After lighting the incense, Lian Xia turned and went into the kitchen, then poked her shy face out from behind the door. "You must be hungry. Want me to make you some noodles?"
Even with her hair cropped short, her delicate brows, large eyes, and slender frame still made her look endearing. Chen Xi's heart stirred, and he answered sweetly, "Sure, I'll eat whatever you make."
Gu Xichen floated on the ceiling, watching the pair coldly.
Just as he'd grown accustomed to living with Lian Xia, she'd brought a man home.
A man with four working limbs, a definite face, warm skin, and a living body—the kind he'd have disdained in life but now, in death, envied with every fiber of his being.
"Man" was generous—he was really just a boy, close to Lian Xia's age, wearing a slightly grimy hoodie. Moderately handsome, tall and lean, with those narrow, Korean-style eyes that had a certain appeal.
But something about his darting gaze and calculating air told Gu Xichen this wasn't someone a sheltered girl like Lian Xia could handle.
Take right now—the boy was blandly complimenting her cooking while only pushing a few noodles around the bowl. He clearly looked down on her plain noodle soup, but was being politely insincere for reasons of his own.
Lian Xia had made a bowl for herself too, and sat at the table slurping her noodles.
This was, in fact, the first time she'd ever been alone in a room with a man of the opposite sex. For safety, she'd left the front door wide open, and from the dark stairwell beyond, a steady stream of cold air blew in.
"Xia, it's freezing in your place!"
The boy kept complaining, then casually grabbed her hand. "Warm me up."
Above his head, Gu Xichen nearly split his eyes in fury!
Excuse me—did the girl say you could hold her hand?!
Fortunately, Lian Xia didn't disappoint. She blinked, then yanked her hand free of his clammy grasp and coughed awkwardly. "By the way... you really shouldn't come anymore."
Chen Xi's face darkened. "Why not?"
"I understand how you feel now, but I... I need more time to think..."
She lowered her head, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks, looking altogether lovelier than ever.
But the young man's heart was growing impatient. For someone who needed to be pampered and coddled, even getting up in the middle of the night to escort her home was the limit of his effort. If he couldn't seal the deal today, he really didn't have the patience to drag this out any longer!
"Have you thought it through? Are you sure you don't need me to walk you home?"
"Mm."
"What about the serial killer in your neighborhood—you're not scared anymore?"
She shook her head and deliberately showed him her battered bag—so much for being prepared; she'd bought pepper spray a couple of days ago, just waiting for the day their paths crossed.
Chen Xi had nothing left to say. He slapped down his chopsticks and stood up to leave.
Gu Xichen: ...
A serial killer in the neighborhood?
He'd been making the most of his roommate's absence, watching the city news channel every day. How come he didn't know about this?
And even if there was a killer, why did she need *this kid* escorting her?
He gazed out into the bottomless night, and a plan began to take shape.
Lian Xia no longer feared walking home at night.
Because Ding Xiaoyan had been arrested. She was detained for five days for fabricating rumors that caused widespread panic, incited public disturbances, and disrupted social order. The fact that she wasn't fined was considered lenient.
Having a criminal record and having gossip spread about you were on entirely different levels of severity. After Ding Xiaoyan got out, she couldn't show her face at the factory and quickly vanished from sight.
The incident had no real impact on Lian Xia. She still relied on the protective aura of Marxism to get by and worked her night shifts as usual.
But since she'd moved in, the apartment across the hall had always been shut tight, and she didn't know when someone had moved in.
One night, coming home at her usual late hour, she found the hallway lights on—brilliant white light. The door across from her rental was half open, and a tall silhouette stood in the lit doorway, backlit against the glow.
Huh, when did a man move in across the hall?
He seemed to be a young man, but from a distance, she could only make out his tall, lean frame—his features were indistinct.
"Hello?"
Lian Xia, chronically shy, tried greeting him. But he seemed rather aloof, not responding at all.
A little embarrassed, she hurried back into her own room and shut the door and windows tight. Peering through the crack, she saw the light across the hall snap off as well.
Strange.
And every night when she came home, it was the same—stranger still.
But thanks to that bright light, Lian Xia was no longer so afraid of her late-night walk home. She even thought about finding a time to properly thank her neighbor.
But she rested during the day, and the door across the hall was always shut tight, no response when she knocked.
In truth, Gu Xichen wasn't afraid to show himself—he simply hadn't figured out how to make his entrance.
Thanks to a steady diet of incense, he'd become able to maintain a physical form for short periods, but he still didn't dare reveal his face to her.
After being a ghost for so long, one naturally forgot how to think like a human. Even if they did meet, he wanted it to be on his terms as a "person," not as a "ghost."
So he was simply waiting for a better opportunity.
...
...
After peak production season ended, Lian Xia transferred back to the day shift, and the matter of the mysterious neighbor faded from her mind.
With exams growing closer, Lian Xia studied later and later, sleeping barely six hours a night. To stay awake, she even draped a cold towel over her head, sneezing from the chill while energetically memorizing her books.
Gu Xichen watched, aching on her behalf.
Not everyone was a chosen one. Most people could only walk the path they'd been given, just as he had, just as millions of ordinary people did.
The memories of dying in that rental apartment had grown hazy. He only remembered the liver disease, the bankruptcy of his company, utter despair, and nothing left to hope for—so he'd simply ended it, once and for all.
Seeing her fight so hard to live, he suddenly felt a flicker of regret...
If he'd held on just a little longer, even just a little—could life have turned around?
Too bad life didn't come with "what ifs."
As his thoughts churned, in the living room, the girl was hunched over her book, battling away.
"Fu li qi ran ye... What kind of usage is *fu li qi ran*, exactly?"
She grew more and more agitated. Gu Xichen sweated on her behalf until he finally couldn't resist, and offered a tiny whisper.
"Intentional verb usage."
Lian Xia's eyes lit up. "That's right! Intentional verb usage—the father considered it advantageous!"
She jotted it down, then suddenly went rigid: *Who just spoke in this room?*
He held his breath as she warily climbed out of bed and checked every nook and cranny, ultimately concluding, with regret, that she'd imagined it: "Studying so hard I'm having auditory hallucinations—what dedication."
Gu Xichen: ...
It was just a passage from *Shang Zhongyong*—did she have to make it this intense?
If it weren't for his family's scholarly background and his own extensive knowledge of classical Chinese, that question would've been a death trap!
Gu Xichen: *Lighting a lamp for you in the dead of night... remember to come home safely.*