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Sweet cake shop.

Zhan Jinli leisurely kneaded the fondant paste, while the five little ghosts helped him and gossiped by his side.

Although these five little ghosts weren’t very powerful, they were quite versatile and well-connected in the underworld. Thanks to them, even though Zhan Jinli had been in hiding, he hadn’t lost touch with news from Chaofu Mountain and the underworld.

Wan Yan had suddenly started acting up, and the poor Tie Lao was so tormented that he wanted to resign. Zhan Jinli felt a little guilty. If he hadn’t responded to Wan Yan’s task, Wan Yan wouldn’t have had a sudden relapse.

He asked the five little ghosts about the current situation in the underworld and discovered they were still using the old, outdated methods of office work.

It would be a miracle if Tie Lao didn’t work himself to death! The mortal realm was already all about modernized and efficient office work.

However, it was normal that Tie Lao hadn’t thought of it. He was so busy he was dizzy, making it hard for him to notice the popular work models in the mortal realm.

Thinking about how his twenty-six years of life in the mortal realm were earned through Tie Lao’s overtime in the underworld, Zhan Jinli, filled with guilt, recommended the benefits of systematized office work to him.

It would lighten his workload a bit and help him hold on for a while longer.

The Tie Lao Ghost King was very moved to receive guidance from his senior.

Sniffle, sniffle, Senior Lin Yuan is being forced to hide all over the place by Wan Yan, yet he still hasn’t forgotten to look out for me. He’s so great!

After finishing today’s cake orders, Zhan Jinli returned home to find that his sister and brother were not there. Usually, he was the last one home. Why was it the other way around today?

“Suiru’s studio got an order. She said she’ll be back later,” Ji Yueming said, having just finished arranging a vase of flowers on the table. He looked at it from left and right, extremely satisfied.

Zhan Jinli remembered now; he had casually given his sister a blessing for a prosperous career.

Well then, it was normal for her to be busy. However, to avoid the blessing turning into a disaster due to the principle of fortune and misfortune being intertwined, the blessing Zhan Jinli gave Zhan Suiru was very light. For her to suddenly receive so many orders with her kind of sculpting aesthetic, his blessing seemed to be quite effective.

“Where’s Yanyan?” Zhan Jinli typed and asked.

Zhan Yunkai peeked his head out of the kitchen: “He went out to exercise, he’ll be back soon.”

The aroma of braised pork ribs drifted out from the crack in the door along with the steam. Zhan Yan would definitely be back before dinner.

In the small square, Zhan Yan was teaching the uncles and aunties of the square dancing troupe the Baduanjin qigong.

In the competition against other fitness exercises like the Five-Animal Frolic, Yi Jin Jing, and Tai Chi, Baduanjin stood out for its relatively simple and easy-to-learn movements—Zhan Yan was going back to school tomorrow and wouldn’t be able to teach them step-by-step like this anymore.

A group of uncles and aunties surrounded Zhan Yan, following his movements. Auntie Bai stood on the side, recording a video with her phone, clearly capturing Zhan Yan’s movements and verbal instructions. This way, after Zhan Yan went back to school, they could watch the video and help each other correct their forms.

Everyone was very interested in the health-preserving exercises that could strengthen the body and was very enthusiastic towards Zhan Yan.

This made Zhan Yan feel quite regretful. Everyone loved to learn, but his brother and sister hadn’t managed to. They would have to wait until his next vacation. Sigh.

After practicing for a while, Zhan Yan’s phone alarm rang.

“I have to go home now,” Zhan Yan said.

“Oh my, it’s so late already.”

“It’s time to go home for dinner. Thank you for your hard work today, Teacher Xiao Yan.”

“Oh, don’t mention it, don’t mention it.” Zhan Yan waved his hand with a smile. “My dad might not be used to the cultural troupe, please take good care of him.”

Although His Majesty the Demon King had lived among ordinary people for over twenty years, the people he usually interacted with were either family or company employees. Mingtang Pictures was an industry of the Wan Yao Alliance, and with the big boss Xia Yuexian looking after it, his dad really lacked opportunities to interact with ordinary people. Zhan Yan was worried that his dad wouldn’t get along well with the people in the cultural troupe.

“Don’t worry about your dad, he sings so well!” said the old man who had taught his dad how to make decoction paste, waving his hand. “He’s the treasure of our cultural troupe now! You’re our Teacher Xiao Yan, and your dad is our Teacher Xiao Zhan.”

Zhan Yan: ?

What happened again?

He’ll check the gossip log when he gets home!

Zhan Yan and Zhan Suiru arrived home one after the other. He had just washed his hands when he saw his sister walk in with a large bag.

“Sis, what did you bring?”

Zhan Suiru’s expression was hard to describe: “Let’s eat first. We’ll talk after dinner!”

She had only come home because she was thinking about the dinner her dad had made. Otherwise, given the number of tasks she had accepted today, she could have stayed in the black market for a week without coming back.

After dinner, Zhan Yan helped his sister unpack the pile of things. They were all cat toys.

Zhan Yan: “Sis, are you asking for a favor from Xingxing?”

Zhan Suiru slapped him lightly: “Go! Help me bring Xingxing over. I want to see what kind of toys cats like.”

This was all the Tie Lao Ghost King’s fault. He had placed an order with her for something that could attract a cat’s attention.

But although the Wan Yan Ghost King had taken the form of a cat, he wasn’t a cat. He wasn’t even the ghost of a dead cat.

Zhan Suiru asked the Tie Lao Ghost King what Wan Yan’s preferences were. For every question, the answer was “I don’t know.”

You’re way too unconcerned about your colleague! You’ve worked together at Chaofu Mountain for so many years!

The Tie Lao Ghost King probably also felt it was inappropriate to commission a custom toy without being able to provide any preferences, so he forced out an answer: “He likes the Lin Yuan Ghost King.”

Zhan Suiru: …

What am I supposed to do, capture the Lin Yuan Ghost King and bring him back?

With no reference material, Zhan Suiru had no choice but to study the Wan Yan Ghost King as if he were a cat.

First, she bought all kinds of cat toys available on the market to see which ones were more popular with cats.

All sorts of feather wands, linen fish toys, yarn bell balls… Zhan Suiru first picked up a feather wand. Xingxing immediately pounced.

Zhan Yan thought it was fun, so he sat opposite her and started enticing the little cat with a bell ball.

As the small ball shook, the bell inside began to ring. Xingxing’s ears twitched, and his round eyes looked over, eager to make a move.

Zhan Suiru dangled the feather in front of its eyes again, and Xingxing couldn’t resist wanting to pounce on the wand again.

There was a pile of cat toys on the floor, and everyone was very interested in this activity. It eventually developed into the whole family sitting around the carpet, each holding a different toy, with Xingxing surrounded in the middle.

Xingxing: Suddenly surrounded by happiness!

Ten minutes later, Xingxing was no longer happy.

Just as he was about to pounce on the shaker toy in Ji Yueming’s hand, he was attracted by the electric mouse controlled by Zhan Jinli. Before he could pin down the electric mouse, an irresistible scent came from the catnip-stuffed doll in Zhan Yunkai’s hand!

Xingxing ran to Zhan Yunkai. His little paws had just touched his knee when Zhan Yunkai put the catnip doll into Ji Yueming’s arms.

Before he could switch targets, the sound of high and low bells came from behind him again.

Xingxing: “…Meow!”

So anxious, so anxious!

Why is there only one Xingxing, not enough time to play with so many toys!

The little cat was panting with exhaustion, lying on the carpet with his belly rising and falling, his eyes still fixed on the toy in Zhan Yan’s hand.

Zhan Yan felt sorry for his cat and tucked the yarn ball into its paws: “Alright, alright, Xingxing is tired.”

Zhan Jinli smugly put away the electric mouse. He had been the one teasing the cat the most just now!

Zhan Suiru sighed. Xingxing was a cat with universal love; there wasn’t a toy he didn’t like. The test was a complete failure.

“Sis, what are you trying to research?” Zhan Yan asked.

“Researching a toy that cats find irresistible.”

Zhan Yan: ?

But Zhan Suiru had already walked away in a daze, clearly immersed in how to design a cat toy.

With her research stalled, Zhan Suiru went back to chat with the Tie Lao Ghost King.

Artisan: “I don’t think using a cat as an analogy for the Wan Yan Ghost King is very reliable.”

Wan Yan was a Ghost King, after all. Even if she made a toy that all cats found irresistible, would Wan Yan really be interested?

Tie Lao Ghost King: “I think so too.”

Artisan: “Wan Yan is a Ghost King, after all. Think again about what hobbies he has.”

Tie Lao Ghost King: “Cats aren’t as psychotic as he is.”

These two sentences were sent by them almost simultaneously.

Artisan: “?”

Just how psychotic was the Wan Yan Ghost King?

She had never had contact with the Wan Yan Ghost King, only learning some information about him from the forum. From the looks of it on the forum, besides being very persistent in finding the Lin Yuan Ghost King, there didn’t seem to be much else to him, right?

Although the Tie Lao Ghost King didn’t know Wan Yan’s preferences, he knew very well how psychotic he was. To give the Artisan a better understanding of Wan Yan, the Tie Lao Ghost King began to recount Wan Yan’s psychotic deeds.

Tie Lao Ghost King: “He really pretended to be a stray cat, faking injuries in the mortal realm to trick people into giving him snacks.”

Zhan Suiru: ???

Tie Lao Ghost King: “He previously suspected that Lin Yuan was hiding in the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau. When they wouldn’t let him investigate, he caused a ruckus there, randomly casting curses that caused hair loss and constipation.”

Zhan Suiru: !!!

As the Tie Lao Ghost King spoke, it turned into a complaint session.

Tie Lao Ghost King: “The River Styx blocked him from running around, so he used the River Styx for surfing.”

Artisan: “Okay, I get it.”

But getting it was useless. She was a normal person and couldn’t understand the thought process of a psychotic cat.

Artisan: “Do you have an image of the Lin Yuan Ghost King?”

“How about I make a large-scale figure of the Lin Yuan Ghost King for the Wan Yan Ghost King?”

…

Zhan Yan picked up Xingxing. In the few steps it took to go upstairs, Xingxing fell asleep, apparently quite exhausted. Zhan Yan placed Xingxing in his cat bed. His little belly rose and fell as he snored. He didn’t even wake up when placed in the bed, just rolled over and continued sleeping.

Zhan Yan removed the yarn ball hooked on its claw. Feeling the emptiness in his paws, Xingxing stretched his limbs to grab it again. Zhan Yan gave him the linen fish, watching him unconsciously hug it and continue sleeping.

What to do when his sister suddenly gets obsessed with cat toys? Of course, he should help her figure it out.

It seemed that ordinary toys wouldn’t work, but Zhan Yan couldn’t think of any special cat toy designs for the moment. He opened his phone and started searching for videos of cat games.

Hmm… his sister had bought most of them. The rest were some large-scale assembly toys, like cat trees and cat mazes.

As he was scrolling through videos, Gu Jiancheng’s goodnight call came in.

They would see each other tomorrow when he returned to school. The young couple didn’t have anything they absolutely had to talk about; just chatting casually made them happy.

Gu Jiancheng: “What are you doing?”

Zhan Yan: “Researching cat toys.”

Gu Jiancheng: “Are you going to buy some to play with the cat?”

Zhan Yan: “Yeah.”

Gu Jiancheng: “Meow.”

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