Chapter 122: Back to School
Back when they were playing the spirit-summoning game in Li Mu’s bathtub, Yu Fan was attacked by a middle-aged ghost wearing a suit.
If the door hadn’t been left unlocked, and if Li Mu hadn’t noticed something was wrong and rushed in to save him, Yu Fan might’ve become a ghost himself.
That was also the first time Li Mu and Xiao Jing saw him completely exposed...
At the time, he didn’t think much about it. He just felt it wasn’t a big deal to be seen by another guy. But now, thinking back on it, his face started to feel a little hot.
After he told Chen Yi about what happened, Chen Yi took it seriously. Over the past few weeks, besides looking for the "Rancoat Ghost," he also looked into the ghost in the suit. They had already found some clues about the first one, but there were no leads on the second.
Turns out, it had been hiding in Li Mu’s house the whole time.
Yu Fan glanced over at Li Mu, who was sitting next to the old lady, and noticed that Li Mu looked a little strange too.
Chen Yi chatted with the old lady for about half an hour.
Unfortunately, the old woman only knew that Li Mu’s parents had borrowed a ghost from her. She didn’t know where his parents had gone, so the trail went cold again.
On the way down the mountain, Yu Fan couldn’t help but ask Li Mu, “Do you know that old lady?”
“Yeah, I saw her last time when I came with Lin Xi’s parents.” Li Mu nodded. He still had trouble accepting it, so he looked over at Chen Yi and asked, “Can she really let an ancestor enter her body?”
“Let an ancestor enter?” Chen Yi looked at him, confused.
Li Mu tried hard to explain what happened that day. “She was dancing, and then an ancestor from the family entered her body, and she could tell whether a baby in a mother’s belly was a boy or a girl.”
“Fake.”
“......”
“Granny Zhou is pretty old now. She just watches over the cemetery on the mountain and sometimes rents out ghosts. Occasionally, she comes down the mountain and acts all mysterious, that’s just her personal hobby,” Chen Yi explained with a helpless look. “She likes getting attention and doesn’t ask for much money. Usually just a few dozen or a hundred yuan.”
“I see…”
“Since the amount of money is small, and she used to actually work in ghost-hunting, nobody really cares what she does now. Even if someone calls the police, they won’t do anything.”
Alright then.
Li Mu sighed quietly. So the old lady really was a fraud.
At best, she was a skilled fraud.
After they got down the mountain and sat in the car, Chen Yi asked, “Let’s head back. Li Mu, should I take you back to school or…?”
“School,” Yu Fan answered for him. But then he asked curiously, “We’re just leaving the ghost alone?”
“It takes time to figure out what kind of ghost it is and what it can do. The police will let us know tomorrow or the day after. It’s only a 30-minute drive anyway.”
“Li Mu, give me your house key. I’ll go check out that ghost.”
Li Mu took out his key and handed it to Chen Yi.
After that, the car ride was quiet.
Chen Yi focused on driving. Yu Fan seemed hesitant and kept glancing at Li Mu. Li Mu leaned his head against the car window, lightly bumping the glass as the car shook, but his eyes were still blank as he stared outside.
Only when the car stopped did Li Mu suddenly realize they had reached the road outside the school.
After getting out, he turned his head to look at the school gate not far away. For a moment, the tension in his body finally eased.
“Want to grab some milk tea?” Yu Fan smiled and asked.
“You’re not heading back?”
“Didn’t we agree you’re moving out of the dorm? I already found a place for you.”
Li Mu asked with a blank face, “Isn’t that your house?”
“......” Yu Fan didn’t know how to answer, so he just grinned stupidly at Li Mu.
It was Thursday. He had thought the trip would take at least two or three days, but they were already back after just one night.
“We took two days off anyway. How about we go to an internet café and play games tomorrow?” Yu Fan brought Li Mu into a milk tea shop and suggested, “If you don’t want to play games, we can just hang out somewhere.”
Li Mu crossed his arms and didn’t reply.
Yu Fan ordered two cups of milk tea and continued, “Since we already took time off, we can’t just go back to class, right?”
“Why not?”
“You’re not seriously planning to go back, are you?”
“Yeah. I like studying.”
“......”
Yu Fan suddenly got suspicious. That didn’t sound like something Li Mu would say.
He leaned over and looked into the shop. Inside, he saw Yang Ye smiling at him.
Damn it, what kind of bad luck is this?
He wanted to run, but Yang Ye was already waving at him. “Come here.”
With a bitter face, he had no choice but to go inside. Li Mu followed him in, clearly enjoying the show.
It was only the afternoon. Normally, students and teachers would be in class at this time, but Yang Ye was here drinking milk tea.
The two of them sat down across from Yang Ye. Yu Fan tried to get the upper hand first. “Teacher, isn’t it bad for you to sneak out of work during school hours?”
“What’s bad about it? I don’t have class right now.” On the table in front of Yang Ye were milk tea, stinky tofu, and a flatbread wrap.
Yu Fan didn’t hold back at all. He picked up a piece of stinky tofu with a skewer and popped it into his mouth.
“Since you’re back now, go to class later,” Yang Ye said, glancing at Li Mu. He muttered, “Li Mu used to be such a good student. Ever since he started hanging around you, he’s picked up bad habits.”
“He used to go to class even with a high fever. And now you’re teaching him to skip class.”
Yu Fan defended himself seriously, “Who’s skipping? We asked for time off.”
Then he leaned in and smiled playfully. “Oh right, Li Mu’s not going to live in the dorm anymore.”
“Not staying in the dorm?” Yang Ye looked up at Li Mu.
Li Mu nodded, confirming what Yu Fan said.
“Then where are you staying?”
“Yu Fan found a place in the urban village.”
Yang Ye froze, then said in surprise, “You two are that close now? Planning to live together already?”
“Teacher...” Yu Fan looked helpless. “Don’t make it weird. Li Mu and I are just normal friends. He’s going to live there alone.”
“No way. What if something happens to Li Mu while he’s living off campus? Who’s going to take responsibility?” Yang Ye said firmly. “If he stays in the dorm, I feel more at ease. If anything goes wrong, I can get there right away.”
Yang Ye also lived on campus, so if any student had an emergency, he could always respond quickly.
If it weren’t for Yu Fan’s strong insistence, Li Mu wouldn’t even think about moving out. Now that Yang Ye had said this, Li Mu didn’t really mind.
He was already used to living in the dorm, and moving around seemed like a hassle anyway.
But Yu Fan was really serious about it. He kept trying to talk Yang Ye into agreeing.
Meanwhile, Li Mu just drank his milk tea and looked out at the street, not doing anything.
"Honestly, I'd feel a lot better if you two lived together. Letting Li Mu live alone out there? I can't put my mind at ease." Unable to withstand Yu Fan's relentless pestering, Yang Ye stood up to leave.
Yu Fan’s eyes lit up. “Then I’ll live with Li Mu.”
“Get lost,” Li Mu shot him a side-eye. This guy clearly had bad intentions.
Yang Ye also turned around and glared at Yu Fan. “Don't let your imagination run wild, just go back to class!”