After Bringing Joy to the Short-Lived Mad Young Lady - Chapter 9

She was comforting her.

The girl was as slender and pale as a water lily. Even when holding her hand, Fang Yi didn’t dare to exert any force, afraid of hurting her.

Yet this fragile girl was actually trying to comfort her.

A strange feeling suddenly welled up in Fang Yi’s heart.

Truth be told, she had anticipated many scenarios.

If the Lin family’s so-called “auspicious ritual” was something sinister—like transferring illness or borrowing life—He Shuanghua, waiting outside, would immediately call the police, while Wang Quan and the security consultants were already lying in ambush outside the estate.

She had seen far too many disasters caused by feudal superstitions. This flimsy altar was nothing in comparison.

Even if restrained by Shui Wuding, she had countless ways to retaliate.

If her hands were immobilized, she could still sweep with her legs. If her vital points were targeted, she could feint and dodge. The ring she wore could be flipped into a knuckle duster… No matter how profound the master, they wouldn’t withstand her physical blows.

But then, her hand was held.

Like a feather brushing against her palm, or a cat’s tail rubbing against her calf, her heart tingled with an odd itch.

Fang Yi gently squeezed Lin Shuxing’s hand in return and whispered, “Alright, don’t be afraid.”

Hidden in the shadows, the woman’s emerald-green vertical pupils took in their interaction. Her red lips curled slightly as she deliberately teased them:

“The first step of the auspicious ritual—kissing. Do you need me to teach you?”

Fang Yi: “…” What nonsense is this!

Lin Shuxing lowered her head, her fingers tightening slightly around Fang Yi’s.

Fang Yi said coldly, “Enough with this feudalistic nonsense. Keep spouting nonsense, and I’ll smash your candlesticks and burn this place down. Let’s see who suffers then.”

“What exactly are you trying to do? Where’s Lin Lan? Is this your idea or hers?”

“So fierce,” Shui Wuding sighed softly. “Alright, enough teasing. We really shouldn’t miss the timing.”

She clapped her hands lightly, and the curtains in the room drew open as the lights flickered on.

“Just write your names on this paper,” Shui Wuding said, holding up a yellow talisman and a small bowl of dark brown pigment. “Burn it afterward, and it’ll reach the heavens.”

As if she had long anticipated Fang Yi’s reluctance to cooperate, she handed over her phone. “Let your shaman grandmother explain it to you.”

On the other end of the line, a white-haired old woman was busy catching a chicken, with faint barks of a dog in the background.

Fang Yi: “Grandma?”

Hearing the voice, the old woman looked up, beaming with joy. “Ah! Xiao Yi, be good to the girl! Your mom and I are doing just fine.”

Fang Yi keenly noticed that the luxurious courtyard behind her was nothing like their modest rural home.

“How do I know you’re really my grandma?”

The old woman on the other end paused, then switched to the local dialect, raising her eyebrows. “If I’m not your grandma, then who am I—a ghost?”

That familiar fiery temper—it was definitely her.

Shui Wuding turned the phone back to herself. “Sister Yu, your granddaughter’s temper is just like yours. Tease her a little, and she threatens to burn my altar.”

The old woman chuckled. “Of course! Why are you teasing her for no reason?”

The elderly woman was in good health, her voice booming even without the speaker on.

She said, “Xiao Yi, this is Grandma’s friend. Don’t overthink it—it’s just a formality. Nothing serious.”

“Oh, and I forgot to mention—we’ve moved. Come back once we’ve settled in, alright?”

Fang Yi: “?” Just like that, her home had vanished.

No need to guess—this was undoubtedly the Lin family’s doing.

After hanging up the phone, Mizu Sadame had them sign their names one by one, murmuring some incantation under her breath.

Before lighting the yellow talisman, she made a hooking gesture between Fang Yi and Lin Shuxing with both hands, smiling as she asked, “This will occupy the marriage fate slot—are you sure—?”

Before she could finish, Lin Shuxing had already nodded.

Fang Yi also waved her hand. “Yeah.”

The so-called ritual was actually quite simple. After burning the yellow talisman, the two offered incense together, Mizu Sadame rang a bell, and that was it.

Afterward, they smoothly signed the agreement, and Lin Shuxing made no further demands.

But just as Fang Yi was about to leave, Lin Shuxing suddenly looked up and asked, “Don’t you need to consult your mother about something like this?”

Fang Yi hadn’t expected the question and froze for a moment. “No, I can decide for myself.”

Still, Lin Shuxing’s question reminded her—why hadn’t Lin Lan shown up for such a significant matter?

Fang Yi left in He Shuanghua’s car as before. Wang Quan, who had been lying in wait outside, was deeply disappointed at the missed opportunity to flex her authority and reluctantly led her team away.

He Shuanghua explained, “Because Lin Shuxing is an adult with full civil responsibility, signing this kind of agreement doesn’t require a guardian’s oversight.”

“There’s another reason,” she added with a sly blink. “Today is the unified coming-of-age ceremony at the elite high school APU. Lin Lan was probably attending.”

“Oh, the coming-of-age ceremony,” Fang Yi nodded, then frowned. “Doesn’t Lin Shuxing need to go?”

“APU’s ceremony is later than public high schools—the timing is staggered.”

Fang Yi’s frown deepened. They weren’t at the same school?

Until now, she had completely overlooked this fact.

Wang Quan had also graduated from APU, an institution exclusively for the children of wealthy families. Beyond its superior educational conditions, the most valuable aspect was the networking opportunities it provided.

Most APU students pursued studies abroad. Those who stayed in the country generally fell into two categories: heirs apparent who were set to take over family businesses during university (making overseas study inconvenient), or pampered children with no expectations of great achievements—parents kept them close for safety.

If Lin Lan hadn’t enrolled Lin Shuxing in APU, did that mean she had known all along that Lin Shuxing wasn’t her biological daughter?

He Shuanghua glanced at her, her words loaded with implication. “That’s why I said—the dynamics of these wealthy families are complicated.”

Fang Yi looked back at the Lin family estate, half-hidden by dense trees, feeling as though the truth was veiled behind a layer of mist.

It wasn’t impossible that someone had resorted to trickery to persuade Lin Shuxing to cancel her engagement with Li Sinian.

But why go to such lengths?

The system wailed in despair: The mission isn’t complete!! Not complete!! I knew it—high-value points wouldn’t come this easily!

Did we buy the wrong thing? Maybe she doesn’t like this kind—just because she said “bear” doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be fluffy!

In the days that followed, Fang Yi brought Lin Shuxing a different bear every day.

From ceramic baked bears to plastic bear keychains, bear-related merchandise from across the city practically held a convention in Lin Shuxing’s bedroom.

Yet the mission showed no progress.

The system was desperate: Even bear-shaped cakes and bear-patterned socks had been tried—what on earth did she actually want?!

As Fang Yi’s number one fangirl and business partner, Wang Quan was also on the verge of a breakdown: Did the Lin family put some kind of curse on the boss? Why does she keep running off to that shabby villa every day?!

In the past, Fang Yi had always been ruthlessly efficient—she wouldn’t even bother waiting in line at trendy restaurants, let alone eat there.

The Lin family’s old estate was tucked away in a secluded area, and just commuting there and back took a considerable amount of time each day.

The boss’s time was precious! How could it be wasted on something like this?!

This was abnormal. Too abnormal. Wang Quan clenched her fists indignantly, even considering secretly plucking a couple of Fang Yi’s hairs to send for testing—just to see if she had actually been poisoned or cursed.

She had once heard that, a long, long time ago, wives would slip slow-acting poison into their husbands’ breakfasts. The longer the husband stayed away from his wife, the more dangerous it became—his whole body would ache, and the only remedy was to obediently return home on time, the earlier the better, to enjoy a lovingly prepared dinner laced with the antidote.

Wang Quan stealthily reached out, swiftly plucking—

“Hmm?”

Fang Yi turned her head at the sharp tug, just in time to see Wang Quan holding a small tuft of black hair in her hand.

She asked calmly, “What do you need that for?”

“I’M SO SORRY AHHHH!!”

Wang Quan let out a shrill scream, “I didn’t mean to! I just—ugh—because you’ve been paying so much attention to Lin Shuxing lately, I was afraid you’d been poisoned or cursed!!”

Fang Yi tilted her head and patted the agitated Wang Quan.

“Boss, don’t be mad! I’ll buy you black sesame paste and X King shampoo—you’ll grow tons and tons of hair back!”

Wang Quan slumped dejectedly, like a large dog flopping to the ground, her presence shrinking dramatically. “I just… don’t want to see you acting like some woman’s lapdog!”

Fang Yi pulled her back up, her expression serious. “Since this concerns my dignity, I won’t hide it from you.”

“What?” Wang Quan instantly perked up, her face screaming: Tell me now!!

“To prove that I’m not freeloading off the Lin family, I made a bold promise and agreed to fulfill a few of Lin Shuxing’s wishes.”

“She wants a bear.”

“Breaking a promise would be humiliating.”

Fang Yi kept a straight face, spinning nonsense with absolute seriousness. “You understand—for a knight, honor is more important than life itself.”

Wang Quan was exactly the type to fall for this.

Sure enough, she didn’t question it at all. Clapping her hands together, she had an epiphany and murmured, “So that’s what’s going on!”

If anyone else had heard this, they might’ve thought Fang Yi was insane. But in Wang Quan’s mind, an even more elaborate script unfolded:

The wicked King Lin Lan, unwilling to let the princess marry, deliberately set impossible tasks for the warrior Fang Yi. Once Fang Yi failed, they would cackle from the castle walls, “How dare a pauper like you covet my treasure? Get lost!”

“Forget a bear—you don’t even have a dog or a cat, you savage! What makes you think you’re worthy of my daughter?!”

Fang Yi had no idea what Wang Quan was imagining, but the latter’s sudden quiet was a relief, finally allowing her to focus on drafting her R&D plan.

But before she could put pen to paper, Wang Quan grabbed her hand, her eyes shining with a bizarre, diamond-like intensity.

“I get it now! A bear—you need a bear! They’d never dream that you, the great Fang Yi, are someone they can’t mess with!”

“Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—don’t bully the young and poor!”

“The three-year mark has arrived—welcome back, Boss! Time to slap the wicked Lin family in the face!”

Fang Yi: “…?” ==

Facing Fang Yi’s bewildered and confused gaze, Wang Quan grabbed her hand and sprinted all the way, flooring the gas pedal until they arrived at her private zoo.

“Little bear, little brown bear, loves to eat fruit.”

Fang Yi looked down at the round, chubby cub the zookeeper had shoved into her arms and, for the first time in the bustling city, felt the surreal meaning of the word “fantasy.”

There really is a bear?

A real bear?

Wang Quan waved her hand grandly. “What’s mine is yours. Here, go defend your dignity and glory! Big Boss!”

The zoo director promptly bowed and added, “President Wang, President Fang, we have all the proper permits and breeding conditions here. The cub is very healthy, undergoes regular check-ups and deworming. It’s two months old now, very docile, and can even be raised alongside other household pets.”

President Fang. The title sent shivers down her spine.

The system bounced up excitedly: Yes, yes! This is the taste of wealth—their preferences being a little unconventional is totally normal!!

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the system had clearly lost its mind.

Forget just a legally compliant little bear—it had even considered that if necessary, Fang Yi’s nickname could also be “Little Bear.”

**As long as the mission gets completed, even if my host has to marry into a wealthy family and achieve perfect love, day after day &&*, I’d be willing!!

Fang Yi: ?

After some thought, she didn’t impulsively take the little creature home. Instead, she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo to send to Lin Shuxing.

Fang Yi: Look, a bear cub.

AAA Fiancée: Bear cub.

While Fang Yi was slowly typing, a few more messages popped up from the other side.

AAA Fiancée: You want to bring this home?

AAA Fiancée: Not allowed.

Preempted.

Fang Yi rubbed her nose and carefully placed the hefty little cub back on the ground.

“Return the baby to its mama bear.”

The cub lifted its head, its dark, shiny eyes fixed on Fang Yi, then wobbled over and hugged her leg.

It really was… kind of cute.

Her phone dinged again, and another message with a cat emoticon popped up.

AAA Fiancée: Do you know how many bears we already have at home?

Attached was a selfie. In the photo, the young girl sat amidst a sea of brown bear, black bear, polar bear, and red panda plushies, arms crossed, lips pressed into a displeased pout.

Beside her, Wang Quan watched in horror as Fang Yi broke into what could only be described as a gentle smile, immediately clutching the strand of hair in her pocket like a lifeline.

Lab tests—she needed lab tests!! What kind of toxin was this potent? She couldn’t even control her facial muscles anymore!!!

The mission panel refreshed once more, but this time, it didn’t bring good news.

Fang Yi stared as the “punishment” column slowly melted, turning into a pool of deep red that dripped drop by drop into the darkness.

“You are a child no one loves.”