Good Night, Mr. Ghost - Chapter 4

The young man maintained a stiff smile as he shuffled back to the switch, his movements quick and deliberate. Without hesitation, he flipped the light on.

Nothing.

Jiang Chenyi let out a breath of relief. Maybe he was just scaring himself.

Yeah, that had to be it-probably from staying up until midnight playing video games every day. Maybe he was starting to hallucinate.

Or maybe he’d been watching too many horror movies, and his mind was playing tricks on him.

Chenyi almost convinced himself.

With a loud yelp, he dove onto the bed, grabbing the blanket and wrapping himself up tightly.

But seriously, who hallucinates breathing sounds?

Ahhh!

Even someone as superstitious as Chenyi couldn’t accept the idea of a ghost in his house.

Maybe it was his parents? It wasn’t impossible-it was Zhongyuan Festival, after all.

He steadied his nerves.

Carefully, he peeked out from under the blanket and called out, “Dad? Mom? Is that you?”

No response. Then he thought about it-no, it couldn’t be. His parents were both shorter than him, but the breathing sound he’d heard had been above his ears.

Chenyi was 177 centimeters tall, which meant the ghost had to be taller than that.

Feeling utterly terrified, Jiang burrowed back under the covers, trying to hypnotize himself.

There’s no ghost here. Nothing at all. It’s just me. I’ve gone crazy from playing games too much, and now I’m imagining things!

Yes, that’s it!

Ghosts don’t exist, right? Haha, there’s no such thing as ghosts in this world!

Jiang couldn’t take it anymore. The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

Especially when he remembered all the ghost stories his parents had told him growing up. Jiang felt like he was about to lose it.

He curled up under the blanket, trembling like a quail.

The situation was dire!

What if the ghost in the house wanted to kill him? Rob him? Or worse, harm him in other unspeakable ways?

Then he’d be completely helpless, wouldn’t he?

Swallowing hard, Chenyi decided to test the waters. He poked his head out and said, “Hello? Are you still there? If you are, could you turn off the light for me? Thanks.”

That was his plan.

If the light didn’t turn off, it meant the ghost had left.

But if the light did turn off-well, a ghost that’s polite enough to turn off the light couldn’t be that scary, right?

Time ticked by.

Just as Chenyi was about to relax, the light suddenly went out.

Chenyi: “…”

No way. This is not something a human would do!

The young man slowly retreated under the blanket. There really was a ghost-ahhh!

At that moment, he suddenly remembered what the stall owner who sold him the item had said.

If anything happens, go find people in the know!

Who else could “people in the know” refer to? Monks and Taoist priests, of course!

Chenyi lay under the blanket, frantically searching on his phone.

How to quickly get rid of a ghost.

How to survive an encounter with a ghost.

Do ghosts really exist?

My house light suddenly turned off-could it have been my subconscious doing it?

Great. These ridiculous questions hadn’t been asked by anyone before.

Jiang could only create new questions now and hope for help from enthusiastic netizens.

Of course, by the time a helpful netizen appeared, he might already be dead.

The shadow stood by the bed, watching the trembling lump under the blanket.

It was clear that the young man had realized his presence.

But it didn’t matter.

Today, he’d eaten the meal the young man had prepared. The young man even wore that jade ring (though he often took it off, claiming it interfered with his gaming). In a way, they’d exchanged tokens of affection, hadn’t they?

Well, it couldn’t be helped. That jade ring was his last possession.

He was a ghost, and the young man was human. Sure, their species didn’t match, but it wasn’t like they could have children anyway, so what did it matter?

Meng Loudi gazed at the lump on the bed.

The first person who could see him, feel his presence, was this young man.

The one who brought him home was also this young man.

After centuries of loneliness, he longed for companionship.

Even if it meant being a little selfish, wasn’t it worth it?

So Meng Loudi climbed onto the bed.

Jiang felt the mattress dip slightly on the other side.

Then, he felt an irresistible force pull the blanket off him, followed by a cold sensation enveloping him. Moments later, the blanket was back on.

A hand patted his back, as if silently comforting him.

Chenyi froze.

Wait, what’s going on?

Was the ghost trying to comfort him?

Honestly, he didn’t need comfort-he needed the ghost to leave. To leave as far away as possible.

But Jiang was too scared to say anything. He let the ghost hold him, feeling utterly terrified.

Was this ghost planning to harm him?

He didn’t know if the ghost was male or female, and frankly, he didn’t care. But was this really happening?

If so, he might be at a disadvantage.

Jiang’s first kiss was still intact-he couldn’t just give it away to anyone. Not even to a ghost.

Yes, Jiang Chenyi was a superstitious yet pure and conservative young man. Well, not so young anymore.

At twenty-five, almost thirty if you rounded up, he didn’t qualify as a “young man” anymore.

Lost in his chaotic thoughts, Chenyi eventually drifted off to sleep.

Meng Loudi felt the person in his arms gradually fall asleep. He closed his eyes as well.

Ghosts might not need sleep.

But holding someone like this-even pretending to sleep-felt nice.

Now that he could touch the young man, it was a good feeling.

One human and one ghost slept like this.

When Jiang woke up in the morning, he felt a cool presence beside him.

Why was it cool?

Did he wet the bed?

No, no, he remembered.

Jiang opened his eyes, expressionless.

There’s a ghost. A ghost slept next to him all night.

Does he look like a pillow or something?

Jiang refused.

He tried to wriggle out of the ghost’s embrace.

Meng Loudi, sensing the young man’s struggle, didn’t stop him.

The ghost watched as the human slowly crawled out of his arms and carefully got out of bed.

Meng Loudi thought for a moment, then reached out and lightly grabbed the young man’s wrist.

Chenyi froze, his body stiffening. Slowly, he turned his head to look behind him, but of course, he saw nothing.

Meng Loudi lay on his side, propping his head up with one hand while holding the young man’s warm wrist with the other. He watched the young man’s slightly terrified expression and felt… happy.

Jiang turned to look behind him, his expression a mix of fear and confusion.

This look was oddly satisfying.

But Jiang wasn’t happy. He trembled and asked, “Do you have any instructions for me?”

Is this ghost planning to eat him after sleeping with him?

Please don’t.

I can beg and plead. I can even kneel and shout, “I can’t do this!”

Of course, if you want me to wash your hair or massage your back, I can do that too!

Despite his dramatic inner monologue, Chenyi didn’t dare say any of it. He was afraid the ghost might crush him in anger.

Meng Loudi, having enjoyed the sight of the trembling young man, let go of his wrist. Freed, Jiang hesitated for a moment before bolting out of the bedroom like a rabbit fleeing a wolf. In ten minutes, he had finished everything he needed to do, grabbed a small piece of bread, and was ready to leave. As his hand reached for the doorknob, he felt a chill.

“…Why are you standing here? Are you planning to leave? Let me open the door for you,” Chenyi said, bowing and scraping, trying to appear as servile as possible.

The chill didn’t move.

Jiang didn’t dare move either.

After a while, Jiang muttered, “Um, I need to go to work. If you don’t have anything else, I’ll be on my way?”

The chill moved. It raised a hand and touched the young man’s cheek. Then, as Chenyi stared in shock, it turned and walked back inside.

Jiang felt the cold air shift from in front of him to behind him.

He didn’t have time to think. He quickly opened the door and ran out.

Riding his bicycle, he pedaled furiously toward the tutoring class.

It was Saturday, and his schedule was packed.

But he’d arrived early. The boss, Yi-Jie, was sitting in the lobby eating grapes. Seeing the young man arrive before eight, she smiled and said, “Jiang, why are you here so early? Want some grapes?”

Jiang shook his head and suddenly asked, “Yi-Jie, if someone suddenly stops you and pinches your cheek, what does that mean?”

Yi-Jie’s ears perked up. This was gossip!

She put down the grapes, her eyes sparkling. “What’s this? Who’s the lucky girl? Is our Jiang finally finding love?”

Chenyi froze, his handsome face turning bright red. He waved his hands frantically. “No, no!”

It was taller than him, so it couldn’t be a girl, right?

Yi-Jie clapped her hands and grinned mischievously. “Ah, I get it. It’s a guy, isn’t it? Is he handsome? What’s his family like? Oh, I knew it! Our Jiang-heehee-come on, tell me everything. I promise I’ll keep it a secret!”

Her grin was downright cheeky.

Yi-Jie thumped her chest, looking righteous, but her face was brimming with curiosity.

Chenyi lowered his head, covering his face as his ears turned red. “It’s not like that, Yi-Jie!”

“What do you mean ‘not like that’? If he didn’t like you, why would he pinch your cheek? Don’t kid yourself,” Yi-Jie said, slapping her thigh. She stood up, grabbed the young man’s arm, and dragged him toward her office.

“This isn’t the place to talk about this. Come on, come on, let’s go to my office.” She grabbed the grapes as well.

Don’t underestimate Yi-Jie. She might be a woman, but her strength was impressive-especially when gossip was involved.

Chenyi couldn’t help but laugh, his face still red.

“But Yi-Jie, you pinch my cheeks too!”

Yi-Jie paused mid-step, looking at Chenyi with a serious expression. “Jiang, I’m seven or eight years older than you. For you, that’s maternal love.”

Hit with a wave of “maternal love,” Chenyi felt a bit dazed. He was already in his twenties-did he still inspire “maternal love” in others?

Jiang poked his cheek, thinking: Maybe I really am a troublemaker.

Is it a problem to be cute?

Feeling a bit out of it, Jiang let the woman drag him to her desk. Looking behind him, he asked, “Yi-Jie, you’re just leaving like this?”

“Don’t worry. Qiao will be here soon,” Yi-Jie waved her hand dismissively.

What could be more important than gossip?

Her office was decorated warmly. Chenyi was pushed onto the sofa.

Then, Yi-Jie pulled up a chair, sat beside him, and opened a box of sunflower seeds. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. “Alright, tell me everything!”