Chapter 9: Cross-dressing!
Normally, ghosts can only possess people who can see them.
These people usually have bad luck, poor health, or unstable mental states. Healthy people, on the other hand, rarely get haunted.
Those tormented by ghosts often experience fevers, nightmares, cold sweats, and hallucinations. If someone actually gets possessed, there’s a high chance they’ll end up in a mental hospital for months, or even for life.
So, the idea of finding a girl to let Lin Xi possess her just wouldn’t work. They weren’t exactly saints, but they weren’t evil enough to ruin someone’s life either.
Li Mu listened to Yu Fan’s explanation, his expression growing darker and darker.
So why am I turning more feminine?!
Sure, compared to going crazy, this was a better outcome… but turning feminine still wasn’t exactly something to celebrate.
He slumped in his chair, rubbing his forearms repeatedly, as if rubbing hard enough would make his body hair grow back.
Then, with a sigh, he glanced down at his legs. He had noticed something strange when he went to the bathroom just now.
…He was a white tiger now.
[Notes: The term "白虎" (báihǔ), which literally translates to "white tiger," is typically used to describe a woman with a lack of pubic hair.]
Wait. No, that term only applied to girls.
What would it be called for guys?
"Are you sure your obsession is really just confessing your love to me?" Yu Fan raised his head and looked at Lin Xi, who was standing beside him.
Lin Xi’s eyes sparkled, and she nodded excitedly.
"Then why does it have to happen while you’re possessing someone? You could confess to me right now, and I’d still say yes. If you want to go shopping or watch a movie, I can do that with you too."
"Because… it wouldn’t feel real that way," Lin Xi muttered shyly, her face lowered. But beneath her bangs, her gaze was full of affection as she looked at Yu Fan.
To Yu Fan, her voice was just noise, so Li Mu casually translated for him while leaning back in his chair and playing with his phone.
Yu Fan nodded thoughtfully, then grinned at Li Mu.
"Looks like you can’t escape crossdressing this time."
Why do I get the feeling this guy is way too happy about the idea of me wearing a dress?
Li Mu’s face darkened. "Why?"
"Isn’t it obvious? What Lin Xi really wants isn’t just a confession, she wants to date me. But she’s a ghost, how’s that supposed to work? I can’t even hear what she’s saying."
Yu Fan smirked. "But you? You’re a guy. If you don’t dress as a girl, Lin Xi is going to feel weird about possessing you. And honestly? So would I."
“……”
After a long silence, Li Mu finally spoke.
"Are you gay?"
"Liking pretty boys doesn’t count as being gay, right?" Yu Fan joked with Li Mu, giving him a gentle and warm smile.
"???"
Li Mu looked up at him with a face full of question marks.
Meanwhile, Lin Xi was even more excited.
"Oh! Oh! And after that, we can go shopping, eat together, watch a movie, and at night, we can even—"
Before the ghost could finish her sentence, Li Mu quickly cut her off.
He didn’t care that Yu Fan only heard static when she spoke, he wasn’t going to let this conversation go in a dangerous direction.
Instead, he changed the subject.
"I found a news article about you."
He pulled up the article and turned the screen toward Lin Xi.
"It’s about your suicide case."
Yesterday, Lin Xi’s parents had blocked the school entrance with her coffin, which quickly made the news. Journalists had already written reports, publishing interviews with her family and the school principal, breaking down the entire story online.
At first, Li Mu had believed the rumors that Lin Xi had killed herself.
But after reading the article…
Something felt off.
The report analyzed Lin Xi’s background.
She was described as cheerful, outgoing, and a bit of a troublemaker, but overall, she was well-liked by her teachers and classmates.
Her life had been pretty smooth so far. The only real setback she had ever faced was failing her high school entrance exams, which landed her in vocational school instead.
At 18 years old, she had never gone through a toxic relationship, an unwanted pregnancy, or a messy divorce between her parents. Basically, she had never experienced any major life tragedies.
So, aside from the possibility of depression, Lin Xi actually had no motive to commit suicide.
According to the news, the top floor of the girls’ dormitory was supposed to be locked with an iron gate. But on the night of her death, Lin Xi somehow opened it, sneaked to the rooftop, and then accidentally fell off.
As she fell, a section of long-neglected fence also fell down with her.
Lin Xi’s parents insisted that her death was caused by the railing’s poor condition and blamed the school for negligence, demanding 1.5 million yuan in compensation.
However, the school argued that Lin Xi had been acting strangely for two weeks before her death. Her personality had changed, and they believed she was highly likely to have taken her own life. They also claimed that, as a legal adult, she broke school rules by going to the rooftop, making her responsible for her own actions. At most, the school was willing to offer a few thousand yuan in compensation.
Since neither side was happy with the outcome, Lin Xi’s family blocked the school gates with her coffin, while the school called the police and accused them of causing trouble.
In the comment section, people were divided. Some criticized Lin Xi’s family for taking advantage of the situation, while others blamed the school for being irresponsible. Many debated whether her death was a suicide or an accident.
Meanwhile, Li Mu and Yu Fan simply turned their attention to the ghost herself.
"So, were you really acting weird for those two weeks?" Yu Fan asked, curious. "Did you take your own life or was it an accident?"
Lin Xi blinked in confusion and shook her head.
"I don’t remember anything from those two weeks."
Li Mu translated her words for Yu Fan before looking away.
Honestly, he didn’t care how Lin Xi died or how much compensation her family would get.
He just wanted her gone as soon as possible, before she turned him even more feminine.
Yu Fan was unreliable, he kept pushing the crossdressing idea like he was looking forward to it. Lin Xi was even worse, she couldn’t remember anything important and only cared about dating.
At this point, the only solution was to find a spiritual expert to deal with her.
Li Mu stood up and walked straight out of the dorm.
"Where are you going?" Yu Fan looked up and asked.
"You can’t help, so I’ll find someone who can," Li Mu replied coldly, opening the door. "I’m not going to wear women’s clothes. Even if I ordered one online today, it wouldn’t arrive until the day after tomorrow. By then, this ghost would have already caused trouble."
Yu Fan could feel Li Mu’s lack of trust in him.
He gave a helpless smile and sighed.
"How was I supposed to know ghosts were real? If I had known, I would’ve studied exorcism properly with my grandpa."
Then, as if coming up with a new idea, he said, "How about this? I’ll take a week off, walk around with Lin Xi for a week, and once she fades away, I’ll just go back to school."
Li Mu thought about it.
It kind of made sense.
In fact, this was probably the only realistic option. He had no connections to find a real exorcist, and if he rushed out looking for one, he’d probably get scammed out of everything he owned.
"As long as she stays away from me, that’s fine," he said, closing the door and sitting back down. Then, looking at Yu Fan seriously, he added,
"Because if this goes on too long, I don’t know what I’ll turn into."
"A cute girl? Then maybe let me have fun first?"
"……"
Seeing the disgusted look on Li Mu’s face, Yu Fan quickly raised his hands in surrender.
"Relax, relax! It was just a joke! I was trying to lighten the mood. You’ve been so serious, that’s not good for your mental health!"
But just as he finished speaking, Yu Fan suddenly frowned.
He rubbed his temples, pressing his thumb against the side of his head.
He hadn’t told Li Mu, but after spending so much time around a ghost, he had already started feeling side effects since last night.
Insomnia, cold sweats, constant headaches…
He kept massaging his head for a while before finally looking up again. He forced a grin and said, "I’m fine."
Li Mu saw the sweat forming on Yu Fan’s forehead, unsure of what to say.
His cold expression softened slightly, and after a moment, he turned away, his ears slightly red.
"Forget it."
Fine.
I'll cross-dress
It’s better than letting someone suffer because of me.
After all, Yu Fan got dragged into this mess by accident. He could have completely stayed out of it, but because of his warmhearted nature, he endured the side effects of contact with ghosts and offered advice.
Yu Fan’s face lit up, showing his bright white teeth.
"Then it’s settled. Time for a makeover, buddy!"