Then let the witch offer her loyalty

And so, Chen Moxin kept explaining her thoughts, while Luo Lingyou kept nodding in thought.

One dared to speak, and the other dared to listen; that's how they started teaching.

...

For the next ten days or so, Chen Moxin would go to Zhou Yan's house for lunch every day and use her witch hunter privileges to bring her all sorts of delicious food.

At first, Zhou Yan avoided him, but as soon as she saw Chen Moxin in the cafeteria, she refused to go over no matter what, quickly finished her meal, and left.

Chen Moxin was true to her word—if you don't come to me, then go stay in the solitary confinement room.

After being detained by the authorities several times, Zhou Yan stopped arguing with Chen Moxin.

A child like her, who grew up on the streets of the border region, is actually very smart; otherwise, how could she possibly make a living by navigating between violent groups?

Those who refuse to eat with Chen Moxin will be placed in solitary confinement.

Every time I dine with Chen Moxin, there's a delicious extra treat.

After learning her lesson a few times, she immediately knew which option to choose.

However, this little devil is still very slick. She'll eat anything you give her, and if she's not satisfied, she'll take advantage of you and ask for more.

Whenever Chen Mo wanted to chat with her, she would pretend to be dead and not hear him, and continue eating in silence.

When forced to speak, she would just say "um" or "oh".

That noon, Chen Moxin came to find Zhou Yan for lunch as usual, and once again, he was putting on a one-man show.

Anyway, he kept talking to himself, while Zhou Yan sat opposite him eating his food without any intention of paying attention to him.

Chen Moxin shared some interesting things about her life with Zhou Yan. After finishing their meal, they went back to work.

As Zhou Yan was silently licking the leftover bits from the snack bag, a female supervisor walked over and said in a rather helpless tone, "That dignified witch hunter takes time out of her busy schedule every day to keep you company and even brings you delicious food. Can't you be a little more polite? He talks so much, you should at least respond a couple of times."

Zhou Yan threw the licked-clean snack bag onto the table and sneered, "Did you take a bribe from him?"

"I..." The female supervisor was startled at first.

But she quickly pretended to be nonchalant: "Why would I accept a red envelope? Let's be honest, isn't Chen Moxin very good to you?"

Zhou Yan, with his shameless attitude and roguish tone, said, "Whether he's good to me or not, what does it have to do with me? If he wants to be a sucker, then so be it."

"I don't care. If there's good food, why not eat it? It's not like I'm losing out. He likes to buy me things, so let him buy them. It's not like I'm spending the money. I'll accept whatever he buys."

"If he gets bored one day and stops coming, I won't lose anything. I'll still profit from eating all that food he gave me."

Putting aside the red envelope, Chen Moxin's shameless behavior made the female supervisor a little angry for him: "You're the kind of person who's really annoying!"

Zhou Yan shrugged, tilted his head, and said nonchalantly, "Yeah, I'm just annoying. Nobody has ever liked me since I was a kid. Even my dad gets annoyed whenever he sees me."

"I'm an ungrateful wretch who can't be tamed. None of you should be nice to me. I don't remember kindness. I'll turn the tables on you when I get the chance. You'd better stay away from me."

Zhou Yan was so shameless that the female supervisor was speechless.

She remained silent for a while, then coldly snorted, "Go ahead and try to act like a scoundrel with us. Someone will deal with you eventually. Just a reminder, the day after tomorrow is the beginning of the month."

Upon hearing the words "early month," Zhou Yan, who had been so arrogant just moments before, suddenly fell silent. She lowered her eyes, pressed her lips tightly together, and her expression became extremely solemn.

Chapter 166 My name is Zhou Yan, the "Yan" in "dislike".

Your name is Zhou Yan.

From the time you can remember, you have lived in a never-ending nightmare.

Your childhood was made up of countless dark nights and your father's clenched fists.

There are many reasons why a father might hit you.

For example, getting drunk.

He would get drunk and smash empty bottles on the floor, scattering countless shards, ordering you to clean them up, and then stepping on your hand as you picked up the broken glass.

Or perhaps you lost at the gambling table.

He would grab your hair, knock you to the ground, treat you like one of the bankers who won his money, and kick you until your face was covered in blood.

Sometimes, no reason is even needed.

There was a time when you walked past him, and you really just walked past him.

Nothing happened that day; you didn't even make eye contact.

But suddenly he raised his calloused hand and slapped you without warning.

Seeing you covering your face and cowering on the ground, trembling, he burst into laughter, finding your appearance extremely amusing.

You did consider running away.

Once, you discovered a "children's aid station" under the Public Security Bureau in a street, which was said to specifically help children in need.

You mustered your courage and went inside, explaining your family situation to the operatives there, saying that your father often beat and abused you.

The operative was indignant after hearing this, and patted his chest to promise to help you, even saying he would take you to the hospital for a check-up.

But when you followed him to the alley entrance, a few thugs suddenly appeared. They exchanged cigarettes with the officer, put their arms around each other's shoulders, and chatted and laughed.

Your father is in there too.

Under the mocking gazes of his other companions and the operator, he grabbed your hair and dragged you home.

That night, you had six teeth knocked out.

From then on, you never trusted anyone again.

Whenever someone tries to get close, you instinctively curl up into a ball, using a hard shell to isolate yourself from the outside world.

You are suspicious of everything around you, whether it's strangers or acquaintances. You always feel that everyone around you is bad and wants to harm you.

In fact, you have met good people before.

There's a kind old lady living downstairs in your building. She sees you're so thin and bony, and she always gives you bread she makes herself.

But you suspect she drugged the bread, intending to knock you out and sell you.

The owner of that corner laundry shop saw you shivering in the winter and gave you his old clothes for free.

You think his clothes must have been worn by someone with an infectious disease, and he wants to infect you with the disease too.

Another time, you were walking down the street with your face covered in bruises when a nurse from a clinic ran over, gently stroking your face and asking who had done it to you. She offered to call the police for you.

You recall that "children's shelter," and without hesitation, you bite her hand and run away without looking back.

You start to be disliked by everyone around you.

They dislike your sensitivity and eccentricity.

I despise your ungratefulness.

They felt that the saying was absolutely true: "There is always something hateful about a pitiful person."

You little bastard deserve to be bullied.

But you don't resist the feeling of being hated by everyone.

At least that way, you won't have to expect anything from anyone and you won't get hurt again.

You're like a little mouse that can't stand the light, hiding where no one can see you during the day, only daring to sneak out when it's late at night.

You never know when you'll die in some corner where no one can see you, rotting and stinking.

But you think it's good this way, at least the decaying process is quiet and no one will bother you.

This is you, Zhou Yan.

You hate everyone, and everyone hates you.

...

...

...

"Brother Chen, how are things going with you and Zhou Yan?" Alexander leaned over the partition of his workstation and chuckled in a teasing tone, "It feels like you're going to crash and burn this time."

Looking at the information about Zhou Yan on the computer, Chen Moxin casually asked, "Really? How am I going to mess things up?"

Alexander sighed, "It's been over ten days, and there's been absolutely no progress. Isn't this a complete disaster?"

Chen Moxin picked up a stack of documents on the table and gently patted Alexander's head with it: "To come to this conclusion proves that you are still a complete novice when it comes to interpersonal communication."

"Haven't you noticed that Zhou Yan is slowly getting used to my presence?"

Alexander and Reilly looked at each other, recalling what had happened.

The other hunters knew that Chen Mo wanted to establish a spiritual contract with Zhou Yan, and the two of them had even gone to observe the process in person with a learning mindset.

On the surface, just as they said, for more than ten days, Chen Moxin brought food to him on time every day, acting like a humble lapdog, but Zhou Yan never even looked at him properly.

But upon closer reflection, it seems that's not actually the case.

At first, Zhou Yan tried his best to avoid Chen Moxin.

She stopped hiding later, but Chen Moxin still had to urge her repeatedly before she would go over.

Now, there's no need to urge her anymore; as soon as she sees Chen Moxin in the cafeteria, she'll sit down on her own.

Like a puppy, it drools when it hears a bell.

When Zhou Yan saw Chen Moxin, she instinctively felt that he had brought food, and then sat down next to him; it had almost become a conditioned reflex.

In Chen Moxin's own words, "I've gotten used to my presence."

"Holy crap...it seems like there really is something to it...Brother Chen is terrifying..."

"I've failed at it."

After reviewing Zhou Yan's information, Chen Moxin glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the computer screen.

"Captain Yang, I remember that at the beginning of each month, the bureau would arrange for Zhou Yan to meet with his father once a month?"

"Yes, because Zhou Yan is a minor, we have to arrange a family visit for her at least once a month. This is a mandatory requirement, without fail."

"Shouldn't someone accompany the family members at such a meeting?"

"Of course, I've always accompanied Zhou Yan when he meets his family. What? You want to come this time?"

"Yes, Captain Yang, you can rest. Let me go."

"It's possible, but..."

Yang Jie seemed to recall something unpleasant, frowned, and showed displeasure on his face: "Let me warn you first, his father, Zhou Haiwei, is no good. He's a complete beast."

“Every time he came to see Zhou Yan, it was for no other reason than to get money from Zhou Yan.”

Alexander asked, puzzled, "Give him money? Zhou Yan has been taken into custody, where would he get money for his father?"

Yang Jie snorted coldly: "The strict control area will arrange labor reform every day, and according to the law, they should all be given labor subsidies."

"In addition, witches can also participate in extra work on their own to earn some wages."

“Zhou Yan earns about eight or nine hundred a month, and his dad takes it all to gamble. What kind of person is Zhou Haiwei?!”

As Yang Jie berated Zhou Haiwei, Chen Moxin looked out the window, her eyes slightly narrowed.

He stroked his chin and nodded thoughtfully.

Chapter 167 I'll make you take off your uniform!

"Zhou Yan, come and collect your money. Your labor subsidy from last month totals 823. Count it."

The female supervisor found Zhou Yan and handed her a small stack of banknotes, some in small change and some in large bills.

Zhou Yan silently took the money, squatted down, and began to carefully count each bill.

"Is the amount correct?"

"Ah."

"Then everything's settled here. You can start preparing for the family meeting."

Zhou Yan didn't say anything, silently took out a hundred-yuan bill and stuffed it into his sock, while putting the rest into his pocket.

"Zhou Yan, are you ready? Your dad has arrived."