"Su Jinxiu," upon speaking, knew it was inappropriate and quickly tried to mend it, saying, "That's not what I meant. I was just too worried about you."
"What?" Liu Nanfeng looked confused, as if he didn't understand what she meant.
"Su Jinxiu" let out a long sigh, turned around, and nestled against Liu Nanfeng's neck, gently stroking his skin. "What happened? Does it still hurt?"
"I ran into a lunatic who was a bit late with a delivery, and he grabbed me. It stopped hurting long ago. It wasn't as serious as you think."
Liu Nanfeng made up an excuse.
He didn't know if "Su Jinxiu" believed him, but she didn't press further.
She said with great concern, "Not serious? It's so red. I don't know how long it will take for the swelling to go down."
"It should be down by tomorrow."
"Su Jinxiu" didn't respond but said, "Wait for me here. I'll get a hot towel to apply to it."
"Will that help?"
"Let's try it and see if it helps."
"Alright," Liu Nanfeng said, turning to leave the kitchen.
Then he took out the milk tea from the refrigerator. He hadn't thrown away this cup of milk tea used as a cover and brought it back, not wanting to waste it.
"Su Jinxiu" quickly returned with a warm towel and wrapped it around Liu Nanfeng's neck.
"It's the middle of summer, and it feels a bit strange, like a scarf," Liu Nanfeng said with a chuckle, touching the towel on his neck.
"Su Jinxiu" slapped his hand away playfully and chided, "Don't move. Just bear with it."
"Okay." Liu Nanfeng reluctantly lowered his hand.
He watched as "Su Jinxiu" leaned in gently beside him, helping him to lightly press the towel on his neck.
However, Liu Nanfeng vaguely felt something was amiss. The hot towel on his neck felt slightly cool, which didn't make sense.
So, he pretended to be surprised and asked, "Why does my neck feel cool?"
Hearing this, "Su Jinxiu" earnestly explained, "That must be it working. As the heat from the towel dissipates, it takes away the temperature from your skin, which is why you feel cool. This is a good sign. The marks on your neck will disappear soon..."
If he hadn't known her true identity, Liu Nanfeng would have truly believed her.
"Oh, right, I brought you a cup of milk tea. Less sugar, less pearls, more coconut jelly," Liu Nanfeng said, presenting it like a treasure.
He had ordered this milk tea according to "Su Jinxiu's" taste when he ordered it, and he didn't expect it to be useful now.
"Thank you."
"Su Jinxiu" leaned in and kissed Liu Nanfeng directly on the corner of his mouth. Then, she removed the cooled towel and said with pleasant surprise, "Wow, it really worked! The marks have faded a lot."
"Really? Did they really fade?" Liu Nanfeng felt a bit anxious but played along on the surface.
"Of course, it's true. I'll get a mirror so you can see for yourself." Saying that, she excitedly went to get her makeup mirror.
Watching her hurry into the room, Liu Nanfeng couldn't help but let a slight smile creep onto his lips.
So what if she was a monster? If she could be so sincere towards him, what more could he ask for?
"Su Jinxiu" soon brought her makeup mirror to show Liu Nanfeng, and happily said, "Another two applications, and they should completely disappear. Am I amazing?"
"Yes, you are amazing, truly amazing," Liu Nanfeng said with a smile.
In his heart, he couldn't help but marvel at her acting skills, which were on par with an award-winning actress, completely flawless.
The two of them were being affectionate on the sofa until the oven in the kitchen dinged. "Su Jinxiu" then hurried up and went into the kitchen.
Liu Nanfeng, seizing the opportunity, summoned the scroll.
The enormous scroll slowly unfurled in the living room. He had tested it; ordinary people couldn't see the scroll. He wondered if "Su Jinxiu" could. He debated whether to test her.
His gaze shifted to the volcano's location on the scroll.
Above the lava, the hazy energy was still rising in wisps. However, the hazy energy had become much denser, showing signs of coalescing into a mass.
It seemed he still had to wait. Liu Nanfeng reluctantly put away the scroll.
This thing doesn't seem to be working either. Why is refining a human-demon so difficult? Liu Nanfeng couldn't help but complain in his heart.
"Dinner's ready."
"Su Jinxiu" brought out the roast duck from the kitchen.
"So soon?" Liu Nanfeng asked in surprise.
"I'm warming the rice. I'll stir-fry a vegetable, you eat first."
"Su Jinxiu" said, handing Liu Nanfeng a pair of chopsticks.
After Liu Nanfeng took them, she rushed back to the kitchen.
Liu Nanfeng looked at the chopsticks in his hand, then at the steaming roast duck on the table, and let out a deep sigh.
After a long time, many things had become natural to him. Only now did he realize how much Su Jinxiu had taken care of him and loved him in every aspect of his life over the years.
Liu Nanfeng silently put down his chopsticks, waiting for "Su Jinxiu" to join him. This was the least he could do to show her respect.
Indeed, when "Su Jinxiu" came out of the kitchen again and saw that Liu Nanfeng hadn't started eating, and heard that he was waiting for her, she chided him verbally but her face was full of smiles.
The theme of life has always been ordinary and devoid of romance.
But life is never short of these things; what's lacking is the heart to discover them.
Because ordinary life is never without that touch of warmth.
"Can you not deliver food tomorrow?"
"It's fine, it won't affect anything."
"It won't affect anything? You're injured."
"Su Jinxiu" was very displeased. She put down her chopsticks and stared intently at Liu Nanfeng, remaining silent.
"Sigh~"
Seeing her like this, Liu Nanfeng sighed in his heart and said, "Alright, I won't go tomorrow for now. I'll go to the shop with you. It's a good time to prepare the outline for the new book."
"That's more like it."
Hearing this, "Su Jinxiu" picked up her chopsticks, her face beaming with joy.
After dinner and tidying up, "Su Jinxiu" applied two more compresses to Liu Nanfeng's neck until the marks completely disappeared.
Her feigned surprise amused Liu Nanfeng, and somehow, they ended up having a late-night snack.
After the late-night snack, he simply fell asleep until dawn.
Opening his eyes, he saw the sunlight quietly creeping through the sheer curtains. Hearing "Su Jinxiu" humming a song outside, Liu Nanfeng felt an immense sense of peace.
He summoned the scroll again. The hazy energy had coalesced into a mass, looking like a pill, but it wasn't finished yet. Liu Nanfeng could only continue to wait.
After getting up and eating breakfast, Liu Nanfeng picked up his laptop, and he and "Su Jinxiu" headed to the cafe.
This cafe, named "Nanfeng," had been open for four years. He had visited it countless times and spent countless hours there.
But this time, his heart was filled with more emotions than ever before, his thoughts a whirlwind.
A staff member, Hong Xiumin, an old employee who was primarily responsible for cake baking, was already at the cafe. Liu Nanfeng was also very familiar with her.
"Boss, madam," she greeted them with a smile.
"Morning," Liu Nanfeng nodded and greeted them before walking to the corner by the window to sit down.
This spot had almost become his reserved seat; whenever he came, he would always sit here.
"Su Jinxiu" didn't bother him further and quickly went about her own business.
Liu Nanfeng also opened his laptop and began writing his new book.
A moment later, "Su Jinxiu" brought a cup of coffee and placed it beside him.
"How is it? Do you have any ideas for the new book yet?"
"Yes, I have some."
"What are you planning to write?"
"Su Jinxiu" asked with great interest.
"I'm writing a story about my wife being a monster," Liu Nanfeng said without looking up.
"Su Jinxiu," who had just put down the coffee cup, couldn't help but tremble, almost spilling the coffee.
Liu Nanfeng looked up and asked with feigned surprise, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing... Nothing. Why did you think of writing such a story?" "Su Jinxiu" forced a smile.
"Wasn't there a Korean drama called My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox? I got the inspiration from that," Liu Nanfeng casually made up an excuse.
"I see. Then write it well."
"Su Jinxiu" breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's just one of the proposals. I'll think of a few more before deciding which one to write," Liu Nanfeng said.
"Then good luck."
"Su Jinxiu" clenched her fist and gave him a thumbs-up gesture before returning somewhat flustered.
Behind her, Liu Nanfeng grinned and took a sip of the coffee, the familiar taste.
In the morning, the cafe still had some business. Employees from nearby office buildings would grab a cup of coffee to start their busy day.
In addition, the cafe also did deliveries, so there were quite a few orders in the morning.
The main work was handled by "Su Jinxiu" and a young girl named Xu Xinyi.
However, when things got too busy, Hong Xiumin, who was in charge of cake baking, and Song Haitang, who was in charge of the flower shop, would also help out.
"Boss, I'll put a pot of flowers here. It smells very nice."
Liu Nanfeng, who was busy with his head down, looked up and was about to thank her when he froze.
The person who arrived was Song Haitang, in charge of the flower shop. The young girl was only 23 years old and had been hired last year. She loved flowers and was very dedicated to her work.
Liu Nanfeng would usually chat with her for a bit when he was at the shop.
The young girl wasn't particularly beautiful, but she wasn't ugly either. Her round face always seemed to wear a smile, and her eyes weren't small, but because she was smiling, they always seemed to be narrowed, giving a very friendly first impression.
But this wasn't what surprised Liu Nanfeng. What surprised him was the woman in a long dress behind Song Haitang.
She was floating in the air, her hands resting on Song Haitang's shoulders, her eyes closed, maintaining a posture of embracing her tightly, protecting Song Haitang in her arms.
Name: Sun Xianjing
Race: Ghost
Cultivation: Twenty-two years
Identity: Mother
Cause: Not triggered
Good heavens, first a demon, then a devil, and now ghosts are appearing. Will gods be next?
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Song Haitang touched her face and asked in confusion.
"Nothing, I just think you've gained weight since I last saw you. Your face is a lot rounder."
"Hmph." Song Haitang glared at Liu Nanfeng in displeasure and turned to leave.
And the ghost on her body, as if weightless, floated behind her and left with her.
Liu Nanfeng looked up at the blazing sun outside the window.
With such a bright sun, can ghosts appear so casually?
It seems some legends are unreliable, with truths mixed with falsehoods.
However, Su Jinxiu should be able to see the ghost behind Song Haitang, right? Why didn't she help her drive it away?
Did she not want to help, or was it because this ghost posed no harm to Song Haitang?
Liu Nanfeng thought it was the latter, because the identity line in the ghost's information read "Mother."
It was likely Song Haitang's mother. Looking at her posture, she should be protecting Song Haitang, which was why Su Jinxiu didn't drive her away.
But can [Guanshanhai] "seal" her?
It should be possible, but if she was only protecting Song Haitang, would it be right for him to "seal" her?
If ghosts were truly harmful to people after staying with them for a long time, as legends claimed, then he would be able to act.
He decided to ask Zhu Yuchan for advice the next time he saw her.
Thinking of this, he stood up and walked towards the restroom.
The cafe's restroom was only for employees. If customers needed to use the restroom, they could exit the cafe through the back door into the mall, where there were plenty of restrooms.
Upon reaching the restroom, Liu Nanfeng summoned the scroll again and glanced at the volcano's location. It still hadn't finished refining.
However, the hazy energy was much smaller, and the pill-like shape was more solid.
Liu Nanfeng ignored it and shifted his gaze to the flowerbed below. He then reached in and took out a conch shell before putting away the scroll.
Looking at the conch shell, Liu Nanfeng brought it to his ear, but there was no sound.
After thinking for a moment, he turned on the faucet and filled it with some water.
Then, Feng Hongjin's soft and cute voice immediately came out.
"Human, are you coming to play with me today?"
"Good friend, I'm so bored. No one plays with me."
"I ate all the delicious things from yesterday!"
"Will you come play with me? I caught a really, really big fish for you."
...
The little one chattered on and on.
Liu Nanfeng was somewhat surprised. It was so clear, and she could leave so many messages.
However, most of it was repeatedly asking Liu Nanfeng to come and play with her.
So, he poured out the water from the conch shell, and all the sounds immediately disappeared.
Then, he called out a few times into the conch shell. No one answered. So, he thought for a moment, arranged a meeting time with Feng Hongjin, and asked her to tell her older sister Yuchan that he had something he wanted to ask her about.
Only then did he put away his phone and walk out of the restroom, returning to his seat.
However, "Su Jinxiu" quickly came over and sat opposite him, looking at him with a strange expression.
"What's wrong?" Liu Nanfeng asked in surprise.
"Honey, tell me, are you constipated?"
"Su Jinxiu" asked in a low voice, covering her mouth with her hand.
Liu Nanfeng: ...
"What nonsense are you talking about? That's not true." Liu Nanfeng said speechlessly.
"If you're not constipated, then why did you spend so long in the restroom?"
"Su Jinxiu" looked unconvinced.
"I was just squatting there looking at my phone and lost track of time."
"Really?"
"Fake. Go do your own thing," Liu Nanfeng said irritably.
"If you're really constipated, just say so. It's not something to be ashamed of."
Liu Nanfeng turned his gaze back to the computer screen, not wanting to deal with her.
"Su Jinxiu" then muttered something and got up to leave.
However, at lunchtime, when Liu Nanfeng saw that all the takeout ordered was vegetables, he knew "Su Jinxiu" hadn't believed him.
In the afternoon, Liu Nanfeng couldn't help but go to the restroom several times, mainly to summon the scroll and see if the refining was complete.
It wasn't until the sun was about to set that the wisps of hazy energy finally disappeared, leaving only a red pill floating above the lava.
Liu Nanfeng then realized with some clarity that the refining process required twenty-four hours.
He reached into the scroll and took out the red pill. After examining it closely in his hand, Liu Nanfeng didn't choose to take it immediately, as no one knew what external effects it might have after consumption.
So, he put it in his pocket and happily left the restroom.
However, as soon as he sat back in his seat, "Su Jinxiu," who had been keeping an eye on him, leaned over.
"Honey, you finally managed to go? Congratulations."
Liu Nanfeng: ...
ps: Due to updating the old book, the new book's update was delayed. My apologies, I'm simply too busy.