Qin Feng said, "Liu, the ghost on your shoulder is about to climb onto your head. Lin Fan, let's go."

Lin Fan followed Qin Feng out. Qin Feng was only twenty-nine? First impressions really mattered. That scruffy image had left a deep impression; she had always thought Qin Feng was around thirty. Her face flushed with embarrassment.

Walking behind Qin Feng, Lin Fan's face was burning.

"Any discoveries?" Qin Feng asked.

"The body has a scent but no soul," Lin Fan replied.

Qin Feng, tall with long strides, asked, "Anything else?"

Lin Fan pondered for a moment. "The body looks peaceful."

She used the word 'peaceful', prompting Qin Feng to turn around. "What do you mean?"

"Perhaps he doesn't believe it's death," Lin Fan ventured a bigger guess, furrowing her brows in thought before continuing, "I feel like I've seen this body somewhere before."

"Where?" Qin Feng inquired.

Lin Fan shook her head. "Can't remember. But the manner of death seems familiar."

Qin Feng nodded thoughtfully. "Let's go. I'll treat you to dinner."

"Thank you."

Qin Feng found a nearby Chinese restaurant.

"What do you like? Any dietary restrictions?" Qin Feng handed her the menu, but Lin Fan didn't take it. "Anything is fine."

Qin Feng glanced at her but didn't insist.

They sat by the window. Lin Fan looked outside, pressing her chest, feeling stifled.

Qin Feng ordered dishes and poured water for Lin Fan.

"What are your plans for the future?" he asked.

"I don't know." To be honest, Lin Fan felt lost. In this world, she had no family, no friends, not even dreams.

The food arrived quickly. During the meal, Qin Feng received a phone call about a new discovery at the crime scene.

"I'll settle the bill. You can take a taxi home after eating," Qin Feng took out a wad of cash from his wallet and placed it on the table. "This job isn't suitable for you. You're still young; you should go to school."

"I don't want money. I'm not short of money."

Lin Fan drank her soup with her head bowed, her bangs covering half of her face.

"Consider it a loan from me. You can repay me in the future."

Qin Feng picked up his coat and left quickly, stepping out of the door.

Lin Fan mechanically drank her soup, lost in thought for a long time. She glanced at the money on the table, feeling choked up.

Qin Feng had ordered a lot of food. Lin Fan packed up the leftovers and hesitated before putting away the money.

Instead of going straight home, she went to Zhongming Road. Taking people's money to do things for them might seem unreliable, especially with Ouyang Yu, the smooth-talking swindler, but the fact remained that the building did have ghosts. That was a fact.

Perhaps there would be discoveries.

Lin Fan took the bus to the building and arrived at eight in the evening. Tonight, there was no moon. The entire neighborhood was pitch black, engulfed in complete silence.

Lin Fan could confirm that the first time she came here and encountered that middle-aged woman, she wasn't human. There were no living people in this neighborhood.

Entering the stairwell, she stamped her feet, but the corridor lights didn't respond, remaining dark.

Lin Fan took out her phone and turned on the flashlight, only to suddenly see a woman standing in front of her with her back turned. It had been a while since Lin Fan last saw a ghost, the last time being Dong Miao, the fierce one who almost choked her to death in a hurry.

Lin Fan jumped in surprise, stepping back half a step. "Who are you?"

The woman, wearing pajamas, still had her back to Lin Fan. Lin Fan's scalp tingled, and she took another half step forward. "Hey? Miss?"

The woman finally turned around, locking eyes with Lin Fan.

Under the electric light, her face was pale, her eyes lifeless, her long hair disheveled, without any obvious injuries.

Lin Fan patted her chest, relieved to encounter such a traditional ghost. She breathed a sigh of relief. "If you don't speak, I'll leave."

She started to descend, or more accurately, float.

"Are you the owner of this building?" Lin Fan asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not."

"Then how can you see me?"

Lin Fan pursed her lips, stepping back. "I just can. How did you die?"

She shook her head.

The more Lin Fan looked at her, the more familiar she seemed, but she couldn't remember where she had seen her.

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"How did you end up here?"

"Maybe I'll find out in a few days."

"Are there any male ghosts here?"

"No," she shook her head, "I haven't encountered anyone else."

Lin Fan nodded. "Then I'll leave."

"Miss."

Lin Fan turned around. She voluntarily kept her distance, looking at Lin Fan. "How can you be sure I'm not alive?"

Lin Fan thought for a moment. "There are very few living people in this building."

"Will you come back?"

"Maybe."

"I also want to know how I died." She smiled. "I remember when I was alive, I seemed to be a sensible person. I don't want to be a confused ghost."

With no progress made, Lin Fan returned to her residence. Surprisingly, tonight the neighbors next door weren't arguing. She put the leftover food in the fridge. Back in her room, she changed clothes and put her work clothes in the washing machine.

The next-door room was dark, indicating they probably weren't home.

While waiting for her laundry to finish, Lin Fan took out her phone and searched for curses online, but there were no useful clues amidst the chaos. By ten o'clock at night, the neighbors still hadn't returned.

Since the balcony was in the neighboring room, and they weren't back yet, Lin Fan had no choice but to hang her clothes inside the room, fearing they wouldn't dry properly by morning.

After taking a shower, she lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

She was awakened by crying. Lin Fan put on a coat and went out of her room. The door to the living room was wide open, and a girl was sitting on the floor, crying with blood all over her head. Lin Fan quickly went back to her room, grabbed her phone, and dialed 120, then helped the girl up.

It would take some time for the ambulance to arrive, so Lin Fan fetched a towel and pressed it against the girl's head wound.

"What happened? Should I call the police?" Lin Fan asked.

"He did something wrong, and when I criticized him, he started hitting me," the girl cried and wailed. "We've been together for so many years, and he actually hit me!"

Hitting you is hitting you, regardless of how many years you've been together. Lin Fan didn't like discussing these matters with people; even if she said something, the girl wouldn't listen.

"I'll help you call the police," Lin Fan said.

"Call the police! Make him regret it, make him go to jail!" The girl's emotions were very agitated. "Make him never dare to hit me again!"

Lin Fan called the police, and almost simultaneously, the ambulance and the police arrived.

The police asked, "What's the name of the perpetrator?"

Lin Fan asked the girl who lived with her, "What's his name?"

The girl remained silent. The police reassured her, "Don't be afraid, the police will protect you."

"It's my husband," the girl finally said.

Lin Fan was somewhat surprised; she had always thought the two next door were boyfriend and girlfriend, but they were actually married.

"Let's take her to the hospital first," the police directed, as they carried the girl away. Then they looked at Lin Fan. "What do you do?"

"I'm a tenant."

With the commotion settled, Lin Fan closed the door and went back to her room. It was almost time, so she washed up quickly, reheated the leftovers from yesterday, hurriedly ate, and then headed straight to the company.

Today, she still had to clean two houses. By two in the afternoon, she arrived at the villa area where an elderly couple was playing with their child in the living room.

After cleaning downstairs, Lin Fan went upstairs to clean the rooms. The old man shouted, "Don't go into the room on the west side; just clean one room. My son said you should make dinner today, so after you finish cleaning, prepare dinner before you leave."

Lin Fan turned around. "That will cost an extra twenty."

"That expensive?" The old man widened his eyes. "Why don't you just rob us?"

Their company required them to clarify such situations with the clients. "It's company policy."

"Don't bother with dinner. Just finish cleaning quickly and leave," the old man said.

Lin Fan carried her things upstairs. "Okay."

The smell of blood was still strong as Lin Fan opened the door to the master bedroom and noticed that the wedding photos on the bedside were missing. She found them by the window, with a piece of clothing thrown on top. Lin Fan was puzzled; why were the wedding photos thrown on the ground? They wouldn't just fall from the bedside to the window for no reason. Why would the homeowner take the photos? Why throw them on the ground? And why cover them with clothing? Removing the clothing, Lin Fan's gaze fell on the face of the woman in the photo, and she froze, startled.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly placed the photos back.

The woman in the photo had passed away; she was the female ghost Lin Fan had seen last night. No wonder she looked familiar!

After finishing cleaning the master bedroom, Lin Fan carried the bucket downstairs, the final step being to clean the bathroom. This family had very poor hygiene habits, and it was disgustingly dirty. Lin Fan rinsed the cloth, feeling someone's eyes on her. Turning her head, she met the gaze of the old lady.

"Don't use too much water; it's too wasteful," the old lady advised.

Lin Fan quickly turned off the faucet. "I understand."

"I told my son not to hire a maid; it's too expensive, but he insisted. My son is just too filial," the old lady continued.

"I'm not a maid," Lin Fan corrected.

"They're all the same, just a change in title," the old lady shrugged.

Lin Fan didn't want to engage in further conversation with them. After packing up her things, she said, "I'm done for today. See you tomorrow."

"Aren't you going to cook?" the old lady asked.

Lin Fan took off her shoe covers at the door. "It's not that I don't want to cook; it's that you don't want me to. It's not my decision."

"It's not a big deal to cook. You're already paid for cleaning," the old lady argued. Lin Fan checked the time. "I'm already overtime for today. In half an hour, I'll have to charge you an extra thirty. So, I'm done for today. I'm leaving now."

As Lin Fan got on the bus, she received a call from her manager. His tone was somewhat displeased. "A customer called to complain about you. What's going on?"

"Which customer?" Lin Fan asked.

"Forest Island Villa."

"Is it about not cooking?" Lin Fan said. "I also want to cook, but our company has rules that require us to give clients a quote, right?"

"That's true, but their son, the one who pays, doesn't care about the money."

"What should I do now?"

"Go back and cook. The company will reimburse your travel expenses."

Lin Fan looked at the darkening sky outside the window. "Alright. Oh, by the way, do you know how the female homeowner of Forest Island Villa passed away?"

"Who said the female homeowner passed away? She's perfectly fine; don't spread rumors. Where did you hear such nonsense? No gossiping about clients in the future."

"I'm sorry."

Lin Fan returned to cook for the family. The male homeowner had already returned. He was in his thirties and wore glasses. He was tall and slender, with a fairly handsome appearance, and spoke very politely.

"I'm sorry, I didn't explain clearly. Regarding the pricing issue, please don't tell my parents. Just do as you're told," he said.

He also had the smell of blood on him, and there was a gloomy air between his eyebrows. Lin Fan nodded. "I understand."

As the male homeowner lowered his head to leave, Lin Fan bit her lip and said, "Is your wife not at home recently?"

The male homeowner paused, then frowned. "What?"

"I haven't seen your wife; is everything okay with her?"

"This is not within your scope of work," he said with a heavier tone, then turned and walked away.

The child in the living room was crying loudly again, and Lin Fan wondered what had happened now.

How could this family show no reaction when their wife had died? Lin Fan could confirm that the wife had indeed died; she wouldn't have appeared in that building otherwise. How did she die? Was it an accident, or was she murdered?

After preparing the meal, Lin Fan set the table and then left with her things.

It was already 8 p.m., and Lin Fan found a seat at the back of the bus, sighing as she took out her phone, intending to call Qin Feng. Someone walked over and sat down next to her.

Lin Fan scrolled through her contacts, feeling a sudden chill from the person beside her. She turned her head and was almost startled. Rubbing the goosebumps on her neck, she finally found her voice.

"What are you doing here?"

The woman turned to look at her, her gaze devoid of any emotion. "I don't know how I ended up here, but here I am."