Why was a child standing out here alone at this hour?
Lan Yu already had a timid disposition and on a cold, quiet night like this, suddenly seeing a small child standing under a streetlamp making those strange noises was enough to make even his already small courage tremble uncontrollably.
Maybe… maybe the kid was waiting for his parents.
Just pretend you didn’t see anything.
Lan Yu kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, trying his best to walk past the unnerving child. Yet the closer he got, the clearer that strange voice became.
“…go… go… home… go… geh ah…”
Lan Yu forced himself forward. Even though his eyes stayed rigidly focused on the road ahead, the more he tried not to look, the more his peripheral vision strained to catch a glimpse of the child’s face but no matter how he tried, he simply could not see it clearly.
It was cold, so the child was bundled tightly from head to toe. Aside from a pair of eyes that might have been exposed beneath the hood, every inch of skin was wrapped up but Lan Yu was already very close, close enough that under the bright illumination of the streetlamp, beneath the shadowy brim of that hood, he still couldn’t make out even the faintest feature.
Just as they passed each other, he heard it, this time frighteningly clear:
“…go home…”
Lan Yu walked past. The child’s hooded head turned slowly, following his movement the entire time, until he finally walked far enough that even his peripheral vision could no longer catch any trace of it.
Because nothing happened after he passed by, Lan Yu gradually began to doubt himself, maybe he had been overly paranoid. His steps slowed.
Was the child actually lost?
Unable to find the way home?
How long had he been standing there by himself?
In this cold weather… Could he get frostbite?
Lan Yu finally stopped walking.
Should he… go back and ask?
He interlaced his fingers, blew warm air into his palms but he couldn’t even tell whether he still smelled strongly of alcohol. If a drunk man tried to lead a child anywhere, he would definitely be misunderstood, right? Maybe he should call the police instead?
Lan Yu turned back.
“…go… home…”
He didn’t walk closer. Instead, he stopped right at the boundary where the darkness and the streetlamp’s glow met. From that line of faint shadow, he called out toward the child standing under the bright light.
“Are you lost? Can’t find your way home?”
“Go… go… go…”
Only that same blurred, muffled syllable squeezed through the child’s teeth.
Was there some kind of cognitive issue? Or maybe the child was simply terrified?
Lan Yu lingered there for quite a while before finally taking a breath and stepping across the dividing line between light and shadow. He approached the child, crouched down beside him so they were at eye level and reached out to gently hold the child’s arm.
“Do you know your mom or dad’s phone nu…mber…”
The words froze in his throat.
Even at this distance… even under this bright light…
He still couldn’t see a normal face under that hood or rather, what he did see didn’t look remotely human.
He could see nothing but a gaping mouth.
A massive, grotesquely wide mouth stretched across the entire space beneath the hood, opened impossibly large. He couldn’t tell whether there were teeth inside but he could clearly see a red tongue curled within.
There was no nose, no nasal cavity, no uvula, none of the familiar structures one should see inside a human mouth, only an indescribable cavity where the sound was being squeezed out in a warped, distorted way.
Beneath his hand, the child’s arm did not feel like the soft, warm limb of a real child. It felt rigid, like carved wood. It had no weight but it was impossibly hard.
“…go… home… quickly…”
The world went dark before Lan Yu’s eyes. He stumbled backward with a strangled gasp, fell hard onto the ground, then scrambled back several meters in sheer panic. Only after several desperate, awkward crawls did he manage to get up and run, run for his life.
Wh, what the hell was that?!
Lan Yu bolted all the way back home. He took the stairs in huge leaps, nearly tripping several times as he rushed up to the second floor.
His hands shook so badly he could barely feel the keys but after several frantic attempts, he finally managed to shove the key into the lock, burst inside, slam the door shut and throw himself into his bed.
His shoes flew off and hit the wall but he didn’t care, he dove headfirst into the blankets, wrapped himself tightly from head to toe, not leaving even the tiniest gap for air and curled up trembling violently.
A ghost. That… that was a ghost, right?!
Lan Yu was terrified of ghosts. Terrified beyond belief. To the point of paralysis.
Hiding under the blankets, he cried quietly. People always said ghosts appeared specifically to those who feared them most… and now it was his turn, he had actually run into one.
Time passed, minute after agonizing minute and nothing happened.
Eventually, a tiny opening appeared at the edge of his tightly wrapped quilt.
Ten minutes later… a single finger slowly slid out from that little gap.
Twenty minutes later, the blanket began to shift and bulge on the bed. A hand finally emerged from within, trembling as it reached out and flipped a switch.
The one tiny lamp in the small ten something square meter room flickered on, bathing everything in soft light.
Thirty minutes later, Lan Yu slowly peeked his head out of the blanket.
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Lan Yu sat wrapped in his blanket, staring blankly into space for a long moment.
It really seemed like nothing had happened.
Only then did he smell the faint, warm, slightly stuffy scent left by the heater running in the cramped room. He finally crawled out of the blanket and looked at the rumpled, torn packaging of the hangover medicine buried under the covers, he realized he hadn’t let go of the medicine bag the entire time.
He poured himself a cup of warm water from the little thermos on the table, took the hangover pills and sat back down on the edge of the bed.
Had he drunk too much and hallucinated everything?
Lan Yu looked around at his tiny rented room. A narrow single room unit barely a dozen square meters, with a small bathroom squeezed into one corner. The fifty yuan second hand single bed and the thirty yuan low tea table were the only pieces of furniture he had purchased after moving in.
The bed had a blanket laid out as a makeshift mattress, an old sheet and a neatly folded quilt. On the little table sat a cup and a small warming kettle, all things Zhou Hesheng had given him.
The heart that had been suspended tens of thousands of meters in the air slowly returned to solid ground. Lan Yu’s whole body loosened. He locollapsed face first onto his bed again. The room was tiny but for him, right now, it was the only place in the world that felt safe.
Lan Yu turned his head toward the room’s single small window. On the windowsill sat a black and white photograph, one he had taken of himself and printed. In front of it was a small incense burner and beside it a single apple. A miniature altar.
This was the reason he had insisted on finding a cheap, fully rented single room in an old self built house rather than staying in a brighter, nicer apartment with roommates.
Only he knew that the real original Lan Yu had inexplicably vanished. In this world, he was the only person who could pay respects to that name.
He hadn’t been able to set up an altar while living in Zhou Hesheng’s home. As soon as he moved out, this was the first thing he prepared. It was simple, extremely simple but in the future, when he had money, he would gladly commission something far more beautiful.
Lan Yu stood up, lit a stick of incense for the little altar and looked at the picture of himself sitting upright in solemn posture.
His original appearance had been identical to the original owner of this body. The facial features were the same but back then, he had been chronically ill, his face pallid, his frame frail, his cheeks sunken, dark circles heavy under his eyes but if he had been healthy… he would have looked just like the person in the photograph.
Lan Yu lowered his head and examined his hand. His fingers were long and pale, not the sickly pallor of chronic illness but naturally fair skin, with faint blue veins visible beneath.
Near one joint was a small light scar where the scab had recently fallen off, an injury he got when he first started waiting tables and accidentally cut himself due to clumsiness. Now it has mostly healed.
This was his body now.
Lan Yu looked toward the memorial altar.
“I’m sorry. Please… please consider the fact that I didn’t take your body on purpose. Could you bless me a little? Please don’t let me see another ghost. In this entire world, you’re the only ancestor I have left. I’m begging you to watch over me.”
Calling him “ancestor” felt strange but Lan Yu truly couldn’t think of another way to address the original owner of the body he now occupied.
As a cannon fodder character in a modern BL novel, he shouldn’t encounter ghosts at all. Characters like him were meant to exist quietly in the background of a romance plot, not get attacked by supernatural horrors. If nothing else, he could at least believe in the original owner.
After a quick shower, he lay down in bed. Even though something terrifying had happened, the alcohol in his system surged back up, heavy and numbing, dragging him toward sleep like a thick blanket.
When he finally woke, the buzz of drunkenness had faded completely. Lan Yu sat on his bed for a long time, dazed, staring at the scraped marks on his palm where he had fallen and scraped against the ground the night before.
The memory was painfully clear.
That enormous mouth, stretching across the entire face…
It wasn’t a drunken hallucination at all!
Lan Yu arrived at the restaurant very early and started his prep work.
He was currently working as a waiter. After being taken in by Zhou Hesheng, this was the job he found that he could learn the fastest and that also paid the most. His looks were decent, he was young and energetic and the tasks weren’t complicated.
He had picked it up quickly and the restaurant was close to Zhou Hesheng’s home. Back then, when he was working to offset the rent with household chores, he hadn’t dared take on a more time consuming job and needed to leave time for chores.
During work hours, all phones were kept in the staff changing room. Wearing the fitted uniform, Lan Yu stepped into the employee area. Even though the restaurant had already opened for business, the cleaning had just been finished. There was no banquet that day and since it wasn’t mealtime yet, everyone was still fairly relaxed and chatting in little groups.
Lan Yu, however, had never been part of the chatting crowd.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. At the beginning, people had been friendly. They had tried to talk to him, ask questions, strike up conversations but he had just transmigrated back then and was completely overwhelmed by survival. His spare time outside of work had been filled with chores at Zhou Hesheng’s house. He had no time or energy to socialize.
Slowly, everyone formed the impression that he was quiet and withdrawn. Now, no one tried to initiate conversation with him anymore.
And now Lan Yu had no natural way to join anyone’s topic at all.
But things were different today. He had rented his own room. He no longer needed to rush home to scrub floors and do laundry. He had managed to save a little bit of money and could finally join others for a meal or a chat.
And perhaps because he had recently run into a ghost, a desperate desire welled inside him, he wanted a friend, someone he could talk nonsense with, just someone to share idle words with.
Although the restaurant could host banquets, it wasn’t large. There were only around sixty employees in total and roughly thirty to forty waiters. Because of the shifts, they didn’t all meet at once. Today, Lan Yu was on the evening shift, so there were a little over a dozen servers around. A few were chatting in a small circle.
Lan Yu straightened his collar, gathered his courage and stood not far from their group.
“What kind of nonsense were they acting yesterday? The main character was infuriating, so stupid that they kept dragging everyone down, even got the good people killed,” one of the servers grumbled.
Lan Yu perked up, ears sharp. What were they talking about? A drama? He hadn’t watched it. Should he ask which show it was? Maybe show a little interest?
“If I got killed because of someone like that, I’d come back as a ghost and haunt the main character.”
Lan Yu took a hesitant step closer. His eyelashes fluttered at the word “ghost.” If he steered the topic toward ghosts, would it make things awkward? Would they think he was weird?
“I’ve watched a similar ghost movie,” another added. “It’s about the victim coming back for revenge but in the end, everything turns out to be man made. Honestly, these domestic screenwriters should cameo in their own stories.”
Heaven was helping him.
A ghost movie!
A ghost topic!
Yes, yes, yes, talk more about that!
Lan Yu moved another little step closer, toes curling nervously inside his shoes.
It’ll be fine. Yesterday, Brother Zhou had made friends with the guys at the next table in just a few sentences. They even treated them to food. Making friends wasn’t impossible. He could do it too.
He inhaled quietly, puffed up his courage and opened his mouth.
“I…. ”
“Don’t gather around chatting. Go check if there’s any area that hasn’t been cleaned properly.” The manager clapped loudly from across the room.
The chatting servers instantly scattered.
Lan Yu: “…”
His shoulders drooped. His head hung low.
Without another word, he slipped back into the nonstop routine of restaurant work.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The chapter is finished. The chaos is not.
☕ 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?