Chen Ziru was a very ordinary man with little presence. Not too tall or too short, not fat or thin, not dark or pale—his eyebrows always drooped, making him look perpetually tired. If you put him in a crowd, even his own mother probably couldn’t spot him right away. He avoided talking whenever possible, and wherever there were fewer people, that’s where he would be. As a child, while others played soccer outside, he would hide in bed, reading manga. When he grew up, while others partied in bars and clubs, he stayed at home, watching adult films and engaging in… private activities.
In short, he was the epitome of a shut-in—introverted, self-loathing, yet also arrogant and full of pent-up desires. After graduating from university, he worked for two months but couldn’t adapt, so he quit and returned home, occasionally doing some freelance programming to scrape by. Before he knew it, he was thirty years old. On his birthday, realizing he hadn’t left the house in a long time, he reflected on the fact that he had never had a girlfriend and had never celebrated a birthday with anyone else. Feeling pathetic, he decided to treat himself to a cake. But just as he left the cake shop, he was hit by a car.
At that moment, his mind went blank, and all he could hear was a loud crash. It felt like getting shot in a game of Counter-Strike, but strangely, there was no pain—just the overwhelming thought of how unlucky he was that day.
Slowly, he crawled up from the ground, while the driver, pale with fear, stammered, asking if he was okay.
Chen Ziru twisted his neck and glared at the driver. His birthday cake was scattered on the ground, smeared with cream and blood, looking disgustingly sticky.
Something seemed stuck in his throat. He coughed a few times but couldn’t clear it. His mind, for some reason, was filled with images of adult film stars like Sora Aoi and Yua Mikami.
He felt like time was running out, and a voice in his head screamed at him to hurry. Limping, he made his way to the city’s famous red-light district, his face serious and determined, like a martyr marching to his fate.
After finishing his business with a woman who called herself Maris, he coughed violently, spat out a puff of blue energy, and then, with a smile of satisfaction, closed his eyes for the last time.
In his thirty years of life, dragging his dying body for thirty miles to accomplish his final goal of no longer being a virgin was truly an extraordinary feat. Having fulfilled his last wish, Chen Ziru passed away with a smile, though he left Maris utterly terrified.
Later, Maris discovered she was pregnant, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t abort the baby. The doctor was puzzled—although the fetus wasn’t breathing, it continued to grow in her womb. Desperate, Maris gave birth to the child and abandoned it at the hospital, vanishing without a trace. This child, fathered by a dead man and unwanted by his mother, was the ghost baby.
He didn’t know good from evil or right from wrong. From birth, he only followed his instinct to seek out his mother. He had less resentment than other aborted children, so despite being mischievous, his actions were mostly pranks. However, his spiritual power was strong, and his destructive potential was immense.
From the beginning, he liked Jiang Xiaosi because she had the same half-human, half-zombie scent as him. And Jiang Xiaosi was a woman—so naturally, he thought she should be his mother. That’s why he secretly followed her around, even sneaking into her bed to sleep with her.
Now, after being released again, he wandered around but couldn’t find his birth mother, Maris. So, he continued following the person who resembled his mother the most—Jiang Xiaosi. But after a few encounters where he got in trouble, he became afraid of Jiang Liu and Shen Koudan, only daring to watch from a distance. Despite knowing that appearing would surely get him caught, when he saw Jiang Xiaosi crying alone, he couldn’t resist showing himself.
Jiang Xiaosi looked at the floating cotton candy in front of her, like a fluffy white cloud reflecting the streetlight’s glow.
The ghost baby peeked out from behind the streetlamp, cautiously sticking his head out to watch her.
Seeing his half-transparent figure startled Jiang Xiaosi, making her forget her tears for a moment. She wiped her face with her sleeve, then slowly stood up. The ghost baby quickly hid behind the lamp again but didn’t run away.
Jiang Xiaosi had wanted to catch him herself for a while now, but at this moment, she didn’t have the heart. Looking at the cotton candy, a warmth filled her chest. Was he trying to comfort her? Last time, he had stolen her cotton candy—he seemed to really like it.
Taking the cotton candy, Jiang Xiaosi took a small bite. It was soft and sweet, just like the ones her dad used to buy her. And Shen Mo…
She remembered a year ago when they had gone to the temple fair together. Everything had been fine back then.
Jiang Xiaosi smiled wryly, waving at the ghost baby. He hesitated for a long time before finally floating out, but he didn’t dare get too close to her. Jiang Xiaosi rummaged through her pockets, hoping to find a toy to entertain him, but all she found was a few coins and, perhaps by accident from when she was working in the store earlier, a box of condoms.
Casually, she tore one open, slipped it onto her finger, and wiped it on her pants. Then, with a couple of coins in hand, she made them disappear into the condom like a magic trick. The ghost baby watched curiously as the condom expanded like a balloon, with the coins clinking inside. Jiang Xiaosi tied it off and tossed it into the air.
“Want to play?”
The ghost baby’s eyes widened. He watched as Jiang Xiaosi lightly tossed the balloon toward him. Excited, he rushed forward to catch it, only to miss because he had no physical form. He quickly chased after it, blowing it back toward Jiang Xiaosi. She caught it and tossed it again, and the ghost baby gleefully ran after it, laughing with childlike glee.
Jiang Xiaosi joined in the fun, making the tosses trickier, but the ghost baby always managed to catch up and blow it back.
Then, with a playful smirk, Jiang Xiaosi pointed behind him. “Look, what’s that?”
The ghost baby turned to look, and just as he did, Jiang Xiaosi jumped up and smashed the balloon down. The ghost baby hurried to blow it back but ended up getting trapped inside the balloon. He curled up into an oval shape, looking even cuter, with his face comically enlarged like in a funhouse mirror, blinking innocently.
Jiang Xiaosi burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. The ghost baby, having no fixed form, stretched out two arms and then two legs, rolling around on the ground. Eventually, the balloon popped from hitting something sharp, and the ghost baby sat there, stunned, before bursting into tears.
Jiang Xiaosi hurried over, laughing as she knelt in front of him. “Did I scare you?”
The ghost baby shook his head and pointed at the popped balloon and the coins on the ground, indicating that the toy was broken.
“It’s okay. If you like it, I’ll buy you more tomorrow. There are all kinds of shapes and colors, and some can even fly.”
The ghost baby nodded, not fully understanding.
Jiang Xiaosi reached out to pat his head. Although he had no solid form, she could vaguely sense his energy, like a denser pocket of air.
“It’s late. I need to go home, or my dad will worry. Do you want to come with me? If you still want to play outside for a while, I’ll turn a blind eye, but you have to promise not to cause any trouble.”
The ghost baby nodded and then shook his head, looking torn.
“Are you afraid that if you go back, you’ll be locked up again? As long as you behave and don’t cause any trouble, no one will lock you up. My dad is actually very nice.”
The ghost baby hesitated for a moment, then sat on the ground and held out his hand to her. Jiang Xiaosi bent down, pretending to scoop him up like a feather-light bundle, and cradled him in her arms.
“I’ll give you a name to make things easier. How about we call you Little Ghost?”
The Little Ghost nodded, his eyes glancing at the coins on the ground, which floated up and landed in Jiang Xiaosi’s pocket.
After spending time with the Little Ghost, Jiang Xiaosi felt less sad. Back home, she pleaded with Jiang Liu for a long time, while the Little Ghost hid behind her, peeking around nervously.
Jiang Liu wasn’t entirely comfortable with letting the Little Ghost roam free. Though he seemed obedient to Jiang Xiaosi now, children were naturally mischievous, and the Little Ghost was no exception. Being so young, he didn’t understand reason or empathy. When he was in a good mood, he was an angel, but when he threw a tantrum, he became uncontrollable, with dangerous levels of destructive power.
But Jiang Xiaosi kept tugging at Jiang Liu’s sleeve, pouting and pleading, so he reluctantly agreed. Children really were little troublemakers.
Jiang Xiaosi went off to bed, and the Little Ghost happily followed her. She used to cling to Jiang Liu and sleep beside him, but in the past two years, she had mostly been sleeping alone. Jiang Liu couldn’t help but feel a bit of loss as he watched her grow up, as if he were counting down the days until she would leave.
Back at Shen Mo’s place, Yu Shuixin was surprised. Ever since Jiang Xiaosi left, Shen Mo had been quietly sipping tea, not saying a word. Though he often behaved this way, he had never radiated such an aura of sorrow and bitterness. He seemed conflicted, as if trapped between his words and actions, forced into a corner.
Yu Shuixin blinked in surprise, then smiled as she picked up the graduation certificate, sitting beside him and flipping through it slowly. “Why the long face? You just rejected her so decisively. Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for that girl?”
Shen Mo’s hand paused mid-sip, but he didn’t say a word. Seeing no denial, Yu Shuixin’s eyes widened in shock.
“You really like her?”
Shen Mo frowned, his expression growing more confused.
Yu Shuixin had never seen Shen Mo like this before, and she became more serious. “Then why didn’t you explain anything to her? Why did you deliberately let her misunderstand?”
Her question seemed to irritate Shen Mo even more. Staring at the graduation certificate, he couldn’t shake the feeling that for the past two years, he had been leading Jiang Xiaosi on, using her affection and keeping things ambiguous. He had given her hope, only to reject her cruelly now, leaving him feeling increasingly uncertain. But how could they possibly be together?
By rejecting her so clearly now, would she finally give up? Did she hate him?
Shen Mo stood up and walked outside, feeling like a terrible person. The more he tried to protect what was important, the more he ended up dragging it down and causing harm.
Watching him leave, Yu Shuixin fell into deep thought. Jiang Xiaosi had always seemed a bit strange to her. She was just a child—what could she possibly have done to make Shen Mo lose control like this?
Drawing a circle in the air, Yu Shuixin pointed her finger, summoning a shadowy figure that appeared before her, bowing low. It was her loyal shadow monster, whom she had subdued many years ago.
“What are your orders, Master?”
“Go and investigate this person. Find out everything—her background, her family, every detail. Report back to me as soon as possible.” Yu Shuixin pointed to the photo on the graduation certificate.
“Yes.” The shadow instantly vanished.
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