Chapter 24: The Widow in the Mansion

Cheng Chaolin no longer belonged to the category of humans. The evil spirit’s body temperature was very low, but his movements were so gentle that all his surging cravings were hidden beneath his tender touch.

Yu Deng’s ankles were held by his late husband’s ice-cold hands. The other party licked the soft flesh on his lower leg, quickly leaving faint marks.

It felt ticklish and itchy. Yu Deng tensed his leg in discomfort, his eyelashes dampened by tears as he emitted a soft whimper.

Cheng Chaolin looked up at Yu Deng, his smile pleasant. "Madam, you are so cute."

As he spoke, he showed a tendency to continue kissing further upward.

Yu Deng immediately recalled the strange sensation from the last time Cheng Xiao had licked his thigh. He hurriedly kicked Cheng Chaolin away, taking the opportunity to deliver two very forceful kicks to the man’s sturdy chest.

"I just told you not to touch me anymore!"

Cheng Chaolin’s fingertips brushed against the back of Yu Deng’s knee, and he apologized with practiced compliance. "My apologies. We evil spirits have poor self-control, and I have made you angry, Madam."

Despite what he said, the evil spirit barely stopped his upward movement, though he continued to hold and stroke Yu Deng’s lower leg. The evil spirit made no effort to conceal his intense, almost pathological affection.

Yu Deng pondered for a moment before realizing: this was the legendary "admitting a mistake but planning to do it again next time!"

Infuriated, Yu Deng stomped on his late husband several more times as punishment for being an disobedient bad guy.

[......] System 01 remained silent for a long time before finally unable to resist reminding Yu Deng, [Host, you shouldn't be too good to him.]

Yu Deng was confused. "???" What?

He retorted, "I'm punishing him! I'm not touching him anymore; I kicked him very hard!"

System: [.]

Touching or stepping, even kicking and hitting—to a pervert who coveted Yu Deng, there was no difference. Why didn't his foolish host look at how the evil spirit was reacting? The harder the host punished him, the more excited he became.

That wasn't a punishment; that was clearly a reward.

"Why is Madam distracted? Are you thinking of someone else?" Cheng Chaolin sighed slightly, pulling Yu Deng’s attention back.

Yu Deng struggled to retract his leg, hugging his knees as he sat on the sofa, ignoring Cheng Chaolin.

"Madam......" Cheng Chaolin found Yu Deng’s temper tantrum particularly cute. Maintaining his half-kneeling posture, he used black mist to soothingly caress Yu Deng’s legs.

At that moment, the office door was knocked.

Yu Deng poked his head out. "?" Oh, do NPCs take the initiative to interact with the plot?

"It should be my secretary." Cheng Chaolin mused for a few seconds, recalling the current situation. "Does Madam want to let him in?"

Yu Deng thought about it. "Let him in."

Maybe there would be some plot progression.

A moment later, a man dressed as a secretary walked into the office after receiving permission.

Cheng Chaolin had already grabbed a blanket from the side, covering Yu Deng tightly.

"Mr. Cheng, the documents you asked me to organize are ready..." The secretary stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening like brass bells.

He was actually seeing their noble boss, the heir of the Cheng family, that flower on the high cliff who never associated with men or women, bending down to speak to a young man with an incredibly low posture.

The young man was ignoring the boss. As they spoke, he revealed half of his profile, his brows and eyes stunningly beautiful.

The secretary froze, stunned and confused, thinking, *Something is wrong. Does the boss have a wife this beautiful?*

"Put them on the table. Have someone send a set of clothes over." Cheng Chaolin recited Yu Deng’s clothing size with familiarity.

In the past, this request would have been a deviation from the trajectory. The secretary stuttered for a moment before reacting. He offered his services with great eagerness: "I will prepare clothes for the boss’s Madam right away."

Cheng Chaolin was very satisfied with the secretary’s form of address.

"By the way, the higher-ups are still insisting that Mr. Cheng handle that project, saying that Mr. Cheng senior is getting on in years..." The secretary hesitated. "Also, your medicine, Mr. Cheng, has been re-prescribed by the doctor."

Cheng Chaolin waved his hand, signaling for the secretary to leave.

Yu Deng’s gaze fell on Cheng Chaolin, his previous annoyance fading slightly. "You... are you sick?"

"If you mean this period of time, then yes, indeed." Cheng Chaolin chuckled, saying sincerely, "Thank you for your concern, Madam. I am very happy."

[The late husband is really good at this, good in every sense... The stepson is still a bit green.]

[Who understands? Other streams are full of traps where you have to struggle for your life at every turn, but here with our baby, it’s become a Republican-era romance drama—and a Shuraba (love triangle) at that.]

[Taming a dungeon boss is a form of strength in itself.]

[How others handle bosses: violent confrontation, clever schemes. Our Deng-Deng: hooks the boss into a 'pouty' state with a single sentence!]

Yu Deng pursed his lips, offering his late husband some humanitarian concern. "Then, is it serious?"

Unexpectedly, Cheng Chaolin shook his head. "Not serious."

Yu Deng tilted his head. "?" Huh?

Cheng Chaolin didn't explain, only saying, "Perhaps in a while, Madam will understand."

His Madam seemed quite persistent in exploring these past events.

Yu Deng remained puzzled, feeling like something was wrong. He was the player, so why did it seem like the evil spirit was the one taking the initiative to reveal the plot?

Cheng Chaolin calmly climbed onto the sofa, and while Yu Deng was deep in thought and unable to pay attention to other things, he picked Yu Deng up and pulled him into his arms.

"Madam should have realized by now that this is a time from the past."

If he wasn't mistaken, this was even a space formed based on His past memories.

Thinking of something, Cheng Chaolin stroked Yu Deng’s ruined trousers, and within seconds, they were as good as new.

*As I thought... It was unnecessary to have the secretary prepare clothes.*

Yu Deng swung his legs, discovering they were real trousers, and once again envied his late husband’s abilities.

He forced his attention back to what he had just heard, deciding to ask Cheng Chaolin, who was a native of the dungeon: "How did we end up here? The place I was just in also seemed to be a time from the past."

"I think it should be different," Cheng Chaolin replied patiently. "As for why we came... it is probably because I wanted Madam to come."

He wanted Yu Deng to come to a place where no one else could disturb them. His power and instinct in that split second made the choice, and thus they arrived in the illusion constructed from His memories.

Yu Deng turned to look at his late husband. "Then can I see things I don't know? For example, things about you?"

"Yes."

[Ding. Hidden character and plot officially unlocked.]

Yu Deng blinked.

So, the "ta" in the additional task referred to his late husband, Cheng Chaolin.

Yu Deng was a bit conflicted. This must be the secret of the Cheng family from the additional task, right...? He would complete the task once he finished watching, but if the regular tasks were already this dangerous, wouldn't the additional task be even more perilous?

"Why are you frowning again?" Cheng Chaolin smoothed Yu Deng’s delicate brows.

Yu Deng asked his late husband directly: "Will I... be in danger?"

"Of course not."

Cheng Chaolin carried Yu Deng over to the window. "If I am here and still let Madam get hurt, then I would truly be too useless."

...

After Cheng Chaolin finished that sentence, the scene around them began to change rapidly.

Yu Deng didn't know what Cheng Chaolin had done, but their figures became illusory and transparent, while everything in the illusion remained unaffected.

Another Cheng Chaolin appeared in Yu Deng’s line of sight—this was Cheng Chaolin from the past timeline.

Yu Deng saw many people speaking to Cheng Chaolin with respect or admiration, captivated by his business acumen and ability. He saw many of the Cheng family’s industries flourishing under Cheng Chaolin’s management, with more and more people willing to follow him rather than take orders from Elder Cheng.

The young heir of the Cheng family was infinitely glorious, with a promising future ahead.

The scene shifted. Yu Deng and the evil spirit husband appeared in the Cheng mansion; the plot was unfolding in the study.

Elder Cheng sat at the desk, and Cheng Chaolin stood, the father and son at odds.

"Father, those industries cannot continue." Cheng Chaolin’s tone was cold. "Are you senile? You should not use such methods to acquire wealth and power."

Elder Cheng was furious. "You’re lecturing your father now?! Do you really think that just because you’ve achieved a little something, no one can rival you? That business is so useful to the Cheng family; stop meddling in things here."

The temporarily transparent Yu Deng watched this scene, feeling perplexed, and turned to look at the evil spirit husband. "Why is Elder Cheng acting like this?"

It sounded like he was having a mental breakdown.

Cheng Chaolin glanced at his father in the memory. "He cannot stand me. He wants me to make the Cheng family more powerful, but he is also wary of me snatching away his power."

Yu Deng didn't quite understand this mindset; how could birth parents think that way? He continued to ask: "Then what kind of industry were you stopping?"

"That, too." Cheng Chaolin answered every question. "He was secretly rounding up various girls, training them, and forcibly handing them over to wealthy merchants and warlords, and even trading them to foreigners."

Upon hearing this, Yu Deng realized what kind of business it was, feeling both shocked and disgusted.

To actually engage in such a trade... it was truly too much.

Cheng Chaolin said, "The Cheng family is a large clan, after all; they have no way to refuse. Even if they resist, they will only fall into an even worse situation."

When power becomes absolute, it leads to infinite exploitation and oppression.

Even if Yu Deng was a bit slow, he understood this truth. His voice sounded somewhat muffled. "So you wanted to stop it."

"Yes, I disdain to have my family profit in such a way. But as you can see, Madam, Elder Cheng is very dissatisfied with me disobeying him."

The conversation from the past continued.

The head of the Cheng family and the heir argued fiercely, parting on bad terms. Before Cheng Chaolin left the study, Elder Cheng suddenly spoke: "You have been sick for some time now; take that male wife into the house as soon as possible. It can ward off bad luck."

The Cheng Chaolin of the past coldly refused: "I have no need to take a wife, let alone marry a man I don't know."

"..."

After this conversation ended, the scene concluded. Yu Deng felt dazed as he sorted through his thoughts and let out a soft "huh." "You clearly didn't want to marry me."

He had been so absolute, clearly not wanting to marry him at all. How was it that now he was clinging to him every day, calling him "Madam" this and "Madam" that?

Cheng Chaolin paused. "Before... that was indeed the case."

The evil spirit lowered his eyes, gazing at Yu Deng.

Before his death, he had clearly felt nothing for this male wife brought into the house; even his impression of Yu Deng was blurry, as if Yu Deng had never appeared in his memory at all.

He knew clearly that his illness was caused by these people for the purpose of having him marry to ward off bad luck. And the "warding off of bad luck" was naturally a pretext—it was nothing more than an attempt to better seal him away.

Cheng Chaolin understood all of this, and at the beginning, he had even loathed Yu Deng. But when he became an evil spirit and returned to the mortal world once more...