At this point, all the lingering questions finally had answers.
Shi Pengpeng asked about the origin of the Nightmare Demon, but it stammered and couldn’t give a clear explanation.
“Still not being honest?” She swung her fist, pounding the coal ball into a flat pancake like she was playing whack-a-mole.
Jin Jie watched from the side, feeling a chill down his spine, secretly grateful that he had immediately knelt down in submission at the start.
Otherwise, he might have been beaten into a gingerbread man too.
“Wuu…” The Nightmare Demon sobbed, squeezing out two drops of gray mist from its flattened coal pancake form.
Even demons shed tears, it seemed.
“Ever since I can remember, I’ve been on that card.”
Seeing that it genuinely seemed unaware, Shi Pengpeng had no choice but to let it go, though her suspicions only grew deeper.
The Nightmare Demon coexisted with human nightmares and couldn’t have appeared out of thin air.
If it wasn’t the demon’s own doing, could someone have deliberately sealed it into the card?
She recalled the overwhelming surge of dark, negative emotions that had poured out of the card when the Nightmare Demon tried to escape -fear, sorrow, greed, and violence all mixed together.
Such emotions were far from normal.
This Nightmare Demon might have been artificially created.
Shi Pengpeng turned to Jin Saosao and asked:
“Can you show me your fan group? Do you know what the person who did the divination for you does in real life?”
“Uh… After I became an extreme ‘dream girl,’ I got kicked out of the group,” Jin Saosao replied awkwardly.
As for the person who did the divination, although they were quite active in the fan group, they never mentioned their real-life occupation, so it was unclear what they did.
Fortunately, when sending the card, that person had privately exchanged contact information with Jin Saosao, and they were still on her contact list.
Jin Saosao pulled up the chat history with that person and showed it to Shi Pengpeng.
Shi Pengpeng skimmed through it quickly.
The content seemed ordinary, and nothing stood out as suspicious.
However, she noticed the person’s address.
“They’re from Biannan?”
“Probably,” Jin Saosao checked the previous delivery records and confirmed that the Lovers card had been sent from Biannan.
Shi Pengpeng couldn’t help but recall the incident where Xu Qiannian had been cursed.
The curse insects had originated from a scam group that fled from Myanmar to Biannan.
The old woman who caused Lu Mange’s soul to leave her body had also been scammed in a WeChat group and bought a Rebirth Card.
At first glance, these incidents seemed unrelated, but upon closer inspection, they appeared to follow a similar pattern.
Was it just a coincidence, or was there some connection?
Shi Pengpeng asked Jin Saosao if anyone else in the group had received a tarot card.
If so, there might be more trouble.
Fortunately, it seemed there weren’t any.
Jin Saosao said that after her first dream, she was so excited that she shared the experience with other fans, and that’s how she found out she was the only one in the group who had received a tarot card.
No one else had been gifted one.
Of course, under normal circumstances, no one would want a piece of paper card.
Hearing this, Shi Pengpeng felt slightly relieved.
After all, the Nightmare Demon was a demonic entity, not some mass-produced cabbage from the market.
It was unlikely to be distributed to so many people in bulk.
If that person had malicious intentions, it made sense to prioritize sending it to Jin Saosao, given the limited number of demonic entities.
After all, Jin Saosao was an early and influential fan, and her misfortune would obviously cause more chaos than if it happened to someone else.
Shi Pengpeng noted down the ID and other information of the fortune-teller, planning to report it to the relevant authorities for investigation later.
She also instructed Jin Saosao not to confront the person directly to avoid alerting them.
Jin Saosao readily agreed, though she wouldn’t have dared to approach the person even without the warning.
If it were an ordinary person, it might be different, but this individual practiced dark arts.
If provoked, who knows what further trouble it might bring.
With the matter temporarily settled, Shi Pengpeng tied up the nightmare spirit with a red thread and casually tossed it into her bag before heading back to the convention center with Jin Jie.
Cao Yinru had indeed found a black plastic bag to carry Jin Jie’s true form, holding it tightly in her arms as she and Cao Fanzhen waited in a corner for their return.
Seeing them return unharmed, the sisters finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, after hearing the full story, they were left speechless.
Cao Yinru sympathized, “Jin Saosao is so unlucky, her reputation was ruined for no reason…”
“Yeah,” Shi Pengpeng sighed as well.
Fortunately, no one was seriously harmed, which was a silver lining in this unfortunate situation.
“Scammers these days are so cunning, it’s hard to guard against them,” Cao Fanzhen said, her heart still racing.
She reminded her sister, “Yinru, you need to be more careful in the future, especially in those fan groups you’ve joined. Who knows if there are people with ulterior motives lurking there.”
“I understand,” Cao Yinru nodded vigorously.
Jin Jie still had to participate in the afternoon event and, seeing that they were running late, didn’t linger.
After adding Shi Pengpeng on WeChat, she hurriedly bid them farewell.
Before leaving, she took many photos with Cao Yinru and gave her several autographed cards.
Cao Yinru was so delighted that her wings didn’t stop fluttering the entire time.
While they were taking photos, Shi Pengpeng’s phone vibrated.
She picked it up and saw that it was a call from Yan Jing.
“Brother, what’s up?”
“Wasn’t it you who called me?” Yan Jing sounded puzzled.
Shi Pengpeng checked her call history and realized that she had indeed dialed Yan Jing’s number while trapped in the nightmare spirit’s illusion.
However, Yan Jing had been busy at the time and didn’t answer.
“Ah, it was a misunderstanding,” Shi Pengpeng quickly explained, recounting what had just happened.
She concluded with a sigh, “Brother, let me tell you, that illusion was so realistic. I really thought it was you calling me. Hehe, luckily that evil spirit didn’t know you well. The lines it gave you were full of flaws, so I knew right away it wasn’t the real you…”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
Shi Pengpeng sensed something was off and paused, realizing she might have been too blunt.
She quickly coughed lightly and added, “Not that I’m saying you’re cowardly or anything…”
At the same time, Yan Jing finally spoke, “So, you’re saying you dreamed about me in the nightmare spirit’s illusion?”
Shi Pengpeng: “???”
Yan Jing’s tone was casual, as if he was just making an offhand remark, “If I’m not mistaken, the people who appear in such illusions created by evil spirits are usually those who are important to you, right?”
Shi Pengpeng: “…”
So he was indirectly implying that he was important to her?!
Shi Pengpeng couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Of course! Didn’t I already tell you? You’re the most important person to me in all of Xiluo. You didn’t believe me before, but now you do, right?”
She even emphasized, “Our father-daughter bond is as clear as the sun and moon!”
Yan Jing: “…”
Who cares about that kind of “importance”!
Yan Jing took a deep breath and calmly changed the subject, “So, you don’t have anything else going on tonight, right?”
“Nothing planned.”
After the convention, Cao Fanzhen and Cao Yinru had to go home, so they didn’t arrange for dinner.
Shi Pengpeng asked, “Why?”
“Didn’t you want to eat king crab?” Yan Jing said casually, “The specialty store I mentioned to you last time just got a fresh batch today. If you’re free, you can join me.”
In such moments, hesitating even for a second would be a disservice to oneself.
“Deal!”
Yan Jing couldn’t help but laugh, “You glutton.”
Shi Pengpeng didn’t mind at all, “You’re paying, so you call the shots. Tonight, I’ll show you how a glutton devours a crab!”
Yan Jing: “…”
In the evening, Shi Pengpeng happily posted on her social media.
SPP: [If you knew what I had for dinner, you’d think I’m living the dream too.]
Accompanied by a photo of a king crab.
Yan Jing gave it a like.
Two minutes later, the same photo appeared on his social media, with his usual aloof caption.
Yan Jing: [ Dinner. ]
He rarely posted, so this one quickly garnered many likes.
Xie Kunze, Xue Chengyin, Wei Chi, and others who were mutual friends with both him and Shi Pengpeng left comments.
Wei Chi: [ Had dinner with Miss Shi tonight, Mr. Yan? ]
Xie Kunze: [ Long time no see, Mr. Yan. Let’s find a chance to have dinner with Miss Shi at my place, my treat. ]
Yan Jing browsed through them, feeling an inexplicable satisfaction.
As he pondered whether to randomly reply to a couple, he saw Shi Pengpeng’s comment.
SPP: [ Stealing my photo? ]
Yan Jing: “…”
Yan Jing closed his eyes, grinding his teeth as he thought about how to deal with her, when a new comment popped up.
SPP: [You have good taste!]
Yan Jing unconsciously tightened his lips, but after a moment, he couldn’t help but smile and replied:
[You know how to talk.]
After a thought, he added another reply: [I’ll take you there again next time.]
That morning, as soon as Shi Pengpeng arrived at the company, she was called into Tan Wei’s office.
Tan Wei made some small talk first, then inquired about Shi Pengpeng’s career plans.
She spoke in a roundabout way, and it took Shi Pengpeng a while to understand that Tan Wei was worried she might leave.
The e-commerce department’s performance had been remarkable recently, and it was clear to everyone who was responsible.
With such experience, Shi Pengpeng would undoubtedly be in high demand if she decided to look for a new job.
However, Shi Pengpeng felt Tan Wei’s concerns were somewhat unnecessary.
She had just achieved significant results and was enjoying the fruits of her labor.
Only a fool would leave the company at this point.
Shi Pengpeng expressed her stance, and Tan Wei, reassured, shifted the conversation to the real matter at hand.
It turned out that the e-commerce department’s rapid growth had surpassed the traditional business share of Fuxi, and it was evident that this growth would continue.
Tan Wei felt that the company’s current model couldn’t keep up with the e-commerce department’s development and proposed to spin it off into a new company, with Shi Pengpeng as a partner and manager, holding half of the shares.
Shi Pengpeng was somewhat surprised.
Tan Wei’s plan wasn’t entirely unexpected, but she hadn’t expected her to be so generous, willing to give up half of the shares.
However, upon further reflection, it made sense.
All the resources in the e-commerce department, when truly accounted for, were essentially Shi Pengpeng’s own resources.
When it comes to Cat Paw, it goes without saying that a significant portion of the e-commerce department’s sales still come from Xu Qiannian’s endorsements.
Xu Qiannian has signed a long-term cooperation agreement with Fuxi.
Although the fees aren’t as low as during the agricultural support collaboration, they still offered a considerable discount.
Not to mention, some product categories that were previously out of reach have now proactively approached them for cooperation after seeing their e-commerce performance.
Without Shi Pengpeng, Fuxi would never have been able to secure these resources.
Therefore, Tan Wei was determined to keep Shi Pengpeng on board, and the best way to do that was naturally to make her a partner and manage the business together.
Shi Pengpeng was somewhat hesitant, but Tan Wei wasn’t in a rush.
After all, this was a significant decision, and she wanted Shi Pengpeng to think it through before giving her answer.
After discussing this, Tan Wei shared another piece of news with Shi Pengpeng: she had resolved the issues in the major client department and was preparing to fire Liu Yuguang.
“That’s fantastic!” Shi Pengpeng clapped in celebration.
“I knew you’d be happy.” Tan Wei smiled, hesitated for a moment, and then added, “By the way, you and that Mr. Yan from Cat Paw… is there something going on between you?”
Shi Pengpeng sensed something off in her tone and asked, “What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing major…” Tan Wei looked hesitant, choosing her words carefully before speaking tactfully, “It’s just that I heard some things from Liu Yuguang about you and him…”
Shi Pengpeng: ?
It turned out that ever since the Cat Paw incident, Liu Yuguang had been harboring resentment toward Shi Pengpeng.
Unable to outperform her in terms of results, he had resorted to spreading malicious rumors behind her back, claiming that she had an inappropriate relationship with Yan Jing and that she had secured so many resources from Cat Paw through his influence.
He even suggested that Xu Qiannian’s willingness to endorse Cat Paw was solely due to Yan Jing’s connections.
Liu Yuguang’s stories were detailed and convincing, and the rumors grew increasingly exaggerated.
Eventually, it was even said that Yan Jing planned to bring her directly into Cat Paw and give her a high-ranking position.
This was why Tan Wei had subtly probed earlier about whether Shi Pengpeng might leave, as compared to Cat Paw, Fuxi seemed insignificant.
Shi Pengpeng was furious.
No wonder people in the major client department had been making veiled comments about her using her looks to climb the ladder-it was all Liu Yuguang’s doing.
She looked at Tan Wei and asked, “You didn’t actually believe him, did you?”
“Well…” Tan Wei looked somewhat embarrassed, “It’s your private matter, so I didn’t want to pry too much.”
Her implication was that she was half-convinced.
Shi Pengpeng couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
As the company’s boss, didn’t Tan Wei have any judgment?
Even if she didn’t know Shi Pengpeng well, surely she knew Liu Yuguang?
Returning to her desk, Shi Pengpeng asked her colleagues if they had heard about this, and to her surprise, everyone nodded.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Shi Pengpeng frowned.
She thought she had a decent relationship with her colleagues.
The colleagues exchanged glances, and one of them awkwardly said, “We thought… what if it was true?”
Shi Pengpeng: “……?”
What was wrong with these people?
At the very least, they could have verified such a vile rumor.
Just then, her phone vibrated-it was a message from Yan Jing.
Yan Jing: [Are you there?]
SPP: [Bro, help! ]
Yan Jing: [What’s wrong?]
SPP: [Ahhh, I just found out that Liu Yuguang, that trash from our company, has been spreading rumors about you and me!!]
Yan Jing: [?]
Yan Jing: [What did he say?]
SPP: [He said we have an improper relationship!!!]
Yan Jing: [Oh.]
His reaction was too calm, which surprised Shi Pengpeng.
SPP: [Aren’t you angry?]
Yan Jing: [It’s fine, just a trivial matter.]
Shi Pengpeng: “…?”
This petty guy, when did his heart become so broad?