Note: This story has a non-linear timeline.
1.
I'm a ghost.
It's only been a few hours since I died.
Actually, I've accepted this fact pretty well. But when I returned from the Bridge of Helplessness blowing a fuse to find that jerk Su Yu… I found him passing right through my body, opening the door with a key, and walking straight in.
I couldn't help but freeze for a second.
Shit! Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com/p/homepage.html
I was so pissed when I heard the news that I flung away Meng Po's soup, scaring everyone in line behind me, only to be super depressed now.
....This sonofabi*tch can't see me, so what did I come back for?
2.
Oh yeah, should I introduce myself first?
3.
My name is... well, never mind. It doesn't matter. I'm a brand-new ghost. I was only 26 years old when I died. My death was not the result of anything dramatic, just an illness, a seemingly insignificant but incurable one.
I'd been queuing for several hours at the Bridge of Helplessness, and it was finally my turn. I'd just taken the bowl from Meng Po when a imp behind me conveyed a message. I was so angry that I threw away Grandma Meng's f*cking soup and turned around with a vengeance.
Su Yu is tying the knot.
On my touqi. [touqi refers to the seventh day after death. It is believed that the soul of the deceased returns home on this day before finally moving on.]
4.
That jerk Su Yu and I have a very complicated relationship.
To put it simply, he was a senior high school classmate of mine. To put it honestly, he is my first love.
More recently, that enticing dog is my ex-boyfriend.
To lay it all out, we were f*ck buddies, or rather, I was a very generous sugar daddy to him. I was the one to come out and say it out loud at the time, and that dog cocked a brow and agreed gladly.
Closer still, he was the one who accompanied me during the final days of my life.
In fact, based on this last bit of our friendship, I shouldn't have returned to find him. I do understand that whether or not he marries has nothing to do with me. I'm dead, so he's free and can marry whoever.
But I am pissed, super pissed, so pissed that my non-existent lungs feel like they are about to explode.
Yet why?
That's a question I can't figure out.
5.
I've been thinking about this question since I got back from the Bridge of Helplessness. after racking my brains, I feel it's because I'm a ghost of integrity and justice. He is unworthy of that girl!
After all, he'd been eating and living with me for the past few months, and he never even mentioned that woman, let alone marrying her. What kind of bad husband is that?!
It's too much; that's why I'm upset.
Yup, that's gotta be it.
6.
Su Yu had already walked into the house. I looked around, but there wasn't any signpost for the Underworld. When I rushed over, I was too angry to memorize the road. I sighed; I can't go back, so I'll have to follow this dog into the house.
This is my house. Su Yu moved in later, and we lived here together for a long time.
I told this dog before I died, "I'm giving you this house. After all, you've lived here for so long. Keep it as your dowry."
"How can I let anyone else live in this house after living here with you for so long?" This dog had forced a cheerful laugh.
He was mixing my medicine powder at the time. The name of the medicine was so long I can't remember it; all I remember is it tasted so bitter. He opened the cabinet door and poured some juice with the medicine, then shook the glass to mix it together with his slender, long fingers before handing it to me and saying, "Today it's apple flavored."
That scene appears to be right in front of my eyes. He seemed genuinely worried.
And now I was hovering in the entryway. I swayed involuntarily for a second staring at the unchanged house.
—Damn it! If I'd known this dog was going to marry on the seventh day after my death, I would've burned this house down and lived in it as a ghost myself rather than leave it to you. [In Chinese beliefs, anything burned in the name of a deceased becomes available to them for their use in the Underworld. You might have came across the term "burning paper money." Same concept. So here, our ghost would have got the burned house in the Underworld.]
7.
Su Yu checked his watch after entering the house; it was five minutes to ten.
Then he went inside, and I, like a super Terrier guarding its territory, rushed to every corner of the house and keenly sniffing out every scent.
On the table, there's still a picture of us. Good; he didn't replace it with one of him and his fiancée.
My cherished Xiaobai model is still standing gracefully against the wall. Very good; he hadn't tossed it away for fear of scaring the girl.
The house is still decorated in my favorite black, white, and gray. Excellent; he hadn't stuck any big red "double happiness" characters on the walls.
Wait a sec.
Why hasn't he even moved the pen I left on the desk?
Huh?
Why hasn't he thrown away that bag of chips I'd opened yet?
8.
I was perplexed as I looked around the house, which had not changed even a bit since I left.
And then I abruptly and completely awoke to reality.
Su Yu's family is well-off, and he was previously employed in a good company, so there's no need for him to use this place as his marital home. As for why all of my belongings are exactly as I left them, perhaps he simply didn't take care of them when clearing out.
I was relieved, but I also felt a little empty inside. As a ghost, I was far too depressed and moody. So I looked around the room trying to divert my attention. When I turned around, I spotted the picture of the two of us on the table. Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com/p/homepage.html
The photo was taken during our senior year of high school. It was the first time we skipped school and I dragged this top student to watch a boring basketball game. I was smiling like a fool in the photo, while Su Yu's face was expressionless as ever, as if frozen by frost.
But I have to say that this type of guy is very popular with women. He has never stopped receiving love letters and gifts from high school until now.
The two people in the photo were standing close together, the guy with the frosty face being hugged by the one with the sunflower-like smile, looking intimate, as if they would never part.
Who would have guessed that the two people in the photograph are now in the same room at the same time but separated by life and death, the deepest chasm in the world?
I've been very accepting of my fate since the moment I breathed my last, but I couldn't help but feel a little sad at this point.
9.
Su Yu's phone's alarm went off at ten o'clock sharp.
When I heard the familiar sound, I took a subconscious glance at the open kitchen. As expected, Su Yu was already standing there.
He opened the cupboard as usual and took out the medicine whose name I couldn't even pronounce in one breath. He dissolved it in warm water, then took some juice from the cupboard and mixed it in a one-to-one ratio. His slender, attractive fingers shook the glass and handed it to the side.
Well, today is Wednesday, so it must be strawberry flavor.
I went to pick it up happily but my hand passed through Su Yu's hand. I was like fog and couldn't touch anything.
I was stunned.
Su Yu remained silent. He said his usual "Drink slowly" and then placed the glass where I frequently sat fidgeting.
I assumed he was just like me. He was acting out of habit, and I waited for him to embarrass himself. However, two minutes later, he picked up the glass again and said, "No wonder it's clean. It's strawberry flavored after all."
Just like he has said countless times.
The medicine was then poured into the sink.
I was stunned again.
F*ck.
Didn't I die? Why is my heart suddenly hurting so much?
And this classmate, do you know that a box of imported medicine costs tens of thousands?
10.
Forget it. Although the medicine is expensive, it's not like Su Yu can drink it himself. Pour it out if you want.
It's just that, at the end of the day, I used to be his sugar daddy. I'm concerned about this classmate's mental health.
Before I died, I asked him what he would do after I died.
My sliver of conscience had made me a worry a bit at the time. What would he do if he was used to being a sugar baby for me and couldn't make a living after my death? Wouldn't I have ruined a fine young man?
That dog Su Yue was playing a game at the time. When he heard my question, he looked up and gave it some serious thought. 'Find another sugar daddy?' he said.
I lamented in my heart: 'Oh no, I've really ruined him.'
But I don't think Su Yu should be like that. He's so smart, his school certificates, college certificates, and awards, when piled together, can be used as a makeshift murder weapon. Someone with such a brilliant mind should realize that there aren't many sugar daddies like me who are willing to support him with all of their wealth and with a short life to boot.
I later overheard his former boss calling him. He sounded as if he wanted him to rejoin work. He talked about a promotion and hefty raise in pay.
Su Yu was smoking on the balcony at the time. The air was thick with smoke. He stood there like he were a great immortal. His low, husky voice carrying in with the sultry midsummer heat. "I don't want to consider it for now. Let's discuss it later."
I felt there was still hope as soon as I heard the words "for now." So I didn't ask him any further questions.
However, it now appears that he intends to return to work after his wedding and honeymoon.
Refusing the marriage leave offered by the boss, was he stupid?!
11.
I pondered as I looked at his calm back.
We had already broken up for years when we began our "sweet" relationship. Following the principle that "a good ex should just disappear from each other's contact list," neither of us had contacted the other in the intervening years, as if the other party had never existed in our lives.
Finding him again was a little embarrassing. At my age, talking too much would be hypocritical. I slapped the shoddy "maintenance" contract on his chest, raised my brow, and said arrogantly, looking very cool and handsome, "I need your kidneys, not your heart."
Because he was reading my diagnosis, he ignored me.
The thin and long fingers with distinct joints were trembling.
I laughed at him. How can someone in their twenties have Parkinson's?
He didn't lift his head for a long time before saying "shut up" quietly with a trembling voice.
He was a little ferocious.
He wasn't this ferocious when we broke up.
Tut, this is how you talk to your sugar daddy?
Su Yu later signed that shoddy agreement, so it was a win-win situation. I haven't saved much money over the years, but I do have some and a house in the city center, which would cover his annual salary for the two years. I even went to the photocopy shop to get two copies at the time. I didn't leave anything out.
Su Yu was icy as usual.
Su Yu can be a real jerk at times, but in general, he will not break his promise.
We agreed to refrain from allowing our emotions to play a role. We could enter the liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, but not the heart.
So I left quite peacefully.
But now I think it was a little too soon to be peaceful.
He's getting married and still making me medicine; is he trying to get rid of me completely and be his chongxi bride?
By the way, is that how chongxi works?? [chongxi is marriage performed as a superstition or folk remedy to drive away bad fortune/luck.]
12.
Su Yu went back to play games after finishing making the medicine. He was completely unaware that there was another person else in the house.
Oh, no, ghost.
I didn't go near the computer because I don't know how to play games. Normally, at this time, I'd be sprawled on the sofa, watching dramas or reading novels on my tablet. But because I can't touch anything right now, I can only sway around the room aimlessly. I ran to the living room after swaying for a while and becoming bored, to stare at Xiaobai with big eyes.
Xiaobai is a skeleton, tall and strong but lean, standing 180cm tall without the hook. It was a male model and bought on Taobao.
I'm not a pervert; I'm a doctor.
Isn't it ironic that a doctor was unable to save himself?
Actually, it's a good thing that I've studied medicine, so I'm more open about death than ordinary people. For example, when I received the diagnosis from my mentor, my hands did not tremble like Su Yu's.
Parkinson's disease at such a young age. Tut, he's no better than me.
I reached out and poked the skeleton's cheekbone: "I'm finally taller than you, Xiaobai. I can now be as tall as I want and I have the ability to change shapes!"
Xiaobai ignored me.
I poked a few more times: "You've been in my house for a long time. I'm curious what you'll look like if your nerves and muscles are restored. You should be handsome based on your bones."
Xiaobai continued to ignore me.
I poked again: "Anyway, not as handsome as this young master."
"Victory—!"
A female voice sounded like thunder, and it made me shiver with fear.
Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com/p/homepage.html
Su Yu, this dog, had won the game and removed his headphones!
The next thing I knew, my entire body was sinking, heavier than when I was a human. Something was attached to my nape, making me feel like a piece of meat hanging in a supermarket.
My angle of view shifted abruptly, altering the orientation of what I could see.
I was stunned for a full half-minute before finally reacting.
—I've f*cking possessed this skeleton!
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