Aside from Jiang Su, no one else paid much mind to the bet between the two of them. Even Jiang Han himself had forgotten all about it as soon as he turned around.
That evening, Jiang Han returned to his room to shower. Every master bedroom in the Jiang family residence came equipped with its own private bathroom, and Jiang Han's was no exception.
He stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Just as he was rinsing the shampoo through his hair, the water suddenly cut out. Covered in foam and unable to open his eyes, Jiang Han instinctively fumbled for the shower control and clicked it a few times, but there was no response.
His expression darkened. Grabbing a towel from the side, he haphazardly wiped his eyes and walked to the bathroom door. Peering out, he shouted toward the hallway, "Steward! Steward Ming! Why is the water in my room out?!"
His voice was loud, but there was no movement outside for the longest time. Assuming the bedroom door was just muffling the sound, he raised his voice and yelled again, "Steward Ming! Mrs. Zhang! My water has been cut off! Someone get over here and check it!"
Jiang Han felt he was shouting loud enough that even someone downstairs should have heard him by now, yet the house remained deathly still. It wasn't just that no one was responding; he realized his room was eerily quiet. Not a single sound drifted in from the outsideeven the usual nighttime chirping of cicadas and insects seemed to have vanished.
For some inexplicable reason, his thoughts drifted to what Jiang Xuxu had said earlier: "tonight." He recalled how much she loved messing with supernatural, ghostly things.
Jiang Han gulped, feeling the hair on his arms stand on end. Without a second thought, he wrapped the towel around his waist and bolted out of the bathroom, suds still clinging to his head. He charged straight for his bedroom door.
"Mom! Steward Ming!!"
Terror laced his voice as he threw open the door and lunged into the hall.
The moment the door opened, the sounds of the outside world seemed to rush back in. At the same time, his terrified scream caught the attention of everyone else in the villa. Jiang Su, whose room was right next door, was the first to open his door and step out.
"What's wrong? What happened?" He turned his head, his eyes nearly popping out of his sockets. "Good god, my old man!"
Jiang Yutong happened to be coming upstairs with Yao Lin and Steward Ming. When they saw Jiang Han standing there soaking wet, covered in foam and wearing nothing but a towel, their eyes widened in shock. Yao Lin instinctively covered the eyes of her young daughter, Jiang Ying, and told her to go back downstairs.
Jiang Yumin also stepped out of his room after hearing the commotion. Seeing his son in such a state, his face darkened instantly. "What is the meaning of this?! Get back inside this instant!"
Jiang Han was on the verge of tears. It wasn't that he didn't want to go in; it was that his room was haunted!
"Dad, Mom, my room..." He wanted to say the room was "unclean," but knowing his father's disdain for such things, he could only grimace and say, "The water in my room... it suddenly stopped."
As the household steward, this fell under Steward Ming's jurisdiction. He hurried forward, saying, "How could that be?" He walked into the room, convinced it was impossible.
Water outages never happened in this villa district, and the plumbing system was state of the art. Even if a pipe had burst, the smart system would have automatically issued a warning before shutting the main valve.
Steward Ming reached the bathroom and turned on the shower. A spray of water hissed out instantly, accompanied by rising steam. It nearly soaked him.
There was plenty of water, and the temperature was perfectly normal. Steward Ming froze in confusion. However, he didn't think Young Master Jiang Han would lie about such a thing, so he tried it twice moreturning it off, then on, then off again...
Since both the bathroom and bedroom doors were open, everyone in the hall could clearly hear the rushing sound of the shower. They all turned their gaze toward Jiang Han in unison.
Jiang Han was utterly dumbfounded. "I... it really wasn't working just now."
"Enough. Get back in there and wash that foam off your head," Jiang Yumin muttered, feeling that his son was being far too flighty, making a scene over nothing.
Yao Lin added her support, "He's right. Go in and finish cleaning up, then change your clothes. You don't want to catch a cold." Even though it was summer, standing around with a wet head was a quick way to get sick.
Jiang Han still felt uneasy. Remembering how no one had answered him no matter how loud he yelled, he didn't dare go back in alone.
"I... I'm going to wash up in Jiang Su's room." Without waiting for permission, he pushed past his brother and headed for Jiang Su's bathroom.
Jiang Su didn't even have time to stop him and could only stomp his feet in frustration outside. Jiang Yumin shook his head and turned back to his room with Yao Lin.
Still shaken by the incident, Jiang Han didn't linger. He quickly rinsed off, changed, and stepped back out. As soon as he exited the bathroom, he saw two people sitting in Jiang Su's room. One was Jiang Su, and the other was Jiang Xuxu.
Startled, Jiang Han immediately glared at Jiang Xuxu. "Was that your doing just now?!"
He knew it. The water had clearly stopped, yet it was fine when Steward Ming checked. And his calls for help being ignored? That was no accident. Remembering the bet they had made earlier, he was certain she had sabotaged him. He just didn't know... how she had done it.
Jiang Su sat nearby, clearly curious as well.
Jiang Xuxu looked at Jiang Han's indignant face with a calm expression. Without denying it, she pulled out a yellow talisman.
"This is a Silence Talisman," she explained. "When stuck to a door, no matter how much noise you make inside, not a single sound will be heard outside. You've already experienced the effect for yourself."
She had modified this based on the formula for a Barrier Talisman, focusing purely on sound isolation while leaving everything else as normal.
Although Jiang Han had accused her of "playing tricks," he had assumed she used some kind of high-tech gadget. He never expected her to pull out a literal talisman. He stared at it, speechless.
Beside him, Jiang Su's eyes lit up with excitement. "There's a talisman for that? Sis, I want one too! Sell it to me!"
With this, he wouldn't have to worry about his parents catching him gaming! He wouldn't even need headphones!
Jiang Xuxu didn't stand on ceremony regarding Jiang Su's bluntness. She turned her head and said, "2,000 each."
Jiang Su nodded without hesitation, grabbed his phone, and immediately transferred the money.
Jiang Han watched the exchange, utterly slack-jawed. "You... you really know magic?" He felt his entire worldview crumbling around him.
Jiang Xuxu glanced at Jiang Han, too lazy to explain further. She simply said, "As for our bet, I won."
Jiang Han's mouth twitched. He wanted to find a reason to call it a loss, but he had experienced it firsthand and had even made a fool of himself in front of the whole family. He couldn't deny it even if he wanted to. Suddenly, another thought struck him, and his expression soured.
"Wait. Even if you used a talisman, what about the water?"
Jiang Han began to imagine that Jiang Xuxu had sent a little ghost over to shut off his water mid-shower. Otherwise, the timing was too perfect... The thought that a ghost might have been watching him shower made his skin crawl again. He looked at Jiang Xuxu as if she were a monster.
However, her answer was much more mundane. "The house's water control system allows for real-time monitoring of each room's usage."
Jiang Han stared at her. "...?" Not a ghost?
Jiang Xuxu sighed and clarified, "I just monitored your water usage, estimated the time, and shut your room's valve. That's all."
Jiang Han's mouth twitched violently. "That's all?!"
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