Chapter 3: Ghost Possession
Something inside my body?
Li Mu’s expression turned strange.
The only thing in his body that could scare a ghost was probably that so-called "boy’s urine", right?
Unless… he was already possessed by another ghost? A stronger one than Lin Xi? But he’d never seen a ghost before now.
His eyebrows furrowed, and an uneasy feeling crept over him.
No time to overthink. Right now, he was being haunted, and his body was going through some kind of unknown change, his arm hairs had completely fallen off.
He reached out and rubbed his chin. After a moment, he looked down at his fingers. Sure enough, there were soft, fine hairs on them.
Even the facial hair he had never shaved before was falling out.
Then… the hair on his legs under his jeans…
Probably gone too.
If he were a girl, he might have been happy about getting a free, painless hair removal session.
But he was a guy.
The bus stopped at an old, run-down station.
This was his father’s hometown. A few years ago, he used to visit during the Lunar New Year. But after his parents and younger sister died in a car accident, he never came back.
The driver’s insurance paid over a million in compensation, but his so-called "righteous" uncles and aunts took it all, using the excuse that he was "just a kid who didn’t understand money."
At least they didn’t take his parents' house, so he still had a place to live in the city.
Now, his only source of income was his grandfather’s support, 800 yuan a month. That was barely enough for school cafeteria meals. Sometimes, he worked as a delivery guy, but it didn’t pay much.
Getting off the bus with the ghost girl, Li Mu looked around at the town that hadn’t changed in years.
Then, he turned to a fellow passenger, a local who got off the bus with him, and asked in the local dialect, "Hey, I heard there's a really powerful shaman around here?"
As he spoke, he awkwardly took out a pack of cigarettes he had just bought and handed one over.
Maybe Lin Xi's ghostly cold aura only affected Li Mu, because the man didn’t seem to feel anything strange. He took the cigarette, put it in his mouth, and nodded.
Then, he pointed across the road. "He lives in that village over there. Not far. He runs a pharmacy, you’ll find him inside."
"Thanks, man." Li Mu took out a lighter and lit the cigarette for him.
His demeanor clearly pleased this fellow villager, who added, "But I heard that shaman passed away a few days ago. What's up? Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"He… died?"
Li Mu’s heart sank. He forced a small smile. "Uh… do you know any other good shamans around?"
"Nope. He was the only famous one."
Damn.
Li Mu sighed silently, nodded in thanks, and turned away. The polite, fake social smile disappeared from his face immediately.
He glanced at the traffic before crossing the road toward the village.
Even though the shaman had supposedly died just a few days ago, the village didn’t seem to be holding a funeral.
After walking a few hundred meters, he spotted a small pharmacy by the roadside.
The door was half-open, but instead of going in, Li Mu stood outside and knocked on the glass.
"Anyone there?"
"Coming! Are you here to buy medicine?"
A young man’s voice answered from inside.
A moment later, a handsome and delicate-looking guy appeared at the door.
The two of them made eye contact and both froze in surprise.
"Li Mu? What are you doing here?" The young man inside looked shocked.
Li Mu’s expression also flickered with surprise but quickly returned to normal. "Yu Fan? This is…?"
"This is my grandpa’s house. He passed away a few days ago, so I came back to clean up his things."
What a coincidence.
Li Mu secretly glanced at Lin Xi beside him.
The ghost girl was practically vibrating with excitement, looking like she was about to jump onto Yu Fan at any moment.
She kept muttering nonstop, "Confess! Confess! Let me confess to him!"
Ignoring the ghost’s rambling, Li Mu studied his classmate.
Yu Fan was a good-looking guy, tall with broad shoulders, the kind of person who could make any outfit look great. His features were sharp and well-defined, his facial structure was strong, and his skin was smooth and fair. He was a bit on the slim side, but his smile was warm and friendly. His personality was outgoing and easygoing.
If you described him using internet slang, you could call him a "human heater", someone who’s kind to everyone. And if you compared him to an anime character, he’d be like Minato Namikaze.
With just a little styling, he could easily be a celebrity.
"Your grandpa was that really famous shaman?"
"Yeah, but he passed away just a few days ago." Yu Fan’s expression didn’t show much sadness. "Come in."
Inside was a small, standard-looking pharmacy. Yu Fan poured a cup of tea for Li Mu, then continued sorting through his grandfather’s belongings.
Li Mu glanced around the room, then sighed in disappointment. After thinking for a moment, he decided to ask, "I ran into a ghost. Do you know how to deal with it?"
"A ghost? My grandpa was just tricking old folks with that stuff. You actually believe it?"
If he hadn't seen a ghost himself, do you think he'd believe it?!
"I’m not joking. A ghost is haunting me…"
Li Mu sat in his chair, his expression calm and emotionless, not really expecting much of an answer.
Yu Fan was used to Li Mu’s cold and distant personality in class, so he didn’t think much of it. After a moment of thought, he said, "My grandpa used to say that if you fulfill a ghost’s last wish, it’ll leave on its own."
"Huh?"
"Ghosts usually stay because of unfinished business, right? Once that’s done, they disappear." Yu Fan shrugged and smiled. "Just something my grandpa used to say. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but these days, pretending to be a shaman can get you arrested."
Li Mu, however, was deep in thought. He turned to look at Lin Xi, his ghostly companion, who was nodding excitedly.
Let’s see…
Lin Xi wanted to confess her love to Yu Fan, but since she was a ghost, the only way to do it was through Li Mu’s body.
Which meant that, from Yu Fan’s point of view, Li Mu would be confessing to him…
Which meant Yu Fan would probably think Li Mu was some kind of crazy gay pervert.
Why the hell didn’t this ghost possess a girl for this?! Why me?!
Li Mu immediately realized what was happening and glared at Lin Xi.
But Lin Xi mistook his glare for encouragement. After hesitating for a moment, she spread her arms and lunged at him.
Li Mu had no time to react. Before he could escape, she merged into his body again.
Yu Fan, who was squatting in the corner sorting through old belongings, heard the commotion and looked up, confused.
Something felt… off.
Li Mu was normally quiet and serious in class. But now, he was smiling like a blooming flower.
Yu Fan watched as Li Mu swayed his hips, walked toward him with a soft, delicate posture, and smiled even more strangely.
"Uhh… Yu Fan…"
Li Mu lowered his head slightly. His face was flushed, and even his ears were red.
"…Yeah?"
"I like you!"
"???"
"I’ve had a crush on you since our first year of high school! That love letter you got last week? I wrote it! I—"
Li Mu suddenly took a step forward.
Yu Fan stumbled back in panic.
Something was seriously wrong.
He noticed that this classmate, who usually didn't stand out much in class, was looking at him today with a strangely infatuated gaze. The feminine gestures and movements, combined with his already soft features, didn't even seem that out of place.
T-This…?!
Yu Fan staggered back two more steps, terrified. He even noticed a faint orchid scent coming from Li Mu, and he unconsciously sniffed it a few times.
It smelled… pretty good.
The next second, suddenly realizing what was happening, he couldn't help but question his own sexual orientation.
Wait. Hold on.
Am I… am I gay?!