Chapter 56: Aftermath
"Gas leak causes explosion in a residential area of Fengcheng County late at night. No one was hurt."
This news appeared on the local news website a few days ago, but it didn’t get much attention. It quietly showed up, and people quickly forgot about it.
Feeling bored in the classroom, Li Mu stepped out into the hallway. He leaned on the railing and quickly looked through the comments under the news article. He didn’t see anyone revealing anything unusual, so he relaxed.
“Hey, when you're free, can you be my model?” Yu Fan had just come back from the bathroom and asked casually.
“Huh?”
Li Mu looked up, confused.
“There’s an art contest going on. I want to join, but I need a model to draw,” Yu Fan explained.
Right away, an image popped into Li Mu’s mind, himself standing naked while people watched and painted him.
“It’s totally serious,” Yu Fan said. “You just need to stay still. That’s all.”
Just by looking at Li Mu’s expression, Yu Fan knew exactly what was going on in his head.
Li Mu shook his head slightly and said no. Then he turned to lean on the railing and looked down at the students on the sports field.
That night, after they got rid of the ghost, the three of them went straight to the hospital. Their ears were still ringing from all the screaming, but luckily there weren’t any lasting effects.
But the real problem was this. That night, his body moved on its own twice.
Once, it helped him dodge Li Mingjuan’s sword. Another time, it helped him avoid the ghost’s flying knife.
He looked up and said to Yu Fan, “Lin Xi is probably still inside me… and she can control my body.”
“Then why hasn’t she left? And why doesn’t she show herself?” Yu Fan walked over to stand next to Li Mu, looked him over, and nodded. “Yeah… you do look more girly than a few days ago.”
Since the ghost incident, the two of them didn’t hang out much during the National Day holiday.
Li Mu stayed home playing on his phone or doing food delivery, while Yu Fan stayed home gaming.
Now that they met again, Yu Fan could clearly see the changes in him.
“The biggest difference is…” Yu Fan was about to say “your chest,” but then he glanced at Li Mu and looked surprised. “Your butt got bigger!”
“......”
Can you please stop stabbing my heart with such a casual tone?
If we can avoid talking about this stuff, let’s just not talk about it, okay?
At first, Li Mu thought helping Lin Xi confess her love would be enough to stop his feminization. Then he thought maybe helping her get revenge would do it.
But now… it seemed like she had just decided to settle down in his body like it was her new home.
Feeling hopeless, he leaned on the railing again. He figured he should go ask Uncle Chen Yi for help when he had time.
Uncle Chen knew a ghost bride, maybe she’d know what to do.
Also, if this feminization thing was going to continue, maybe he should visit a doctor and ask for some testosterone pills or something. That might help.
“Oh right, what’s going on with your cousin?”
Li Mu paused for a moment, then said with a helpless tone, “I don’t know why, but he suddenly ran back home.”
“Ran back?”
“He went back to the countryside. He only sent me a short text, and then it seemed like he left that same night.”
Li Mu tried to recall the message, “He said ‘The city is too scary. I’m going back first’.”
Scary? Really?
It was just Xiao Jing giving him a little scare. Was that really enough to make him run away?
Also, even though the Dismemberment Ghost was taken care of, the Raincoat Ghost disappeared without a trace, almost like it had never shown up at all.
Chen Yi even got some police officers to help look for that chopping knife, but in the end, they couldn’t find it.
Li Mu couldn’t help but feel that the Raincoat Ghost was different from the Dismemberment Ghost. Unless ghosts had grudges or some kind of history with each other, it didn’t make sense for the Raincoat Ghost to attack first like that.
Originally, they thought the Dismemberment Ghost, who needed to eat other ghosts, would be the one to start the fight.
“Li Mu, Yu Fan.”
A girl’s voice came from nearby. The two turned and saw Li Mingjuan, whose arm was still in a cast.
She still looked a little gloomy, but she forced herself to smile and said, “I’ve finished the process to drop out of school. I’ll be moving to another city soon…”
Yu Fan gave her a sunny smile and asked, “How are your parents doing?”
“They’re okay now. After all, they weren’t possessed by any ghosts.”
“Make sure to visit the mental health clinic every month,” Yu Fan reminded her kindly.
Li Mingjuan nodded. “I’m going back to the dorm to pack.”
Because she had been in close contact with ghosts for over a month, the police had marked her as a person to watch. They required her to get checked by a doctor every month to make sure she wasn’t turning into someone dangerous or antisocial.
Luckily, even though her personality was different from what Lin Xi remembered, on the outside, she only seemed more quiet and gloomy.
The psychiatrist diagnosed her with moderate depression. She had some signs of self-harm and suicidal thoughts, but no violent behavior.
As Li Mu watched her walk away, he spoke up for once. “Forget what happened here and start over.”
“Okay!”
Li Mingjuan didn’t turn around, but she answered strongly.
This parting feels like a final farewell.
Li Mu turned to Yu Fan with a blank face and asked, “She liked you. Aren’t you going to at least walk her out?”
“I don’t have feelings for her. What if she misunderstands?” Yu Fan muttered, then quickly changed the topic, “Seriously, won’t you be my art model? Just one afternoon!”
“No way.”
Li Mu had to think about Xiao Jing joining the Top Ten Singers contest. Since they couldn’t bring a mirror on stage, the only option would be to let the ghost take over his body.
But he knew what his own voice sounded like.
It used to be deep and strong, but now it was like a teenager going through puberty, kind of neutral and raspy like a duck.
It wasn’t awful, but it definitely wasn’t good.
Even if Xiao Jing was super skilled, that kind of voice probably wouldn’t make it through the early rounds of the contest.
“I’m planning to go back tonight,” Li Mu suddenly said. “Can you give me a ride?”
“Of course! With our friendship, not just one ride, ten rides, no problem!” Yu Fan cheerfully threw an arm around Li Mu’s shoulder.
Li Mu tried to shake his arm off, uncomfortable with being touched. But then he remembered he still needed a ride, so he didn’t want to seem too cold.
So he just frowned a little and continued watching the sports field.
“By the way… is your ‘thing’ having trouble getting it up now?”
A passing girl overheard that part of the conversation and glanced at Li Mu with curiosity.
Li Mu slapped Yu Fan’s arm off his shoulder, face dark, and stormed back into the classroom.
I swear I’m gonna kill you!
If that kind of rumor spreads, how am I supposed to get a girlfriend?!
“No way, really? Is that why you never go to the bathroom with me anymore?” Yu Fan followed behind him with a teasing grin. “Want me to get you some supplements? My dad’s got a bunch.”
“……”