Rong Yue drank all the coffee in one gulp, but the bitter taste could not dispel his overly turbulent mood.

Fang Shan looked eager to try, but Rong Yue turned his face away, refusing to discuss the question of whether they could have a baby.

"But speaking of children," he said, his chin slightly raised, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "It reminds me of someone. If we could get him to join our company, I'm sure we could become a top-tier record company."

Fang Shan's interest ignited: "So amazing?"

Rong Yue's tone was filled with regret: "After all, when he was still in the circle, he was already a world-class legend. The reason for his retirement seemed to be to take care of his children."

Fang Shan asked doubtfully, "Isn't that a bit far-fetched?"

Why does giving up your career for your children sound unreliable?

There are many people in the circle who get married and have children, and I have never heard of anyone quitting the circle specifically.

Rong Yue spread his hands and said, "The child's biological mother is unknown. It is said that she gave birth out of wedlock and they broke up before the child was born."

Fang Shan's eyes curved with a smile: "Such a good target, you should have told me earlier."

Rong Yue was wary of his unusual behavior and asked, "Who is your target?"

Fang Shan coughed lightly, masking his true feelings. "I'm saying it would be a shame not to bring such an excellent and talented singer to our company."

"You can try it."

Without waiting for the expected warning, Fang Shan looked over in surprise.

Rong Yue: "Every year, many people want to invite him back to the stage. It's normal to try your luck." He paused and stared at Fang Shan with a look of alienation: "Are you an alien?"

Fang Shan smiled peacefully.

Not seeing any unnecessary expression on his face, Rong Yue discarded his unrealistic thoughts: "There are actually people in this world who don't know Hua Se."

Wei Sushen, who had already walked to the side, suddenly asked, "What's your last name, Hua?"

"He's Huaxi's brother." Rong Yue wanted to say a few more words, but he saw Fang Shan had called Huaxi at some point, wanting to know everything about the other person's family background like a blind date.

Hua Xi was annoyed by his constant pestering, and finally said, "If you want to see the real person up close, I can take you to visit him."

It was just a rant at first, but within thirty minutes, Fang Shan showed up at his door in a respectable manner.

Huaxi was still holding a fried dough stick in her mouth when she was directly taken into the car.

"I'm telling you..." His already unkempt hair was practically standing straight up from his anger. "Are you crazy?"

Fang Shan bluntly stated his plan: "If your brother can be signed to the company, he will be a living golden signboard."

As he spoke, his eyes were full of determination to win.

Signing a former world superstar, plus Wei Sushen and Hua Xi, the task will be completed in no time.

Wei Sushen saw this scene and lowered his eyes slightly. It seemed that the system was in a hurry to complete the task because it wanted to go back to the past to see someone.

Fang Shan seemed to sense something, and his peripheral vision accidentally met his. His face froze for a moment... The host's expression always seemed a little scary.

He turned his head nonchalantly to look at the scenery outside the window. The green trees greatly eased the ups and downs in his heart. Fang Shan regained his composure and began to ask about Hua Se.

Hua Xi leaned back against the cushions nonchalantly, "People have made him into a legend, but he's just an ordinary guy with a talent for singing."

Rong Yue, who was driving, pricked up his ears because there were not many opportunities to hear gossip about superstars.

Hua Xi: "My sister-in-law passed away in an accident shortly after giving birth. My brother regretted not spending enough time with his family, so he decided to leave the entertainment industry."

Rong Yue almost slammed on the brakes: "Those so-called rumors..."

"It's fake." Hua Xi was speechless: "I didn't expect that even you believed it."

Rong Yue was a little embarrassed: "After all, he is an idol."

Rong Yue's disillusionment with his idol came from seeing a completely unkempt man waving a fan in the yard.

Apart from her face, there is not a single good thing about her body.

Rong Yue was so shocked by the reality that he couldn't recover at all until Hua Xi called him brother, and he was forced to face the fact.

Hua Se took a quick look and then looked away: "You brought another idler here."

"You're a fool," Hua Xi said as they walked over, "You're just dreaming, wanting you to return to the music family."

Hua Se then paid more attention to him: "Looks quite smart."

It turns out that smart people can do stupid things.

Fang Shan: "Nothing is absolute in this world."

The next sentence was buried in my heart and not spoken out: I am afraid there is a mind control.

Hua Se jumped up from the chair. As they got closer, his unshaven face blurred his original beauty. Rong Yue was so heartbroken that he couldn't speak. He held onto the fence to comfort himself that he might be dreaming.

"It's not that there's no room for negotiation." Hua Se fell back into his chair, crossed his legs in a comfortable position, and put away some of the playful look in his eyes. "Before my wife passed away, she hid something in the house. If you can find it, I'll agree to sign the contract."

Fang Shan's first reaction was to observe Hua Xi's expression as she stood aside. He saw that she was also confused and seemed to be unaware of the situation.

"Would your sister-in-law hide something from you?" Hua Xi couldn't help but ask in confusion before Fang Shan could speak.

Hua Se said disdainfully: "It's none of your business. Do you want to stay for dinner or get out now?"

Hua Xi thought about his brother's bad temper and decisively left Fang Shan and his group behind.

Not long after, Rong Yue left on his own, refusing to see the shattered idol again.

Hua Se seemed unkind. Although she asked them to find something, she didn't say what it was.

Fang Shan looked at the building in front of him with a sigh. "This house is quite large. Since we're looking for something, could you allow us to stay here for a couple of days?"

Hua Se threw them a bunch of keys: "Please help yourself."

Fang Shan took it with a smile and pulled Wei Sushen forward. His smile gradually disappeared after he entered the door.

Wei Sushen turned slightly, looked through the window at the overly comfortable people in the yard, and frowned.

Fang Shan: "What are you looking at?"

Wei Sushen narrowed his eyes: "There's something off about that person."

Even when facing his own brother, there is not much affection in his eyes. He appears casual on the outside but is actually indifferent in his bones.

Fang Shan: "Don't worry too much, the mission system is the best early warning."

"Warning?"

Fang Shan nodded. "When there's an emergency, the mission system will add a temporary mission. The host hasn't received any notifications yet, which proves everything is under control."

[Temporary task: Painted skin.]

Note: You arrive at the home of a former superstar, who welcomes you warmly. However, you soon discover that there seems to be something extraordinary hidden in this house.

Success reward: Find it before dawn and get Painted Skin X1.

Failure penalty: I will kill you or chop you up, whatever I wish.]

In the excessive silence, Wei Sushen calmly said, "Is this a warning?"

Fang Shan, who played the role of a crow's mouth, laughed guiltily: "...The host can regard it as a small surprise."

Wei Sushen acted very rationally and asked the most concerning question first: "Why does Painted Skin appear in the mermaid world?"

Fang Shan stared at the wedding photo hanging on the wall, his eyes mainly focused on Hua Se's half: "I do have a guess, but it needs further confirmation."

Wei Sushen realized that he had no intention of telling everything at the moment, so he didn't force him and began to look around.

The house is elegantly decorated, with shells of various colors inlaid on the walls, and the furniture is basically made of wood. The only thing that is a bit out of place is the fish tanks everywhere, some large and some small, which contain very common fish species.

Wei Sushen tried putting his palm on the fish tank and found that the little fish were not afraid of him. Instead, they scrambled to swim towards his palm.

Fang Shan: "Normally, fish only flock here when they need to eat."

Wei Sushen examined the colorful fish body: "That's a very apt description."

Fang Shan listened to his indifferent tone and sighed softly: "Host, don't you have the slightest bit of worry?"

Painted Skin... Just hearing these two words, a normal person would at least express a hint of nervousness.

Wei Sushen put his hand back into his pocket and looked at him with a playful look: "I don't think the skin of the painted skin can beat the skin of the mantis shrimp."

Because of his playful expression, Fang Shan also tilted his head and laughed a few times. At this moment, the fish in the fish tank flicked its tail, rippling the calm water. His system regained its composure, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared. "Who are you talking about, Mantis shrimp?"

Wei Sushen's eyes wandered everywhere, but never stayed on him.

Fang Shan put his hand on his shoulder and forced him to look into his eyes.

Wei Sushen changed the subject and slowly said two words: "Child."

Fang Shan raised his hand and patted him: "Who are you calling child? Call me dad."

Wei Sushen's face darkened: "I mean the children living here."

Fang Shan raised an eyebrow, remembering Hua Xi said that his brother retired from the entertainment industry to take care of the children.

But in this house, there is basically no trace of a child's life. There are no ordinary toys or children's clothes.

Contrary to his usual behavior, he did not make a decision on his own, but instead asked, "What is the host going to do?"

Wei Sushen turned on the TV, found two paper cups to pour tea, and motioned him to sit down.

Of the ten TV stations, nine were showing music programs. Fang Shan looked for a moment and asked, "That's it?"

Wei Sushen: "Just wait quietly."

Fang Shan: "Waiting for what?"

Wei Sushen checked his watch. "Night has fallen. Painted Skin is considered a type of ghost. I've never heard of any ghost that likes to hang around during the day."

“…”

The fading light of dusk faded. Hua Se finally entered the house, took out a cold drink from the refrigerator, and drank it. At the end, she chuckled and said, "I thought you were going to turn this house upside down."

Wei Sushen changed the channel: "No rush."

Hua Se raised an eyebrow and walked to one of the rooms without saying anything else, covering her yawn with her hand: "I'm used to going to bed early, please find a way to solve dinner by yourself."

Fang Shan and Wei Sushen were not very good at doing things with their hands, but they acted in perfect harmony and filled their stomachs with the chocolates on the table.

Night has completely fallen.

Wei Sushen wiped his fingers clean little by little with a wet tissue, then stood up and looked at Fang Shan: "Almost done."

Nighttime is a time for fear to creep in. None of the fish in the tank fell asleep, each darting about in the water. Fang Shan observed this scene as he stepped forward: "They say animals are most sensitive to danger."

As he spoke, he picked up a small fish tank, as if he was going to carry it with him to foresee danger.

Wei Sushen took it and put it down expressionlessly: "I am a high-level animal, much more useful than a goldfish."

Fang Shan said seriously: "But the host cannot be held in my palm like a goldfish."

Wei Sushen ignored this and went straight upstairs: "I remember that Painted Skin originally meant that a ghost covered in beautiful human skin to deceive people."

Fang Shan: "There are many versions, but the principle is the same."

Wei Sushen: "But you don't seem to doubt Hua Se."

Fang Shanshen said mysteriously, "He is of the same kind."

Wei Sushen's eyes moved: "I see."

There is an interesting thing about this house. There are quite a lot of rooms, but the area of ​​each room is relatively small. It can only accommodate a bed and a table.

The room on the top floor had no windows and was dull even when the door was open. Climbing up the ladder, there was only miscellaneous items inside.

Wei Sushen turned to look at Fang Shan and covered his ears with his hands: "Sing."

Fang Shan's expression was indescribable. "You don't want me to use my singing to make ghosts aroused?"

Wei Sushen looked up, as if he didn't hear it.

Fang Shan took a deep breath and sang loudly as if in revenge.

Apart from his singing, there was nothing unusual in the room.

Wei Sushen's body felt slightly hot: "Change to another place."

After saying that, he pulled the person into the next room and uttered the word "sing" in a clear and crisp voice.

Fang Shan looked at him dimly: "Do you really think I'm a street singer?"

Wei Sushen smiled brilliantly without any warning: "How could that be? You are a singer who can touch the soul directly."

Fang Shan was a little dazed by his laughter and forgot to care about it for a moment.

They sang from room to room, even in the corridor. After a while, Fang Shan felt bored and said, "I might as well use a ghost-catching tool to solve this problem once and for all."

Wei Sushen refused coldly: "Frugality is a virtue."

Fang Shan curled his lips... What right does a man who rented an island have to say these things?

Wei Sushen suddenly made a gesture to keep quiet, and the two of them moved towards the source of the sound in tacit understanding. Fang Shan blinked: "Did you hear..."

Wei Sushen nodded.

From time to time, a slight panting sound could be heard from the cracks in the wall.

Fang Shan sang a few more lines at the right time and stopped, his panting becoming more intense. He lowered his head, pressed against the wall, and listened carefully—

"Ah ...

Fang Shan straightened up in disgust and knocked on the wall twice: "Excuse me."

“Ah—ah—”

Instead of weakening, the sound became even louder.

Fang Shan lowered his head, took a step back, and after determining that this wall was not a load-bearing wall, he shook his finger at Wei Sushen.

At the same time, Wei Sushen had retreated to the door.

Fang Shan clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and suddenly threw a punch. After a loud bang, the entire floor shook and a hole was smashed in the thick wall.

Behind him, Wei Sushen silently assessed the system's destructive power and decided to be nicer to him in the future for the sake of world peace.

Trapped in the wall was a black mermaid, half of its face covered in cyan scales, looking terrifying. A strange part of its tail was raised, and when the wall broke, it was hidden by the fins on both sides.

Having her interest interrupted, the mermaid's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and her sharp teeth were revealed as her mouth opened and closed.

Fang Shan said grimly, "You can hide your skin without killing me."

Before he could finish his words, the fish tail swept over. The scales on the surface were sharp and smooth, and if it touched him carelessly, his skin would be torn apart.

Fang Shan jumped into the air to avoid the attack, grabbed the mermaid's waist from the side and threw her backwards to the ground.

Because of the violent impact, some scales were even knocked off. The mermaid turned her head and sprayed black liquid from her mouth.

In the mist-like burst, both Wei Sushen and Fang Shan were inevitably contaminated with some.

"Not good!" Fang Shan punched the wall and the mermaid several times, tore off a piece of curtain to block its mouth, picked up the mermaid who was no longer able to move and stuck her in the gap, with her tail facing them and her head facing the other room.

After doing all this, he hurried to Wei Sushen.

Wei Sushen was looking down at the black liquid on his arm: "Do you need to clean it?"

Fang Shan frowned, his expression more serious than ever before: "It's too late."

Wei Sushen said 'Oh' and said, "Remember to help me deal with my funeral."

Fang Shan's eyebrows twitched: "He won't die." Reluctantly, he pulled him to sit on the ground and stared at him closely: "Do you feel your breathing tightening and your heartbeat speeding up?"

Facing the cheek so close to him, Wei Sushen nodded for some unknown reason.

Fang Shan glanced at the marks on his arm and said, "This liquid is called Black Sand Mist. It has an aphrodisiac effect. If you can't get relief for a long time, it will be very troublesome." At this point, he cursed softly, "Damn fallen mermaid."

Wei Sushen noticed that his face was flushed and his voice was much lower than usual. Recalling the scene just now, more black mist was sprayed on the system.

"Does it hurt?" he asked after a moment of hesitation.

Fang Shan turned his face away: "I will not give in to desire."

Wei Sushen pinched his chin with one hand: "Actually, we can... help each other."

The last few words were almost inaudible.

Their breaths touched, their fingers slid down from the collar, and when they took a step closer, the charming atmosphere was interrupted by a burst of hurried footsteps.

Hua Se ran to the door breathlessly, holding on to the door frame with one hand and breathing heavily: "What happened!"

After asking, I saw the awkward scene in the room: "I heard a strange sound..."

Fang Shan: "I'm warming up my voice."

Hua Se: “…”

Do you need to take off your clothes to warm up your voice?

Fang Shan buttoned his clothes methodically, patted his clothes and stood up.

Hua Se's attention was quickly distracted. Looking at the mermaid stuck in the wall, her expression was mixed with joy and worry: "I actually caught her."

After he finished speaking, he walked forward, grabbed the mermaid's tail with one hand and pulled hard. A layer of translucent film was pulled down, and the cloth strip stuffed in the mermaid's mouth fell out at the same time.

Without that thin membrane, the mermaid's half body appeared even more ugly and deformed.

But the mermaid didn't think about taking back the skin that had been taken away. She ignored the sore cheekbones and glared at Fang Shan with red eyes: "You are talking nonsense!"

What black sand mist? It's clearly the blood spurted out after it was beaten.

"You're a liar!" the mermaid complained. "You despicable human! You're a liar!"

Fang Shan picked up the cloth strip from the ground and stuffed it into its mouth. He turned to Wei Sushen and said, "This mermaid was beaten unconscious. What she said is not enough to be used as evidence in court."

Wei Sushen didn't know what he was thinking, and finally nodded slightly.

The mermaid squeezed the cloth out of her mouth and said sarcastically, "I thought it was a rip-off, but it turned out to be a consensual affair..."

Hua Se sighed and covered its mouth: "If you want to live, say less."

The mermaid struggled to utter the last word incoherently: "...Rape!"

The author has something to say: Small theater:

Hua Se: Did I come in at the wrong time?

Wei Sushen: I’ll give you a song...Give me two more minutes.

Fang Shan: Only two minutes! Break up!!!

Wei Sushen: ...Just an analogy.

Fang Shan: Break up!