Meng Yifan

Biodata

Background / History

Meng Yifan and Chen Mo grew up together. Their fathers and grandfathers also knew one another, making their friendship part of a connection spanning several generations. Chen Mo describes them as being as close as brothers 4.

As a newborn, Meng nearly suffered a deliberate injury to his fontanelle. While his mother was recovering from childbirth in her hometown, an older neighbor tried to prick his head with a needle. His maternal grandfather intervened, took him back, and beat the woman. The woman was reportedly jealous that Meng was healthy while her own grandson was frail and sickly 632.

During their school years, Meng and Chen Mo spent three years working part-time, traveling, and enjoying themselves together. Meng also liked fighting at that age. After he became involved online with a girl who already had a boyfriend, the boyfriend threatened him and repeatedly ambushed the two friends. The harassment stopped after a man secretly monitoring Chen Mo crippled the thug 52 370.

Meng’s family had some money, and after graduation he learned business from a relative. Chen Mo, whose family was less well-off, passed through more than a dozen jobs before Meng brought him into his real-estate agency. This employment substantially improved Chen Mo’s financial circumstances 52.

Meng built his real-estate business while still young and operated more than one branch. Although Chen Mo worked for him, Meng did not treat him merely as an employee; agency staff called Chen Mo the “second-in-command.” On one sale that earned Meng 120,000 yuan, he gave Chen Mo half as commission 1 9 11 20.

His grandfather had warned that their family was not suited to business and that something would go wrong if they tried. Meng initially dismissed this warning, but reconsidered it when the haunted-apartment dispute threatened his agency 9.

After the agency’s ordinary business deteriorates, Meng deliberately turns his experience with hauntings into a commercial specialty. He proposes handling haunted properties with Chen Mo, Song Xiaotian, and Seventh Master Zhao, later expands into a horror-themed hotel, and eventually opens another office for ordinary secondhand-property transactions while retaining the original haunted-house business 134 405 734.

Appearance

• Height: Six feet tall 17.
• During the haunting: After a sleepless night of supernatural knocking, he appeared frighteningly pale, with dark circles and bloodshot eyes 11.
• During the murder investigation: Detention leaves him listless, with red and swollen eyes. By his eventual release, he looks so haggard that Chen Mo initially struggles to recognize him and thinks he appears to have aged several years 171 182.
• Later prosperity: When Chen Mo returns to Lanjiang City after a year away, Meng’s conspicuously prosperous bearing reflects the success of his businesses 734.

Personality

Meng is normally cheerful, easygoing, and optimistic, but also impatient and quick-tempered. He confronts the midnight visitor irritably and nearly comes to blows with Seventh Master Zhao over a parking space before learning who the older man is 5 17 20.

His initial skepticism gives way to intense fear after he experiences the haunting himself. He first attributes Chen Mo’s experiences to stress and offers him time off or a hospital visit. After seeing the cement footprints and footage of their synchronized sleepwalking, he becomes terrified and accepts that they need specialist help 4 6 7 18.

Despite that fear, Meng repeatedly acts to protect Chen Mo. He rushes out of bed when Chen Mo calls for help, agrees to stay in the apartment with him, and later draws security guards away so Chen Mo can escape 3 4 36.

He can also put aside his pride when necessary. After antagonizing Seventh Master Zhao, he apologizes and serves him tea; he offers payment for Zhao’s help and pays Xiao Qing more than her quoted minimum fee 18 19 20.

His loyalty can outweigh his regard for legal or moral principles. After learning that Chen Mo’s father caused multiple deaths, including Fang Man’s, Meng urges Chen Mo to flee with his father and grandfather rather than personally send his father to his death. He offers money, proposes destroying evidence, and argues entirely from concern for Chen Mo’s future ability to live with the decision. Ultimately, he returns the evidence-bearing USB drive and leaves the choice to Chen Mo 109.

Meng is also softhearted toward employees and vulnerable people. When the agency faces possible closure, he warns his staff early because their mortgages, loans, and families make it unfair to keep them tied to a failing business. He helps Su Qian relocate, gives her money, offers future tuition assistance, and later helps a struggling former classmate by directing renovation work to him 60 140 485.

His business ambitions become increasingly bold. He views haunted houses as an underserved market with unusually high margins and argues that suffering one disastrous haunting should not prevent them from taking future opportunities. His confidence and persuasive enthusiasm draw Song Xiaotian into the plan despite the latter’s initial objections 134.

In romantic relationships, Meng is deeply attached and excessively forgiving. He spends much of his earnings on Tao Xiaoyu, plans to propose to her, and initially accepts her explanations even after his friends discover her infidelity. Nevertheless, he rejects her fabricated accusations against Chen Mo. After surviving the murder investigation, he decides not to resent the deceased Tao Xiaoyu and wishes her a peaceful journey 160 161 182 321.

He remains resilient despite business losses and personal setbacks. Even when facing the possible loss of a branch, he insists that he can start again if necessary. His later generosity toward Chen Mo includes fulfilling a promise to buy him a Cayenne 60 125 389.

Abilities & Skills

Physical Strength

Meng is stronger than Chen Mo and can intervene effectively in close-range struggles 24.

• Pins the possessed Xiao Qing long enough for Chen Mo to apply Seventh Master’s talisman 24.
• Tackles a cleaver-wielding attacker from behind and throws him to the floor, saving Chen Mo 35.
• The attacker reverses the hold and nearly kills him; Seventh Master must intervene 35.
• Chen Mo later acknowledges that his own unassisted hand-to-hand combat skills remain poor enough that Meng could pin him down and easily overpower him 521.

Investigation and Deduction

Meng contributes practical leads rather than relying entirely on Chen Mo’s reasoning.

• Suggests checking surveillance footage when the cement footprints disappear 3.
• Proposes investigating the dead girl’s identity and death as a route to finding Lü Zhengxian 25.
• Finds a dark-red wooden fragment near the apartment doorway and suggests that it came from a broken stamp 26.
• Finds Du Mingyang’s real Ash Urn in Zhao Laoqi’s home after Chen Mo notices Zhao glancing toward the adjoining room 82.
• Spots a car following him and Chen Mo while they are pursuing a lead supplied by Song Xiaotian 94.
• Reasons that the theft of Wang Hua’s motorcycle, keys, and access to the factory points toward someone employed there with managerial access. He also recognizes the possible danger to Chen Mo’s father 96.
• Offers an ordinary explanation for the missing time during Chen Mo and Seventh Master’s passage through a ghost wall, suggesting that they might have lost consciousness before entering. Chen Mo’s lack of hunger or thirst leaves the explanation unresolved 273.
• Helps locate a chained, talisman-sealed well in the Luo Residence and guides Chen Mo to inspect it 310.

Business and Social Skills

• Maintains a court contact who informs him about Mr. Hu’s lawsuit and possible mediation 20.
• Helps secure Brother Liu’s cooperation by offering expensive cigarettes and assuring him that his disclosures will remain confidential 11.
• Recognizes the reputational danger of litigation and prefers mediation, but cannot reach a settlement with Mr. Hu 20.
• Identifies haunted-property transactions as a potentially profitable niche in a saturated real-estate market and recruits friends and occult specialists to support the venture 134.
• Obtains access to an enterprise networking event through Pan Xiaorou’s Jiangling Group connections, allowing both himself and his employees to attend despite the shop’s small size 321.
• Secures Pan Xiaorou’s investment and executive assistance for a horror-themed hotel at Tan Family Villa 405.
• Recruits Yi Yang and arranges a practical haunted-house assignment to test his ability before relying on him for supernatural work 473.
• Expands back into ordinary secondhand-property sales through a new office while keeping the original haunted-house office operating 734.

Ritual Participation

Meng has no demonstrated independent occult expertise. He participates in Fuji Divination under Seventh Master Zhao’s instructions 19 21.

• Burns yellow paper and recites the invocation alongside Chen Mo 21.
• Retrieves Seventh Master’s talisman when the disrupted ritual leaves Xiao Qing possessed 24.
• Depends on the specialists’ directions and protection; during the summoning, his fear leaves him close to tears 21 22.
• In proposing the haunted-house business, assigns ghost-catching to Chen Mo and relies on Chen Mo’s inherited book and Seventh Master’s support rather than claiming supernatural mastery himself 134.
• Is vulnerable to possession: Huang Haiquan takes over his body during a summoning, forcing Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian to restrain him. A subsequent soul-summoning procedure restores him to consciousness after his own soul goes missing 141 142 143.

Equipment / Items

• High-definition cameras — Supplies cameras with audio recording to document Chen Mo’s apartment stay and provide evidence for the agency 1.
• Jade plaque/pendant — Given by Xiao Qing before the summoning. Soaked in her menstrual blood, it uses a spirit medium’s aura to mask the mutually hostile spirits’ traces on him 20 21.
• Red high heel — Finds it outside his home after a night of knocking and later keeps it in his car’s trunk. It is a supernatural clue, not protective equipment 11 15.
• Evidence-bearing USB drive — Holds evidence during the investigation of Chen Mo’s father. Meng offers to destroy it to help the family escape, but ultimately gives it back to Chen Mo to make his own decision 109.
• Knife purchased before visiting Tao Xiaoyu’s villa — Buys it while drunk and enraged after receiving an anonymous message about Tao Xiaoyu’s rendezvous. He later states that he abandoned his intention to kill after considering the consequences and left without attacking anyone 182.
• Text message from Pan Xiaorou — Retains the message directing him to Tao Xiaoyu’s villa. Its sending number eventually reveals Pan Xiaorou’s involvement in steering him into the incident 182 183.
• Home — Owns a three-bedroom residence with a living room. After Tao Xiaoyu is gone, he invites Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian to move in 165 184.
• Silver Cayenne given to Chen Mo — Purchases the approximately 900,000-yuan vehicle as a birthday present, fulfilling an earlier promise and expressing gratitude for Chen Mo’s help in keeping him out of prison 125 389.

Relationships

• Chen Mo — Childhood friend, employee, and fellow haunting victim. Their families have been friends for generations, and Chen Mo refuses to consider Meng a possible source of the leaked villa plan 1 4 36. Meng later offers to finance Chen Mo’s escape with his family, shares his home with him, and buys him a Cayenne. Chen Mo considers Meng’s uncomplaining support one of the central reasons he has endured his hardships 109 184 389 409. Before a dangerous journey, Chen Mo makes will arrangements entrusting his apartment and car to Meng 601.
• Tao Xiaoyu — Former girlfriend, later deceased. They initially live together for over a year without marrying; she cannot hear the knocking that torments him and thinks he is being paranoid 11 20. Meng buys her expensive clothing and accessories and later plans to propose, but she cheats on him with Xiang Kai and falsely accuses Chen Mo of harassment. Their relationship ends before her death, and Meng becomes a murder suspect after being lured to her villa. Once cleared, he chooses to let go of his resentment 157 160 161 165 182.
• Seventh Master Zhao / Zhao Laoqi — Occult adviser whom Meng initially antagonizes over parking. Zhao later guides the summoning, saves him from the villa attacker, and is captured alongside him 17 18 21 35 36. Meng and Chen Mo subsequently suspect him of protecting Du Ruhai and confront him over Du Mingyang’s ashes, but he later supports the haunted-property venture and helps clear Meng’s name in the murder case 58 82 134 182.
• Xiao Qing — Professional medium hired to summon Li Xiumei. Meng pays her 15,000 yuan rather than the quoted 10,000 yuan and helps restrain her after the ritual is sabotaged 20 24.
• Brother Liu — Police contact who supplies confidential information and case files about Li Xiumei, Lü Zhengxian, and the dead young women being investigated 11 12 26. He also assists Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian during Meng’s later murder investigation, including visiting Meng in detention 165 171.
• Xie Peng and Li Xingyang — Agency employees who accompany Meng and Chen Mo back to the apartment and witness the disturbing surveillance footage 6 7.
• Song Xiaotian — Initially tries to arrange Meng’s release through powerful family connections at Chen Mo’s request 39. He becomes Meng’s close friend, housemate, and business associate, repeatedly protecting him and helping clear his name. Meng recruits him into the haunted-property venture and later reveals Pan Xiaorou’s pregnancy to the Song family despite Song Xiaotian asking that it remain unmentioned 60 134 182 184 325.
• Fang Man — Agency employee and Chen Mo’s girlfriend. Meng affectionately teases her about marrying Chen Mo, then witnesses the car strike that kills her. He is visibly distressed by her death and contacts Song Xiaotian afterward 60 61.
• Du Ruhai / Lü Zhengxian / Du Yunting — Dangerous adversary whose villa Meng enters during the investigation. Du Ruhai later pressures him over missing belongings, threatens his business, and offers commercial help in exchange for information about Du Yuwei. Meng is eventually informed that the man operating as Du Yunting is Du Ruhai 29 58 59 103 182.
• Pan Xiaorou — Initially appears to be a benefactor in clearing Meng’s name, but her phone number reveals that she sent the message luring him to Tao Xiaoyu’s villa. Chen Mo concludes that she intended to make Meng a scapegoat while concealing her own role in Xiang Kai’s death 182 183. Despite this history, she later supplies property leads and invests in Meng’s horror hotel, on the condition that he keep an eye on Song Xiaotian 206 405.
• Su Qian — A displaced student whom Meng and his friends encounter working at a barbecue stall. Meng helps send her to Chongqing, gives her 8,000 yuan, offers to help with tuition, and later says that he has invited her back to study 138 140 160.
• An Ning — Joins Meng’s agency with Chen Mo’s support. Meng does not hold her past against her and remembers that she and her younger sister saved him and Chen Mo during an attack 188. She later participates in Chen Mo’s birthday celebration and accompanies him while searching for Meng in the Luo Residence 310 389.
• Huang Yingqi — Former classmate whose family is ruined by a fatal traffic accident. Meng’s initial offer of direct help is refused, so he later assists him by recommending his renovation crew to clients 485.
• Yi Yang — Employee recruited for supernatural work. Meng offers him a position and sends him with Chen Mo to demonstrate his ability at a haunted house 473.
• Fang Mingjie — Recruited through Chen Mo as lobby manager of Meng’s horror-themed hotel. Meng offers the position on the condition that he remain until the hotel closes, which Fang enthusiastically accepts 529.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Haunted Apartment and Lawsuit

Meng supplies the cameras for Chen Mo’s attempt to disprove the buyers’ haunting claims, then joins him for the second night. He opens the door to the girl asking for Li Xiumei and insists that they sleep in the master bedroom. Both men subsequently sleepwalk at two o’clock; Meng turns on the television and sits holding the remote with his eyes closed 1 4 5 7.

After seeing the cement footprints, they flee. Their return with agency employees produces further evidence: the footage records Meng speaking at the doorway, but the girl is invisible on camera 6 7.

The business consequences continue alongside the haunting. Mr. Hu demands 200,000 yuan in compensation and files suit. Meng fears that damaged business and reputation will force him to close a branch 9 20.

Identifying the Spirits

The haunting follows Meng home, where knocking continues all night and a red high heel appears outside his door. His girlfriend hears nothing, while Xie Peng and Li Xingyang remain unaffected 11.

Meng and Chen Mo seek information from Brother Liu and help from Seventh Master Zhao. During the summoning of Li Xiumei under her original name, Li Yujiao, both men’s shadows disappear. When an intruder disrupts the ritual, Meng helps subdue the possessed medium and transport her and Zhao to hospital 11 14 17 21 24.

His suggestion to investigate the young ghost leads them to Du Yuwei, a university student who died three months earlier and was adopted by businessman Du Ruhai 25 26 27.

Villa Break-In and Capture

Meng accompanies Chen Mo and Seventh Master into Du Ruhai’s villa. A cursed wedding painting nearly traps him and Chen Mo before Zhao rescues them. Upstairs, they discover Du Yuwei’s corpse dressed as a bride 29 31 32.

The group finds a marriage contract containing birth details that could help them send Du Yuwei on. Before they can remove her body, an armed attacker emerges from the attic. Meng saves Chen Mo from the cleaver but needs Zhao’s help when the attacker overpowers him 35.

Outside, Meng deliberately distracts the guards so Chen Mo can escape with two urns of ashes. He is shocked to the ground and captured. Du Yuwei later imitates his voice to try to make Chen Mo open a guesthouse door 36 37.

Chen Mo pursues help through Song Xiaotian, but the outcome initially remains uncertain. By Chapter 50, Seventh Master has been released and implicated Chen Mo in the theft; Song warns that Meng may not be released 39 50.

Meng is released in Chapter 54 after Chen Mo agrees to return the Ash Urns to Du Ruhai’s people. On calling Chen Mo, he reveals that he was beaten in the detention center and urgently warns him not to attend the exchange, fearing that Du Ruhai will harm him 54.

Du Ruhai’s Threats and Fang Man’s Death

After Meng’s release, he, Chen Mo, and Song Xiaotian remain close together for safety. Du Ruhai visits Chen Mo’s hospital ward with gifts and a conciliatory manner, but his purpose is to demand the return of other missing belongings. Meng denies taking them and argues that, after his detention, he would not dare return to the villa 58 59 60.

The agency’s difficulties persist. Meng gathers staff from both branches and warns that the lawsuit and damaged business may force him to close one within two months. Chen Mo worries that the warning will drive experienced employees away, but Meng refuses to conceal the danger from people with families and debts to support 60.

That same day, Meng teases Fang Man about marrying Chen Mo. When she goes out to buy lunch, a speeding car strikes her at a pedestrian crossing. Meng and Chen Mo run to her, and Chen Mo tells Meng to summon an ambulance. Fang Man dies at the scene, leaving Meng tearful and unable to comfort his devastated friend 60 61.

Meng initially insists that Du Ruhai must be connected to her death. He continues helping Chen Mo investigate, including recovering Du Mingyang’s hidden Ash Urn from Zhao Laoqi’s home 64 82.

While following a lead supplied by Song Xiaotian, Meng notices a pursuing car. He and Chen Mo flee but run out of fuel near a river, where five men beat them with steel pipes and discuss throwing them into the water. A woman in a black dress and red heels appears, and the attackers seemingly walk to the railing and jump into the river 94.

Investigating Chen Mo’s Father

At Rongda Electronics Factory, Meng reasons that the theft of Wang Hua’s motorcycle and keys likely involved an employee with managerial access. He fears that the person behind the crimes may also threaten Chen Mo’s father, who works there 96.

When evidence begins pointing toward Chen Guowen himself, Meng initially rejects the possibility. He recalls that Uncle Chen was too timid to kill a chicken and cannot reconcile that behavior with hiring killers or arranging Fang Man’s death. He nevertheless continues supporting Chen Mo’s investigation 97 100 101.

Du Ruhai later visits the shop, offers to rescue the business and identify whoever ordered Fang Man’s death in exchange for information about Du Yuwei, and reveals that he is Lü Zhengxian. When Chen Mo denies knowing Du Yuwei’s whereabouts, Du Ruhai threatens them and tells Meng to find another line of work 103.

After Chen Mo confronts his father and learns that he intends to turn himself in, Meng privately urges Chen Mo to escape with his family. He offers his savings and possible help from his own father, proposes destroying the USB evidence, and argues that Chen Mo would be permanently damaged by personally sending his father to his death. Before leaving, however, he hands Chen Mo the drive and tells him to decide for himself 109.

Establishing the Haunted-Property Business

Following Chen Mo’s family losses, Meng promises that once the business recovers he will buy him a Cayenne. They spend two weeks trying to revive the agency without closing a sale, leaving Meng so anxious that he struggles to eat 125.

The profits from He Tao’s family home convince Meng to pursue haunted properties deliberately. He presents several such houses to Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian, citing the 250,000 yuan made on the earlier transaction, although he subsequently gave He Tao’s mother another 50,000 yuan. He argues that ordinary real estate is dominated by larger competitors, whereas haunted houses offer exceptional margins 134.

Song Xiaotian objects to risking their lives, but Meng insists that most hauntings need not be as dangerous as Li Xiumei or Du Yuwei. He proposes relying on Seventh Master and having Chen Mo study his grandfather’s book to handle ghosts. Promises of independent wealth and Ferraris help win Song over, while Zhao arrives and confirms that Meng has already discussed the plan with him 134.

After persuading an old woman’s ghost to leave a property, Meng and his friends celebrate a successful haunted-house sale at a barbecue stall. There they recognize Su Qian, a missing student whose parents were murdered, working as a server 138.

The group subsequently helps Su Qian leave the city. Meng buys her a ticket to Chongqing, transfers 8,000 yuan for living expenses, ensures that she has their telephone numbers, and offers to help pay her tuition if she later returns to school. He condemns Du Yuwei’s attacks on innocent people despite the suffering she herself endured 140.

The new line of work remains dangerous. During Huang Haiquan’s summoning, the resentful ghost possesses Meng and fights Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian. They tie him up and use Zhao’s talisman to prevent the ghost from leaving his body and possessing someone else. Meng later awakens through a soul-summoning procedure, describing a place full of people who caused him a burning sensation whenever he approached them 141 142 143.

Tao Xiaoyu’s Betrayal and the Murder Frame-Up

Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian discover Tao Xiaoyu on a date with another man and initially try to persuade her to end her relationship with Meng without exposing the affair. Meanwhile, Meng remains cheerful, plans a Chongqing trip with her, and intends to propose 157 160.

Tao Xiaoyu instead arrives at the shop with an expensive Armani belt and accuses Chen Mo of sexually harassing her. Meng rejects the accusation and defends his childhood friend, but subsequently accepts her explanations for the suspicious photographs and apologizes when she threatens to leave him 160 161.

Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian then take Meng to a hotel to expose the affair directly. He reacts furiously on confronting Tao Xiaoyu, grabbing her by the throat, but the relationship ends before her subsequent death 162 163 165.

Meng is detained as a major suspect in the deaths of Tao Xiaoyu and Xiang Kai. Surveillance places him outside her villa at 11:35 p.m., within the estimated time of her death, and his late return home leaves a troubling gap in his account. His friends initially fear that he may truly have committed the killings, but continue investigating and seeking legal help 165.

Chen Mo identifies problems with the proposed murder timeline and seeks surveillance that could establish Du Yunting’s movements relative to Meng’s. After forty-eight hours, Meng is temporarily released from the police station, only to be immediately taken away by traffic officers investigating his drunk driving. As he is driven away, he desperately insists that he killed no one and begs Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian to save him 170 171.

By Chapter 182, his friends have cleared his name, and he is released for good. Meng explains that an unfamiliar number sent him Tao Xiaoyu’s exact address while he was drunk, claiming that she was meeting a lover. He bought a knife and drove there in a rage, but reconsidered at the villa entrance because killing them would also cost him his life. He then left and drank alone downstairs at his residential complex before returning home, unintentionally making his movements more suspicious 182.

The retained message reveals that Pan Xiaorou sent the text. Chen Mo concludes that she intended Meng to become a scapegoat while concealing her own role in Xiang Kai’s death, and that Du Yunting’s unexpected involvement further obscured the scheme. Meng wants to confront her, but his friends stop him 182 183.

The experience changes Meng’s view of Tao Xiaoyu’s betrayal. Compared with being falsely accused of murder, he decides that her infidelity no longer matters as much, and he wishes her peace rather than continuing to hate her 182.

Recovery, Shared Home, and Tao Xiaoyu’s Villa

After his release, Meng invites Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian to live in his three-bedroom home. The three work together during the day and spend their evenings eating, drinking, and socializing. Meng concentrates on selling Tao Xiaoyu’s villa to recoup money 184.

Meng also hires An Ning, declining to dwell on her past. He remembers that she and her younger sister previously saved him and Chen Mo, and regards that act as a reason to give her an opportunity 188.

Pan Xiaorou later visits the shop and supplies a lead on a large villa whose owner has recently died, recognizing that Meng’s business specializes in houses where deaths have occurred 206.

Tao Xiaoyu’s villa eventually sells at auction for 3 million yuan, leaving Meng with 1.61 million before other expenses. He gives 500,000 yuan each to Chen Mo and Song Xiaotian in gratitude for their help. Tao Xiaoyu’s mother and younger brother then arrive demanding her luxury goods, but Meng tells them he has already sold them. Their confrontation with Chen Mo escalates until Song Xiaotian returns holding a cleaver 228.

Luo Residence and the Song Family

Meng remains involved in the group’s later supernatural investigations. During the Luo Residence case, he discusses the unexplained time lost by Chen Mo and Seventh Master after entering a ghost wall, though his suggestion that they might have been unconscious does not account for all the circumstances 273.

Inside the Luo Residence, Chen Mo and An Ning search for Meng while avoiding Du Yunting’s men and the resident spirits. They find him with Lin Jinhua, and he tells them about a chained well sealed with talismans that seems to contain something trying to escape. Meng leads Chen Mo to it before its chains tighten, the talisman blows away, and the sealed mouth bursts open 310.

Through Pan Xiaorou’s connections, Meng obtains invitations for himself and his employees to an enterprise networking event organized by Jiangling Group. He is frustrated by Song Xiaotian’s unwillingness to attend and disapproves of his dismissive treatment of her 321.

When Song Xiaotian learns that Pan Xiaorou is pregnant, he asks Meng and Chen Mo to sound out his father and grandfather without revealing the pregnancy. At Old Master Song’s eightieth birthday celebration, Meng instead discloses it and shows them the test report, prompting Uncle Song to retrieve his belt to punish his son 325.

Horror Hotel and Business Expansion

Meng continues managing the agency while allowing its employees to take related supernatural work. When Brother Liu offers Chen Mo a paid investigation into deaths and accidents on a film set, Chen Mo obtains Meng’s permission before accepting 333.

On Chen Mo’s birthday, Meng summons him to the storefront under circumstances that briefly make him fear his friends are in danger. Instead, the group surprises him with a silver Cayenne. Meng explains that the expensive gift repays Chen Mo for helping him avoid prison, fulfilling the promise he made during their earlier financial difficulties. Chen Mo later interprets the celebration as an effort to keep him from dwelling on his father’s and grandfather’s deaths on his birthday 125 389 409.

Meng then proposes developing Tan Family Villa into a horror-themed hotel. His concept combines rooms decorated as haunted settings, escape-room gameplay, and staff playing ghosts. After Song Xiaotian declines to persuade Pan Xiaorou on his behalf, Meng approaches her himself. She agrees to invest on the condition that he watch over Song Xiaotian and assigns an executive to assist with the project. Chen Mo privately divines that the hotel will become profitable after construction 405.

As the business develops, Meng recruits Yi Yang for supernatural work. Yi Yang requests a salary of at least 2,000 yuan a month and accepts the shop’s pay and benefits. Meng sends him with Chen Mo to a haunted house, where Yi Yang quickly bottles an old man’s lingering Yin Soul, demonstrating his usefulness 473.

Meng also supports Huang Yingqi, an old classmate left disabled and impoverished after a family car accident. When Huang refuses direct help, Meng refers renovation work to his crew, including work for a buyer of a property sold through the agency 485.

By Chapter 529, Meng’s horror hotel is operating and recruiting staff. Chen Mo brings Fang Mingjie to him, and Meng offers Fang the lobby manager position on the condition that he stay until the hotel closes 529.

Later Support for Chen Mo and Renewed Ordinary Sales

Before departing on a journey he fears he may not survive, Chen Mo writes a will with arrangements leaving his apartment and car to Meng. He visits Meng at the hotel to request time off, concealing the danger by saying that he is attending an old friend’s wedding in City A. In reflecting on their friendship, Chen Mo credits Meng with repeatedly supporting him without complaint and helping him escape a life of poorly paid work 601.

When Chen Mo returns to Lanjiang City after a year away, Meng joins the reunion and has already booked a restaurant for the group. He has recently opened a new office devoted to ordinary secondhand-property transactions, while the old office continues selling haunted houses. His business is flourishing. During the meal, Chen Mo tells him that he and An Ning will not yet return to work at the office 734.

Notable Quotes

“Whatever you do, don't get caught. Find a way to get Seventh Master and me out.” 36

“Of course I can't. But you have to know what to keep and what to let go of in life. At least we'll still have one shop. Even if I lose everything, I've still got the guts to start over.” 60

“Forget about putting justice above family. Knowing you, if you really do that, your life will pretty much be over too.” 109

“We can't let one snakebite leave us afraid of ropes for ten years.” 134

“Don't do that. Just live well. Even though your parents are gone, you still need to keep living.” 140

“Being falsely accused feels awful. I almost thought I was done for.” 182

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