"Are you and Yu Lin working together?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, a nerve in Nan Xian's brain suddenly trembled, and she sighed helplessly in her heart.

...Okay, I forgot about this difficult guy.

Having already gone through three cycles, the one where she partnered with He Mingxiao was the most complicated, involving at least dozens of lives. She couldn't guarantee that if she teamed up with him again this time, she wouldn't repeat the same mistake.

Moreover, according to her guess, this cycle was achieved by Blue Star sacrificing its own life. If it fails again this time, there will probably be no way to reverse the situation.

Therefore, all actions must be taken with caution.

After thinking it over, Nan Xian decided to pretend to be deaf and dumb once and avoid direct contact with He Mingxiao.

She raised her hand to pick at her ear, looked around as if admiring the scenery, and just then Sheng Zhicheng walked over, so she took the opportunity to greet him.

"Mr. Sheng, is this your first time on a variety show?"

Sheng Zhicheng was caught off guard and met her gaze. His chubby cheeks flushed with a shy blush, and he stopped abruptly, somewhat awkwardly. "Ah...yes, it's the first time."

Nan Xian said casually, "Don't be nervous, we're very relaxed here, there aren't many rules, just relax and have fun!"

“Okay, okay,” Sheng Zhicheng chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “I watched the previous episodes of ‘Unveiling Ghost Stories’ before I came here. I found it quite interesting. Teacher Lang Zhuo is more talkative than I imagined. His dishes look delicious too. I wish I could team up with him.”

Nan Xian nodded in agreement, then glanced almost imperceptibly at the top of his head.

A gold coin pattern floats above the little money pot spirit's head, slowly rotating.

Suddenly seized by a playful thought, she deliberately asked, "Do you think there really are demons and monsters in this world?"

Upon hearing this, Sheng Zhicheng's expression visibly became unnatural, like a startled cat whose eyes widened instantly and whose fur stood on end in alarm.

Seeing Nan Xian staring intently at him, he quickly regained his composure, but couldn't help subconsciously averting his gaze to the side, stammering as he answered, "Ah... I... I'm a materialist, of course I believe in science, those things definitely don't exist! Myths and legends are all fake, made up by the ancients! Yes, that's right, they're all fake!"

Seeing his hypocritical expression, with his guilty conscience practically written all over his face, Nan Xian almost couldn't help but laugh.

“I see. But I think that since there are still many unsolved mysteries in this world that science cannot explain, and there is no conclusive evidence to prove that demons and monsters are fictional, perhaps similar mysterious forces are not just fabrications. It’s just that most people cannot come into contact with them, so they have been kept in the dark.” She paused, looked at him again, and said with a meaningful tone, “They may live among us, as passersby, as colleagues sitting at the next desk in the company, as popular celebrities who often appear on the TV screen, as him, as me, as—you.”

As the last "you" faded, Nan Xian gently placed her hand on Sheng Zhicheng's left shoulder. He shuddered, and his expression finally broke down completely.

He stared at Nan Xian in near horror, sweat beading on his forehead, his lips trembling, almost blurting out, "How did you know!"

"Teacher Nan, what... what do you mean by that?" He was so nervous that his voice changed.

Nan Xian smiled meaningfully and withdrew her hand from his shoulder.

"I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to be friends with you."