C11 Chapter 11

I jumped—was the person who’d talked like that in the library that day really her?

“This isn’t my house. You’re the one in charge—whatever you say.” I nodded.

Mo Ningning didn’t stand on ceremony and just sat down.

The atmosphere was painfully awkward. Mo Ningning ate without making a sound, to the point where I barely dared to eat. If I made any noise, it felt like I’d just make things even more uncomfortable.

“Mo Xiaogang, I heard your dad helped the principal catch a ghost,” Mo Ningning said suddenly.

I thought for a moment. “Yeah… I guess that happened.”

“Then can you catch ghosts?” Mo Ningning blinked at me.

I joked back, “What, you run into one?”

Her face immediately darkened. “A really big one.”

My expression sank too, and I thought, A ghost… can you even describe it as “really big”?

“Uh… where did you see it?” I asked.

“My bedroom. It was in my dorm before. Then I moved out, and it followed me home.” Mo Ningning looked deathly pale.

“You’re sure you didn’t imagine it?” I asked, doubtful. I couldn’t sense anything off about her—no trace of that cold, heavy presence. If a ghost was showing up by her bed every day, it would usually mean it was getting ready to hurt her, just waiting for the right moment.

And either way, it should’ve affected her. Something like that would leave a mark. But Mo Ningning showed no signs of being impacted at all.

“I’m sure!” Mo Ningning said firmly. “It was a male ghost—about six feet tall, looked young, but I don’t know him at all! He just stood at the foot of my bed without moving, and every now and then he’d let out this horrible laugh!”

“I’ve seen it too!” Out of nowhere, Liang Jing popped up, scaring the hell out of me.

“Jesus—can you not sneak up on people like that?!”

Liang Jing rolled her eyes and ignored me, turning to Mo Ningning. “Your situation is exactly like what happened to me. Later, Wu Xiaogang helped me take care of it. Don’t worry—leave it to him. He’s got this!”

Mo Ningning heard that and immediately teared up, moved to the core. “Really? Xiaogang? You’ll help me? I knew you would!”

The second she said it, I felt my own eyes sting. What I really wanted to say was, “Sis, I literally didn’t say anything.”

But before I could get the words out, I caught Liang Jing’s look—cold, sharp, and straight-up murderous. The message was crystal clear: say the word “no,” and you’re not walking out of this cafeteria alive.

So I nodded through watery eyes and said, all noble and heroic, “Got it. Leave it to me.”

“Really? Thank you! Xiaogang! After school tonight, I’ll have someone come pick you up,” Mo Ningning said, instantly brightening. Then she spun around and took off.

I shot Liang Jing a look full of pure betrayal. This girl, though, acted like nothing happened and stared off to the side. “Oh wow, it’s getting late. Time to go back and take a nap… a nap…” And then she slipped away...

Me: “...I’m done. I’ve been completely sold out.”

After what felt like forever, school finally let out. I waited at the agreed spot for the car. Then, out of nowhere, Liang Jing popped up again.

“I’m going with you.”

“Huh? Why?” I blinked, totally confused.

“Your sister has to keep an eye on you—what if you get eaten by a ghost?” Liang Jing said, trying to scare me.

“What are you talking about? A ghost eating me? I’d eat the ghost first,” I shot back.

Liang Jing gave me this disgusted look. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You locals are so tough. You locals are the toughest.”

That set my temper off again. “Oh, I’m gonna have a talk with you. Not every local knows how to catch ghosts or eat ghosts, okay? Only someone with talent—like me—”

Before I could finish, Liang Jing pointed at a luxury car. “It’s here, it’s here! Hey, what were you just saying?”

Me: “...Let’s get in.”

The car sped down the main road, and before long we pulled up to a mansion far from the busy part of town. After I got out, I couldn’t help thinking, “Damn. Rich people really live different—get tired of the dorms, they just move out; get tired of the city, they head out to the suburbs.”

Mo Ningning walked out from the back. “Xiaogang, you’re here? And Liang Jing, you came too?”

“Yeah.” I nodded calmly. From this moment on, I needed to act like some detached master who’d seen it all.

But the second I stepped inside, Mo Ningning shoved a bunch of weird stuff at me. “Xiaogang, look at this peachwood sword I just bought. They say it can deal with zombies. And check out this talisman—supposedly it can trap nightmares. And this—this robe. They say it’s an old family heirloom. Put it on and your powers multiply...”

I stared, dumbfounded, at the room piled high with random junk and seriously reconsidered my life choices. That cool, stunning woman I’d seen at the library—was that really Mo Ningning? No. I must’ve been seeing things.

She’d clearly put her heart into preparing, but the stuff she bought was, honestly...

Completely useless. Just props—no real “warding off evil” effect whatsoever.

Still, with that hopeful look on her face, I couldn’t bring myself to crush her. So I said, “Uh… I usually don’t use any of that when I’m catching ghosts.”

“Then what do you use?” Mo Ningning asked, curious. Liang Jing looked at me too, clearly interested.

“A pressure cooker.”

Liang Jing, Mo Ningning: “……”