Silence!

A dead silence fell over the room!

It was as if something inside them had silently shattered!

The women’s eyes were wide with disbelief and shock!

’This whole table of delicacies... it must cost hundreds, if not thousands, of Ghost Coins, right?’

’It had to be for an incredibly powerful ghost, or at the very least, a rich one!’

’How could it possibly be for a human?’

’And for Yun Zhenyue, of all people—a woman they hadn’t seen all day?’

They’d all assumed she had run off somewhere to slack off.

They were even looking forward to her being punished by the ghost foreman.

They had all tacitly agreed not to leave her any leftovers.

They were all secretly looking forward to seeing her break down.

The worst thing in the world is comparison.

If Yun Zhenyue had turned up more miserable than they were, they would have felt better about their own hard day’s work. At least they could fill their bellies and earn a little money.

But what if they were told...

...that Yun Zhenyue had done jack-squat all day!

...and on top of that, she got to enjoy this table of mouth-watering delicacies???

They were losing their minds!

When they saw Yun Zhenyue accept, pick up her chopsticks, and begin to eat with delicate bites, while the ghost foreman waited on her attentively, the other women’s jealousy nearly exploded.

"This... this isn’t right, is it?"

"Foreman, why does she get to eat such good food?"

"While we can only eat leftovers!"

"This treatment is too unfair!"

Han Sumei, rambling incoherently with jealousy, pressed the ghost foreman.

The female players from other countries chimed in, united by a common grievance.

"That’s right! We’re all employees, so why does she get to enjoy a feast?"

"There’s so much food, she can’t finish it all by herself. Why don’t we all eat together?"

"Don’t tell me this is the real employee meal, and we were all tricked by Han Sumei?"

"It’s possible! That damn Han Sumei tricked us into eating slop!"

At their words, the ghost foreman’s eyes turned as cold and deep as an abyss.

She stared intently at Han Sumei.

Han Sumei immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

The foreman then swept her gaze over the indignant women.

Everyone gradually fell silent under her frosty glare.

Seeing this, the ghost foreman said coldly, "Who do you think you are?"

"You dare compare yourselves to Miss Yun!"

"You’re a bunch of lowly servants. The restaurant is already showing great mercy by giving you slop to eat, and you still want to eat at the table?"

"Ask yourselves, are you worthy?"

"You want to eat? Fine. Bring me Ghost Coins. Anyone who brings out nine hundred Ghost Coins, I’ll arrange a table for you immediately!"

These words stung the women to the core.

Nine hundred Ghost Coins?

’Heavens!’

’With that many Ghost Coins, we could afford a state banquet every day back in the real world!’

’Enough to eat for a lifetime!’

’Why would we need to order food here at the Blood Moon Restaurant?’

The women’s faces turned pale.

They had no choice but to swallow their indignation and jealousy.

Then, Yun Zhenyue saw Lin Jiu finish washing her hands and gestured for her to sit beside her.

The ghost foreman also said respectfully, "Supervisor, please have a seat."

And then!

BOOM!

It was as if a bomb had exploded in their minds!

They finally understood why Yun Zhenyue received such treatment.

’So she knows the supervisor of the Blood Moon Restaurant?’

’It looks like she’s from Dragon Country, too. And they were holding hands.’

’How could she be so lucky?’

"So that’s how it is... Supervisor."

Han Sumei bit her lower lip, nearly drawing blood out of sheer jealousy.

’That Yun Zhenyue... how does she have such dogshit luck!’

’Last time she ran into a boss putting his subordinates in their place, and this time she meets a supervisor from her own country!’

’Dammit, that damn bitch!!!’

The women all assumed Yun Zhenyue had simply latched onto the supervisor.

Only Yamada Aiko’s eyes held a thoughtful glimmer.

She saw that the supervisor named Lin Jiu seemed very uncomfortable, quiet, and reserved. She also kept glancing at the ghost foreman out of the corner of her eye.

Her gaze was evasive, as if she were facing her own superior.

The central figure among the two humans and one ghost was, without a doubt, Yun Zhenyue!

’There’s no way she’s the one who latched onto someone else!’

’It’s more like the supervisor is the one who benefited from Yun Zhenyue.’

But she had no proof.

This was all just speculation.

’Why exactly is Yun Zhenyue so respected?’

’What did she get from Gu Yuan?’

’Who is Gu Yuan, that he can hold sway even over the Blood Moon Restaurant?’

These three questions took deep root in Yamada Aiko’s mind.

She just couldn’t figure it out.

At the same time, her heart was filled with growing regret.

Even the two steamed buns in her pocket tasted bitter.

’If only I had gotten on good terms with Yun Zhenyue from the start.’

’I might have been eating at this table with her long ago.’

’I wouldn’t have had to starve.’

...

"Junior, this..."

"Can I really eat this?"

At this moment, Lin Jiu was also quite uncomfortable.

The necklace around her neck felt exceptionally heavy, and every "Supervisor" from the ghost foreman sent a jolt of terror through her.

During her year in the Ghost World, her once confident and courageous spirit had long been broken.

All that remained was a desperate struggle for survival, a raw desire to live that kept her going.

If the person she was a year ago could see her now, she would be filled with nothing but disdain, viewing her present self as a disgrace!

There was no helping it.

Circumstances change a person.

Suddenly being made a supervisor, she didn’t dare order any ghosts around.

Lin Jiu’s gaze fell upon the table of delicacies, her expression dazed and distant.

She, who was once so proud, was now enduring humiliation just to survive.

It had been so long...

so long since she had eaten a proper meal.

But with Yun Zhenyue, she could probably eat this well every single meal. Three square meals a day, every day!

"Senior, don’t you worry. From now on, no one will dare to bully you."

Yun Zhenyue’s heart ached seeing her like this.

She proactively placed a shrimp ball in Lin Jiu’s bowl.

Lin Jiu’s eyes grew warm. "Thank you," she murmured, her head bowed.

"..." Yun Zhenyue was silent. This wasn’t the senior she had always looked up to.

"Thank you for today."

Lin Jiu looked up, wiping a tear from her eye. A long-lost smile touched her lips.

"You helped me so much, and you even made me a supervisor."

"Back then, if someone had told me my dorky little junior could pull something like this off, I never would have believed them."

"Hehe, it was nothing," Yun Zhenyue said with a silly grin, her eyes curving into crescents.

The two of them casually chatted about the past.

Suddenly, Lin Jiu asked, "You think I’ve changed, don’t you?"

"No, no... I wasn’t thinking that."

Yun Zhenyue quickly denied it, shaking her head.

Lin Jiu smiled and didn’t ask again, her expression turning nostalgic.

"It’s normal, actually. I was so proud back then."

"But ever since I came to the Ghost World, I realized that all that pride means nothing."

"In the Ghost World, strength is everything. Three days after I arrived, I was forced to eat slop. All my pride vanished in an instant."

At this, she looked at the bewildered Yun Zhenyue.

"I’m very envious of you, you know. To be so brave, and to still hold onto your original self, never changing."

"Although I don’t know how you’ve done all this, I can tell that you’ve been well-protected."

"So well-protected that you haven’t realized the cruelty and despair of the Ghost World."

The words sounded like an insult.

But Lin Jiu had no ill intent, and Yun Zhenyue didn’t overthink it.

Her eyes just lit up as she said, "That’s right, I think so too."

"You don’t know, my husband, he’s—"