[Yang Menghuo POV]

"You idiot, that\'s Old Fu! Now say thank you before we leave!"`

After thanking the scary powdered ghost Old Fu, they used the bike and left the shabby old hut before dusk. They rode through the same beautiful rice paddies and the same cliff that made Yang Menghuo suddenly believed in god. But somehow, the atmosphere was more awkward than before.

Yang Menghuo stared at Ying Jie, who was silent the whole time. She pedaled the bike without making commentary, making Yang Menghuo somewhat scared of what happened when he was unconscious.

It seemed meeting that wrinkly old ghost made Ying Jie visibly upset, and when Meng Bao wanted to ask what\'s wrong, Ying Jie only said, "It\'s nothing, Bao. You\'re just overthinking."

"Really?" Yang Menghuo asked again. He still didn\'t believe that everything was alright, knowing how happy and relaxed Ying Jie was before they met that old man.

"Ying Jie… may I know if something happened when I was unconscious? I really don\'t know what happened to you. But you look upset…."

"…"

Of course, Shi Ying was upset. Which woman wouldn\'t be upset after she got lied to? Meng Bao said that he loved two women, his childhood sweetheart, and Ying Jie.

She thought it was true because Meng Bao looked so believably enamored when he was around her.

Meng Bao would act like a cute and obedient little puppy when he was around her. He would also act spoiled, hoping that his Ying Jie would pay more attention to him. How could someone like Meng Bao, or Yang Menghuo, who was actually a business mafia with many underhanded methods to kill his enemies, act so relaxing and free in front of a random stranger or a girl he didn\'t like?

It was what made Shi Ying thought that Meng Bao was honest with his feeling.

But maybe… it was all just her imagination.

Every sweet thing that Meng Bao showed was probably just a fake sweetness to fill his loneliness until that deserving one, his childhood sweetheart, finally came and replace her in Meng Bao\'s heart.

\'Aish, I know that I shouldn\'t hope for too much, But it still hurts….\' Shi Ying thought. Now that she had the red string, she wanted to just throw it away because she knew that the red string was useless.

She wanted to just throw the red string alongside Meng Bao to the cliff, so all those sweet memories wouldn\'t haunt her anymore. She could just say that it was an accident, and she could do nothing about it.

…

\'Okay, that\'s not worth it. I don\'t want to spend my time in jail just because of a slag man like Slag Bao! Hmph!\'

But really, though, do they really need to use that red string of fate? The result was already so obvious because Meng Bao didn\'t like her.

But to reveal the truth right in front of your family… that would be so humiliating for Shi Ying.

Shi Ying sighed and then pedaled faster to reach her house. She didn\'t want to wait longer. She wanted to clear everything as soon as possible, so Meng Bao could leave her life forever and never returned.

Everything was a mistake since the very first day anyway.

Meanwhile, Yang Menghuo was nervous about Ying Jie\'s silent treatment. He really didn\'t know what happened, but his brain kept on thinking about a good thing that could pacify Ying Jie\'s anger.

He was thinking about what Batman Jie liked and what Ying Jie liked.

\'Hmm…. I think her as Batman Jie and as Ying Jie have similar tastes of richness. Maybe I should give her jewelry? Wait, she rejected my jewelry in the train….\'

\'Maybe I should buy her a mansion? Car? Yacht?\'

\'Oh no, that\'s not possible. She doesn\'t even like it when I bought that train for her. Now I\'m trying to find a way for her to accept that train as her personal transportation.\'

\'Maybe my stock percentage? Equity? A bank? Should I build her a new bank so she can be at ease without thinking about money anymore?\'

The more Meng Bao thought about it, the more ridiculous it got. He kept thinking about the weird stuff of what to buy to make Ying Jie smile again.

After they arrived at Ying Jie\'s house, it was already dusk, and everything went dark all of a sudden. There were few lights from the yellow lamp around the farm, but it wasn\'t enough to make it less creepy.

Yang Menghuo gulped as he tailed his Ying Jie like a scared little kid afraid of a ghost at night.

"J—Jie, don\'t leave me…." Meng Bao said.

But Shi Ying was more than pissed with Meng Bao already. She just shrugged Meng Bao\'s hand off her shoulder and walked to the house.

Yang Menghuo rushed to catch up, and he grabbed Ying Jie\'s hand right after they arrived at the door.

"Ying Jie… Bao is scared…." Yang Menghuo whimpered as he felt a cold hand was touching his shoulder. He really thought he had met another ghost today.

"Aish, you\'re a man! How could you seek for my protection?!"

"But Bao is really scared… Wuwuwu…"

…

…

"The dinner is ready, Shi Ying, Yang Menghuo," Aunty Shi said. They were being watched by the whole family, including Meili and Yanyue, who giggled at their bickering.

Yang Menghuo immediately fixed his posture and cleared his throat, acting as if everything was just a mirage. But his red ears said otherwise. He was pretty embarrassed just now.

Because he only saw his fragile, wimpy, and childish side in front of his Ying Jie. He would never want to look weak in front of other people.

"G—Good evening, uncle, aunty…." Yang Menghuo greeted.

Uncle Shi stared at Yang Menghuo and Shi Ying, who looked awkward after getting caught by the whole family. He decided to ignore it and asked, "Did you get the red string?"

"Ah, yes, I have it," Shi Ying said. She took the red string out of his pocket and showed it to her family.

"Ah, good, good, now you should just tie it with your boyfriend. So we can see what will happen next!" Uncle Shi said.

Shi Ying glanced at Yang Menghuo, who looked confused. Of course, he was. He never saw this ritual before, unlike Shi Ying, who saw this ritual a few times.

Basically, the red string was tied on two soulmate\'s ring fingers, then both said, I love you at the same time. If their feelings were true and fated to be lovers, then the red string would disappear, but there would be a red circle around each soulmate\'s ring finger. Signifying that they were bound and married by fate.

"D—Do I have to do it now?" Shi Ying asked. She didn\'t want to be humiliated right in front of his family.

"Why not? It\'s quick and simple. Go go!" Uncle Shi said, he looked at Menghuo and ordered, "You, take the other side of the red string, and tie it around your ring finger."

Yang Menghuo glanced at his Ying Jie, whose expression looked lost. He didn\'t know what happened, but since this was a part of the tradition and an order from his future father-in-law, then he had to do it.

Thus, Yang Menghuo grabbed the other end of the red string and tied it around his ring finger.

Shi Ying glanced at Meng Bao, who looked oblivious. Shi Ying bet that face would change in a matter of seconds. Because the truth that he never loved me would be revealed in front of everyone.

Shi Ying took a deep breath and tied the other end of the red string on her ring finger.

\'Oh well, it\'s better for him to pack as soon as possible. I have to make sure that he\'s not welcomed here. Let him marry that childhood sweetheart and have a terrible, horrible, absolutely miserable marriage with that woman. He will be so troubled with many children, while I could be the rich single aunty who will have no worry about children, nyahahaha!\'

\'Who wants to marry and have children anyway? Right?\'

Shi Ying smiled bitterly, and then Uncle Shi got up and instructed.

"Okay, Shi Ying, Yang Menghuo, on the count of three, you two need to say I love you at the same time. Now, look at each other\'s eyes and don\'t blink for a moment."

Shi Ying and Yang Menghuo stared at each other. Yang Menghuo\'s cheek turned red almost immediately, and he gulped few times when his beloved Jie darted her eyes at him.

But for Shi Ying, it was all fake. The sweetness, that blush, that grin on Yang Menghuo\'s face. They were all fake.

\'I just want this to end soon,\' Shi Ying thought since she already knew about the result.

Uncle Shi took few steps back and started the countdown, "Three… two… one!"

"I love you, my beloved."