Li Lu’s expression stiffened. Her fingers clenched into fists, and she gritted her teeth before blurting out, “No way!”  

“We promised to be best friends forever, but she betrayed our friendship. Now she even wants to take me with her.”  

“She’s killed so many people—including my close friend. How could I ever face the friends she murdered if I just let you send her off to reincarnate?”  

[Hiss, I smell some serious tea brewing.]  

[I really wanna know if that ‘close friend’ was a guy or a girl because my brain’s already spinning a love triangle drama.]  

[Stop making stuff up—what if that friend was also a girl?]  

[Oh-ho, now I’m even more excited!]  

[Cheng Shuang killed Li Lu’s best friend, now wants to take Li Lu away, and Li Lu’s asking the host to annihilate Cheng Shuang—is this what ‘girl squad’ friendship looks like?]  

[You expect real friendship from a group that has five separate group chats for one dorm? All ‘bff’ and ‘sweetie’ on the surface, but secretly stealing each other’s boyfriends!] 

[What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!]  

Huo Ning took a sip of water. “How did she kill your friends? Tell me in detail.”  

Li Lu trembled, her face growing paler by the second as she was dragged back into the horrific memory.  

“That day, I went out to eat with Xiao Yu, Xiao Qing, and Miao Miao. Midway, me, Miao Miao, and Xiao Yu went to the restroom. When we came back, Xiao Qing suddenly gave us this… terrifying smile.”  

“Then, right in front of us, she lit her own hair on fire with a lighter!”  

“All three of us rushed to put out the flames, but the fire only grew stronger…”  

Li Lu’s face twisted in terror—it was a scene she would never forget.  

“Xiao Qing screamed and cried so horribly… but gradually, we realized—even though the sound came from her body, it was unmistakably Cheng Shuang’s voice!”  

“Being burned alive is agonizing, but even as she wailed, she started… laughing!”  

“And Xiao Yu—Xiao Yu was shopping with her boyfriend when the escalator suddenly malfunctioned. Everyone else was fine, but she got dragged into the machinery and couldn’t be saved.”  

“Her boyfriend said he saw a red shadow right before it happened—it looked just like Cheng Shuang!”  

[Damn, so it really is a vengeful ghost coming for them!]

[This woman is disgusting—she died and now she’s haunting her own best friends!] 

[Host, this ghost is too vicious—you’ve gotta destroy her!]  

[So now Cheng Shuang is targeting Li Lu and Miao Miao, right?] 

“Yes! I really feel like I’m about to die!”

Li Lu shuddered, her pale face streaked with tears.  

She looked pleadingly at Huo Ning, desperation in her eyes. “Host Sis, we’re both in Jiangcheng—please, save me. Every night, I dream of Cheng Shuang trying to burn me alive. It’s unbearable. I don’t want to die!”  

[This is so heartbreaking. Host, you have to help her!]

[Saving a life is greater than building a seven-tiered pagoda—you can’t just stand by!]  

[Host: As long as the money’s right, anything’s possible.]

[So what exactly did you guys do to make her haunt you even after death?!]  

Li Lu wiped her tears and forced a weak smile. “Maybe… because we refused to help her parents fabricate testimony.”  

[Huh? Fabricate testimony? Holy crap, this just got juicy!] 

[Oh my god, I finally remember why Li Lu looks so familiar! She’s that unlucky childhood friend of the gold-digging girl who committed suicide!]  

[Commenter above, my jade butt is already seated. Please elaborate.]  

[A few months ago, a dad posted online begging for help, saying his daughter was bullied to death by some rich girl at school. It looked so tragic that tons of netizens fell for it and helped spread his story.]  

[That rich girl’s name was Su Miaomiao.]  

[But later, it was exposed—the Cheng family were total scammers. Cheng Shuang had been a sugar baby before she even turned 18. She aimed too high, chasing after some rich second-gen who ignored her, so she killed herself and framed Su Miaomiao.]

[Wait, if she killed herself because the rich guy rejected her, why drag Su Miaomiao into it?]  

[Because the rich guy was Su Miaomiao’s boyfriend!]

[Ohhh, now I remember! It was Li Lu who posted videos clearing Su Miaomiao’s name. The Cheng family is truly vile.]  

Reading these comments, Li Lu’s expression twisted in pain.  

She sobbed uncontrollably. “Don’t talk about Shuangshuang like that… Even now, I still regret testifying against her.”  

“Shuangshuang’s family was so poor. Her stepmom abused her, starved her. That woman was the real gold-digger—she secretly hooked up with Miaomiao’s dad, and when people called her out, she blamed Shuangshuang, saying she was useless.”  

“Her upbringing meant she could never have the same self-respect as other girls. Her downfall wasn’t her fault. When Uncle Cheng framed Miaomiao, he just wanted money—he was used to being poor.”  

[??? Why defend her? A bad upbringing isn’t an excuse to be trash!]  

[666, Li Lu actually regrets exposing the truth and clearing Su Miaomiao’s name. Y’all, we’ve got a real-life saint here!]

[You knew she was rotten yet stayed friends with her for so long. Birds of a feather, huh?]  

“But I really don’t know what to do anymore!”

Li Lu broke down into hysterical sobs, even slapping herself hard across the face.  

“If I hadn’t testified, Uncle Cheng would’ve gotten the money. Auntie Wang wouldn’t have killed herself later because she couldn’t stand the poverty. And Uncle Cheng wouldn’t be hospitalized now from the grief of losing her.”  

“If Uncle Cheng and Auntie Wang were okay, Shuangshuang wouldn’t have become a vengeful spirit from all that resentment. Xiao Yu and Xiao Qing wouldn’t have died.”  

“It’s all my fault! I’m the real sinner here!”  

She cried until her voice went hoarse, her eyes and nose burning red.  

Dazed, Li Lu stared blankly into the camera, silent tears rolling down twice more.  

She seemed trapped in extreme self-loathing, yet simultaneously bound by moral shackles—her entire demeanor painfully conflicted.  

Huo Ning gave her a passing glance but stayed silent.  

The viewers, however, ached for Li Lu.  

[Lulu, don’t blame yourself. None of this is your fault.] 

[Cheng Shuang deserved to die—her whole family did. You just had the worst luck meeting that bitch!] 

[I’m so mad I’m seeing red. Host, are you moving or not? If you won’t deal with the ghost, I’ll deal with you by hitting REPORT!]  

[Typical of these ‘fairies’—jealous of anyone prettier. Letting people die is just in their nature.]

[How much sewage did you swallow to have a mouth that foul, troll?]  

[Why hasn’t the host said anything? Frozen or what?] 

Belatedly, Li Lu realized she’d been too caught up crying—Huo Ning hadn’t even agreed to help yet.  

Eyes bloodshot, she quickly put on a pleading look.  

“Host Sis, please save me and Miaomiao!”  

“We really don’t want to die.”  

Huo Ning suddenly laughed—a sharp, mocking sound.  

“Why should I help you?”  

Li Lu froze, unprepared for the rejection.  

Tears welled up again, this time with indignation. “Are you… worried I can’t pay? My family’s actually pretty well-off—”  

Huo Ning cut her off with an icy stare.  

“This has nothing to do with money. I just don’t like liars.”