Shen Koudan looked at the shy little zombie, fanning herself with a teasing smile. Yu Chen’s face turned even redder, as if he wished he could bury his head into his bun.
Jiang Liu, on the other hand, seemed used to this, nodding gently, “Just running a few errands. This is my friend, Shen…” He hesitated, realizing he didn’t know the full name.
“I’m Shen Koudan.” she introduced herself.
Yu Chen froze for a moment. A woman’s name?
“Long time no see. What have you been up to recently?” Jiang Liu asked.
“I… I’m still studying at school…”
“That’s good. Learning is important. Drop by the shop when you have time.” Jiang Liu didn’t linger after exchanging pleasantries and turned to leave. But before he could go, his phone rang. Seeing it was a call from Jiang Xiaosi, a warm smile naturally appeared on his face.
Shen Koudan raised an eyebrow. Although he was always smiling, this was the first time she felt his smile was truly genuine.
“Hello, Xiaosi.”
“Dad!” Jiang Xiaosi’s anxious voice echoed through the phone, and then there was a loud buzzing noise—the phone exploded in Jiang Liu’s hand.
Jiang Liu instantly recalled the incident at the amusement park, and his brows furrowed. “The ghost baby went to my house.”
“What?” Both Shen Koudan and Yu Chen’s eyes widened in shock.
Shen Koudan quickly responded, “Get in my car.”
“I’m coming too!” Yu Chen hurriedly followed.
Jiang Liu’s face remained calm. Xiaosi was, after all, half-zombie and protected by the jade pendant, so it wasn’t easy to hurt her. However, a tinge of worry still crept into his heart.
“Kitty, open the door.”
“So many guests today, meow.”
“This is Boss Jiang from Tuo Gu Xiang, and that’s his friend, Yu Chen. We need to get to Tuo Gu Xiang right away.”
“Meow, got it!”
Yu Chen looked around curiously. “Wow, this technology is so advanced!”
Shen Koudan laughed and shook her head. “It’s not that advanced. Kitty is a ghost that helps me drive.”
“Sh-Shen Gongzi is also a ghost?” Yu Chen had been observing her for a while and found that something didn’t quite match up.
“No, I’m a Daoist.” Shen Koudan replied.
Yu Chen’s face turned pale instantly, and he fell silent in fear.
“Jiang Liu, who’s at your house right now?”
“My daughter, Xiaosi.”
“You have a daughter?” Shen Koudan was genuinely surprised. “How old is she? Can she handle this?”
“She’s in the third year of middle school. She should be okay, but she’s a bit timid.”
“Who would’ve thought even a ghost baby could use diversion tactics?”
“Maybe it got hurt when I fought it and wants revenge.”
“Why don’t you have some talismans up in your shop or something to ward off spirits?”
“How would I run a business then?”
“Ghosts don’t need to buy blood.”
“Good point. I’ll think about it next time,” Jiang Liu responded seriously, making Yu Chen chuckle.
When they arrived back at the shop, they couldn’t find the ghost baby anywhere, nor was there any sign of Xiaosi. They searched the entire place, upstairs and downstairs, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Could she have been taken away?” Yu Chen was anxiously pacing in circles.
“No, she’s still in the shop.” Jiang Liu, guided by the jade pendant, sensed where Xiaosi was and slowly made his way upstairs. He entered his room, opened the coffin lid, and sure enough, there was Xiaosi curled up inside, sound asleep.
“Xiaosi!” He gently shook her awake.
“Dad, you’re back?” Xiaosi rubbed her eyes. “Yu Chen, you’re here too. Who’s this?”
“I’m Shen Koudan.”
“Huh? Koudan! It’s you!”
“You are…?”
“I’m Jiang Xiaosi! We spoke on the phone before.” Xiaosi quickly shook off her sleepiness and hopped out of the coffin.
Shen Koudan finally understood. No wonder the voice had sounded so familiar.
“Why do you look like a guy now?” Xiaosi asked, intrigued.
“I’m in disguise.”
Curious, Xiaosi ran over, eager to touch Shen Koudan’s face.
Jiang Liu quickly pulled her back and asked, “What happened earlier? Did the ghost baby come?”
“Yeah, I woke up to find it snuggled up in the blanket with me, grinning at me. Scared me to death, so I quickly called you.”
“Did it hurt you?”
“No, as soon as it touched me, the jade pendant repelled it.”
“And then?”
“Then it started chasing me while I tried to run. I tried a few exorcism methods, but I guess I wasn’t skilled enough, because I couldn’t get rid of it. Instead, it seemed to think I was playing a game with it, having the time of its life. So I hid in the coffin. It couldn’t get in, and when it heard you guys return, it probably left.”
Jiang Liu nodded. Dealing with persistent ghosts could be a real nuisance, and the ghost baby would likely return.
Shen Koudan frowned and asked Jiang Liu in a low voice, “Why is there a coffin in your room? Don’t tell me…”
Jiang Liu nodded, confirming her suspicions. Shen Koudan was taken aback. “What about Xiaosi?” She was too inexperienced to detect Jiang Liu’s true nature, but if Xiaosi was the same, surely her uncle wouldn’t have allowed her to stay near him—he despised non-humans, especially zombies.
After hesitating for a couple of seconds, Jiang Liu shook his head. “She doesn’t count as one.”
After seeing Shen Koudan and Yu Chen off, Jiang Liu suddenly remembered, “Xiaosi, why haven’t you been going to school lately?”
Xiaosi propped her legs up on the table, munching on an apple. “Because I transferred schools. Hehe.”
Meanwhile, Shen Mo entered the classroom as usual, ready to teach his second-year archaeology class. The room was packed with students, most of them girls from other departments who had come to audit the class. After all, there wasn’t another professor on campus as handsome and talented as him.
Despite the large crowd, the classroom was unusually quiet. The students knew he was cold and strict, and under his intense gaze, no one dared to speak out of turn.
But then, a faint snoring sound broke the silence. Although no one else seemed to hear it, Shen Mo’s keen ears picked it up immediately, and his expression darkened with displeasure.
Sensing the murderous aura from the stern professor, the culprit shifted positions and continued to sleep, this time without making any noise.
Shen Mo turned back to continue his lecture, but just as he started speaking, he whipped his head around, glaring at the student who was still snoring away.
Was he seeing things?
Jiang Xiaosi?
Why wasn’t she in class? What was she doing here sleeping?
For some reason, every time he saw her, his anger flared up. Struggling to resist the urge to throw her out of the classroom, Shen Mo sped through his lecture, finishing the session in half the usual time. Once the class was dismissed, and the bold girls who had stayed behind to ask questions were sent away, Jiang Xiaosi was still sound asleep on her desk.
Finally feeling the weight of a deadly gaze boring into her, Xiaosi lazily stretched and opened her eyes.
“Hello, Professor Shen!” Xiaosi waved cheerfully, fully prepared for Shen Mo’s wrath.
“What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you not to show your face in front of me again?”
“I’m a T University student, of course I’m here.”
“A T University student? Aren’t you in third year of middle school?” Shen Mo asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.
“I skipped a grade. Haven’t you heard of a creature called a genius?”
“You skipped a grade?” Shen Mo’s voice rose.
“Yep! I got tired of middle school courses, so I skipped ahead for a change of scenery. Although, I do miss my old teachers and classmates a bit.”
“Even if you skipped a grade, T University wouldn’t just let a middle schooler enroll!”
“There’s no such thing as impossible! Weren’t you specially invited by the principal yourself? You couldn’t even use a phone or computer. To get into T University, I published a few articles in professional journals overseas, got several letters of recommendation from experts both domestic and abroad, and even donated a rare blue-and-white porcelain ewer with a phoenix and peony design to the school. Only then did the principal approve my admission as a special student.”
Shen Mo’s face twitched. That last detail was probably the real reason, wasn’t it? That artifact-obsessed old principal, who had begged him three times to come teach, had only wanted a personal antiques expert.
“As long as my schedule allows, I can take any class I want. So I basically signed up for all of your classes, including the graduate-level ones. Oh, and I also told the principal to make you my mentor, so from now on, I’ll be in your care!”
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