The elegant, slender fingers had an inexplicable coldness, giving off a sense of oppression. It was as if they were not human hands but lifeless objects.

Han Ya only briefly touched them before hurriedly pulling her hand back.

“I… I have to go now, my mom is here,” she stammered, clutching her backpack straps nervously as she hurriedly ran out, not noticing a small stone on the ground.

Just as she stepped out of the school gate, Han Ya slipped and fell flat on her back on the sidewalk. The edge of the sidewalk was paved with smooth tiles, so when she landed on her bottom, she slid along like a turtle being washed away by water, skidding three or four meters.

All the kids at the school gate saw her fall and immediately burst into laughter.

Once Han Ya came to a stop, she let out a loud wail, crying both from the pain in her backside and from the embarrassment.

Her mother rushed over to pick her up and comfort her, but despite her efforts, Han Ya couldn’t stop crying. Her heart-wrenching sobs echoed far down the street.

To everyone else, it seemed like a funny accident. But Shen Ji knew that everything happening was because of him.

From a young age, he had learned that anyone who touched his hand would experience bad luck. The severity of their misfortune depended on how long they touched him and how much contact they made.

Without exception, anyone who touched him would soon meet some unfortunate event.

Well, there was one exception.

Shen Ji lowered his gaze to the small girl in front of him, dressed in her school uniform, looking adorably innocent. A memory of a past incident surfaced in his mind…

Among all the people who had ever come into contact with him, only Yu Yuanyuan had escaped the terrible curse.

“She… she fell really hard,” the little girl grimaced, clutching her backpack.

“Did you forget what your brother and father told you?” Shen Ji squatted down, resting his elbows on his knees so he could look the small girl directly in the eyes.

“Huh? Daddy and brother have said a lot of things…”

She… she couldn’t remember! Yu Yuanyuan’s blank expression clearly showed her confusion.

“That classmate was obviously bullying you. You should’ve fought back,” Shen Ji said in a rare, stern tone. “When she called you names, you should have insulted her back.”

The little girl fiddled with the hem of her shirt, swaying slightly. “Actually, Yuanyuan was already thinking of something to say back… but when I saw Brother Shen Ji, I forgot.”

“Really? What were you planning to say to her?”

With confidence, Yu Yuanyuan placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly. “Yuanyuan was going to call her a stinky rock and a rotten tomato!”

Shen Ji: “…”

Hmm, very impressive. Truly malicious beyond words.

Realizing that expecting this innocent little girl to hurl insults was futile, Shen Ji sighed and crouched next to her, waiting for her father to arrive.

For some reason, her father was unusually late today. Most of the other children had already gone home, leaving just a few playing on the playground equipment near the school gate.

Shen Ji glanced at the nearby security booth and immediately spotted a plump orange tabby cat dozing with its eyes closed.

Sensing his gaze, the little girl tugged on Shen Ji’s arm and led him over to the booth, introducing him enthusiastically: “Security Uncle, this is my brother Shen Ji!”

“Oh, I see!” The security guard smiled and nodded but reminded her, “But you have to wait for your dad to pick you up. You can’t just leave with your brother, okay?”

It was obvious that Shen Ji wasn’t there to pick Yuanyuan up. No responsible parent would send a kid, barely older than 10, to pick someone up from school.

“I’m just keeping her company while we wait for her family. I won’t take her anywhere,” Shen Ji assured the guard politely. As he squatted near the gate, his eyes kept glancing at the orange tabby cat. “Yuanyuan, there’s a cat over there.”

“That’s the friend Yuanyuan made today!” she said proudly, raising her hand before rushing over to pet the big orange cat.

Shen Ji was worried that the cat might scratch her and tried to stop her, but the orange tabby remained calm, lying there without even raising an eyelid. It purred softly, clearly enjoying the attention.

Seeing this, Shen Ji also felt the urge to reach out and pet the cat. However, just as he was about to touch it, the orange tabby suddenly opened its eyes. Those once-lazy cat eyes now gleamed sharply, making Shen Ji freeze in place.