As long as she reached the mission location by eight o’clock, it was fine. Zhao Mingyue wasn’t in a hurry to go now. Her afternoon was free, and she wanted to take Bai Yu to a nearby park to sit and relax. The sun was strong today, but it should be fine as long as they used an umbrella, right?
Back home, Zhao Mingyue rummaged around and took out the clothes she had bought last time, now washed and cleaned.
She had Bai Yu pick something from the selection. Bai Yu looked them over.
She had to admit, this was a bit difficult for her. To her, these clothes were all fundamentally the same—all in a cute style, but none of them suited her.
These clothes were meant for girls of fifteen or sixteen.
Wearing them herself would be more or less inappropriate.
The main issue was that they were almost all skirts, and as everyone knew, skirts were highly unsuitable for combat.
And for the few items that weren’t skirts, she found them too ugly—take those ripped jeans, for example.
Anyway, she couldn’t understand why, as people’s lives got better, the pants they bought were so tattered and torn.
“Have you chosen?” Zhao Mingyue stood to the side, eyes sparkling with anticipation for Bai Yu’s choice.
She had picked out all these clothes herself. Every single piece perfectly matched Bai Yu’s temperament. Once she put them on, her cuteness level would skyrocket.
One could question her strength, doubt her character, but one absolutely could not question her taste!
“Not yet. You pick one for me.” After a long pause, Bai Yu spoke.
Wearing clothes was still necessary. Judging by Zhao Mingyue’s expression, she was definitely going to drag her out.
Sunlight wasn’t lethal to her, but it did have an effect. Intense sunlight would deplete her resentment energy. Wearing clothes could cover her body and block the sun. Combined with an umbrella, it was tolerable.
“Alright!” Zhao Mingyue had barely agreed before she snatched up a dress from the bed. She didn’t hesitate for a second; it was clearly a premeditated choice, just waiting for Bai Yu to say those words.
The dress in her hands was primarily black with white accents. Its overall style was relatively subdued—unremarkable at first glance, but more appealing the longer you looked. So, after picking the dress, she also pulled out the black stockings she’d bought at the same time.
Bai Yu’s body type leaned towards the petite. Hmm, petite in black stockings.
When Zhao Mingyue brought out the stockings, Bai Yu immediately refused. Then, Zhao Mingyue gave her a reason she couldn’t find any argument against.
Only by wearing stockings could she cover her calves. The alternative was makeup, which was too much trouble.
Bai Yu had never cared much about her appearance. She hadn’t complained last time she wore the white stockings, so this time she simply let Zhao Mingyue fuss over her. Zhao Mingyue parted her long hair into two low pigtails draped behind her, securing them with two large red butterfly bows—a classic cute-style hairstyle.
The strange smile on Zhao Mingyue’s face grew wider. She attempted to take a picture with her phone but was stopped by Bai Yu.
“This really suits you so well.”
Circling Bai Yu, Zhao Mingyue realized she didn’t even need the sunglasses this time. Bai Yu could now control her originally pure-black eyes and revert them, though they were still a dark red instead of black. The whites of her eyes had returned to normal, so she could just say she was wearing colored contacts. No one should suspect anything.
“I’ve realized that just ‘cute’ isn’t quite right. It has to be an icy kind of cute. That’s what suits you!”
The classical black dress, black hair, dark red pupils, a cold, aloof expression, paired with that disdainful, haughty little look of hers that made people feel like insects—it was a perfect match.
Downstairs, Zhao Mingyue held an umbrella and stood beside Bai Yu, looking like a butler waiting to escort a young miss home from school.
“Let me introduce you: this is my cousin, Zhao Ruoxi.” Zhao Mingyue spoke with a smiling face. Lu Liangting, who was standing next to the luxury car, felt his eyes light up at Bai Yu’s outfit.
But a moment later, he caught himself. What cousin? This was clearly Bai Yu!
He didn’t stare for long, getting into the driver’s seat.
While he could admire Bai Yu’s cuteness, his mind was completely occupied by another question.
How could a Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost of Bai Yu’s level let Zhao Mingyue dress her up like this?
Bai Yu’s usual demeanor didn’t seem like the type who enjoyed cute styles. So this entire outfit must have been Zhao Mingyue’s doing.
‘Their relationship is really good.’
As the car started moving, Lu Liangting couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Look at how she handled her relationship with a fierce ghost. Then look at himself.
The difference was immediately obvious.
But he couldn’t entirely blame himself. Every ghost was different. Maybe Bai Yu was just particularly doting towards Zhao Mingyue. If it were him, she’d have pulled a knife and stabbed him first thing.
Forget Bai Yu—even Old Yang, the Red-Clothed ghost hiding in his shadow, would probably ignore him completely if he said, “I bought you some new clothes, a really handsome suit. Come take a walk with me.”
Glancing in the rearview mirror at the backseat, he saw Zhao Mingyue glued to Bai Yu’s side, whispering something. Bai Yu’s face was expressionless, but she wasn’t resisting. She was listening intently, occasionally nodding or tilting her head to murmur a reply.
He even saw Zhao Mingyue take one half of a Yin-Yang Fish Jade Pendant from Bai Yu’s hand and personally fasten it around Bai Yu’s neck.
Bai Yu did the same, taking the other half from Zhao Mingyue and fastening it on her.
The two yin-yang fish were clearly a matched pair, one belonging to each.
Lu Liangting ground his back teeth involuntarily, then relaxed them a moment later, sighing helplessly.
This was truly something he couldn’t envy.
Just what kind of luck would he need to have, to draw a ghost like Zhao Mingyue’s “Bai Yu”?
But then again, even if he did draw a Red-Clothed ghost, it would end up being fed to Bai Yu anyway.
He mentally marveled again at how good their relationship was. Still, no matter how he looked at it, something felt… odd. It was starting to seem less like a sisterly bond…
At the park, Bai Yu held her own black parasol and strolled along a small path with Zhao Mingyue.
Lu Liangting didn’t follow. He told Zhao Mingyue he’d wait in the car.
He wouldn’t intrude on their atmosphere. He simply played the role of a driver.
Watching the two graceful figures walk away, Lu Liangting leaned back in his seat, his heart a tangled mess. He tried his best not to look at Bai Yu, because he couldn’t quite understand his own feelings toward her.
He didn’t know if it was romantic affection. He kept telling himself not to overthink it, that it was just gratitude.
“Gratitude is still a kind of feeling, right…” Squinting his eyes, Lu Liangting was about to take a nap when he spotted something.
Two vans had turned into the park and parked nearby.
Twelve men in total piled out of the two vehicles. They looked like local thugs and hooligans.
Lu Liangting sat up, frowning deeply. He noticed that these thugs were all carrying weapons—stun batons, knives. One even held a long object wrapped in cloth, which was clearly a machete.
“What are those guys doing here?”
It was half past one in the afternoon. The park was nearly deserted; most people had gone home.
“Here for a fight? No, I’d better go check. Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu are still over there.”
Before Lu Liangting could even get out of the car, his phone rang.
“Hello? What is it?”
“Lu Liangting, where are you right now?” Xia Qingrong’s voice came through.
“Out.”
“Come home, quickly! Something happened at home!”
“Something happened?”
“You’ll find out when you get here. Someone’s looking for trouble with your father. You’re the future head of the family, after all. You need to help out with these things. You can’t just idle around outside all day.”
The call was hung up on her end. Lu Liangting sat in the car, silent.
Should he follow those dozen thugs to see what was happening, or use this time to go home?
Something felt off. Why was there trouble at home at this exact moment?
Besides, his father usually wouldn’t involve him in family affairs. Even if something urgent came up, his father would call him personally, not rely on his stepmother.
To be safe, Lu Liangting called his father. The phone rang and rang, but no one picked up.
“No answer?”
He hung up and called again. Still no answer. He decided to call Gardenia next.
“Gardenia.” The call connected quickly.
“Young Master, how may I help you?”
“What’s going on at home?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know. My sister and I are out purchasing some things. The Madam said there are important guests to entertain tonight.”
“Important guests? Did she say who?”
“No, I don’t know. You know the Madam wouldn’t tell me or my sister these things, young master.”
“Fine.”
Sitting in the car, Lu Liangting stared in the direction the dozen thugs had gone. After thinking it over, he decided he should at least inform Zhao Mingyue, then rush home and come back as quickly as possible.
What Lu Liangting didn’t know was that, two blocks away, Xia Qingrong was putting down her phone right at that moment.
Sitting beside her, Sun Hanyue was dumbfounded.
Just moments ago, the male lead’s mother had dispatched men to hunt down the female lead—all because of one thing she had said.
Did this woman not even bother to verify the information?
What if she had been lying?
This was a human life. They were just going to kill her on a whim?
It hadn’t even been two hours, and this old woman had already arranged everything.
She had absolutely no scruples. A human life meant nothing to her.
Well, it wasn’t Sun Hanyue’s place to judge. She didn’t value human life either.
But the problem was… could you at least watch who you’re sending people to kill?!
She had clearly told this woman that Zhao Mingyue was the Number One Killer, someone who could easily slaughter all her men. Why didn’t she believe it?
And… surely she wasn’t doing this in front of her to establish dominance, was she?
Could she be trying to intimidate her?
No… no way, right?
If she sent these men after the Doctor, the best Sun Hanyue could do was give her a thumbs up and inwardly call her a moron.
Sun Hanyue now more or less understood Xia Qingrong’s thinking. This woman had money and power. To her, killing a poor orphan girl with no background was indeed too easy, too simple. But if she thought she was playing some grand strategic game, then there was really nothing more to say.
She had tried to warn her. It was useless. The old woman just had a smug ‘watch and learn’ look on her face.
Sigh, today was truly unlucky. She could only hope the Doctor wouldn’t trace this back to her.
“Meow~”
A small black cat was sprawled on a bench, basking in the sun. Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu happened to wander by.
They had been strolling the park for twenty minutes. Zhao Mingyue was just thinking of finding a spot to sit and rest.
“Little Sister Yu, maybe we…” Zhao Mingyue started, then suddenly noticed Bai Yu had stopped walking. She turned back to see Bai Yu standing still, her head turned towards the stray black kitten on the bench.
Zhao Mingyue blinked, her gaze shifting between Bai Yu and the kitten.
The little coal ball was filthy, having crawled into who-knows-where. It was very young, perhaps only four or five months old, and its body was terribly thin.
Its black fur was puffed up and still it looked so thin. Just how frail was its little body?
As she watched it lick its fur, Zhao Mingyue was surprised to see that its large, round eyes were a brilliant sky-blue, pure as a gem.
‘Such a beautiful kitten, and someone abandoned it?’
‘But come to think of it… is Bai Yu a cat lover?’
‘That would explain it. Earlier, when we saw those other kittens, Bai Yu had asked if she had any food on her.’
“Hey, Little Sister Yu.” Zhao Mingyue waved to get Bai Yu’s attention. She whispered, “There’s a vending machine over there with drinks and snacks. I’ll go buy some water and ham sausages!”
Bai Yu nodded quickly without a word.
Zhao Mingyue jogged off to buy the snacks. Bai Yu slowly approached, trying to make contact with the kitten lying on the bench.
Surprisingly, the kitten didn’t run. It stared at her with its wide, round blue eyes, intensely curious.
Bai Yu crouched halfway in front of the bench and reached out a hand to touch it. But just as her hand extended, she seemed to remember something. It paused mid-air, and she withdrew it.
She was a ghost. The kitten was so frail. It was better not to touch it.
“Always be cautious. Don’t trust anyone,” Bai Yu murmured softly.
She remembered the cats Bai Sisi had raised back then. They had all died because they trusted humans too much.
“Meow~”
The kitten stood up and stretched.
Suddenly, at that moment—
“That’s her!”
A sharp shout came from nearby. Several men wielding weapons came running over quickly. Startled by the shout, the kitten bolted.
Bai Yu’s hand shot out, but hesitating because she was a ghost, she didn’t grab the cat. She could only watch helplessly as the kitten fled. But, as ill luck would have it, it ran straight toward three more men charging over.
The kitten darted away, finding itself in an open space, surrounded on all sides. It was only four or five months old.
“Get out of the way, damn it.”
The yellow-haired leader took a massive swing with his foot. The kitten was punted away with a sickening impact.
“Where is she? Where’s that woman?”
Bai Yu stood up. Silent, faint black qi emanating from her body, she clenched her small fists tightly.
