There was no further response from the other end.
Li Qiao noticed Old Man Li staring intently at his phone. She leaned in and glanced at his social media feed, her attention caught by a comment from a user named Coward.
“Is this a good friend of yours, Grandpa?” Judging by the tone, it seemed so, but something felt a little off.
“A pen pal from my younger days.”
A pen pal?
“Grandpa, you were quite trendy back then, huh? Even had a pen pal? Did you two ever meet?” Li Qiao asked curiously.
At the mention of meeting, Old Man Li’s face darkened with irritation. He gritted his teeth. “No. We were supposed to meet once, but he stood me up.”
“Huh? Why?”
“He said he was worried I might be a human trafficker!”
“……”
Li Qiao was momentarily speechless.
“Grandpa… how long have you known each other?”
“Over forty years.”
“……”
At their age, they still hadn’t met. Li Qiao silently gave the other guy a thumbs-up for his unwavering vigilance against scams.
To this day, all they knew about each other were their surnames and a social media account. Nothing else.
Time passed slowly.
After finishing her talisman drawings, Li Qiao set down her brush and returned to her room.
Her mom’s group chat with her girlfriends was buzzing nonstop.
Li Qiao tapped in and saw a message from Mrs. Meng:
[Hahaha… I went shopping with Qiaoqiao today! My darling Qiaoqiao even met my son. It went great—we even had a meal together!]
Then, Mrs. Meng dropped a group photo of the four of them!
[You’re so sneaky, Youruo! You guys had a secret meetup without us. Just you wait—once my son’s back, we’re booking Qiaoqiao for dinner too!]
[Go ahead and envy me. I was first!]
[So jealous, Youruo.]
[Qiaoqiao’s getting prettier by the day. Speaking of which, I still want a protection talisman from her.]
[By the way, where’s Yang Zhaozhao, the little green tea? She hasn’t popped up in days.]
In the entire group, only Meng Youruo dared to call her little green tea.
A long silence followed, with everyone claiming they hadn’t seen her.
Li Qiao closed the chat, but then noticed a new friend request from someone in the group—Auntie Yang Zhaozhao.
After accepting, a message from Mrs. Yang came through immediately.
[Qiaoqiao, do you have time to come to the Yang residence? I think my husband is acting a little strange.]
Her eyes lit up.
Work’s here!
[Auntie Yang, I’ll head over now.]
[Thank you, Qiaoqiao.]
Downstairs, Li Qiao suddenly realized a problem—no one in the house who could drive was home.
How was she supposed to get there?
Standing in the yard, she glanced toward the neighboring house. Just as she was about to head over, she spotted a woman entering He Jingnian’s estate.
She recognized the profile—Li Songsong.
Li Qiao froze, her brow furrowing slightly.
She looked up at the tea room on He Jingnian’s second floor. It was empty.
Well, He Yi’s there. Dealing with one woman shouldn’t be a problem.
Turning away, she headed toward Xu Tong’s place instead.
As she approached, Xu Tong happened to step out, nearly bumping into her.
“Something up?” he asked, surprised.
“Old Driver, I need you.”
“……” His cheeks flushed slightly. After a pause, he said, “Do you even know what old driver means?”
“Of course. Did I say it wrong? Weren’t you the one head-over-heels for Sun Qian back then?”
Li Qiao teased with a smirk.
“You… were much cuter when you didn’t talk.” Xu Tong gritted his teeth, helpless against her.
In the car.
Xu Tong huffed proudly. “Li Qiao, do you have any idea how many parties I’m missing because of you? How many lovely ladies I could’ve met?”
Li Qiao, sitting in the passenger seat, kept her eyes fixed ahead.
“Don’t get into a relationship for the next year.”
“Why?”
“Just noticed your face has changed. If you want to stay safe, avoid romance for a year.”
Her eyes sparkled with amusement.
Xu Tong shifted uncomfortably. “You’re messing with me, right? This has to be a joke.”
“Believe it or not, up to you.”
“……”
Li Qiao then turned her gaze outside. As they passed a particular estate, she asked, “Is that the Li family?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Li Youwei’s spirit is still there… and not doing too well.
Her expression darkened.
Fifteen minutes later.
The Yang residence.
Mrs. Yang, who had been waiting eagerly, rushed out to greet Li Qiao, warmly pulling her inside.
Xu Tong drove off immediately.
Sticking around with her always leads to weird, scary stuff. Better bail early.
“Auntie Yang, what exactly is going on?”
Mrs. Yang sighed. “My husband… ever since he went night fishing with friends last week, he’s been acting strange. Like, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and find him just… staring at me. It’s happened so many times—I’m terrified.”
At first, she thought he was sleepwalking. But when she talked to him, he responded normally. Yet by morning, he’d have no memory of it.
After it kept happening, Mrs. Yang grew suspicious.
“Qiaoqiao… you don’t think my husband is… possessed, do you?”
She shuddered, suddenly feeling a chill.
Li Qiao scanned the surroundings.
“There are no ghosts in the Yang residence.”
“Then my husband…”
As they talked, they reached the living room, where Mr. Yang was fiddling with his fishing net.
“Honey, we have a guest. This is Qiaoqiao…”
“Qiaoqiao! This kid looks sturdy—just like Shanchuan’s child.” Mr. Yang was all smiles.
Sturdy?
Li Qiao’s lips twitched.
“If you don’t know how to compliment someone, just don’t. Who calls a girl sturdy?” Mrs. Yang rolled her eyes.
Mr. Yang chuckled awkwardly.
He didn’t seem like a domineering CEO—more like a friendly uncle. Their dynamic was oddly amusing.
After observing Mr. Yang, Li Qiao was pulled aside by Mrs. Yang.
“Qiaoqiao, is my husband… okay?”
“Nothing unusual so far.”
Mrs. Yang sighed.
What could they do, then?
“I’ll go night fishing with him tonight.” If the house wasn’t the issue, maybe it was something outside.
“Thank you so much, Qiaoqiao.”
And so, Li Qiao ended up staying for dinner.
When Mrs. Yang mentioned that Li Qiao would join him for night fishing, Mr. Yang was stunned—then thrilled.
“Qiaoqiao, you like night fishing too?”
“No, just curious.”
“Great! You’ll love it once you try. We always have a blast.”
Fishing was his greatest passion. Mrs. Yang, sitting nearby, couldn’t help but roll her eyes again.
Li Qiao smiled politely.
That night.
As the time approached, Li Qiao and Mr. Yang headed to their usual fishing spot.
Another car was already there when they arrived.
“Old Yang, you’re early! I just got here. And this is… since when did you have a daughter?”
The middle-aged man eyed Li Qiao with curiosity.
“Old Qin, this is Li Shanchuan’s daughter. Don’t you live in the same neighborhood? Never seen her before?”
