The others in the room didn’t seem particularly interested when Lin Zhushui said he had a question to ask.

But Shen Yiqiong and Zhou Jiayu were very curious to hear what he would ask.

Lin Zhushui placed his index finger on the board, his thin lips parted lightly, and he uttered a question: “When will I get married?” The moment he asked this, Zhou Jiayu’s eyes widened, staring intently at the board.

The board began to move across the paper in a hesitant, erratic manner—far more chaotic than when Shen Yiqiong had asked his question. It looked almost confused, as if it didn’t know how to answer.

Xiao Su, standing off to the side, looked puzzled—it was clear she was seeing something like this for the first time.

A hint of confusion crept into Lin Zhushui’s expression as he whispered, “What’s wrong with the board?”

“Don’t talk!” Xiao Su snapped, sounding a little anxious. “You’ve asked a question the spirit of the board can’t answer—”

Her judgment turned out to be correct. The board began to spin faster and faster on the table until it became uncontrollable. Everyone’s fingers were eventually forced off the board’s back, but it continued to spin wildly on its own.

This sudden phenomenon startled everyone. And after the initial shock, traces of fear appeared on their faces.

The board spun faster and faster, until finally—with a loud crack—it shattered into pieces.

Shen Yiqiong laughed, totally unbothered. “Hahaha, looks like you’re even more tragic than I am, Brother Lin.”

Lin Zhushui gave Shen Yiqiong a flat, unimpressed look. Shen Yiqiong quickly stopped laughing and put on a more serious face. “Xiao Su, what’s going on? Does this mean ghosts really exist?”

Xiao Su stared at the broken pieces of the board on the table, seemingly deep in thought. Shen Yiqiong had to call her name several times before she finally came back to herself. “Huh? What did you say?”

“I asked how we’re supposed to wrap this up,” he replied.

Xiao Su sighed. “This is the first time I’ve seen something like this… Forget it, let’s just follow the usual procedure and send the spirit off.”

With a complex expression, she faced the shattered board and repeated the words: “Spirit of the board, please return. Spirit of the board, please return…” She chanted this several times. But this time, the board no longer responded.

Once she finished, Xiao Su looked toward Lin Zhushui, her tone a bit sharp: “What’s wrong with you? Why would you ask a question the spirit can’t answer?”

Lin Zhushui acted perfectly, his expression full of cluelessness and misery. “I don’t know either. I just wanted to ask when I’d get married. How was I supposed to know the spirit would react like that? Does this mean I’ll never get married?”

Xiao Su had nothing to say.

Shen Yiqiong tried to smooth things over. “Come on, Xiao Su, don’t be mad. He didn’t mean any harm. Who would’ve thought the future was that unpredictable…” He paused, then added very seriously, “I don’t think that spirit was even reliable. Do I look like someone who’d only fall in love at seventy-three?”

Xiao Su remained silent, looking at Shen Yiqiong with a faintly contemptuous gaze.

Shen Yiqiong: “…” Now that’s just uncalled for.

Still, even though the board shattered, the game couldn’t be considered a total failure. After all, the reason they’d all gathered here was to test whether supernatural forces existed. And in some sense, they had just gotten their proof…

Xiao Su exhaled and said to the room, “You all keep playing. I’ll go check on the other rooms.” With that, she walked out, leaving the others behind.

Truthfully, everyone felt a bit uneasy after witnessing something so strange. Once Xiao Su left, Shen Yiqiong started up a conversation about Xiao Mi.

As soon as she was mentioned, the atmosphere in the room brightened—clearly, most of them had come because of her.

“Xiao Mi is so cute. I really want to join one of her livestreams,” said a young boy who looked even younger than Shen Yiqiong. “But I heard the stream got banned. Will that affect anything?”

Shen Yiqiong asked, “Affect what?”

The boy replied, “I just want to appear on the stream and let everyone see me.”

Shen Yiqiong made an oh sound and casually asked, “You’re out so late. Aren’t your parents worried?”

The boy shrugged indifferently. “Nothing to worry about. They’re hardly ever home anyway. I can go ten days or half a month without returning and they wouldn’t care.”

Hearing this confirmed something Shen Yiqiong had already been suspecting—these people had all been carefully chosen. They had weak ties to society and wouldn’t easily be missed if anything strange happened to them.

While Xiao Su was away, Shen Yiqiong exchanged contact info with several of the others and agreed to meet again in the future. They also promised to share any updates with one another.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhushui—who had “broken” the board by asking the wrong question—and Zhou Jiayu, with his “blank stare,” became the least popular people in the room.

Lin Zhushui sat next to Zhou Jiayu, both of them quietly watching Shen Yiqiong act up in the center of the room. Then, out of nowhere, Lin Zhushui pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping the corner of Zhou Jiayu’s mouth, whispering, “Little brother, close your mouth. Don’t drool.”

The others nearby showed clear expressions of disgust.

Zhou Jiayu looked at Lin Zhushui with a dazed expression but felt wronged inside—Sir, what’s going on? Please wake up. Why are you suddenly so dramatic? Have you been infected by Shen Yiqiong’s overacting?

Just then, Xiao Su returned to the room—and immediately witnessed this deeply “brotherly” scene between Lin Zhushui and Zhou Jiayu. Her expression was, as usual, full of disdain.

“You’re back, Xiao Su,” Shen Yiqiong greeted her. “How did things go over there?”

Xiao Su shook her head. “Not good. We couldn’t summon anything in the other rooms.” She looked a little frustrated. “Only our room had success.” Then she smiled. “Seems we’re all pretty talented.”

Listening to her, Zhou Jiayu thought bitterly to himself—This kind of talent, I’d really rather not have…

Of course, the others didn’t share his view. They looked genuinely excited, and Shen Yiqiong chimed in enthusiastically, “Really? We have a gift for this stuff?”

“Of course,” Xiao Su said seriously. “Being able to summon the spirit on your first try isn’t easy.” Her gaze turned hostile as she looked toward Lin Zhushui, who was still fussing over Zhou Jiayu. Her tone grew cold. “It’s just a shame someone had to ruin it…”

Shen Yiqiong quickly stepped in. “Let’s drop it. Brother Lin didn’t mean anything by it. Asking when you’ll get married isn’t that weird, right? I asked when I’d fall in love, too.” (Even if that damn spirit gave him a truly infuriating answer.)

Xiao Su sneered, “Don’t you have any self-awareness?” But right after saying that, she seemed to regret being too harsh. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. I just got frustrated when the whole thing was going so well and then got cut off.”

Everyone else took her side. Seeing her pitiful expression, they rushed to comfort her.

Only Shen Yiqiong and Zhou Jiayu were quietly panicking. If this were any normal day, Xiao Su would’ve been turned into a small serving of rice pudding by now.

But Lin Zhushui was very professional. So in this moment, playing the role of a single, broke man with a mentally challenged younger brother, he simply looked embarrassed and apologized repeatedly, seeming completely meek.

Zhou Jiayu nearly applauded his acting.

Xiao Su said, “That’s it for today. In a couple of days, Xiao Mi will be doing another livestream. We’ll be opening a new channel on a different platform. The exact link will be posted in the group chat. You all want to come?”

Everyone eagerly agreed.

“But spots are limited,” Xiao Su added with a smile. “So let’s do a draw.”

Everyone agreed readily.

She turned and went out to get the drawing lots. From how prepared they were, it was obvious this was a regular thing—they likely did these activities often, and drawing lots was part of the norm.

Shen Yiqiong stepped up first, full of energy. “I’ll go first!”

Xiao Su had a good impression of him. She smiled and nodded. As her thumb subtly brushed a certain stick, Shen Yiqiong understood and drew it immediately.

“Such good luck,” Xiao Su said with a smile.

Lin Zhushui stood up next and forced his way through the crowd to become the second to draw. Xiao Su’s smile became noticeably strained. But Lin Zhushui didn’t care one bit. He reached in, grabbed a stick, and pulled it out.

Xiao Su’s expression changed. Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but with so many people behind Lin Zhushui, she swallowed her words and watched as he drew a short bamboo stick.

“I got one too,” Lin Zhushui said happily, smiling. “What luck.”

There were some people in the crowd shushing, and someone even joked, “Just don’t ask when he’s getting married this time.”

Lin Zhushui only smiled and didn’t say anything.

There were a total of six spots, with two already taken by Shen Yiqiong and Lin Zhushui. The remaining four were two men and two women.

“The spots are more or less finalized. If anyone suddenly can’t make it, please let us know in advance,” Xiao Su said with a smile. “As for everyone else, don’t worry—besides Xiao Mi’s group, there are others playing the game at the same time.”

As soon as she said this, Zhou Jiayu perked up. He sensed there was something important hidden in her words.

“Although this part won’t be streamed,” Xiao Su continued with a gentle smile, as if bewitching the crowd, “you’ll still be in the same place playing the same game as Xiao Mi’s group. If you’re lucky, you might even get to see her.”

Some of the others began raising their hands, eager to join in, but Xiao Su shook her head and said the list would be finalized later. Everyone should keep their phones on and be ready to be contacted privately.

By now, it was close to midnight. Xiao Su mentioned there were places to stay upstairs, so those who didn’t want to go home could sleep here.

Most participants were young and it was difficult for them to get home, so the majority chose to stay the night.

Xiao Su also asked Shen Yiqiong if he wanted to stay. Shen Yiqiong scratched his head and said, “No need, Brother Lin drove here, he can take me home.”

“Oh, alright then,” Xiao Su didn’t insist and simply nodded. “Be careful on the way. See you the day after tomorrow.”

Shen Yiqiong said goodbye to her.

Xiao Su only acted warm toward Shen Yiqiong, completely ignoring Lin Zhushui and Zhou Jiayu. The two didn’t bother with pleasantries and just left directly.

The car was parked in a remote corner of the town. Lin Jue and Xu Ruwang were napping inside. When they saw the group return, they greeted them enthusiastically. “How’d it go? Did anyone notice?”

“Nope,” said Shen Yiqiong. “The act was flawless. No one suspected a thing.” He glanced at Zhou Jiayu’s dazed expression and burst out laughing. “Well, he was just being himself.”

Zhou Jiayu immediately smacked Shen Yiqiong. Shen Yiqiong howled in pain, “You were so happy when ‘Sir’ wiped your mouth. Why hit me now?”

Zhou Jiayu gritted his teeth. “Say one more word, Shen Yiqiong, and you might not make it out of here alive.”

Shen Yiqiong mimed zipping his lips shut.

This infiltration had yielded a lot. Not only had they seen Xiao Mi in person, but they’d also uncovered important hidden info—like how during each of Xiao Mi’s live streams, there were actually two teams present. One team was shown to the viewers, while the other was playing the exact same paranormal game off-camera.

Zhou Jiayu grasped the key point: “So the corpses found at the scene after each Xiao Mi stream… could they be these young people?”

“Exactly,” Lin Jue said thoughtfully. “I think these youngsters are probably used as scapegoats.”

“Then why weren’t any bodies discovered at the beginning?” Shen Yiqiong asked. “Hasn’t Xiao Mi been doing this paranormal stuff for a while?”

“No idea,” Lin Jue replied, shaking his head. “Also, Xu Ruwang’s Master’s soul is currently detached—and that has to be connected to Xiao Mi’s live streams. Your appointment is the day after tomorrow, right?”

Shen Yiqiong nodded.

“Then we’ll just go take a look,” Lin Jue said. “Zhushui will be there too. Let’s see what kind of tricks they think they can pull.”

On the way back, Lin Jue removed the makeup from Lin Zhushui and Zhou Jiayu, restoring them to their usual appearance. Shen Yiqiong, however, claimed he’d gotten used to Zhou Jiayu looking dumb and said it felt strange seeing him normal again.

Zhou Jiayu sneered, “Do you know why you won’t get married until you’re 73? It’s because you talk too much.”

Shen Yiqiong was mortally wounded by this, left speechless for a long time. He finally turned to Lin Zhushui to seek justice. “Sir, was that spirit board real or not?”

Lin Zhushui replied, “Real.”

Shen Yiqiong: “…Then, am I seriously not going to fall in love until I’m 73?”

Lin Zhushui delivered another blow to his chest. “Highly likely.”

Shen Yiqiong lost it. “But , your Yang energy is so strong! What kind of ghost would even dare come near you? Wouldn’t it get scorched?”

Lin Zhushui said calmly, “Even though people call it a spirit board, what it mostly attracts are wandering spirits. That Xiao Su is not a normal person. The board she used was specially made to attract more dangerous entities. I suppressed my Yang energy a bit with some tricks, but in the end, it was probably Zhou Jiayu who attracted it.”

Shen Yiqiong praised himself for being smart, having given Zhou Jiayu a non-participating role. If Zhou had actually played the game, who knew what kind of spirit he’d have summoned.

“They organize this kind of event to test the participants’ constitution,” Lin Zhushui explained. “Not everyone can summon a spirit.”

“How do they determine who can?” Shen Yiqiong asked.

“Simple. If the spirit answers someone’s question, that means the person has the ability,” Lin Zhushui replied. He paused, “That lottery was rigged.”

Speaking of spirit responses, Shen Yiqiong couldn’t stop thinking about those ominous numbers—seven and three—and started sulking again.

That spirit, however, wasn’t strong enough to answer Lin Zhushui’s question. As soon as he asked, the board shattered into pieces.

Zhou Jiayu had the same thought as everyone else when he saw the broken board: Could it be that Lin Zhushui will never be able to get married in this life? But now it seemed more likely that the spirit was simply too weak to respond.

After they returned, it was already nearly 3 a.m., and everyone went to their rooms to rest.

The gathering two days later was the most important. Lin Jue had already applied makeup to Zhou Jiayu and Lin Zhushui early and even picked matching outfits for them.

“Watch over Jiayu tonight,” Lin Jue reminded Lin Zhushui. “With his constitution, he’ll definitely attract trouble if you’re not there.”

Lin Zhushui nodded.

Zhou Jiayu suddenly felt like a mentally challenged kid being taken on a field trip by his guardian. “Shibo, I’m not stupid!”

Lin Jue looked at him lovingly. “Of course not. My Xiao Yu is the smartest.”

Lin Zhushui also nodded. “Yes, not stupid at all.”

Zhou Jiayu: “……..” Could you guys not get into character so fast?!

He used to think Shen Yiqiong was the biggest drama queen, but now he realized they all had acting potential. Even Xu Ruwang came over with a sympathetic smile, “Guan’er is the smartest.”

Zhou Jiayu: …Seriously, that’s enough!

So, the “mentally challenged” Zhou Jiayu was taken by his “shut-in” older brother and brought to the meeting spot.

Originally, Xiao Su hadn’t planned to let Zhou Jiayu attend this round, but Shen Yiqiong begged and pestered until she relented—on the condition that if anything happened to Zhou Jiayu, he would be immediately sent away. Shen Yiqiong agreed. After all, Zhou Jiayu wasn’t really disabled. What could possibly go wrong?

At the same time, the boy Shen Yiqiong had exchanged numbers with was chosen to be part of the other team playing the game alongside Xiao Mi. The boy told Shen Yiqiong about it and shared some details.

“They’re playing the game in the same place as us,” Shen Yiqiong said. The location this time was a well-known hotel in the area—famous not for its service, but for the many people who had died on the same floor: suicides, homicides, and accidents. Locals always avoided that floor when staying there.

Shen Yiqiong’s team was assigned to the right side of the 18th-floor hallway. The boy from the other team said they were on the left. He didn’t understand how dangerous it was and excitedly asked if he’d get to see Xiao Mi or appear on her stream.

“Is Xiao Mi streaming again?” Zhou Jiayu asked.

“Seems like it,” Shen Yiqiong replied, checking his phone. Sure enough, Xiao Su had sent a new stream link. Xiao Mi had moved to a smaller platform, only accessible via mobile app and harder to shut down.

Zhou Jiayu was confused. “Why is she so obsessed with streaming?”

Shen Yiqiong mused, “Yeah, if it’s just for exposure, there are other ways. Could it be the gifts?”

Then Zhou Jiayu suddenly remembered something and pulled up an old fan-recorded clip from one of Xiao Mi’s streams. “Huh? Her custom gift is joss paper…”

Back on the previous platform, streamers could customize their gifts. For example, a balding one had a wig as a gift.

But Xiao Mi’s custom gift was joss paper. They hadn’t noticed that before.

“Is she even human?” Shen Yiqiong wondered aloud.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Zhou Jiayu said.

True. With Lin Zhushui there, whether she was ghost or human, she couldn’t hide.

Worried about being seen, they parked far from the hotel and entered quietly.

Taking the elevator to the 18th floor, as soon as the doors opened, Zhou Jiayu felt a chill creep through him. It was so strong he instinctively paused.

“What is it?” Shen Yiqiong asked.

Zhou Jiayu was about to answer when he saw several young people walking down the hallway. Afraid of giving himself away, he just tilted his head and shook it.

Lin Zhushui didn’t ask again. Instead, he naturally reached out and held Zhou’s hand. “Don’t be scared,” he said softly.

Instantly, Zhou Jiayu’s entire focus shifted to their interlocked hands. Lin Zhushi’s hand was cold at first, but soon radiated a comforting warmth that drove away the chill in Zhou’s palm.

Zhou Jiayu followed him dazedly, a goofy grin on his face. Even without makeup, he looked like a real fool.

As for the eerie atmosphere of the floor… Zhou Jiayu thought nonchalantly, Who cares about that? My Sir is holding my hand! My Sir is holding my hand! My Sir is holding my hand! Even if Sadako showed up right now, he probably wouldn’t be scared!

Watching Zhou Jiayu’s silly grin, Shen Yiqiong looked at him with admiration. Such dedication to the role. Little did he know, Zhou’s brain had genuinely short-circuited, and any remaining IQ had likely been sucked away by Lin Zhushui.

“Xiao Fu, you’re here,” Xiao Su greeted them with a smile at the door. “Xiao Mi is inside. Hurry and go in.”

“You’re not playing with us?” Shen Yiqiong asked.

“There are so few slots,” she replied. “How could I take one?” She glanced at her watch, her smile deepening. “Go on, it’s almost time.”

And so, one underage boy and a single older man leading his “mentally challenged” brother walked into the room.

__

Author’s note:
Zhou Jiayu: Got to hold Sir’s hand again… thrilling and dangerous!
Lin Zhushui: That big a reaction just from holding hands?
Zhou Jiayu: Of course not… Mmph!
Lin Zhushui (kisses him): Kiss
Zhou Jiayu: [passes out from excitement]