Over the following days, Zhang Wenxin did not visit the Yu family courtyard. Meanwhile, the rumors regarding Yu Zhile “stealing luck” intensified throughout the village.
Some people talked nonsense, swearing they had seen Yu Zhile setting up an altar and performing rituals in the dead of night, claiming they felt something being drained from their bodies at that very moment. Others speculated that her previous jump into the ocean hadn’t been a suicide attempt, but rather a backlash from her dark magic that had clouded her mind.
To these rumors, the skeptics turned up their noses, while the believers grew to hate Yu Zhile with a passion. Yu Zhile, however, continued her life as usual, completely unaffected.
Late one night, Zhou Yuesheng went to Ning Tan’s house.
Candlelight flickered, casting the shadow of a man with a black cloth over his head onto the wall, the silhouette occupying half the room.
“There’s something wrong with Zhang Caihong’s partner,” Ning Tan said, pulling off the black cloth.
The moment the man saw Zhou Yuesheng, his pupils contracted, and a flash of shock crossed his face.
“You’ve seen me before?” Zhou Yuesheng didn’t miss the change in his expression.
The man seemed to finally remember he was supposed to struggle, suddenly shouting, “Who are you people? Why did you kidnap me?”
“Have you seen my photograph?” Zhou Yuesheng walked toward him, step by step.
The man’s breath hitched. He denied it. “Who are you? I don’t know you.”
“Liu Mingcong, you can stop acting. What you did at the shipyard is enough to get you executed several times over.” Ning Tan slammed a stack of documents against his face.
When Ning Tan had investigated him, the results had been startling. Since Liu Mingcong took over as technical instructor at the shipyard, he had been directly involved in causing two major maritime accidents, resulting in the loss of two of the factory’s top senior technicians.
Papers flew everywhere as Liu Mingcong’s head jerked to the side. A moment later, he dropped his disguise and sneered self-mockingly, “Getting caught by a cripple… I guess it’s just my bad luck.”
“What was your goal in getting close to Zhang Caihong?” Ning Tan asked.
Liu Mingcong remained silent until Ning Tan punched him square in the nose. Blood began to flow.
“Speak,” Ning Tan growled, grabbing him by the collar.
Liu Mingcong’s face turned bright red as he gasped out, “To… to… to take revenge for my superior.”
“Who is your superior?” Ning Tan pressed, holding a knife to the man’s throat.
Liu Mingcong squeezed out a name: “Yu… Yu Zhile.”
Ning Tan let go in shock, allowing Liu Mingcong to collapse onto the floor like a pile of mud.
“Bring him to Haiyu Village tomorrow,” Zhou Yuesheng said, turning to leave.
The next morning, as the tide receded, Yu Zhile and Zhou Yuesheng walked toward the shore. When she started the livestream, a crowd of strangers flooded the room. They began grandstanding about the reports filed against her, implying that the content of her stream was fake. Malicious comments filled the screen, repeating the same insults over and over.
Yu Zhile stared at the screen for a long time, barely able to see the legitimate comments flashing through the cracks of the spam.
“Good morning. Today is another tide-pooling stream,” she began. “Before we start, I’ll give a simple response to the reports. I have done nothing against the rules, and I believe the Cloud Stream officials will clear my name.”
Due to platform regulations, she couldn’t turn off the comments while under investigation, so she had Xiao Yun pin a notice: [We suggest viewers hide the bullet comments manually.]
Without a word, “xxxx” dropped a hundred “Seas of Clouds.” The long-lasting gift effects covered all the malicious comments.
“Thank you, xxxx! Let’s get started!” Yu Zhile said with a smile.
Because they arrived a bit late, many sea creatures that hadn’t had time to bury themselves in the sand had been bleached white by the sun.
Abalone: Yu Zhile found several attached to the rocks, much larger than the ones they found last time. She picked ten of similar size.
Octopus in a Shell: She spotted a fist-sized blood clam that was opening and closing strangely. Upon opening it, she found a small octopus hiding inside. “Sometimes octopuses find shells to build their own homes,” she explained.
Mei-tong Fish: In a murky puddle, she found four golden fish with large, rounded heads. “These are Mei-tong fish. They’re great for cooking with scallion oil.”
Strong Gripping Crab: She found a crab with exceptionally long legs. “This is a ‘Strong Gripping Crab.’ Its shell is very hard and the meat isn’t great, so we usually don’t eat it.”
Suddenly, a “buzz” sounded in her mind, like an error tone. A warning symbol appeared in the center of her screen: [Your livestream has been suspended. Please wait for official news.]
Yu Zhile’s first thought was that she wouldn’t have to talk while cooking anymore, followed by a look of confusion.
“Host, there were too many vulgar words in the comments. The officials chose to temporarily lock your room to prevent things from spiraling out of control,” Xiao Yun explained.
When Zhou Yuesheng approached, he saw Yu Zhile’s eyes lose focus and didn’t dare move. After a moment, she snapped out of it, brushed off the sand, and smiled. “Alright, let’s go home.”
Back at the house, Chen Zhao arrived early, looking worried. “Sister, the two educated youths who saved you that day were close by; they must have seen what happened before you fainted.”
Yu Zhile realized they were the “black-faced, white-necked” people she had seen. “It’s fine. I’ll send them a thank-you gift in a few days.”
Just then, a bicycle bell rang outside. A mail carrier with a green bag handed her a letter. “Yu Zhile! You have a letter from the provincial capital.”
The envelope was handmade with floral paper and smelled faintly of blossoms. It was signed: Sheng Lanyue. At the sight of the name, a vague memory of a dancing figure appeared in her mind.
“A friend from the city,” Yu Zhile said.
Zhou Yuesheng knew who Sheng Lanyue was, but as his gaze swept over the address on the envelope, his aura suddenly shifted. He looked at her back, remembering Liu Mingcong’s words from the night before.
Suddenly, a group of about a dozen people marched toward the courtyard, led by Tang Guihua and Zhang Caihong.
“Caini, you’re an educated person,” Tang Guihua said, dragging Zhang Caihong along. “When Yu Zhile tries to lie her way out of this, you use your knowledge to shut her down!”
The group arrived at the gate, shouting for compensation for their “stolen luck.”
“She sucked away our family’s fortune! My son got sick because of her!”
“I want a hundred yuan and those new clothes of hers!”
“I want Leni to be my daughter-in-law!” an old man shouted, making the crowd fall silent with his audacity.
Inside, Yu Zhile’s hand trembled at the harsh voices outside. She turned to see Zhou Yuesheng standing in the doorway, his face cold.
“It’s okay, I have a way to deal with them,” she said, moving toward him.
Zhou Yuesheng reached out and blocked her path. With a sudden bang, the door was slammed shut. In a whirlwind of movement, Yu Zhile felt the heat of a palm against her waist. Before she could react, Zhou Yuesheng had pinned her between his chest and the wall.
He reached out and gently traced the cloud-shaped mark on her wrist, his hot breath brushing against her ear. The letter slipped from her fingers and fluttered to the floor.
The shouting of the mob outside continued to pierce through the walls, but Yu Zhile could only focus on the radiating heat coming from the man in front of her.
Zhou Yuesheng took a step back, his eyes tracing every detail of her face. Finally, their gazes locked.
“Yu Zhile,” he said, his voice raspy. “Who exactly are you?”