IMMFBCG Chapter 12 V1

Chapter 12: Mother-and-Child Porcelain

Lu Xuezheng’s high school is very close to Haicheng University, just two bus stops away.

Soon, he arrived at the milk tea shop near Haicheng University and spotted Ye Xue sitting by the window.

Lu Xuezheng ran over directly, calling out, “Boss!”

Ye Xue gestured for him to sit down. “Do you want something to drink?”

Lu Xuezheng felt a bit embarrassed. “Isn’t it inappropriate for you to treat me…?” Given that Xuan Zhen Temple was so poor, he felt bad about making Ye Xue pay for him.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Ye Xue replied, fiddling with her straw. “The shop owner treated me.”

“What?!” Lu Xuezheng’s eyes widened in surprise as he suddenly thought of something bad. He became very alert and looked around, quietly asking, “Does this shop have… that kind of thing?”

He suddenly felt a chill and nervously rubbed his arms, almost in tears. “No wonder it’s so cold. Is it because of the heavy yin energy?”

“…What nonsense are you thinking?” Ye Xue said, speechless. “It’s cold because the air conditioning is on, okay?”

“Oh, I see. That’s a relief,” Lu Xuezheng said, feeling foolish. He chuckled awkwardly but then grew curious. “But why is the owner so generous to treat you to milk tea?”

Ye Xue explained, “I’m working part-time here. The owner said he’d give me fifty yuan if I sit here for an hour every afternoon.”

With a pay rate of fifty an hour, she had already earned nearly a thousand in just a few days.

Lu Xuezheng was taken aback. “But boss, you’re doing thousands of business every minute; why do you care about this fifty yuan?”

However, he noticed this milk tea shop was busier than any trendy place he had ever been to.

At first, he thought the milk tea was just particularly delicious, but it turned out that the customers weren’t just there for the tea.

Since that was the case, how could he miss the chance to take advantage?

Without hesitation, Lu Xuezheng said, “Then I’ll have a cup of mango sago!”

After a moment, Lu Xuezheng remembered something and leaned into Ye Xue, asking, “Um, boss, can I touch your clothes?”

He raised a finger in promise. “Just once!”

Ye Xue looked at him with interest and asked, “Why?”

Lu Xuezheng rubbed his hands excitedly. “I want to soak up your good luck! Maybe if I get some of the scholar’s luck, I’ll be able to get into a top university too.”

It was the first time Ye Xue had met someone so superstitious.

She teasingly replied, “I just went to see a ghost. No good luck here, but there is some heavy yin energy. Do you want it?”

That could be deadly!

Lu Xuezheng immediately withdrew his hand, shaking his head frantically. “No, no!”

Ye Xue stopped teasing him and got down to business. “You said your dad’s company is haunted. What’s going on?”

Lu Xuezheng replied, “I’m not too sure. I just heard they’ve been having a lot of bad luck recently. I can take you to the company to ask him directly. Jinxin isn’t far from here.”

Ye Xue nodded. “Sounds good.”

Without further ado, Ye Xue said goodbye to the store manager and left with Lu Xuezheng.

Since she had no idea what the situation was like, she decided to bring her sword along, ready to chop if she encountered any ghosts.

As they passed by the school gate, Ye Xue ran into the security guard again. He looked surprised to see her, clearly remembering her.

The guard glanced at the sword in Ye Xue’s hand, then smiled knowingly. “Going cosplay again?”

The young people nowadays really have so much energy.

“Uh, yeah…” Ye Xue nodded helplessly.

She decided that next time she would put the sword in her bag before going out!

Lu Xuezheng, confused, asked when he heard the topic of cosplay, “Boss, do you have a side job? Do you think I have the talent for it?”

Ye Xue smiled slightly. “I think you look like a fool.”

Lu Xuezheng: “???”

Is the boss insulting me?

By the time they arrived at Jinxin, it was almost time to close.

Lu’s father was the department manager at Jinxin. He was a bit surprised to see Ye Xue and hadn’t expected that the ‘master’ who would help him solve the spirit problem was such a young girl.

However, Lu Xuezheng trusted and respected Ye Xue greatly, so despite his father’s many doubts, he held back and suggested they find a place to talk.

But before they had walked a few steps, a flower pot suddenly fell from above. If it weren’t for Ye Xue’s quick reflexes in pulling them out of the way, it would have been a bloody scene.

Lu’s father sighed.

Lu Xuezheng angrily exclaimed, “Who is so immoral?!”

Ye Xue crouched down and touched the flower pot shards, then looked thoughtfully upward.

She asked, “Have you been having a lot of bad luck lately? Like losing your wallet, having your car break down frequently, pets going crazy when they see you, or getting hit by falling objects whenever you walk near tall buildings… like right now?”

“I think many people in your company have been experiencing similar issues lately, right?”

Lu’s father was shocked. “How did you know?”

Lu Xue Zhen’s high school is very close to Haicheng University, just two bus stops away.

Soon, he arrived at the milk tea shop near Haicheng University and immediately spotted Ye Xue by the window.

Lu Xue Zhen ran over directly and exclaimed, “Big boss!”

Ye Xue gestured for him to sit down. “Would you like something to drink?”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Lu Xue Zhen replied, “Isn’t it a bit much to let you treat me? It doesn’t seem right to take advantage of you…” He felt guilty about putting pressure on Ye Xue when Xuan Zhen was so financially strapped.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Ye Xue said, fiddling with her straw. “The owner gave it to me.”

“What?!” Lu Xue Zhen’s eyes widened in shock, instantly suspecting something sinister. He began to look around cautiously and whispered, “Does this place have… those things?”

He suddenly felt a chill and nervously rubbed his arms, almost in tears. “No wonder it’s so cold; is there too much negative energy here?”

“…What are you thinking about?” Ye Xue asked, speechless. “It’s cold because the air conditioning is on.”

“Oh, that makes sense. As long as that’s it, haha.” Having made a blunder, Lu Xue Zhen awkwardly chuckled a couple of times, still feeling a bit puzzled. “But why is the owner so generous to treat us to milk tea?”

Ye Xue explained, “I work part-time here. The owner said if I sit here for an hour every afternoon, he’ll give me fifty bucks.”

At fifty an hour, she had almost earned a thousand after a few days.

Lu Xue Zhen responded, “…You’re not just a big boss; you’re about to make thousands! Why do you even care about this fifty bucks?”

However, he noticed that the business at this milk tea shop was indeed bustling compared to any other trendy shop he’d been to.

Originally, he thought the milk tea here was particularly delicious; turns out, those people were more interested in something else.

Since that was the case, how could he miss the chance to take advantage of it?

Lu Xue Zhen boldly said, “Then I’ll have a glass of mango sago!”

After a moment, Lu Xue Zhen suddenly remembered something and leaned closer to Ye Xue, asking, “Hey, can I touch your clothes?”

He raised a finger in assurance. “Just once!”

Ye Xue looked at him with interest and asked, “Why?”

Excitedly rubbing his hands, Lu Xue Zhen said, “I want to rub off your good luck! Who knows, if I get the luck of a top student, I might get into a prestigious university too.”

It was the first time Ye Xue had encountered someone so superstitious.

She deliberately teased, “I just saw a ghost, so there’s no good luck here, but there’s plenty of negative energy. Want some?”

That was enough to scare him!

Lu Xue Zhen immediately withdrew his hand and shook his head frantically. “No, no, no!”

Ye Xue stopped teasing him and turned to the serious matter. “You said your dad’s company is haunted; what’s going on?”

Lu Xue Zhen replied, “I’m not sure either. I just heard they’ve been having some bad luck lately. I can take you to the company to ask him directly. Jin Xin isn’t far from here.”

Ye Xue nodded. “Alright.”

Without further ado, Ye Xue bid farewell to the store manager and left with Lu Xue Zhen.

Uncertain of what to expect at the company, she decided to take her demon-slaying sword with her, prepared to confront any ghosts that might appear.

As they passed the school gate, Ye Xue ran into the security uncle from earlier. He looked surprised to see her, obviously remembering her.

The security guard’s gaze shifted to Ye Xue’s hand, and he smiled knowingly, saying, “Going for another cosplay?”

Today’s youth have a lot of energy.

“Uh, yeah…” Ye Xue nodded helplessly.

She decided that next time, she would put her sword in her bag before heading out!

Lu Xue Zhen, confused by the conversation, asked Ye Xue, “Big boss, do you have another job? Do you think I have the potential to cosplay?”

Ye Xue smiled slightly and replied, “You look like a fool.”

Lu Xue Zhen: “???”

Is the big boss insulting me?

By the time they reached Jin Xin, it was almost time to clock out.

Lu Dad, the department manager at Jin Xin, looked surprised to see Ye Xue, clearly not expecting that the “master” who would help him with the pen spirit would be such a young girl.

However, Lu Xue Zhen trusted and respected Ye Xue completely, so even though Lu Dad had many doubts in his mind, he held back and suggested they find a place to talk.

But they had only taken a few steps when a flowerpot suddenly fell from above. If it weren’t for Ye Xue’s quick reflexes in pulling them out of the way, they would have been seriously injured.

Lu Dad sighed.

Lu Xue Zhen angrily said, “Who is so unethical?!”

But Ye Xue squatted down to examine the broken flowerpot pieces, her expression thoughtful as she looked upward.

She asked, “Have you been having a string of bad luck lately? Like losing your wallet, your car breaking down, or pets barking at you non-stop? Or maybe getting hit by things falling from high places… like right now?”

“I think many people at your company must have encountered similar issues lately, right?”

Lu Dad was astonished. “How do you know this?”

These were things he had never shared with his family, fearing they would worry. So, Ye Xue could not have gotten this information from Lu Xue Zhen.

Lu Xue Zhen, in disbelief, exclaimed, “Dad, why didn’t you tell me earlier? This is so dangerous!”

He initially thought it was just a few minor bad luck incidents, but it turned out to be something that could potentially harm lives.

At that moment, he was extremely grateful that he had invited Ye Xue over.

Lu Dad replied helplessly, “I didn’t want you guys to worry. Besides, nothing has happened yet; it’s just a bit of bad luck.”

Ye Xue suddenly interjected, “Though it’s only a bit of bad luck now, it will only worsen over time until it threatens lives…”

In Ye Xue’s eyes, the three flames of luck around Lu Dad had dimmed. When fortune wanes, all kinds of misfortunes can occur. Right now, his luck was merely dim, but when the three flames extinguished, encountering a ghost wouldn’t be far off.

But one person cannot suddenly have bad luck; something must be influencing them.

Lu Dad fell silent.

Lu Xue Zhen urged anxiously, “Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and get rid of it!”

Ye Xue glanced at the company building, then her gaze fell on the notice board inside, remaining silent for a moment.

It read: “Hiring a part-time cleaner, salary negotiable.”

Companies usually hired long-term cleaners, so it was rare for them to hire part-time help.

Ye Xue asked, “Mr. Lu, is your company in need of cleaners lately?”