After sending Qiao Zixi home, Ji Yao took a taxi back to her own place.
The entire journey, she felt unsettled.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the phone call from Panpan.
Burdened with these thoughts, she still felt uneasy after arriving home.
Not only did she not have a car now, but another important reason was that she had no idea where Shi Yu lived.
Judging from last time, Shi Yu had been planning to move, so she definitely wouldn’t be at Century Garden.
The connection she had with Shi Yu had also faded over time, leaving her only able to sense that it was somewhere in the suburban direction.
But that area was too vast, making it impossible to pinpoint.
Frustrated, Ji Yao paced back and forth in her room. Eventually, resignation won out, and she went to take a shower, preparing to sleep.
But while drying her hair, that sense of unease crept up again.
At the same time, her phone rang.
Intuitively feeling that this call was important, Ji Yao put down the hairdryer and answered the phone with her hair still half-dry.
“Is this Sister Ji? It’s Xiao Zhu here. The thing is…”
Xiao Zhu was calling late at night because the employer had sent word, hoping Ji Yao could report as soon as possible.
“When?”
“Right now. I’ll send you the address immediately.”
“Okay!”
Ji Yao agreed, shaking her still-dripping hair as she quickly returned to her bedroom to change clothes and head downstairs.
Taxis heading to the suburbs in the middle of the night were scarce. Ji Yao waited outside in the cold for nearly twenty minutes before she managed to hail one. The journey took almost an hour, and she grew increasingly anxious along the way.
Still, she took the time to check the faint connection she had with Shi Yu. If circumstances allowed, she might be able to check on Shi Yu.
Coincidentally, as they approached the villa area in the outskirts, that faint connection began to intensify.
Ji Yao sat up straight, staring intently. As soon as the car stopped, she rushed in the direction the connection was coming from.
She hadn’t paid attention to the specific villa number Xiao Zhu had sent, only glancing at it briefly. It wasn’t until she stood in front of the villa where the connection vanished that she opened her phone to check.
It matched the villa right in front of her.
So?
Was Shi Yu the employer?
No, Shi Yu didn’t seem like someone who would believe in these things.
The thought lingered in her mind for a second before Ji Yao walked up to the door and rang the bell.
The lights on the first floor were on, and the TV was playing, so someone should have been home. But even after knocking for a long time, no one came to answer the door.
She stomped her feet twice and called out into the night, “Shi Yu, Shi Yu, open the door!”
It wasn’t as if she had no way to get in, but it was better to be polite before resorting to force.
After calling out a few more times and knocking on the window, Ji Yao double-checked the address Xiao Zhu had sent.
It was her employer’s house would it really matter if she forced her way in?
Ji Yao took a few steps back, sizing up the second-floor balcony and the walls. Deciding it was worth a try, she rolled up her sleeves and was about to climb when the door opened.
It was Panpan, pitiful and fragile, her eyes brimming with tears.
Ji Yao stopped her climbing attempt and swiftly walked over to Panpan, asking gently but urgently, “What’s wrong?”
“Mommy, it’s Mommy!”
“Mommy was so fierce, and then she locked herself in the room alone. No matter how much Panpan called for her, she wouldn’t come out.”
Panpan was utterly distraught.
She had followed Shi Yu all the way to the door of the second-floor room, calling out to her repeatedly, but Shi Yu never responded. At first, she held back her tears, but when she heard a somewhat familiar voice at the door and realized it was Mommy, she could no longer hold them back.
Now, seeing her in person, she couldn’t hold back even more.
She immediately wrapped her arms around Ji Yao’s neck and burst into tears, “Mommy, I’m so scared!”
“There’s a very strange auntie around Mom. She keeps staring at me, wuwu!”
A very strange, auntie?
Ji Yao held her small body tightly, not daring to ask if it was the auntie with hair covering her face, wearing a pink dress.
If she really asked, Panpan might become even more frightened.
“Don’t be afraid, Mommy is here.” This time, Ji Yao had no trouble referring to herself as “Mommy.” Panpan’s current state had truly touched her heart.
“Stay behind Mommy, don’t be afraid.”
“Okay!”
Ji Yao’s presence gave Panpan a lot of courage. Though she hadn’t let go of Ji Yao’s neck, her voice sounded much clearer, and the sobbing had disappeared.
With Panpan leading the way, Ji Yao quickly found Shi Yu’s room.
Just to be safe, she left Panpan downstairs, made a hand gesture to cover her eyes, and left her down jacket with her.
“Remember, don’t let go.”
“Okay, Mom!” Panpan curled up on the sofa. The noisy sound of the TV was still playing, and with the jacket, she felt much braver.
Feeling somewhat reassured, Ji Yao hurried up to the second floor.
Just as Panpan had said, the strange auntie, a female ghost in a pink dress was clinging to the door, swaying her head. The moment she saw Ji Yao, her expression turned to terror.
Ji Yao could see more clearly than others; even the ghost’s terrified expression appeared vividly in her eyes.
The ghost moved quickly, slipping through the door almost the instant she saw Ji Yao.
As Ji Yao approached, intending to use a hand gesture to strike through the door, she suddenly realized the severity of the situation.
Why were there two inside?!
And they were fighting over Shi Yu!
She kicked the door open once again and saw Shi Yu staring straight at her with hollow eyes.
The moment Shi Yu saw her, her vacant gaze shifted slightly, becoming obscure and hard to decipher. It wasn’t the usual disgust she often showed but carried a hint of tenderness and anticipation.
As for the ghostly figure, it had already vanished without a trace.
Shi Yu’s gaze made Ji Yao look twice, but she didn’t overlook the danger of the situation.
In her career, Ji Yao rarely encountered such circumstances, which could be divided into two types.
One was when the ghost’s power was too strong.
The other was when the ghost was too compatible with the possessed person.
Either way, it was dangerous. If the possession lasted too long, it wouldn’t just disturb Shi Yu’s mind, it could also leave lasting health issues.
She had to disperse it quickly.
Ji Yao’s gaze and hand gesture simultaneously fixed on the center of Shi Yu’s brow. Stepping forward, she pressed her finger to Shi Yu’s forehead.
A dark shadow gradually began to reveal itself, and the atmosphere in the room shifted.
A misty, fragrant aroma filled the entire room, and Ji Yao, being closest to Shi Yu, felt it most intensely.
She didn’t know why, but it had triggered Shi Yu’s heat cycle.
Just like the first day she returned and faced Shi Yu, the originally hollow eyes suddenly became enchanting and full of emotion, while the black shadow above her head instantly weakened, and the pink hue grew exceptionally vivid.
Ji Yao had never encountered such a situation before. She hadn’t realized that an omega’s heat period could have such a significant impact on her hand seals and these spectral entities.
In that brief moment of lost restraint, Shi Yu had already walked up to her.
She had bathed earlier, and aside from the scent of pheromones emanating from her, there was also the fruity fragrance of her shower gel.
The combination made Shi Yu seem entirely softened, both in demeanor and expression.
Her neck was lazily and loosely held by the person before her, the fragrance between their breaths overwhelming.
“Shi Yu, calm down.”
The Shi Yu at this moment couldn’t truly be considered Shi Yu, the vivid pink hue above her head was proof enough.
Yet, the slightly heavy panting and tear-filled eyes couldn’t be faked.
Ji Yao never considered herself to have particularly poor self-control, but the Shi Yu before her was different. Pheromones entwined and enveloped her, and a warm tongue pressed against her lips.
Shi Yu’s figure was soft, her waist slender especially noticeable when she pressed close. Her eyes seemed capable of seduction, the corners reddened, clouded with desire, dazed and swaying.
The alpha’s pheromones were effortlessly drawn out by her, and at the same time, it felt as though fireworks had exploded in her mind. The ghostly, enticing voice still echoed from deep within: “Mark her!”
“Mark her, or she will die.”