Chapter 41

The elderly ghosts could not tolerate the word "free." In no time, Assistant Liu was surrounded by the older ghosts, blocked from all directions.

The younger kind ghosts in the base weren't initially interested in this event, but they couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the elderly ghosts, who eagerly pulled them in.

While pushing, they also tried to educate the younger ones: "Youngsters, don't look down on free benefits! Even though it's just a bundle of incense and ten gold ingots, it'll keep you well-fed for a long time! Do you know how uncomfortable it is for a ghost not to eat?"

Although ghosts don’t need to eat to survive, they still require sustenance.

Incense, offerings, and such items can be directly consumed, while gold ingots and ghost money are the currency they need for their life in the underworld.

However, modern people rarely conduct regular offerings anymore. Many only burn offerings for their deceased relatives during Qingming or the Ghost Festival. A lot of the time, these offerings are counterfeit ghost money.

This leads to ghosts living in financial hardship. Things like incense, which can be stored for a long time, are kept until the ghosts can't bear the hunger anymore, at which point they take a few bites.

The younger ghosts, wandering here, include those who haven't had fresh offerings in a long time, some even lacking living relatives in the human world, starving for many years. Upon hearing this, they didn’t mind that a bundle of incense and ten gold ingots were a bit less; they eagerly lined up in front of the fountain.

After finally recording all the kind ghosts' resumes and job positions, Assistant Liu squeezed out of the crowd of ghosts, his face pale, his legs weak like noodles.

No matter how high-end the worker is, they still fear ghosts.

However, compared to the fear brought by unemployment, some chatty, uneducated old ghosts were clearly not much of a threat—

A monthly salary in the six-digit range! He couldn’t let go of this job, no matter what!

Insisting on delivering the information to Mr. Nie, Assistant Liu stood dazed for a long time, feeling as if his always-working brain had stopped functioning, a sense of his soul almost about to leave his body.

This feeling was so comfortable, like lying on a cloud, with his body and brain completely relaxed, without any burden.

He couldn’t resist the urge to close his eyes and sleep.

...No, he was still at work... but he was so sleepy...

Assistant Liu’s eyes gradually became unfocused, almost unable to resist the overwhelming sleepiness crashing over him, his breath slowly weakening and becoming more sluggish.

Ke Xingzhou awkwardly took the documents from Nie Chen’s hand. The latter didn’t let go in time for some unknown reason, and the paper suddenly tightened between their hands. In that moment, the pull seemed to drag them both back to the past.

Nie Chen slowly spoke, "Wait, don’t go... I have something to say."

His voice was very low, only audible to the two of them. The deep tone was like someone gently brushing a feather against Ke Xingzhou’s earlobe, and the tingling sensation quickly spread throughout his body.

Ke Xingzhou’s ears were always sensitive, and this caused his breath to momentarily stop, his heart to race.

A warning bell rang loudly in his mind, and he nervously shifted his gaze, only to find that he was just about to catch a glimpse of Assistant Liu, who should have had the sense to avoid them.The other party had a dazed expression, their pupils dilated, and it was clear something was wrong.

Ke Xingzhou quickly snapped his wandering thoughts back into focus, shoved the documents back into Nie Chen's hands, and spoke in a deep voice, "Soul departure."

Nie Chen: "..."

Ke Xingzhou had already formed his fingers into a sword and pointed them at Assistant Liu’s forehead. At the same time, he whispered the calming incantation twice, then pressed his palm heavily onto Assistant Liu’s forehead.

Assistant Liu suddenly felt the world spinning. The light, floating sensation disappeared in an instant, and the scene before his eyes became clear again.

He didn’t know what had just happened, confused as he looked at Ke Xingzhou, who had appeared in front of him: "Husband... no, Master Ke?"

Ke Xingzhou: "?"

Looking suspiciously at Assistant Liu, Ke Xingzhou was slightly concerned about the word he had used but, since he wasn't familiar with him, he didn't press the matter further. Instead, he took out a protective talisman from his pocket and handed it over.

"You've been spending too much time with restless spirits recently. Your soul is unstable, and you almost left your body. Wear this, recite the calming incantation more often, and avoid places with evil spirits."

Looking at the small protective talisman in Ke Xingzhou’s hand, Assistant Liu’s first instinct was not to move. He glanced toward Mr. Nie for approval.

Nie Chen’s gaze darkened as it fell on Ke Xingzhou’s frozen, reddened fingertips. His fingers involuntarily traced the place on the paper where the warmth of the other person lingered.

Noticing Assistant Liu’s gaze, he lifted his eyes to meet it, paused, and gave a slight nod.

Only then did Assistant Liu feel reassured enough to take it.

Ke Xingzhou: "???"

He finally realized something was off. When talking to Assistant Liu, why was he always looking at Nie Chen?

Just as he was about to ask, Nie Chen had already spoken up first, instructing Assistant Liu: "Pay him the market rate of Qingyun Temple."

Assistant Liu, still regretting his earlier slip of the tongue and subconscious behavior, heard this and felt like he had been pardoned. He quickly said that he would go get the money right away and left in a hurry.

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Xie An stretched his neck to look at the good ghosts, seeing how easily their things vanished with a flick of the hand, and couldn’t help but feel envious.

Seeing Assistant Liu leave, he assumed that the matter with Ke Xingzhou had been settled. He quietly asked Ke Xingzhou, "Brother, their magic is so amazing. Can I learn it even after I’m dead?"

"..." Ke Xingzhou wondered what kind of question that was. He knocked on his head. "It’s not magic. Things burned for the deceased have to be registered in the underworld first, then distributed by the ghost messengers to the corresponding addresses."

As he said this, Ke Xingzhou couldn't help but think of that little brat, Lu Li. Even a rookie judge was so busy—could the underworld's delivery system still be running normally?

Nie Chen’s gaze, drawn by his movements, fell on Xie An’s head, his eyes darkening as he noticed the change in expression, becoming even more solemn.

Three years had passed, leaving no marks on Ke Xingzhou. Unlike Ke Xingzhou, who was unfamiliar with him, he was almost attuned to every subtle change in Ke Xingzhou’s expressions.

He was thinking about someone.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated twice. Nie Chen’s gaze fell to the screen, and as he saw the name displayed, his breathing became slower.

"Sorry," he interrupted the conversation between Ke Xingzhou and Xie An, his eyes falling vaguely to the side of Ke Xingzhou. "There’s something at home. I may need to leave. You can contact Assistant Liu for the rest. I’ll have him handle it."

Ke Xingzhou waved his hand dismissively, "Forget it. His soul is unstable. If he stays around these restless spirits any longer, his soul might really leave his body. I’ll find someone else to manage things later."He was focusing on the matter at hand, but just as his words finished, he saw Nie Chen suddenly look up at him.

"Someone else?"

When he said this, the sense of disappointment in Nie Chen's eyes was so clear that even Xie An, standing nearby, noticed and looked over in surprise.

Ke Xingzhou's scalp tightened. He instinctively opened his mouth to explain but was interrupted by the sudden ringing of Nie Chen's phone.

Nie Chen stared at him for several seconds, but when he didn't get the answer he was hoping for, he finally lowered his gaze, answered the call, and turned to leave.

"Mr. Nie is really such a helpful person..." Watching Nie Chen's departing figure, Xie An sighed sincerely.

Who else in this world would be disappointed enough to have their eyes dull just because they couldn't help someone?

At least, he had never encountered that before.

There are still a lot of good people in this world!

After his reflection, Xie An turned around and saw the cheerful good ghosts. Finally, he remembered to ask the most crucial question: "By the way, brother, ghosts in the underworld can really find jobs in the living world? And I just heard Assistant Liu mention 'Omnipotent Idol' and haunted houses several times during the interview. Has our program already partnered up for business?"

"...It's not really a collaboration," Ke Xingzhou said ambiguously, silently shifting his gaze to the good ghosts who were still immersed in the joy of free benefits.

The ghosts had already divided themselves into several teams according to the job positions.

Among them, the old man ghost and old lady ghost had been standing at the front of the line for a long time, stubbornly refusing any help from the others. They were head to head, squinting their old eyes at what was written on the temp job badges.

"Let me see yours... hanging ghost? Wasn't this the position I applied for first?!" The old lady ghost's voice suddenly rose, "Wasn't it said this role had to be played by a woman? Why am I being assigned to after-sales reception while you get to play the role I wanted?!"

She had carefully compared the roles before. Among the actors, this hanging ghost role seemed the easiest—just floating in mid-air and occasionally turning over. No other tasks were needed.

Why did that stingy old man get it?!

"No way, I have to go talk to them!"

As she spoke, she was about to go find Assistant Liu to argue, but when she reached the fountain, she only saw a trembling young man.

Assistant Liu had wisely purchased a stack of eye-opening talismans from the Taoist priests at Qingyun Temple ahead of time and had seriously learned the incantation for opening eyes.

Before leaving with Nie Chen, he handed all these things over to the assistant to help Master Ke with the follow-up matters.

The poor assistant, who had just been relieved to escape the oppressive atmosphere from Mr. Nie, followed the instructions left by Assistant Liu. He placed two yellow talismans on his temples and recited the incantation, then opened his eyes again, almost gasping for breath—

How could there be so many ghosts here?!!

The assistant was now dazed, thinking back to how he had secretly doubted Nie Chen's decision to bring in the Taoist priests for the ritual and had proudly rejected Assistant Liu's offer to buy him a protective talisman. He now felt utterly foolish.

Originally, just standing aside and watching the ghosts chattering was enough to leave a huge psychological shadow on him. He was trying to process it slowly, but then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a ghost with gray hair charging straight toward him.

The mental preparation he had done collapsed in an instant. The assistant felt his scalp explode, "Ahhhhhh, Buddha, Jesus, Dao Ancestor, God, Lord Laozi! Ahhh, help!!!"

The old lady ghost: "..."

Why can't young people even call their own gods correctly anymore?Which of these can manage the good ghosts?

Silently sneering at the assistant's theological knowledge, the old lady ghost took out her temporary work badge and, during the brief moments of the assistant's screaming, explained her purpose.

Noticing that the other person seemed to speak quite coherently and wasn't as fierce as expected, the assistant slowly managed to suppress his fear. He cautiously glanced at the old lady ghost's temporary work badge.

...Wasn't this the same badge Assistant Liu had him rush to print at a nearby store?

He had been wondering why the first collaboration of Omnipotent Idol was with a haunted house, and why such a small project required him, Assistant Liu's assistant, to handle employee temporary work badges personally.

It turned out that these weren’t for people at all!

As the assistant listened to the old lady ghost’s request, his mind wandered, realizing that Assistant Liu had sent everyone away earlier to handle such a challenging task alone.

No wonder every time he mentioned striving to follow Assistant Liu’s example, the other assistants looked at him with such meaningful glances.

He really had a long way to go!

The old lady ghost returned in defeat.

The good ghosts from the demolished houses gathered around, asking her how things went. The usually lively old lady ghost, however, rarely showed signs of confusion.

She sucked in a cold breath. "I didn’t understand. It seems like the work contract we signed can't be broken. If we try, we’ll be in breach of contract and have to compensate the company for any losses or something..."

As a Qing Dynasty old lady ghost, understanding modern corporate systems was too much to ask of her. Not only her, but the other good ghosts also felt completely lost. In the end, they only concluded one thing:

The job couldn’t be resigned from for now, or they’d have to pay money.

The ghosts' previously joyful mood turned a bit uneasy. After all, whether they were from the demolished houses or the original good ghosts from the filming base, none of them had ever really participated in work.

Hearing such a clause suddenly gave them the feeling of having signed a contract that sold their souls.

Fortunately, the young ghost who had scared Pu Li earlier stepped forward. Hesitantly, he explained to them that modern workers were like this. Even higher-end talent had to sign non-compete agreements, which meant after resignation, they couldn’t do related work anymore.

Everyone sighed in relief.

At the same time, they couldn’t help but fantasize: if they could make it to that level, would their descendants also take pride in them...

After a while, someone finally remembered: "By the way, weren’t you going to ask why you couldn’t play the hanging ghost? Did they give a reason?"

At the mention of this, the old lady ghost couldn't help but get angry. "They said it was because my body condition didn’t meet the recruitment requirements! Just think about it, I’m a female ghost, can I really be less qualified than the old man they hired?!"

The other ghosts shook their heads repeatedly, all condemning the treatment: "Too much! They’re clearly brushing you off!"

"Sigh, the working people in the living world really have it tough. The job hasn’t even started, and we’re already being treated differently. Who knows how much they’ll try to exploit us later..."

The mood of the ghosts sank again.

The old lady ghost waved her foot bandage and sadly sat by the fountain, wiping her tears.

"Ugh... cough... My life... cough... So bitter..."

Ke Xingzhou: "..."It was almost unbearable to look at.

Ke family.

After a busy round, he returned here, and it was already nearly dawn.

Most of the lights in the villa area had been turned off, and everything around was pitch black, but the Ke family's living room on the first floor was still brightly lit.

Xie An now felt uneasy about anything related to the Ke family. He always thought the light left on was very ominous, so when the car stopped, he was still trying to invite Ke Xingzhou to stay at his house:

"...Really, bro. How about you come home with me? My whole family will be really welcoming to you, and although there aren’t many rooms, aren’t we friends? It’s totally normal to sleep in the same bed! I’ve been bringing friends over to sleep together since middle school!"

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

The driver in the front seat kept glancing up, and Ke Xingzhou didn’t dare look at the overly eager, gossiping eyes in the rearview mirror. He cleared his throat and said, "No need, I have other matters to attend to at the Ke family."

However, the reason he gave earlier had fooled Xie An, but now he wasn’t as easily tricked.

He still remembered that Ke Xingzhou had secretly arranged to meet Nie Chen but hadn’t told him about it. With his baby face scrunched up like a steamed bun, he said, "Bro, do you dislike me? You don’t want to be friends with me anymore?"

That’s why he hadn’t told him anything, and his relationship with others was progressing so quickly.

Mr. Nie could even whisper secrets to him!

The more Xie An thought about it, the more wronged he felt, thinking he had become the nameless person in this friendship. His eyes instantly turned red, and tears gathered at a visible speed.

The driver's gossiping soul almost couldn’t be suppressed, and his curiosity couldn’t even be stopped by the rearview mirror. Ke Xingzhou noticed that the driver, using the excuse of lighting a cigarette, had secretly grabbed his phone and was quickly tapping the keys.

The sound of the keys "tap tap tap" nearly drowned out Xie An's soft sobs.

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

Ke Xingzhou was both amused and helpless. "That’s not the case. I really have business at the Ke family, serious business."

Xie An blinked twice. "Really?"

His eyes were shallow, and he was easily comforted. Ke Xingzhou just nodded, and the tears in his eyes were immediately reined back in.

Xie An broke into a smile: "Then I won’t disturb you, bro! Remember to come to my house after you're done with your business, my bed is super clean! My friends always say it smells great, and they say it smells just like me!"

"..." Ke Xingzhou was still smiling when he heard the first part, but his smile disappeared when he heard the last part.

He looked at Xie An's pure, untainted eyes, hesitated several times, but finally couldn’t hold back and said, "You... next time, don't let them sleep with you."

"Huh?" Xie An scratched his head in confusion, not understanding why, but since it was Ke Xingzhou saying it, he didn’t think much and nodded in agreement.

Then he turned around and posted a status on his social media: [Bro said from now on my bed can only be for him!]

The picture was one he took on a whim today, when he grabbed Ke Xingzhou’s wrist and led him into the filming base, a photo taken under the streetlamp.

Nie family, Nie Chen had just exited his father’s study, his face full of exhaustion.He had been busy all day, and it was nearly dawn again, yet he still couldn't rest.

Taking the concentrated black coffee from Assistant Liu, Nie Chen pinched the bridge of his nose and briefly discussed tomorrow's schedule with him. Then, as if recalling something, the exhaustion on his face lightened a little.

"Your performance has been good recently," he rare complimented, "Starting next quarter, your salary will increase by 50%. Tell the finance department and have them come to me for the signature."

Assistant Liu, who had stayed up with him until now, was exhausted, but upon hearing this, he instantly revived, his back straightened: "Thank you, Mr. Nie!"

Nie Chen nodded, signaling Assistant Liu to go rest, while he opened his phone to check his social media.

Today, he added Xie An on WeChat under the pretext of making friends. Although he knew that with Ke Xingzhou’s personality, he likely wouldn't let a newly acquainted friend take pictures of him, he still subconsciously opened it to browse.

He didn’t have much hope of seeing Ke Xingzhou in Xie An’s posts, but the moment he opened Xie An’s moments, his gaze suddenly froze—

The sound of glass shattering rang out, and Assistant Liu, who had just reached the door, was startled and quickly turned around.

When he saw the situation behind him, his face changed drastically. "Mr. Nie, your hand! How did this coffee cup break so suddenly?!"

It was even a limited-edition item, bought for millions, and yet it was less durable than a two-yuan cup from a local market!

Ke Xingzhou had slept peacefully through the entire day at the Ke family home.

The public opinion surrounding the true and false heir had brought some trouble to the Ke family’s company, so Ke Zhengye and Ke Chenyu had moved to the company to deal with the mess.

Mrs. Ke, on the other hand, wanted to spend time with her son, but her schedule, which had been arranged long ago with various beauty and fitness appointments, left no room for any delays.

Between maintaining her beauty and spending time with Ke Xingzhou, she hesitated for a few minutes before happily choosing to go out first.

After all, this was the home where Ke Xingzhou had lived since he was young. Now, Old Ke had even said he didn't intend to sever ties with him, and this child couldn’t just leave home on his own.

With all three of them out, Ke Yuanbai, who had already felt guilty about the scolding Ke Xingzhou received yesterday, asked the housekeeper and learned that Ke Xingzhou had returned close to dawn, so he didn’t want to disturb his sleep.

After confirming the gym’s location with the housekeeper, Ke Yuanbai was about to head over for a workout when he suddenly heard continuous meowing.

Following the sound, he saw a familiar black-and-white cat’s head poking out of a wicker basket.

"This is Young Master Xingzhou's cat," the housekeeper explained quickly, "I saw Young Master Xingzhou was so tired, and the cat’s meowing was so loud, I was afraid it would wake him up, so I took it out. But for some reason, it keeps meowing, doesn’t want to drink milk or eat anything..."

The old housekeeper looked awkwardly at the little cow cat and had to admit that his career had encountered an unprecedented failure because of this little kitten.

Young Master Xingzhou had been far more obedient when he was young.

Just as he thought this, the kitten suddenly let out a loud meow, its round eyes fixed on him, its paws twitching.

The old housekeeper: "…?"

Ke Yuanbai looked at the little cow and hesitated for a moment before speaking: "...It heard you scolding it."

The old housekeeper looked at him in surprise: "Second Young Master, can you understand what the cat is saying?"

"...No," Ke Yuanbai silently looked away, "I just happened to hear Young Master Xingzhou mention it before."

The recording location was that small. When group activities occurred, even if he wanted to avoid Ke Xingzhou, he couldn’t. Moreover, at that time, his mind was always focused on their relationship, so his gaze unconsciously drifted towards Ke Xingzhou.A few times, he unintentionally overheard conversations between him and Xie An and the others.

It seemed that one of the players on their team, named Lu Deben, wanted to touch the cat's head, but when he was still half a meter away, the kitten suddenly let out a loud scream. Ke Xingzhou said that the kitten had heard Lu Deben curse at it in its mind, and the other two players didn’t believe him.

The kitten’s cry just now was somewhat different from that time; it wasn’t as angry, but it was clearly still unhappy.

Sure enough, after the old housekeeper apologized to the little cow and said he wouldn’t compare it to Young Master Xingzhou’s childhood, the kitten’s meows softened considerably, and the frequency wasn’t as urgent as before.

The old housekeeper clicked his tongue in amazement.

He tentatively reached out to stroke the cat's head, and the little cow enjoyed it. Soon, it climbed up onto his hand, snuggled into his palm, and fell asleep.

The old housekeeper felt his heart melt and couldn’t help but reminisce: “Young Master Xingzhou was just like this when he was little. Very smart, with eyes that seemed to speak, but also very clingy. If he couldn’t see anyone for a while, he’d shake his little bell.”

When Young Master Xingzhou was a child, he was the family's little treasure.

Not to mention Madam, even the eldest young master, who was still in elementary school at the time, would bring back all sorts of curious little things for him every day.

Even Mr. Ke’s temper wasn’t as irritable as it is now. Occasionally, he would carry Young Master Xingzhou on his shoulders and play the “airplane” game with him.

Ke Yuanbai listened to the old housekeeper’s rambling about the past and, strangely, didn’t feel much displeasure.

He looked at the fluffy, round cat’s head and, after hesitating for a moment, couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it.

The little cow cat, perhaps sensing the unfamiliar scent, flicked its chubby ears in displeasure, burying its whole body deeper into the old housekeeper’s palm. But it didn’t reject Ke Yuanbai’s touch, even rubbing against his hand the second time.

Ke Yuanbai stared blankly at the little cow cat.

Was Young Master Xingzhou like this when he was little too?

Upstairs, Ke Xingzhou, who didn’t know what he was dreaming about, suddenly furrowed his delicate brows, and his limbs began to move restlessly.

It seemed he was searching for something, as his hand groped across the silk sheets, his expression growing more and more uneasy, his eyelashes fluttering rapidly, as if he were about to wake up from the dream at any moment.

Fortunately, just before he was about to wake up, his fingers finally brushed against a slightly rougher fabric.

Ke Xingzhou quickly grabbed the edge of the pillowcase, and the tension in his brow relaxed as he turned his head to bury his face into the soft pillow. His slender, weak body curled tighter, occupying only a corner of the large bed, despite it being 1.8 meters wide.

“Nie Chen…”

Ke Xingzhou slept until the following evening. When he woke up, he found the housekeeper to check on the little cow cat, and noticed that the kitten seemed to have a bald patch on top of its head.

Ke Xingzhou: "?"

He was somewhat puzzled, but since the kitten was still less than a month old, and its fur hadn’t fully grown yet, it seemed not too strange that the fur on the top of its head was growing slower, so he didn’t think much of it.

After having a delayed breakfast with the cat downstairs, Ke Xingzhou noticed that the house was very quiet and asked the housekeeper: “Where’s Ke Zhengye?”

The housekeeper wiped his sweat, thinking that if Mr. Ke heard this unceremonious way of addressing him, he would definitely be angry again.

“Things are quite busy at the company. Mr. Ke stayed there to sleep last night. The eldest young master did too.”"Both of them are not here?" Ke Xingzhou furrowed his brows, glanced at the old housekeeper, and after a moment, relaxed. "That’s fine, it’s actually more convenient this way."

Housekeeper: "...?"

What do you mean "fine"? What is convenient?

The old housekeeper was confused as he watched Ke Xingzhou stand up and walk straight upstairs toward Ke Zhengye's study.

He didn’t realize what was happening until he heard a loud bang from the second floor. When Ke Xingzhou appeared in his line of sight again, he was holding a thick wooden board that was even taller than him.

The old housekeeper was deeply gratified: "Young Master Xingzhou’s health is getting better and better."

When he was young, even a breeze could make him catch a cold, but now he could actually lift such a large, thick board!

Just as he marveled at how hard life must have been in the countryside, and how the once soft and fragile young master had developed such a strong physique, he couldn’t help but wonder how much hardship Ke Xingzhou must have endured in the countryside.

The old housekeeper’s eyes welled up with tears as he wiped his glasses and put them back on. Looking up again, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the wooden board seemed strangely familiar.

He hesitated as his gaze drifted downward, stopping for a moment at the doors of several rooms on the first floor. Suddenly, he was shocked—

Wasn’t this the door to the study?!

Years ago, Ke Zhengye had reinforced the study with three layers of security to protect the company's confidential information and assets. This door was thicker than the doors of other rooms, double the weight, and even with an electric saw, it would take a while to cut through. It took three strong men to barely manage installing it.

How did Young Master Xingzhou manage to take it down by himself... Wait, hold on.

The old housekeeper, nearly at retirement age, quickly ran upstairs. When he saw the study door wide open, he belatedly realized—

Young Master Xingzhou was essentially dismantling the house?!

"Young Master Xingzhou! You can’t do that!" The old housekeeper was startled, and as Ke Xingzhou examined a huge antique ceramic water jar in the middle of the study, he decisively rushed over to stop him. "This study contains the company's secrets and important items, even Madam and the eldest young master are not allowed to enter casually!"

Ke Xingzhou remained unfazed, still studying the ceramic water jar before him.

The antique was indeed a true antique.

After being severely deceived a few times by street vendors when he was younger, Ke Zhengye became very cautious in this regard. He would only buy from reputable auctions, so most of the items in their house were real.

Ke Xingzhou wasn’t concerned about the jar itself.

It was placed right in the center of the room, probably for aesthetics, and the water inside was used to grow a few water lilies.

But it seemed that either due to neglect or some other reason, the water lilies were half-dead, lying lifeless on the surface. Instead of creating a beautiful scene, the withered stems gave off a feeling of stagnation.

It seemed the problem lay with the water jar.

—Ke Xingzhou had indeed come home today for an important matter.

When Ke Zhengye and the others had come to the countryside to find him, he had noticed a dark aura lingering around Ke Zhengye, and even Ke Madam and Ke Chenyi’s fortunes seemed to be in decline, as they were always falling short of their expectations.

At first, he thought it was just because Ke Zhengye had been too careless with his words over the years, leading to such circumstances. Out of respect for past relationships, he had reminded him several times to avoid cursing.

Unfortunately, Ke Zhengye couldn’t control his temper, constantly losing his cool, which only made the bad luck come around even sooner.

As the saying goes, it’s hard to advise a person who's determined to be stubborn. Ke Xingzhou had advised him several times, but when the advice went unheeded, he didn’t want to get involved anymore. However, upon moving back into the Ke family home, he realized that Ke Zhengye’s bad luck wasn’t just caused by "reckless words."The location of the study represents the head of the household’s fortune. If Ke Zhengye hadn’t made a fuss yesterday, Ke Xingzhou would have already come to tidy up the study yesterday.

Ke Xingzhou looked at the wilting lotus flowers in the water jar and narrowed his eyes.

Water in Feng Shui has the property of attracting wealth, and porcelain is a commonly used item to gather vitality and dispel negative energy. However, both of these things are only useful when placed in the right location.

Ke Zhengye's study is blocked from light, and even during the day, it needs artificial lighting. With dead things now in the jar, it not only fails to attract wealth but also creates a stagnant, negative energy field.

But to affect the Ke family’s fortune, it’s not something as simple as this Feng Shui arrangement that can do it.

Ke Xingzhou’s brows twitched, and he turned to the old housekeeper. "Tell Ke Zhengye that I’ve moved the water jar."

With that, he bent down, grabbed both sides of the water jar, and was about to lift it up.

Old Housekeeper: "?!!"

The old housekeeper could never let him move it. He quickly grabbed Ke Xingzhou's arm, repeatedly saying "You can’t" and "You absolutely must not," but he didn’t dare to stop him while Ke Xingzhou was exerting force, fearing that Ke Xingzhou might get hurt. The old housekeeper could only anxiously pace around.

"Ah! Young Master Xingzhou! How about moving something smaller instead? This antique water jar may be inexpensive, but it’s too large. When Mr. Ke comes back, he will definitely notice and get angry with you!"

Seeing he couldn’t stop Ke Xingzhou, his gaze swept around, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. He pointed to a row of delicate antiques on the display shelf. "How about I give you this? Though it’s small, it’s worth quite a lot! More worth it than the water jar you’re moving!"

"Or maybe this bird artifact? It’s even more expensive! Mr. Ke really likes it!"

…

Far away in a meeting at the company, Ke Zhengye suddenly felt a chill on his back, a bad premonition.

He had felt this way before when Ke Xingzhou had "cursed" him, and he was now very familiar with this feeling. He immediately shut his mouth, looking suspiciously left and right.

The people in the meeting also changed their expressions, immediately becoming alert.

Is it starting again?

However, since the last time when the projector fell unexpectedly and hit Ke Zhengye's toe, everything in the meeting room had been rearranged.

There was nothing above Ke Zhengye’s head that could fall, and even the corners of the desk were equipped with anti-collision strips. When an unaware supplier came in earlier, they even joked that the company treated its pregnant employees very well, as they had safety measures in place in the office.

In reality, it was just that Ke Zhengye had once accidentally stubbed his big toe here.

Ke Zhengye waited for a while, but not finding any suspicious objects, he still didn’t feel at ease.

That kid's "curse" was always very effective. Now that it hadn’t come true, there might be worse misfortune waiting to happen.

He slowly reached out, intending to drink some tea to calm down, but the newly arrived intern, seeing him looking around, thought he was looking for a cup and eagerly handed it to him.

As Ke Zhengye reached out, his hand went straight into the scalding hot tea.

"…Ah, ah, ah, it’s hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!!"