Chapter 166: At Night
Actually, Yu Fan could already tell that Li Mu was feeling sleepy.
He stayed close beside her and took the elevator up to her apartment.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Liu Shenglong crouching in the corner, while Xiao Jing was putting on a show in front of him, with her head separating from her body, breaking off her arms, cutting off her own wrist...
“......”
Even though Liu Shenglong was a ghost, he had never seen anything like that before. He was completely shocked, curled up in the corner, shaking with fear.
"Xiao Jing, snacks." Li Mu stopped Xiao Jing from continuing.
Xiao Jing looked toward the door and her eyes lit up when she saw Yu Fan. She ran over happily.
"Brother Yu Fan! Why are you here?"
"I just happened to run into her at the convenience store," Yu Fan said with a smile, rubbing Xiao Jing’s head and placing the things he brought beside the TV stand. "Here, I bought lots of snacks. Go ahead and eat them."
"Am I sleeping outside tonight?"
Li Mu gave her a sharp look but didn’t say anything. She just took a pack of sanitary pads from the shopping bag and walked into the bathroom.
Yu Fan glanced at Liu Shenglong, who was doing his best to act invisible, and then led Xiao Jing into the bedroom.
Earlier, Li Mu had said she wanted to watch a horror movie, so Yu Fan used her computer to search for some highly rated ones.
Even though horror movies might not have much effect on them, two people and one ghost, it might still be helpful. Who knows, maybe it would give them ideas next time they have to deal with ghosts.
Xiao Jing wasn’t that interested in the movie. She grabbed a bag of chips and, after borrowing Yu Fan’s phone, started playing games.
"Don’t spend money in the game," Yu Fan reminded her.
He was deeply hurt by this. A relative’s annoying kid once borrowed his phone, and in just one afternoon, all 300 yuan in his account was gone. The kid even acted innocent, saying he didn’t know it was real money.
"I know!"
Yu Fan felt that although Xiao Jing was a bit silly sometimes, she was still a good kid. So he let her play and kept looking for a good horror movie.
Not long after, Li Mu came in. She looked around the room, then went back out and brought in a chair.
She sat next to Yu Fan, curled up with her knees to her chest, and quietly watched him use the computer.
Maybe because she had never sat so quietly next to Yu Fan before, Li Mu noticed a faint scent coming from him.
She couldn’t say exactly what it was. It wasn’t soap or shampoo, and definitely not sweat. It was a light, clean smell that she actually found quite nice.
She sniffed a few times, trying to figure out where it came from. But just then, Yu Fan turned his head and looked at her.
Her cheeks turned a little red without her even noticing.
She hadn’t felt anything weird when she was sniffing, but now that she’d been caught, it made her feel like a total creep.
"How about this movie?"
Li Mu didn’t really look at it carefully. She glanced at the screen and nodded. "Sure."
Xiao Jing had already placed the snacks all over the computer desk. It was completely full. She probably didn’t want to bother them, so she took the snacks, went to the bed, and sat there playing with Yu Fan’s phone while munching. Every now and then, she’d peek over at the two of them with a silly “auntie smile.”
The two didn’t notice Xiao Jing watching. They just started the movie and turned the volume up a little to block out the street noise from outside.
"You don’t seem too upset this time."
"Yeah, I’m getting used to it."
Li Mu really liked this kind of moment. Yu Fan wasn’t trying to touch her or joke around like he did at school. He just sat quietly, eating snacks, watching the movie, and chatting a little.
But the sleepiness hit her again, and her eyelids started to feel heavy.
"So what are your plans for the future?"
"Study, go to college, get a job like everyone else."
After giving her answer, Li Mu added, "As long as Xiao Jing is with me, I’m fine. She’s not much different from a normal person now. It’s nice to take her traveling and see the outside world."
"What about… getting married?"
"I still can’t accept that right now. Anyway, a lot of people these days don’t want to get married. I think that’s fine too."
Yu Fan wanted to say something, but when he saw the lost look in Li Mu’s eyes, he quietly closed his mouth and went back to watching the movie.
They were watching one of the highest-rated horror movies from the past two years. Almost everyone who had seen it said it was really good.
Li Mu was actually watching very seriously, trying to use the scary scenes to push away her sleepiness. On the other hand, Yu Fan kept getting distracted, glancing at her from time to time, and his imagination started to wander again.
Just then, Xiao Jing left the bedroom and casually turned off the light.
Horror movies, when watched alone, are just scary. But when a guy and a girl watch together, isn’t it the perfect chance…?
Yu Fan was looking forward to Li Mu hugging his arm in fear or curling up and waiting for a warm hug.
But half an hour passed, and while Li Mu was curled up, she was only resting her chin in her hands and yawning nonstop.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah, it’s good."
Li Mu forced her eyes open and nodded hard. "Very scary."
…………………………………………
Yu Fan stayed quiet for a moment. He still didn’t see any sign that she was scared.
If she were really scared, she wouldn’t be this sleepy, right?
To be honest, the movie was really well done. The background music and the scary ghosts really created a creepy atmosphere, and the detailed backstory added to the horror.
But Li Mu was already sleepy before the movie started. She didn’t really pay attention to the plot, and the creepy atmosphere just didn’t affect her much. She was used to worse things in real life.
Another half hour passed. Yu Fan let out a soft sigh, still not seeing any fear in her expression.
He was about to suggest switching to a different movie when he suddenly felt something leaning on his shoulder.
He turned his head and saw Li Mu had nodded off, her head resting on his shoulder, with half her body leaning against him.
"Are you asleep?" He asked in a soft voice.
There was no reply. Yu Fan carefully adjusted her head a little so she wouldn’t wake up with a sore neck.
He had to admit, Li Mu’s body was very soft.
There was also a familiar light orchid scent. He knew it came from some ghostly influence, but in that moment, it felt gentle and calming.
Yu Fan sat stiffly, afraid that moving too much would wake her up.
"Um… how about you sleep in the bed?"
He whispered, but still didn’t get a response, only the sound of her gentle breathing.
Now he didn’t dare move at all.
"Seriously? Am I supposed to sit like this all night?"
He muttered to himself. After holding her like that for half an hour, his back and waist were starting to ache.
Finally, he carefully supported the back of her head, gently laying her down a bit, then stood up. He placed one arm behind her knees and the other behind her back.
He lifted her, but almost hurt his back in the process.
"You need to lose some weight."
He grumbled about her weight, then tried again and finally lifted Li Mu up in a princess carry.
The sound of her breathing suddenly stopped, making him freeze in place. But after waiting a bit and seeing that she didn’t wake up, he relaxed again.
He carefully carried her to the bed and gently laid her down.
"Didn’t even finish the movie. Fell asleep halfway through."
Yu Fan sat down on the floor, leaning on the bed, and looked at Li Mu’s sleeping face under the light from the computer screen.
"I have to admit, you look prettier when you’re asleep. You’re usually too cold and serious."