Chapter 5: The Spirit-Summoning Game
For some reason, Yu Fan felt that the air was colder than usual today.
Even though it was late September, this small coastal town was still hot, with temperatures around 35 degrees Celsius. But as soon as he stepped out of the pharmacy, he suddenly felt a chill.
Rubbing the goosebumps on his arms, he glanced at Li Mu, who was walking beside him.
Honestly, he hadn’t expected it, the quiet and cold-faced guy from class was actually gay? And not just that, he had been secretly in love with him for a long time?
Yu Fan didn’t have any issue with that. He wasn’t the type to discriminate, and he was even a little worried that if he reacted too strongly, he might hurt Li Mu’s feelings.
Also… Li Mu actually believed in ghosts?
Of course, this situation also made Yu Fan question his own sexuality a little.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Li Mu raised his head with some discomfort, frowning. He silently took a step back, staring at him blankly. After a long silence, his gaze shifted to the female ghost hanging on Yu Fan’s arm.
"She’s holding onto your arm."
"Oh? Really?" Yu Fan smiled, that same gentle and warm expression as always. "Where is she?"
Li Mu immediately knew he was being teased. Folding his arms across his chest, he turned away to look down the road, searching for the bus back to town. At the same time, he reminded Yu Fan.
"Don’t you feel cold?"
"A little."
"Of course you do, you’re haunted." Li Mu sneered. "Try rubbing your arms. Your arm hair will fall off."
Yu Fan glanced at his not-so-thick arm hair. "Nope."
"Rub harder!"
"Even the dirt is coming off. Still nothing."
Now Li Mu was genuinely surprised and stared at Yu Fan.
Yu Fan, on the other hand, calmly explained.
"My grandpa never said that ghosts make your hair fall out."
"Your grandpa was wrong!"
Li Mu had thought he finally found someone who shared his misery, someone else who had to deal with ghosts. At least that would make him feel better about his own situation.
Looking down, he gently ran his fingers over his own arm, barely touching his already sparse arm hair. One strand fell off.
Wait a minute…
It really only started happening after he met Lin Xi.
After double-checking, he confirmed. His arm hair, leg hair, and beard were all falling out. Only his scalp was still safe, but… probably not for long.
At first, he had thought that ghosts emitted some kind of radiation, which was why his arm hair was falling out.
So, was his grandpa wrong? Was this just a personal body reaction? Or… was Lin Xi treating him differently?
Since waking up in the hospital until now, Li Mu’s head was full of questions.
While waiting for the bus to town, he continued asking Yu Fan about all the weird things happening to him.
"Can a boy’s urine really repel ghosts?"
"Probably? I guess?"
"If someone is already possessed by a ghost, can another ghost still take over?"
"Depends… if the ghost is okay with sharing the body, maybe?"
"Normal people can’t see ghosts, right?"
Hearing this, Yu Fan turned to Li Mu and nodded.
"Yeah, normally, people can’t see them."
At that moment, Li Mu’s frown deepened. His face was tense with unease, his eyes clouded with gloom. Yu Fan had never seen this cold, expressionless classmate with so many emotions on his face before.
Seeing that Li Mu was still thinking, Yu Fan continued explaining.
"My grandpa told me there are three ways to see ghosts. First, if your luck is really bad, you might run into one by accident. Second, if you play a supernatural game, you might summon one. Third, you can use some special objects.”
Li Mu blinked.
There was an actual explanation for this?
Now, at least, he understood why he could see ghosts, his luck was just that bad.
…Though he still wasn’t sure if "luck" and "fortune" were the same thing.
Meeting a girlfriend online and still getting into a car accident, what are the odds?
Honestly, who else could be this unlucky?
He had never heard of anyone sneaking out of school at night and getting into a car accident.
In fact, from childhood to now, nothing good had ever happened to him. It was almost like he was born cursed.
Li Mu was really curious, but he pretended to be indifferent, nodding casually with a cold expression.
Even so, Yu Fan still caught the curiosity in his eyes. He really couldn’t understand, why were there still teenagers so superstitious these days?
After all, there's been a lot of effort to combat feudal superstitions for many years. By now, most people should believe in science, not ghosts.
But in the end, curiosity won, and Li Mu asked, "Like what?"
"It’s just old superstitions."
Yu Fan really didn’t know how to deal with this classmate who liked him but also believed in ghosts. After thinking it over, he decided to explain.
"If you knock on a bowl at the center of a crossroads at 2 AM, you’ll see a ghost."
"Or, you can rub dirt from a graveyard on your eyes."
"…..."
Wait a minute! Why did that sound so familiar?
He had definitely heard something like this before.
Seeing the doubt on Li Mu’s face, Yu Fan just shrugged. "I told you, it’s just superstition. People talk about this stuff online all the time, but no one’s actually seen a ghost."
No one? I’ve seen one.
"If you really don’t believe it, why don’t we try it tonight?" Yu Fan suggested, hoping to prove ghosts weren’t real and get Li Mu to stop believing in this nonsense.
"Alright."
………………………………………….
A dark night, a cold wind. A perfect time to see a ghost.
This time, sneaking out of school went much smoother for Li Mu. He had gained experience, but just to be safe and avoid another car accident, he chose a different wall to climb over.
This side of the school led to an old urban village, where low-rise buildings stood packed together.
As Li Mu landed on the other side, Yu Fan was already waiting for him, standing there with his usual bright and confident smile.
A few moments later, Lin Xi passed through the wall like a shadow. As soon as she saw Yu Fan, she excitedly floated toward him.
Yu Fan suddenly felt a chilling wind brush across his face. The temperature plunged several degrees, and he shivered.
"Why did it suddenly get so cold?"
Li Mu ignored him. When it came to ghosts, Yu Fan never believed a word of it.
It was ironic. Yu Fan’s grandfather was a well-known shaman, yet not only had he failed to inherit any of his skills, he didn’t even believe in ghosts at all.
Instead of helping Li Mu solve his ghost problem, Yu Fan somehow got the idea that Li Mu liked guys.
Luckily, Yu Fan wasn’t actually into men. If he had agreed when Li Mu confessed earlier, well, Li Mu wouldn’t even know how to react.
"Let’s go." Yu Fan said, his legs shaking from the cold.
Li Mu didn’t say much. While he was good at talking to strangers, it was always an act, smiling like that was too exhausting. If it wasn’t necessary, he preferred to stay silent and just observe his surroundings.
At this point, he had pretty much given up on Yu Fan helping him deal with ghosts. The only reason he was still here was to clear up the misunderstanding, that it wasn’t him who confessed earlier, but a female ghost controlling his body.
Yu Fan, on the other hand, was freezing from the night breeze and Lin Xi’s ghostly presence, while Li Mu was perfectly fine, wrapped in his autumn-winter coat.
Together, with a ghost following behind them, they arrived at a crossroads just outside the school.
Unlike the main highway, where trucks occasionally passed by, this crossroads was completely empty at night.
With ease, Yu Fan pulled a small bowl from his pocket and stepped onto the safety spot in the middle of the road, looking up at Li Mu with a grin.
Yu Fan didn’t believe in ghosts. When his family prayed during festivals, it was only to honor their ancestors. Nothing more than a tradition for peace of mind.
"Alright, let’s begin?"
"Yeah."