Chapter 137, Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Lost Manor

"Master, are we almost there?"

"Don't worry, girl, I'm even more anxious than you are." The ride-hailing driver fiddled with his phone with a worried look on his face. "This lousy navigation is just driving around aimlessly."

Wang An'an leaned back weakly in the chair, her forearm resting on her forehead.

When she arrived, the navigation showed it was 8 kilometers away, but now she has been sitting in this car for almost three hours.

It's not a remote area, just the outskirts of the next city, yet I still managed to get lost.

Wang Anan glanced at the message list again, feeling utterly hopeless.

It's been three days, and Sister Yufei still hasn't replied to her message.

The brand placed a large order, but one of the originally scheduled models couldn't make it due to unforeseen circumstances, so they invited Li Yufei instead.

This offline event has attracted many popular celebrities; if they could attend, it would definitely be one of their most glamorous moments.

As her assistant, Wang An'an immediately sent a message to Li Yufei.

Strangely, despite this incredibly valuable opportunity, Li Yufei didn't reply for a whole day.

Fearing she might miss the message, Wang An'an made a special phone call.

No one answered.

Wang An'an immediately sensed something was wrong. She called Zheng Jianbin, who was traveling with Li Yufei, and the answer she received shocked her:

“Li Yufei? I don’t know her.” Zheng Jianbin said on the other end of the phone, “After I went to the manor, she sent me a breakup text message, and we haven’t been in contact since.”

"What kind of talk is this?" Wang An'an said anxiously. "I called her but she's not answering. You should go find her quickly, just in case something happens!"

"Huh? That shouldn't be the case. It's not like we're in the middle of nowhere, what danger could we possibly encounter? Don't worry, that's just her temper. She can disappear if she's unhappy. How about we wait a couple more days?"

Zheng Jianbin's voice sounded strained; he himself was also furious.

He used to go out with his teammates without Li Yufei, and Li Yufei would argue with him when they came back.

Now he's begging her to go, and she's been crying and making a scene all the way, embarrassing him in public, and after taking tens of thousands of yuan from him, she's sent him a breakup message and blocked him.

He had finally finished the tournament and was on a bit of a break, but she was being a little too noisy.

He's always the one apologizing; it's time for a change.

After receiving Zheng Jianbin's reply, Wang An'an waited anxiously for two days. With the attendance day drawing closer, she couldn't sit still any longer and decided to go find Li Yufei herself.

Zheng Jianbin sent her the address, which didn't seem too far away. However, after getting off the high-speed train and traveling for three hours, with the sun almost setting, she and the driver still hadn't seen the so-called manor.

As the sun sets, the blood-red sun and the purple-gray clouds weave together a fantastical and bizarre tapestry of colors, yet the sky appears unusually dark against this overly romantic backdrop.

The long, dark shadows of the trees on both sides swayed gently in the evening breeze, like the long, black legs of a giant spider.

Wang An'an anxiously looked out the car window, her heart pounding inexplicably.

Suddenly, she heard the driver ahead shout excitedly, "Hey girl, look, isn't that it!"

She quickly turned around and looked in the direction the driver was pointing.

As dusk deepened, a small, gray-white, square tower appeared at the end of the road, and behind the tower, a medieval-style town came into view.

The clean and tidy streets are paved with bluestone slabs, and streetlights stand along the way. Further away, you can vaguely see brightly lit shops and tourists coming and going.

"Yes, yes, this is it!" Wang An'an patted the seat with delight.

We've finally arrived! It was such a long and difficult journey.

The driver breathed a sigh of relief, dropped Wang An'an off, and then opened the door for himself. "I'll rest for a bit and have something to eat. Young lady, how are you going to get home?"

"I..." Wang An'an had just started to speak when she suddenly noticed that scattered tourists in the town were gathering towards them, and everyone was looking at her and the driver with curious eyes.

"Goddess above, someone's coming?"

She heard someone whisper, "The door opened again?"

"Only two people came this time?" "How can it be a tour group every time?"

"Goddess, are the people from the Second Church not here?"

"Where's the guide? Take him away quickly, before the people from the Second Church find out!"

Their reaction was quite strange, and Wang An'an felt inexplicably uncomfortable. The driver, on the other hand, chatted with the approaching man as if they were old friends, "Hey buddy, this place is hard to find. How did you guys get here?"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding tourists all laughed.

"That's why it's hard to find," the older man, who was about the same age as the driver, laughed. "Thank God, you've driven this car so well."

"God's Kingdom?" The driver paused, then immediately checked his phone. "Isn't this the Psyche Estate tourist attraction?"

“It’s the estate of the great goddess Psyche, but it’s not a tourist attraction.” The aunt next to me raised her eyebrows. “This is the realm of the gods. The gates only open a few times a year. You’re really lucky.”

There was a hint of pride in her expression.

Wang An'an was completely confused. "What does this mean? We didn't see any door when we came here."

"Alright, that's how all the newcomers are," someone shouted. "The guide is here! Quickly take them to see Mr. Cheng."

"Mr. Cheng, who is that?"

"Go ahead, go ahead, you'll understand everything once you get there. Lucky you, may the goddess bless you."

A middle-aged man ran up from behind the crowd and dragged the two away without their knowledge. The driver was confused. "Buddy, I'm just here to have a meal. I'll be leaving in a bit. I don't need to see anyone."

"Haha, just come with us, we won't hurt you."

Wang An'an asked, "Who is this Mr. Cheng you're talking about?"

“Mr. Cheng, he’s an extraordinary figure.” When this name was mentioned, the people around him and the guide showed admiration. “He was the first priest and practically the manager of this manor. Do you see these shops and buildings? Apart from the castle and the first church, the other three churches in this manor were all designed and supervised by Mr. Cheng.”

"This entire street, and that row of shops, all belong to Mr. Cheng. Even the only cell tower here is Mr. Cheng's property."

The driver wondered, "Is he an investor in this tourist attraction?"

“This is not a tourist attraction,” people corrected and emphasized. “This is the divine kingdom of the great goddess Psyche, a sacred and radiant land.”

"You newcomers must not speak carelessly. You must never slander or insult the goddess, or attack or insult clergy or ants."

"Ant?"

The two were wondering about it when they suddenly froze.

In a shop I passed by, there was a one-meter-tall ant standing behind the counter!

That was definitely not a costume or a doll. If you had to say what it was, it might be a bionic machine, but even the bionic dogs used by the military and police were not as sophisticated as this ant. And yet, it had a pair of big eyes like those in a cartoon, cute to the point of being creepy. Standing in a crowd, it looked strange in every way.

"Aren't we there yet?" The place was getting increasingly eerie. After walking for nearly ten minutes, the two were starting to feel anxious.

"Hurry!" the man leading them suddenly urged, "The car is here."

A bus drove past them, and the guide urged them to run. She and the driver instinctively ran after her, and the three of them boarded the bus just as it arrived at the stop.

"Do we still need to take a car?" Wang An'an asked in surprise.

The driver was also puzzled: "Is this place really that big? It's not shown on the map."

“It wasn’t very big at first,” the person leading them said. “Thanks to the goddess, over the past three years, with the goddess’s blessing and Mr. Cheng’s guidance, everyone’s faith has grown stronger and stronger, and the goddess’s power has also increased, so the territory has expanded. Now it’s 23,000 hectares, almost half the size of a county town.”

The two men wore expressions of utter bewilderment, completely baffled as to what the man was saying.

The guide laughed heartily, “I know you may think everyone here is crazy right now, but after meeting Mr. Cheng and staying here for a week or two, you’ll quickly get used to it.”

"Um, we didn't plan to stay that long."

"That's hard to say," the other person shrugged. "You should prepare yourselves mentally first."

Wang An'an turned around and looked at the bus driver.

The shopkeepers are ants, but the drivers are humans.

The bus wasn't crowded, and the scenery along the way was both unique and harmonious. The most unusual thing was that many people were in wheelchairs.

"What's wrong with them?" Wang An'an couldn't help but ask through the car window. "Why are there so many disabled people here?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the person in the wheelchair stand up and take a few steps.

"They're fine; it's just a means of transportation."

"Using a wheelchair as a means of transportation? Aren't there bicycles and electric scooters to ride?"

"That's a long story." The man suddenly looked down, took out his phone and answered a call: "By the river, right? Okay, I understand. Please tell Mr. Cheng and Mrs. Li that we'll be there in fifteen minutes."

With a hint of unconscious flattery and apology, he repeatedly apologized to the person opposite him: "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I've disturbed Mr. Cheng and Mrs. Li's date. Please apologize for me, we'll be there right away."

"Okay, thank you."

He hung up the phone, and Wang An'an asked, "Who is Mrs. Li?"

"She is Mr. Cheng's wife."

"Shouldn't that be Mrs. Cheng?"

The man paused for a moment, his eyes momentarily dazed, before he immediately said, "Mr. Cheng loves his wife very much, and Mrs. Li is a rather fashionable and strong-willed woman, so she doesn't need to take her husband's surname."

"If that's really the case, why call me 'Madam'?"

"They call her Miss, Madam, Sister, whatever, but who cares? Mr. Cheng adores her like the apple of his eye. He not only bought the entire Psyche Castle for her to live in—look, that one over there. Besides the castle, he also bought several villas. He keeps her hidden away like a pampered princess, and we hardly ever get to say a word to her. We've even started calling her whatever we want."

"My God!" the ride-hailing driver exclaimed, gazing at the castle in the distance. "How much would that cost?"

“This castle was originally a hotel, and many people could stay there. Mr. Cheng gave a settlement fee, and everyone moved out.”

The driver asked, puzzled, "What if he takes the money and then goes to stay there? What can he do about it?"

The man glanced at him inscrutablely: "If you offend Mr. Cheng, you can forget about staying here."

Wang An'an frowned: "It sounds like the resettlement fee is a bit too much."

The man chuckled. “What’s the difference between staying in a hotel and staying in an apartment? You can even make a profit. But you’re not entirely wrong. People are mainly giving Mr. Cheng face. After all, without him, many of us would be dead long ago.”

"What do you mean?" Wang An'an asked in surprise. "Why would people die?"

"I can't say any more, someone will tell you," he said over the station announcement. "Get off now."

The bus stopped at the riverbank.

This is the only natural water system in the manor, with flowers and willows planted along the riverbank, which are well-maintained and beautiful.

As the last rays of sunlight faded, the evening sky turned a purplish-gray, the water rippled gently, and a cool breeze blew as a few people strolled along the river. In this tranquil scene, a five-cornered pavilion stood on the riverbank, its eaves partially hidden by flowering trees on both sides.

An ant stood in front of the flowering tree, dressed in a plain-colored long dress, a conservative and aloof style. Its eyes were not the cute, round eyes of other ants, but rather narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes, clear and sharp.

Wang An'an was a little intimidated by the sight of such a large ant standing in front of her.

The man who brought them strode up to the ant, greeted it with a smile, and then pointed to the two men, "Muffin, these are the newcomers."

The ant-like gaze fell on the two of them. The man then said, "Gentlemen, this is Miss Muffin, Mr. Cheng and Mrs. Li's personal assistant."

"What is that?" the driver asked, bewildered. "Ants?"

Wang An'an was stunned: "You mean... a butler-type bionic machine? Do such things already exist?"

Muffin sighed.

The man immediately said, "They just arrived and didn't mean to offend you. Please forgive them for the sake of the benevolent and kind goddess Psyche."

“I know,” Muffin said coldly. “All newcomers are like this. Your task is complete. After tomorrow evening’s Mass, the job of wiping the idols in the Fifth Church will be yours.”

The man was overjoyed at being suddenly assigned a cleaning job, beaming with happiness like he'd won the lottery, and repeatedly thanking her, "Thank you, thank you! Please thank the husband and wife for me, then I'll go ahead..."

Maffin nodded, indicating that he could leave.

The man, in a good mood, patted the driver on the shoulder. "Brother, just follow Miss Muffin. She'll take care of everything from now on. When you meet the gentleman and lady, be sure to be polite and don't make a scene."

Leaving behind these ambiguous words, the man hummed a tune and left.

The two were full of questions. Ant didn't explain for the time being, but turned around and walked around the flowering tree. "Come with me, the master and mistress want to see you first."

Wang An'an and the driver followed it in a daze. Although they didn't understand what was going on in this place, they were already here, so they decided to take a look first.

"Sir, Madam." When they were still a dozen meters away from the pavilion, Ant stopped and called out, "The two newcomers have arrived."

Inside the pavilion, a man and a woman sat facing each other.

The pavilion was decorated with white lamps shaped like luminous pearls. They held playing cards in their hands, and scattered cards, tea, and snacks were laid out on the stone table in the middle. The woman was playing cards while munching on a biscuit.

Hearing what the ant said, the two turned around.

"You're here?" the man asked, putting down his cards.

This was definitely one of the most outstanding men Wang An'an had ever seen in terms of appearance and temperament.

His understated yet refined appearance was like a slowly unfolding scroll, reflecting his innate good manners; he was polite, dignified, and proper.

But what Wang An'an couldn't take his eyes off wasn't the mysterious "Mr. Cheng," but the woman opposite him—her eyes were glued to the so-called "Mrs. Li."

Snap.

The cards fell from the woman's hand. Her eyes widened, and she exclaimed Wang An'an's name in shock: "An'an?"

This shout confirmed to Wang An'an that she wasn't seeing things. She rushed forward and blurted out, "Sister Yufei! What are you doing here!"

"That's what I was going to ask!" Li Yufei exclaimed in surprise, "How did you get here! How did you end up here?"

"I've come to find you!" Wang An'an grabbed her hand, her eyes reddening. "I've been looking for you for three days. You didn't reply to my messages or answer my calls. I asked all our mutual friends, but no one knows where you are. I was so worried! Zheng Jianbin said you broke up with him, blocked him, and disappeared. I asked him to come find you, but he wouldn't agree. What happened during the two days you went out together?!"

"What do you mean, blocked and disappeared?" Li Yufei was stunned. "Wait a minute, Zheng... what Bin? Who is that?"

"Huh?" Wang An'an asked, confused. "Did he do something to make you angry?"

"No, I really don't know this Bin you're talking about." Li Yufei frowned. "You must be mistaken. Whose name did you get?"

Her expression didn't seem like she was throwing a tantrum, which surprised Wang An'an.

"That's impossible, Sister Yufei! Think about it!" She grabbed Li Yufei's hand tightly. "Zheng Jianbin! Your boyfriend Zheng Jianbin, the race car driver. Didn't you come to this manor for Zheng Jianbin and his team's team building?"

"I'm here... for their team building?" Li Yufei pondered, recalling suspiciously, "Is that so?"

"Of course I am! What's wrong, Sister Yufei? Don't scare me, you haven't lost your memory, have you!"

In the midst of your anxiety, a gentle voice came from behind, "Feifei, is this the young lady who does your post-production and videography?"

Li Yufei was surprised and turned to look at Cheng Yuzhou behind her. "You know him?"

“I’ve watched your videos, and in your bio for the past two years, you’ve included the ID ‘Anan Anbu’s Desu’.” Cheng Yuzhou smiled. “When I heard you call out ‘Anan’ just now, I guessed it might be her.”

“You have a very keen eye,” Li Yufei said with a smile. “Yes, she is An’an, my former assistant.”

"Hello, An'an." Cheng Yuzhou nodded. "Thank you for staying by Feifei's side and helping her these past two years."

"Uh...you're welcome." Wang An'an bowed her head awkwardly, while looking at Li Yufei with her eyes, asking: Who is this?

“Oh, you haven’t met him before.” Li Yufei smiled. “Let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, and also my former fiancé, Cheng Yuzhou.”

"My former fiancé?" Wang An'an's eyes widened in surprise.

Overwhelmed with surprise, she blurted out without thinking, "What about Zheng Jianbin?"

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Li Yufei laughed angrily. "What Zheng Jianbin? I really don't know him."

"But…"

"Could it be one of your extreme fans spreading rumors that she's your boyfriend?" Cheng Yuzhou interjected.

He looked down at Li Yufei, his eyes filled with tenderness, "I think this kind of situation is not uncommon."

“It’s possible.” Li Yufei blinked and stared at Wang An’an. “He even added your contact information. An’an, you weren’t scammed by him, or he leaked my address, were you?”

Wang An'an was stunned.

Li Yufei's serious expression seemed genuine. Could it be that she really made a mistake?

Zheng Jianbin wasn't Li Yufei's boyfriend after all?

But Li Yufei should at least know the name Zheng Jianbin; she has seen the two of them together more than once.

What exactly is going on...?

Wang An'an suddenly thought of a piece of evidence.

In her last chat with Li Yufei, Li Yufei sent her a voice message that said, "Zheng Jianbin is begging me to go to his team-building event. I'll be away for three days, and I'll be back in three days."

She quickly pulled out her phone, "No way, Sister Yufei, look, I really..."

“It’s alright, I understand.” The young man gently interrupted her, reaching out to put his arm around Li Yufei’s shoulder. “It’s perfectly normal for someone like Feifei to have a few delusional, fanatical male fans.”

Those dark eyes gazed at Wang An'an, as deep and unfathomable as an abyss.

“But now you know—” he said slowly, “I am Fei Fei’s real boyfriend.”

Wang An'an stood there, stunned.

This is not normal, this is absolutely not normal!

A sense of dread crept in from within.

However, the moment she met the young man's gaze, her mind went completely blank. His kind voice echoed repeatedly in her heart, convincing her and making her certain that what he said was true.

After a moment, the girl belatedly realized her embarrassment and said, "Uh, yes, it seems so... I must have encountered a conman pretending to be your boyfriend."

"I'm sorry, Sister Yufei," she said dejectedly, "I will be more careful in the future."

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Author's Note: You wouldn't believe it, would you? Even the strangest rules have a time-manipulation technique!

What am I doing? Why is this so long? [Painfully clutching head]

(Why does every female lead in this book have a little sister by her side? It feels like the actress who played Tian Miaoying finished filming and immediately did Chaochao's makeup, and then after Chaochao finished filming, she immediately did Wang An'an's makeup.)