Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 90: An Unexpected Meeting

After finishing the ID checks, Officer Xiao Zhou began making phone calls one by one. Bai Shuangying could only hear the repeated tone in the receiver. None of the four calls went through.

“Why are out-of-town calls still unreachable? What kind of infrastructure takes this long to fix?”

Xiao Zhou muttered and set down the receiver. “Hey, when was the last time outsiders came in to file a report…?”

He shook his head hard and pulled out a tube of extra-cool mint candies from the drawer, chewing one quickly. Whether it was the mint or not, his mouth and back both felt cold.

Bai Shuangying stood silently at his side, observing.

He could now confirm that this officer was indeed a living human—at least, one with a human soul. If Xiao Zhou were some illusion meant to fool Fang Xiu and the others, he wouldn’t act so naturally when unobserved.

It seemed this environment still had some connection to the outside world. The info Xiao Zhou found mostly matched what Bai Shuangying already knew, except for Fang Xiu’s family.

…So Fang Xiu still had other family members alive.

Bai Shuangying had secretly glanced at the screen and memorized Yuan Ye’s information.

Judging by the birthdate, Yuan Ye was much older than Fang Xiu, old enough to be his father. He shared a surname with Fang Xiu’s adoptive brother Yuan Yongan, making it very likely he was Yongan’s biological father.

This meant Fang Xiu had lost all his blood relatives early on and was later adopted by the Yuan family.

How strange. Bai Shuangying pondered seriously.

If Yuan Ye had treated Fang Xiu badly, Fang Xiu wouldn’t trust the police so much. But if he’d had a normal upbringing, Bai Shuangying wouldn’t believe that either.

While Xiao Zhou had his back to the screen, Bai Shuangying snuck closer to the mouse and clumsily tried scrolling with the wheel. Sadly, modern computer skills couldn’t be mastered in a day. He nearly flung the mouse onto the floor.

In the end, the only thing he managed to remember was Fang Xiu’s birthday: December 24th.

Before Xiao Zhou could gather himself, another officer knocked and entered. “That girl Meng Xiaomeng is back again.”

Officer Xiao Zhou rubbed his forehead. “What now?”

“She cut class, snuck out, and used a fake ID to get into a bar. The owner thought she didn’t look like an adult, tried to stop her, and they got into it, so the cops were called.”

The young officer said helplessly, “She’s throwing a fit now. You better contact her mom.”

Xiao Zhou sighed. “Again, that girl?”

The young officer also sighed. “What can we do? Give her a lecture, sure, but contacting the parents is the real priority. We can’t scold someone else’s kid.”

Xiao Zhou returned to his desk and pulled up Meng Xiaomeng’s file. Her emergency contact was her mother, Hu Die.

This time, Xiao Zhou had no trouble getting through. “Hello? Ms. Hu? This is Huangsu Police Station…”

After he introduced himself, the woman on the other end gave only a couple of terse replies.

Her voice sounded familiar. Bai Shuangying, who had been about to leave, silently slipped back toward the phone.

“…I understand. I guess she doesn’t want to return to school. Please take her to the station first. I can’t leave right now.”

After hearing the situation, Hu Die’s tone remained cold and emotionless. “I’ll pick her up after work. Sorry for the trouble.”

Xiao Zhou reluctantly agreed.

……

In the lounge.

Fang Xiu sat curled under a blanket in the warm room. The heat felt like a soft wrap around him, but it didn’t bring peaceful sleep.

Humans could function on six hours of sleep, but foxes needed ten or more. Yan Yan was the most wrecked among them. He groaned, scratching the table with his nails.

With each sound, his mouth seemed to elongate, his hair beginning to grow out unnaturally.

“Is there a theme to this ritual?”

Guan He quickly spoke to distract him. “The ‘don’t lose consciousness’ rule is really weird. If it was just about not sleeping, then being knocked out shouldn’t count.”

“And with that woman jumping off a building before, could this be about overwork? Like one of those 24/7 on-call taboos?”

“Hmm… normal jobs don’t ask that much. Maybe something like the police or hospitals.” 

Cheng Songyun hesitated. Because of personal reasons, she’d endured many sleepless nights, so her body had adapted.

As she spoke, she instinctively glanced at Fang Xiu.

He was wrapped in a blanket with only his nose and eyes exposed, staring at a fixed point in space, as if lost in memory.

The little black dog lay quietly at his feet, chewing a biscuit gifted by a kind female officer, on the condition she got to pet its head.

“Enough thinking about it. It’s an Immortal E we’re facing. The ‘theme’ doesn’t matter that much.”

Yan Yan tried to pull himself together. His elongated mouth returned to normal. “Immortal E are controlled by people. The so-called ‘taboos’ are just skills the other side casts. If they want to screw with you, they will. What theme?”

“Even if we figure it out, it won’t help solve anything. The only way is to catch the one controlling the E.”

He gulped down half a cup of hot tea and slumped. “I hope Zhuang Ge can deal with that woman quickly. This ritual’s exhausting… I’d rather eat ten rats raw…”

Fang Xiu didn’t even lift his head. He gave a soft “mm” but remained deep in thought.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang! A girl had pushed the door open, or rather, kicked the door open.

“Wait for my mom here, right?”

She rolled her eyes at the officer who’d escorted her. “Yeah, yeah, I know… She’s busy. She’s always busy, 365 days a year. Next time don’t call her. I’m nothing to her anyway.”

Once inside, she scanned the room. Spotting Fang Xiu and Yan Yan, her expression softened a bit.

She dialed down her rebellious energy, pulled out a chair, and sat in the corner.

Meanwhile, in the unseen realm…

“That’s Meng Xiaomeng. She’s a regular here,” Bai Shuangying whispered near Fang Xiu’s ear. “Her mother is Hu Die, the same woman who jumped. She’s coming later to pick her up.”

Just as he finished, Meng Xiaomeng’s phone rang.

She stared at the screen for a moment, then declined the call. A few seconds later, it rang again. She declined it again. Everyone in the lounge looked at her, and she seemed a little embarrassed.

The third time, she finally picked up.

“What now? Aren’t you busy? Then go be busy and stop sticking your nose into my life.”

“What’s wrong with me? Not getting grades you approve of? I just went out with friends during lunch. I ordered a Coke, there’s even a receipt!”

She fell silent for a while. Muffled words came through the speaker. Her brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

“I’m drinking and doing drugs? Are you serious? Stop talking about what’s legal or illegal. That asshole bar owner called the cops… I can’t help that. People run red lights too, but you don’t see cops arresting everyone.”

“All you ever do is forbid this, forbid that. I get it. You think I’m an idiot! Yeah, yeah, I’m just a worthless dog!”

Her voice rose sharply, filled with anger and resentment. Before the other side could reply, she ended the call with a slap and muttered “bitch” under her breath, eyes red.

Fang Xiu quietly exhaled and smiled warmly. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

His gentle tone made Bai Shuangying recoil instantly in discomfort. After a moment of thought, though, he edged back closer to observe carefully.

Charming men were dangerous. Just those few kind words, and Meng Xiaomeng’s eyes reddened even more.

“It’s nothing. Just my mom,” she muttered, trying to sound casual while sniffling.

“We’ll be here a while too. You can talk if you want. It might make you feel better,” Fang Xiu said gently. “We were just talking about family. That auntie over there has a daughter too. Maybe she has some advice.”

Cheng Songyun caught the cue. “Yes, go ahead, sweetie.”

“She doesn’t care about me at all.” Meng Xiaomeng gave a bitter smile. “It’s always about grades, grades, grades. Oh, and I’m not allowed to hang out with friends. Like it’s some disease. She never even takes me anywhere. Auntie, do you take your daughter out for fun?”

Cheng Songyun said, “I used to, but…”

But that was before her husband gambled away everything they owned. Back then, they traveled the world. After that, they barely left the house.

Meng Xiaomeng caught the first word and exploded. “See? That’s what normal parents do. Mine? Doesn’t give a damn. I’m half an orphan.”

“Even if I got stabbed to death on the street, she’d wait until after work to identify my corpse. Don’t believe me? Try it.”

Guan He, also a high schooler, couldn’t help interjecting. “Maybe your mom’s just really busy. My mom is too…”

“We’re not starving. Is a few bucks more important than your kid? She just kisses up to her boss all day,” Meng Xiaomeng sneered. “Like I don’t have emotional needs. Even a dog gets spoiled.”

The black dog perked up at the word and looked over. Meng Xiaomeng noticed it too, her expression softening.

“C’mere, little guy…”

She cooed like a typical sixteen-year-old. The dog tilted its head, then laid its snout back on Fang Xiu’s foot.

Fang Xiu was about to diffuse the mood, but Guan He blurted out, “If the conflict isn’t that bad, you could still talk it out. Maybe she just doesn’t know how to express herself…”

Meng Xiaomeng’s face went stiff. “‘It’s for your own good,’ ‘You’ll understand when you’re older’. Those don’t count as communication? Please. Classic lines. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard them.”

He hadn’t. Guan He pursed his lips, a little sad.

He seemed to want to say, “At least she still talks to you,” but he swallowed the words.

Meng Xiaomeng looked smug again and went back to playing with the dog. Cheng Songyun looked from her to Guan He and sighed quietly.

Speaking about how she raised her daughter would probably just add fuel to the fire. Not far away, Yan Yan blinked repeatedly. This time, he was the one who couldn’t relate to the humans.

The argument was all too familiar. For a few seconds, the atmosphere felt entirely normal. It was almost enough to make them forget they were in the middle of a bizarre sacrificial ritual, until…

Creak.

Right at noon, the lounge door opened.

Hu Die stepped in, hair in loose curls, burgundy sweater under a down coat. She looked travel-worn from rushing to the station. When she saw Fang Xiu’s group, she paused slightly, but didn’t seem too surprised.

“Thank you for watching her.” Hu Die looked at Fang Xiu and smiled. “You’re the fastest ones yet. Much more interesting than the other team.”

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