Chapter Forty-Two: Let Father Teach You How to Be a Man (Part Two)

In order to avoid being discovered, Chao Xu had crafted an identity for himself: the son of the Chao family head’s late sister, a cousin born half a month after Chao Si, and the lucky heir brought back to inherit the vast family fortune after the Chao bloodline was nearly extinguished.

Chao Si had always been well protected by the family head; even in high society, few had ever laid eyes on her. And those who had seen her would only vaguely recall her features after so much time had passed. If he resembled the family head closely, as near relatives often did, suspicion would be much less likely to arise.

The butler nodded. “Then I’ll go and release the news of your ‘death’ right away, and inform the principal as well, shall I?”

“There’s one more thing. Remember to make sure that, before I report to school tomorrow, as many people as possible know that I’ll be attending.”

The more people knew, the greater their terror would be when they saw a face so strikingly similar to Chao Si.

The butler, unaware of Chao Xu’s true intentions, simply assumed he enjoyed a bit of excitement and agreed without hesitation.

Half an hour after the butler left, Chao Xu, unable to help himself, pulled out his phone and glanced at the news. The top trending story announced the confirmed death of the Chao family’s eldest daughter. Right behind it was a statement from the Gu family head, claiming to have seen her ghost—resulting in a slander lawsuit filed by the butler, who had already brought the accuser to the police station for a mental health evaluation.

Chao Xu couldn’t help but laugh aloud, utterly unmoved.

It seemed the butler was efficient indeed—just as she’d hoped when choosing him.

Meanwhile, in a girls’ dormitory at Z Academy, a sudden, unguarded scream pierced the air.

“Ah—!” One of the girls, as if she’d seen a ghost, flung her phone aside in terror.

Her roommate, startled by the commotion, poked her head out. “Shen Lu, what’s wrong? Why are you screaming all of a sudden?”

Shen Lu, face pale and trembling, retrieved her phone and stammered, trying to cover up, “I was just watching a horror film. A ghost jumped out at me—I couldn’t help but scream. Sorry.”

But her face was ashen, her pupils quivering, and her stray hairs plastered to her forehead with cold sweat—she looked nothing like someone frightened by a mere movie. If anything, she seemed as though she were haunted by guilt.

The lights had long since gone out in the dorm, so her roommates couldn’t see her expression and readily believed her story. “Can you not watch horror movies in the dorm? You nearly scared us all to death in the middle of the night.”

After grumbling, her roommates soon retreated under their blankets, each returning to their phones.

Shen Lu, having apologized, recalled what she’d just seen and broke out in another cold sweat.

What had she witnessed just now?

The news was clear: Chao Xu, eldest daughter of the Chao family, had been confirmed dead five days ago!

She, of course, knew Chao Xu’s true identity. Yet only days before, she had seen her at school.

Could it be that what she saw that day…was a ghost?

The thought sent a chill down her spine, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle another scream.

But then, even more disturbing details came flooding back: skin as cold as ice, the complete absence of a heartbeat, and an uncanny strength.

And those people she’d called over that day to deal with Chao Xu—what had become of them in the end…?

At the thought, Shen Lu’s panic only deepened.