Chapter 41

It was all because of the people and malevolent spirits Yue Yin had encountered lately. Either they threatened her or scammed her out of money, or they stood her up, leaving her to wait in the rain.

As a peace-loving evil goddess with a concern for the world, Yue Yin felt utterly disillusioned after being struck by disappointment after disappointment.

Just when she was about to lose hope and turn villainous, fortunately, Bo Jingyun, Captain Li, and the others arrived in time.

Upon learning that she was starving and hadn’t had any supper, they offered to treat her to some grilled cold noodles. When they saw her struggling to get a refund for her shared-bike deposit, they even chipped in to cover it and assured her they’d apply for an additional heroic assistance grant on her behalf.

Captain Li and his team’s kindness warmed Yue Yin’s rain-soaked, chilly heart.

“After all, there really are good people left on Earth!” Yue Yin, moved, gripped Bo Jingyun’s hand with delight, exclaiming, “You’re all such good-hearted people! I almost misjudged humanity as a whole.”

Everyone felt conflicted: …

As they glanced at her phone, the screen still showed the profile page of the founder of the shared-bike company from today, someone named Zhang.

If Bo Jingyun hadn’t caught Yue Yin staring intently at her screen and happened to notice she was searching for Zhang’s address and his security setup… tonight might have ended in another incident like the grilled cold noodle one.

In response to Yue Yin’s gratitude, Bo Jingyun tried to keep a straight face, calmly replying, “It’s all part of our duty at the Paranormal Incident Management Department.”

Completely unaware of the truth, Yue Yin happily assumed they were all just good, helpful people.

With a satisfied smile, she waved goodbye to Captain Li and the others, pocketed the 200 yuan some kind soul had given her, and headed home in high spirits.

Up until now, Yue Yin hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

It wasn’t until she happily slipped inside her house and opened the door to find the living room lights still on at 11 PM.

Shen Xiaodi clasped his hands and looked at her with bright, hopeful eyes: “Yue Yin, Yue Yin, did you bring me my grilled cold noodles?”

Yue Yin blinked in confusion at Shen Xiaodi, who was sitting in the living room, finally realizing she had forgotten something.

After waiting a long time without seeing Yue Yin pull out the food he’d anticipated, Shen Xiaodi’s gaze fell on her hands. Noticing they were empty, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

He gasped, “Yue Yin, didn’t you say you’d bring me grilled noodles?”

He had waited all night and had even painfully sent Yue Yin a hefty 50 yuan as a delivery fee, all for a single portion of grilled noodles.

In the end, this traitor Yue Yin took his money without delivering. Poor Shen Xiaodi even thought about calling the police!

Sniffing the air, he detected the lingering scent of grilled cold noodles. His sadness overflowed—how could Yue Yin selfishly eat them all without saving him any? He’d even given her a delivery fee of 50 yuan, and she’d simply forgotten.

Furious, Shen Xiaodi shouted, “Yue Yin, you tricked me—give me back my 50 yuan!”

He charged over, clutching Yue Yin’s leg, demanding she return his delivery fee.

Yue Yin stuffed her hands in her pockets, looked up at the ceiling, and pretended not to understand.

Shen Xiaodi held her ankle tightly, sitting on the floor: “You liar, Yue Yin! Just the other day, I told everyone you were the best sister in the world!”

The elementary schooler was devastated: “I even shared my last yogurt with you, and you forgot to bring me snacks. Yue Yin, I’m so disappointed in you!”

Feeling a bit guilty, Yue Yin rubbed her nose and said, “It’s not my fault…”

She was busy tonight and did remember to bring a snack for Shen Xiaodi, but too many things had happened.

She’d been occupied dealing with Li Shushu and forbidden items, then got caught up confronting malevelont spirits in the rain, followed by a clash at the Life Association, and finally had to handle people from the Paranormal Incident Management… She was really worn out.

After thinking it over, she said in frustration, “It’s all because of that horrible Li Shushu!”

If that water ghoul hadn’t stood her up, leaving her waiting in the rain so long, she wouldn’t have been too angry to forget Shen Xiaodi’s noodles.

In the house, the Shen family’s servants listened carefully to the commotion outside, just as eager.

Xiao He said excitedly, “Miss Yue Yin is back!”

Someone else cautiously asked, “Can we go out now?”

Thinking of the eerie events from earlier, Aunt Liu swallowed nervously, “Miss Yue Yin’s returned, so whatever was out there should be gone, right?”

Shen Xiaodi, oblivious to the supernatural events tonight, had been eating in the kitchen with the others. Suddenly, a strange silence fell over the surroundings. The cicadas and frogs that usually sang in summer went completely quiet, and the streetlights outside flickered on, leaving a few cigarette butts beneath an empty tree.

Very normal, yet unusual.

The shadows of the trees swayed gently. Grandpa Zhang, who was weeding the lawn, looked up and, faintly seeing a few human faces growing on a nearby tree, was nearly scared into fainting on the spot.

With Shen Baozhu, who seemed to attract ghosts, and Yue Yin, who harbored dark thoughts, the household staff working for the Shen family had certainly experienced their fair share of strange and unnerving events.

Since the recent attack on Shen Hao Ping, everyone was especially vigilant.

Upon noticing the strange atmosphere, Aunt Li and Xiao He kept silent, terrified.

In their panic, some began to regret staying on despite Shen’s family’s high pay and benefits, thinking they should’ve quit long ago. Meanwhile, in the living room, Yue Yin was still bickering with Shen Xiaodi.

After a moment, she glanced outside at the unsettling scene, then back at Aunt Li and the others, who sat on edge inside, and calmly stepped out.

After Yue Yin stepped outside, the strange entities lurking outside dispersed.

Everyone inside breathed a collective sigh of relief.

At some point, Yue Yin had become a pillar of reassurance for them. Though she was a bit unconventional, everyone privately admitted that Miss Yue Yin had genuine capabilities.

While they felt somewhat reassured, they still didn’t dare step out. Recalling Yue Yin’s final words before leaving, Aunt Li and the others even held Shen Xiaodi back, fearing that any lingering entities outside might harm him and provoke Yue Yin’s wrath.

They had come to realize that, among the Shen family members, Miss Yue Yin only cared for Shen Xiaodi to some extent.

After waiting anxiously for several hours, they even urged Xiaodi to call Yue Yin to ensure she was alive and that there was no need to call the police.

Time passed slowly, and just as Xiao He and the others were about to flee, fearing something had happened to Miss Yue Yin, she finally returned.

Hearing the commotion in the living room, they relaxed again.

The Shen household had experienced so many bizarre incidents, with some dying or disappearing altogether. Without Miss Yue Yin around, they wouldn’t have dared to stay.

…

The next morning, Yue Yin went to school.

Even before arriving, she noticed a cluster of police cars and reporters outside the campus.

“Another student has gone missing…”

“According to police investigations, this disappearance case is linked to the previous one.”

There had been frequent incidents at school recently, with two students missing and a past case of a girl’s suicide now resurfacing. Some students had even leaked online that the high school girl had horrifyingly gouged out her own eyes under surveillance before her death. Due to the strangeness of it, the case drew wide public attention, though the investigation’s final report remained unsettlingly quiet.

In the announcement, authorities concluded that the student, under immense academic pressure and influenced by an online cult, ultimately took her own life.

Meanwhile, another missing student named Li Shushu was also confirmed to have committed suicide out of guilt the previous night.

In her suicide note, Li Shushu revealed that she had been born into a cult-following family and, under her parents pressure, had harmed her close high school friend, leading to the girl’s suicide.

Unable to cope, she had a moment of clarity and chose to end her life along with her cultist parents.

At the end of the news report, the school announced a campus-wide inspection to prevent such incidents from happening again.

During an interview, the school principal spoke while the students attended a moral and ethics class in their classrooms, watching the principal’s live address under their teachers’ supervision as a cautionary exercise.

Teachers assigned students to form groups of four and discuss how to handle encounters with cults. The classroom filled with scattered murmurs: “It’s so creepy—who knew Li Shushu was like that?”

“I used to hang out with her. Who would’ve thought she and her family were so problematic?”

“I remember now; she was close to that girl who died, but she didn’t seem sad at all after her death.”

In the front row, Zhang Boshui turned to his group, which included Yue Yin and Jiang Suliu. With a complex expression, he commented, “Maybe Li Shushu didn’t want it to turn out this way. If we’d noticed something was wrong with her earlier, we might have been able to help.”

Yue Yin stroked her chin and shook her head, sighing, “Exactly, exactly.”

Zhang Boshui, with a somber look, sympathized, “Growing up in that kind of family, poor Li Shushu…”

His desk mate, Chen Ping, immediately retorted, “Poor? That poor high school girl she hurt is the real victim here! And you’re sympathizing with someone who preyed on others? Li Shushu seemed quiet but turned out to be a monster in disguise!”

Yue Yin eagerly nodded, “Disgusting, truly disgusting!”

Zhang Boshui countered, “It’s not that simple. Her note said she was born into that family and had no choice. Kids aren’t born knowing right from wrong; they just do what they’re told.”

Yue Yin tucked her hands in her sleeves, agreeing earnestly, “Hmm, makes sense.”

Chen Ping scoffed, “You actually believe her note? She hurt so many people, and you trust a demon’s words? I doubt she’d have shown any remorse if the police hadn’t found her.”

Yue Yin glanced at Chen Ping, pursing her lips and nodding, as if in deep thought: “Right!”

Both Zhang Boshui and his desk mate turned to her, saying, “So which side are you on?”

Yue Yin clenched her fist, eyes firm: “I’m on the side of justice!”

Zhang Boshui and Chen Ping were already agitated, but hearing this corny, over-the-top line almost made them choke on their words.

Zhang Boshui hurriedly took a sip of water to calm his cough. He and Chen Ping exchanged a look, glancing at Jiang Suliu, who remained silent the whole time, wondering if this was truly the aesthetic taste of the Jiang family heir.

Jiang Suliu, known as the untouchable star of the school, had plenty of admirers who often speculated who might finally win him over.

Would it be someone cute? Beautiful? Kind-hearted?

They’d guessed countless times, but not a single one had anticipated that Jiang Suliu would favor someone… well, eccentric.

He turned his gaze to the live news report, and after hearing the loud exchanges between Zhang Boshui and Yue Yin, he quietly looked over at her.

So… is this what you meant by “dealing with” Li Shushu’s entire family sooner?

Last night’s incident had caused quite a stir in City A, and even the Jiang family had caught wind of it. Coupled with Yue Yin’s casual remark this morning about “killing a few troublemakers,” Jiang Suliu almost instantly pieced together the truth.

As for the report on television about Li Shushu’s supposed guilt-driven suicide, along with her parents—it was clearly a cover-up for what Yue Yin had done.

Yue Yin blinked in confusion, innocent expression intact: “Why are you all staring at me? It wasn’t like I did anything.”