Chapter 174
Chapter 174
Wang Yuanyou rubbed his nose with an awkward laugh.
“No need to thank me. I knew you were my best bro. Of course you’d do me this favor.”
It was getting late.
Wang Yuanyou grabbed an apple from the coffee table and headed for the door, taking bites as he went.
“I’ll get going, then.”
“Oh, right. How am I supposed to contact you?”
Halfway out, Wang Yuanyou suddenly stopped and turned back to Yun Youyou.
“Do you ghosts have some special way to communicate? Like appearing in dreams, or sending an omen from the heavens?”
Yun Youyou: “…”
We’re ghosts, not immortals.
The corner of her mouth twitched. “We ghosts prefer telepathy.”
Wang Yuanyou’s pig brain actually believed her.
“Telepathy? How does that work? Is it like Morse code, where you transmit a certain frequency through your brain?”
Yun Youyou nearly lost the power of speech. “No. Pig brains and human brains aren’t compatible.”
Wang Yuanyou gave her a wounded look.
“I feel like you just insulted me.”
Yun Youyou feigned surprise. “Oh! So pig brains and human brains can communicate after all!”
Wang Yuanyou: “…”
Now he was certain. She was insulting him.
Yun Youyou took out her phone. “Let’s stick to the old-fashioned method.”
She read her number out to him.
Wang Yuanyou entered the digits one by one.
“Wait! Why do I already have this number?”
He stared suspiciously at his screen.
Worse, the contact attached to the number was Ji Lin.
Ji Lin had two phone numbers, and they normally contacted each other through the other one. This number had sat in Wang Yuanyou’s phone so unused that it might as well not have been saved at all.
Yun Youyou made no attempt to hide the truth.
“That’s right. This is Ji Lin’s number. Since I’m an undocumented resident, he very kindly gave me one of his SIM cards.”
Yun Youyou’s highest possible praise for Ji Lin was: “He’s a kindhearted man.”
Wang Yuanyou pursed his lips. “How come he’s never that kindhearted to me?”
Yun Youyou looked at him in amusement.
“Are you jealous?”
“What would I be jealous of? I’m never jealous! I don’t even dip my soup dumplings in vinegar!”
Wang Yuanyou’s rebuttal was loud and forceful.
Yun Youyou gave him a knowing smile. “Heh. The louder you are, the guiltier you feel. An explanation is a cover-up, and a cover-up means…”
Wang Yuanyou refused to fall into her trap.
Instead, he calmed down. “Don’t try to strike up a conversation with this handsome man by spouting nonsense. I know my charm is irresistible, but don’t fall for me!”
Embarrassment was not part of his emotional range. A person only needed thick skin to make it through life.
At that moment, Yun Youyou and the old man’s thought processes connected across space in a bizarre flash of unity.
What an absolute turnoff!
Yun Youyou’s face went blank. “Just get lost.”
Wang Yuanyou obediently got lost.
Before the old man came downstairs, Yun Youyou hurriedly directed her Tentacles to finish the remaining chores.
Since it was still early, she decided to explore the neighborhood.
The sun had not yet set. Brilliant clouds covered the sky, their pink and violet hues possessing an eerie beauty.
The moment Yun Youyou stepped outside, she saw Ji Lin leaving with a bag of garbage.
He wore simple loungewear, which softened some of his usual aloofness.
Yun Youyou greeted him with a smile.
“What a coincidence. I run into you the second I step outside.”
Ji Lin stopped. “It is quite a coincidence.”
Seeing her empty-handed, he asked, “Are you going somewhere?”
Yun Youyou nodded. “Yeah. It’s still early, so I thought I’d look around.”
Ji Lin paused, his expression perfectly natural.
“I’ll come with you.”
Having company sounded nice to Yun Youyou. It was certainly better than wandering around all alone.
Especially since she was not like other people. She was a genuine supernatural creature: a ghost.
Yun Youyou accompanied Ji Lin to throw away his garbage, then the two continued down the road together.
After they rounded a corner, a furtive figure appeared behind them.
Old Man Wang had put on his flamboyant con-man sunglasses again and was stealthily following Yun Youyou and Ji Lin.
Hmph. They were obviously dating, yet neither dared admit it.
Old Man Wang might be old, but his appetite for gossip was as lively as ever. Besides, he had nothing but time.
He even found himself a noble excuse.
Ji Lin certainly looked respectable, but what if he tried something improper with Yun Youyou? An adult needed to stay nearby and supervise.
Yun Youyou and Ji Lin continued down the street.
Old Man Wang followed at a distance, wearing his sunglasses and carrying his fortune-telling banner over one shoulder.
Whenever Yun Youyou showed the slightest sign of turning around, he dropped to the ground, propped the banner beside him, and transformed into a street fortune-teller on the spot.
Then, in the middle of a conversation, Yun Youyou and Ji Lin suddenly entered a milk-tea shop.
Old Man Wang observed them through the window.
After watching for a while, he grew thirsty and went next door to buy a bottle of water.
When he returned, the two people inside the shop had vanished.
Strange. Where had they gone?
Old Man Wang pressed himself to the glass and searched every face inside.
At that precise moment, someone with absolutely no sense of timing approached from behind.
“Master, I’d like you to tell my fortune.”
Why did a customer have to show up now?
Old Man Wang was busy!
“I don’t have time right now. Find someone else.”
The person behind him refused to give up. “But I want you to do it.”
Old Man Wang’s sparse eyebrows scrunched together.
Why was this young woman so incapable of reading the room?
He had already said no. Why did she keep pestering him?
As he turned around, he grumbled, “There’s no need for a reading. I can already tell what you’re missing from the five elements.”
“You aren’t missing anything else. You’re missing common sense.”
As the last word left his mouth, Old Man Wang finally saw the inconsiderate young woman’s face.
She was quite pretty. She also looked a tiny, microscopic bit familiar.
His expression changed instantly.
“Oh! What are you doing here? What an incredible coincidence! Ha ha ha ha ha…”
Old Man Wang launched into his performance at top speed.
This rotten old man was truly wicked.
Yun Youyou did not believe a word of it. She went straight to the point.
“How did you get here?”
The old man’s gaze drifted. “I… rode in on a joke.”
“…”
Yun Youyou applauded. “Excellent mode of transportation! No gas money, no driver’s license, and the only requirement is that you have no shame.”
The old man could no longer smile.
He felt thoroughly mocked.
Even Ji Lin could not stop the corner of his mouth from lifting.
Her tongue was as merciless as ever.
Just then, a voice came from beside them.
“Excuse me. How much for a reading?”
Someone had stopped beside Old Man Wang’s upright banner.
Yun Youyou decided it was time to demonstrate her true ability.
She snatched the old man’s sunglasses and put them on.
“Five yuan. Fair prices for young and old, and if I’m wrong, you pay nothing!”
Old Man Wang thought she had quite the nerve to make such a boast.
After all his years of swindling people, he had barely made any money at all.