Qi Quan woke up early in the morning for breakfast and immediately noticed a drastic change in the attitude of the household servants toward her.
They didn’t even dare to whisper among themselves anymore.
Even Qi Changrong kept staring at her with a dazed look while eating.
“Something on your mind?” She met his gaze openly.
“No,” Qi Changrong shook his head, then suddenly added, “Do you need anything? If you do, just go ahead and buy it.”
What he really wanted to ask was whether she needed custom-made tools like a compass or a peachwood sword for spiritual purposes, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud.
He hadn’t quite overcome that mental hurdle yet.
The others misunderstood, assuming he was simply showing concern for Qi Quan’s daily life.
Gu Qiao had already sensed her husband’s change in behavior the night before, and now she was even more certain. She was quite pleased—family harmony was more important than anything else. So she chimed in, “Yes, buy whatever you want.”
Qi Quan replied, “Thank you, but I have my own money. I can buy things myself.”
She wasn’t Qi family’s real daughter, and she had no intention of freeloading. Once she earned enough, she planned to repay the Qis for her living expenses and move out.
Her author account already had some earnings, but unfortunately, she hadn’t signed a contract yet, so she couldn’t withdraw the money.
“Pfft!” Qi Yuan couldn’t resist sneering. “What money do you have? The card you’re using right now was given to you by Mom and Dad.”
Qi Quan: “…”
Even when he’s losing his mind, he still finds time to mock her. It seems hatred leaves a deeper impression than love.
Qi Changrong glared at him. “Show some respect to your sister! You’ve had the best upbringing this family could offer—how much have you earned yourself?”
Qi Yuan stiffened his neck. “I don’t acknowledge her as my sister!”
“She was born before you were even a single cell in existence. What gives you the right to ‘not acknowledge’ her?”
Qi Yuan: “…”
His father had changed! His father never used to interfere in their sibling squabbles before!
Qi Lin, annoyed by the noise, coldly ordered, “After breakfast, come with me.”
“Where to?” Qi Yuan shrank back, sensing something ominous in his brother’s tone.
Qi Lin ignored him.
After breakfast, the two brothers got into the same car.
Qi Yuan, drowsy against the seat, heard his phone ping. It was a message from Qian Kun:
[Bro Yuan, are you sick? Or in love?]
He ignored the first question and replied smugly:
[Yeah, I’m totally in love!]
[Qian Kun: Heard you jumped out the window to see your crush?]
[Qi Yuan: How’d you know?]
[Qian Kun: Never mind how I know. Answer me this—does your family have a maid named Xiao Mei whose grandma died yesterday?]
[Qi Yuan: What nonsense are you spouting? I haven’t heard anything about that.]
[Qian Kun: Seriously?]
The skepticism in his tone made Qi Yuan second-guess himself. He turned to Qi Lin, who was flipping through documents, and asked, “Bro, did a maid’s grandma really die in our house?”
“Yes.”
Qi Yuan blinked. “Since when? I didn’t know.”
“Last night. You weren’t home.”
“What was her name?”
“Ding Mei.”
Qi Yuan checked his phone again and typed:
[Yeah, there was a maid’s grandma who passed. Did you plant a spy in my house or something? How do you know all this?]
[Qian Kun: Wait, you really didn’t know?]
[Qi Yuan: ?]
[Qian Kun: That novel you shared in the group chat—everyone read it and wondered if it was based on real events.]
Qi Yuan: “…”
Damn it! Qi Quan’s novel! He forgot to leave a bad review!
He immediately opened the story, read two chapters, and nearly exploded in fury.
Petty revenge! Absolute pettiness!
What “invisible little brother”? What “delusional little brother”? All of it was nonsense made up by that country bumpkin!
Bad review! Bad review!
[5839623: Comments from regular users and basic VIP members will be displayed after moderation!]
Moderation again?!
Fuming, Qi Yuan impulsively topped up his account with ten yuan and angrily typed:
[This is garbage! How dare the author publish something so terrible? Who does she think she’s fooling?]
This time, the comment went through without moderation.
He felt satisfied.
Scrolling through the reviews, he saw mostly negative ones—good.
Some readers had even thrown “landmines” at the story. Landmines sounded like a bad thing, so he decided to throw some too—blow that bumpkin’s story to bits!
After figuring out how to do it, he noticed his username was just a string of numbers, nowhere near as flashy as other readers’. So he changed it.
[Bro Yuan Says Stop Writing: How deep is my love? Landmines shall prove it~]
He hurled ten landmines in a row. When he tried to throw the eleventh, the system prompted:
[Insufficient balance. Top up now? [Yes] / [Later]]
Qi Yuan froze.
Wait, what? He just topped up ten yuan!
So… landmines cost money?
Now even bad reviews require payment?!
He just gave Qi Quan ten yuan?!
Qi Yuan was devastated.
By the time he met with the doctor, he was still in a daze.
After the examination, the doctor told Qi Lin that there were no major mental health issues—just some emotional instability.
Qi Lin: “…”
The system cackled like a rooster.
[Who would’ve thought Qi Yuan was such a tsundere?] it marveled. [He hates it, yet he still throws landmines at it.]
At first, it hadn’t recognized him under the numerical username. But after he changed it to “Bro Yuan,” the system noticed the little mascot icon next to his name and realized the first moderated bad review had been his.
“Bro Yuan” was a dead giveaway.
Who else would hate Qi Quan while calling themselves “Bro Yuan”? Normal readers judged based on the story’s content—only he would outright call it “garbage.” Definitely not a genuine reader.
Conclusion: This was Qi Yuan.
Qi Quan couldn’t care less about Qi Yuan’s attitude. Judging by the dark aura thickening between his brows, he was bound to take a nasty fall over his so-called “crush.”
[Big news! You got a site message!] the system suddenly cheered.
Qi Quan opened her dashboard and clicked on the notification:
[Dear Author, thank you for publishing on Scream Literature. I’m Editor Zhe Gu, hoping to collaborate long-term. If interested, add me on QQ: xxxxxxx.]
The system whooped: [A contract! You can sign now!]
Qi Quan raised a brow. [With writing like mine?]
She didn’t think her story was that good.
[Don’t sell yourself short! Your stats are solid. Editor Zhe Gu has taste!]
Regardless of the story’s actual quality, the sheer extravagance of 200,000 yuan worth of landmines ensured the site wouldn’t turn her away.
These days, signing contracts only required e-documents—quick and easy.
Qi Quan added the editor, finalized the deal, and waited for the funds to be processed.
The thought of incoming cash excited her.
With money, she could move out of the Qi household, live however she pleased, and even recruit a few obedient ghost servants—just like her past life. Enjoyment first.
Suddenly, a faint trace of ghostly energy drifted in from outside the villa.
Qi Quan focused her gaze beyond the window, which overlooked the courtyard gate. A black sedan rolled slowly into the estate.
A middle-aged man in a tailored suit stepped forward, and trailing behind him was a dejected male ghost.
The ghost appeared to be in his early twenties, with an ordinary face, dressed in outdated sweaters and trousers, his hair disheveled as if it hadn’t been cut in ages. Hunched over and wearing a miserable expression, he shuffled behind the man.
The man entered the Qi family’s living room. Though Qi Quan couldn’t see him with her eyes, her spiritual awareness enveloped the entire first floor.
“Brother Qi!” the man greeted Qi Changrong warmly the moment they met. “You’re such a busy man—I couldn’t even get an appointment with you!”
Qi Changrong gestured for him to sit. “I’ve been quite occupied lately. Chairman Huang, about that land you mentioned on the phone…”
If not for that call, Qi Changrong wouldn’t have been waiting at home.
Without hesitation, Huang Qifeng pulled out a document and handed it to Qi Changrong, smiling. “Brother Qi, no need to be so formal. If it weren’t for you giving me a hand back then, who knows where I’d be now? I heard you were interested in that plot in the northern suburbs—turns out I have some connections. Take a look first.”
The northern suburbs housed an abandoned factory, and many were eyeing that land. Qi Changrong wanted a piece of the pie too, but with so many competitors, he had been scrambling for leads.
Huang Qifeng’s offer hit right where it mattered.
But Qi Quan’s spiritual perception saw the truth clearly.
This man did have ties to the Qi family—yet the thread connecting them was thick with a sinister black-red hue.
Black represented malice, red—blood debt.
In the original storyline, ever since the true heiress returned to the Qi family, chaos had ensued. Qi Yuan was manipulated, “Qi Quan” died from fright—everything seemed like mere coincidence.
But how many accidents and coincidences could there really be?
Qi Quan lowered her lashes, her hands forming a seal, and in an instant, she yanked the male ghost beside Huang Qifeng right before her.
The ghost: ???
