The little girl cried even harder, wiping her tears with her sleeves as she sobbed.

Xiao Qi who had been silent until now, finally couldn’t hold back and sighed. “You’re so mean~”

Ji Chenai ignored it and continued staring at the girl.

Her head slowly lowered as she looked down at her bright red, brand-new shoes. Sniffling, she asked through her tears. “If I lose my skin… will I die?”

Ji Chenai nodded solemnly.

The girl whispered. “Can I go home to say goodbye?”

“Of course,” Ji Chenai replied. “I’ll be waiting for you here at this time tomorrow.”

The little girl glanced up at Ji Chenai through her tears before sniffling and walking away. Meanwhile, passersby on the street cast disdainful looks at Ji Chenai, as if judging him for making a young child cry.

Ji Chenai put on an innocent expression as he cheerfully wheeled himself back home. That evening, he even ate an extra bowl of rice.

Noticing Ji Chenai’s good mood, Zhou Yaoyun asked. “Brother, what’s making you so happy?”

Ji Chenai stuffed a piece of tofu into his mouth and, after swallowing, replied. “I met someone cute.”

Zhou Yaoyun asked. “Cuter than me?”

Ji Chenai gave him a silent glance, unable to handle the look in Zhou Yaoyun’s eyes. With a sigh, he finally said. “No, my little brother is the cutest in the world.”

Satisfied, Zhou Yaoyun hummed in approval and added another helping of food to Ji Chenai’s plate.

The next day, Ji Chenai returned to the meeting spot and found the teary-eyed little girl waiting for him.

As the little girl approached, Ji Chenai said to Xiao Qi. “Look, my gloves are here!” He had asked Xiao Qi yesterday whether the Devil’s Smile could be stopped, and Xiao Qi had explained that as long as the malice was used up, they wouldn’t need to smile anymore. This skill still relied on the negative feelings of those children toward Ji Chenai to determine the punishment. Given that they had been punished for so many days, it was clear they harbored a great deal of malice against him.

The little girl arrived, appearing to have made a huge decision. “I’m here. You promised to restore them,” she said.

Noticing her swollen eyes, Ji Chenai could easily guess that she had cried all night. He asked gently. “Don’t you think your parents would be sad if you just disappeared?”

The girl whispered, “I don’t have parents.”

“Hmm?” Ji Chenai replied, surprised.

She continued, “I was adopted from an orphanage… but it’s okay; my sister is good to me…”

Ji Chenai asked, “So, you’re willing to sacrifice yourself just to make your sister happy?”

The little girl nodded.

Ji Chenai looked at her and asked, “How do you know your sister won’t be sad without you?”

She replied, “Because my sister still has Xiao Lei.”

Having heard the name Xiao Lei mentioned twice already, Ji Chenai asked, “Have you really made up your mind?”

The little girl nodded vigorously.

—