Chapter 99: Going Home
In the evening, Li Mu pulled his suitcase behind him as he took the bus and returned to the front of his home.
Yu Fan was probably busy with something. After the sports day ended, he disappeared. Most likely went home early.
Li Mu had already brought most of his things home during earlier visits over the past three years of living at school. He only left a few sets of clothes and his bedding in the dorm.
Just as he was putting the key into the door, he heard the footsteps behind him.
"Xiao Mu? Why are you back so suddenly?" Ren Tianyou had just walked into the stairwell and spotted Li Mu.
"I need to go back to my hometown this weekend."
He opened the door to his home and looked back at the neighbor, but saw that Ren Tianyou suddenly froze in place.
This confused Li Mu a little. As he carried his suitcase inside, he asked, "What’s wrong?"
"Wait, it's only been a few weeks, right?" Ren Tianyou looked at Li Mu, carefully checking him from head to toe. "How come... I almost didn’t recognize you?"
When Li Mu came home a few days ago, he didn’t run into Ren Tianyou.
During the National Day holiday, Li Mu's appearance didn't change much. At most, he went from being delicate-looking to somewhat effeminate. At that time, Ren Tianyou thought he was starting to become a 'well-groomed' kind of guy.
But now, Ren Tianyou was starting to wonder if the person in front of him was actually a girl.
"Yeah."
Li Mu didn’t say much. He just walked into the room with a gloomy face.
Every time someone brought up things like this, he felt a mix of helplessness and sadness.
Ren Tianyou followed him inside and asked, "Want to have dinner at my place tonight?"
"It’s pretty late, no need to trouble your mom." Li Mu placed his suitcase in a corner, then sat on the couch and looked up at Ren Tianyou. "Can you take me for a health check this weekend?"
He didn’t feel like going to the hospital alone and running around by himself. If he brought Ren Tianyou along, not only would he have someone to help, but he’d also get a free ride.
"A check-up, huh... Sure."
Even though Ren Tianyou felt like doing two check-ups so close together might not be useful, after seeing how much Li Mu’s appearance had changed, he agreed.
The room was a bit messy, but Li Mu didn’t care and sat directly on the couch.
Ren Tianyou sat down next to him, unsure of what to say. But being a typical curious guy, his eyes quickly drifted toward Li Mu’s chest, which had noticeably grown since the National Day, even with a jacket on, it was hard to miss.
"This..."
He already knew Li Mu’s chest was developing. After all, Li Mu never really hid it. Both he and the doctor had assumed it was caused by poor eating habits.
You often hear news stories about that, right? Usually, it’s because someone drinks too much soy milk, eats too much fried chicken, or uses cheap shampoo or skincare products with hidden female hormones.
Oh, right. There was even a recent news story about a crazy person who put hormones into the office water dispenser...
Thinking of that, Ren Tianyou suddenly got serious. "Li Mu, do you think the water dispenser in your dorm might be the problem?"
"We don’t have a water dispenser in our dorm."
"Then... did you make any enemies at school?"
Talking about his body changes always made Li Mu’s face turn gloomy, but he still answered, "No. I get along with most people."
Even Wang Chen had now turned into one of his overly loyal followers. Though he might get punched if his secret was exposed, at least on the surface, their relationship was fine.
Ren Tianyou looked even more serious now. "Could someone have secretly given you medicine?"
As he spoke, he pulled up a news article on his phone and showed it to Li Mu.
Li Mu glanced at the headline and shook his head, but didn’t know how to explain what was really happening.
At first, he was convinced it was due to the female ghost haunting him, but Uncle Chen Yi said there had never been such a case. He was totally in denial back then, but now he's given up.
His transformation couldn't be as simple as Lin Xi possessing him. He might only get answers when he meets his parents or a knowledgeable shaman.
But, who would believe something like that if he said it out loud?
It was the kind of thing that couldn’t be explained anyway, so he quickly changed the topic. "Why are you home so early?"
"I work the early shift now. Can’t stay up late anymore."
Ren Tianyou scratched his head. The main reason was that he had seen a ghost late at night not long ago, and it really scared him.
Even though he didn’t want to believe in superstitions, thinking maybe it was just a crazy person, he still felt afraid.
Li Mu gave a quick reply to show he understood, then stood up and grabbed a cloth to wipe down the furniture he usually used. There was no need to do a full cleaning since he’d only stay home for two days before going back to school.
Seeing that Li Mu had started doing his own things, Ren Tianyou didn’t stay long and planned to go home to grab some fruit to bring over.
The room was mostly just dusty. The floor was fine since no one took off their shoes anyway. So Li Mu simply wiped the bed frame, laid out the mattress and blanket, cleaned a few chairs, and settled in.
Xiao Jing turned on the TV and started looking for shows she liked. Maybe because she was connecting with the outside world, the room’s temperature started dropping quickly.
The weather was already just over twenty degrees, but with “Xiao Jing brand” air conditioning, the room dropped to around ten degrees. Li Mu started shivering from the cold and had to change from a light jacket to a thick winter sweatshirt.
"Xiao Jing, turn up the temperature."
"That’s already the highest!"
Having a ghost at home had this one big problem, it could make the room colder, but not warmer. The “air conditioner” didn’t have a heating function.
After doing the basic cleaning, Li Mu sat down on the couch with his phone and started thinking about dinner.
Every time he had to order food, he felt like he had a disease called "can’t-make-a-decision syndrome."
Luckily, just as he was still stuck thinking, Ren Tianyou came back with a bag full of fruit. Li Mu didn’t even hesitate and handed his phone into Ren Tianyou’s hands.
"Order something for me. Not something expensive. And don't ask me if I want to eat it."
"......"
Ren Tianyou took the phone and sat down on the couch beside Li Mu. He asked, "Did you come back this time because something happened?"
He felt like the Li Mu in front of him was unfamiliar, and even while sitting next to him on the couch, he kept a bit of distance.
To be honest, if Li Mu had been a girl he ran into at a bar or karaoke, he might already be using smooth talk and thinking about how to get her into bed.
Unfortunately, this was his little neighbor brother. That made it impossible for him to think that way. Even if a tiny thought like that came up, it would be followed by a strong feeling of guilt.
"Yeah, I plan to visit my hometown."
"Your hometown?" Ren Tianyou knew most of Li Mu’s background, so he frowned. "Why go to that place?"
"There’s something I need to do. I’m looking for someone."
Li Mu leaned over to glance at the phone in Ren Tianyou’s hands and reminded him. "I don’t like braised chicken rice."
"No interest in pork cutlet rice either."
"Dumplings… Takeout dumplings always taste bad."
Ren Tianyou quietly put the phone down and said in a low voice, "Didn’t you say I could choose? You’re just making things hard for me on purpose, huh? Why don’t you just eat at my place?"
He helplessly raised his head and found that Li Mu had unknowingly sat down beside him, their legs almost touching.
Ren Tianyou quickly pulled his legs in and his ears turned a little red.
Meanwhile, Li Mu, not noticing at all, picked up the phone from the couch. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Is your mom home?"
"She cooked and then went out."
"Good." Li Mu stood up right away, ready to go to Ren Tianyou’s house for dinner.
He also reminded him, "Don’t tell your mom I’m back."
"Why not?"
"She talks too much."