Chapter 62: Not a Good Person

“Not a good person: You can’t expect ivory from a dog’s mouth.”

“I’m going over there to buy tickets. You stay right here and wait for me obediently. No running off anywhere, got it?” Ji Yingran instructed her, still not entirely reassured.

Mu Ci rolled her eyes. “Naggy. Annoying.”

Ji Yingran pulled a handful of colorful candies from her pocket and stuffed them into Mu Ci’s hand. “Here, have some candy. Eat them slowly while you’re waiting, and don’t cause any trouble. Absolutely no trouble.”

Mu Ci stopped rolling her eyes. She cradled the pretty candies in her hands, her eyes lighting up a little brighter.

As expected, coaxing this wolf worked best with food—and only food.

The ticket booth was right next to them, just a few steps away, but Ji Yingran still couldn’t relax about leaving this wolf behind even for that short distance.

She was harder to manage than a child. Kids might be naughty, but they were limited by their size and strength, so the damage was minimal. This wolf, though? Utterly destructive, with a mouth that spewed insults. She could start a fight at any moment…

And worst of all, no one could beat her.

As Ji Yingran walked toward the ticket booth, she glanced back every few steps, her worry plain on her face. If only this one would listen for once.

But getting her to obey was a tall order. Ji Yingran had taken plenty of her barbs already. Hoping for good behavior was too much; not causing chaos would be thanks enough.

About ten people stood in line ahead of the ticket hall. Ji Yingran felt a twinge of impatience but had no choice except to join the end of the queue and shuffle forward slowly.

All the while, she kept stealing glances at the wolf not far away.

For now, Mu Ci wasn’t making trouble. She was unwrapping the candies one by one and tossing them into her mouth, bobbing her head happily as she savored them.

She probably wouldn’t stir until the candies were gone.

After five minutes, it was finally Ji Yingran’s turn.

“Two adult tickets, please,” Ji Yingran said.

The staff member inside the window replied, “Could you please provide your ID?”

Ji Yingran froze. She’d actually forgotten the most important thing. Every tourist spot that required tickets these days demanded identification.

She carried her own ID, of course, but that wolf? She didn’t have one. She wasn’t even technically human—where would she get an ID from?

Ji Yingran gave an awkward smile. “Sorry, I forgot mine. Can I buy tickets without ID?”

The staff member shook their head. “No ID, no tickets here. But you can book online with your real-name info.”

Ji Yingran nodded and stepped aside, not wanting to hold up the people behind her.

She glanced at the oceanarium’s grand entrance. The doors towered three meters high, carved with shells, sea creatures, and playful designs full of whimsy.

With a soft sigh, Ji Yingran looked away. What a wasted trip. Mu Ci had no ID and no real-name info for online booking either. They couldn’t get in offline or online.

Disappointment flickered through her, but she shook it off quickly. No big deal. On the drive over, she’d spotted a snack street nearby. Taking the wolf there might make her even happier than the oceanarium.

Mu Ci might not care about the aquarium, but food? That piqued her interest one hundred percent.

Ji Yingran turned to check on her—and her expression froze in shock. She scanned around frantically.

Mu Ci was gone.

It had only been a moment without eyes on her, and poof—vanished.

“Mu Ci!” Ji Yingran circled the area, calling her name repeatedly.

She searched for a good while but found no sign. Standing bewildered at the oceanarium’s entrance, her heart raced with anxiety.

Not having a phone made dealing with a wolf so inconvenient, especially one who vanished at the drop of a hat.

Once she found her this time, she had to get her a phone, no matter what. Otherwise, chasing her down every day would drive Ji Yingran insane…

“Boss Ji!”

Someone waved from nearby.

No wolf, but she’d run into an acquaintance.

The woman was about Ji Yingran’s age, with a short bob haircut and chubby cheeks dimpled by pear-shaped dimples when she smiled.

She was a regular at the bakery. They’d exchanged contacts after a few visits and occasionally liked each other’s social media posts.

The Bob-Cut Girl said, “Fancy running into you here! I was just going to ask—yesterday I wanted to grab some cake from your shop, but it was closed. Everything okay?”

Ji Yingran was too frantic about the wolf to chat much. She gave a polite reply: “Just a minor issue. Temporary closure.”

The Bob-Cut Girl opened her mouth to say more when a white shadow flashed by. Without warning, it rammed into her, knocking her back half a meter. She stumbled hard.

Ji Yingran staggered too.

The vanished Mu Ci had reappeared—and crashed right into both of them.

Once the Bob-Cut Girl steadied herself, she frowned deeply at the culprit. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

Ji Yingran righted herself, barely registering anything else before jumping in. “Sorry, she’s my friend. A bit clumsy—don’t mind her.”

The Bob-Cut Girl glanced at Mu Ci: silvery hair cascading down, delicate features, but something about her felt… off-putting.

“Oh, your friend? She looks pretty young. Just turned eighteen?”

Ji Yingran eyed Mu Ci. Appearance-wise, she did seem around seventeen or eighteen. Personality-wise, more like three. Actual age? She’d let slip once at the barbecue place—something over a thousand.

Ji Yingran couldn’t exactly say that. She chuckled awkwardly. “Yeah, she’s young.”

Mu Ci didn’t contradict her, but she planted herself firmly between Ji Yingran and the Bob-Cut Girl.

Ji Yingran was starting to get it. This wolf hated her getting close to anyone. If she saw it happen, she’d barge right in between.

It wasn’t the first time. Once, when Ji Yingran had stood a bit too near their neighbor Yu Chujin, Mu Ci had rammed them apart. Then with her childhood friend arm-in-arm—same thing. Later with Lady Ou—again. And now with the Bob-Cut Girl…

The wolf’s behavior was straightforward: No one else got too close to Ji Yingran. She wouldn’t say it outright; she’d just crash in.

The Bob-Cut Girl said, “You here for the oceanarium too? Me too. My friend’s buying tickets. Want to go together?”

Ji Yingran waved it off. “We were planning to, but I forgot my ID.”

The Bob-Cut Girl looked regretful. “Aw, too bad. Next time, let’s plan something.”

Ji Yingran smiled and nodded.

The Bob-Cut Girl tried for more small talk, but with the silver-haired woman stubbornly wedged between them, the mood fizzled. She waved goodbye and left.

Once she was gone, Ji Yingran grabbed Mu Ci. “Where’d you run off to? I told you to stay put. Can you behave for once? You’re over a thousand years old—a demon, no less—and yet you vanish the second I look away, like a little kid.”

Mu Ci ignored her, her gaze fixed on something in the distance.

Ji Yingran followed her line of sight.

The Bob-Cut Girl stood under a tree, head down, thumbs flying across her phone screen as she typed furiously—probably chatting.

“Why are you staring at her?” Ji Yingran asked, puzzled.

“She’s not a good person,” Mu Ci said.

Ji Yingran blinked, then laughed lightly. “Don’t like the look of her, huh? Though, come to think of it, who have you ever liked? You don’t even like me.”

Mu Ci turned away. “You ignorant human. I say she’s not a good person, so she’s not.”

“Fine, whatever you say.” Ji Yingran brushed it off and changed the subject. “No ID means no oceanarium, but don’t be disappointed. We’ll hit the snack street next door instead. You know snack street, right? Tons of good eats there.”

Food was usually the magic word for a wolf—her eyes would light right up.

But not this time. Mu Ci’s eyes stayed dull, her attention elsewhere.

“Sad we can’t go in?” Ji Yingran soothed. “No big loss. Nothing worth seeing inside anyway.”

Normally, the wolf would’ve snapped back with a “Who’s sad?” or something.

But she didn’t. Just a faint “Mm.”

Strange. Very strange.

Ji Yingran studied Mu Ci’s face, trying to puzzle it out, but got nowhere. It didn’t seem like disappointment over the aquarium. She was just… distracted.

Inside the oceanarium restroom.

The Bob-Cut Girl touched up her makeup in the mirror, her friend standing beside her.

“That woman you said hi to earlier—she’s the one you mentioned, right? The homewrecker who broke up a family?” her friend asked.

“Yeah, that’s her. Total shameless type.”

“She looks so gentle, though. Doesn’t seem the type.”

The Bob-Cut Girl kept applying her lipstick without pause, but her tone was utterly certain. “You can’t judge by appearances. That’s classic playing innocent to fool people. That villa she lives in, the fifty-grand-plus car she drives, even her bakery—they’re all perks from being someone’s mistress. Dirty money.”

She snapped the lipstick shut and pursed her lips. “You don’t know the half of it. She got beaten up in public by the wife once—clothes ripped right off. Don’t let her proper act fool you now. She’s loose underneath.”

Her friend let out a surprised “Huh?” “If you hadn’t pointed it out, I really wouldn’t have noticed. So that’s what she’s really like behind closed doors.”

The bob-cut girl replied, “How could you not see it? She’s just a girl, but she owns a bakery that huge, drives a car that fancy, and lives in a villa. Where do you think all that money comes from?”

Her friend frowned, sensing the sour edge to her words…

At the same time, a cold voice drifted in from outside the restroom.

“You can’t expect anything decent to come out of a dog’s mouth.”

The bob-cut girl frowned and turned toward the source of the voice.

Mu Ci stood at the restroom door, idly twirling a strand of silver hair around her finger. Her golden, bewitching eyes fixed on them as she tilted her head with a mocking half-smile.