“Female ghost?”
When Lu Xingyao mentioned encountering a female ghost, the ears of the five others immediately perked up. They all stared at him wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were hearing.
One of them, unable to suppress his curiosity, asked, “Yao Ge, what did the female ghost look like?”
There were stories in the countryside about scholars falling in love with female ghosts, and he had read a few of them. He had always been curious, but he never expected Yao Ge to actually run into one. How could he not ask?
Lu Xingyao popped a piece of meat into his mouth. To be honest, he hadn’t really seen the ghost clearly, but he just had this feeling that she was very beautiful—an indescribable kind of beauty.
After thinking for a moment, he told them truthfully, “She looked like an immortal.”
Gu Xingzhao, listening in, wasn’t pleased. She’s being called a ghost, and yet he’s still complimenting her beauty?
Someone scratched their head, confused. “If she’s that beautiful, shouldn’t she be an immortal? Why a ghost?”
Another person gave him a smack on the head. “You idiot! Immortals don’t show up in the middle of the night. If it’s nighttime, it’s gotta be a ghost!”
Gu Xingzhao’s temple throbbed. Oh, great, so showing up at night to bring food automatically makes you a ghost now?
Lu Chang rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “But doesn’t our ancestor often show up at night too?”
Surely, their ancestor wasn’t a ghost either?
The others ignored him, instead looking at Lu Xingyao with envy and curiosity. “Yao Ge, you’re amazing! You even ran into a female ghost!”
“Yeah, I’ve never seen one my whole life!”
“Yet Yao Ge got to meet one…”
Gu Xingzhao was baffled. What was this? Since when was encountering a ghost a good thing? And why did these grown men look so envious? What a bunch of fools!
Wait, wait. She wasn’t a ghost.
Ugh, these guys were twisting her brain into knots. She got up, ready to head back and get some sleep. She couldn’t listen to this nonsense any longer—if she stayed, she might actually flip the table.
After Gu Xingzhao left, the group continued their discussion about the female ghost. “They say female ghosts suck out your soul. Is that true, Yao Ge?”
Lu Xingyao wasn’t sure, but he hoped not. After all, he still wanted to live a good life.
Before he could respond, someone else answered for him.
“Of course, it’s fake! If it were true, Yao Ge wouldn’t still be sitting here eating with us, right?”
“True! Hahaha!”
“Even if female ghosts do suck out souls, as long as our ancestor is around, what’s there to fear?”
“Exactly! That female ghost can’t possibly be stronger than our ancestor!”
Lu Xingyao nodded, feeling more confident. Yeah, his ancestor was incredible—what did he have to be scared of?
He suddenly regretted running to his grandfather for help. Not only had he been thrown out, but it was also pretty embarrassing in hindsight.
The next day, Gu Xingzhao took the offerings she had collected and drove to the city’s antique street.
The night before, after sending a message, she had gone to the ancient era. By the time she returned, it was nearly 1 a.m., and only then did she see a message from Xu Shisan, telling her she could visit the shop today to check out some items.
When she arrived, Xu Shisan wasn’t there yet. Normally, he showed up quickly, but today, even after she finished her first pot of tea, he still hadn’t arrived.
Gu Xingzhao asked the shop assistant, “Where’s your boss?”
The assistant smiled and replied, “Our young boss was called back by the big boss for something. I asked earlier and he said he’ll be here soon. Please enjoy another cup of tea while you wait.”
Gu Xingzhao nodded. She hadn’t expected Xu Shisan to be just the young boss and that there was still a ‘big boss’ above him. She guessed it must be one of Xu Shisan’s elders.
By the time her second pot of tea was almost finished, Xu Shisan finally arrived, wearing a flamboyant green floral shirt, looking like a peacock on display.
“Here I am!” Xu Shisan exclaimed as he sat down in front of Gu Xingzhao and immediately poured himself a cup of tea. “Sorry about that, my uncle called me back for something. Kept you waiting.”
“No worries. Take a look at the items,” Gu Xingzhao said, placing the items on the table.
Xu Shisan gave them a quick glance, pointing at a jade bracelet and a jade-inlaid bangle. “These are good. For the lot, I’ll give you three million.”
“Deal. Just transfer it to my account,” Gu Xingzhao agreed immediately. After working together for so long, there was no need to haggle.
Suddenly, Xu Shisan cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um… about that ten billion you mentioned last night… Most of our family’s money is still controlled by my uncle, and I can’t access that much.”
Gu Xingzhao blinked, then burst out laughing. She waved her hand dismissively. “No need! I wasn’t serious!”
Even if he had that much, she wouldn’t dare take it.
If she had asked for one or two million, maybe she’d have meant it. But ten billion? Anyone could tell she was joking!
But Xu Shisan looked deadly serious. “Would you mind if I paid in installments?”
This morning, he’d been called back to the family estate. He had thought his uncle was going to give him some money. Instead, his uncle had taken his phone and installed an anti-fraud app on it. Not a single cent was transferred to him.
But on the way over, Xu Shisan had thought it over. While he couldn’t come up with ten billion at once, he could definitely pay it off in installments!
Hearing the words “installment plan,” Gu Xingzhao’s eyes widened in confusion. “?”
Xu Shisan grabbed a calculator from the nearby table and began doing calculations right in front of her. “I could pay you three million a month, which would be 36 million a year. Plus, if you want any designer bags or cars, I can get those for you too. If you live to be 80, you’d get way more than ten billion.”
Gu Xingzhao: “…”
Staring at the endless rows of numbers on the calculator, she couldn’t help but stand up and lean in, narrowing the gap between them to just a fist’s distance. She stared intently at him.
Xu Shisan, startled by her sudden closeness, stammered, “Wh-what are you doing?”
“I used to wonder, when watching TV or reading novels, if there really were people out there who were filthy rich but not very bright,” Gu Xingzhao said thoughtfully.
Her words were gentle, so Xu Shisan didn’t quite understand.
“Huh?” Xu Shisan blinked, confused.
Gu Xingzhao leaned back into her chair, speaking with a heartfelt tone. “Now that I’ve met you, I finally know what those people look like.”
Xu Shisan: “…”
The assistant in the background burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer.
Xu Shisan, feeling a little defeated, suddenly thought of something else. Imitating Gu Xingzhao’s earlier move, he leaned in and flashed her a flirty smile. “Wanna check out my family’s treasure vault?”
He remembered that Gu Xingzhao had once shown great interest in their vault. After all, that was the first time she had called him out of the blue for a video chat.
Gu Xingzhao blinked, intrigued. “The one with the gaming console?”
Xu Shisan nodded enthusiastically, his eyes crinkling with delight.
Gu Xingzhao hesitated for a moment. The vault probably still had traces of the Lu family’s history, and she was curious to see if she could uncover anything. But hadn’t Xu Shisan said outsiders weren’t allowed in?
She eyed him suspiciously. “Didn’t you say before that no outsiders were allowed in the vault?”
Xu Shisan grinned. “Don’t worry. My uncle’s the only one at home right now, and we probably won’t even run into him. And if we do, just pretend to be my girlfriend. I’ll take you in for a little tour—he won’t mind.”
The temptation was too strong for Gu Xingzhao to resist. “Deal!”
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