Chapter 22: The Doting Sister Complex Activated

If one had not seen it with their own eyes, who could have imagined it? Such a well-behaved child like Duoduo actually carried an S-class ghost doll with her everywhere. If it weren't for this ghost doll, she would have loved to sleep alongside Duoduo. Xie Fangyun sighed with regret, tucked Duoduo in, and turned to leave the room.

The room was instantly plunged into darkness. The ugly doll in Duoduo’s arms suddenly moved. Using all four limbs, it crawled out of Duoduo’s embrace like a baby. It climbed upward until its small body pressed against Duoduo’s little face, then stopped.

"Mommy, don't tickle me." Duoduo raised her hand and scratched her cheek.

The ugly doll glared at her, unhappy. "She is my mother!"

"Mother?" Duoduo opened her eyes, dazed, but saw only pitch-black darkness. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust before she could barely make out that something was crawling on her face. She lifted her small hand and pulled the doll down. "Ugly-Ugly, was that you talking just now?"

"I am not called Ugly-Ugly!" The doll spoke, its voice laced with dissatisfaction. It hadn't dared to make a sound while in Room 1, but now that Ling Yun was gone, it wanted to vent all its frustrations.

Duoduo didn't know the doll's true identity, nor did she sense that it was dangerous. She slowly sat up and looked at it curiously. "Then what is your name?"

"I..." The doll choked. It struggled to think for a moment before suddenly saying, "I am your older sister. From now on, you will call me sister!"

"That's not right. You're smaller than me and shorter than me, so I’m the older sister." Duoduo shook her head, correcting it with a serious expression.

The doll was displeased. It had been alive for over a hundred years; it was more than qualified to be this little brat's ancestor. Letting the kid call it "sister" was already doing her a favor, yet the child wasn't satisfied and even wanted to be its older sister! It was so angry it wanted to grind its teeth, but it realized that a cloth doll had no teeth. Suddenly, a thought struck it. It stared at Duoduo with its pitch-black pupils, threatening her, "Either you call me sister, or I will eat you!"

As soon as the words left its mouth, the doll felt a sharp pain in its soul. It felt as if an invisible giant hand had grabbed its head and feet, wringing its soul like a towel. That bastard Ling Yun had actually cast a spell on it in secret! It was only trying to scare the little one; it hadn't actually wanted to eat her, yet it was being punished!

The doll’s face twisted in agony. It slipped from Duoduo’s hand, fell onto the edge of the bed, and then tumbled to the floor. It let out a low growl in excruciating pain. Terrified, Duoduo quickly jumped off the bed.

"What's wrong? Are you going to die? Sister, I'll call you sister, please don't die, okay?" Duoduo crouched in front of the doll, watching it nervously as it lay on the floor. This was a gift from her father; she had to cherish it and couldn't let it get broken.

The moment Duoduo spoke, the doll felt the pain in its soul subside. It crawled up from the floor using all four limbs and stood in front of Duoduo in a bizarre posture. "Remember, call me sister from now on!"

"Okay, Sister Ugly-Ugly." Duoduo nodded obediently.

The doll gritted its teeth in frustration, squeezing out the words through its seams: "Just 'Sister,' don't add 'Ugly-Ugly'!"

Outside the room, Xie Fangyun and Xu Hetang had been startled by the low growl. Thinking something had happened to Duoduo, they rushed over in a panic. Only upon reaching the door did they realize the sound had come from the ugly doll Duoduo always held. Xie Fangyun let out a sigh of relief and waved at Xu Hetang. "Duoduo is fine. Let's go!"

Unlike the warmth in Room 16, Room 1 was filled with coldness. With Duoduo gone, Lin Jianyue had no desire to cook. Siyue had been hungry all day, her stomach rumbling incessantly. Once everyone had returned to their rooms, she stealthily moved a chair in front of the refrigerator. She opened the door and reached for a bottle of fresh milk.

Zhang Yangfan’s voice suddenly came from behind her. "Thief, put that milk down!"

Siyue was startled by the sudden voice. She quickly turned around and explained, "I'm not a thief. I'm hungry and wanted to find something to eat."

"This is Duoduo's. She’ll want to drink it when she gets back!" Standing on the chair, Siyue was a head taller than Zhang Yangfan. He stood on his tiptoes, snatched the milk from her hand, and placed it back in the fridge.

Siyue stared at the milk, swallowing hard. If she couldn't have the milk, could she at least have some toast? Thinking this, she reached for the remaining half-bag of bread.

Before her hand could touch the toast, Zhang Yangfan’s voice came from behind her again. "This is what Duoduo likes to eat. Don't you dare touch it!"

Siyue frowned and looked at the other food in the fridge. Most of it was raw. After searching for a long time, she found some apples in the crisper drawer. She reached out and had just pulled the drawer open slightly when Zhang Yangfan shoved it shut. "These are saved for Duoduo too!"

Duoduo, Duoduo—had Zhang Yangfan been brainwashed by her? Siyue was annoyed, knowing he was doing this on purpose. But since he was a ghost, she couldn't afford to provoke him. She turned around slowly and looked down at him. "Then is there anything in this house I can eat?"

"No, and this isn't your house! Don't think that just because you've moved in, you can replace Duoduo. Hmph!" Zhang Yangfan snorted coldly and slammed the refrigerator door shut. Before leaving, he didn't forget to leave his mark on the door. He was an SS-class ghost; only the old ghost Ling Yun could erase his mark. As long as it was there, this person wouldn't dare touch Duoduo's things behind his back.

*Gurgle...*

Siyue’s stomach let out a dull rumble. She touched her belly and followed Zhang Yangfan toward the bedrooms. Sensing someone behind him, Zhang Yangfan frowned, his head spinning 180 degrees to glare at Siyue with displeasure. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm not following you. I'm going to sleep." Siyue pointed toward the direction of the bedrooms. Surely Zhang Yangfan wasn't perverse enough to forbid her from sleeping?

Her guess was wrong. As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Yangfan suddenly bared a ghastly, demonic face. He opened his mouth, revealing a row of sharp fangs. "You are not allowed to sleep in Duoduo's bed, or I will eat you!"

Zhang Yangfan wasn't just threatening her; he truly wanted to eat her. If it weren't for the fact that her death would cause Room 1 to close, preventing Duoduo from returning home on the final day, this Siyue would have already become his meal. Siyue felt his killing intent and turned pale, stepping back two paces. Her reaction left Zhang Yangfan momentarily stunned.