The Boss slumped to the ground, his legs trembling uncontrollably as he stared at the eerie and terrifying surroundings.
From the flickering shadows ahead emerged a child who appeared to be about six or seven years old. Without uttering a word, the child stared rigidly at the Boss with an expressionless face. After a moment, he spoke in a monotone voice: “Boss… I heard you really like beautiful women, don’t you?”
The Boss trembled all over and said, “Who doesn’t like beautiful women? You’ll be the same when you grow up.”
The child asked, “Is that so? Would you like a beautiful woman like her?”
Beside the child, a stunningly beautiful girl with snow-white skin had appeared out of nowhere.
A bright red bellyband was faintly visible beneath her sheer, cicada-wing-like outer garment.
Not to mention the lustful Boss—even an upright and righteous man would lose all reason at such a sight and rush forward to pin her down.
And indeed, the Boss did just that. The child immediately reached out to stop him, sneering coldly, “Do you think she’s beautiful?”
The Boss nodded eagerly and pushed the child aside. Seeing this, the beautiful woman began stepping backward, letting out a silvery, bell-like laugh.
Covering her mouth as she laughed, she asked coquettishly, “Dear Boss, are you speaking the truth? Do you really like me?”
The Boss immediately raised his hand, knelt on the ground, and swore, “Beauty, I swear, I truly like you… No… I think I’ve fallen in love with you. You are just too beautiful!”
The beautiful woman laughed and asked, “Are the girls from your world as pretty as I am?”
“Beauty, what world are you talking about? How could they possibly compare to you? You are so enchanting—in my thirty-plus years of life, I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you. Come, let me give you a kiss.”
No sooner had he spoken than the Boss stepped forward, pulled the beautiful woman into his arms, and grew increasingly bold.
The beautiful woman gently blocked him with her hands and laughed, “Boss, would you still like me if I were like this?”
With that, she stroked her long, flowing hair, gave a ghostly smile, and in an instant, her head separated from her body, dropping into the Boss’s hands. “Boss, do you still love me?”
The Boss froze on the spot, his pants instantly soaked, his face ashen as he stared fixedly at the beautiful woman, unable to utter a single word.
The beautiful woman lightly tapped his forehead with her finger. With a thud, the Boss fell backward and lay motionless on the ground.
The beautiful woman snorted disdainfully, not even glancing at the unconscious Boss. She walked directly to the child and knelt, saying, “Young Prince, how would you like to deal with this person?”
This child was none other than Yan Lie. Resting his chin in his hand, he thought for a moment and said, “Let’s hand this person over to my father for judgment. And by the way, tell him that I’ve gone to the mortal world.”
The beautiful woman nodded, lightly raised her finger, and in no time, both she and the Boss had vanished without a trace.
Yan Lie stood at the entrance to the Gates of Hell. Originally, he had intended to see his father, but he was also worried about Sister Ni Chang. After standing there for a long time, he finally turned around, transformed into a small dog, and returned to the mortal world.
By this time, it was already late at night in the mortal world. Yan Lie stood before the Monarch and recounted what had happened to the Boss in the Netherworld.
Dong Yue patted his head affectionately and said, “I only asked you to send him to your father for judgment. I didn’t expect you to scare him unconscious.”
Yan Lie suddenly looked worried and asked, “Monarch, his lifespan hasn’t ended yet. By sending him over, will we bring about disaster?”Dong Yue shook his head: “I’ve already checked. He was destined to die next year after harassing a married woman and being beaten to death. Today’s incident merely advanced his fate by one year. It makes no difference.”
Dong Yue picked up Yan Lie and gently patted his head. A small dog came to rest on his leg: “Go on now!”
After school, Ni Manxin had been lingering outside the dessert shop for a long time without stepping inside.
Dong Yue, who had been watching Ni Manxin from inside the shop, put down his newspaper and stood before her.
“How long do you plan to stand here? Don’t you have work today? Without this job, you’ll have no income!” Dong Yue teased.
Ni Manxin looked surprised: “Why are you here today? Are you that free? I seem to run into you everywhere I go?”
Dong Yue’s eyes wandered unconsciously: “I… I’ve already delegated my work to subordinates. They’ll come find me if anything important comes up. As for now, I’m quite free indeed.”
“Subordinates?” Ni Manxin thought carefully, recalling that when she first met Dong Yue, there seemed to be a man standing beside him who treated Dong Yue with great respect.
“Do you mean that man in black who stood beside you when you came to my school?” Ni Manxin asked curiously.
Dong Yue grabbed her shoulders, suppressing his excitement: “How did you know?”
Ni Manxin laughed: “Have you forgotten? I saw you together at school once! What’s that man’s name? He seemed so sunny.”
Dong Yue’s expression turned sorrowful. Even if she couldn’t remember the people and events of the Netherworld, she could always remember Yan Lie and Bei Yin clearly.
Even when she forgot them, her mind and body never rejected them – except for himself.
“What’s wrong? You look terrible.” Ni Manxin watched as his face grew increasingly pale with concern.
Dong Yue looked at Ni Chang – she wasn’t completely indifferent to him, wasn’t she worried about him right now?
He watched as Ni Chang kept looking around inside the shop, wondering what she was searching for.
“Are you looking for the Boss?” Dong Yue asked from behind her.
Ni Manxin nodded, looking at Dong Yue with confusion: “Is he inside?”
“He has improper intentions toward you, yet you still come here. Aren’t you afraid…?” Dong Yue sounded puzzled.
“Afraid? Of course I’m afraid! But look what I’ve hidden in my bag?”
Dong Yue watched as Ni Manxin carefully pulled out an unknown substance from her bag, proudly looking up at him.
“This is knockout drug. If he dares to harm me, I’ll sprinkle this on his face and make him sleep for ten days or half a month, never to wake up again.”
Ni Chang, don’t worry. With me here, I won’t let you suffer any injustice.
“The owner of this shop has changed, so you don’t need to worry anymore. Come to work as you normally would, just like before.”
Changed? There was no talk about the Boss transferring the shop before yesterday? How could he suddenly sell the shop? And who’s the new owner now?
Dong Yue saw her confusion and walked to a table to sit down, speaking in an unhurried tone: “I’m the current owner. I’ve taken over this shop!”
“…You…?”
Ni Manxin stared at him. What did Dong Yue mean by taking over the shop? Was it because the previous Boss had made advances toward her yesterday? What exactly was his intention in doing this?
Right, he must not know that Fang Yi has already left her job! It must be so, otherwise why would he have appeared at the shop yesterday? He’s not someone who particularly loves desserts.
He must have been waiting for Fang Yi yesterday and ended up helping me incidentally. Now he’s taken over the shop to get closer to Fang Yi, right? Ah, when will I ever find such a devoted man? I really envy her.
“Aren’t you going to change your clothes? Don’t tell me you plan to work in that school uniform?”
Ni Manxin looked down at her school uniform and hurried to the changing room.
Dong Yue watched Ni Manxin’s adorable demeanor, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. Ni Chang, I came here for you—I hope you won’t disappoint me!