Chapter 3

The chatroom fell silent for a moment before erupting with comments: "Holy crap! I knew it was just a coincidence!" "Is the streamer nuts? Playing ghost tricks in the middle of the night. Report him!" "Exactly! Talking about mythical fox spirits and all that superstitious nonsense. Report him for misleading the kids!"

Richard poured himself a glass of water and sat down beside me.

Noticing the scattered paper at my feet, he didn't get upset. Instead, he bent down to pick them up one by one, his tone as gentle as always. "What are you so engrossed in?" "Just browsing some short videos."

I quickly flipped my phone screen down, trying to brush it off.

Richard seemed to sense something, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and whispering in my ear.

"Still mad at me?" Evan's voice came through my earphones.

"Touch the fox jade pendant on his neck. At midnight, the ghostly energy is strongest, and the fox spirit will appear in human form. Feel it carefully; there's a heartbeat under that pendant."

Just as I raised my hand, Richard grabbed it, looking down at me. "Why is your hand so cold? I'll get you some hot water."

"Wait." I pulled Richard back as he was about to get up, pressing my face against the pendant on his chest, forcing a smile.

"Don't go. Just hold me." The hand on my shoulder tightened, and I could feel his breath growing heavier above me.

Suddenly, I felt something strange.

The pendant beneath my cheek emitted a faint thumping sound. It felt... almost like a heartbeat.

I couldn't believe it. Carefully, I moved my face away and gently touched the pendant.

Suddenly, it felt like a baby kicking inside a pregnant woman's belly. Something nudged my hand from inside the pendant.

Terrified, I pushed Richard away.

My face turned pale, and my limbs went numb.

Richard, startled, grabbed my hand and led me to the bedroom.

"Shushu, it's my fault. I was too harsh earlier. It's all my fault. The company's been having some issues, and I've been in a bad mood. But I shouldn't have taken it out on you. It won't happen again."

He gently placed me on the bed, and I quickly flipped my phone screen down.

When he leaned in to kiss me, I turned my head away, making an excuse. "I'm tired from exercising today. I just want to sleep."

"Sleep well, baby." Richard kissed my forehead and then turned his back to me.

I picked up my phone with trembling hands. "It really has a heartbeat, and... and the surface of the pendant feels like a pregnant belly. There's something moving inside." Someone in the chat replied: "The pendant is worn on the chest, right where the heart is. It's probably just the sound of his heartbeat!"

"Exactly! The pendant on the chest would naturally have a heartbeat sound. I think the streamer is just trying to mislead us. He's probably a scam artist. Don't fall for it, miss!" "If we believe the streamer, then everyone wearing something around their neck should be suspicious?" But having a heartbeat is one thing. Something moving inside the pendant is another!

The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became. I instinctively picked up my own fox jade pendant.

Richard had brought back two identical pendants as tokens of our relationship. Suddenly, my eyes widened. Where was the crack on the pendant?

I remembered clearly that during a workout, I had accidentally knocked the pendant, leaving a visible white crack.

The jade was clear and pure, with delicate green patterns, obviously expensive.

Richard had repeatedly reminded me to take good care of it. The moment it cracked, I had taken a photo and asked friends if they knew any repair experts. I quickly opened my photo album and found the picture of the cracked pendant. So... the cracked pendant had healed itself! This was impossible! I immediately switched back to the live stream, typing with trembling hands.

"Master, help me!" I slowly raised my phone, pointing the camera at the pendant around my neck. "Master, the... the crack on the pendant is gone."

Even the viewers in the live stream were stunned. "No way, did we really encounter something supernatural today? I'm so scared!" "But the pendant really doesn't have a crack now. I watched the stream from the beginning, and the streamer mentioned the crack when she started. Oh my god! Now the crack is gone. This is terrifying!" "Could it be the fox spirit the streamer mentioned? Did it use magic to make the crack disappear? What's going on?" Evan's voice turned serious.

"Fox spirits have magical powers. Repairing a crack is easy for them. There's a legend that in Tyrande, there's a sinister ritual that involves cruelly killing foxes with spiritual power and sealing their souls in fox jade pendants to trap their power forever. Under the influence of this dark art, the spiritual power turns into deep resentment. It's said to transfer wealth and bring fortune to the owner. But these fox pendants are hard to maintain. They require three years of continuous offerings of the owner's heart blood, one drop a day."

Evan paused, looking at me through the screen. "In these three years, haven't you noticed your boyfriend's unusual concern for your blood?"

Richard's concern for my blood was indeed unusual. Once, while hiking, a small rock fell and grazed my leg, causing a minor cut. Richard freaked out, immediately checking the wound despite my reassurances. He kept muttering, "No, no," and frantically searched his backpack for bandages.

When he couldn't find any,

he tore a strip from his white T-shirt and wrapped it around my leg. I was stunned! It seemed so over the top.

Back then, we had just started dating, and I thought it was a sign of his love and care, even feeling secretly happy about it.

Another time, we encountered a blood donation van while shopping. I had a habit of donating blood and had several donation certificates. When I pulled Richard towards the van, he suddenly realized where we were going and got furious, harshly scolding me for not taking care of myself.

Everyone around us, including those in line, stared at him like he was out of his mind, unable to understand the connection between donating blood and not taking care of oneself.

He only calmed down and gently persuaded me when he saw I was upset, saying, "You get dizzy sometimes, right? Your blood isn't enough for yourself, let alone donating to others. I'm just worried about you."

Thinking back with suspicion now, everything seemed off.

The pendant around my neck felt increasingly warm, the once cool jade now almost burning.

"You said you've been together for three years. The fox spirit only needs three years to transform into a human. Any moment now, it could take over your body. You need to get out of this room right now."