Xu Moyang forced a smile. "It's fine! Brother Lu, look. I still have all of you! I have my friends and my girlfriend. My life isn't that terrible!"
He had always been very good at comforting people.
Lu Jin remembered high school. Perhaps because Xu Moyang thought Lu Jin's family was poor, he often helped him. He secretly bought study guides and slipped them into Lu Jin's locker, then lied that the school had distributed them, all to protect Lu Jin's pride.
So now, he was equally good at comforting himself.
After adjusting his mindset, Xu Moyang felt much better. He might eventually become an evil ghost, but Brother Lu was still here, wasn't he? He might be alone in a hospital bed, but Bun and Keyboard were here too!
"Oh, right. And Yaoyao… where's Yaoyao?"
Bun and Keyboard could not hear him, so Lu Jin turned and asked on his behalf, "Tong Yao didn't come?"
The instant he asked, Bun and Keyboard's expressions darkened.
Bun clenched his fists. "Don't mention Tong Yao! If Moyang hadn't gone to pick her up, would he have been in that accident? And what does she do afterward? She says she wants to break up with him! I've never seen anyone so heartless!"
Because Xu Moyang's body was unconscious and Bun thought he could not hear, he did not lower his voice.
But Xu Moyang heard every word.
He stood there stiffly, completely stunned.
A knock sounded at the hospital-room door. A girl poked her head inside. "Is Xu Moyang in this room?"
Seeing Bun and the others beside the bed, Tong Yao knew she had found the right place. Carrying fruit and milk, she stepped inside. "I came to visit Moyang."
Bun was so angry he looked ready to hit someone. "Didn't you already decide to break up with him? Then why are you here? Who are you trying to fool with this act?"
Hitting a woman would obviously be wrong, so Keyboard hurriedly restrained him.
Tong Yao blinked. Her eyes reddened, and she looked hurt. Lu Jin took the fruit and milk from her and placed them on the bedside cabinet.
"Let's talk outside."
The two went into the corridor. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, casting broken patches of light across the floor.
Tong Yao turned to face Lu Jin. Tears began falling one after another.
"Lu Jin, do you think I'm awful too?"
Lu Jin was not good at dealing with crying women. In truth, the only reason he had asked Tong Yao outside was that he thought Xu Moyang wanted to speak with her, and Lu Jin was simply serving as the messenger.
So he did not answer her question.
Tong Yao did not seem to need an answer anyway. She was more interested in finally venting everything she had been holding inside.
"I actually wanted to break up two months ago. Moyang knows that too. That's why every time I bring it up, he deliberately changes the subject and won't let me continue."
Lu Jin asked, "Why did you want to break up?"
He remembered that Tong Yao had attended the same high school as them. She and Xu Moyang had been together since then, and their relationship had always seemed good.
Tong Yao said, "Because I want to study abroad. I told Moyang a long time ago, and he promised that when we went to graduate school, he'd go abroad with me."
"So after entering university, I've been preparing the entire time. I took IELTS, joined my professor's research studio, and worked hard to publish papers. I prepared everything, and then Moyang suddenly told me he wasn't going abroad anymore!"
"But this is my dream. He knows that!"
Tong Yao cried openly now. "I want to leave and he wants to stay. Long-distance relationships across countries rarely have a future, so I wanted to break up. Is that wrong? I do like him, but… but…"
But I have my own future too.
…
Half an hour later, Tong Yao left the hospital. Before she went, Lu Jin tried to transfer her the money in Xu Moyang's account, because Xu Moyang had originally intended to use it for her.
Tong Yao refused it. Instead, she paid all of Xu Moyang's hospital expenses.
When Lu Jin returned to the room, Xu Moyang was sitting dejectedly on the floor. There were no spare chairs, and nobody could see him anyway.
His voice was quiet, and it was impossible to tell whether he was speaking to Lu Jin or simply talking to himself.
"I really did want to go abroad with Yaoyao… But ever since my younger brother was born, Mom and Dad stopped paying much attention to me. Whenever money comes up, they get very guarded."
Studying abroad cost an enormous amount.
They were already family without blood ties. How could he bring himself to ask his adoptive parents for that much money?
The breakup had only been a matter of time.
During this period, he had picked Tong Yao up after work every night, not because he was trying to save the relationship, but because he wanted to spend a little more time with her before it ended.
Xu Moyang looked up at Lu Jin. "Brother Lu, if you were me, what would you do?"
Lu Jin: "…" He had no idea.
He had never been good at comforting people. After thinking for a long time, he finally forced out two words. "Cheer up."
Xu Moyang gave a helpless laugh. "That's kind of difficult right now."
"If you stay unhappy, you're more likely to become obsessive. Obsession turns into resentment, which will make you become an evil ghost faster."
"…"
Xu Moyang glared at Lu Jin. "Brother Lu, I'm already this unlucky. Even if you don't know how to comfort me, couldn't you just say something nice? What are you doing?!"
He muttered, "Things are already like this. What's the point of returning to life… Maybe dying would be better than living."
Without warning, Lu Jin reached out and smacked the back of his head!
Xu Moyang stared at him in shock, clutching the back of his skull.
"Why did you hit me?"
Lu Jin's expression was dark. "Because you deserved it."
Xu Moyang: "?"
He exploded indignantly. "Even you're bullying me now!"
Lu Jin sighed and glanced at Xu Moyang's unconscious body on the hospital bed.
"Your life isn't that terrible."
Someone had once given her life for you. Even in the instant she died, she believed it was worth it.
…
Xu Moyang stormed out of the hospital room.
He was still sulking and did not notice a slender, pale hand suddenly resting on his shoulder.
"Brother Lu, comforting me now isn't going to work! I'm angry!" he shouted without looking back. "I'm seriously angry!"
The hand did not move away. Instead, it gently patted his shoulder.
Xu Moyang intended to continue pretending to be angry for a while, but then he glanced sideways at the hand——slender, deathly pale, and cold. It looked nothing like Lu Jin's long, clearly jointed fingers.
A chill shot from the soles of his feet all the way to his scalp. Xu Moyang nearly screamed.
Fortunately, the owner of the hand floated around in front of him. Her voice was gentle and familiar. "It's me, Student Xu. Don't you recognize me?"
Xu Moyang had already darted beneath a hospital bed in the corridor and was trembling violently. Hearing the familiar voice, he cautiously poked his head out.
Liao Qingqing stood before him with a warm smile.
Xu Moyang blinked.
Damn! The instance NPC had followed them into the real world!!!
He turned to flee, only to smash his head against the underside of the bed so hard that he grimaced in pain.
Liao Qingqing hurried forward, full of concern. "Are you all right? I won't hurt you…"
She said that, but Xu Moyang was still frightened. Hugging the bed leg, he asked, "If you're not here to hurt me, then what are you doing here?"
Liao Qingqing paused. Her eyes were slightly red. After hesitating, she said, "I have a relative in the hospital. I came to visit him."
"Huh?" Xu Moyang looked at her blankly. "You still have relatives?"
Only after speaking did he realize how ridiculous that sounded. Liao Qingqing had died only eighteen years ago. Of course not every relative she had would necessarily be dead.
Liao Qingqing nodded solemnly.
Xu Moyang relaxed a little, mainly because Liao Qingqing currently looked perfectly normal. She was gentle and mild, her head was attached to her body, and a scarf covered her neck. She looked almost like an ordinary person.
"What illness does your relative have?" Xu Moyang asked casually as he crawled out from beneath the bed.
"He…" Liao Qingqing lowered her eyes, her voice becoming softer. "He's not doing very well."
"Medicine is so advanced now. I'm sure he'll recover. Don't worry."
Liao Qingqing nodded. "Mm. He'll get better!"
She looked at Xu Moyang again. The hospital bed in the corridor was empty, so Xu Moyang had simply sat on it. Liao Qingqing hesitated before remaining beside him instead of sitting down.
"You don't seem to be in a very good mood."
"Ah, there've just been a lot of things happening lately." Xu Moyang scratched his head. "But I'm feeling much better now."
After being hit by a car, becoming a ghost, and seeing actual ghosts, being abandoned by his parents and dumped by his girlfriend somehow no longer seemed quite as devastating.
Liao Qingqing's eyes curved gently. "That's good."
While the two were talking, Lu Jin approached from the hospital room.
The instant Liao Qingqing saw him, she became visibly nervous and instinctively shrank her neck.
Xu Moyang, however, looked as though he had seen his savior. He quickly ran behind Lu Jin. "Brother Lu! The boss's wife is here! I'm going back into the room!"
Then he fled, leaving Liao Qingqing alone with Lu Jin.
Lu Jin looked at her. As though he had already known she would come, he did not appear surprised at all.
Liao Qingqing was far more anxious. "I-I held onto the back of the bus and slipped out with you…"
She expected Lu Jin to be angry, but instead heard him answer calmly, "I know."
"What happened to your biological daughter?" Lu Jin asked.
"She's already reincarnated."
Eighteen years ago, shortly after Liao Qingqing died, she had originally been assigned a good next life. But she gave it up and wandered everywhere searching for traces of her daughter.
Later, a Reaper told her that the child's first life had been very tragic and that she had died even earlier than Liao Qingqing. Fortunately, after reincarnating, the girl had been born into a wealthy family whose parents loved her deeply.
So Liao Qingqing never went to see her. After reincarnation, the past faded like smoke. The child had finally received a family who truly loved her, and Liao Qingqing understood that it was time for her to step away.
"Mm." Lu Jin responded quietly. "If those accidents had never happened, you would have been a good mother too."
Liao Qingqing froze. Her eyes reddened.
Lu Jin continued, "The reason that little girl received loving parents in this life is because that was what she should have had in her previous life, but circumstances prevented her from receiving it."
"So if those things had never happened, you would have been the family member who gave her that love."
Liao Qingqing's eyes filled with tears. Large drops fell one after another.
She cried softly for a long while before finally calming down and wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"My lord, you already knew, didn't you?" Liao Qingqing said, then looked toward Xu Moyang inside the hospital room. "I never imagined he'd already grown this old."
Eighteen years had passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.
She had missed his entire childhood, yet he had still grown into an adult.
"Will he become like me?"
Would he, too, become a bloodthirsty evil ghost?
Lu Jin said, "I'll help him."
As for Liao Qingqing, she had lingered in the Netherworld for eighteen years. Her obsession, regret, unwillingness, and the blood she had spilled within the instance had long since transformed her into an evil ghost saturated with resentment. There was no path back for her.
"I want to help him too. At least I can help him last a little longer." Liao Qingqing spoke softly. "That's why I came."
Humans could provide spiritual energy to ghosts, and evil ghosts could as well.
If one evil ghost forcibly devoured another, they would absorb the victim's resentment and suffer terribly during the process. But if the other ghost willingly offered itself… there would be no such pain.
Lu Jin had already understood why Liao Qingqing followed them, yet he still could not stop himself from asking, "Why?"
Xu Moyang was not her biological child. She had already died once for him. Why was she still willing to go this far?
Liao Qingqing smiled. Light shone in her eyes, and her voice was soft but perfectly clear. "Because he's my child too."
Lu Jin was silent for two seconds. "Not every mother would do this."
Liao Qingqing was about to argue when she noticed the brief loneliness that flashed through Lu Jin's eyes.
So even Lord Reaper carried his own sorrows.
She swallowed the words she had been about to say and merely replied softly, "I don't know about anyone else. But I'm willing."
Author's Note:
★ Upcoming novel, "After Abandoning His Majesty": Please add it to your favorites.
Wen Xingjian transmigrated into the body of the young heir of a marquis's household.
Since he could not return home, he decided to enjoy each day as it came.
Relying on his wealthy and powerful family, he forcibly claimed a handsome man who had fallen on hard times. The man was well over eight feet tall, upright as a solitary pine, handsome and graceful——exactly Wen Xingjian's type.
After one passionate night… Wen Xingjian certainly enjoyed himself.
But only about five percent of it was enjoyable. The other ninety-five percent was simply too much for him to take.
Big was indeed big, but Wen Xingjian was not blessed enough to enjoy it. Time to run.
Later, a new emperor ascended the throne, and Wen Xingjian followed the father he had acquired in this world to attend court.
As ten thousand officials bowed, the new emperor sat above them on the dragon throne in ceremonial robes, his expression solemn and his authority effortless.
Wen Xingjian: He looks a little familiar. Let me look again.
That second look got Wen Xingjian taken straight to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
The young emperor restrained Wen Xingjian by the waist, leaned down, and asked, "It has been a long time, Young Lord. Do you remember Us now?"
Wen Xingjian cried so hard the sky seemed to darken, sobbing between words. "I remember! I remember!"
His technique was still just as terrible as before…
Later still, Wen Xingjian inherited his title and rose to become one of the most powerful officials in court.
He held real authority in government and received the emperor's favor in the inner palace. For a time, his glory was unmatched and everyone envied him.
Rong Ji believed that this would finally keep Wen Xingjian beside him forever.
But Wen Xingjian ran away again.
This time, he faked his death and vanished cleanly, taking nothing with him.
After all, no matter how wonderful wealth and status were, keeping his backside intact was even better!
Living as a wealthy, idle nobleman was wonderful too. Wasn't life meant to be enjoyed lazily?
Half a year after he faked his death, familiar hoofbeats came chasing after him. Wen Xingjian turned and ran so quickly he forgot his valuables, yet Rong Ji still caught him and cornered him inside a carriage.
Terrified, Wen Xingjian covered his backside.
But Rong Ji was unexpectedly gentle. He slowly touched and teased him until Wen Xingjian had to cover his mouth to keep himself from making a sound.
"We studied especially for you… From now on, We will make sure you enjoy it. All right?"
