Chapter 2

After listening to Li Xiuya’s account, Zhu Ming pressed the now-lukewarm teacup back into her hands. The woman drank it to the last drop. Soothed by the hot water, some color returned to her pale, cold hands.

“I understand the situation roughly.” Zhu Ming scratched her head. Waking up in the middle of the night had left her hair a mess. “But I have two more questions.”

“What questions?” Li Xiuya’s heart leaped with fear, afraid the other woman would say it couldn’t be solved.

“First, have you called the police?”

Li Xiuya said, “I did. When the police came, everything was normal. They didn’t find anything.”

Zhu Ming raised a second finger, her smile growing wider and brighter. “Good. Then second, before we solve the problem, we need to clarify our fee schedule!”

With a smack, Zhu Ming slapped a contract onto the table. “Our Little Fire God Strange News Studio is renowned for transparent pricing, responsible work, excellent service, and booming business! Not long ago, we were even collectively thanked in person by our clients…”

Her sole employee, Yun Zouchuan: “…?”

If she recalled correctly, the last client was that old lady from two months ago. After the issue was resolved, egged on by her family, she reneged and not only came to cause trouble demanding a refund but even called the police to arrest them as “shaman fraudsters.”

Luckily, their studio had a legitimate business license and was specifically registered with the Public Security Bureau, otherwise things would have ended badly.

Yun Zouchuan watched silently, not exposing the Boss’s boasting. After all, if payment didn’t come in soon, her salary might be in jeopardy.

Li Xiuya was dizzy listening to this. The contract listed nighttime dispatch fees, emotional distress fees, physical exertion fees… Her eyes blurred.

Zhu Ming picked up a pen and wrote a number on a blank line: 50000.

“Based on your account, the danger level of this anomaly isn’t too high, so we’ll only charge a fifty-thousand handling fee, plus a total of three thousand two hundred in other expenses. That’s fifty-three thousand two hundred total. A fifty percent deposit, twenty-six thousand six hundred, is required upfront. The remainder is paid after the matter is resolved. If you’re okay with this, you can sign and transfer the funds.”

In truth, she’d based this assessment on the residual aura clinging to Li Xiuya. It was quite faint, indicating low danger.

Li Xiuya took the pen and signed her name without hesitation. “As long as the problem is solved, I can pay immediately.”

Fifty thousand wasn’t a small sum for an ordinary family, but when it involved supernatural forces and their very lives, it didn’t seem so expensive. She just wondered if these two young, pretty women were actually capable. The impression she had of people in this profession was either white-bearded old men or spirit mediums.

Zhu Ming glanced at her name, her demeanor growing incredibly warm. “Don’t worry, Miss Li. We do the job for the money; we’ll definitely make sure you’re satisfied. Give us a moment to change.”

It was a coincidence—everyone had been jolted awake and immediately acted. All three were still wearing their sleepwear.

Soon, Zhu Ming came back down dressed entirely in black. Black shirt, black trousers, Martin Boots. Her hair was combed neater, her bangs parted to reveal a smooth forehead. Even at this early hour, she looked sharp and energetic.

Seeing her like this, Li Xiuya felt much more at ease, but…

“We’re going right now?” The thought of returning to that terrifying home filled her with dread.

To a Financial Backer, Zhu Ming’s attitude was always as warm as summer. “Sooner is better than later for these things. Don’t be afraid; we’ll protect you.”

The moment the door swung open, the waiting night eagerly rushed in with rain and wind. The cold draft facing her blew Zhu Ming’s newly smoothed hair astray again, adding a touch of untamed spirit to her aura. She picked up the cloth-wrapped, rod-like object leaning by the door. “Let’s go.”

Li Xiuya looked at the item in her hand with awe. “Is that a Magic Artifact for catching Ghosts?”

Zhu Ming hesitated. “Sort of. It’s just handy.”

Yun Zouchuan had also changed into sportswear suitable for action. The two flanked Li Xiuya as they got into the car. Li Xiuya had left in a rush, bringing only her keys. She was still wearing slippers.

Zhu Ming decided to drive. She set the navigation and drove through the pouring rain.

About half an hour later, the car stopped in front of Li Xiuya’s apartment building.

Peony Estate? Property prices here were high. It seemed their financial situation was quite good.

“I live on the twelfth floor.” The elevator light was on, the red arrow on the display changing slowly. With a ding, the elevator stopped.

The door to apartment 1201 was tightly shut. Li Xiuya took out her key to unlock it. Her hand trembled violently, missing the keyhole several times.

“Let me.”

Zhu Ming stepped forward, took the key, and gestured for Li Xiuya to stand behind her. She and Yun Zouchuan positioned themselves front and back, sandwiching Li Xiuya in the middle.

Li Xiuya withdrew her hand and rubbed her fingers, a hint of suspicion on her face. She’d accidentally touched Zhu Ming’s hand just now, and her body temperature felt alarmingly hot.

The door was gently pushed open, scraping against the floor.

—

Zhu Ming felt something was wrong. She should have charged more.

The moment she stepped through that door, she was abruptly pulled back to a point in time seven years ago—her high school, a perfectly ordinary local school.

Zhu Ming had become her eighteen-year-old self, wearing a short, ill-fitting old school uniform, standing in the empty Corridor of the school building.

It was late at night. No students were here. The classroom lights were all off, only the sound-activated Corridor lights still on.

Zhu Ming looked around. The entire school was as silent as a graveyard.

Her thoughts were sluggish. She looked down at the blood on her hands, taking a moment to remember what she was supposed to do.

Oh, right. She needed to go to the restroom and wash off the nosebleed.

Zhu Ming walked towards the restroom. As she walked, her head drooped, her face numb as if she couldn’t wake up.

Tap, tap, tap…

Footsteps echoed in the Corridor. Behind her, the lights turned off one section at a time. Zhu Ming entered the restroom, turned on the faucet, and began washing her face. The water quickly washed away the blood with its rusty, metallic smell from her nose and mouth.

But then, bang. Zhu Ming looked up and out, only to see the restroom door was locked from the outside.

No figure was visible. The last of the Corridor lights went out.

Zhu Ming turned off the faucet and shook her hands dry. She wasn’t surprised. Memories long buried deep in her mind slowly surfaced. If she remembered correctly, this was her return to a night in her senior year when she was bullied.

The panicked, ghostly hue of the night had long since blurred. For Zhu Ming, even reliving it wasn’t frightening. Back then, she was slow to react, her mind numb. The mountain-roaring, tsunami-like fear others felt could only cause a tiny ripple in her heart. Because of this, she was ostracized by others. And because of this, she couldn’t comprehend so-called normal emotions.

But she wasn’t a robot after all. Even the shallowest ripple leaves a trace.

She just felt disappointment, felt boredom. Zhu Ming leaned against the sink in silence.

What would happen next?

Then…

In the darkness, Zhu Ming’s eyes slowly brightened. That’s right. She was coming. The most beautiful and gentle brilliance of her life was coming to save her.

Creeeeak—

When the closed door was pushed open, a woman in a white lab coat appeared.

She was a spring pear blossom—elegant, gentle. She looked softly towards Zhu Ming, her eyes filled with the care the young girl had desperately dreamed of. “Mingming.”

“Yin Yu.” Zhu Ming whispered her name, feeling an immense sense of safety upon seeing her.

“Are you alright?” Yin Yu walked in, drawing closer. She gathered Zhu Ming into her arms, her slender fingers stroking Zhu Ming’s damp cheek.

Zhu Ming felt an inexplicable surge rise from deep within her heart. Had they been this close back then?

But soon, she couldn’t think. The fingertips caressed her cheek, her earlobe, pressed against the corner of her lips. The woman’s light fragrance coiled around her like a snake, inexplicably stirring a shameful desire within Zhu Ming’s heart.

“Mingming…”

At some unremembered moment, Zhu Ming grabbed the long hair she had always adored. It was smooth as water, surging around her like the night itself.

Their faces were almost touching. The woman’s eyes glowed with a misty, hazy light like morning fog. Zhu Ming felt she might drown in them, drown in her eyes, drown in her presence.

No one knew who initiated it. Soft lips met. Zhu Ming hooked her arms around Yin Yu’s neck, losing herself in the kiss.

She could no longer see the dangerous darkness, nor was she surrounded by the disgusted stares of others. She possessed light, love, and warmth. Her lover would give her happiness.

The fervent, burning desire seemed to sear away one’s will. A cat curled by the fireplace in winter never wants to rise; a person lost in desire and pleasure never wants to wake.

Their kisses grew more passionate. Yin Yu’s white coat fell to the floor. Her perpetually cool hands warmed. A snake glided on the water’s surface, a butterfly kissed the stamen. She and she pressed close together, sharing warmth.

“Yin Yu, do you love me?” Zhu Ming gasped, asking her.

“I love you,” Yin Yu said docilely, as if already irrevocably in love. “Mingming, stay with me forever, okay?”

Wrong.

Zhu Ming’s waist bumped against the cold marble sink. Her eyes suddenly snapped open.

She pushed the woman tangled with her away.

Wrong!

Her consciousness snapped back into focus. Zhu Ming looked at the woman before her, cheeks flushed, an irresistible temptation. Shame and anger welled up inside her, nearly making her explode.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Yin Yu hadn’t done this kind of thing with her here back then. After opening the door, she’d just asked if she was okay, then left. The only thing matching this sensual performance was the secret longing and affection Zhu Ming had harbored in her heart at that time.

Besides, she’d never said those three words.

More importantly… they had broken up long ago!

None of this was real. It was an illusion, a fake. She’d long stopped loving Yin Yu… Zhu Ming’s hands trembled as she fiercely zipped up her clothes.

Yet Yin Yu, the other protagonist of this illusion, didn’t let her go just like that.

She looked at Zhu Ming with a wanton, seductive gaze, licked her kiss-swollen, glistening lips, and continued approaching her, calling out in a husky, bewitching voice, “Mingming, don’t you want to touch me… don’t you love me anymore?”