Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 579 Work
After Hu Shuang entered the house, Zhou You rushed to the kitchen door with lightning speed, glanced inside with extreme guilt, then quietly closed the door and pasted three silence notes on it.

Fortunately, the little ghost girl was making a big pot of soup today, so I had to keep an eye on her all the time to prevent her from getting completely out of control.

He led Hu Shuang to the coffee table, and only then did Zhou You realize that he didn't seem to have anything to serve guests. After searching for a while, he could only find the half bag of potato chips that he had just eaten.

He handed over the potato chips and smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Sorry, we just moved in recently, you see..."

Hu Shuang didn't seem to care at all. She just smiled and said, "It's alright." Then she reached into the plastic bag with her slender hand, picked up a potato chip, and gently bit off a piece.

I don't know why, but even though it was just an ordinary movement, it seemed to exude a seductive charm.

But who is Zhou You?

Having cultivated his mind and endured the demons, he was already almost like an old monk who practiced the contemplation of white bones. When it came to women, he was the epitome of a straight man, so he naturally ignored this thing, poured himself another glass of cola, and then sat cross-legged to the side.

"Ms. Hu, did you really come all this way just to have me taste your cooking? Um, I have to get my husband sterilized later, so I'm afraid..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hu Shuang smiled and then raised the small bag in her hand.

"I do have something to attend to, but it will be over in a short time. Mr. Zhou, would you like to try this first? It took me over an hour to make, and I'm quite confident in its taste."

Now that things have come to this point, what else can Zhou You say?
He glanced discreetly at the kitchen before carefully opening the insulated food container.

Instantly, a wave of heat mixed with fragrance hit you.

The food box didn't contain any fancy dishes, just ordinary braised beef, but it was delicious in color, aroma, and taste. Even though Zhou You had already filled his stomach with snacks, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

However, he still didn't touch his chopsticks, but instead glanced at the kitchen again.

How strange, I didn't do anything, so why do I feel like I'm the cheating husband?
Hu Shuang didn't urge him, but instead looked at him with a smile on her beautiful face.

This is really strange. I've only met her a few times, but I always have this inexplicable feeling of guilt, like I owe her something.
However, Zhou You has one good point: he simply doesn't think about things he can't understand—after all, Duan Xie hadn't given any warnings, and the girl didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards him—so he picked up his chopsticks with a clear conscience and took a piece.

The texture is smooth and creamy, and the beef has been stewed until it is very tender, yet it still retains its elasticity. I don't know how it was made. With a gentle bite, the rich meat juice fills my mouth.

In some respects, this is even at the level of a renowned restaurant chef.

Hu Shuang just smiled and saw him gulp before she spoke.

"Mr. Zhou, is my cooking acceptable?"

Zhou You was really uncomfortable being stared at like that, so he could only cough and laugh, "It really is good. I have to say, Miss Hu's cooking skills are good enough to open a restaurant."

Upon hearing this, Hu Shuang's smile became even more radiant.

"Then may I ask, how do you compare to Mr. Zhou?"

".I?"

Hu Shuang tilted her head and said, puzzled.

"Mr. Zhou, don't you really enjoy cooking? I've tasted your previous dishes, and they were all of a very high standard. Could it be that you have someone else cooking for you?"

Zhou You broke out in a cold sweat.

He wasn't worried about the little ghost girl being recognized—he just didn't know how to respond to that question.

Would it be better to say Hu Shuang? Putting aside the fact that the little ghost would definitely bite her to death if she knew, her own conscience wouldn't allow it.

It's better to say I'm... oh wait, actually a little ghost girl?
Honestly, put yourself in her shoes. If such a beautiful girl specially brings you a delicious meal, just to get a compliment, how many people in this world could bear to refuse?
However, just as Zhou You was sweating profusely, Hu Shuang burst out laughing first.

Like a cunning fox who had just stolen a chicken, he smiled and spoke to Zhou You.

"I was just joking, please don't take it to heart, Mr. Zhou—eat it quickly, it will taste much worse if it gets cold."

Zhou You breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had escaped a disaster. He picked up the food box and quickly began to rummage through it. Before long, the contents were all gone. Hu Shuang smiled and put the food box away, but she didn't say anything afterward. She just stared straight at Zhou You with her eyes.

Finally, someone awkwardly spoke up.

"Um, Miss Hu, you said you had something important to discuss with me. Can you say it now?"

Hu Shuang then slapped her forehead, as if she had just remembered, and said in a daze.

"Oh right, I forgot that someone came looking for you many times before, apparently to give you some documents or something, but you were never home, so they had to hand them over to the property management. And as a volunteer in this area, the property management then gave them to me. Why don't you take a look first?"

As they were talking, Hu Shuang handed over a folder.

Who could it be? I haven't had any real acquaintances since Grandpa died, and the few friends I have left aren't the kind of people who can actually deliver documents properly. Could it be someone from the village chief's side?
Zhou You opened the folder, completely bewildered. After only a couple of glances, his expression became extremely stiff.

Without him.

It's just a compensation notice.

The reason is that the investigation results of the previous fire have come out—the fire started right in his house, probably due to a gas leak or something similar. Of course, the landlord does bear the main responsibility due to the aging facilities, but he also needs to bear some compensation because of his mismanagement.

Honestly, it's not entirely his fault. At that time, he had been taken away on a business trip by Li Sanli, and the black cat had been taken away by the village chief's group. The only one left at home, the little ghost girl, didn't have a sense of smell. It's said that she only discovered the fire when half of the house had already burned down.
Compared to the damage to the entire building, the compensation he is responsible for is indeed negligible, but the problem is...
He couldn't afford to pay for these.

After all, he hadn't accepted Lin Chen's check back then, and had been living off his savings lately. Zhou You had planned to live off his savings for quite some time, but then this incident happened.
His hands went numb instantly.

Seemingly sensing something from that face, Hu Shuang spoke cautiously.

"Mr. Zhou, you seem to be a little short on cash. If you don't mind, I can lend you some money."

These were very sincere words, but unfortunately Zhou You had no intention of accepting them at all.

--joke!

With my illustrious reputation and countless demons and monsters to my name, how could I possibly borrow money from a girl I've only just met? If word got out, wouldn't my reputation as the "Heavenly Sword" be tarnished by being a gigolo?

Zhou You smiled and declined, then took out his phone, skillfully found the number marked 'grandson', and dialed it.

Li Sanli's familiar yet tacky ringtone suddenly rang out.

pity.

It was switched to voicemail in just a moment.

"You bunch of bastards, Grandpa's gone on vacation with my wife, and I'm not answering any calls right now. You can't reach me—you single dogs can only be envious and jealous, hahahahahahahahahaha!"

"."

Zhou You hung up silently, then found Li Sanli's parents' phone number, sent them a text message containing the recorded message and some of the boy's dark history, before finally putting away his phone and letting out a long sigh.

"I can't count on that grandson, but luckily I have a backup plan—I should be able to get a good loan from those guys in the village by using this black cat as collateral."

Seeing Zhou You muttering to himself, Hu Shuang tilted her head and then laughed. "Oh, right, there's something else—I didn't want to mention it, but given the current situation, it seems to be quite timely."

"Miss Hu, what do you mean?"

Hu Shuang smiled.

"It's nothing. I've heard before that you seem to be quite knowledgeable about paranormal matters, Mr. Zhou?"

Zhou You was taken aback.

"Who told you that?"

To avoid trouble, I try my best not to reveal anything in real life, let alone that I only moved here recently. How did this girl know?
However, Hu Shuang's answer was very simple, so simple that Zhou You twitched his eyebrows.

"Someone came looking for you earlier. I think his surname was Li? I happened to be there at the time, but you weren't home yet, so we chatted in the hallway for a while. I only asked a few questions, and then he went on and on, recounting all of your past exploits, including Mr. Zhou's."

"."

Zhou You silently took out his phone and specifically found a few photos of Li Sanli in college, showing him being arrogant and conceited. He then found a junior from the same year—who was also Li Sanli's cousin—and asked him to forward them in the family group chat before he sighed.

“Miss Hu, you must have misunderstood something. My family is just a folk custom business. If you really encounter any trouble, it would be better to find a Taoist priest or a monk than me.”

However, Hu Shuang just smiled.

"Mr. Zhou, please don't be modest. I specifically inquired beforehand, and you've handled many problems that even experts couldn't solve with ease."

Talking to this girl always made Zhou You feel like he was being manipulated, but he couldn't find any problem with it, so he could only sigh.

"Alright, Miss Hu, what brings you here? Let me make it clear first, I really don't want to get involved in anything supernatural or ghostly, not even borrowing money. But other things are worth discussing."

Hu Shuang said with a smile.

"That's not a big deal for me, but... By the way, Mr. Zhou, are you interested in becoming a bodyguard in Japan?"

"."

".What?"
-
That concludes the recollection.

Zhou You stared at the empty teacup, speechless.

A lot happened in between, such as how to appease the little ghost girl, apply for visas, and then avoid Li Sanli's wailing revenge. In short, amidst a chaotic and unexpected turn of events, Zhou You inexplicably and confusedly—literally—arrived in Japan with Hu Shuang.

Unlike his exhausted appearance, the young girl opposite him was in high spirits. After exchanging a few words with the shop owner in fluent Japanese, she turned to Zhou You and said something.

"By the way, Mr. Zhou, do you remember what I do for a living?"

"Actress or model?"

That's absolutely true. Although Hu Shuang usually only wears a little makeup, in terms of appearance, she can be considered top-notch even among actors and models. This can be seen from the way the waiters would steal glances at her from time to time, and from the way they looked at her as if she were a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung.

But upon hearing his answer, Hu Shuang showed a hint of disappointment.

"It's still the same as before."

"what?"

The sound was so faint that Zhou You couldn't hear it clearly.

But Hu Shuang immediately shook her head, concealing all other emotions, and laughed.

“I told Mr. Zhou before, but you probably forgot. However, it is indeed related to the entertainment industry—I am a makeup artist who specializes in serving the artists you mentioned.”

Zhou You seemed somewhat embarrassed.

The other person was someone I knew, and I even got their profession wrong. It was really hard to say that.

However, Hu Shuang didn't pay attention to these things and just continued speaking.

"This job involves one of my clients. You should have heard of her; her name is Maki Aida, yes."

"Um, excuse me, could you spare me a moment?"

Hu Shuang raised her eyes and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Zhou You scratched his chin and laughed awkwardly.

"Excuse me, who are you talking about?"

"Maki Aida, the female lead in that recently popular Japanese drama in China, an actress who has won internationally renowned awards, and is hailed as a genius among the new generation. You don't know her?"

"I really don't know."

Hu Shuang sighed and then pointed to a signboard next to her.

On it, a beautiful young girl with long, flowing hair stood holding a bottle of shampoo, laughing happily, as if she were advertising something.

Judging by appearance alone, she is no less beautiful than Hu Shuang across from her—and with the help of makeup and other enhancements, she might even be two points better.

"That's her. She's incredibly popular in Japan; she's practically a national actress."

Zhou You was truly puzzled.

"Then why did this big star contact me?"

"It's simple. She's been stalked by a stalker lately, and the constant harassment has left her somewhat neurotic."

"Stalker? You should go to the police, right? I'm good at exorcising ghosts and catching evil spirits, but I'm really not good at solving cases."

Hu Shuang shook her head and sighed.

"The Japanese police aren't useless, and Kyoto isn't a small city; it's full of surveillance cameras, so they quickly identified the stalker."

"But the problem is..."

Hu Shuang raised her head, looked at Zhou You, and said earnestly.

"When the police broke down the door, they found that the stalker was already dead."

"and--"

She drew out the sound.

"According to the forensic examination, this person died more than six months ago, and the body was already decomposed beyond recognition. In other words, the person who had been following Aida Maki all this time was actually a completely dead person."

(End of this chapter)