Chapter 31

“My teacher, my dad died. I need a day off.”

The teacher on the other end of the phone heard the girl’s cheerful voice and momentarily questioned his own ears.

He frowned, “Yue Yin, your father passed away?”

Yue Yin confirmed, “Yep, he died.”

With a serious tone, the teacher asked, “Are you certain? Did something happen in your family?”

Yue Yin almost nodded, thinking that even if Shen Hao Ping hadn’t quite died yet, she’d gladly send him on his way herself. But she suddenly realized that if she said he was already dead, she’d only get one day off!

However, if she claimed he was almost dead, she could stay by his side to watch him “take his last breath,” extending her leave for as long as necessary until he finally passed away.

Not wanting to go to school, Yue Yin’s quick thinking kicked in, and she changed her story. “Actually, he hasn’t fully passed yet, but it looks like he’s close.”

The teacher: … So, you’re not even sure if your dad is fully dead?

Holding back a wave of frustration, the teacher relied on his years of professional experience not to lose his temper. “I’ll contact your mother.”

He wasn’t convinced by Yue Yin’s excuse, but he decided not to challenge her clearly flawed reasoning. Reflecting on Yue Yin’s previous claim about death at school yesterday, he assumed she might have witnessed the incident where a sophomore girl had jumped, possibly leading to emotional trauma.

It seemed Yue Yin was avoiding school, finding excuses to stay away. Little did he know, Yue Yin had no such trauma and had wanted to avoid school every day of the year.

If given a choice, she’d happily blow up the school.

Unaware of Yue Yin’s motives, the teacher pulled up her mother’s contact, preparing to confirm the situation and check in on Yue Yin’s mental health.

He avoided calling Yue Yin’s father directly, after all, Shen Hao Ping often traveled, leaving his wife in charge of their children’s education. And after those murky statements about Shen Hao Ping’s death, the teacher wasn’t even sure if he was actually alive.

If the man really was deceased and the teacher called him directly… now that would be horrifying.

With a shiver, he took a deep breath. “Alright, Yue Yin, I’ll call your mom first and get back to you afterward.”

The teacher sipped his herbal tea, thinking about how stressful teaching had become.

As he was about to hang up, Yue Yin said, “No need to call. My mom ran away yesterday.”

The teacher nearly choked, coughing violently. He asked in disbelief, “So your dad is dead?”

Yue Yin nodded, “Uh-huh.”

“Your mom also ran away?” he questioned in shock.

Yue Yin shrugged, “Yeah, she’s been missing since last night. Who knows if she’s still alive.”

At this, Yue Yin thought about her parents—true partners in flight. Her mom, Bai Xiulian, had fled along with the other servants the moment she saw evil spirits, never once considering what would happen to Yue Yin and her little brother left behind in the villa.

Just like last time with Mrs. Zhang’s ghost exorcism incident. Bai Xiulian, worried about the danger, had tried to make Yue Yin and her little brother leave with her. After they refused, she left on her own.

Yue Yin sighed with a hint of regret, “My poor brother—left an orphan at such a young age.”

The teacher, confused, thought, So he’s an orphan, but you aren’t?

After the call ended, Yue Yin turned around and saw her little brother standing behind her.

Looking up at her, he asked innocently, “Sis, why did you call me an orphan?”

With an innocent expression, Yue Yin replied, “I didn’t.”

Her brother rolled his eyes. “I heard you! I know you’re mad because I almost got you sent to the police yesterday, and now you’re calling me names behind my back!”

Yue Yin blinked, confused. “What do you mean, calling names? I was just stating the truth. Besides, does ‘orphan’ count as a name-calling? I’m an orphan too.”

Her little brother clenched his fists, ready to argue but finally backed down under her sincere gaze.

Fine, he thought, I won’t argue with her. After all, she doesn’t have a dad like I do. I can’t make her feel bad.

After calming himself down, he looked around and asked, “Where’s Sister Xiao He? Aunt Li? Why isn’t breakfast ready, and why hasn’t Uncle Zhou come to take me to school? I’m going to be late.”

After waking up to an empty house, he noticed something strange. Usually, the housekeeper would wake him up, breakfast would be on the table, and a driver would take him to school. But today, the alarm clock woke him, and the house was eerily empty.

The hall was silent, broken doors and windows left unrepaired, with shards of glass and splatters of blood scattered around.

A thought struck him: Maybe we were actually robbed? Is that why Mom and Aunt Li ran away?

For a six-year-old, the first reaction wasn’t fear of safety or concern over property but rather the realization that he had a good excuse to skip school!

In terms of school avoidance, he and Yue Yin were indeed siblings.

Grinning, he grabbed Yue Yin’s hand. “Sis, help me get the day off! Aunt Li’s not here to drive me to school.”

“Sure thing!” Yue Yin, his supportive older sister and a fellow academic rebel, agreed without hesitation.

Then she heard Shen Xiaodi excitedly say, “I’m not going to school today—I’ll stay home and play games with you to rank up!”

Yue Yin quickly changed her tone to a serious one. “On second thought, schoolwork is crucial. You’re at a foundational stage, and you can’t miss class!”

 Shen Xiaodi, clearly displeased, retorted, “You lied to the teacher to skip school, so why can’t I? I want to stay home and play too.”

Yue Yin was speechless. “I didn’t lie.”

Shen Xiaodi gave her a look of smug confidence. “You told the teacher your dad was close to death, but he actually passed away a long time ago.”

“True,” Yue Yin blinked innocently, “but I never said the one dying was my biological dad.”

Shen Xiadi looked puzzled, then froze.

“I don’t believe you! You’re lying to me again. Dad was just fine last night,” he argued, uncertain.

“Something happened last night,” Yue Yin explained calmly. “Uncle Shen’s unconscious now. He’s lying in his room.”

Being a dark goddess, Yue Yin saw no need to spare the feelings of a child. Besides, Shen Xiaodi would learn the truth sooner or later.

Shen Xiaodi went from confident to confused, then bolted to Shen Haoping’s room.

Moments later, the sound of a child wailing filled the house.

“Dad! Dad, wake up! What happened to you, Dad?” Shen Xiaodi’s heartbreaking cries echoed through the house.

Yue Yin, with her arms crossed, leaned against the doorway, listening to the chaos inside with a raised eyebrow.

Shen Hao Ping wasn’t exactly a model father. He spent about two-thirds of the year away for work, and when he was home, his affection centered on his daughter, Shen Baozhu. Shen Xiaodi, still young, had his mother’s care, so Shen Hao Ping assumed that was enough. Since Yue Yin had returned to the Shen household two months ago, she realized that most days it was just her and Shen Xiaodi in the house.

In the Shen family, Shen Baozhu was often away for dance competitions, and Bai Xiulian, eager to excel as a stepmother, accompanied her. With Shen Hao Ping constantly traveling, Shen Xiaodi had mostly been on his own, with only household staff for company—a poor substitute for family.

Yue Yin thought that with this kind of upbringing, Shen Xiaodi would be indifferent to his father. Maybe he wouldn’t even understand death.

But it turned out Shen Xiaodi was sharper than she’d thought. And he cared.

“I have to take him to the hospital. I need Dad…Mom! Mom!” Shen Xiaodi wailed, trying to call Bai Xiulian but reaching no one. With no servants around, he desperately tried to pull Shen Hao Ping’s limp body off the bed.

Watching him, Yue Yin scratched her head, finally deciding to help.

“Fine, I’ll call an ambulance.”

…

After a hectic rush, they arrived at the hospital, watching as Shen Hao Ping was wheeled into the emergency room.

Standing in front of the lit operating room, Shen Xiaodi wiped his tears, muttering through sniffles, “Why…”

Why, indeed.

One night, and the father he knew had collapsed. His mother and sister were nowhere to be found. For a child under seven, it felt like his whole world was crumbling.

Perhaps today was one of Shen Xiaodi’s heaviest days, but at least Yue Yin was by his side.

Bai Xiulian only arrived later with people from the Metaphysical Society. Upon hearing Shen Hao Ping was unlikely to recover, she grew frantic, busy discussing ways to save him and locate Shen Baozhu.

“Yue Yin, take your brother home,” she ordered casually after signing a critical document, then returned to her conversations without another glance at them.

Yue Yin glanced at her tense mother, then took Shen Xiaodi’s hand and led him back to the Shen household.

The whole way home, Shen Xiaodi was downcast, his young face clouded with confusion.

“Why?” he asked, voicing the question that plagued him.

He stared down, lost. “Yue Yin, why did this happen to Dad?”

Why did someone break in? Why did Dad get hurt? Shen Xiaodi struggled to understand why it was his father lying in critical condition instead of someone else.

Seeing him mired in sadness, Yue Yin couldn’t help but reach out to pat his head. She thought for a moment before saying, “Maybe it’s because he had bad manners and cursed people.”

If Shen Hao Ping hadn’t berated her, she wouldn’t have retaliated, and he’d probably be fine.

With a glint of memory, Yue Yin nodded firmly. “Yep, swearing at people is rude.”

Shen Xiaodi looked up at her, puzzled. “Really? But you curse all the time when you’re gaming, Yue Yin.”

Caught off guard, Yue Yin scratched her head. “But your dad also breaks promises.”

She had warned him not to cheat her out of even a penny, yet Shen Hao Ping tried to short her pay and throw her out.

Who’d be foolish enough to try to blame a dark goddess?

Seizing the moment, Yue Yin delivered a moral lesson: “Liars should swallow needles, and those who break promises will be cursed! Sounds fair, right?”

Shen Xiaodi looked at her with a blank face. “But you lie all the time.”

Shocked, Yue Yin was silent as Shen Xiaodi added, “You always say you’ll appoint Jiang Suliu as high priest, but you still haven’t done it. Isn’t that also breaking a promise?”

He said, “Why criticize others for what you can’t even do?”

For once, Yue Yin was speechless. Shen Xiaodi really was sharp and hard to fool.

She turned away, stifling a laugh.

With Shen Xiaodi’s puzzled gaze fixed on her, Yue Yin leaned back in her seat, sweeping a stray strand of hair away, saying with a smirk, “I’m different.”

Shen Xiaodi’s face was blank. “How?”

Yue Yin, lazy and amused, gazed at him with a half-smile. “Because I’m a bad person. I have double standards.”

Exactly—she was the wicked goddess, bad with complete conviction.

Others might face doom if they lied to her, but she was free to deceive as she pleased.