhenqing, turning passivity into initiative. The two of them had become proficient in this business, and enjoyed the beauty in silence.

Suddenly, Huo Fenglie’s captivated eyes flashed. He frowned slightly and moved his hand toward the sword at his waist. 

The long sword moved the carriage curtain a bit, creating a gap.

Tang Mu and Dai Tingyu, who were about to call for them to come out, happened to see Liu Zhenqing laying in Huo Fenglie’s arms through this gap. Seeing their deep affection, the two quickly looked away in embarrassment and took a few steps back.

“Hehehe, I really didn’t expect Brother Huo to have such a side and not be able to control himself. My Er-ge was not like this before.,” Dai Tingyu said awkwardly.

Tang Mu said: “Their affection is deep. It’s clear that General Huo likes Young Master Liu very much. It seems you were right when you told me before that General Huo doesn’t hate Prime Minister Liu.”

Dai Tingyu chuckled and said: “It’s more than not just hating him, ah.”

Although Tang Mu thought Dai Tingyu’s tone was strange, he didn’t ask further and only talked about what they had just analyzed in the carriage. 

Dai Tingyu went pale with fright, and then became angry: “Damn it! If they dare to commit any crimes, I’ll kill them!”

Tang Mu patted Dai Tingyu and said: “It’s fortunate that those two warned me. But this Young Master Liu is truly capable.”

“Yes, ah, he’s really impressive,” Tang Mu also exclaimed. 

“The two of them are a perfect match for each other,” Tang Mu said with a smile.

Dai Tingyu’s conscience was uneasy for a moment: “Chengzhu, say…..isn’t it bad to use someone as an emotional stand-in for a dead person?”

Tang Mu glanced at Dai Tingyu in confusion at first, and then his expression changed. “General Huo liked Prime Minister Liu, and now he’s using the current Young Master Liu as a substitute?”

Dai Tingyu’s mind instantly expanded. “Chengzhu, you, you…..what are you speculating about?”

When a boor like Dai Tingyu was faced with an intelligent man like Tang Mu, what could he hide? It was originally a guess, but Dai Tingyu’s performance proved it. But Tang Mu didn’t embarrass him, saying directly: “Of course it’s not good if the other party is really moved by his feelings.”

Dai Tingyu said: “But it can give the family and clan the strongest protection.”

Tang Mu’s expression instantly froze.

The Liu family suffered unfair treatment because of Prime Minister Liu…..If a general like Huo Fenglie could protect them…..there was really nothing to say.

But Tang Mu felt very sad at this thought. After all, he knew that Prime Minister Liu had not been what the world now thought of him, and also knew that there was no need for the Liu family to go through this, that there was no need for a substitute in order to seek asylum. 

But he…..couldn’t say anything.

Tang Mu couldn’t help but touch the jade pendant at his waist.

Noticing Tang Mu’s silence, Dai Tingyu could only say awkwardly: “I was just talking casually. Don’t tell anyone, Chengzhu.” He knew that Tang Mu had an attitude of respect toward Prime Minister Liu, which was different from what the world knew. Although he had asked for the reason, Tang Mu said it was a secret that he could not disclose even upon death. Then Dai Tingyu could only know one result regardless of the process. But if this ruined Brother Huo’s interests, he would be in trouble himself. Even though this felt wrong, he would still support his good brother.

The reason he complained to Tang Mu was that he felt the man was smarter than him. He was just seeking a rational excuse, but unexpectedly, Tang Mu also felt that something was wrong.

At this time, Liu Zhenqing, who was being silently sympathized with by the two, had just finished enjoying Er-gou. He licked his lips in front of him, making Huo Fenglie look him directly in the eyes.

Liu Zhenqing said with satisfaction: “Don’t keep them waiting, let’s get out.”

When the two left the carriage, Tang Mu and Dai Tingyu returned to a normal state and received both of them warmly.

At this time, far away at the imperial palace in the capital of the Western Shu Kingdom…..

A man in black-red clothes raised his blade and let it drop. A person’s head rolled just in time to stop at someone’s feet.

The man in black-red clothes didn’t look back, and his voice was cold, yet filled with endless ridicule: “You still know to come back?”

“Huo Fenglie has come to Nanfeng City.”

“Really? You didn’t go to reminisce about the past?”

“He really isn’t my person from before.”

“Not your old person. Was that why you saved those two people on the island?”

The visitor’s expression remained unchanged. He only stated: “Since you sent someone to follow me, why not stop me if you didn’t like what I was doing?”

The man in red-black clothes slowly turned around, then suddenly appeared in front of the speaker and grabbed his chin: “As your master, I will naturally be more tolerant of your willfulness, but if people from the capital discover this, we will be in big trouble. Would you rather cause trouble for me by assisting irrelevant people?”

The visitor’s face still remained unchanged, as if he had no unnecessary emotions. Faced with this question, he just said lightly: “You are not my master. I only have one master. You are just my mission, which will be over in a year. No, four months.”

The man in red-black clothes stared blankly. His face immediately filled with fury, the veins on his forehead popping out. “You want to leave me? Impossible!”

But the visitor only looked at him, then turned to leave. “I’m going to rest.”

The man’s eyes reddened in anger. In the end, he couldn’t say a word as he watched that person leave.

---

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Chapter One Hundred Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Four