Such an eyesore

Xie Yuan picked up the landline. "Hello? Funeral shop."

An elderly voice came from the other end. "Hello, I heard your shop makes custom paper effigies. Can you make one with a specific appearance?"

It was the first time Xie Yuan had heard such a request. "Please hold on. I'll ask the owner."

Xie Yuan set down the phone and headed to the backyard.

At the backyard entrance, Xie Yuan called out, "Old Yuan, a customer wants to know if they can specify the appearance!"

Old Yuan put down the paper effigy in his hands and walked into the shop.

Old Yuan picked up the phone. "You want a paper effigy with a specific appearance. Who is this person to you?"

The elderly caller said, "I'd like it to look like my daughter. She passed away, and there wasn't even a body."

"When my wife passed away, all she wanted was to see our daughter one more time. I just want a paper effigy that looks like her to keep my wife company."

Old Yuan said, "I can make one with a specific appearance, but the process is complicated, and it won't be cheap. Are you sure you want it?"

"Yes. I still have some savings."

Another order.

Old Yuan hung up and returned to the backyard.

Although the livestream viewers didn't know what the caller had said, they could tell from Old Yuan's words that he had agreed.

[So you can customize a paper effigy's appearance. Does that mean I can order one too?]

[I just had an idea.]

[I want a paper effigy of a certain someone.]

[Wow, has paper effigy craftsmanship gotten this advanced? They can even customize the appearance now.]

[There are too many I want. Which one should I choose?]

[I work in the funeral industry. Just a reminder, everyone: not every appearance can be commissioned. Old Yuan wouldn't agree to it either.]

[Oh, so that's how it is. Makes sense. They're paper effigies, after all. It would be a little scary if they could look like absolutely anyone.]

[If you want a particular appearance, you can commission a clay doll. Those don't have any taboos.]

In the backyard.

Xie Yuan crouched beside Old Yuan. "Old Yuan, we've got another order. How much will we get paid?"

"Is money all you see, kid?" Old Yuan shot him a glare. "Don't worry. You'll get your wages."

"Then I can rest easy." Xie Yuan returned to the shop.

Paper effigies were ritual offerings, after all. Most people had no need for them and wouldn't actually order one.

After he had lain there for a while, Xie Yuan's phone rang. Whatever the person on the other end said brought a smile to his eyes.

"Got it."

After hanging up, Xie Yuan lay on the recliner to pass the time.

A few minutes later, Mu Ze came out, said nothing, and returned to the backyard.

After that, Mu Ze came out every ten minutes or so. After several trips, Xie Yuan noticed something was off.

"Why do you keep going in and out?"

Xie Yuan stopped Mu Ze as he was about to return to the backyard.

Mu Ze touched his nose. "Just checking. Carry on."

"Wait." Xie Yuan stopped him. "I only hurt my finger. You don't need to be so nervous."

"It was just an accident."

"You noticed." Mu Ze looked a little embarrassed.

Xie Yuan said, "I'm not blind."

He waved a hand. "Focus on helping Old Yuan. Didn't you say you'd take first place with me?"

"Don't give Old Yuan an excuse to dock our pay."

Mu Ze nodded. "All right. I'll work hard."

"If you need to do anything, you can ask the cameraman for help."

A little while after Mu Ze left, Xie Yuan held out his injured index finger to the cameraman. "Sir, do I look like I need help?"

The cameraman froze.

Staring at that index finger, he really couldn't say anything he didn't believe, so he could only keep his mouth firmly shut.

The cameraman said nothing, but the comments put it quite aptly.

[Hahahaha, I'm dying. Is Young Master Xie some kind of fragile item? Why is Mu Ze so nervous?]

[You don't get it. When you hold someone dear, you're always afraid something will happen to them.]

[I get it, I get it. Couples who've just fallen in love are all like this.]

[Hahahaha, Young Master Xie looks so baffled.]

[By the way, Mu Ze really seems to like Young Master Xie.]

[You're only noticing now? Sometimes Mu Ze looks at Young Master Xie like he wants to swallow him whole.]

[What kind of swallow? The kind I'm thinking of?]

[Seriously, more dirty jokes? Are you all professional speed racers?]

After Xie Yuan spoke to him, Mu Ze stopped running into the shop over and over.

More than twenty minutes passed, and Old Yuan asked in puzzlement, "Why aren't you going out front to check on that kid?"

"Did he get sick of you?"

Mu Ze frowned. "Old Yuan, don't rub it in."

Old Yuan looked at him disdainfully. "What a coward. He tells you not to go, and you just don't?"

Mu Ze said airily, "I think I finally understand why you never married, Old Yuan."

Old Yuan's hands paused over the paper effigy. He looked up and glared at Mu Ze. "Kid, has nobody ever told you not to poke at people's sore spots? It's very unlikable."

Mu Ze didn't respond.

On the show, Mu Ze was publicly presented as an ordinary participant. His livestream originally hadn't had many viewers, but quite a few people had come because of Xie Yuan. Some had also come for Mu Ze's good looks.

[Hahahahaha, I'm out at the border, and even I can feel how speechless Old Yuan is.]

[As expected of someone who likes Young Master Xie. Even the way he pokes at people's sore spots is the same.]

[Mu Ze, I thought you were an honest guy. Turns out you're a sweet bun with a scheming filling.]

[That's good. He's a great match for Young Master Xie.]

At six, it was time for dinner.

"Can you eat on your own?"

Faced with Mu Ze's question, Xie Yuan fell silent for a full half minute. "It's not like my hand's broken."

His right hand was injured, so using chopsticks was inevitably a little difficult.

Mu Ze looked a little embarrassed. "I'm afraid you'll bump the wound and it'll hurt."

"It's fine. I'll be all right if I'm careful." Xie Yuan wasn't concerned.

Despite that, Mu Ze kept an eye on Xie Yuan throughout the meal.

Whenever he saw which dish Xie Yuan wanted, he immediately put some into his bowl.

After only a few bites, Old Yuan felt uncomfortably stuffed. "Mu Kid, he hurt his finger. It's not like he can't move. Can you stop treating him so gingerly, like he's a porcelain doll?"

"I've barely eaten, and I'm already stuffed. Stuffed with your lovey-dovey antics."

The comments burst into laughter.

[Hahaha, Old Yuan nailed that description.]

[See? I'm not the only one who thinks Mu Ze is overdoing it. Even Old Yuan, who's usually so unflappable, has lost it.]

[Hahahaha, Old Yuan really has it rough.]

[Mu Ze, is that your partner or your precious little daughter? Even a daughter wouldn't get pampered like this.]

[A real-life example of being afraid they'll melt in your mouth or break in your hands.]

Mu Ze finished putting another helping into Xie Yuan's bowl. "And that's why you've never had a partner."

Old Yuan looked up resentfully. "That's enough, kid. Why do you keep poking at the same sore spot?"

Mu Ze merely smiled without a word.

So annoyed that he scooped some food into his bowl, Old Yuan carried it out of the shop. He only returned when the two were leaving.

Old Yuan waved impatiently. "Hurry up and go. You're such an eyesore."

By the time the two returned to the villa, the other guests were already back.

The two walked in looking fresh and relaxed. Wang Zihua took one look and felt drained.

Because of Xie Yuan's mockery yesterday, he had gone all out delivering takeout throughout the midday shift. Now both his legs were trembling.

Su Wanyue sat beside Gu Yanzhou, looking utterly distracted.

Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue were eating dinner.

Xie Yuan sat down opposite Su Wanyue. "I saw online that a child at a kindergarten nearly fell from a height today."

"Ms. Su, that wouldn't happen to be your kindergarten, would it?"