Chapter 39 Part 1

Yun Chun’s words carried no hidden meaning. She simply didn’t want Lu Qingxue to wait for her.

Lu Qingxue understood.

Yet the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth softened all the same. Her eyes brimmed with gentle affection as she said, “Go do what you need to. Whether I wait for you or not is my choice.”

This was exactly what Yun Chun didn’t want. She explained, “I’ve got a new job now, so I won’t be coming home at regular times anymore. It won’t be like before. In the future, I might not just be five hours late every day—I could be even later.”

If she truly went back to modeling, she might be so swamped she couldn’t make it home at all.

Would Lu Qingxue still wait for her then?

Yun Chun spoke plainly, laying out the simple truth.

It might have swayed someone else, but for Lu Qingxue… it was no issue at all.

“So what?” Lu Qingxue replied.

Meeting Yun Chun’s surprised gaze, Lu Qingxue smiled. “Little Darling, have you forgotten I’m a ghost? You’ve got your own life, and I’ve got my own business to handle. I’m not sitting around waiting for you around the clock.”

“I just happened to have some free time today.”

Lu Qingxue’s tone grew even softer.

“As for waiting for you… I only want you to know one thing. No matter how busy you get, no matter where you are or what you’re doing—I’ll always be waiting right behind you.”

In the blink of an eye, Lu Qingxue appeared right in front of Yun Chun. Smiling, she added, “Little One, go ahead and do what you want. Don’t worry about me.”

Before Yun Chun could even move her lips to respond, the same finger Lu Qingxue had used to feed her the orange tapped lightly on her forehead. “The thing I’m truly afraid of isn’t the waiting. It’s that you won’t miss me.”

“If you feel guilty about it, just think of me more whenever you can.”

Yun Chun’s gaze dropped to the floor.

Think of me more whenever you can.

She couldn’t dwell on those words too long. One close look, and it felt like… Lu Qingxue might know something.

Yun Chun didn’t dare ask.

The situation was too tangled right now. She trusted Lu Qingxue, yet she couldn’t afford to gamble.

On the surface, they seemed to be working through an adjustment period. In truth, it was all Lu Qingxue’s endless patience and forgiveness.

What could she do in return?

She lifted her eyes to meet Lu Qingxue’s. “I’ll be home on time tomorrow.”

Lu Qingxue smiled. “Good.”

~~~

Five days slipped by. Tomorrow was the day they’d head to Milan. That evening, after telling Lu Qingxue she wouldn’t be coming home, Yun Chun turned straight toward Xu Lanmeng’s house.

Yun Yueqin opened the door.

The moment Yun Chun stepped inside, Yun Yueqin asked, “Have you packed your luggage?”

Yun Chun had only mentioned the out-of-town trip to her the day before. She’d intended to heed Xu Lanmeng’s advice and keep Yun Yueqin inside the bracelet at night. But knowing Yun Chun was leaving on a long trip tomorrow, Yun Yueqin had flatly refused to stay put.

She fretted over Yun Chun endlessly, her concerns never quite running dry.

Yun Chun nodded. “Pretty much.”

To an elder’s ears, that was hardly reassuring. Yun Yueqin’s brows furrowed slightly. “What do you mean, ‘pretty much’? Is it not packed right? Do you need me to do it for you?”

Heaven forbid.

Yun Chun laughed. “It’s all packed. Don’t worry. Flight’s tomorrow afternoon—I’ll double-check everything in the morning before I head back.”

Yun Yueqin hummed in acknowledgment, then asked, “Have you eaten?”

Yun Chun blinked, shaking her head. “Not yet.”

She rarely ate this late.

“Are you hungry?” Yun Yueqin’s eyes filled with concern. “Mom will whip up a bowl of noodles for you.”

Yun Chun’s lips curved into a smile. “Sounds good.”

Coming home from work to her mom cooking noodles.

The feeling was pure warmth.

As they ate, mother and daughter chatted softly, keeping their voices low so as not to wake Xu Lanmeng.

Once the bowl was empty, Yun Chun freshened up quickly and headed to the guest room. Yun Yueqin had already swapped out the bedsheets and duvet cover—ready to crash.

Yun Chun slid under the covers while Yun Yueqin perched on the other side of the bed, rattling off reminders about staying safe on the road. Yun Chun soaked in the familiar nagging, her heart glowing with comfort. It had been ages since she’d heard her mother’s advice. Wrapped in that secure feeling, the exhausted Yun Chun drifted off to sleep in a haze.

Outside the window, a slender crescent moon dangled amid the clouds.

The wee hours of the morning held everything in perfect stillness.

Until a faint tinkle from the wind chimes shattered the quiet—like the first crack of dawn ripping through the night sky.

Xu Lanmeng, asleep in the master bedroom, snapped her eyes open the instant the chime rang. She stepped into the living room and spotted a pale white figure standing outside the guest room door.

The figure turned slowly at the sound of the door.

Bathed in cool moonlight, her features came into sharp focus for Xu Lanmeng.

She knew that face. She’d seen it in a photo on the cabinet at Lu Wanyi’s house.

A portrait of the departed.

Xu Lanmeng usually banished uninvited ghosts on sight, but this one was different. She hesitated, then offered a tight-lipped smile. “Here for Yun Chun?”

Lu Qingxue turned to face her, expression icy and detached.

After a moment with no reply, Xu Lanmeng took a step closer. Wary on the inside, she kept her face casual. “She’s right in there. Want me to call her for you?”

The ghost merely arched a brow, silent as ever. Xu Lanmeng steeled herself and started toward the guest room door.

But just before she reached it, Lu Qingxue extended an arm, blocking her path.

“Don’t disturb her rest.”

She lowered her arm and fixed Xu Lanmeng with a steady gaze. “No need to play hide-and-seek. I know Aunt Qin’s in there.”

Xu Lanmeng’s grip tightened around the bracelet in her hand.

She hadn’t planned to fetch Yun Chun at all—she’d meant to stash Yun Yueqin away.

“What do you want?” she whispered sharply.

Lu Qingxue’s lips quirked upward. “You think I owe you an explanation?”

She scanned the room, as if hunting for signs of Yun Chun’s presence here. Her eyes lingered on a water glass atop the dining table, gave it a quick glance, then returned to Xu Lanmeng. “You didn’t explain yourself when you dragged me into this.”

Xu Lanmeng’s heart lurched, though she played dumb. “Dragged you? Isn’t this the first time we’ve met?”

Lu Qingxue’s gaze remained cool and distant. She wasn’t nearly as soft with others as she was with Yun Chun. Her eyes narrowed, her voice turning frigid. “Whatever you’ve done for Aunt Qin… it hasn’t escaped me.”

“…”

It hadn’t. And Lu Qingxue wasn’t just any ghost.

The tension eased slightly from Xu Lanmeng’s shoulders. She murmured, “It wasn’t dragging you into anything. Your parents just showed up at the right—or wrong—time.”

A blast of chill air surged toward Xu Lanmeng’s face. Assuming Lu Qingxue was upset about the betrothal, she hurried on. “When I set up that ghost marriage for you, I had no idea you were White Impermanence. Promise me you won’t touch her, and I’ll dissolve this tie with Yun Chun right now.”

But Lu Qingxue sidestepped the offer with a question of her own. “Using Yun Chun like this—you’re not worried Aunt Qin will find out?”

“Using her? Like I said, it wasn’t that.”

As for Yun Yueqin learning the truth? Xu Lanmeng would make damn sure she didn’t.

Yun Chun, though…

“If she’d known I was trying to find her mom,” Xu Lanmeng said, “she would’ve handed over the bracelet without all the ghost marriage hassle. The reason I looped you in with her…”

She trailed off, meeting Lu Qingxue’s eyes. “That’s my business. You don’t need the details. If you’re here to settle scores, wrong address—the ones who arranged your ghost marriage were your parents.”

Lu Qingxue’s eyes gleamed like captured moonlight, her voice crisp and cold. “Save the speech. I’ve got one demand.

“Confess everything to Yun Chun—when the moment’s right.”

Xu Lanmeng stared, stunned.

“She deserves the truth,” Lu Qingxue said.

No one should be lied to. No one should keep trekking here out of misplaced gratitude. Better Xu Lanmeng come clean on her own terms than let Yun Chun uncover it the hard way.

Xu Lanmeng fell silent.

She eyed Lu Qingxue with odd curiosity. “And you? You’re not here to make me end things between the two of you?”

Lu Qingxue’s expression stayed frosty, offering no reply. But Xu Lanmeng pressed. “From what I hear, yin officials can’t have any dealings with the living.”

Hence the strangeness.

She’d expected Lu Qingxue to negotiate the ghost marriage. Instead, it was all about coming clean to Yun Chun—no word of breaking it off.

Realization dawned on Xu Lanmeng. She studied Lu Qingxue for a long moment. “Not scared of the consequences?”

Clouds veiled the moon overhead, dimming the room. Lu Qingxue’s face plunged into shadow, her thoughts unreadable.

As the clouds parted, her soft voice cut through the gloom like light through mist.

“One more offense won’t make a difference, will it?” she said.

Xu Lanmeng’s fingertips tingled with numbness.

She suddenly understood. Among the rule breaks that could punish Lu Qingxue, one stood out…

Probably Yun Yueqin.

Knowing she was here—and leaving her be.

Why?

To spare Yun Chun the heartbreak?

Worth the extra punishment?

But that kind of defiance… it went beyond mere penalty.

Straight to the eternal torments of hell.

Another chime rang out.

Xu Lanmeng and Lu Qingxue both turned toward the guest room.

Lu Qingxue vanished in a flash.

Xu Lanmeng shoved open the door, locking eyes with Yun Yueqin, who stood just inside.

~~~

Yun Chun stirred awake. Yun Yueqin was gone from her side.

She opened the bedroom door. Sure enough, Xu Lanmeng was running through her morning routine in the living room. The sound of running water drifted from the kitchen—likely Yun Yueqin tidying up something.

After greeting Xu Lanmeng, Yun Chun washed up and stepped into the kitchen.

Yun Yueqin was still standing in front of the soy milk machine, but this time she didn’t hear Yun Chun’s footsteps. Yun Chun had to call out to her twice before she turned around with a forced smile. “You’re awake?”

Yun Chun could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Yun Yueqin’s expression. “Mom, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“That doesn’t look like it.”

Yun Yueqin gave a faint smile. “I was just wondering if you’d packed all your luggage.”

Yun Chun nodded and reassured her. “I can buy whatever I need once I’m out there. Don’t worry.”

“That’s good,” Yun Yueqin replied.

Yun Chun was about to ask what Yun Yueqin had eaten for breakfast when her mother’s voice reached her ears first. “By the way, last time I asked if you had anyone you liked, you said no, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Don’t you have any thoughts about dating?”

“I’m too busy making money. Where would I find time for that? Besides, what’s the point? I can’t think of a single benefit.”

“Then… do you like boys or girls?”

The abrupt question left Yun Chun at a loss for words. “…Mom?”

She recovered a bit. “Why are you asking me that?”

What she really wanted to say was—why would you even ask something like that?

As far as Yun Chun knew, Yun Yueqin had never been exposed to much about homosexuality in her circles.

But what was going on now?

Yun Yueqin continued, “I’m worried you like girls and feel too embarrassed to tell me. Plus… you’ve grown up without ever dating anyone, no experience at all. What if someone deceives you later and you end up heartbroken? You should try dating someone first. You can’t just spend your whole life alone, right?”

Yun Chun took a moment to process it. “So you’re saying it wouldn’t matter if I liked girls?” She had always thought her mom was old-fashioned, but this open-minded?

Her realization that she liked girls had come vaguely in her teens. She couldn’t recall the exact age anymore, but she remembered the trigger clearly.