Jiang Xiaosi was stunned for a moment. It was rare to see her dad so stern and angry. Though he was usually gentle, when he lost his temper, it was like a thunderstorm—enough to scare the faint-hearted to death and send even the most timid ghosts running in fear.
Jiang Liu hurried over to check if she was hurt.
“Dad, don’t worry! I’m at least half a zombie. Even if I don’t have much power, I’m not that easy to hurt!” Over the years, with Jiang Liu’s care and the protection of the jade pendant, she had never bothered to train properly, so her strength was embarrassingly weak.
“As long as you’re okay.” Jiang Liu sighed in relief and patted her head.
“Dad, was that the ghost baby you accidentally let slip away the other day?”
Jiang Liu nodded. “I searched for it for a long time and finally found it here at the amusement park. It’s been having fun. I didn’t want to harm it since it still had a bit of life force left. I just wanted to capture it. But it’s been a tricky battle.”
“These little babies are so pitiful. They were abandoned by their mothers before they were even born. They don’t understand anything, and they didn’t do anything wrong.”
Jiang Liu held her close as they walked out. “I know, so unless it’s absolutely necessary, I won’t harm them. I only want to help them reincarnate sooner. Don’t worry.”
Jiang Xiaosi nodded, then looked at him pitifully. “Dad, my phone exploded!”
“Are you hurt? Don’t worry, Dad will take you to get a new one right now.”
By the time they got back, it was already evening. Jiang Liu was riding Jiang Xiaosi’s modified pink electric scooter at full speed. Jiang Xiaosi sat on the back, gently holding his waist, her cheek resting on his back as she dozed off.
When they finally reached *Tuo Gu Xiang*, Jiang Liu spotted Difan sitting on the steps outside the shop, resting his chin on his hand. Under the moonlight, he looked like a melancholy prince, drawing admiring gazes from women passing by on their way to the nearby bars.
Jiang Liu stopped the scooter and lightly shook his shoulder to wake Jiang Xiaosi.
“Xiaosi, we’re here. Time to get off.”
Jiang Xiaosi sleepily slid off the scooter, completely ignoring Difan as she headed inside.
“Uncle Jiang, Xiaosi…” Difan’s face lit up when he saw them. Even though Xiaosi’s hair was a windblown mess and she was still in her pajamas with a coat thrown over them, he thought she looked adorable.
Jiang Xiaosi finally noticed him and widened her eyes. “Xiao Di, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Weren’t you supposed to stay in bed for a few more days?”
Difan was so touched by Jiang Xiaosi’s concern that he almost cried.
“I’m fine. I just drank more blood to recover. I was worried about you, so I came to check on you. That guy didn’t do anything to you, right?”
Jiang Xiaosi waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry. He doesn’t know I’m a zombie—he can’t tell.”
“That’s good. Thank you for helping me out yesterday.”
“I should be apologizing for getting you into that mess. You still look a bit pale. Come inside, and I’ll make you some tomato milk tea.” Jiang Xiaosi opened the shop door.
“What happened yesterday?” Jiang Liu asked, noticing that Difan still seemed injured.
Jiang Xiaosi waved her hand vaguely. “Nothing much. Just ran into a meddlesome weirdo.”
Just then, Jiang Xiaosi’s new phone rang. She cautiously held it away from her ear as she answered, still a bit jumpy after her previous phone exploded. It was Li Yueyi, calling to say that she had arranged to meet Shao Bing over the weekend as Jiang Xiaosi had advised, to talk things through.
That evening, Jiang Liu cooked a large dinner and invited Difan to join them. Naturally, Difan was more than happy to stay. Jiang Xiaosi, having skipped meals all day, ate a lot and even set some aside to take to Pudding the next day.
As Jiang Liu watched the two happily chatting away, he found them to be a good match. Although Xiaosi was developing at a slower pace than most, she had finally reached the age where she was starting to experience romantic feelings. Jiang Liu hoped she would fall for someone like Difan—someone who could stay by her side—rather than a regular human.
He had already experienced the pain of watching the one he loved pass away and didn’t want Xiaosi to go through the same. Besides, she was so naive, always easily drawn into emotions without knowing how to protect herself. Once, when a childhood friend of hers died, she had secretly tried to defy fate by bringing her back to life. In the end, they were both chased by the ghost catchers, and it was only thanks to Miao Yan pulling some strings that the situation was resolved. Jiang Liu couldn’t imagine what would happen if Xiaosi truly fell in love with someone. He feared she would be just as stubborn, and he could only hope she wouldn’t end up like Liu Zhi.
Meanwhile, little Pudding was fast asleep outside Shen Mo’s door.
When Shen Mo left for work in the morning, Pudding had been lying there. When he returned in the evening, Pudding was still there. After dinner, while watering the plants in the yard, Shen Mo noticed Jiang Xiaosi’s clothes swaying on the clothesline. The sky looked like it was about to rain, so he quickly brought the clothes inside. Then he remembered the dog still waiting by the door and cursed silently at himself for being so soft-hearted. With a sigh, he opened the door.
Pudding was still crouched at the entrance. Seeing Shen Mo, the dog happily stood on its hind legs but didn’t dare touch him or enter the house.
“Come in.” Shen Mo sighed, realizing Jiang Xiaosi had him wrapped around her finger.
Pudding eagerly trotted inside and made a beeline for the kitchen. Shen Mo mixed some food for the dog and tossed an old sweater on the floor for it to sleep on.
Back in his study, Shen Mo started reviewing emails and call records that his assistant had printed out.
The most pressing matter was finding Yang Yan as soon as possible and then heading to the Yunnan border. Ye Miao wasn’t exceptionally powerful, but the vastness of the internet made it crucial to force her out. He had already sent Shen Koudan to “borrow” the purple seal from Yixiu, but whether that would go smoothly remained to be seen. He had never encountered a case like this before and needed to think carefully about how to handle it. Otherwise, Jiang Xiaosi’s life…
The next morning, he was once again woken up by the doorbell. He got up to open the door and saw Pudding wagging its tail excitedly by the door. Of course, this meant Jiang Xiaosi had arrived.
As soon as Jiang Xiaosi entered, Pudding jumped on her.
“Are you hungry? I brought you breakfast! And I bought you a little house too!” Jiang Xiaosi panted, carrying several large bags into the house. Shen Mo’s eye twitched at the sight.
Jiang Xiaosi paid him no mind. Without asking for help, she went straight to the kitchen to warm up breakfast for Pudding. Then she headed to the yard, where she started assembling a little doghouse from the wooden boards she had brought.
Shen Mo watched her the whole time, his eyes never leaving her, worried she might accidentally knock over one of the fragile artifacts on the shelves. After watching her fumble around and make a mess of the doghouse, he couldn’t stand it any longer. With a sigh, he crouched down and helped her build the little house.
Jiang Xiaosi grinned mischievously. Over the past few days, she had learned that despite Shen Mo’s cold and unfeeling exterior, he was actually quite soft-hearted. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have interfered in her affairs so many times. Even the police cases, which he could have easily ignored, showed how much he was willing to help.
Getting him to do something was easy—being forceful or giving orders would only lead to disaster. But if you pleaded and spoke kindly, Shen Mo would eventually give in. Jiang Xiaosi finally understood why the police always sent the mild-mannered, scholarly Xiao Tang to deal with him.
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