Chapter 19: Li Weiwei

"Ding-ding-ding, ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding—"

Chu Tian looked at Li Weiwei, and Li Weiwei looked at Chu Tian. The two stood in silence, staring at one another. The scene was reminiscent of Baoqiang gazing at the muscle-bound giant in *Detective Chinatown 2*. There seemed to be a faint shimmer of pink bubbles floating between them, popping in the air, as if a song titled *Pink Memories* were playing in the room:

"Summer, summer is quietly passing, leaving behind little secrets, buried deep in my heart, I cannot tell you..."

In this moment, it felt as though two long-lost first loves had reunited, or lovers who had never given up on each other had finally crossed paths once more. Their eyes met, and in that instant, there was a mutual understanding—as if she knew he harbored secret intentions, and he granted her permission to do as she pleased. It was a meeting of golden wind and jade dew.

"Clap!"

A sharp slap on the counter broke the trance. Chen Meng slammed her hand down, looking at Chu Tian and Li Weiwei with a forced, skin-deep smile. "Honey~ give me the child."

In an instant, the atmosphere of nostalgia and ambiguity vanished. Both Chu Tian and Li Weiwei looked embarrassed, and Li Weiwei, staring at the child in Chu Tian's arms and then at Chen Meng, asked with a strange expression, "You’re already married?"

"We just got the certificate!" Chen Meng huffed from the side.

"Wait, is she a second-hand wife?" Li Weiwei looked from Chu Meng'er to Chen Meng, asking in disbelief.

After all, Chu Tian had been their class monitor back in the day. Not only was he ruggedly handsome, but he was also impeccable in his social dealings; back in that naive college courtyard, he was practically the campus idol. How could he have ended up with a divorcée after graduation? Could it be that all men are "Cao Cao" at heart, and the jokes the boys used to tell in university were actually true? Li Weiwei suddenly felt she understood where she had lost. But if this was the reason, she refused to accept it!

"What second-hand? This is our first marriage!" Chen Meng glared.

Then... Li Weiwei looked at Chu Meng'er. A child from a first marriage? How did you manage that, big sister? Are you some legendary master of human nature who managed to trick our Class Monitor Chu into this?

"What are you thinking? Chu Meng'er is Chu Tian's biological daughter!" Chen Meng said without batting an eyelid.

High above on the roof of the haunted house, five ghostly heads belonging to Old Man Li’s troupe poked out from the ceiling to watch the show. As a certain ancestor surnamed Lü once said, he loved nothing more than watching women fight. If only Li Weiwei could see them; with five severed heads hanging from the ceiling, no one would have the heart to be jealous anymore.

"Biological? This child is clearly over a year old, right?" Li Weiwei said. You have to hand it to her—she was bold, but hadn't she realized why she came here? Could she really forget her own business at a time like this?

"Of course!" Chen Meng said. She stepped out from behind the counter, took Chu Meng'er from Chu Tian's arms, and began to wax dramatic. "We met in Chu Tian's sophomore year. That year, the snowflakes drifted, the plum blossoms bloomed on the branches, and that hotel room held too many sorrows. Don't speak of right or wrong, of love's errors—I only want to be drunk in a dream with you once more! Love and hate—"

"That's enough," Chu Tian interrupted, stopping her nonsense. "Are you playing around? Can you talk properly?"

"Just understand the situation," Chen Meng glanced at Li Weiwei. "And then, that night, I didn't refuse him. That night, he hurt me. That night... he planted a seed that finally grew into fruit. That day was a great day!"

"Okay, shut up!" Chu Tian thought his fox-brained partner might have short-circuited today. He had never realized she had such a repertoire of lines before.

"Meng'er, keep an eye on your mother, don't let her go crazy," Chu Tian said to the child. Chu Meng'er nodded and wrapped her arms around Chen Meng's neck.

In truth, there was nothing between Chu Tian and Li Weiwei. As a soul collector, Chu Tian was only a low-ranking ghost soldier back then, unable to perfectly control his nether energy. If he had taken a girlfriend, no woman could have stood the long-term exposure; it would be like a woman staying with a male ghost for too long, leaving the man drained of vitality. That was why he had never sought any romantic entanglements in college. As for "opening a room" or casual hookups, he hadn't even dared to think about it. He wasn't afraid of much, but he was terrified that if he lost control of his nether energy, the other person might die in bed—and he wouldn't even be able to explain it to the police. Even though he was a part-time soul collector, he had no intention of actually dying and becoming a ghost.

However, an outstanding person is like a firefly in the dark; they always attract people they shouldn't. Just like Li Weiwei. She and Chu Tian were the monitor and deputy monitor—one leading the class in activities and resolving conflicts, the other managing logistics and finances with perfect precision. From the moment they entered college, they were the "golden boy and girl" in their classmates' eyes. For four years, because of Li Weiwei, no girl dared to confess to Chu Tian, and because of Chu Tian, no boy dared to approach Li Weiwei. Why? Because whenever a classmate considered it, they would compare themselves to the pair and feel unworthy.

Yet, the classmates never expected that for all four years, the two never actually established a relationship. Li Weiwei was willing, but Chu Tian was indifferent. Now that they were reunited, Li Weiwei's feelings had been rekindled, and Chu Tian wasn't truly heartless; seeing an old friend naturally brought a sense of joy. But this simple exchange of glances was enough to tip over the vinegar jar of a certain vixen.

While Chen Meng and Li Weiwei traded verbal barbs, Chu Tian didn't lose sight of the real issue. After all, the wind chime that detected ghostly energy had rung when Li Weiwei entered.

"You came to find me... because you've encountered a ghost, right?" Chu Tian said directly, hoping to stop the jealous vixen from causing more trouble.

"You're the boss here?" Li Weiwei stared at him, eyes wide.

"Not many people know about my business," Chu Tian said. "Who told you to come here?"

"A mage from the Lucky Pavilion told me to," Li Weiwei said, finally remembering her mission, her face turning pale. "He said if the owner of the Haunted House couldn't solve it, no one in Shang City could save me!"

At that moment, Chu Tian had already pulled out his phone and found "Old Lin of the Lucky Pavilion" in the *Shang City Demon-Slaying Mutual Aid Squad* group chat. He tagged him: *Daoist Lin, is the young lady who came to my shop today the one you referred?*

*Ding!*

*Old Lin of the Lucky Pavilion:* "Brother Soul Collector, the evil spirit on that girl is too powerful for me to handle. If you can deal with it, please intervene. Saving one life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda."

Looking at the message, Chu Tian replied with an 'OK' gesture. He looked up at Li Weiwei and said, "I've never met Old Lin from the Lucky Pavilion, but since he referred you, and we are old classmates, I'll take care of this for you."