361: Takeover

"Who was it that said just a few days ago that I was 'clumsy in my duties and should just settle down to pad my resume'?" She remembered it clearly. The last time You Yu saw her frowning while processing files, he had even sneered, saying, "The airs of a Lord Prefectural City God are even grander than those of King Yama."

[How did he suddenly become a living Bodhisattva today?]

You Yu reached out to straighten his cuffs and finished his sentence: "Even brothers settle accounts clearly. That'll be four hundred and eighty thousand incense offerings for one day of covering your shift. No credit allowed."

Chen Yu: "...(／_＼)"

She raised her hand to rub her temples. It turned out this guy hadn't changed his nature; he had just set his sights on the pocket money Her Majesty gave her.

Chen Yu's hand was like iron pincers, gripping the lock of her storage space tightly. She squinted at You Yu, her tone overflowing with wariness: "Minister You is suddenly being so helpful, could it be that you're short on cash?"

[Heh, usually, besides official business, he considers saying even one extra word to me a waste of energy. Today he offers to cover my shift? Did the sun rise in the west?]

A corner of You Yu's black robe fluttered in the wind. He rubbed his nose, looking uncharacteristically uneasy.

"Ahem, You Wu and Wang Gang... they formed a bond."

"What?" Chen Yu's eyes instantly widened like copper bells, and the files in her hand dropped to the ground with a 'thud'.

"The two of them formed a bond? Since when? How come I didn't know?"

You Yu bent down to pick up the files, dusting off the cover with his fingertips. "A week ago. They treated colleagues from the Livestream Department to a meal; it wasn't a big ceremony."

Chen Yu suddenly leaned in, sizing him up: "Them forming a bond, what does that have to do with you being broke? You couldn't have given millions of incense offerings as a gift, right?"

As soon as she said this, You Yu's face turned colors like a tipped-over palette, shifting between green and white.

He turned his face away, his voice muffled: "It wasn't just the gift. They adopted a child, and I... became the godfather."

"Godfather?"

Chen Yu's voice suddenly spiked, as if she had stepped on a cat's tail. "Two grown men adopting a child? Fine, you're the godfather, but how did you manage to make yourself go broke over it?"

She narrowed her eyes and circled You Yu, her suspicion impossible to hide: "Be honest, did you get some Female Ghost Officer pregnant and make You Wu and the other guy take the fall? Otherwise, why would you be so generous?"

Holy crap, what an imagination!

You Yu was probably going to be so angry he'd come back to life.

The veins on his temples throbbed as he growled with a dark face, "Lord Prefectural City God, what kind of nonsense are you talking! The child was picked up from a trash can by Star. Their fate is damaged, and after checking the book of life and death, it was found that they had some connection to Jinglian Temple in a past life."

Chen Yu's footsteps abruptly stopped.

Jinglian Temple.

These two words were like a thorn, instantly lodging in her throat.

She suddenly remembered You Yu's dog-eared copy of the 'Jinglian Temple Precepts' and recalled the hidden ache in his eyes whenever he mentioned Cheng Kangzi.

After that grand-disciple who fell into the evil path had his soul scattered, You Yu hadn't pleaded for him once. But afterward, he had sat alone at the Wangxiang Terrace for three days and three nights.

[So that's it. This isn't just being a godfather; he clearly wants to continue a bit of the incense bond for a broken lineage.]

Chen Yu didn't press further. She turned and pulled a jade tablet from her storage space, shoving it into You Yu's arms. "There are one million incense offerings in here. Consider it my first birthday gift for the child."

You Yu gripped the jade tablet, feeling the cold touch in his palm. When he looked up, Chen Yu had already turned toward the teleportation array, her white hair swaying in the wind like a snowball.

"Lord Prefectural City God!" he couldn't help but call out.

Chen Yu looked back, raising an eyebrow: "What? Still think it's too little?"

You Yu shook his head and tucked the jade tablet into his robe. "The matter of covering your shift is on your Subordinate."

Chen Yu curled her lips and stepped into the teleportation array. The moment the blue light flared, she heard You Yu whisper behind her, "Thanks."

[Tsk tsk, hearing 'thanks' from You Yu is quite a rare thing.]

When the dizziness of the teleportation array faded, Chen Yu was already standing in the courtyard of the Emerald Island villa.

The salty sea breeze carried the scent of coconuts toward her, but the courtyard was empty—not even a ghost in sight.

ﾞ━=͟͟͞͞(Ŏ◊Ŏ ‧̣̥̇)

The main door to the living room was wide open. The crystal chandelier inside was still on, and a half-finished bottle of champagne sat on the coffee table, a ring of lipstick marks on the rim of the glass.

Judging by the color, it looked like Olexia's.

[Wait, where is everyone?]

Chen Yu's heart skipped a beat. She rushed into the living room, where a light screen was still suspended in the air, displaying a line of text.

[Vacation's over, going home to work. — Shang Wan Ning]

"Damn it!"

Chen Yu punched the sofa, her fluffy white hair exploding like a dandelion. "Couldn't you wait for the little loli to come back before leaving?"

She circled the villa twice in a huff. A few swimsuits that hadn't been taken were still hanging in the walk-in closet. Ling Qi's pearl-white halter-neck piece was particularly eye-catching, with faint red marks near the neckline.

[How hateful. Looking at these marks, the Secretary-General has been eating quite well these past few days.]

Chen Yu curled her lip, her heart practically overflowing with jealousy. She grabbed a teleportation talisman, and with a flash of golden light, she was standing outside the Jiaotai Palace in the Netherworld.

The agarwood incense in the hall was still burning. Shang Wan Ning was sitting on the phoenix chair browsing through jade slips; the Secretary-General stood nearby grinding ink, the blush on her profile not yet fully faded, and the faint traces of passion at the corners of her mouth couldn't be hidden.

[Good grief, with that glowing face, I don't even need to ask to know they've been 'busy' at least ten times.]

Chen Yu's grievances immediately surged. She let out a wail and flew over, hugging Shang Wan Ning's leg and starting to cry.

"Your Majesty, you can't be so biased. You took them to enjoy the best of everything while leaving Yu Yu outside to work. This loli's heart is bitter!!!"

Shang Wan Ning was nearly knocked off the phoenix chair by her, and the jade slip in her hand fell to the floor.

She looked down at the ball of white hair on her leg, her brow furrowed. "Let go."

"I won't!"

Chen Yu buried her face in Shang Wan Ning's phoenix robe and rubbed it back and forth. "Unless Your Majesty gives Yu Yu compensation, I'm not getting up."

Ling Qi put down the ink stick, her mouth twitching. Just as she was about to speak, she was stopped by a look from Shang Wan Ning.

Shang Wan Ning rubbed her temples, her tone helpless: "Fine, what do you want?"

Chen Yu immediately looked up, her tears stopping instantly, her eyes shining like two thousand-watt light bulbs. "Your Subordinate wants one million incense offerings—no, three million."

"Also, I want a half-month vacation to go to Emerald Island just like Leah and the others."

"Oh, and Olexia's wine-red mermaid dress looked pretty good; I want one of those too."

"And, and Poria and Atractylodes Soup..."

[Good grief, with this talent for taking a mile when given an inch, she's wasting her life not being a street vendor.]

Seeing the White-Haired Loli rattle off a long string of demands in one breath, the veins on the back of Shang Wan Ning's hand began to throb. "A-Yu, you're crossing the line."

Chen Yu lowered her head, her voice sounding aggrieved. "If Your Majesty thinks it's too much, then a bit less is fine. But the incense and the vacation can't be reduced, or else I'll—I'll cry for you to see." As she spoke, she actually squeezed out two golden teardrops that hung from her eyelashes, looking quite pitiful.