INSIDER Chapter 94

In an instant, Lu Chu woke up from a dream, his chest heaving violently.

Lu Chu, awakened from a nightmare, sat up, causing the unstable bed to creak. The other three people in the dormitory were fast asleep, accompanied by light snoring. No one noticed Lu Chu’s movement. He picked up his phone from the foot of the bed and turned on the light. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he saw a vague shadow floating beside him, staring straight at him.

Startled, Lu Chu looked closely and realized it was 7.

Seeing Lu Chu’s frightened expression and the thin sweat on his forehead, 7’s eyes showed a trace of pain. He reached out to wipe the sweat off Lu Chu’s forehead but found his body still not solid.

7 placed his hand above Lu Chu’s head, leaned closer, and with his gaze fixed on Lu Chu’s eyes, asked softly, “Nightmare?”

Lu Chu rubbed his temples, nodded tiredly, “Yes, it felt related to the main storyline of this ’round.'”

7 frowned upon hearing this, “Joint burial?”

“Yes,” Lu Chu supported his forehead, “I was carried and buried together with a corpse.”

Upon hearing the words “joint burial,” 7’s semi-transparent fingers paused on Lu Chu’s head, then resumed gently stroking his soft short hair. Each “round’s” world view and main storyline were fixed, but due to differences in players’ personalities and constitutions, their reactions to events and subsequent performances varied, leading to diverse and unpredictable details in each “round.” Thus, even 7, who was well-versed in single-player tasks and most multiplayer tasks, could not predict what would specifically happen to Lu Chu.

Though it had been a long time since 7 experienced this, he was certain that being bound by a ghost marriage had not happened to him.

“Maybe it’s because you think about it during the day and dream about it at night? I’ve been pondering the joint burial recently, but…” Lu Chu himself found it hard to believe, “the dream felt too real.”

Just as Lu Chu was about to say more, Tang Shizhe mumbled in his sleep, “Lu Chu… are you talking in your sleep…?”

All the beds in the dorm had curtains, open during the day and closed at night for privacy. Thus, Tang Shizhe couldn’t see Lu Chu sitting up and talking to 7, thinking he was sleep-talking.

Realizing he disturbed others, Lu Chu immediately stopped talking and signaled 7 with his eyes.

7 floated to the foot of Lu Chu’s bed and said, “Rest early, I’ll stay by your side.”

As a wandering soul, 7’s words couldn’t be heard by ordinary people.

Lu Chu nodded, smiled at him, mouthed “Good night,” and then turned off his phone and snuggled back into his bed.

This time, Lu Chu didn’t have any strange dreams and slept well until dawn.

---

Today was the official first day of the new semester, and they had a full day of classes.

In the classroom, Lu Chu, Tang Shizhe, and Gao Yong sat in a row.

The new subject teacher introduced himself on the podium, then started talking about the importance of his subject in life, study, and even the future, followed by a grand discussion of the bright prospects of the profession…

Some students listened attentively, while others were engrossed in their phones.

Gao Yong was fully focused on playing a mobile game, while Tang Shizhe leaned over and whispered to Lu Chu, “Were you talking in your sleep last night?”

Lu Chu’s answer was half-true, “Had a nightmare, sorry, did I disturb you?”

“No,” Tang Shizhe shook his head, “I sleep like a log, I only heard you because I woke up needing to pee but was too sleepy and fell back asleep.”

Playing his game, Gao Yong chimed in, “Impressive, holding it in like that, aren’t you afraid your bladder will burst?”

“Get lost!” Tang Shizhe laughed, bumping Gao Yong with his shoulder.

“Hey, don’t touch me!” Gao Yong exclaimed, “I was about to win!”

The noise caught the teacher’s attention, who stopped talking and scanned the class.

Lu Chu reminded the two, “This is an assessment class, participation counts.”

They immediately quieted down.

For most, the morning classes dragged on slowly, especially for those not serious about studying, it was just a process of watching their phone battery deplete.

Lu Chu didn’t need to listen to the lecture and was also on his phone, but he was looking up information about spirits, a difficult task given the vast and varied information online, making it like finding a needle in a haystack.

During his search, Lu Chu stumbled upon a comment on a supernatural incident online: “Yin entities absorb yang energy to sustain themselves.”

At that moment, he looked up at Chen Hong.

Yang energy replenishes yin.

Chen Hong’s face was slightly more flushed than yesterday, but he still appeared tired, with dark circles under his eyes. Lu Chu then looked at Chen Hong’s girlfriend beside him—she seemed like an ordinary girl without any strange aura.

Tang Shizhe noticed Lu Chu’s gaze and elbowed him playfully.

Lu Chu retracted his gaze, puzzled, and looked at Tang Shizhe.

Tang Shizhe whispered, “Jealous?”

“Jealous of what?” Lu Chu asked, confused.

Tang Shizhe pointed at Chen Hong and his girlfriend, “Them, I saw you staring, are you longing to end your single life?”

Lu Chu felt awkward, “No…”

“No need to hide it, we all feel the same,” Tang Shizhe interrupted, “You must have felt disappointed missing the social before the winter break. Don’t worry, there will be more socials this semester. In a few days, the dance club has an event, I’ll take you along!”

Lu Chu tried to refuse, “That’s not necessary…”

“We’re bros, no need to be shy,” Tang Shizhe insisted, “It’s settled, I’ll call you then, you better come!”

Lu Chu: “…”

Before Lu Chu could respond, Tang Shizhe suddenly shivered.

He rubbed his arms, surprised, “Why is it so cold all of a sudden?”

Tang Shizhe lay down on the desk, shivering, “It’s getting colder… freezing…”

Gao Yong glanced at him, “Are you nuts?”

Tang Shizhe asked, “Aren’t you guys cold?”

Lu Chu didn’t speak, maintaining a polite smile, and soothingly placed his hand over the slightly warm red mark on his chest.

---

There were many trivial matters in freshman year, and except for the two weeks before exams, coursework wasn’t the main focus. After class, students often devoted their time to student councils and clubs.

Lu Chu wasn’t sure if he was part of any student council or club, so he assumed he wasn’t.

Back in the dormitory, he was alone, the others busy with clubs, councils, and girlfriends.

Taking advantage of the solitude, Lu Chu inspected Chen Hong’s bed. Unless necessary, he wouldn’t touch Chen Hong’s things without permission, so he used his senses to check for anything unusual, finding nothing, not even the cold aura from yesterday.

Fighting spirits had this difficulty—without knowing the ghost’s identity and intent, there was nothing he could do.

He could only wait for it to come to him again.

---

Around nine o’clock, the others returned one after another. Tang Shizhe and Gao Yong played games until the school turned off the lights, then went to wash up.

Lu Chu lay on his side, hugging his chest, and fell asleep.

As expected, he dreamt of strange scenes again.

This time, he clearly felt he was alive.

He was restrained, dressed in a bright red late-Qing-style wedding gown, with a red flower made of silk on his chest, standing in a festively decorated hall. In front of him sat an elderly couple, surrounded by guests, and beside him was a corpse of a woman being supported to stand.

The corpse was well-preserved, with a delicate makeup, her lips tinted red to ward off the pallor, but the deathly aura was still evident.

Though the corpse had no visible decay, a faint smell of rot, masked by pungent perfume, made him nauseous.

A shaman holding a green porcelain bowl mixed chicken blood into water and splashed it on the ground, shouting, “First bow to heaven and earth.”

Unable to speak or move, Lu Chu was forced to bow.

Another bowl of chicken blood water was splashed, “Second bow to parents.”

After bowing to heaven and earth and the parents, Lu Chu was forcibly turned around. Suddenly, he felt a nauseating dizziness, and the corpse beside him let out a painful roar, subsiding after a while. When Lu Chu looked up again, he saw 7 standing there.

7’s eyes were deep, with a solemn certainty.

At the shaman’s call for “Husband and wife bow to each other,” 7 bowed solemnly to Lu Chu. Surprised by the corpse turning into 7, Lu Chu instinctively bowed back.

The ceremony was complete.

7 smiled, his eyes filled with tender affection.

---

Any demon or spirit coveting Lu Chu, he would kill.

Lu Chu could only bow once in his life, and that was to 7.