Chapter 12 – I have died once more

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

After the case was closed, Su Ling and the others had a period of idleness.

So, everyone started developing their own hobbies.

For example, Wu Pan was busy running to the city library every day, Shi Kongzang was always out for dinner dates with someone, the Chang brothers sat at the front desk, each with a computer watching TV shows, and Sheng Ze seemed to have fallen in love with his work, riding his electric donkey around for leisure…

These were all harmless hobbies.

Only Meng Xiaoman was different; her hobby was cooking.

One day, she decided to make cookies for everyone.

The company’s pantry was actually a simple kitchen, equipped with pots, pans, an oven, and a mixer.

Boss Su rolled up his sleeves and personally taught, “Actually, making cookies is very simple, just two steps. First, prepare butter, eggs, flour, and sugar; second, turn it into cookies.”

Listening nearby, Sheng Ze thought to himself:…

Boss, teaching like this will definitely lead to issues, absolutely.

Meng Xiaoman suddenly realized, “I understand! Boss, don’t worry, I will make the best cookies for you all to enjoy!”

Su Ling nodded in satisfaction, “The student has learned well.”

Meng Xiaoman softened the butter first, then, after some thought, started beating it by hand.

“We actually have a mixer…” Su Ling began but swallowed the rest of his words.

Meng Xiaoman held the mixing tool and worked rapidly, her right hand even leaving a blur.

—Faster than an automatic mixer.

But…

After some consideration, Su Ling decided to give her a gentle reminder, “Um, you don’t need to beat it so fast, it’s best to keep it at a speed of a dozen rotations per minute.”

Meng Xiaoman looked up slowly, puzzled: Huh?

Su Ling, seeing the sticky mess, twitched his mouth, “Forget it, add sugar and egg yolk.”

“Got it.” Meng Xiaoman joyfully took out the sugar jar, then paused, “How much should I add?”

Su Ling tilted his head and thought for a moment, “Add an appropriate amount.”

Meng Xiaoman then sprinkled a large handful of powdered sugar into the mixture, thought for a moment, added another handful, and then started pouring in the egg yolks.

Unfortunately, when she was separating the yolks, Meng Xiaoman’s hand trembled, causing not only the egg white but even the eggshells to fall in.

Meng Xiaoman and Su Ling looked at each other.

“Should… should be fine, right?” Meng Xiaoman hesitated.

After a moment of silence, Su Ling decisively moved on to the next step, “Add a spoonful of salt.”

One spoonful?

Looking around and not finding a spoon, Meng Xiaoman raised her hand and magically produced her black wooden ladle used for making Meng Po’s soup, and she added a “spoonful” of salt with a “swish.”

—Meng Po’s black ladle, a meter long and half a meter wide.

The ladle was so large that it couldn’t fit into the pot.

Meng Xiaoman held the “pot” brimming with salt, curiously blinking, “What’s next?”

Su Ling: “Um… sift the flour.”

Meng Xiaoman, with endless strength, lifted a whole bag of flour, and with a shake, poured it all in.

Su Ling finally covered his face in despair and reluctantly said, “Um… just go ahead and do whatever you want from here.”

Meng Xiaoman gladly agreed, took a rolling pin, and began stirring the flour…

Theoretician Su Ling and the mischief-maker Meng Xiaoman, despite the tumultuous process, surprisingly produced a product that looked unexpectedly good.

As Sheng Ze passed by and saw the rows of golden brown cookies, he exclaimed, “Did you make these?”

Meng Xiaoman’s culinary instinct overcame her fear of the Ghost King. She cheerfully invited, “Come and try them!”

Sheng Ze was about to refuse when he overheard Meng Xiaoman seemingly mutter to herself, “It’s all thanks to Boss’s excellent guidance this time.”

Sheng Ze silently glanced at Su Ling, then carefully picked up the most presentable cookie from the bowl and cautiously took a bite.

“How does it taste?” Su Ling and Meng Xiaoman both eagerly asked, eyes wide with anticipation.

“It’s… pretty… good,” Sheng Ze managed to swallow the food with difficulty.

“Really?” Su Ling’s eyes curved with a smile on the spot.

Sheng Ze gritted his teeth, trying to make himself look more sincere, “The texture is very unique, the taste is very rich, and the layers are very complex…”

Rich taste—The taste of butter was so heavy it was almost overflowing.

Complex layers—The sickly sweet sugar, the salt that could be used for pickling vegetables, and the burnt bitterness that was neither visible on the outside nor inside. These three distinct flavors each had their own corner, fiercely competing for dominance on the tongue, creating an intensely colorful experience.

Unique texture—Of course, with everything like this, how could the texture not be unique?

Su Ling and Meng Xiaoman were deceived by Sheng Ze’s sincere expression, happily clapped their hands, and rushed out with the bowl to share this joy with everyone.

Behind them, Sheng Ze casually disposed of the remaining cookies, then took out his phone and opened the group chat.

【Newbie Baby Cutie Ghost Seeking Guidance】: No matter how dark the chef, as long as they are paired with an excellent boss, they can still create extraordinary dishes [Image][Image]

Perhaps afraid that they wouldn’t believe him, Sheng Ze deliberately attached filtered photos of the cookies.

【Amitabha】: Hmm, this is the first time I’ve seen Meng Xiaoman make food that looks so normal. I really want to try it.

【I’m Not a Bookworm】: Boss is mighty~ This is truly a miraculous recovery!

Sheng Ze lazily leaned against the stove, a smile of triumph playing at the corner of his mouth.

…

Ten minutes later, Sheng Ze received a new message on his phone.

“Amitabha invited you, I’m Definitely Not a Bookworm, Chang Family’s Elder Brother, and Chang Family’s Younger Brother to join the group chat.”

“Amitabha changed the group name to: Meng Xiaoman’s cookies are an unbearable agony of life.”

【Amitabha】: Anyone who wants to complain, come here without Meng Xiaoman and the boss!

【Chang Family’s Younger Brother】: @Newbie Baby Cutie Ghost Seeking Guidance, My Lord, you’re a little unfair…

【I’m Not a Bookworm】: Really, for a moment, I, a ghost, felt like I lived and died again!

【Newbie Baby Cutie Ghost Seeking Guidance】: I didn’t lie to you, “extraordinary taste” an experience of unprecedented awfulness 🙂

Outside the “Su Ling Life Ltd” Guo Guoguo and Wu Wuwu¹I swear that these two are really named Guo Guoguo and Wu Wuwu carefully confirmed the navigation on their phones.

“Is this the place?” Guo Guoguo asked.

“The navigation shows it’s here,” Wu Wuwu replied uncertainly.

In fact, they were both fans of the livestreamer Naifu. Last time, Su Ling advertised through Naifu’s camera, and they were partly there to see handsome guys, but also because they had recently encountered some bad luck, which led them to seek help.

However, the modern and sophisticated facade in front of them clashed greatly with the business of “exorcism, ghost-catching, and feng shui” that the boss had mentioned.

Guo Guoguo made up her mind and carefully led Wu Wuwu into the company.

“Hello, is this Su Ling Life Ltd?” Guo Guoguo asked softly.

Upon hearing her voice, someone finally peeked out from behind the 23.5-inch computer screen at the front desk, smiling warmly, “Welcome.”

Guo Guoguo recognized him and immediately became excited, “Oh, it’s really you, the little brother!”

Chang Bai raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Excitedly, Guo Guoguo gestured a bit and said, “We are fans of Naifu. You and your brother showed up during the haunted house event.”

“Ah, we actually came for help,” Wu Wuwu tugged at Guo Guoguo’s sleeve, redirecting the conversation back to the main topic to avoid appearing too infatuated.

“I see.” Chang Bai calmly observed their interactions, smiling as he looked to his right and called out, “Ge, we have visitors.”

On the equally large screen above, Chang Wu’s tired and aloof features appeared.

Guo Guoguo and Wu Wuwu both gasped in surprise, feeling a sudden thirst in their mouths.

—Even more handsome than on the screen!

Chang Wu casually pulled out a form, somewhat disinterestedly tapping on the paper, and said, “Please fill out the information.”

Guo Guoguo obediently responded with an “okay,” filled out a few lines, and then blushing, she quietly looked up at the two, “Y-You really deal with exorcisms here?”

Chang Wu raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on the space between Guo Guoguo’s brows, seeming to sense something, but his expression remained as cold as ever.

Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Guo Guoguo bit her lip and shyly lowered her head.

Then, she heard the handsome but icy guy say, “Your forehead is darkened, someone in your family must be haunted by a little ghost, right?”

Guo Guoguo looked visibly stunned.

On the other hand, Wu Wuwu hurried over and held her arm, somewhat nervously saying, “Guoguo, it’s true! The things you’ve encountered before weren’t just hallucinations.”

Guo Guoguo was left dumbfounded as she was being pulled and shaken by her arm, struggling to react.

“Don’t scare her too much.” Chang Bai scolded Chang Wu with a glance, then gently smiled at the two, “Rest assured, we’re professionals when it comes to catching ghosts.”

“And what about me? Have I also attracted something unclean?” Wu Wuwu seemed a bit scared, a bit anxious, but also strangely curious.

“You? Have you experienced anything strange?” a new voice chimed in.

Turning around, it was Su Ling who had received the message and come out to greet the guests.

With Su Ling’s ghost vision, he could see a faint black aura between Guo Guoguo’s brows, but Wu Wuwu appeared completely clean, with no signs of any malevolent spirits. Nevertheless, as a precaution, he asked another question.

Wu Wuwu swallowed nervously and recounted, “Yesterday, as I was walking, something fell from high above in front of me, a flower pot almost hit me; then the day before, I almost choked to death inexplicably while drinking water; the day before that, I accidentally tripped over a small stone, almost tumbling down several flights of stairs…”

Chang Bai patiently listened, falling into a long silence.

“Miss,” Su Ling carefully chose his words, pondering, “I don’t think these incidents are related to any malevolent spirits.”

Wu Wuwu: “What about my incidents then?”

“Well, it seems to be just a series of unfortunate events,” Su Ling looked somewhat helpless.

Wu Wuwu:…

“Do you sell talismans or anything like that here?” Wu Wuwu asked persistently.

Su Ling admired her and immediately decided to add a new service to his company!

“We do! Talismans for luck, we’re also professionals in that,” Su Ling shamelessly promoted.

Wu Wuwu visibly relaxed.

“Coming from afar, are you hungry?” Su Ling asked sincerely, handing over a warm cookie.

Wu Wuwu and Guo Guoguo were instantly moved, each taking a piece and putting it in their mouths.

“Boss Su, you’re truly… too…”

Wu Wuwu’s praising words suddenly halted, paused for a moment, and then struggled to continue, “too cruel.”

No reuploading anywhere else.

Support the author 此山有鬼 by buying chapters on jjwxc!!

Your ko-fi donations would be greatly appreciated.

Ko-fi goals? Extra chapter release once we reach our goal!! 

• 1
  I swear that these two are really named Guo Guoguo and Wu Wuwu