After finishing her meal, Ling Xiaoyou spent a leisurely time at home, being a total slacker.
Then, evening arrived.
Ling Xiaoyou glanced at the unchanged sky out of habit, then looked at the time.
Seeing that it was already five in the afternoon, she stretched, her neck a bit sore from staying in the same position for too long.
She stood up from the bed, casually took off her pajamas, and tossed them onto the bed.
Then, Ling Xiaoyou walked over to the wardrobe and opened it.
She glanced at the clothes inside, thought for a moment, and picked out a red-and-white shirt and a plaid skirt.
After changing, Ling Xiaoyou looked at herself in the full-length mirror.
In the mirror, Ling Xiaoyou stood quietly, her snow-white hair pure and flawless, making her skin look even more translucent.
Her crimson eyes sparkled like two molten gemstones, holding a depth and warmth that didn’t match her petite frame.
On her delicate, doll-like face, a pure smile bloomed, as radiant as the sun after winter snow, dazzling against her snowy hair and red eyes.
At the moment, she wore a red-and-white short-sleeved shirt with a slightly open collar, lively and refreshing.
Her deep red plaid skirt was short, the hem slightly puffed, and the pleats glimmered with fine patterns in the light.
White hair and red eyes were strikingly unusual, and the red-and-white plaid added a touch of playfulness and innocence, making her look like a sprite girl curious about the human world.
Ling Xiaoyou nodded her little head in satisfaction at her outfit.
She walked straight to the entrance, changed into a pair of round-toed leather shoes, and then opened the door, stepping outside.
As she closed the door behind her, she saw Lin Ruhua coming out of the elevator with a bag.
“Good evening, Sister Lin.”
Ling Xiaoyou smiled and greeted Lin Ruhua.
“Good evening, Xiaoyou. Are you heading to work?”
Lin Ruhua waved at Ling Xiaoyou.
“Yes.”
Ling Xiaoyou nodded and was about to head toward the elevator when she heard Lin Ruhua say:
“By the way, Xiaoyou, when you respond to summons at work lately, be careful and go straight back to the Underworld afterward.”
“Eh?”
Ling Xiaoyou paused, puzzled by Lin Ruhua’s words.
Seeing Ling Xiaoyou’s expression, Lin Ruhua immediately understood her confusion and explained:
“Lately, many ghosts have gone to the human world and never returned. They’ve disappeared mysteriously, and no one knows where they went!”
Lin Ruhua’s tone was serious, like a parent warning a child not to go out at night.
“Since you go to the human world often for work, I’m afraid you might go missing like those ghosts. So I wanted to remind you to be careful.”
Hearing Lin Ruhua’s words, Ling Xiaoyou suddenly thought of the message from the senior last night.
It was a similar warning.
Then, she remembered the beautiful girl under the moonlight.
Could these ghost disappearances be Bai Shuanglian’s doing?
“Xiaoyou? Xiaoyou?”
Ling Xiaoyou suddenly noticed Lin Ruhua looking at her worriedly, waving her hand in front of her as if to regain her attention.
“I understand, Sister Lin. I’ll be careful.”
Ling Xiaoyou smiled at Lin Ruhua, showing she was fine.
Seeing Ling Xiaoyou back to normal, Lin Ruhua relaxed, thinking Xiaoyou was just shocked by the sudden news.
Lin Ruhua patted Ling Xiaoyou’s soft white hair.
“Mm, take care of yourself. If you need help, just come to me.”
“I know. Thank you, Sister Lin.”
Ling Xiaoyou nodded her little head and thanked her sincerely.
***
Leaving the complex, Ling Xiaoyou walked down the familiar Ghost Street and arrived at the headquarters of the Ghostly Grievance Department.
It was still the same eerie, red-painted wooden building.
Ling Xiaoyou pushed open the door and walked in.
“Good evening, Xiaoyou.”
“Xiaoyou, you’re early tonight.”
“I heard Xiaoyou earned several days’ worth of Grievance Points in one night yesterday. Amazing!”
“Yes, yes…”
As soon as she entered the Ghostly Grievance Department, Ling Xiaoyou was surrounded by ghosts who all looked terrifying, their attention focused on her.
There was a Tray Spirit holding a plate, an ancient, gentle-looking Temple Ghost, and a Zombie with bluish skin and a talisman on its forehead…
There were many kinds of ghosts here, some not even human in shape.
If an ordinary person saw this scene, they’d probably die of fright on the spot and join their ranks.
As the ghosts crowded around her, Ling Xiaoyou instantly felt the temperature drop.
She even saw the cola in one ghost’s hand start to freeze.
Ling Xiaoyou sighed helplessly in her heart, skillfully dodging a few restless female ghosts who tried to pat her little head.
Then, she politely responded to her colleagues’ greetings.
After answering everyone, she put on an apologetic expression.
“I need to go change, so I’ll talk to you all later.”
With that, she ran off before anyone could say anything else.
A group of oddly shaped ghosts were left staring at each other.
Ling Xiaoyou hurried to her changing room, sighing in relief when no one followed.
Maybe because she looked like a little loli, many in the Ghostly Grievance Department treated her like a mascot.
Although it was nice to get along well with her colleagues, being treated like a child and having ghosts always trying to pat her head or lift her up was hard to accept.
So in situations like just now, she could only run away quickly before certain female ghosts’ pervy hands reached her.
What? Why weren’t there any male ghosts?
Because there were hardly any male ghosts in the Ghostly Grievance Department!
After all, throughout history, ghost legends were mostly about female ghosts. There weren’t many tales of male ghosts!
Besides, with such a cute Ling Xiaoyou, the female ghosts wouldn’t let any male ghost near her!
Even they felt there wasn’t enough Xiaoyou to go around!
Suddenly, Ling Xiaoyou heard the sound of a door opening behind her.
She quickly turned, thinking the ghosts had followed her.
But she relaxed when she saw who it was, nodding her little head in greeting.
“Good evening, Sister Ming.”
Wang Mingji smiled at Ling Xiaoyou, walked over, and reached out to pat her soft little head.
Seeing she couldn’t dodge, Ling Xiaoyou resigned herself to the head-patting.
She wondered if she had some kind of hidden trait, since so many people liked to pat her head.
Was it because it felt nice to touch?
But when she rubbed her own head while bathing, she didn’t feel anything…
Ling Xiaoyou’s thoughts wandered, not paying attention to what Wang Mingji was saying.
When she came back to herself, she only caught Wang Mingji’s final words.
“…I’m counting on you, Xiaoyou!”
Ling Xiaoyou: “Eh?”