Chapter 2: The Ghost Girl, Lin Xi
Li Mu had always been unlucky.
The first time he tried online dating, the girl actually came to see him in person. He even climbed over the school wall in the middle of the night, only to get hit by a truck and nearly die. And the next day, he ran into a ghost.
Everything that had happened since last night felt unreal. It was like something out of a fantasy novel. This is insane!
Even after returning to his dorm, he was still struggling to process the fact that ghosts actually existed in the real world.
And that ghost girl… was she trying to possess him just now?
Sitting at his desk, he stared blankly for a while before turning to look at the ghost who had been silently following him the whole way back.
She was… quite pretty. If she were in his class, she would easily be the class beauty. Though, to be fair, his class only had eight girls.
In a dream, maybe some people would have other thoughts about a ghost like her.
But all Li Mu felt was pure fear.
Just earlier, this ghost girl had been way too eager. She tried to hug him the moment she saw him!
But now, for some reason, she was standing quietly a short distance away, her head slightly lowered. He could tell, though, that she was secretly peeking at him from under her bangs.
If he ignored the fact that she had just shattered his entire worldview, she was actually kind of nice to look at.
From movies and horror stories, Li Mu had always imagined ghosts as terrifying, covered in blood, missing limbs, or looking downright horrifying. At best, they were like Sadako, with pale skin and an eerie presence.
But ghosts weren’t supposed to say "What the hell?! What the hell?! What the hell?!" and look at a living person like they were the scary one.
This ghost girl was… strangely not that scary.
The dorm room was dead silent. The two of them, one human and one ghost, stayed like that for a whole thirty minutes without saying a word.
Eventually, Li Mu accepted that this was his new reality. His heart rate slowly returned to normal, and as his emotions settled, he glanced at the air conditioner.
With this ghost around, he probably wouldn’t need to turn it on. That’ll save some electricity.
During those thirty minutes, he had searched the internet for things like "What to do if a ghost is following you?" and "How to get rid of a ghost?" But none of the answers seemed useful.
Hesitating, he finally spoke. "Are you… really a ghost?"
If ghosts were real, then maybe those so-called exorcists, like Taoist priests or psychic mediums, were real too? Could he find one to deal with her?
Hearing him talk, the ghost girl's eyes lit up, and she instantly broke into a big smile.
"Yep! I just died two days ago! My name is Lin Xi!"
Why was she so happy about that?!
Li Mu felt a chill run down his spine. He suddenly felt like a mouse being watched by a cat.
This ghost girl, Lin Xi, definitely did not have good intentions toward him.
Feeling uneasy, he glanced toward the dorm room door. She was blocking it.
He looked at the balcony, but there were security bars. No escape.
Swallowing nervously, he rubbed his arms, trying to shake off the goosebumps. But then he froze.
Looking down at his hand, he saw tiny hairs had come off as he rubbed his skin.
Wait a minute! Ghosts can give you painless hair removal?!
Completely baffled, he turned to look at Lin Xi.
She just stood there, big watery eyes blinking at him, smiling like an idiot.
Was she… dumb?
Honestly, this ghost girl seemed way too harmless. She looked just like a normal person. If he hadn’t seen her funeral photo and watched her pass through people, he would never have believed she was actually a ghost.
He stared at Lin Xi with a blank expression, while Lin Xi just kept grinning at him. Her smile even seemed a little flattering, as if she was trying to please him.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing!"
Li Mu couldn't hold back his reaction and looked at her in shock. What was going on in this ghost girl's head?
The female ghost immediately reacted, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, displaying a bit of a young girl's shyness.
"I… I want you to help me confess to someone. If he agrees, I won't bother you anymore."
"???"
You're already dead, and you still want to fall in love? Can't you just date another ghost or something?
You jumped off a building, and instead of asking me to pass a message to your parents like, “I'm sorry,” you're still thinking about romance?!
Even though his mind was filled with complaints, Li Mu kept his face calm. He needed to stay cool so this ghost wouldn’t take advantage of him.
After a brief silence, he cautiously asked, "Can you stop following me?"
"Nope! You're the only one who can see me! You're so special! Only you can help me!" Lin Xi said confidently, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.
Oh, come on! If she stayed around him any longer, he was sure all the hairs on his body would freeze off.
Li Mu sighed. He couldn’t escape. Even if he ran now, she could just wait until Monday and find him at school.
Unless he dropped out and skipped the college entrance exam.
And if he did that, his grandparents would break his legs with a broomstick.
"Fine. Come with me somewhere first. After that, I'll decide if I’ll help you." Li Mu stood up and answered.
Lin Xi’s head nodded so fast that she looked like a little bird pecking rice. She quickly stepped aside, looking excited.
If he remembered correctly, his late grandfather once told him that there was a famous shaman in their village. Someone skilled in feng shui, fortune-telling, exorcism, and even healing.
Back then, Li Mu never believed in that kind of stuff and thought it was just superstition.
But now? After actually meeting a ghost?
Well, it was worth a try. What other choice did he have?
Lin Xi still seemed to have all her memories from when she was alive. Even though she could walk through walls and pass through people, she still waited for Li Mu to open the door and made sure to avoid touching other people.
Her mind was clear, not like the ghosts in horror movies who only thought about murder. She could communicate normally, almost like a regular person.
Most importantly… she was pretty.
Because of these things, Li Mu started to feel a little less scared of her. While they were traveling to the village, he decided to try getting some information out of her.
"How did you become a ghost?" Sitting in the last row of the bus, Li Mu asked in a low voice.
"I don’t know?" Lin Xi tilted her head, her big eyes filled with confusion.
"Then why do you want a boyfriend?"
"I don’t know?"
After a moment of silence, Li Mu asked again, "So earlier, were you trying to possess me?"
Lin Xi immediately nodded. "I wanted to control your body so I could confess to him. I guess that counts as possession?"
"Who is it?"
"Someone from your class. His name is… Yu Fan!"
Li Mu knew Yu Fan. He was enviably handsome, the kind of guy that made other guys jealous. He also had a great personality, was well-liked at school, and was super popular. It wasn’t surprising that even a ghost had a crush on him.
"Then why did you stop trying to possess me?"
"......"
The pretty female ghost's face looked scared, but she still replied truthfully.
"There's something really strong inside your body."
"???"
Li Mu turned to look at Lin Xi, a few question marks floating over his head.
Something inside his body?
Was it boy's urine?