Quarrel
He Zhouyan was somewhat irritated. He didn’t want to show too much of his possessive side in front of the cub.
But when he got off work early and returned, he found that the cub had picked up an aura it shouldn’t have.
The thought of the cub not obeying made him uncontrollably want to turn him over and hide him in a place where only he could see him.
This dangerous thought lasted only a few seconds before his rationality suppressed it. He looked into the cub’s innocent, confused eyes and realized his reaction had been too extreme.
Unlike other little demons, the cub was special—he had the ability to protect himself.
His flames could burn away any evil, and he was an independent and self-reliant individual.
In Lu Congxing’s eyes, He Zhouyan had only been a bit unusual for a moment but quickly returned to his familiar calm demeanor.
He Zhouyan patted the cub’s head, releasing spiritual energy to brush over every bit of exposed skin, forcefully dispelling any other scents.
Lu Congxing curiously sniffed himself and only detected a faint scent of first snow.
His eyes brightened as he said, “That’s amazing!”
He hadn’t expected that a guardian demon could also function as an air freshener.
He Zhouyan wasn’t sure what the cub was thinking, so he softened his gaze. “What did you do today?” he asked, noticing the lingering smell of alcohol on the cub.
His tone was intimate, but there was an unspoken storm simmering in his eyes.
Lu Congxing didn’t sense anything unusual. He shook his head and answered seriously, “I didn’t play. I found some clues that might help figure out who’s been possessed by a ghost.”
He Zhouyan thought back to the conversation he overheard in the break room earlier, where an employee who was married with children mentioned using an encouragement-based approach to parenting, which made her child closer to her.
So, he complimented the cub.
The high-ranking demons often liked to praise the cub, but Lu Congxing rarely felt sweetness from others’ compliments.
He blinked, feeling a bit awkward. To change the subject, he asked, “Which tenant in this building do you think is the least suspicious?”
The humans’ appearances, names, and other details hadn’t even left an impression on He Zhouyan, but since it was the cub asking, he answered patiently, “Generally speaking, someone possessed by a ghost can’t completely mimic the original person. They’ll show signs, or there will be awkward moments. It’s usually easy for those close to them to notice.”
Lu Congxing immediately thought of Zhou Zijie from Room 402 and her boyfriend Chen Fei. They seemed to be in the honeymoon phase, inseparable, even sleeping in the same room.
If their bed partner got possessed, they should notice quickly, right?
But what about Dany, who lived with them in the same apartment? She was only sixteen but had rented a room in such a place, which seemed to indicate she had something she couldn’t talk about.
As for how a minor could rent a room, Lu Congxing suspected she hadn’t signed a lease with the landlord. She might have paid Zhou Zijie and the others to secure a room, and the landlord hadn’t bothered to inquire further.
He wanted to ask more, but He Zhouyan suddenly spoke, his tone flat: “Stop thinking about other people.”
Lu Congxing fell silent, sensing some unspoken dissatisfaction in Bai Ze’s words.
But he didn’t know where the dissatisfaction came from, so he chalked it up to mere illusion.
. . . . .
In the middle of the night, there was suddenly the sound of a heated argument between a man and a woman, followed by things being smashed.
Lu Congxing, who had just laid down to sleep, opened his eyes in the dark. The noise wasn’t far off—it came from Room 402 next door.
The sound was muffled by the walls, but at times, it would suddenly become sharp. The people arguing didn’t care about being loud, occasionally mixed with some other noise.
It was easy to tell that it was Zhou Zijie and Chen Fei, who had seemed so sweet earlier that day.
Living in this cheap apartment, it was almost impossible not to be disturbed by noise. Fortunately, the argument didn’t last long. Lu Congxing heard Zeng Chengping coming out of Room 404. He was panting heavily and passed by their apartment, walking up to 402’s door and kicking it, shouting, “Can’t anyone sleep around here?!”
The noise next door stopped, and the door to 404 slammed shut.
Zeng Chengping’s angry curses grew fainter, and the building fell silent again.
Lu Congxing finally drifted off to sleep.
After that, there were no more arguments that night.
Maybe the incident of drinking yesterday was weighing on He Zhouyan’s mind, so he didn’t go to work the next day.
When Lu Congxing woke up, he was surprised to see a familiar furry figure in the living room.
“Awoo?” Woke up?
The small Bai Ze jumped off the sofa and trotted over to him.
Lu Congxing almost wanted to go back and check if he was still dreaming.
He bent down, picked up the small Bai Ze, and gave him a little shake. “Why did you turn into this again?”
As he spoke, the soft, fluffy fur in his hands completely won him over, and he couldn’t resist petting him a few more times.
He Zhouyan let out a couple of whimpering sounds but allowed the cub to be as unruly as he pleased.
Whenever he transformed into this form, the cub would become much closer to him. He Zhouyan didn’t think there was anything shameful about an ancient divine beast using shapeshifting to act cute.
The small Bai Ze rubbed his moist little nose against the cub’s hand.
“Woo…”
Any doubts Lu Congxing had instantly disappeared. He carried the obedient, stuffed-animal-like He Zhouyan over to the dining table.
After a brief hesitation, he asked, “Do you want to stay like this and follow me today?”
The small Bai Ze nodded, his fluffy triangular ears twitching up and down with the movement.
He wanted to see which human would dare trick his cub into drinking alcohol today.
From his harmless appearance, no one could have guessed the violent thoughts lurking inside him.
Lu Congxing patted the small Bai Ze’s head. “Alright, but you have to behave.”
Just as He Zhouyan had expected, Lu Congxing couldn’t connect the obedient small Bai Ze in his arms with the tall, imposing man he had known before. And with those big, round puppy eyes staring up at him, resistance was futile.
If he still felt a little reserved in front of the man, that hesitation disappeared completely when holding the small Bai Ze.
Lu Congxing even conjured a small flame to play with him.
He Zhouyan cooperated perfectly, opening his mouth to pretend to bite at the flame. The little fire flickered and bounced curiously, nearly getting swallowed for real.
After repeated reminders from Lu Congxing, He Zhouyan retracted the faintly emerging pair of pale blue horns between his ears and toned down the unique blue markings on his face. At a glance, he looked just like a fluffy Samoyed puppy—except for his bushy tail, which resembled that of a long-haired cat.
Lu Congxing held him in his arms and stepped outside. He knocked on the door of Room 402, hoping to have a word with Dany.
Maybe the little girl could provide some clues about that couple. Based on what He Zhouyan had said yesterday, he wanted to at least eliminate two possibilities first.
But as it turned out, that couple had gotten into a fight in the middle of the night.
Could it be that one of them discovered something wrong with their partner?
To her surprise, the person who opened the door was Zhou Zijie, who angrily said, “You came back…”
But it wasn’t Chen Fei, she immediately stopped herself from finishing the sentence.
This time, she wasn’t wearing heavy eyeliner or bright red lipstick. Without makeup, she looked far younger than expected—no older than twenty—but there was an obvious bruise on her cheek.
Zhou Zijie awkwardly pushed her hair back and asked, “What happened?”
Feeling self-conscious about her natural look, she lowered her head and fiddled with her hair to hide her face, hoping to conceal the bruise.
Lu Congxing only knew that they had argued the day before, but he didn’t expect Chen Fei to have resorted to violence.
He frowned slightly and mentally marked that scoundrel with a big “fail” circle.
Zhou Zijie didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so he didn’t press further. With great politeness, he took out his biscuits. “I made extra biscuits today. I thought I’d bring some over and also check in with Dany about something.”
He Zhouyan wagged his tail in mild dissatisfaction. Even though the cub had asked him earlier if the biscuits could be given to someone else, he still wasn’t very happy about it.
His frustration wasn’t about the biscuits being given away, but rather that the cub had given them to someone else.
He simply wrapped his long tail around the cub’s delicate wrist, a possessive little gesture that made him shake his ears in satisfaction.
Zhou Zijie took the biscuits from him, and her smile became more natural. “Thank you. Your biscuits are delicious. Come on in.”
This was Lu Congxing’s first time entering Room 4021. It wasn’t much different from other rooms, except for a few posters of popular stars on the walls.
He even noticed a poster of Gu Hanyin.
Zhou Zijie knocked on Dany’s door. “Can you come out for a moment?”
After a while, Dany’s voice, muffled by the sound of running water, replied, “I’m in the shower!”
Zhou Zijie muttered in impatience, “Why are you showering in the middle of the day?”
She then shouted louder, “The tenant from 403 wants to see you!”
“…Got it.”
When Dany came out, Zhou Zijie retreated to her room and closed the door, not wanting to be seen because of her injury.
Dany seemed surprised to see Lu Congxing but was fond of this gentle-looking person, so she didn’t resist.
She shyly said, “Thanks for the biscuits you gave me the other day.”
Lu Congxing smiled. “No need to thank me. I made more today, so I thought I’d bring you some.”
He had initially thought about putting the clingy small Bai Ze down, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the little creature clung even tighter.
Resigning himself, he kept holding it.
Dany couldn’t help but glance at the small Bai Ze and asked, “Is this your dog?”
Lu Congxing smiled, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “It’s my brother’s. He’s at work, so I’m taking care of him for a while.”
Bai Ze gave him a helpless look, though his mood lightened a little at the term “brother.”
Brother?
Dany thought of the intimidating man she had seen the other day and instinctively pulled her hand back, no longer reaching to pet the dog.
Lu Congxing pretended not to notice her hesitation and took out the biscuits to give to her.
She took them and thanked him again. “Thank you, you’re really kind.”
“It’s just some biscuits.”
“No!” Dany suddenly became emotional. “You’re the first person who’s been this kind to me!”
Lu Congxing was a bit startled by her outburst.
Realizing she might have overreacted, Dany lowered her voice again. “My parents never gave me biscuits.”
Lu Congxing subtly asked, “Where are your parents? Aren’t you scared living here alone?”
Dany hesitated before answering with a sad tone, “My parents don’t like me. When I talk to them, they ignore me, so I ran away on my own.”
So, she’s a runaway.
Lu Congxing wasn’t particularly shocked. He had already suspected something like that when he found out she was renting a place alone.
“They might be worried about you.”
Dany’s expression turned resistant, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.
Noticing her discomfort, Lu Congxing smoothly changed the subject. “Were you scared last night?”
Instead of directly asking about the argument, he chose a more tactful approach, lowering his voice so Zhou Zijie wouldn’t overhear.
After all, they seemed close, and if something had been wrong with her partner recently, an argument was to be expected.
Dany lowered her voice too. “No, it’s not the first time they’ve fought. They’ll make up soon.”
This response was unexpected. If they fought often, it seemed unrelated to any supernatural issue.
As he pondered this, he suddenly felt a light scratch on his wrist.
He looked down to meet the round, pale eyes of Bai Ze.
The small Bai Ze tilted his head. “Woo!”
Author’s Note:
The small Bai Ze is online again!
- The original text (这是路丛星第一次踏进402, …) saying “it’s was Lu Congxing’s first time entering Room 402, …” But in Chapter 22, it is mentioned that Lu Congxing and He Zhouyan did enter Room 402 with Huang Xin when they first came to search for clues on the possessed tenant. ↩︎