Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Nan Liujing didn’t look the way he was described in the original text.

Shen Gali kept thinking about this.

After thinking for a long time without figuring it out, he got tired of it and just assumed he had gotten plastic surgery.

Shen Gali always found a reasonable reason to convince himself.

Once home, Shen Gali wanted to rush upstairs and lie flat, but Nan Liujing called him back: “My game account, don’t forget.”

Shen Gali gritted his teeth.jpg

This guy was definitely getting his revenge on him.

But if he hadn’t reminded him, he’d almost forgotten about his great lying-flat plan.

Dragging his battered body upstairs, Shen Gali had just sat down when he felt as if a row of tiny needles was poking his rear.

Uncomfortable…

He simply grabbed his laptop and lay down on the bed.

As soon as he logged into the game, the system notified him that his friend SUN was also online.

Speaking of the nickname SUN, Shen Gali felt like there was a strange thought in his mind. SUN in Chinese is tàiyáng, tàiyáng…

It seemed like there was someone related to the sun in his daily life.

He didn’t want to think about it, his head ached.

Just then, SUN sent a message: “Logging in very late today, busy?”

“Tieniu Ju: .”

Shen Gali closed his eyes and typed a period.

“SUN: What happened?”

“Tieniu Ju: Nah”

“SUN: Heh…”

Shen Gali lazily looked up and stared at the word “Heh,” wondering what SUN was being passive-aggressive about again.

But no matter what kind of passive-aggressive person the other was, for the sake of his grand lying-flat plan, he could tolerate it.

“Tieniu Ju: Speaking of which, you still haven’t told me where you’re from.”

“SUN: Jinhai.”

“Tieniu Ju: What a coincidence, me too. Let’s meet.”

In the study, Nan Liujing had just raised his coffee cup but slowly set it down again.

Let’s meet?

So direct? He realized Shen Gali really had no sense of caution at all. What if the other person was some kind of perverted murderer? Did he have a death wish?

Why was he insulting himself?

But well, since he wanted to meet, he’d grant his wish. He’d get someone to go in his place, take incriminating photos, and file for divorce.

“SUN: Aren’t you worried I might be a bad person?”

“Tieniu Ju: Not worried. I’ve been living with a pervert for so long, can you be worse than a pervert?”

“Crack!” The mouse shell cracked.

Nan Liujing laughed in anger. The pervert he mentioned, could he be referring to himself?

Shen Gali lost patience: “Are we meeting or not? Say it quickly, I need to sleep after I hear it.”

“SUN: Alright, you choose the place.”

“Tieniu Ju: Tomorrow at ten in the morning, the coffee shop on Huaihai Road. We’ll decide the rest after meeting.”

Shen Gali never made plans; he couldn’t even be bothered to think of a meeting place, directly quoting what Hein had said. Then it was just one step at a time.

After setting the time, he left his character online to grind XP and then went straight to sleep.

*

The next day.

Uncle Li watched Shen Gali, who was lying face-down on the dining table catching up on sleep, and had a million questions running through his mind.

How did he get back?

Oh, maybe he had worn himself out and came home.

“Dingdong.” Shen Gali’s phone rang.

With his eyes still closed, he fished his phone out of his pocket and slowly cracked one eye open.

It was an exam notice from the counselor.

It informed him to bring his student ID at the end of the month for the graduation exam and the major retake exam. If he failed even one subject in the end, he wouldn’t get his degree certificate.

Across the table, Nan Liujing sipped his coffee slowly, reading his magazine as usual without looking up, and said nonchalantly:

“So you do know you can turn your phone’s ringer on.”

“The class group said the exam notice would be sent today.” Shen Gali switched his phone to silent mode with a click.

Nan Liujing’s hand, which was flipping through the magazine, suddenly froze.

What did he mean by that? Was his exam more important than my call?

When he looked at the exam content, Shen Gali felt like his head was spinning.

If English and Marxist philosophy were still manageable, the ISTQB certification exam… was probably doomed.

Other schools didn’t require it, but a prestigious school like Jinhai University always treated the ISTQB certification exam as an important part of the graduation exam for computer science students, determining whether they could get their degree certificate.

And in future job hunting, what mattered wasn’t the diploma but whether you had the degree certificate.

Plus, the exam registration fee… fifteen hundred yuan. If you failed, you’d have to pay the full fee again to retake it.

These past few days, by skimming a little off the top, he had barely saved up one thousand yuan. His grand dream of an afterlife garden still hadn’t come true, and now that thousand yuan was gone. He’d have to scrape together another five hundred yuan.

Shen Gali finally remembered his good-for-nothing husband.

He looked at Nan Liujing with a distant look and reached out his hand without hesitation: "Give me money."

"What for?" Nan Liujing asked.

"Professional exam registration fee, fifteen hundred."

Nan Liujing said flatly: "Isn't your family rich? You haven't saved up fifteen hundred in all these years?"

Shen Gali wanted to ask how the original owner hadn't saved up even fifteen hundred. Even if the original owner spent money like water, where was the bride price? Where was the dowry? Could it be he was the one who paid the dowry?

Tch.

Although his foster father had given him a card, it was ultimately meant for the original owner. He couldn't touch it. What if the original owner came back one day and ended up being kicked out by the villain and starved to death on the street?

But on second thought, he was taking the exam for the original owner, so it was only fair that he paid the registration fee.

But...

He had completely forgotten which corner he had stuffed the bank card into.

He'd ask once. If not, then forget it.

Shen Gali withdrew his hand and went back to lying face down.

Nan Liujing didn't continue the topic either. He put down his empty cup and called Uncle Li to push him out the door for work.

Shen Gali returned to his room to try to find that bank card, but he turned the room upside down, wearing himself out, and still couldn't find any trace of the bank card.

He lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, breathing slowly.

What did passing or failing the exam matter to him? He didn't even plan to live long. Whatever happened in the future, it all came down to luck.

But he could still remember his mother holding his hand on her deathbed, eyes glistening with tears:

"Mom's biggest regret is not being able to see you take graduation photos in your cap and gown. Promise me, once your health gets better, you have to go back to school and continue your studies."

His mother had always stressed that education was important; it was her only wish for him.

If she knew he had been lying in a hospital bed for three years, would she feel sad?

Shen Gali slowly sat up and pulled out the original owner's textbooks.

Opening the first page of the National Computer Application Exam—

His scalp tingled.

Just then, the alarm went off, so he had to get dressed and head out.

The house was quiet when he left. Uncle Li was off somewhere; he didn't see him.

Just like last time, to save two yuan on the bus, Shen Gali walked under the scorching sun on his own two legs.

It was now July, the hottest time of the year. The cicadas were chirping nonstop, the air was stiflingly hot, and the asphalt road seemed about to melt. Walking on it felt like treading on cotton.

Shen Gali strolled slowly along the roadside. His thin beige shirt was soaked with sweat, revealing the color of his skin underneath.

He hated the sun and hated exercise, but if he didn't do this, trouble would come looking for him later.

Better to take care of it once and for all.

Half an hour before the agreed time, Shen Gali arrived early at the same coffee shop where he had met Hein last time. Just like last time, he rubbed the dirt off the soles of his shoes on the carpet before heading inside and finding a booth.

He didn't know what kind of person SUN was, but he guessed it might be a woman, probably not that young, and her family was well-off.

Shortly after sitting down, Shen Gali saw a pretty girl in a white dress walking straight toward him. Her eyes, whether from eyeshadow or something else, looked sparkling.

The girl walked up to him, shyly took out her phone: "Hi, I've been watching you for a while. I'm working up the courage to ask for your contact info. Is that okay?"

Shen Gali: ...

He pointed to his mouth and waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh... I see, sorry." The girl apologized awkwardly and didn't dare stay long, returning to her seat.

What a shame—such a handsome face, but he couldn't speak.

Getting up early was tiring. After waiting ten minutes, Shen Gali felt drowsy. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and dozed off.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Huanhai Electronics.

Two secretaries were chatting in the break room.

Secretary Yan looked worried: "Do you think I should jump ship?"

"What's wrong?"

"Have you noticed that President Nan has been taking time off a lot lately? Sometimes he leaves before the end of the day, and today he's not coming in at all. Is the company really in trouble?"

"The president is different from us office workers. We have to be at our desks from 9 to 5 on the dot. He has a busy schedule."

"Even so, he wasn't like this before. When he was the chief financial officer before getting married, he was famously a workaholic, practically living at the company. But after marriage, he changed."

"Oh, stop worrying. It's normal for him to want to spend time with his wife."

Secretary Yan had a crying-cat face. Another day without getting to feast her eyes on the president's stunning looks.

*

Outside, the sun was bright, and the sound of cicadas was like a downpour. Inside, the air conditioning was blowing directly at Shen Gali.

At nine fifty, SUN still hadn't shown up.

Shen Gali sighed. Having to wait—a true test of patience—was torture for him, but he was too lazy to take out his phone and ask SUN where he was. He simply closed his eyes and curled up in a corner of the couch, half asleep.

"Knock, knock." Suddenly, someone tapped lightly on the table in front of him.

Shen Gali slowly opened his eyes—

...

A tall, well-built man, estimated to be over 190 cm tall, wearing a simple white shirt. Light-colored straight-leg jeans made his long, straight legs stand out. His shirt was tucked into his belt, emphasizing his lean, straight waist and hips.

But for some reason, he wore a black baseball cap pulled down low, revealing the top half of a pair of sunglasses and a white mask, completely covering his face.

Shen Gali was startled by the man's getup and instinctively pulled back.

The man pulled out his phone, tapped lightly on the screen, and then showed it to Shen Gali:

"Are you Tieniu Ju?"

Shen Gali nodded, looking at the man warily. "Are you... SUN?"

The man nodded and typed a message for Shen Gali to see:

"Sorry, I recently had vocal cord surgery and am still recovering. I can't speak, but is it okay if we communicate through typing?"

"Whatever..."

Who would have thought that SUN, who came across as such a cool, mature woman in the game, was actually a man.

The world is terrifying.

SUN sat down across from him. A waiter came over with the menu, but SUN waved his hand, indicating he didn't need it, and gestured for Shen Gali to order whatever he wanted to drink.

Shen Gali didn't feel like having anything either, so he casually ordered the cheapest drink on the menu, a cheese Frappuccino.

SUN typed for him to see: "What are your plans next, or is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

To be honest, Shen Gali had no plans. He just wanted to capture some intimate evidence of the two of them together, so that one day he could "accidentally" let Nan Liujing discover it, make him fly into a rage, get locked in a dark room, and if possible, get a divorce. That would be ideal.

Just then, the waiter brought over the Frappuccino he had ordered.

"Sir, our coffee chain recently got a new brand ambassador. She's launched a dessert she created herself. All the customers who've tried it rave about it, and the price is very reasonable. Would you like to give it a try?"

Shen Gali waved his hand dismissively.

Spending twenty yuan on a Frappuccino was already stretching his budget. He still had no idea how he was going to earn back that fifteen-hundred-yuan registration fee, so naturally he had to save wherever he could.

The waiter smiled politely, said nothing more, and headed to the front counter to instruct a colleague to pick up the roll-up banner of the new ambassador from the print shop.

Shen Gali pulled out his phone, set up the camera on its stand, pretending nothing was happening, then lowered his voice and said to SUN:

"We've known each other for a while now, so... feed me."

SUN: ?

What was the logical connection between knowing each other for a while and feeding him?

But seeing the phone set up on the stand, he understood.

What kind of trick was he pulling now?

He had to admit, setting the phone up like that to secretly film was way too obvious. Anyone who wasn't blind could tell. He might as well just shove it in his face.

SUN let out a cold laugh, picked up the small spoon, scooped up a bit of the ice cream from the top, propped his chin on one hand, and casually brought the spoon to Shen Gali's lips.

Shen Gali opened his mouth. Ah—

Suddenly, SUN pulled the spoon back a little.

Shen Gali paused, leaned forward slightly, and opened his mouth again. Ah—

Just as his lips were about to touch the spoon, SUN pulled his hand back again.

Shen Gali clenched his fist, leaned across the table, stretched forward as much as he could, and opened his mouth. Ah—

SUN spun the spoon in his fingers, pulling it back once more, finally stopping near his own face.

Shen Gali: ?

Something felt off.

This time, he had to stand up and lean his upper body over the table just to reach the spoon.

Whatever. Ah—

"Splat."

Just as he was about to reach the spoon, a cold sensation landed on the tip of his nose.

The ice cream on the spoon was gone. His nose had eaten it.

Shen Gali: ???

Through the sunglasses and mask, he couldn't see SUN's expression, but he could be sure—this guy was messing with him.

Shen Gali slowly sat back down, eyeing him sideways. The murderous look in his eyes was unmistakable.

SUN typed for him to see: "Just kidding. But why did you want me to feed you?"

Shen Gali replied, "I wanted to get a little closer to you."

SUN raised an eyebrow, scooped up another spoonful of ice cream, leaned forward to make sure the phone could capture the shot, and brought the spoon to Shen Gali's lips.

This time, Shen Gali was smarter. He grabbed the spoon handle firmly, pressed it down, and gobbled up the ice cream in one big bite.

The phone should have captured that, right?

Mission accomplished. So tired. Time to go home.

"Suddenly remembered I left the gas on at home. I'm heading back. Bye."

With that, he got up to leave.

Just then, the electronic "Welcome" chime rang out as the door opened. The employee who had gone to pick up the roll-up banner had returned.

Shen Gali, turning to leave, collided with him head-on.

The next second, Shen Gali froze, his eyes widening as he stared at the roll-up banner, almost to the point of straining.

Was he seeing things? Or was it an illusion?

He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

The roll-up banner featured a woman. She wore a white, pleated sleeveless top, her glossy brown hair in soft waves gently swept to one side, revealing a dangling earring on one ear. Her facial features were soft, slender but not bony.

She held a small spoon with half a strawberry in it, her neck tilted slightly, flashing a radiant, flower-like smile at the camera.

And in the bottom right corner of the banner was a line of small text:

"Baifei Coffee Brand Ambassador: Bai Wei"

Behind him, the murmurs of other customers reached his ears: "Bai Wei can be called a legendary goddess in the circle, can't she? She's been famous for so many years. Debut at nineteen, had a child at twenty-two, and now in her forties, she still looks like a young girl. So beautiful."

"Having a child didn't even affect her career. She's a goddess."

"But according to the law of conservation of energy, if your career is hot, your marriage is unlucky. Still, her ex-husband is also impressive. Isn't he the president of some university?"

"It's more than just an unlucky marriage. She has two sons, one missing and the other died young. Anyone would find that unbearable."

Shen Gali didn't catch what the people behind him were saying; his attention was completely locked onto the woman in the photo.

Mom... Mom?

The woman in the photo was his mother, no doubt about it.

The same eyes and eyebrows, the same name, even her likes and dislikes were pretty much the same.

Mom was also really into this kind of pleated sleeveless top because she had straight shoulders and slender arms, so this type of clothing really showed off her best features.

It's Mom, sniff sniff.

Shen Gali stared blankly at the photo; it felt like a meteor had slammed into Earth, exploding into a series of mushroom clouds inside him.

He was dazed, thinking: But this is a world inside a book, Mom passed away over three years ago, how can that be? Is this a dream?

Thinking this, he raised his hand and gave his cheek a hard pinch.

It didn't hurt.

But it wasn't a dream either.

His feet moved toward it almost on their own, and he raised his hand to touch the woman in the photo.

The staff member stopped him in time, with an awkward smile, "Sorry, sir, you're not allowed to touch this. Are you a fan of Bai Wei? You can try the desserts she personally created; they're really delicious."

From the staff member, he heard this woman's name and confirmed once again that she was called Bai Wei, the same name as his mother.

After the shock faded, a strong sense of bitterness surged up; the bridge of his nose stung and ached, stimulating tears to fall silently.

He wanted to see her.

An urgent, intense longing surged inside him.

"You can come again tomorrow. Tomorrow Ms. Bai Wei will be here in person for a meet-and-greet," the staff member reminded, seeing that Shen Gali was completely spellbound.

"What time?" Shen Gali whipped his head around.

"5 PM," the staff member smiled. "So, want to try some of Ms. Bai Wei's desserts?"

"Yes." Without a second thought, he reached for his wallet.

But after fishing around in his pockets, he only pulled out one coin. Not nearly enough.

SUN had been watching from the sidelines for a while. Although he didn't understand, he still got up to pay and typed out a message on his phone to show the staff: "I'll take one of every pastry Bai Wei made."

Shen Gali bowed deeply at a sharp ninety-degree angle to SUN: "Thank you!"

SUN typed to him: "'Thanks' doesn't mean much. How about repaying me with some real action? Come with me to the amusement park across the street later."

Shen Gali: …

He's really pushing it, but since moneybags was calling the shots, for his mom's little cakes, he'd put up with it.

Bai Wei had said in an interview that on days when she wasn't working, she liked to experiment with desserts at home; she had a huge sweet tooth.

These days, entertainment stars would wrap trash up like gold and sell it, and jack up the prices. So Bai Wei became a breath of fresh air.

She originally just experimented with desserts to satisfy her own cravings, but at a fan meet-and-greet, she personally made small cakes for fans. After tasting them, fans said they blew every dessert shop out of the water and urged Bai Wei to release the recipe so more people could enjoy this heavenly dessert.

And the price was super reasonable. Currently, handmade desserts cost at least ten or twenty bucks each, but Bai Wei insisted that the store sell them for just six yuan each. Every Sunday they dropped to four yuan and it was buy one get one free, basically paying out of her own pocket to make everyone happy. In this way, star products were no longer luxuries only the rich could afford.

Shen Gali looked at the table full of desserts. He heard that all of these cost only sixty yuan in total.

At other fancy coffee shops, that'd barely get you one slice.

SUN: "Want me to feed you?"

Shen Gali: "No, I want to eat them all myself. Nobody's getting any."

A mother's love isn't for sharing. *clenches fist*

SUN shook his head. In fact, he had no intention of competing with Shen Gali for food.

But sweet as the love was, a person's stomach has its limits.

Shen Gali ate two pieces and couldn't eat any more, so he planned to pack the rest and take them home to eat slowly.

While the staff member helped pack, he crouched in front of the banner, rested his chin on his hands, and just stared—

The staff member came over to hand him the packed desserts. Shen Gali pointed at the roll-up banner: "Can you sell it to me?"

"No, this is for store display and is not for sale."

Shen Gali: "Then can you give it to me?"

"Even less so... If you like it, you can go to a print shop and print a poster to put up at home."

The staff member thought secretly: Although Bai Wei is very likable, in terms of age, she could be his mother.

Before leaving, Shen Gali looked back repeatedly, reluctantly gazing at the roll-up banner again and again until SUN held up his phone for him to see:

"Didn't you say you wanted to get closer to me? Let's go to the amusement park together?"

Shen Gali: Who cares about you.

But the cakes were bought by SUN. Shen Gali didn't want to owe him this favor, so he had to go along with his wish, but they could make it quick.

"Do you usually watch horror movies?"

SUN: "No."

"Why?"

"Scared."

"Then let's go to the haunted house."

SUN: ...?

Shen Gali absentmindedly went to the amusement park with SUN.

At this moment, the black figure that had been hiding behind the greenery at the coffee shop entrance emerged, looked around, and using the crowd to conceal themselves, quietly followed the duo across the street.

Shen Gali and SUN entered the amusement park. The first thing they saw was a small kiosk selling souvenirs, with a stall set up in front displaying various animal ear hair clips.

SUN stopped and pointed at the animal ear hair clips on the stall.

Shen Gali was confused.

SUN picked up a little bear ear hair clip, used his free hand to pinch Shen Gali’s chin, pulled it forward, and deftly put the bear ears on his head.

SUN admired his work, the corner of his mouth curled into a faint smile beneath his mask.

On top of a slightly stunned and frightened face were two round bear ears that wobbled back and forth—though mismatched, they were adorably goofy.

Shen Gali raised a hand to cover the bear ears, feeling his social anxiety kick in; he sensed that passersby were all staring at him, and then snickering.

He hated this world, because it was probably full of weirdos.

“To the haunted house,” Shen Gali said curtly, wanting nothing more than to get this humiliating outing over with.

As the two turned around, a dark shadow darted past and flashed into a waist-high holly bush by the roadside.

The haunted house in the amusement park was still the same old style from years back. As soon as they entered, they saw a photo ripped from some horror movie plastered on the wall—a bloodied, gloomy woman sitting in a bathtub, blending into the eerie atmosphere of the haunted house, enough to scare the soul out of you at a glance.

Shen Gali covered his chest, couldn't stand looking any longer.

Once six people had gathered, the staff member asked: “Just to double-check, none of you here have heart disease, mental illness, or are pregnant, right?”

The group chorused: “No.”

Shen Gali felt his chest—no attack meant he was fine, and if he was fine, that meant no.

Hoping for the best, he and SUN stood at the back of the line, where the staff blindfolded them and led them inside.

When the staff informed them they could take off the blindfolds, an eerie tinkling surround-sound effect started, and the group was plunged into darkness.

“Aaaah!”

Even though the props were clearly fake, and they had only just entered, the scaredy-cats couldn’t help but scream, yelling, “Oh shit, I wanna go home!”

“Stop shouting, or I’ll make you lead the way!”

The moment those words were spoken, it went dead silent.

The corridor inside the haunted house was very narrow, so the group had to line up single file and follow the fluorescent arrows on the wall.

Since everyone was a scaredy-cat, progress was extremely slow. After walking for a long time, they only reached the corner. Although they were all mentally preparing for an NPC to pop out and scare them, the NPC didn’t appear, which only made them even more scared.

At the corner stood a wooden shrine, its window emitting an eerie green glow, accompanied by a strange smell that lingered in the airtight environment.

The person at the front claimed to be brave, but faced with this scene, even he hesitantly stopped.

The unknown is the source of all fear—not knowing what would happen next, whether he could take it, the more they thought, the more gutless they got, frozen at the corner, afraid to move.

The enclosed and warm environment made everyone drowsy.

Shen Gali had been standing for a while, his legs felt like lead—so tired, he just wanted to find somewhere to rest.

He didn’t want to wait any longer.

He left SUN behind at the back, squeezed through the extremely narrow passage beside him using his slim build, and strode ahead without even looking back, following the arrows.

The quiet shrine showed no sign of movement.

Seeing this, the group got a bit braver and were about to pass the shrine when—

“Aaaah, holy crap!”

Wailing combined with shrill screams erupted from all directions. As for what they saw, Shen Gali had no idea.

The law of haunted houses: the first to go is usually safe; the NPC relies on surprise.

Shen Gali stood at a crossroads, staring into the pitch-black darkness, confused.

Which way should he go?

Anywhere would do—he really needed to lie down for five minutes.

He randomly pushed open a door, and a dim yellow light lit up the room’s interior.

Peeling yellow wallpaper was coming off in big chunks, mottled and creepy. There was an old-fashioned square table and a wooden canopy bed, its curtains a blood red.

Shen Gali didn’t mind; he lifted the curtain and climbed onto the bed.

The old bed gave off a musty smell, but he couldn't care less. He only had one thought: let me crash for five minutes.

He wasn't just saying it.

Lying flat on the bed, he closed his eyes, looking peaceful.

After a while, his eyelids grew heavier, sleepiness washed over him, and he drifted off.

Meanwhile.

An NPC in a bloodstained white robe and long, straight black wig received a message from the previous NPC, telling him to get ready for his position.

He had heard that the latest group of people were even more cowardly than quails. Hehe, this would be fun—let me scare them out of their minds.

The NPC pushed open the door, crept over to the bed, pulled the curtain aside, and lay down inside. He imagined their faces twisted in terror—thrilling!

“Hoo—”

Suddenly, a clear exhalation came from right next to him.

NPC: ?

NPC: ?!

A chill shot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and an intense, creepy-crawly sensation spread across his back.

Someone.

There was someone next to him.

Was it… a person?

“Gulp.” He swallowed hard, his heart pounding fiercely.

Although he had been working as a part-timer in the haunted house for a while, he had heard colleagues say that haunted houses are actually very eerie places—the souls of frightened players all hang around there, staring at you.

Next to him... when did someone lie down beside him?

The NPC stared at the pattern on the ceiling above the bed, his eyes feeling rusty, making a strange “clicking” sound when he moved.

Finally, he shifted his gaze to the side.

A pale, ghastly face suddenly appeared!

"Fuck! Mom! Fuck, I want to go home!" The NPC scrambled in panic off the bed, crawling on all fours toward the door.

His legs were weak, his hands numb, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

Shen Gali, awakened by the commotion, slowly sat up.

What... happened?

He pulled back the curtain, revealing only his head to look over.

At that moment, the NPC happened to turn back to check—

The crimson curtain swayed like a waterfall of blood, and from the middle emerged a pale ghost face, just a head floating in midair, staring intently at him.

NPC: Let me think about how to write my last words.

The next second, he let out an even more terrified scream.

Shen Gali didn't know what the NPC was screaming about. He got off the bed and walked toward him to ask what was wrong.

"Don't... don't come closer, seriously, don't come closer. I'm actually a scaredy-cat. If you scare me into something, you'll be legally responsible..." The NPC curled up in the corner, not daring to lift his head, muttering incessantly.

Shen Gali looked at his outfit and thought, *You're way scarier, you know?*

"How do I get out?" Shen Gali asked.

"Across... across from you, there's a hidden door leading straight to the hall. I've told you everything, so don't come after me. We have no grudges, past or present, you..."

Before the NPC finished, Shen Gali opened the door and walked out.

Following the NPC's instructions, he opened the hidden door and saw the stunned expressions of the staff.

Shen Gali looked straight ahead, carrying his bag of pastries, and slipped out like a ghost.

He texted SUN: "I cleared it. I'm leaving."

Half an hour later, SUN finally returned to the hall amid the players' screams. In the hall, an NPC who hadn't even taken off his wig yet was crying to the boss about encountering a ghost, insisting that the boss find an exorcist to do a cleansing.

Boss: ?

SUN got his phone back and stared at the cold, heartless line of text, his fingers tightening suddenly.

Shen... Gali...

SUN strode swiftly, leaving the amusement park and crossing the street back to the coffee shop.

Sure enough, as anyone could have guessed, Shen Gali was there.

He was still wearing the bear-eared hair clip, crouching outside the floor-to-ceiling window, staring blankly at the roll-up banner of Bai Wei.

Forgetting the persona he had established of a damaged vocal cord, SUN strode over to Shen Gali: "You..."

Before he could finish, a large hand landed on his shoulder.

SUN turned his head to see a resolute, square-jawed face.

The square-jawed man's thick brows were tightly furrowed, a dark aura floating over his face, and he gritted his teeth: "Got you, huh? Who are you? State your name."

SUN: ?

Hearing the familiar voice, Shen Gali glanced over and saw Uncle Li pressing a hand on SUN's shoulder, with an expression that said, "I've seen this in five hundred episodes."

Whatever, he continued admiring his mom's gorgeous face.

SUN pushed his hand away and stepped back a few steps.

"You brat, you dare to set your sights on our young master's precious one? Even if he agrees, this old man here won't. I'm bringing you to see the young master today. You're doomed."

Hearing this, SUN suddenly turned and sprinted away.

Uncle Li saw this and thought, *Nice try, kid, trying to run? Don't you know that I, Li Dahai, was known as a track star in my youth?*

Uncle Li shot off in pursuit, but three seconds later—

He leaned against the wall, bent over, gasping heavily, watching the figure rapidly disappear into the crowd, and grumbled angrily: "Nice try, fast runner. Don't you let me catch you. I'll find out your real identity sooner or later."

Uncle Li gritted his teeth.jpg

After coaxing and tricking, he finally managed to get Shen Gali to go home. Uncle Li was still disgruntled, muttering all the way:

"Although the young master seems indifferent to you now, deep down he really cares about you."

Shen Gali: Oh.

"So you must never do anything to betray him. Tell me, who is that kid who's messing around with... no, who's making a move on you? I'll personally go to his house and check him out."

"I don't know." Shen Gali really didn't know the answer, and he wasn't interested in finding out.

"But don't worry, Uncle Li always keeps his mouth shut. I'll keep this to myself and not tell the young master, but I hope you'll be sensible and cut ties with that kid as soon as possible."

Shen Gali was irritated by his nagging, so he just nodded repeatedly.

But in his heart, he only cared about the roll-up banner.

Just then, they passed a toy store next to the coffee shop, and he saw a help-wanted ad hanging at the door.

They needed a part-timer to wear a mascot costume and hand out flyers, paying 300 a day, settled daily.

Tomorrow, he could see his mom. He needed to earn money to buy her a gift for their first meeting.

He jotted down the phone number on the help-wanted ad.

That night, Uncle Li, who had promised to keep his mouth shut, knocked on Nan Liujing's door.

*

After receiving permission, he entered the room carrying a bowl of milk-poached pear.

Nan Liujing was sitting at the computer as usual, the blue light from the screen reflecting off his glasses, making his already cold expression look even colder.

"Young master, take a break. Have some milk-poached pear," Uncle Li said cautiously.

"Put it there. I'll eat it later." Nan Liujing didn't look up, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Young master, sorry to bother you while you're working, but there's something I'm not sure I should bring up."

Nan Liujing: "If you're not sure, then don't."

Uncle Li: ...

Though the young master got the first word in, tight-lipped Uncle Li still had to speak.

"Actually, I was out running errands today and walked past the coffee shop on Huaihai Road, where I happened to see... Mr. Shen feeding dessert to some strange guy, all lovey-dovey."

Nan Liujing's hand froze.

Feeding each other?

This old man really loves to exaggerate.

"And later, I also saw them go to the amusement park together, wearing bear ear headbands, having the time of their lives."

Having the time of their lives...

Nan Liujing slowly took a deep breath, took off his glasses, and tiredly rubbed his brow: "What are you getting at?"

"From what I saw, that guy's tall and built like a thug, with shifty eyes and a ratty face—real creepy. Mr. Shen is young and naive; he's probably been fooled by his smooth talk." Uncle Li balled his bony fists as he said this.

Nan Liujing shot him a sideways glance.

Real creepy...

"Don't you worry, boss. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this and drag that no-good rat over here to face you." Uncle Li vowed solemnly, raising three fingers to swear by the lamp.

Nan Liujing shot him a sarcastic look, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Don't bother investigating."

"Why?! Are you just gonna swallow your pride and let some scumbag wreck your marriage?" Uncle Li was stunned.

Nan Liujing: ...

Scumbag...

"In any case, don't meddle. Don't make me repeat myself." Nan Liujing put on his glasses. "You may leave now. I still have work to do."

This old codger—I need to come up with a reason to cut his pay.