He was starving.
Although he’d felt more or less fine the moment he first woke up, two hours later, burning with fever and weak all over, that hunger had only grown sharper. Feeling so unwell, Lan Yu had been forced to take the medicine that was supposedly meant to be taken after a meal.
Sitting on the bed, Lan Yu blinked dazedly, staring at the phone beside him. He kept refreshing the screen, watching the delivery driver’s route yet there was absolutely no sign that the man intended to head in his direction.
Lan Yu narrowed his eyes, unlocked his phone and typed out a furious message: [You’ve been overtime for so long. Fine, it was raining earlier but the rain’s been gone for quite a while now, why haven’t you delivered yet?]
After a moment, the driver replied: [Just cancel the order.]
Lan Yu felt his brain being overwhelmed by pure, uncontrollable anger. He immediately called.
“If you had said from the beginning that you couldn’t deliver it, I might’ve let it go. I could have cooked for myself! But you kept saying you’d deliver, over and over and now you’re refusing to come, are you doing this on purpose? Do you think I’m easy to bully?”
“I’m really busy. Your place is hard to find and the road is difficult to get through. It’s really tough to deliver to you.”
The man explained but Lan Yu still heard the impatience in his tone. In an instant, Lan Yu bristled. So what, was the guy implying that just because his place was hard to find, he didn’t even bother delivering?
“You have to deliver it. Right now, immediately. Not only that, I’m filing a complaint.”
Lan Yu hung up angrily. His head felt dizzy; the irritation made everything worse. He normally didn’t lose his temper like this but he was sick, starving and being deliberately stalled, his mood was truly at rock bottom.
He had never filed a complaint before but now he rummaged through the app’s complaint section. After going through the process, he discovered that his food hadn’t arrived yet the app marked the order as delivered. His mind buzzed. Lan Yu flopped back onto the bed, clutching his feverish head with a groan.
Why are they bullying me!
Lan Yu wanted to order something else but instead, he forced himself, still feverish, to get up and try cooking something on his own. It was only a low fever and maybe thanks to his naturally good constitution, he was surprisingly clear headed. None of that “too weak to get out of bed” exhaustion.
“Maybe I really should get a mini fridge…” Lan Yu muttered while washing vegetables.
Since he passed by the produce shop every time he came home and because the house was too small, he hadn’t considered buying a fridge at first but now it seemed necessary.
Except… this place was way too small. There was nowhere to put it.
After throwing the ingredients for vegetable porridge into the rice cooker and switching it on, Lan Yu began surveying the entire room.
When he first rented the place, it came completely empty. He’d purchased nearly everything himself afterward, leaving the space rather cramped but because of the limited space, everything he bought was on the smaller side, which made the upper half of the room look strangely empty.
Maybe he should consider buying some shelving online and making use of the upper space? Perhaps he could even ask the landlord if he was allowed to put nails in the wall.
Wrapped in a blanket, Lan Yu sat on the bed and searched for rental space organization tools that could help maximize vertical storage. He wondered if he should message the landlord about drilling into walls.
Just then, an unfamiliar number called.
Lan Yu squinted at the screen and hung up immediately.
The complaint had already gone through, refund plus compensation had been issued. He’d also looked it up and it seemed the driver would get part of his wages deducted over this. That much was already enough for him; there was no need to pursue the matter further.
Besides, who knew if this call was really about the complaint or just a scam?
The vegetable porridge finished cooking. Lan Yu took out a jar of fermented bean curd, good stuff he used to eat often. After a few bites, warmth spread through his stomach and his whole body relaxed in comfort.
A second call came in from the same unfamiliar number. Lan Yu hung up again.
But after washing the dishes and sitting down to start his study video for the day, the phone rang once more.
Lan Yu frowned and answered. “Hello?”
“I’m sorry, customer. I’ve here to deliver your order. I’m standing at your door right now, could you please come out and pick it up?”
Lan Yu raised an eyebrow, glanced at his phone screen again for confirmation and said, “I don’t want it anymore.”
“Please, sir, I’m begging you. Please come take it. My attitude earlier was wrong, I’m really sorry. It was my fault, I shouldn’t have spoken like that.”
The voice on the other end was on the verge of tears. Lan Yu clicked his tongue. “Now you’re scared, huh? Because they deducted your pay? Why didn’t you deliver it earlier then?”
“I’m sorry, ge. It really was my fault. I shouldn’t have assumed you wouldn’t rush me and decided to deliver your order last. And when it went overtime, I figured I’d be fined anyway, so I thought I might as well put your delivery off even more. I shouldn’t have tried to cut corners. I should’ve just done my job properly without playing tricks. I’m sorry, ge. I’m begging you, please just come outside and take your food.”
Lan Yu stiffened with suspicion. What is this?
The pleading, the choking voice, everything felt off. Did the platform dock him that much money?
“Even if you beg, I’m not canceling the complaint,” Lan Yu said, suddenly uneasy.
“It’s okay, ge. You don’t have to cancel it. The deduction is what I deserve. I just want to apologize properly. Please, ge… please come out.”
Lan Yu’s entire body tensed in alertness.
Lan Yu’s scalp tingled. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you trying to trick me into coming out so you can beat me up?”
There had to be some reason behind such an abrupt one hundred eighty degree change in attitude. No one flipped this completely without a motive. Lan Yu glanced at the sky outside, already fully dark and a shiver ran through him.
“No, ge, I wouldn’t dare. Really, I wouldn’t.”
“I don’t want the food anymore. Just leave. If you don’t leave right now, I’m calling the police!” Lan Yu threatened and hung up directly.
Even though he felt like he could probably take on a thug if he really had to, he was, after all, in an “injured state” right now. One injured leg cut his combat power in half and with the fever that reduced him by another thirty percent, it was better to prioritize his own safety.
If there was going to be a fight, he could wait until he recovered.
When the phone rang again, Lan Yu immediately declined the call and tried to block the number but the calls came in frantically, one after another, so persistently that he couldn’t even tap the screen fast enough.
Just when he finally managed to hit “block,” a text message popped up a split second before the number was successfully blacklisted.
The block went through.
Lan Yu opened the message and froze.
[Ge, I’m sorry. I think I’m stuck in a ghost loop. I can’t reach anyone else, so you’re the only one I can call. I’m sorry, I was wro-]
The last word wasn’t even fully typed out. Holding the phone, Lan Yu realized what this meant.
Could it be…
The delivery guy ran into a ghost?
Given how many ghost encounters he’d had lately, Lan Yu found it extremely plausible. And if the rider was trapped by something supernatural yet could still contact him, then nine times out of ten, he was the only one the rider could contact. Worse, it probably had something to do with him directly.
Lan Yu thought for a moment, then brought the rider’s number back up from the block list. This time, the call didn’t come in immediately.
Feeling strangely guilty, he dialed the number himself. The rider picked up at once.
“Wuu wuu wuu I’m sorry wuu wuu I was wrong wuu wuu I’ll never ever wuu wuu I swear I’ll do my job properly from now on wuu wuu wuu, ”
The wild, incoherent sobbing spilling from the other end made Lan Yu realize the guy probably didn’t have any bad intentions. He sounded petrified to the point of collapse, far more frightened than the earlier dispute warranted. And when it came to being scared of ghosts, Lan Yu could completely empathize.
“Where are you?” Lan Yu asked cautiously.
“At your door. I’m right at your door. Please… could you come out and help me? I’m so scared. It’s really scary out here.” The rider answered immediately, voice trembling, talking so quickly it was as if the words burned his tongue, terrified Lan Yu would change his mind.
“Fine, I’m coming out. Just wait a moment,” Lan Yu said.
“Can you… not hang up the phone?” the rider pleaded.
“Uh… all right.”
In truth, Lan Yu was also feeling timid.
He had been running into ghosts nonstop recently. Helping someone else who’d collided with a ghost meant risking getting dragged into another supernatural mess. His fear wasn’t something he could just reason his way out of, every time he saw a ghost, his legs trembled on instinct. That wasn’t going away anytime soon.
Lan Yu cracked open the door of his rental room and peeked out, scanning up and down the dim corridor. His door faced the staircase and everything was pitch black but nothing seemed off. He knocked hard on the doorframe a few times, then shut the door firmly and yanked it open again yet the motion sensor light still didn’t turn on.
The light was broken?
No…
He’d run into a ghost.
Lan Yu was on the verge of tears.
“What are you doing over there? Why does it sound so loud?” The rider’s voice shook even harder, sounding even more frightened than Lan Yu himself.
“Point your scooter’s headlights toward my building, toward the stairs. The hallway lights here won’t turn on.” Lan Yu stared into the darkness, shrinking back in fear, his legs trembling too hard to take a step.
When the scooter’s light finally streamed in through the window, Lan Yu squinted into the newly illuminated corridor for a long moment before mustering the courage to move.
The door behind him slammed shut with a loud bang. Lan Yu froze, heart leaping into his throat. He stood stiffly for a long time, waiting, nothing happened. Only then did he start making his way downstairs to find the rider.
Terrified of the dark, Lan Yu practically sprinted down the stairs. His plaster cast thudded loudly on each step, bang, bang, bang, echoing through the stairwell. He shoved the building’s front door open and the moment his eyes met the rider’s tearfully trembling gaze, both of them saw salvation.
“I’m sorry, I was wrong.” The rider hiccupped through his sobs while handing over the food, now cold to the touch. “I’ll bring you a fresh order tomorrow, same thing, free of charge. Is that okay?”
“Okay,” Lan Yu nodded.
“I’m really sorry.”
“I forgive you,” Lan Yu said.
“Then… does this mean I can leave this alley now?” the rider asked, eyes filled with desperate hope.
Lan Yu wasn’t entirely sure.
But at that moment, a couple strolled past the alley entrance, chatting and laughing, radiating the warmth of everyday life. Their presence instantly dispelled the eerie, oppressive chill that had been clinging to the narrow alley.
The instant the rider saw actual people, he burst into relieved laughter, though his eyes were still rimmed red. “Wahaha, thank you, thank you, I’ll never dare pull anything like this again. I’m leaving now!”
He dashed off so fast it was as if a pack of dogs were chasing him. Lan Yu didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.
Lan Yu’s throat tickled and he suddenly coughed twice, only to notice that the motion sensor light behind him had turned on.
Lan Yu: “…”
It was related to him?
It was related to him!?!
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Behind every translated chapter is someone who probably needs caffeine.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Who wants to go back to be a minor plot device?Chapter 2 · StartChapter 3 · I’m terrified of ghostsChapter 4 · Do ghosts exist in this world?Chapter 5 · ShadowChapter 6 · There’s something wrong with how this book is dressedChapter 7 · The ghost drew a heart for himChapter 8 · Make troubleChapter 9 · Don’t scare me!Chapter 10 · I’d rather be scared to death than go backChapter 11 · Want to eat together?Chapter 12 · A cleaning ghostChapter 13 · Regret it now?Chapter 14 · ParentsChapter 15 · Find FaultChapter 16 · Ghostly photos?Chapter 17 · Nickname: White ShadowChapter 18 · A haunted taxi?Chapter 19 · Extreme fear turns to angerChapter 20 · I used to be a messChapter 21 · Best friendChapter 22 · Turning pointChapter 23 · The threat of ghostsChapter 24 · It’s not a ghost, it’s eerinessChapter 25 Part 1 · First time entering the eerie houseChapter 25 Part 2 · First time entering the eerie houseChapter 26 · Borrow moneyChapter 27 · He’s jealousChapter 28 · RetributionChapter 29 · Revenge from a Strange SourceChapter 30 Part 1 · How could you be so carelessChapter 30 Part 2 · How could you be so carelessChapter 31 Part 1 · What would happen if I ran away from home again?Chapter 31 Part 2 · What would happen if I ran away from home again?Chapter 32 Part 1 · Firmly uphold the right to privacyChapter 32 Part 2 · Firmly uphold the right to privacyChapter 33 Part 1 · The brother who brought down death to protect his belovedChapter 33 Part 2 · The brother who brought down death to protect his belovedChapter 34 Part 1 · Being secretly massaged by a shadowy figure in publicChapter 34 Part 2 · Being secretly massaged by a shadowy figure in publicChapter 35 Part 1 · Go to my dear older brother and sister’s bedroomChapter 35 Part 2 · Go to my dear older brother and sister’s bedroomChapter 36 Part 1 · Being favored by everyone in the eerie houseChapter 36 Part 2 · Being favored by everyone in the eerie houseChapter 37 · We must protect our precious childChapter 38 · It’s too tragic, I can’t bear to watch anymoreChapter 39 · Because of the unique companionshipChapter 40 · The first meeting with the admirer of the protagonistChapter 41 · It’s eerie, but they’re all real family members!Chapter 42 · Using the eerie house to get a cheat codeChapter 43 · The baby’s crying after getting drunk is so cute!Chapter 44 · A traitorChapter 45 · All family members can help the baby.Chapter 46 · When the family is happy, they will hug their waistChapter 47 · Ear piercings were adornedChapter 48 · Treasure are the most precious itemsChapter 49 · Revenge is not an easy thing to doChapter 50 · Because I couldn’t see his faceChapter 51 · One of his brothers is a continuous mountain rangeChapter 52 · How could we possibly run into characters from the original storyChapter 53 · The gems my brother gave me piled up into a small mountainChapter 54 · One can feel an overwhelming sense of superiority.Chapter 55 · Sleeping with a shadowy figure means you won’t be afraid of ghosts at allChapter 56 · The fireworks display to celebrate my baby was absolutely devastating!Chapter 57 · It wasn’t this restaurant that treated us; it was another oneChapter 58 · His super-rich older sister paid for his treat!Chapter 59 · He’s different from beforeChapter 60 · It’s all so weird, isn’t it normal for people to want to disappear?Chapter 61 · Wen JieChapter 62 · Has the identity of this strange child been discovered?Chapter 63 · Those who make their child angry are unforgivableChapter 64 · Being too inquisitive about other people’s private affairs will bring you troubleChapter 65 · A person not to be covetedChapter 66 · Can you bridge the racial divide by staying close to your family?Chapter 67 · What to do if my child doesn’t want to celebrate their birthday?Chapter 68 · The baby is also a second-generation, a bizarre second-generation!Chapter 69 · We are clearly each other’s only friendsChapter 70 · The House of Eeries really did throw a ridiculously huge birthday partyChapter 71 · Why would he feel competitive towards his friend?Chapter 72 · Try to appease the jealous shadow.Chapter 73 · If you’re going to take revenge, you should do it in front of him!Chapter 74 · Now that things have come to thisChapter 75 · My baby’s travel is strange and worryingChapter 76 · One of the older brothers who crawled into the suitcase and followedChapter 77 · He resolutely refused to leave his abandoned brotherChapter 78 · I don’t want my baby to see my terrifying true formChapter 79 · I love hugging you like this.Chapter 80 · It’s a good thing to know you.Chapter 81 · Does my brother also want to go out and have some fun?Chapter 82 · His Older brother?Chapter 83 · Xiao Ming!Chapter 84 · I’m doing great as long as the original text doesn’t go crazyChapter 85 · What’s there to be afraid of when everything’s shrouded in eeriness?Chapter 86 · Let’s have a fight for the sake of the original ownerChapter 87 · How did they know he wasn’t the original owner?Chapter 88 Part 1 · Was the shadowy figure injured?Chapter 88 Part 2 · Was the shadowy figure injured?Chapter 88 Part 3 · Was the shadowy figure injured?Chapter 89 Part 1 · To inflict countless severe emotional blows on someoneChapter 89 Part 2 · To inflict countless severe emotional blows on someoneChapter 91 Part 1 · He was like a human in a supernatural taleChapter 91 Part 2 · He was like a human in a supernatural taleChapter 92 · Someone is secretly using underhanded tacticsChapter 93 · The right people I once followedChapter 94 · Let go of your prejudices against the protagonist.Okay! How come on one complain that we can’t right click the link and open a it in a new webapge??Chapter 95 · Favoritism from his current friendsChapter 96 · The baby is going to marry into our familyChapter 97 · The idea of falling in loveChapter 98 · Want to replace your baby?Chapter 99 · What’s wrong with double happiness?!Chapter 100 · It’s just a matter of raceChapter 101 · I need to balance dating and studying!Chapter 102 · After the shadowy figure gained a physical bodyChapter 103 · Confess your love to the eerie house!Chapter 104 · Even with such pampering, your baby still lacks a sense of security.Chapter 105 · How much help did he receive that he didn’t know about?Chapter 106 · You are not worthy to be the middlemanChapter 107 · Is there anything wrong with me being petty?Chapter 108 · You can have both love and studies!Chapter 109 · Suppressed and restrained desiresChapter 110 · What does an unforgettable yet ordinary date need?