Ghost Exorciser: Is Loved By All-Chapter 824: Childhood Letters

The casual look made him seem less like the cold, powerful heir of a big family—and more like the boy Qiao Li used to know.

Her heart skipped.

She blinked. "What... are you doing here?"

Then she frowned. "Wait... did your family stay over?"

But Ou Lin smiled lazily, stretching his arms. "Nope. Just me. I’m going to be living here now. For the next one month."

Qiao Li stared at him like he was crazy. "What?"

"Mrs. Qiao invited me," he said simply.

"She said she was feeling lonely since Mr. Qiao and her two sons are always busy. I’m here to help her pass time."

Qiao Li’s mouth dropped open. "You?! But you’re the heir of the Ou family! Don’t you have work to do? Your family just recovered from bankruptcy! Don’t you need to fix everything?!"

Ou Lin chuckled.

He leaned against the wall and smiled at her. "Well... my dad’s handling the work for now. He told me to rest."

Qiao Li stared at him. She couldn’t believe it.

But she remembered something.

For the past 20 years, Ou Lin had worked non-stop. Even when he was still a student, he had been preparing for the worst.

And when the Ou family was declared bankrupt, people thought they were done.

But in truth... they had backup money.

They weren’t poor at all. In fact, they could still compete with the top families in Beijing.

Ou Lin smiled again and said softly, "You don’t need to worry about me, Qiao Li."

Then he winked.

"I’ve got all the time in the world... for you."

Qiao Li stared at Ou Lin, her heart beating fast like a drum in her chest.

But she quickly forced herself to calm down.

Her eyes narrowed as she said coolly,

"You’re thinking too much. You can stay here as long as you want. I’ll make sure I don’t come home much, so I won’t disturb your little vacation."

And with that, she turned around and walked downstairs, not looking back once. She didn’t want to see his face. Not right now. Her heart was still pounding.

For a second, she had wanted to throw her arms around him, to touch his arm, feel the strength in his biceps, just like she used to dream of...

But no. She had to stay strong.

When she got to the dining room, she saw her mother, Mrs. Qiao, setting the breakfast table.

Qiao Li walked over quickly and hugged her mom’s arm tightly. "Mom..." she said sweetly,

"Why is Ou Lin staying here? Can you please, like, send him away after two days or something? Secretly?"

Mrs. Qiao looked a little surprised and gave a small sigh.

"Actually... there’s something you don’t know. The Ou family decided they’ll be focusing on Xiaoxiao from now on, so they thought it’d be better to let Lin stay with us for a while."

Qiao Li’s mouth dropped open. "What kind of excuse is that?! He’s already 23! Why would he need attention? He should be the one giving attention to Ou Xiaoxiao, not the other way around!"

Mrs. Qiao looked toward the stairs, her face serious.

Then she lowered her voice and said softly,

"Li, listen to me. Yes, Lin is grown up now. But he never really had a childhood. You know that.

Ever since he was little, he only cared about his sister, who wasn’t herself for years... and during that time, his parents gave all their love and attention to her. They forgot about Lin."

Qiao Li stayed quiet.

Mrs. Qiao kept talking, gently,

"He never got to enjoy anything, sweetie. He worked so hard to become the heir, day and night, for the past 20 years.

Now, for the first time, he asked his parents to let him rest... just one month to enjoy life a little. Let’s not chase him away."

Qiao Li bit her lip. Her heart softened.

It was true. That was the Ou Lin she knew. The one who used to stay up past 2 a.m. studying.

The one who never went to parties, never wasted time. He had been working hard since he was five.

She had always admired that about him. Maybe that was part of why she’d fallen so deeply in love.

But then... she remembered how he pushed her away. How he rejected her love. Ten years. Ten long years of chasing him, only for him to act like she was just some girl the family pushed at him.

Her heart ached.

But she hardened herself again.

"So what?" she whispered. "He’s a victim... I’m a victim too."

She sat at the table, looking at the breakfast spread, and immediately her mood soured again.

All of Ou Lin’s favorite dishes were on the table.

She frowned and turned to her mom. "Seriously, Mom? You put out all his favorite foods? What about me? You’re being totally biased!"

Mrs. Qiao looked at her daughter with a knowing smile. Qiao Li looked like an angry little cat, puffed up and hissing.

Mrs. Qiao laughed softly and hugged her. "Of course, I love you the most, baby. Your food’s still being made. It’s not ready yet. That’s why I only brought his food out first."

Qiao Li blinked.

"Oh."

Now she felt guilty. She had just yelled at her mom when her mom was actually preparing food for her.

"Sorry, Mom..." she muttered.

Mrs. Qiao patted her hand and smiled. "It’s okay, silly. Now sit down and wait for yours."

She went into the kitchen, leaving Qiao Li alone at the table.

But not for long.

Just a minute later, Ou Lin walked down the stairs like he owned the place.

He was smiling, his steps calm, and without even asking, he sat down right next to her.

"Good morning, Li," he said cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

Qiao Li didn’t answer. She ignored him completely and looked the other way.

But that didn’t stop him.

Without warning, he reached under the table and gently held her hand.

Qiao Li’s eyes widened in shock. She turned and stared at him with a look that clearly said: What do you think you’re doing?!

But Ou Lin?

He didn’t even look back.

He scrolled casually through his phone with the other hand, acting like nothing happened.

Qiao Li tried to pull her hand away, but he grinned and quickly showed her his phone screen.

There was a photo of an old letter.

Qiao Li froze.

She knew that letter.

She’d written it when she was ten.

Ou Lin tapped on the screen, then began to read the words in a dramatic voice.

"’Dear Ou Lin, if you don’t be my boyfriend, I will cry very loudly and make a big scene. I will marry you no matter what. I love you so much, I will buy you the whole universe.’"

He snickered. "And you even wrote: ’Don’t worry, I’ll use Daddy’s money to buy the stars and moon for you.’"

Qiao Li’s whole face turned bright red.

"Ou Lin!" she hissed, trying to grab the phone.

But he held it just out of reach, still grinning.

"That’s some pretty bold stuff, Miss Qiao Li," he teased.

Qiao Li’s face turned bright red, both from embarrassment and anger.

"Delete that letter right now!" she hissed at Ou Lin, glaring at him.

But Ou Lin just smirked. "Nope," he said calmly. "This is my treasure now. I’m keeping it forever."

Before Qiao Li could yell again, he suddenly leaned down and gently kissed the back of her hand.

Qiao Li almost jumped out of her chair.

Her heart was already beating like crazy, and now it felt like it would explode.

"W-What are you doing?!" she shouted in a whisper, looking around in panic to make sure no one saw.

Ou Lin sat back in his chair, totally calm, like he hadn’t just shocked her to the core.

"Relax," he said with a little smile. "This is the natural post-phase of our relationship."

Qiao Li’s jaw dropped. "What relationship?! I’m not dating you!"

Ou Lin raised an eyebrow and gave a small shrug. "Well, I accepted your letter just now, didn’t I? So, automatically, you’re my girlfriend now."

"You’re crazy!" Qiao Li growled. "That’s your own delusion! Now let go of my hand or I’ll scream and tell everyone you’re molesting me!"

Ou Lin gave her a long look... and then slowly nodded.

"Sure," he said with a relaxed tone. "You can scream if you want."

Qiao Li blinked in confusion. That wasn’t the reaction she expected.

Then Ou Lin leaned closer and whispered, "But if you do... I’ll post that letter to your university’s forum."

Qiao Li’s whole body froze.

"What?!" she hissed, horrified. "You wouldn’t!"

"I would," Ou Lin said with a smile. "And I’ll even attach your little drawing where you made a stick figure bride dragging a crying groom."

"That’s public embarrassment!" she snapped.

"That’s not my problem," Ou Lin said coolly. "If you want to keep your peaceful little college life, then... just do what I say."

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