The ghost problem was resolved, and Qu Yanning returned home with the protective talisman tucked in his pocket.
Chu Zhou was lounging in a tank top and shorts, slurping on a popsicle while watching a drama in his computer chair.
Qu Yanning slowly changed into his slippers and stepped inside.
Chu Zhou handed him half of a popsicle, mumbling, “You’re back.”
“Yeah,” Qu Yanning took the popsicle, the coldness seeping from his palm into his limbs.
He flopped onto the sofa and let out a soft sigh. “So hot… I don’t want to go out anymore.”
This year, summer had arrived early in Shen City.
It was only June, yet temperatures were already reaching 35–36 degrees Celsius. One trip outside could cost you half your life.
Chu Zhou turned around and tousled his curly hair with a grin. “Then don’t go. I’ll take care of you.”
“Mmm…” Qu Yanning puffed out his cheeks and glanced sideways at him. “Forget it. If I’m not home, you can’t even heat up leftovers.”
“…Tch.” As soon as cooking was mentioned, Chu Zhou lost all confidence. Unconvinced, he grumbled, “What’s wrong with being a kitchen disaster? Even kitchen disasters have their pride! At least I know how to make instant noodles!”
Qu Yanning clapped for him. “Wow, so amazing~”
“…I’m not talking to you anymore.” Chu Zhou turned away and focused on his show.
After dinner, Qu Yanning hopped onto his three-wheeler, loaded up his gear, and headed out to earn a living.
The barbecue stand was booming these days.
The stall on Night Market Street—famous for both the amazing taste and the incredibly handsome owner—was now well known. Whenever Qu Yanning showed up, there was never a dull moment.
In addition to squid, he had started offering more seafood options.
Shen City was coastal, and seafood was cheaper compared to inland cities.
The moment he lit the fire, customers were already lining up.
“Boss, five grilled prawns, ten squid skewers, and ten oysters to-go.” They were regulars—no need to ask about prices or the menu.
“Coming right up.”
He lined up the oysters and spooned garlic sauce over them.
The prawns and squid skewers were basted and flipped over the heat.
The white seafood turned red under high temperatures, and the rich, savory aroma drifted through the thick, sticky summer air, making passersby stop in their tracks.
As the menu expanded, the stall remained the same tiny space.
Customers gathered around, holding disposable bowls as they ate standing by the roadside, thoroughly enjoying their food.
In between bites, they still managed to complain a little. “Boss, when are you going to open a real restaurant? This place is way too small. We don’t even have a place to sit. If you had a bigger space, we’d bring our classmates here for reunions.”
“Still a ways off,” Qu Yanning smiled, dimples faintly showing. “Opening a shop costs a lot. I’ll have to wait a bit longer.”
The customers sighed and, after finishing their food, smacked their lips and ordered more to take home.
The charcoal heat had reddened Qu Yanning’s cheeks, but he took the customers’ words to heart.
As he grilled, he began calculating—if he saved up a little more, maybe he could start looking for a suitable storefront.
By the time he sold out of all the ingredients, it was already past midnight.
Qu Yanning packed up, ready to go home.
It was the same road he always took, but tonight he had a faint sense that someone was following him.
He glanced back several times, but the street was empty—only the streetlights standing silently in the quiet.
******
Early the next morning, his phone rang like crazy.
Half-asleep, Qu Yanning answered, and an anxious voice came through the receiver: “Mr. Qu? Da Huang’s condition suddenly worsened. We need you to come in immediately…”
His drowsiness vanished instantly. Qu Yanning jumped out of bed and hurried to get dressed. “What happened? Wasn’t he doing fine a few days ago?”
The vet sounded just as flustered, and to make matters worse, the signal was poor.
After straining to catch the explanation and still not understanding, Qu Yanning just said, “I’m coming right now. Do whatever needs to be done for emergency care.”
He hung up, washed quickly, hailed a cab, and rushed to the animal hospital.
When he arrived, Da Huang was already in the operating room. “What happened?”
The nurse who had been caring for Da Huang also looked confused. “His wounds were healing. He was doing fine last night, but this morning during the check-up, we found him unconscious. The vet discovered internal bleeding—the old wounds had reopened.”
She couldn’t say whether the situation was hopeful or not, so Qu Yanning could only wait outside.
Two hours later, the operating room doors opened, and the surgeon came out in scrubs, apologetic. “I’m sorry. We couldn’t save Da Huang.”
Qu Yanning froze.
Through the doctor’s shoulder, he could see a small, white shape on the bed inside the operating room.
“How… how did it suddenly become like this?” Just a few days ago, he had visited Da Huang.
The dog had been getting better, even more lively.
When he took him out for walks, he stayed right at his side—obedient and well-behaved.
The vet apologized again. Qu Yanning wasn’t someone who made a scene. He paid the fees and planned to find a place to lay Da Huang to rest.
Then he remembered—Da Huang had been the victim’s dog. So he notified Wang Li.
Coincidentally, just last night, the police had received a tip from a concerned citizen and captured the murder suspect.
When they found the suspect, he was a complete wreck—a man over 180 cm tall, limbs broken, collapsed on the floor like a pile of meat.
Blood, tears, and saliva formed a puddle beneath him.
When Qu Yanning called, Wang Li was in the middle of the interrogation.
The suspect had undergone emergency treatment the night before and regained consciousness by morning. Other than broken limbs and blood loss from slit arteries, there were no fatal injuries.
The attack didn’t seem intended to kill—more like brutal revenge.
To Wang Li’s surprise, the interrogation went smoothly.
The suspect’s name was Li Hanwen.
He looked completely terrified, but upon seeing the police, he showed relief rather than fear.
Before Wang Li could even ask, Li confessed everything.
According to him, he had posed as a deliveryman.
All his victims were young single women who lived alone.
After scoping them out for a long time, he’d disguise himself, wait until they opened the door for their delivery, then knock them out in one blow—followed by murder and dismemberment.
As he described this, Li Hanwen wore a twisted, ecstatic grin. “Those bitches, always pretending to be pure, acting all high and mighty. Heh. In the end, they were all on their knees, crying and begging me to fuck them…”
His deranged laughter warped his ordinary features into something monstrous. “But sluts like that? I wouldn’t touch them even if they begged. Better to kill them and feed them to dogs.”
By the end, his jaw clenched tight, eyes bulging with hatred, as if he wanted to devour the very women he spoke of.
Wang Li stared at him coldly. Immersed in his sick fantasies, Li Hanwen flushed with excitement. If he hadn’t been immobilized, he might’ve started flailing around with glee… Clearly, he wasn’t mentally sound.
After recording the confession, Wang Li looked down at him and said flatly, “The law will get justice for those girls you murdered.”
“Justice?” Li Hanwen’s eyes widened in terror. “What justice?! You filthy bitch! Don’t come any closer! I killed you once—I’ll do it again!”
He thrashed desperately, eyes bulging in horror, as if he were seeing something terrifying.
His broken limbs tried uselessly to retreat.
Wang Li watched him unravel, finally feeling some of the rage in his chest dissipate.
“Evil will always be repaid in the end.”
It was at that moment that Qu Yanning’s call came in.
Wang Li exhaled a puff of smoke, leaning against the corridor wall, his voice heavier than usual, “It’s alright. We’ve found the killer. Just find a proper place to bury him.”
Qu Yanning agreed. Da Huang’s body was left at the vet’s for the time being, until he could arrange the cremation and burial.
That evening, Qu Yanning didn’t go to the night market.
Instead, he searched online and found that the nearest pet burial center was in the outskirts of Shen City.
He got in touch, and they promised to send a car that afternoon.
Wang Li came by as well.
Together, they rode in the funeral center’s van.
After Da Huang was cremated, they brought the ashes back.
Qu Yanning said he wanted to wait until Li Xiaohong’s cremation, so he could place the ashes of the owner and pet together—at least they’d have each other for company.
By the time they got back, it was already night.
Wang Li dropped him off at the entrance to his apartment complex before driving back to the station with Da Huang’s urn.
One of the streetlamps at the entrance was broken.
The only one still working cast a dim glow over a tiny patch of pavement.
Qu Yanning shivered slightly—the night suddenly felt cold.
He hunched his shoulders and quickened his pace.
But just as he stepped forward, a chill ran down his spine.
He stopped abruptly and turned around—
Under the flickering streetlamp, someone was standing there.