Chapter 15

Chapter 15

After resolving this issue, Jiang Zhuochen became more attached.

Early in the morning, Jiang Zhuochen yawned as he went downstairs and entered the kitchen before the housekeeper had finished preparing breakfast.

For his first fifteen years, he ate hand-to-mouth, and for the next three years, he was provided with fine clothes and sumptuous food, never once stepping into a kitchen, let alone cooking in one.

He followed the housekeeper and took on the job of plating, pretending he had done it himself.

When Xu Xing came downstairs, he saw Jiang Zhuochen sitting at the dining table, chin in his hands. Upon making eye contact, Jiang Zhuochen flashed a bright smile.

That smile brightened Xu Xing's mood first thing in the morning. As he approached, Jiang Zhuochen stood up to wait for him and pulled out the chair beside him.

"Good morning."

Xu Xing sat down and took a sip of soy milk. "Why are you up so early today?"

Jiang Zhuochen brought the breakfast over to him, straightened his back a little, and looked at him with shining eyes. "Notice anything different?"

Xu Xing glanced at the table, which held the same breakfast as usual. The question was as unreasonable as asking a straight male friend if he noticed anything different after changing lipstick shades.

Under Jiang Zhuochen's intense gaze, he picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. Even the taste was no different from before. He had no choice but to ask, "What's different?"

Jiang Zhuochen wasn't discouraged. He pointed at the plates on the table. "I did the plating. Looks nice?"

...

Xu Xing chuckled. "Looks nice. So you got up early just to arrange the plates?"

"Well, I can't cook anything tasty," Jiang Zhuochen said modestly. "I can only make an effort elsewhere."

"Why are you thinking of doing these things?" Xu Xing asked.

Jiang Zhuochen replied bluntly, "If I want your help, I should make you happy first, right?"

After all, that useless Long Life Lamp lit up in all directions whenever he tried to sense his master's soul, making it completely useless. He might as well cling tightly to Xu Xing's thigh.

Xu Xing paused for a moment, the smile at the corner of his mouth fading slightly. He wasn't particularly happy about being able to sense that so-called soul; on the contrary, it made him somewhat irritable.

He didn't want to have anything to do with that person who was so important to Jiang Zhuochen, especially now that Jiang Zhuochen was trying to please him for that person's sake.

"Can't you find it without relying on me?"

"It would take too much time," Jiang Zhuochen replied. "Too long. Who knows how long it would take."

Jiang Zhuochen pursed his lips slightly, his eyebrows drooping.

This pitiful look always softened Xu Xing's heart. He deliberately avoided looking and slowly ate his breakfast. "I'm very busy. You don't have much to do. Go out more often; maybe you'll find it."

"You can't say it like that..." Jiang Zhuochen's voice lowered a bit.

This was no different from trying to eliminate all the Ghostly Energy in the entire world. Not only was his own strength insufficient, but even the treasures he carried weren't enough.

"Then think about how to say it," Xu Xing said, standing up after finishing his meal and heading out. "I'm going to the company first."

Jiang Zhuochen looked disappointed but then pushed back his chair and ran to Xu Xing's side. "Can I visit your company?"

Xu Xing glanced at him but didn't say anything, tacitly agreeing to the request.

After arriving at Xu Xing's company, Jiang Zhuochen noticed that the man's office was much more conventional. Clean and tidy, yet the decor was grand and stylish. The unobstructed view from the high-rise window was incredibly relaxing.

But Jiang Zhuochen's mind wasn't on that. He hadn't really come to visit the company, and Xu Xing was indeed as busy as he had said.

Jiang Zhuochen sat to the side. The office door was pushed open from time to time, with people coming in one after another, reporting a bunch of things he didn't understand in a serious and solemn manner, each conversation lasting at least half an hour.

He could only seize the moments in between to serve Xu Xing tea and water, eliciting frequent, ambiguous glances from him. Occasionally, before he could even stop, others would push the door open and see him, their faces a picture of shock.

Xu Xing rubbed the corner of a document with his thumb. Amidst the bewildered and awkward glances, he picked up the materials and took his subordinates to the conference room for a meeting.

Jiang Zhuochen retreated to the sofa, sat down, and took a sip of the water he hadn't had time to hand over, placing it on the coffee table with a bit of force.

He rallied his spirits and suggested going back first to cook, wanting to show off his culinary skills to Xu Xing. After being rejected, he returned to the villa in a huff, only to put on a different face when he saw Xu Xing again.

After a few days of this stalemate, Xu Xing finally couldn't hold back when he returned home in the evening and entered the study.

He stood at the door. When Jiang Zhuochen came out after showering and walked toward him, Xu Xing asked calmly, "Did you enter my study?"

Jiang Zhuochen nodded. "The housekeeper came today, so I helped with the cleaning."

"Did the housekeeper tell you that the study is off-limits?"

His voice was low and steady, like a cold current surging in the deep sea. Jiang Zhuochen instantly sensed the low pressure spreading around him.

Xu Xing was angry.

No one had told him the study was off-limits. Back in his mountain sect, not only could he enter his master's study, but he could even sleep there if he was unhappy. Naturally, he didn't know what a study meant to ordinary people.

"I didn't touch your things."

"That's not the issue," Xu Xing said sternly. "I think even in your era, a study probably wasn't a place just anyone could enter. You should understand which places are accessible and which aren't, right?"

Jiang Zhuochen tightened his grip on the towel. The light reflected in his eyes suddenly seemed to dim, as if covered by a layer of gauze, and even the fluttering of his eyelashes slowed.

"Don't let it happen again." After saying this, Xu Xing turned and closed the door, so quickly that Jiang Zhuochen didn't even have time to react.

Xu Xing frowned, a wave of irritation rising from the depths of his heart.

He wasn't truly angry at Jiang Zhuochen; it was just that the ulterior motives were too blatantly displayed, making that bright smile increasingly glaring.

What did he mean by helping the housekeeper clean? The housekeeper came regularly before—why didn't he help then?

He rubbed his temples. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to say harsh words, so he simply closed the door to physically block the factor that softened his heart.

Jiang Zhuochen angrily threw the towel onto the bed. There was no helping it—Xu Xing's face often confused him. Just now, it felt like being scolded by his master. Even though he told himself they were two different people, he still felt somewhat wronged.

They weren't the same at all. His master would never scold him.

And what did he mean by which places were accessible and which weren't? Was it his choice to come live here? It was just an excuse to scold him because he found him annoying.

He hugged the Long Life Lamp tightly, staring out the window to calm down. If he wouldn't help, then fine—he'd just treat it as cultivation.

The next day, Jiang Zhuochen no longer went to the dining room early to sit. He slept until he woke naturally, finished breakfast, and headed straight to the temple.

Although he had neglected the place for a few days, thanks to Chen Sheng and Wu Duo, the temple was guarded every day. From a few shops away, Jiang Zhuochen noticed Chen Sheng dancing animatedly in front of the gate.

The other had somehow gotten hold of a loudspeaker and was taking turns with Wu Duo shouting.

"Come take a look, come take a look! Our temple accepts all kinds of commissions for exorcism, ghost avoidance, fortune-telling, and feng shui. The effects are visible to the naked eye, guaranteed to satisfy, with no worries afterward. Don't hesitate any longer—welcome to inquire inside!"

Jiang Zhuochen quickly stepped forward, wrapping an arm around each of their necks, and without a word, ushered them into the temple.

"Hey, hey, Brother Jiang, what brings you here?" Chen Sheng put down the megaphone, looking for praise. "What do you think? My method's great, right?"

Jiang Zhuochen scoffed at him. "Then how come no one's come looking for me after you've been shouting for days?"

"That's because they haven't seen you in action." Wu Duo wiped the sweat from his brow after entering the temple, standing in the breeze. "They don't know how powerful you are."

Jiang Zhuochen wasn't having any of their sweet talk, ready to kick them to the curb now that he didn't need them. "Don't worry about it, you guys can head out."

"No trouble at all." Wu Duo stubbornly refused to leave. "It's summer vacation, we've got nothing but time."

Chen Sheng crouched in front of the table, at eye level with Jiang Zhuochen, his eyes gleaming. "Brother Jiang, could you show us how to catch ghosts again?"

Jiang Zhuochen propped his chin on one hand, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "Sure."

"Huh?" Chen Sheng was puzzled. "What's going on?"

Jiang Zhuochen made a downward twirling motion with his finger, and the two across from him were spun around.

"Whoa, easy, Brother Jiang, I'm getting dizzy," Wu Duo wailed.

After tossing them to opposite sides, Jiang Zhuochen pressed two fingers together, forcing Chen Sheng and Wu Duo to walk toward the center. Just as they were about to collide, to the sound of their terrified screams, Jiang Zhuochen bent his finger downward, and the two abruptly dropped into a squat.

"Ouch!"

The gloom of the past few days vanished instantly, and Jiang Zhuochen laughed out loud. "Demonstration over."

Chen Sheng hurriedly tore off the talisman. "Brother Jiang, that's not cool."

"You can keep it. Stick it on anyone you don't like." Jiang Zhuochen clicked his tongue and added, "Of course, if you can manage to stick it on a ghost, that works too. It'll buy you some extra time to escape."

Wu Duo straightened his back. "Really? That's awesome?!"

Chen Sheng immediately got excited, clutching the talisman tightly to his chest. "Thanks, Brother Jiang!"

The two were so thrilled by a single talisman that they were over the moon, shouting even more enthusiastically outside the door.

After yelling for a while, Chen Sheng handed the megaphone to Wu Duo and unscrewed a bottle of water, taking big gulps. As he tilted his head back, he spotted a man in the distance looking troubled, muttering something under his breath.

The man took a few steps, then stopped when he saw the temple's plaque, his expression hesitant.

As the man slowly passed by, Chen Sheng dashed over and blocked his path, smiling warmly. "Hey there, interested in learning about our temple? We're experts in fortune-telling, feng shui, exorcism, and warding off ghosts—guaranteed to satisfy."

"Yeah," Wu Duo chimed in, catching up. "Prices are negotiable, one-time solution, no worries afterward."

Already wavering, the man was half-pushed, half-pulled inside amid their chattering.

"Brother Jiang, we've got a customer!"

Jiang Zhuochen glanced up and saw they had actually dragged a man inside.

The temple wasn't equipped with fluorescent lights; during the day, it relied entirely on sunlight from outside, making it noticeably darker inside than elsewhere.

Xu Cheng didn't pay much attention at first, but upon entering, he realized the temple master was so young, he just seemed completely unreliable.

Why had he walked in? Had he lost his mind?

Chen Sheng tried to persuade him. "Our Brother Jiang may look young, but he's actually very experienced—even those old Taoist priests can't compare. Whatever trouble you have, just tell him; he'll definitely help you solve it."

Jiang Zhuochen corrected him. "I never said anything like that."

Wu Duo, standing beside him, nudged him and whispered, "Shut up."

Chen Sheng gestured for Xu Cheng to sit on a chair. "Go on, tell us."

Xu Cheng clutched a disposable cup in his hand for a while before sighing helplessly and speaking slowly. "It's a bit of a strange problem. Lately, every night, my house gets surrounded by black mist, and I can vaguely see a blurry human figure. No one can recognize who it is. I've even hired Taoist priests to perform rituals, but nothing worked."

The black mist is probably Ghostly Energy, Jiang Zhuochen thought. But he wasn't sure, so he suggested, "I can go back with you later to take a look."

Xu Cheng hesitated, then finally nodded. "Alright, thank you."

Chen Sheng and Wu Duo excitedly waved goodbye as they left.

Jiang Zhuochen sat in Xu Cheng's car as he drove them home. While waiting at a red light at an intersection, he spotted a familiar building.

After a moment of silence, as they passed by, he asked Xu Cheng to stop and wait for him. He got out and headed toward Xu Xing's company.

He had originally just wanted to let him know he wouldn't be back tonight, but the receptionist stopped him.

"Sir, do you have an appointment?"

"No."

The receptionist offered an apologetic yet polite smile. "I'm sorry, but if you need to see President Xu, you'll have to make an appointment in advance."

Although she had seen this young man with President Xu before, the president hadn't given her any instructions, so she had to stick to protocol.

Jiang Zhuochen had only come to let Xu Xing know, just in case he wondered where he was when he returned home tonight. But since the other was still angry, maybe it was better not to meet.

He nodded in understanding, said nothing, and left.

Author's Note:

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