On the screen was a sensational news headline, accompanied by images.
"Disgusting Influencer World! Famous influencer Candy Lulu caught behaving scandalously in public! Shamelessly seeking attention—the influencer scene desperately needs cleaning up..."
The images showed a heavily made-up woman making various inappropriate gestures in front of a live-stream camera. Her expression was a disturbing mix of mania and delirium.
The whole scene exuded a sickly, neurotic vibe.
"Boss, do you think it's the Lulu from yesterday?" Tiger asked eagerly.
"Who knows," Lu Fei replied, shaking his head.
Yesterday, the Lulu who'd come with Bingbing had been bundled up so tightly he hadn't seen her face. Just going by a name didn't prove anything—names like Bingbing and Lulu were obviously stage names.
"I think it's too much of a coincidence—it must be her! Bingbing mentioned she was losing followers, didn't she?" Tiger had looked up a lot of info on Candy Lulu online.
Candy Lulu was one of the first influencers to gain fame with her sweet image, amassing millions of fans. But over the past week, she'd started behaving bizarrely on live streams, doing shocking things that stunned her audience.
Then, scandal after scandal surfaced—plastic surgery, being a mistress, even drug use—causing her popularity to plummet.
"She's already so famous. Why would she need to act out like this for attention? Looking at these photos, something seems really off!" Tiger had been engrossed in his research all morning.
"Boss, could this be because of that unclean thing she's carrying?"
"If it really was the same Lulu as yesterday, then maybe," Lu Fei replied.
Influencer scandals were common these days. But for someone like Candy Lulu to suddenly destroy her own career was rare. Even from the live-stream screenshots, her expressions and demeanor didn't seem normal—if it wasn't the influence of something unclean, it could very well be drug-related, as the rumors suggested.
Neither expected that their theory would be confirmed that very afternoon.
Later that day.
Accompanied by a strong perfume scent, a female customer walked in, wearing an ankle-length sun-protective coat and a wide-brimmed hat.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
Lu Fei set down his tea, rising politely.
"Shopkeeper Lu, you mentioned yesterday that if I needed to pawn something, I could come to you." The customer's voice sounded familiar.
Lu Fei paused, quickly realizing that it was indeed the influencer Lulu.
She was dressed in long sleeves and pants, with an additional sun coat that reached her ankles. Her wide-brimmed hat, mask, and sunglasses still covered her face.
Even her hands were gloved, and her legs covered in long socks—she was bundled up from head to toe, revealing almost nothing.
He'd heard of women being meticulous about sun protection, but this was extreme.
Lu Fei glanced around. This time, she'd come alone.
"Please, Miss Lulu, have a seat. What would you like to pawn?" Lu Fei made a welcoming gesture and offered her a warm smile.
Tiger struggled to contain his curious gaze and turned away to fetch some water.
"I heard that Evil Pawnshop specializes in taking in… unclean items." Lulu sat down, her eyes fixed on Lu Fei through her sunglasses.
"That's correct." Lu Fei could sense her anxiety and unease. "As long as it's a cursed object, we'll take it."
"Can you guarantee one hundred percent that you can take it?"
"Miss Lulu, I don't even know what you're looking to pawn. How could I guarantee anything?" Lu Fei smiled.
Just then, Tiger brought the water over, setting it in front of Lulu, then stood behind Lu Fei with an eager, watchful expression.
After a moment's hesitation, Lulu unzipped her sun coat and removed a peculiar-looking necklace from around her neck.
"I'd like to pawn this."
Lu Fei noticed faint scars on her neck but refrained from commenting.
"If you don't mind, I'll take a closer look."
Lulu nodded and placed the necklace on the counter.
Lu Fei put on gloves and picked up the necklace.
The pendant was a small, rectangular tag, about the size of a pocket watch, strung on a red cord. Embedded in the pendant was a tiny black-and-white photograph of a woman's face.
The woman in the photo had a strange, haunting beauty.
Her eyes were striking, black and white in sharp contrast, with unusually large pupils.
Her lips were slightly upturned, giving the faintest hint of a smile.
But her eyes betrayed no hint of joy; cover her mouth, and her face would look completely blank.
It was a classic case of a forced smile.
Most unsettling was her gaze—unfocused, devoid of any life or sparkle.
Lu Fei frowned.
Those lifeless, dilated pupils gave her eyes a dead look. It seemed as though these were the eyes of a corpse.
But how could a corpse be smiling?
Did someone force her eyes open, tug her mouth into a smile, and then take a photo?
Lu Fei looked at Lulu.
"The woman in this photo—she's not you, is she?"
"No." Lulu hesitated, then removed her mask and sunglasses.
A sweet face appeared, heavily made up with thick foundation, dark eyeliner, exaggerated lashes, and bright red lipstick. None of it, however, could hide her pallor.
Lu Fei and Tiger exchanged a knowing look.
This really was Candy Lulu, the influencer caught in a massive scandal!
Though shocked, both maintained their professionalism, betraying no reaction.
"Then who is the woman in the photo?" Lu Fei asked.
"I don't know." Lulu shook her head.
She looked nothing like the woman in the photograph, though their eyes were similar. Lulu's pupils were unusually large and dark.
Lu Fei observed carefully—she wasn't wearing colored contacts; her large eyes seemed natural.
Black-and-white photos like these were usually used for memorial portraits. Who would wear a necklace with a stranger's memorial photo?
"Miss Lulu, do you know what this necklace is?" Lulu's dark eyes scrutinized him, testing his knowledge.
Lu Fei sensed her lingering distrust and offered a gentle smile. "Miss Lulu, you're familiar with South Asian spirit amulets, right?"
"Yes," Lulu nodded.
"These amulets fall into two types: blessed and dark. Blessed ones are made by monks in reputable temples and crafted from materials like herbs, pollen, and metals. Dark amulets, on the other hand, are made with darker elements, such as corpse oil, noose ropes, and ashes. While both types are believed to bring luck and protection, dark amulets work faster."
"And your necklace here… it's actually a type of dark amulet."
"It's called a Lucky Sister Brand."
"While most dark amulets house a child spirit, the Lucky Sister Brand contains a powerful female spirit, the soul of a young woman."
"That's right, this is a Lucky Sister Brand!" Lulu's tense expression softened. "The seller told me that it's more powerful than most dark amulets."