The wind chime swayed lightly. The three people in the convenience store shared a silent, tacit understanding and chose to ignore it. Compared to the six crisp notes that sounded whenever Zhao Mingyue passed by, Lu Liangting’s four really weren’t much.
When the store owner saw Lu Liangting, he even greeted him warmly. “Xiao Lu, you’re here so early.”
“Morning, Manager. I was just passing by and thought I’d drop in,” Lu Liangting replied with a polite smile on his face.
“Good, then you young people chat. I have something to attend to over there—need to hurry or a client will be on my case. If you find the time, feel free to come by and sit more often.”
“Sure, I’ll come when I’m free. Take care.”
The store manager, smiling, pushed open the glass door and left with the flintlock in his pocket, leaving Zhao Mingyue and Lu Liangting alone in the shop.
Many times, Zhao Mingyue wanted to ask: wasn’t her Boss a little too trusting of her? Did he really not need to hire a few more employees?
Ever since Lu Liangting had left, she was the only one on the night shift. Someone else only came to relieve her after midnight. And when she was on break before, she’d had to work the entire night—from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.
“Mingyue.” Lu Liangting watched the Boss leave, then walked over to the front of the counter. “There are some things I want to talk to you about. Nothing too important—if you don’t want to answer, that’s fine.”
Behind the counter, Zhao Mingyue scratched her head awkwardly. “Ask away.”
She had been the one to initiative the call to Lu Liangting last night, which resulted in him getting tied up and made into a Groom. Not just a Groom, no—the Ghost Bride had been that terrifying monster who nearly swallowed him alive. So now, whenever she saw Lu Liangting, she felt a bit guilty towards him.
“The main reason I came this time is to ask…” Lu Liangting took a deep breath, once again steeling his resolve. “I want to ask about Bai Yu.”
“Bai Yu? Well… that’s a bit hard to explain.”
“I know, and I understand. It’s just… I’m thinking, she’s saved me after all, several times even. So if there’s a chance, I’d like to talk to her alone and ask her if there’s anything I can do to help. Anything at all! As long as I’m capable of doing it, I’ll definitely help her!”
Perhaps out of nervousness, Lu Liangting pressed his hands on the counter, accidentally knocking over a notebook. It fell with startling accuracy, right onto the rabbit doll leaning against the table. The doll, which happened to be staring upward with its glowing red eyes, took the hit squarely on the head.
Zhao Mingyue’s smile froze instantly. She hurriedly picked the notebook up.
Alas, it was too late. The rabbit doll had toppled over on the table, even its little perked-up ears knocked askew.
“Sorry.” Lu Liangting, still unaware of the gravity of his action, apologized.
“Ah… this…” Zhao Mingyue coughed and put the notebook down. She didn’t follow up on it, instead launching into a serious tone. “Bai Yu really is with me. Closer than family. But, she’s a ghost, you know? So if you want to talk to her, daytime definitely won’t work.”
Right now, she just wanted to get rid of Lu Liangting. What was wrong with this person? Wasn’t he afraid Bai Yu would appear and beat him up?
“Alright, I understand.” Lu Liangting nodded. Zhao Mingyue very much wanted to ask him, what exactly did you understand? And if you understand, why aren’t you leaving yet?
Lu Liangting, however, showed no sign of leaving. He instead went and got two cartons of milk worth eight yuan each, handing one to Zhao Mingyue. “This one’s on me.”
“Mingyue, what we say now… can she hear it?”
“Mm… probably not.”
Of course she can hear, you fool. She’s right there, not even half a meter away from you.
“Well, to be honest, when I came today, I hadn’t even figured out what I really wanted to ask. Because, really, there isn’t much to ask, nor much to say. Maybe when she saved me, it was just a helping hand along the way. She probably doesn’t even remember who I am anymore.”
“The first time I saw her was at Sunshine Apartment. It was on the fifth floor. I’d fallen into a trap and was facing certain death. She stepped in to help. If it weren’t for her, I would have died there that time, most likely.”
“So I’m truly very grateful to her.”
“Do you know why I went there? I was looking for clues about my younger sister.”
“I actively entered this world because of my sister, too.”
As he spoke, Lu Liangting even grabbed a stool. He casually paid for the milk, clearly ready to open up.
“I didn’t really like my family before. I hated everything about home, hated my parents. I did a lot of terrible things because of it. It was my younger sister who made me change, who got me back on the right track.”
“A lot happened between us—I won’t get into that. Let me just tell you about the final moments of her life.”
“Anyway… on that day, she was killed by an Evil Ghost while saving me. And I could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything.”
“After killing her, that ghost even… started gnawing on her body. I was holding a brick, about to go fight the ghost to the death. But my sister grabbed my pant leg. She still had a trace of life left in her then. She just said to me… ‘Don’t go.’”
“Those two words were the last thing she ever said to me.”
“I think, if she hadn’t held me back, I would definitely have died too.”
“I’m such a coward. Part of me wanted to avenge her, and part of me was terrified I’d die without succeeding, throwing my life away for nothing. Staying alive… at least there was still hope.”
“After that, I started frantically researching what happened during that time. I abandoned my studies, gave up my friendships, and shut myself in my room.”
“Then one day… I heard my sister’s voice outside. I rushed downstairs to look, but I didn’t find her. Instead, I found something she had sent me.”
Lu Liangting took out his black phone. “This.”
“And so, I formally began to enter this world. Sometime later, I discovered that my sister… her ghost hadn’t moved on. She wanders between mission locations, saving people like myself. Or perhaps she’s also searching for the Fierce Ghost that killed her.”
“The first moment I saw Bai Yu, I thought… that it was her. The same dress, the same age, the same kindness.”
“Then I realized I was wrong. Bai Yu wasn’t her. She was another equally kind ghost.”
“I just thought… if one day I could find my sister, I would definitely introduce her to Bai Yu. The two of them… would surely become good friends.”
Hearing this, Zhao Mingyue nodded thoughtfully. “So when you see Bai Yu, it’s like seeing your sister?”
“At first, I thought so too. But now, I’m gradually realizing… Bai Yu isn’t the same as her.”
“Forget it, I’ve bothered you enough today. Let’s talk another time.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Yeah, I have to get to class. Oh right… if you run into any problems, you can call me.”
Lu Liangting left. His departing figure was somewhat forlorn. Just as he himself had said, he didn’t even know why he’d come today, nor what he could really ask.
Even Zhao Mingyue was just sighing about how the poor guy was heading down a misguided path when she saw Lu Liangting walk out of the convenience store—and a motorcycle came roaring by. The girl on the motorcycle had astonishing strength, practically scooping Lu Liangting up in one motion.
With a whoosh, Lu Liangting vanished, leaving a dumbfounded Zhao Mingyue behind.
“He… definitely doesn’t have any shortage of girls around him, does he?”
