“The little rabbit A’Nian is raising looks quite clever.”
Jiang Jue tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the fluffy little creature. “Last time, I think I saw it open a door.”
The man spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
He carried with him a wisp of the purest spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Though faint, the little rabbit, being a demon, had an extremely keen intuition for such energy.
Unfortunately, the rabbit’s cultivation was still shallow; it couldn’t even take human form and had no idea why it felt this way. It only knew that snuggling up to Jiang Jue was the right thing to do.
A cold palm descended from above.
Jing Nian pressed down on the eager rabbit’s head, clutching the entire rabbit in his hand.
“No, you must have seen wrong. This is a dumb rabbit.”
You’re the dumb rabbit!!
The little rabbit was so angry it nearly spoke, but it couldn’t reveal its identity in front of a mortal. Otherwise, it would have jumped up and bitten Jing Nian.
A rabbit that doesn’t seek revenge is no rabbit at all.
It wriggled like a loach in Jing Nian’s hand, moving with agile footwork. Jing Nian scrambled to catch it, muttering under his breath about stupid rabbits and dumb rabbits.
Then, with a sudden lunge, he ended up in Jiang Jue’s lap.
Face down, making intimate contact with the man’s waist and abdomen.
Jing Nian: “…”
Thankfully, winter clothes were thick, so he didn’t touch anything strange.
Only the scent of sandalwood rushed into his nostrils—not a fragrance from the clothes, but as if the man himself were steeped in it.
The little rabbit, having already jumped onto the arm of the sofa and crouched there smugly, saw the trouble it had caused and immediately tried to hide sneakily behind Jiang Jue’s arm.
Roasted, definitely roasted…
When Jing Nian scrambled up somewhat awkwardly, his fair little face was flushed bright red.
“…Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine.” Jiang Jue’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he suppressed the restrained emotion in his eyes, sitting up straight with a calm expression.
Only he knew how fast his heart had been beating just then.
At his age, still having to remain unmoved with someone in his lap—why must he endure such hardship?
The little rabbit hid in the sofa crevice behind him, rear end sticking out like an ostrich, but Jiang Jue pulled it out and handed it back to Jing Nian, smiling nonchalantly. “It’s very cute.”
It was unclear whether he meant the rabbit or Jing Nian’s blushing face.
Jing Nian grabbed the rabbit by the neck in a chokehold, pointing and scolding.
Dumb rabbit! Stupid rabbit! Stinky rabbit! Can’t go a day without causing trouble! Asking for a spanking again!
Jiang Jue, afraid of getting caught up in the conflict between the man and the rabbit, got up to fetch some snacks and fruit, carefully arranging them one by one on the coffee table in front of Jing Nian.
Though Jing Nian couldn’t afford such luxuries, the moment he took advantage of the offer, excitement mixed with guilt surged within him.
Whew.
Jing Nian tucked the rabbit back into his pocket, pursing his lips as he looked at the spread on the table. “You didn’t need to bring so much. I’ll be leaving soon… Aren’t you busy?”
He meant that Jiang Jue should attend to other customers.
Jiang Jue was indeed very busy, but not in the way Jing Nian imagined. He had a pile of documents waiting for his signature and a group of people waiting to see him.
But none of that was as important as Jing Nian.
He was willing to keep Jing Nian company, shaking his head slightly. “I’m not busy.”
Jing Nian glanced at the time. That nouveau riche should be about to die soon. He found an excuse to leave. “You should get back to work. It’s getting late; I’ll head back now.”
Outside, the bright sun hung high in the sky.
This was “getting late”?
Jiang Jue couldn’t help but chuckle softly but didn’t expose him. Watching his retreating figure, the smile on his lips hadn’t yet faded when his phone vibrated.
Qiu Huai: “I’ve sent Nian Nian over to you! Good luck!”
He had indeed been sent over, but now it seemed he was about to leave.
Jiang Jue sighed helplessly. For a moment, he suddenly understood those peers who had previously complained to him, “My child isn’t close to me anymore.”
Back then, he had secretly gloated, thinking A’nian loved clinging to him the most.
Jing Nian walked outside, spun in place for a moment, then re-entered through the main door.
Unlike before, this time when he walked in, no one around noticed him.
He couldn’t let beauty distract him from his duties—he still had souls to collect.
In theory, none of the mortals in this hotel should be able to see him, including Jiang Jue.
The moment their eyes met, Jing Nian felt an inexplicable pang of guilt, as if the other could see him.
Fortunately, Jiang Jue quickly averted his gaze, pretending nothing had happened.
Jing Nian quietly sighed in relief. He was being too sensitive, always feeling like Jiang Jue was watching him.
Today, Jing Nian’s work was still going poorly.
The drunken nouveau riche had died violently in the private room, and the murderer was the young man named Leng Yinan, whom Jing Nian had saved from the rooftop the day before.
The investigation by the ghost officials wasn’t over yet, so Leng Yinan was still at large. When Jing Nian pulled the still-rambling drunkard’s soul from the corpse, the man refused to believe he was already dead.
“Are you the Black Impermanence or the White Impermanence?” he slurred, spittle flying from his mouth. “Whoever you are, I’m telling you, I’ve been to the underworld, and I specialize in cutting down blind ghost officials like you! If you know what’s good for you, you’d better—”
Thump—!
Jing Nian used the Soul-Binding Chain to knock a large bump on the man’s forehead.
Clutching his head, the man was tightly bound from head to toe by the Soul-Binding Chain, finally calming down a little.
But only a little.
“You… you…!”
He opened his mouth to say more, but before he could finish, Jing Nian knocked a second bump on his forehead.
The man finally fell silent.
The blood-stained fruit knife lay on the floor. The corpse was sprawled on its back, and the young murderer stood nearby, his face blank as he stared dazedly at the pool of blood on the floor.
The door was pushed open, and a waiter bringing in dishes let out a scream, plates shattering everywhere.
The sound of police sirens soon echoed as officers cordoned off the scene and began questioning witnesses.
Jing Nian dragged the soul outside but ran into Jiang Jue again.
Jiang Jue was surrounded by several police officers, answering questions with calm composure. His demeanor was so collected and steady that he didn’t seem at all like a male model waiter.
From the fragments of conversation among the nearby staff, Jing Nian finally learned that Jiang Jue wasn’t the “model guy” he had assumed him to be.
He was the newly appointed chairman of the group behind this hotel.
Jing Nian stared at Jiang Jue’s sharply defined profile, momentarily at a loss for words.
He felt like the clueless, penniless protagonist in a CEO romance novel, mistaking the CEO for a waiter during a meal, only to embark on a cat-and-mouse game of pursuit and escape.
He almost forgot that this Jiang Jue had been brought over by Qiu Huai. Anyone who could hang out with Qiu Huai couldn’t be a good person.
Jing Nian suddenly realized that Jiang Jue’s earlier enthusiasm toward him wasn’t about getting him to spend money.
It was about hitting on him.
In the past, when reading novels, I always imagined myself as the wealthy second-generation heir who toyed with others’ emotions. Being the prey for the first time felt rather novel.
Better to keep my distance from him in the future.
Jing Nian carried the drunkard out of the hotel and then arrived at the intensive care unit of a city hospital.
Here lay an elderly man on the verge of passing away.
He stood silently in the corridor, listening to the heart-wrenching wails of the family from inside the room. Only when the cries gradually subsided did he lead the old man’s soul out.
He nearly got hit by a walking stick for his efforts.
The old man brandished his cane, his voice robust and full of vigor. “I only agreed to talk to you because you look like a decent young man! My son just paid the hospital fees yesterday—I haven’t even gotten my money’s worth yet! And now you want me to leave?”
“Let me tell you, you young folks these days are far too wasteful. You have no idea how hard it is to earn money! Back in the day, during the famine, we couldn’t even bear to chew on tree bark.”
Just as Jing Nian was about to speak, the old man launched into a lengthy recounting of his youthful experiences.
From the famine to marrying his wife, and when he reached the part about “having to cross five mountains to get to school back then,” Jing Nian finally lost his patience and bound the man with soul-binding chains.
Hurried footsteps echoed from behind.
The old man’s son rushed out, holding three lit incense sticks, his eyes still red.
“Brother Grim Reaper!” He respectfully raised the incense above his head. “This is a small token of our gratitude as children. Please, when you arrive on the other side, show my father some kindness.”
Jing Nian accepted the incense. “Consider it done.”
Even with the incense lit, Jing Nian’s face appeared as a swirling black mist to the living. The old man’s son watched as the three incense sticks burned down rapidly, knowing the matter was settled. He bowed deeply in Jing Nian’s direction.
Taking payment for services rendered, Jing Nian had no intention of making things difficult for the old man, who didn’t seem like a bad person.
But this was indeed his only source of income while working in the underworld.
Leaving the hospital, snow began to fall once more outside.
Jing Nian stood at the hospital entrance, looking up at the sky. He stretched out his hand to catch a snowflake, the cold melting in his palm, vanishing almost instantly.
Little Rabbit wriggled out from his embrace, mimicking him by extending a tiny paw to catch snowflakes. The snowflake landed on its furry paw and took a long time to melt.
“Want to build a snowman!”
“There’s not enough snow to build one.”
Jing Nian’s expression was dismissive, but he still walked over to a corner where a thin layer of snow had accumulated. Squatting down, he used his fingers to gather and shape the snow, slowly forming a small snowman.
Little Rabbit grabbed his scarf and slid to the ground, pressing a tiny paw print onto the snowman. With paws on its hips, it declared proudly, “Hmph, Nian Nian’s mouth is the toughest thing about him, but he loves Little Rabbit the most!”
Before the words even finished, a freshly made snowball flew straight at Little Rabbit’s head, knocking it onto its back.
…Bad Nian Nian!
There are plenty of people who keep pets, but few who treat them with genuine affection.
A golden retriever had contracted an incurable illness and, after three days of treatment at the veterinary hospital, still didn’t make it.
Its owner was a young woman, now sitting alone on a bench in the corridor, sobbing as she held the golden retriever’s still-warm body.
The golden retriever’s soul nestled quietly against her knees.
Seeing Jing Nian approach, its moist eyes instantly filled with a pleading look.
Human souls resist leaving because they fear death, but animals are different—they simply don’t want to part from those they love.
The golden retriever slowly got up, wagging its tail with effort to show friendliness towards Jing Nian. Its spirits were low, and the tail wagging was half-hearted, lacking any vigor.
Jing Nian reached out to pat its head, speaking softly, “Go on, I’ll wait for you.”
The golden retriever barked once, its voice tinged with gratitude, then trotted back to its owner. Across the distance of life and death, it gently licked her cheek.
The girl felt nothing, only clutching the gradually cooling body as she cried even harder.
Jing Nian had little patience for people, but he was surprisingly lenient towards these simple-hearted animals.
In the end, the golden retriever couldn’t bear to leave its owner, but it also understood Jing Nian’s predicament. Looking back every few steps, it walked dejectedly towards Jing Nian.
Jing Nian lowered his head to comfort it, “We’ll meet again.”
The golden retriever wasn’t exceptionally smart, but it understood and believed. Its tail wagged a little faster, and its mood seemed to lift slightly.
Yet, seeing its happy expression, Jing Nian felt a heaviness in his heart.
Would they really meet again?
He had convinced himself that he would see Gu Yehan again, but after waiting for so long—until he began to waver and told others that Gu Yehan had become his ex-husband—he still hadn’t reunited with his A’Fu.
It was a very ordinary afternoon.
Gu Yehan took him to meet a strikingly handsome young man, introduced as his friend, named Qiu Huai.
“So, this is Nian Nian! How adorable!”
Qiu Huai’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Jing Nian, itching to pinch his cheeks, but he was stopped by Gu Yehan’s threatening glare.
Turning back to Jing Nian, Gu Yehan resumed his gentle expression, patting his head. “Be good, A’Nian. I have some matters to attend to. Don’t go to the song hall. If you’re bored, Qiu Huai will keep you company.”
Gu Yehan had often been busy with business before, so Jing Nian didn’t suspect much.
He nodded obediently, “Alright, but don’t forget to bring me peach blossom pastries from He Fang Zhai.”
The man, who had always indulged the child’s every wish, hesitated this time. With difficulty, he forced a smile, nodded, and said nothing more.
Just as he was about to leave, Jing Nian called out to him again.
The child ran over, stood on tiptoe, wrapped his arms around Gu Yehan’s neck, and planted two quick kisses on his cheek, his smile radiant.
“Come back soon, A’Fu. I’ll miss you.”
…
By the time he had gathered all the souls and returned to the underworld, the sky had completely darkened. Just as Jing Nian was about to enter the company, he accidentally spotted a stray puppy whimpering hungrily by the roadside.
He paused for a moment, then crossed the street to a convenience store. When he came out, he was holding two sausages.
The puppy immediately started wagging its tail at the sight of the sausages, trotting eagerly towards Jing Nian. It first licked his slightly cool fingers.
Then, it devoured the peeled sausages with gusto.
Little Rabbit, perched on Jing Nian’s shoulder with its chin in its paws, frowned unhappily. “Little Rabbit doesn’t want to watch dogs. Little Rabbit wants to play with cats.”
In the end, due to Little Rabbit’s stubborn insistence, they didn’t get to play with cats. Instead, it was taken back to the underworld along with Jing Nian.
The moment the elevator doors opened, an enlarged, terrifying ghost face pressed close again.
Little Rabbit: “…”
Is this ever going to end?!
No face-pressing, show some care for Little Rabbit!