My boyfriend wants to claim my family’s assets, and funny enough, I have an axe to grind too. I went all out, buying him top brands, watches, and sneakers.

I ended up waiting for him at the restaurant for four hours. The waitstaff were whispering among themselves:

“Is this girl seriously obsessed with him?”

If only they knew how much more I’m willing to do to win his heart.

***

I had a dinner date with Evan at a fancy restaurant downtown, and he showed up four hours late. I waited gracefully, and as the waitstaff passed by, one of them said:

“Miss, we’re closing in half an hour. Are you still waiting?”

I checked my watch—it was nearly 10 PM. When Evan finally arrived, I gave him a warm look.

“Baby, why are you so late?”

He didn’t even try to hide it. “Oh, I got caught up playing games.”

I took his hand and said, “I understand. Let’s eat so you won’t be hungry.”

One of the waitresses, overheard and couldn’t help but think:

This must be love-struck behavior! Does this guy have any other qualities besides being good-looking?

Honestly, I’m not too concerned about his other traits. I’m mostly focused on his appearance and... his lifespan.

I’m what you’d call a Western demon. Our kind typically lives less than 30 years. But there’s a way to extend our lives—by consuming evil souls.

Unfortunately, consuming souls goes against the natural order, so we only eat evil spirits. Finding truly malevolent souls is rare; even encountering ordinary evil people is uncommon. We usually just exploit loopholes to extend our lifespan.

Evan is my loophole.

I met him during a company team party. He’s impressive in both looks and talent, but no one seems to get close to him. Curious, I asked a colleague who knows him well.

“Oh, him? Don’t bother. The last time he went out for milk tea with a girl, he insisted on splitting the bill down to the last cent.”

“And he also mentioned that his mom thinks he should find a beautiful and wealthy woman—what a mama’s boy.”

When I heard that, my eyes lighting up.

Evan, who’s all about getting the most out of every situation, seemed like a perfect match. When I noticed the black mist on his face, I was even more convinced he was exactly who I was looking for. So, I took the initiative and added him on WhatsApp.

It didn’t take long for us to start dating.

“Baby, let’s go Dutch,” he suggested. “It’s the trend these days.”

To be honest, he’s not a terrible boyfriend. He promised to pay when we eat out, but he insists we split the bill, saying if I pay, he might forget to reimburse me. On Valentine’s Day, I wanted roses. They finally went on sale late in the day, and he bought them for me, even remembering to split the cost.

For his birthday, he sent me links to limited edition sneakers and pricey designer clothes and asked me to buy them for him.

My colleagues couldn’t believe it. “Seriously, you are love-struck and love blinded.”

What do they know? He’s actually a great boyfriend.

After a while, we started introducing each other to our families. He met my mom first. I drove him to my villa.

As we arrived in the upscale neighborhood, his eyes widened. “You live here?”

“No,” I replied. “This entire row of villas is mine. The big one at the end is where my mom lives.”

His eyes were glued to the place. “Wow, your family is so rich.”

“This is nothing,” I said. “My mom said if you marry me, you can pick any villa you want from the row.”

When we walked in and my mom came out, he greeted her with, “Hello, Auntie.”

My mom’s eyes lit up when she saw him. She was clearly pleased.

Later that night, she texted me: “You’ve got a great eye for this guy. It’s rare to find such a young talent. You’d better hold on to him.”

After he knew about my family’s wealth, meeting his parents went much smoother. They were talking in the kitchen.

“The Thorne family and their daughter have so many assets? If Evan marries her, all that wealth will be ours in the future.”

“Evan, if she won’t marry you, then make her pregnant before marriage. She won’t be able to get away from you.”

Evan’s voice dripped with disdain: “Mom, she’s already devoted to me. Do we really need to worry about a premarital pregnancy?”

Not long after, he proposed to me. We were at a ramen shop when, after we finished eating, he suddenly knelt down and popped the question. I said yes.

I was a bit surprised when I saw the $1.50 diamond ring he bought on Amazon. I didn’t expect him to propose so soon.

Evan’s mom, Vivian, was curious about the dowry: “Aria, your family is so rich. How much dowry is appropriate?”

At that moment, Vivian seemed worried that I might ask for a lot. But honestly, taking her son’s soul is like taking his life. I’ve already taken a life, so why would I care about their money? You can’t have everything in life.

I shook my head and quickly said, “Auntie, marrying Evan is my blessing. I don’t want a dowry!”

Vivian sighed with relief. But her expression changed soon after. She relaxed a bit, leaned back on the sofa, and began praising her son.

“This child! He’s been smart since he was young, got into a top university, worked at a foreign company—all thanks to his hard work. And as you said, marrying Evan is indeed a blessing. Many young women wanted to marry him, but I didn’t agree. Let’s go with your suggestion: no dowry, but the bride’s family will provide a villa.”

So it was settled. Next up was discussing the wedding details. I brought my mom to meet his parents, and both families had to agree on the wedding date. My mom’s eyes lit up, but since I can only see a bit of the malicious black lines on people, I could tell there was something off.

What she saw were dense black lines on the faces of Evan’s parents. Excitedly, she grabbed Vivian and said, “Vivian, they are a great match. I feel a strange sense of familiarity with you.”

I couldn’t stop laughing. It was so obvious how malicious they were. This was like the thrill of a hunter spotting their prey.

My mom whispered to me, “This couple must have killed people. They’re extremely evil. It’s rare to find such evil among a hundred thousand people. Today, I encountered two of them. What a stroke of luck for you. Let me investigate them thoroughly.”