Chapter 25: The Aunt Next Door
Even though Li Mu didn’t agree with Ren Tianyou’s personal lifestyle, he still treated him like a real brother.
After all, since Li Mu’s parents passed away years ago, Ren Tianyou had done everything a big brother should do. Even though they weren’t related by blood, they still had a good relationship.
With his help, the house was finally cleaned up and looked like a proper home again. Ren Tianyou didn’t even rest, he drove off to the countryside to get Li Mu’s living expenses for next month. Meanwhile, Li Mu relaxed on the couch, waiting for lunch.
Originally, Li Mu had planned to just buy some noodles, vegetables, and eggs and make a simple meal for himself. But since Ren Tianyou had invited him to eat, he didn’t feel like being polite and saying no.
After tidying up the room a bit more, Li Mu washed his face, changed out of his dusty clothes, and left the house.
He went to the neighbor’s house across the hall and gently knocked on the metal door.
After a moment, he heard movement inside. The door opened, and a middle-aged woman with short curly hair, probably around fifty years old, appeared in front of him.
“Hello, Auntie,” Li Mu nodded politely and greeted her.
She was already used to his quiet and awkward way of talking. Smiling warmly, she grabbed a pair of slippers from the shoe rack and asked cheerfully,
“You came back yesterday, right? Why didn’t you come over for dinner last night?”
“I had to clean up the place. Brother Tianyou helped me finish the cleaning this morning.”
Auntie laughed and welcomed Li Mu into the house. Her warm attitude made him feel a bit uncomfortable, so he sat stiffly on the couch. Just as he relaxed a little, she plopped down right next to him.
“You’ve gotten thinner,” she said, holding his wrist with concern. “Are you not eating enough?”
Why do you care about the same things as Brother Tianyou...?
Li Mu’s mouth twitched a little. Then Auntie rubbed his head and said, “You’ve gotten prettier.”
“……”
Why does everyone, whether they’re human or ghost, like to say things that hurt my heart...?
He looked down and said nothing, but she placed a freshly washed apple in his hand.
“It’s good. Boys who look nice can find girlfriends more easily,” Auntie said with a grin, her eyes squinting with joy.
“How are your studies going? If you ever need anything, just come to me. You just focus on school.”
Honestly, Li Mu felt like he had gained another mom.
“Mom, I’m back!”
Luckily, Ren Tianyou returned at just the right moment to break the awkward feeling. He kicked off his sneakers and walked around in just his socks before plopping down on the other side of Li Mu.
“Here’s your living money,” he said, pulling out a stack of cash and handing it to Li Mu. Then he looked at his mom and asked, “Mom, what’s for lunch?”
“Since Xiao Mu is here, of course I’m making something nice! Don’t you see how skinny he is?” Auntie looked at Li Mu with kindness, but when she turned to Ren Tianyou, her face darkened.
“Where did you mess around last night again?”
“I was working and making money.”
But Auntie had seen through him long ago. She gave him a cold glance and sighed. “If only you were as well-behaved as Xiao Mu...”
“It’s my fault. After your dad passed away, I got busy with work and didn’t have time to raise you right. You used to be such a good boy, and now…” She looked up sadly, only to find that both Li Mu and Ren Tianyou had already disappeared.
Auntie was kind in every way… except she talked way too much once she started.
Now hiding in Ren Tianyou’s bedroom, Li Mu finally felt like he could relax and act normal again.
The smile Li Mu had when facing Auntie earlier had now disappeared. He sat at the end of the bed, looking bored as he played with his phone.
Ren Tianyou yawned and sat beside him, then lay down on his back, planning to take a short nap. But his eyes suddenly stopped on Li Mu’s back.
Earlier, when they were cleaning, the whole place smelled strongly of disinfectant. But now, alone in a closed room with Li Mu, he could clearly smell a faint orchid fragrance.
It was a soft and elegant scent, like a kind of body wash, strangely pleasant and even a little addictive.
As for what part of him was "addicted"… well, that’s hard to say.
Since seeing Li Mu this time, Ren Tianyou had noticed something strange about him. He hadn’t figured it out before, but now, he suddenly realized something unusual.
Why does Li Mu’s back look like a girl’s?
Ren Tianyou wasn’t very good-looking, but he was talkative and had spent a lot of time fooling around outside, so he knew quite a bit about women.
Normally, no matter how delicate a guy looks, once you see his back and shoulders, you can tell he’s a man.
But Li Mu’s back was slim and shapely, just like a girl. At first glance, Ren Tianyou almost thought he really was a girl.
“Are you asleep? Auntie’s cooking lunch, don’t nap now.”
Li Mu turned to look at Ren Tianyou lying beside him. His face was still calm and cold, but his tone showed a bit of concern. He actually said a lot more than usual. “Don’t nap this afternoon, try to stay awake until tonight. It’s not very safe here at night.”
“Okay, okay,” Ren Tianyou nodded perfunctorily.
His back might look nice, but once you saw the face, all interest disappeared… No matter how soft a guy looks, his face can’t really have the gentle shape of a girl’s.
Li Mu silently stared into his eyes. After a moment, he looked away.
The late-night murder and body dismemberment case still bothered him, but Ren Tianyou just wouldn’t take it seriously.
So Li Mu opened a local news app and searched, trying to find the report that Yu Fan had shown him yesterday. But no matter how many times he looked, there was no sign of the news. Even the report he clearly remembered seeing last night had vanished.
It made Li Mu wonder if he had only dreamed the whole thing. Was there never a murder case? Was he just imagining things because of poor sleep?
“This doesn’t make sense… unless a ghost did the killing, and the authorities deleted the news?”
He muttered to himself, then suddenly shivered, “Wait… that might actually be possible?”
But… ghosts? Can they even kill people?
He thought about the ghost in his mirror at home, scared and crying like a little kid.
And Lin Xi, with her completely ridiculous behavior.
It made him seriously doubt if ghosts in real life were actually just silly things, maybe even that ghost in the raincoat would start crying “waah waah waah” the moment it opened its mouth.
“What ghost killing people?” Ren Tianyou had vaguely heard Li Mu mumbling to himself.
Li Mu replied with a straight face, “I said, there’s a ghost at night killing random people and cutting them up.”
Ren Tianyou almost burst out laughing. “You’ve not just become more girly after not seeing me for a while, but now you’re also getting super weird?”
More girly...
“Then go die if you want.”
Li Mu gave up, stood up, and walked out of the bedroom.
Ren Tianyou felt confused. Li Mu had always had a cold face, but he was never this easy to get mad.
All he did was joke a little.
Still... Li Mu did seem really girly now.
Inside and out, completely feminine.