My lady, don't be angry. I'm letting you touch my big tail.

Joey coughed. "I'm here to meet that... inhuman guy I was talking about."

Hua Ran was stunned for three seconds.

She stood up and grabbed Joey's ear with one hand.

"Well, so it wasn't a dream after all. You actually kept the little fairy inside your own magic. You're no longer my good little darling..."

I said stop!

Joey shouted into the air, "Tongtong, come out! Usually you're the only one watching him, this time you two can get up close and personal."

"Tongtong? Or is it a reduplicated word... You gave him such a cute name? Oh, so that explains why you call me 'Ranran'! You tried it on him first!"

As Hua Ran spoke, tears immediately welled up in her foxy, alluring eyes.

"Women are all fickle after all... Humph!"

Joey quickly tugged at Hua Ran's sleeve to prevent it from falling down.

"Don't misunderstand, Tongtong and I grew up together since we were little. We've known each other since we were four or five years old. It's like my brother. It's... well... how do I explain it to you? You'll understand when you see it. It's not human, nor is it a spirit. It has no physical form and can't come out. But it's very kind, like family!"

The system was originally socially awkward and was hiding away from everyone.

But hearing what Joey said made its little heart ache.

Baozi treats me like family, what have I been doing...?

Seriously, who made our AI so realistic? It's clearly a data entity, yet it can experience human emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

But the thought of little Joey, wobbling and talking to her with his mind, softened his heart.

"I seem to... shouldn't have let her down..."

Too many hosts in the ghost-hunting world abandon the system and run away to protect themselves from evil spirits, but Qiao Yi never does. Even when she transmigrates, she requests that the chip be implanted into her soul so she can experience the pain and carry it with her.

The system kept having images of the tiny, soft child, Joey, playing in its mind.

Then he slammed his head against the wall.

"Damn it! Am I just bursting with maternal instincts? Besides, the system doesn't even have a gender..."

It slowly stretched out a hand and whispered, "I...I'm out, but Hua Ran can't scold me..."

The system emerged and slowly floated in front of Qiao Yi and Hua Ran.

The inner voice is roaring.

I don’t want it, I don’t want it!

Don't talk, don't look at me, I don't want our eyes to meet, ahhhhh!

Hua Ran looked the system up and down, and even stood up to sniff the system's neck.

Its large, reddish-brown tail swayed gently behind it, even reaching up to the top of the system's head, patting it like it would Qiao Dawang, only without much force.

“My lady, this creature has no trace of yin or yang energy. Rather than saying it’s not human or spirit, it’s more accurate to say it’s not one thing… it’s a doll.”

Joey snapped her fingers.

"You could say that, but it has emotions and can talk. It has been with me as I grew up, and in countless ghost-catching cases, it has pointed out the exact location of the anomalies and helped me... so I still consider it family."

Hua Ran thought for a moment and asked, "Then, does the mistress possess the ability to love?"

"All love all people. Its original purpose in being created was to love all people, of course, with the host as the priority."

"Well, I see."

Silence.

Joey didn't know what to say.

The social anxiety system doesn't want to talk; it just wants to find a place to crawl into.

So, why do scientists require each system to have different personalities like people...? Well, to better serve ghost hunters.

But! Why the hell am I socially anxious?!

Suddenly, Hua Ran's buttocks bumped into the system's lower back.

The system was startled and immediately drifted away in alarm.

"You you you...what are you doing?"

Hua Ran revealed a fawning smile.

"Don't be so nervous~ My wife said you're family, like an older brother, so to me~ you're just like a brother-in-law~"

"I go……"

Hua Ranchong performed a small bow to the men of this world.

He added, "Although my wife and I did not marry in front of others, we have indeed consummated our marriage, so... it's not inappropriate for me to call you brother, is it?"

"Uh……"

"Brother, why aren't you saying anything?"

The system then ran straight back into the sliding door, leaving behind a message: "Baby, you've seen it, haven't you! Just... just... just let me pry out a three-bedroom apartment! You're welcome!"

Joey chuckled.

Hanazono was also happy. His wife was able to introduce such an important "doll" to him, which showed that she had opened her heart to him.

So on the way back to Bianliang County, Hua Ran kept humming a little tune.

Ten days later, they finally returned to Bianliang County, and upon entering, they saw Old Man Qiao and Lu Qianye arguing.

“Miss Lu, please return Qiao Dawang! You're an unmarried woman, how can you take good care of a child? Besides, you've been very busy lately, investigating many drowning deaths in Bianliang County. How are you supposed to take care of a child?”

Lu Qianye was resolute.

"No way! Your family is very strange. People appear out of nowhere and then disappear just as suddenly. I still haven't found the green-haired man who came out that day. I've searched the entire Bianliang County. I'm increasingly suspicious that Qiao Yi is trafficking people!"

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Joey was just listening for fun.

She had long anticipated that Qiao Dawang couldn't possibly eat Qiao Laodie's food.

She leaned close to Hua Ran's ear and whispered, "Do you know why I haven't really refuted Lu Qianye? It's because Lu Qianye has a great auspicious cloud between his brows, which only a truly good person would have. And he is a truly good person, so he often clashes with ferocious beasts, meaning he is naturally incompatible with them."

"So that's how it is... Then why were you drooling, my lady?"

"Leave a bit of yang energy; you can take it back when you need it."

Hua Ran suddenly realized how clever his wife was!

Then Joey lifted the hem of her dress and went inside.

"What do you mean by human trafficking? Some young men always come to the outskirts to pick flowers, and they might use the flower juice to dye their hair. Once they wash their hair, of course you won't recognize them. If I were a human trafficker, why would I live in a dilapidated temple? I would just pretend to be a rich man, recruit a dozen or twenty servants, and I'd have all the heads I need."

Lu Qianye turned around and said, unwilling to give up, "That way you can only pull off one big job. Now, without any evidence, you can take it slow and steady!"

"Alright... You've been in trouble lately, haven't you? Or rather, it's not just you, the whole of Bianliang County is in trouble. Too many people have died, and the resentment is so strong that the sky is murky. It looks like it's going to rain and snow soon."

Sure enough, as soon as Joey finished speaking, Inugami felt a chill on the top of his head.

Looking up, I saw tiny water droplets carrying snowflakes falling down.

"It's really raining and snowing."

Lu Qianye didn't believe it, so he came out to see for himself, and sure enough...

"You fake fortune teller, you guessed pretty accurately."

Joey smiled and said, "If fortune tellers aren't accurate, how can they make money?"

"They rely on human trafficking!"

"..."