After dinner, Qi Quan took a walk in the garden.
The villa was empty except for her and the servants. Occasionally, a few maids would gather and whisper among themselves, their words carried to her ears by the wind.
"Have you read Miss Qi’s novel?"
"Yes, yes! I read it as soon as I heard about it this morning."
"I never realized before, but Miss Qi has had it tough."
"But did she slander Miss Yingxue?"
"Not really. I happened to be outside the door that day, and Miss Yingxue did say something like that."
"Really? Why didn’t you mention it before?"
"Mr. Su came to see Miss Qi today—was he upset about the last part?"
"He seemed fine to me."
Qi Quan channeled a bit of spiritual energy to her ears, blocking out the distant chatter.
[System, how many reputation points do I have now?]
The system promptly reported:
[Current stats: 203 article bookmarks, 100,005 mines received, 2 positive reviews, 5 negative reviews. Bookmarks, mines, and positive reviews convert to reputation points at a 1:1 ratio, while each negative review deducts one point. Your current total is 100,203 reputation points, which converts to approximately 100.2 days of lifespan.]
Qi Quan: "..."
She said, [I remember there were two positive reviews.]
[Reviews are categorized as valid or invalid. For example, the positive reviews from the Su father-daughter pair and the negative reviews from Qi Yuan and Qi Yingxue don’t count. Only objective feedback from uninvolved readers is valid.]
Qi Quan accepted this explanation—it prevented manipulation by fake reviewers and seemed fair.
But—
[What about donations? Are they all valid?]
[Given that Screaming Literature City prohibits review and bookmark manipulation but allows mine donations, all donations are counted as valid.]
Qi Quan: "..."
After her walk, she returned to her room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and pulled out a short strand of hair from somewhere. She snapped her fingers, and a faint blue flame flickered to life, consuming the strand and releasing a wisp of smoke.
The system was stunned.
Holy crap!
Never in its wildest dreams did it imagine that a writing system like itself would witness supernatural phenomena firsthand.
The smoke curled into a thin line, drifting steadily in one direction. Qi Quan’s eyes gleamed as she performed a quick calculation, already understanding the answer.
Once the smoke dissipated, she stood up and headed to the computer room. She opened a document and began typing the next chapter.
The system couldn’t resist asking:
[Host, what were you doing just now?]
Qi Quan:
[Using a direct blood relative’s hair to locate the child’s whereabouts.]
[Was it Su Linhai’s hair?]
[Yes.]
[When did you get his hair? I didn’t see it.]
[While you were busy being scared of ghosts.]
[...]
Qi Quan ignored it after that, her fingers flying across the keyboard without pause. She finished the update quickly, saved it in the drafts, set a timer for publication, and then resumed her meditation.
Before nightfall, the Qi family—minus Qi Yuan and Qi Yingxue—gathered around the dining table, waiting for the servants to serve dinner.
Qi Mother, Gu Qiao, looked weary as she said, "Yingxue is busy with work and called to say she won’t be back for dinner. As for Yuan, who knows where he’s run off to—he didn’t even call."
Qi Quan quietly fiddled with her phone, offering no response. Qi Eldest Brother was a man of few words and rarely spoke unless necessary.
Only Qi Changrong offered comfort:
"The children are grown now—they have their own lives. Don’t worry too much."
The Qi family still held some influence in Longjiang City, so no one would dare cause trouble for them. He wasn’t concerned about Qi Yuan’s safety.
Gu Qiao sighed softly.
She had three children. Her eldest son had been raised to be as cold as ice and was never close to her. The daughter she’d lovingly raised for twenty-two years turned out not to be her own. And her youngest son had been spoiled into a reckless troublemaker.
Her gaze drifted to Qi Quan.
This was her biological daughter, who had spent twenty-two years away from home. Her personality was already set, and she’d caused quite a stir when she first returned.
Gu Qiao was too old now—she didn’t have the energy to discipline her anymore.
She could only hope that Qi Quan would keep her word from this morning and focus on writing novels at home instead of stirring up trouble.
Remembering the novel, Gu Qiao’s maternal instincts kicked in, and she asked, "Xiao Quan, you mentioned writing a novel this morning. Have you started? Can I read it?"
Before Qi Quan could respond, Qi Changrong cut in:
"That’s the child’s privacy. Let’s not pry."
He knew his wife was deeply attached to Yingxue. If she read Qi Quan’s novel and saw any resentment toward Yingxue, it would only upset her.
Better not to look.
Gu Qiao was about to agree when Qi Quan said, "I told you the website and pen name this morning. You’re free to read it if you want."
Gu Qiao: "..."
She couldn’t admit that she hadn’t paid attention and didn’t remember.
Luckily, dinner was served just then. Qi Changrong cleared his throat.
"Let’s eat."
Qi Lin had no interest in anything outside of work and pretended not to hear.
The four of them ate in silence before retiring to their rooms.
At ten o’clock that night, the Su father-daughter pair huddled in the study, refreshing the app for updates.
Su Linhai asked impatiently, "Wasn’t it supposed to update at ten?"
"Don’t worry, the site’s servers are slow. There’s always a delay—just wait a bit longer," Su Nuanuan reassured him, long accustomed to the website’s sluggish performance.
Su Linhai: "..."
At 10:02, the update finally appeared!
They eagerly clicked in.
[On the way back, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
Maybe it was the dim lighting, but the child’s face seemed unnaturally pale, his hair and clothes dripping wet—completely out of place. Uncle Su didn’t react to his presence at all, as if he couldn’t see him.
Had I imagined it?
The cold air in the car sent chills down my spine.
Then I remembered—just as the car door closed, the little boy had locked eyes with me.
His pupils were too large, too dark, filled with a coldness that didn’t match his age.
I shuddered.
Back home, I soaked in a hot bath, trying to drive the chill from my bones. But even after lying in bed, the icy sensation clung to me like a stubborn shadow.
I drifted into a fitful sleep and dreamed of the boy.
He smiled at me, but his facial muscles twitched unnaturally, twisting his expression into something eerie.
He said, "Sister, you saw me, didn’t you?"
I nodded.
His grin widened, stretching nearly to his ears, his eyes alight with excitement. "Sister, I’m so cold and lonely. Can you help me?"
I nodded again.
His voice rose, hoarse as if damaged: "I’m staying here now. Can you tell my dad? I want to go home."
A constellation of glowing dots formed words before my eyes:
Longtan City, Ningtao County, Seven Stars Town, Red River Village.
I jolted awake in terror.]
The Su father-daughter pair sat frozen in shock.
Su Nuanuan had only suspected before, but now her blood ran cold. Pale-faced, she asked Su Linhai, "Dad… who is he?"
Tears streamed down Su Linhai’s face as he abruptly stood and called his secretary. "Little Li, postpone tomorrow’s meeting. I need to travel."
After hanging up, he dialed an old contact in Longtan City. "Old Feng, I need a professional salvage team—cost is no issue. Thanks."
Based on the previous mention of "hair and clothes dripping with water," if the location is correct, the child is most likely buried in the riverbed.
"Dad, I'm coming too!" Su Nuanuan said, her eyes reddened, as she waited for him to finish the call. "Don't hide it from me anymore."
Su Linhai wiped away his tears, his voice hoarse. "He's your brother. His name is Su Rong. Your mother isn't well, so let's keep this from her for now."
They could tell her once they confirmed it.
Accompanying the Su father and daughter in their pursuit was Qi Changrong.
He hid in his study, secretly refreshing the latest update.
Before reading, he never expected the plot to take a supernatural turn.
Having been in business for years, Qi Changrong didn’t believe in feng shui or the occult, but that didn’t stop many of his business partners from doing so. Over time, he’d picked up some knowledge about it.
Some even hired masters for spiritual guidance.
He’d never agreed with such practices, but after reading the part about the child’s haunting dream, he couldn’t help but frown deeply.
Logically, even people of his generation didn’t know the Su family’s secret—so how could Qi Quan possibly know?
The only explanation left was the most improbable one.
A chill ran down his spine.
He still refused to believe it—there had to be some coincidence at play.
He continued reading.
[Only then did the eerie coldness finally leave me.
I’d promised him I’d tell Mr. Su, so I couldn’t go back on my word. But I was just a nobody with no connections—how could I possibly meet the Chairman of Shengxin Group?
I agonized until breakfast the next day.
Because of my outburst at the birthday banquet the night before, my family treated me with disdain—except for the fake heiress, who gave me a faint smile.
"Look at this toad lusting after swan meat. Why don’t you check yourself in a mirror first?" A mocking voice came from my right.
I turned in surprise, but no matter where I looked, I couldn’t see anyone. My heart sank—was I encountering another ghost?
I hunched my shoulders and lowered my head to sip my porridge.
"Living here, eating for free every day—how shameless."
Again?
I couldn’t hold back. "Aren’t you eating for free too?"
If you’re a ghost, why stick around? Must be the family’s offerings you can’t let go of.
"I’m a minor!" he retorted indignantly.
My heart ached. "When I was a minor, I never got to eat at home."
The voice fell silent.
Mother seemed to soften, speaking gently. "From now on, if you want anything, just tell us. We’ll take care of you for life."
I blurted out, "I want to meet Mr. Su from Shengxin."
The room went dead silent. Their eyes all said the same thing: Who do you think you are? The Chairman isn’t someone you can just meet.
I hung my head in shame.
If I couldn’t meet Mr. Su, if I failed to fulfill that child’s request—what then?]
The chapter ended there.
Qi Changrong: "..."
He’d never done anything like this, so why did he feel inexplicably guilty?
Recalling how Su Linhai had come looking for Qi Quan earlier, he’d rushed home after receiving the call, fearing she’d caused trouble again. But it turned out he’d misjudged her.
Wasn’t this just another form of underestimation?
Things he’d overlooked before suddenly became clear.
As guilt gnawed at him, noise erupted downstairs—probably Qi Yuan returning after another night of mischief.
Thinking of the awful way he treated Qi Quan, Qi Changrong’s anger flared.
His study was on the third floor. He descended to the second floor just as Qi Yuan, reeking of alcohol, staggered up the steps. He opened his mouth to scold him—
Only for his unfilial son to grin drunkenly, cheeks flushed.
"Dad, I’ve met someone! I want to marry her!"
