Countdown 4: First Meeting with Shen Yingning

After waking up, the sky was bright.

The sun, which had disappeared yesterday, was hanging in the sky again today, showing a brilliant smile.

This made the young men who had been anticipating the end of the world feel a sense of loss. They had already planned out their awesome post-apocalyptic lives, only for the director to suddenly call cut.

Jiang Qiao simply washed up and left the inn.

Along the way, he saw elderly couples carrying large bags and packages, queuing up early at the supermarket entrance.

They were all returning goods.

The world wasn't ending, so how could they possibly eat all these things?

Especially the salt.

Hundreds of kilograms would be enough to pickle the entire family.

They had to return it!

The "Lin Daiyu" types on the bus were now no longer complaining about backaches or leg pain. They could scold the supermarket owner for two hours straight without even taking a breath.

Jiang Qiao shook his head, feeling speechless.

He took a taxi to Blue Harbor Villa.

Before long, the people from the cleaning company arrived. Under the influence of Jiang Qiao's Money Power, they were all full of energy and got straight to work.

A little while later, the moving company's vehicles arrived at the entrance.

Furniture, appliances, bedding, and fitness equipment were moved in one by one and placed in their appropriate spots in the villa.

"Is that about it?"

He walked around the villa again, feeling like there shouldn't be any problems left.

The only remaining task was to stock up on some food and drinking water.

Jiang Qiao walked out of the villa and took a stroll around the complex, quickly finding the location of Villa Number Eight.

It was a very large, detached villa.

At least three to four thousand square meters.

However, the doors were tightly shut, and the yard was overgrown with weeds. It looked like it had been vacant for a long time.

Jiang Qiao walked around the villa.

Soon, a standoff between a group of cats not far away caught Jiang Qiao's attention.

To be precise, it was a standoff between a large group of cats and a single cat.

The one-cat army was a calico cat.

Its fur was standing on end, and it was baring its teeth, letting out fierce growls.

The group of cats opposite it was being led by a half-grown black cat.

Its fur was shiny, its body was plump, and its amber eyes held a look of arrogant pride.

"What the heck?"

Jiang Qiao was somewhat astonished.

Initially, he thought the black cat was owned by the master of Villa Number Eight.

When he realized no one lived there, he thought the black cat might be a stray.

After all, it wasn't a purebred cat, and it was in a villa area. He figured it probably lived like a street rat, constantly being chased around, leading a miserable life.

He thought he could rescue it from its plight and establish a father-son relationship.

The script was well-written, but the black cat wasn't cooperating with the performance.

Not only was this guy not miserable, but he looked like he was living the good life, becoming the boss of a group of cats.

Alright, little buddy.

I didn't expect you to be a bully in this villa area!

"Chirp chirp chirp?"

"Meow meow meow?"

"Squeak squeak squeak??"

Jiang Qiao made various sounds, some for dogs, some for cats, some for mice, successfully attracting the attention of the group of cats.

The cats immediately stopped their attack on the lone warrior and looked at Jiang Qiao warily, with a dangerous glint in their eyes and hissing warnings from their throats.

"White Tiger?"

Jiang Qiao took out some dried fish, a benevolent smile appearing on his face.

This cat definitely didn't understand his name "White Tiger" yet, but that was okay. It understood dried fish.

As expected, the black cat's amber eyes lit up, and it walked over with elegant cat steps.

It sniffed first, then licked with its tongue, and finally took a bite. It hopped back a few steps, watching Jiang Qiao warily, and quickly swallowed the dried fish.

Seeing this, Jiang Qiao's heart rejoiced.

This could work.

So, he directly took out a large bag of dried fish.

"Want some?"

"Meow?"

"If you want to eat, recognize me as your boss."

"Meow meow?"

"Recognize me as your boss, and I'll give you a monthly salary. Plenty of dried fish."

"Meow meow meow!"

And so, Jiang Qiao clicked to claim a cat.

It was nearing noon.

Having gained nothing from three simulations, Jiang Qiao, holding the black cat and a bag of spicy strips, swaggered into "Aniu Hotpot Restaurant."

When he bought things yesterday, Jiang Qiao had seen this restaurant on Chou Tuan with a high rating. Everyone said the taste was very authentic.

Today, he was meeting "Happy" for a meal, and this place was the first thing that came to his mind.

After all, he loved hotpot.

As soon as he walked into the private room they had agreed upon, Jiang Qiao's gaze fell on the girl sitting by the window.

He raised an eyebrow slightly.

Oh, it's a girl. And quite pretty.

When Shen Yingning saw Jiang Qiao enter, she was slightly taken aback. Then she stood up, a smile on her face.

"Greetings, Master."

She had heard from Uncle Zhou before that the Master was very young, so she was mentally prepared.

However, upon seeing him in person, she couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

After all, in the field of metaphysics, age was sometimes a bonus. Being too young always gave people an unreliable impression.

"Master is too kind. My name is Jiang Qiao," Jiang Qiao replied with a friendly smile.

"My name is Shen Yingning. It's a pleasure to meet you." Shen Yingning gestured to the seat beside her with her fair, small hand, inviting him to sit.

"Teacher Jiang, please sit."

"Miss Shen, you don't have to-- Uh..."

"Shen Yingning???"

Jiang Qiao was suddenly startled, his cola bottle shaking, nearly spilling.

It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?

Looking at the tall girl in front of him, Jiang Qiao wore a peculiar expression.

175cm tall with long legs, and the same name.

Hmm, she really does look like her.

If it's really her, this is going to be too messed up.

A mix of excitement and awkwardness suddenly surged in Jiang Qiao's heart.

After all, in the simulator, he and she had blurred out their faces together. Now, interacting in person, he couldn't help but feel a strange sensation.

"Teacher Jiang, what's wrong? Do you know me?"

Shen Yingning looked at Jiang Qiao's reaction with some confusion.

"No, no. I just think your name is very nice. It's like a goat farting like a sheep, both stylish and a bit… flashy."

Jiang Qiao regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth.

Damn it, I've been interacting with those silly netizens too much. I can't even talk properly anymore.

Seeing Shen Yingning's expression falter, Jiang Qiao quickly changed the subject.

"Miss Shen, you asked me to dinner. Have you been haunted recently?"

Seeing Jiang Qiao getting down to business, Shen Yingning put away her fleeting emotions, her expression turning serious. She spoke with a hint of gravity.

"Yes, I suspect I've encountered something… unclean."

Shen Yingning began to recount the strange occurrences she had experienced lately.

What terrified and unsettled her the most were the visions of people jumping from buildings.

Men, women, old, and young, with strange smiles on their faces.

But besides herself, no one else could see them.

Her painting skills were quite good. She had once painted portraits of those who jumped from buildings and then tried to use her family connections to investigate their identities.

But she found nothing.

It seemed these people truly didn't exist in the world.

It was just her imagination.

But the more it was like this, the more her skin crawled.

If they really didn't exist, how could she have conjured so many unfamiliar faces out of thin air?

It wasn't one or two, but dozens!

This made her very uneasy.

Because of this, she had specifically gone to the Capital City a few days ago to visit several authorities in the field of psychology in the country.

Unfortunately, she didn't gain much.

So after witnessing the astonishing scene yesterday morning, she placed her hope on Jiang Qiao.

"Teacher Jiang, these are the portraits of those people."

Shen Yingning handed a stack of drawing papers to Jiang Qiao.

Jiang Qiao took the drawings and began to look through them one by one.

Shen Yingning's drawing skills were strong; these figures were lifelike, like photographs.

But as he looked, he frowned.

The faces of the people in these paintings all wore eerie smiles, reminding him of the Malevolent Ghosts he encountered last night.

They were almost identical.

"Look at this one."

Shen Yingning picked up one of the drawings, which depicted an old woman.

"I saw her at North City Third Primary School. She jumped from the top floor of the school building at the time."

"I checked the school's records and archives, but there's no information about her."

"But I feel like she's very familiar, like I've seen her somewhere before."

"I attended North City Third Primary School myself."

Hearing Shen Yingning's description, Jiang Qiao fell into thought.

He suddenly remembered a strange tale he had read before.

Someone encountered a curse.

His parents, wife, children, friends, and colleagues all forgot him.

Everything he had done in this world had another explanation.

No one knew he had existed.

All traces that could prove he had been there were erased.

But he had been there!

Jiang Qiao looked up and out the window, then suddenly spoke:

"Miss Shen, I have a question for you."

"Yes? Teacher Jiang, please tell me."

"How can we prove that a person who doesn't exist, existed?"