Chapter 171 - 172: Busy, No Time to Eat People
But Su Nian didn’t speak. She just closed her eyes slightly. After a long moment, she slowly opened them. "Your family is quite well-off, but you grew up in the countryside when you were young. Your father started his own business when he was young and worked far from home, so you lived with your mother. You had a younger brother, but he died in an accident when he was ten, correct?"
Xiao An immediately nodded, his eyes filled with admiration. "Yes, that’s all correct. My family was quite poor when I was a kid. It was only after my dad’s business took off that our family’s situation gradually improved."
"But from reading your face, I can see that while you’re intelligent, you haven’t applied your mind to your studies. You’ve been in many relationships, I imagine, but your academic performance is likely average."
Xiao An chuckled, a little embarrassed. "I may have been in a lot of relationships, but I’m not some kind of scumbag. I’m serious about every one of them, and I’ve never cheated on or deceived any of those girls."
Su Nian offered no comment on the matter. She sized Xiao An up. At a glance, there seemed to be nothing wrong—no sign of a bloody calamity—but the small red dot on his neck caught her attention.
So she asked, "Then what did you want me to divine for you this time?"
Xiao An scratched his neck, which seemed to be a bit itchy. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks. "I don’t know if I’m overreacting, but my neck is just incredibly itchy right here."
"Itchy?"
Su Nian furrowed her brow slightly.
Just then, however, Xiao An seemed unable to bear it any longer and couldn’t help but scratch his neck again.
A red rash instantly appeared on his neck. But so far, his actions were all perfectly normal—if it weren’t for the faint black aura emanating from the red dots.
[Getting a rash is pretty normal, isn’t it? This is a total overreaction.]
[Don’t speak too soon. From what I’ve seen, pretty much everyone who wins the lottery draw has some kind of problem.]
[That’s right, the streamer said it before. It seems like only people who are truly in need can win.]
Su Nian watched as Xiao An scratched his neck vigorously, which seemed to stop the itching, but he reached up to scratch again a moment later.
"Streamer, this is really strange, and I’m not making a big deal out of nothing. We don’t have any mosquitoes or bugs at home, and I’ve even been to the hospital for a check-up and thrown out a bunch of my clothes. But my neck just won’t get better, and the hospital can’t find anything wrong."
Su Nian paused. Her gaze shifted to his shoe cabinet, where a spirit with its eyes rolled back was crouching. Based on its figure, it appeared to be a female ghost.
"And it’s so bizarre. It only happens when I get home. Bed sheets, duvet covers—I’ve practically replaced everything in my house, but it’s still the same. And it always flares up in the middle of the night."
The more he spoke, the more distressed he became, his handsome face filled with unhappiness.
[Based on my experience, I suspect it’s a Poisonous Insect!]
[I suggest going to the hospital again!]
[To the person above, I suggest you stop suggesting. He already said the hospital couldn’t fix it. Rich people aren’t idiots. If the hospital could solve it, would he drag it out and resort to something like this supernatural stuff?]
[Maybe I’ve just heard too many weird stories, but this actually seems pretty normal to me. I even find it a little boring, hahaha.]
Seeing the bullet comments discussing how uninteresting his problem was, Xiao An felt helpless.
"I just have a weird illness, that’s all. Of course it’s not going to be all tense and exciting."
[Yeah, seriously, you guys shouldn’t be so picky.]
[Are the standards for watching supernatural livestreams this high now? People are actually picking and choosing, calling things boring?]
[If you’re bored, you can go to the singing and dancing section next door. Plenty of long-legged girls to watch over there.]
[I just think this is boring, but I’m not leaving, so stop telling me what to do!]
As the crowd’s discussion grew heated and was on the verge of a fight, the silent Su Nian took a bite of her peach. Her tone, for once, was somewhat complex and hesitant as she stared at the screen.
"Are you... afraid of ghosts?"
Xiao An was stunned. Su Nian’s words silenced the audience as well.
No new bullet comments appeared for a long moment. Xiao An seemed to collect himself before looking at Su Nian, his tone strained as he spoke.
"Master, what do you mean by that? What’s really going on? Just tell me straight. I can handle it."
Su Nian watched the female ghost crawl over from the shoe cabinet, inch by inch, and complacently rest its head on Xiao An’s neck.
It gazed at him with a look of tender affection. Seeing that distorted, purulent face leaning against Xiao An’s neck and nuzzling it forcefully, Su Nian’s expression soured.
Meanwhile, Xiao An’s heart skipped a beat, and the smile froze on his face.
’No way, no way. It’s just a rash. Is there really a ghost?’
’Is this some kind of joke?’
He unconsciously scratched his neck, forcing a calm expression as he started spouting nonsense. "Of course... I’m not afraid! I’m a grown man. What’s there to be afraid of a ghost for!"
As Xiao An’s nonsensical blustering, born from his forced composure, filled the air, the livestream chat exploded.
[Damn, anyone who dares say that in the Heavenly Venerate’s livestream, I’ll call them a real man!]
[You’d better think carefully. If the Heavenly Venerate says there’s a ghost, then there’s definitely a ghost.]
[What if the ghost crawls out of your toilet in the next second? Will you be scared then?]
Xiao An pursed his lips. Inwardly, he was scared to death.
Of course he was afraid of ghosts. But he was a man, and a moment ago in the stream, quite a few girls had expressed their admiration and praised him. He had his pride to consider, so the bragging had just slipped out.
He cleared his throat. Since he’d already made the first boast, it would be too embarrassing to back down now. He stubbornly continued, "It’s just a ghost. What’s so scary about that? Even if it crawled out from behind me right now, I wouldn’t even blink."
Su Nian’s eyebrow twitched. She watched the female ghost that was currently kissing and gnawing on his neck and relaxed internally.
’What a rare, bold soul.’
"Since you put it that way, I’ll be blunt. That’s right, a ghost is what’s causing the problem with your neck."
Xiao An: ???
The arrogant expression from his earlier boasting was still plastered on his face; now, he couldn’t seem to change it.
The livestream audience: ???
’A rash on your neck could actually be caused by a ghost?’
[If you’re saying that, then I’m going to be lining up at the Daoist Temple tomorrow. I just got a rash on my neck!]
[A ghost story... my house is really haunted!]
[Are you kidding me? This can be related to ghosts too?]
[I’ve never heard such a bizarre ghost story, but since the streamer said it, I choose to believe it. After all, I’ve been proven wrong too many times.]
Xiao An shuddered, his legs went weak. He instantly scanned his surroundings nervously and cautiously, nearly falling out of his chair.
He struggled to grab the desk to support himself, looking left and right with a terrified expression. "Heavenly Venerate, you’re not kidding, are you?"
’Why does my home suddenly feel so unsafe? Staring into the dark corners, I can’t shake the feeling that something is hiding in them.’
Xiao An even noticed something else strange—why did his neck feel so icy cold? ’Don’t tell me a ghost is breathing on it!’
Seeing his nervous and frightened expression, Su Nian took another bite of her peach. "Don’t be scared. It’s too busy kissing your neck right now to eat anyone."