Chapter 16

Footsteps echoed in the large office from time to time, the hurried comings and goings were exactly the same as in the past few days, and even no different from before, but today Xu Xing was always distracted.

The glaring sunlight outside the window was gradually tamed, taking on the unique gentleness of the sunset.

Xu Xing glanced at the time, signed the last document, and left work on time, which was unusual for him.

He returned home with mixed feelings, and as he climbed the stairs to the second floor, the surroundings were so quiet that it seemed as if the air itself had slowed down.

After searching the entire second floor without finding anyone, Xu Xing pursed his lips, took out his phone, and dialed the number. Upon hearing the message that the phone was switched off, his heart sank further. He then dialed another number to send someone to investigate.

As the last rays of sunlight faded outside, Xu Xing stood by the floor-to-ceiling window until night fell. He received a message from his subordinate that the other party had gone to the suburbs, and rushed there that very night to find them.

Xu Chengjia's neighborhood looks like a remnant from the last century, with a large garden in front of a catering area and residential buildings behind it.

The U-shaped design is similar to that of a tenement building, and even the walls are not made of stacked tiles, but it is much brighter and more spacious than a tenement building.

Jiang Zhuochen lived in one of the houses. When he arrived a few hours ago and Xu Cheng told him that the whole building belonged to him, he was shocked. After that, he felt at ease and chose a clean and tidy house to stay in temporarily.

When the door was knocked, he was still wondering if Xu Cheng had something to say to him, so he didn't react when he opened the door and saw Xu Xing's displeased face.

How did you know I was here?

"I had someone investigate." Xu Xing stood in the center of the living room. The furniture inside was simple, and even the bed was a common wooden single bed from a hundred or eighty years ago. He was even angrier.

"Why is your phone off? Did you come here because you weren't sleeping well at home?"

Jiang Zhuochen was still angry, and being questioned like this made him even more unhappy. He sat back down, making a heavy thud on the bed, and turned his head to snort. "Your house isn't my house. Who wants to go back to that lousy place?"

Xu Xing was so angry that his breathing became heavy. "Then where do you want to go? Stay here forever?"

“Yes, I’m fine anywhere, not with you.” Jiang Zhuochen retorted. The hope that had secretly risen the moment he saw the other person vanished, and now anger mixed with grievance rippled in the corners of his eyes.

He didn't understand. If this person wasn't angry with him, wouldn't it be better for him to leave? Why did they get even angrier? And why did they travel all this way just to yell at him?

"Go away, I won't bother you and you shouldn't bother me either. You bought everything in the villa anyway, so if you think it's an eyesore, just have someone throw it away."

The faint red tinge was magnified by the watermarks under the light, enveloping Xu Xing's heart in a dense, continuous embrace. The bursting bubbles pounded against his heart, and the overwhelming heartache brought Xu Xing back to his senses.

He sighed, and the other person dodged his outstretched hand. He firmly pulled it back and wiped the corner of his eye. "Why are you crying?"

Jiang Zhuochen glared at him, "You're the one who cried."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be mean to you." Xu Xing softened his tone. "I was just worried that something might have happened to you."

The softened tone made Jiang Zhuochen's nose sting, and he forcefully pushed the hand away. "You don't need to worry about me."

Xu Xing showed no impatience at being pushed away, and bent down to meet his gaze. "You're staying at my house, can't I worry about you?"

The words were spoken so naturally that Jiang Zhuochen didn't realize there was anything wrong with them. He looked into the other person's deep, calm eyes and instantly felt his emotions being firmly contained.

He murmured, "This isn't where I want to stay."

“Yes,” Xu Xing said, still gazing at him gently, “I let you stay here.”

The evening breeze blew in unrestrainedly through the wide-open window, and Jiang Zhuochen blinked as if startled. He lowered his head uncomfortably and reached out to push Xu Xing aside.

The anger in his heart had subsided, but he couldn't let it go so quickly. So, after Xu Xing sat down next to him, he subtly shifted his position, which elicited a soft laugh from the other man.

Jiang Zhuochen immediately turned fierce: "What are you laughing at!"

The upward curve of his lips was still lingering; the other person's flustered expression improved Xu Xing's mood. "Hmm, not smiling. Now, can you answer my question?"

Jiang Zhuochen was taken aback and pursed his lips. "My phone died, and the landlord here said it seems to be haunted lately, so I came to see what's going on."

"Couldn't you leave a note if your phone is switched off?"

“I did go to see you,” Jiang Zhuochen complained. “The receptionist said I couldn’t come in without an appointment, so I left.”

The awkward and aggrieved tone lingered, and Xu Xing chuckled wryly. "It's my fault, it's my problem."

"It's all your fault." Jiang Zhuochen nodded in agreement. "Good to know."

The atmosphere eased, and Xu Xing, seeing Jiang Zhuochen leaning against the bedpost in a daze, asked him, "What are you planning to do next?"

"I just came to check things out, I don't even know if it's really haunted," Jiang Zhuochen explained, then said to Xu Xing, "Don't you have work tomorrow? Why don't you go back first?"

"What matter requires handling so late at night?" Xu Xing frowned as it was already dark outside.

"Aren't ghosts only haunted at night?" Jiang Zhuochen said, pausing with a relaxed attitude.

He didn't notice anything different during the day, so he waited until night, but when Xu Xing arrived, he still didn't find anything unusual.

Seeing Xu Xingwei remain unmoved, he looked puzzled. "Aren't you going back?"

"I'm not going back." Xu Xing looked around the room, feeling no fear whatsoever, relying on his ability to resist ghosts. "I'll come and see for myself how a ghost story works."

At two o'clock in the morning, Jiang Zhuochen was dozing off on the sofa. Xu Xing had just taken out the blanket to cover him when a strange sound came from above, like the thud of high heels on the floor.

Jiang Zhuochen grabbed Xu Xing's wrist and silently opened his eyes. He exchanged a glance with Xu Xing, then quickly led his men upstairs and opened the door using the master key card given to him by the landlord.

As soon as the door opened, a thick, ghostly aura rushed out as if it had been prepared. Jiang Zhuochen was caught off guard and tried to stand in front of Xu Xing, but Xu Xing reacted even faster and pulled him into his arms to block him.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Jiang Zhuochen pulled Xu Xing back out, fearing that there might be something else mixed in with the ghostly energy, and quickly took out a pill from his Qiankun bag and stuffed it into Xu Xing's mouth.

"What if the next one is a ghost? You're just rushing forward with your eyes closed, hoping I'll take you to be reincarnated?"

The warm sensation of his fingertips pressing against his lips had not yet dissipated when Xu Xing's tongue slid across his palate with the pill pressed against it, completely oblivious. Instead, he felt a sense of pleasure because of the other person's subconscious anxiety.

"Okay, then you protect me."

Jiang Zhuochen was so angry at his unrepentant appearance that he almost laughed, and he didn't believe his nonsense at all.

He pulled Xu Xing behind him and looked into the room.

In the room filled with black mist, a female ghost sat on the windowsill. She looked disappointed when she saw that the person who came was not the one she wanted. Just as she was about to turn her head back, she glanced at Xu Xing with an ambiguous look.

"I thought it was the person I was waiting for."

Jiang Zhuochen stood cautiously by the door. "Who are you waiting for?"

The female ghost leaned against the windowsill, her expression disgusted. "Get out of here quickly, don't waste my time."

Jiang Zhuochen was secretly surprised. This vengeful ghost actually knew that grievances had their source and debts had their debtors, and wouldn't harm the innocent? He felt slightly relieved and poked his head inside a little. "If you don't tell me, what if I can find it?"

"Heh." The female ghost didn't seem to care. "No need."

"No!" Jiang Zhuochen took a step forward, but was pulled back by Xu Xing after only a couple of steps. He turned his head and met Xu Xing's tightly furrowed brows.

He pulled Xu Xing along, saying, "Sister, how long will it take you to find the ghost all by yourself? There's strength in numbers."

The female ghost seemed intrigued, curious about the man's audacious behavior. When he was two meters away, she suddenly revealed her sharp claws, and the ghostly energy that swept towards her was like a sharp blade, forcing Jiang Zhuochen to dodge left and right and retreat.

Jiang Zhuochen, palm facing outward, urgently called for a halt, "Speak properly, don't resort to violence."

"I have nothing to talk to you about." The female ghost put her feet down from the windowsill, and with a slight push, she floated lightly toward the two of them.

The female ghost circled twice, pausing each time she floated in front of Xu Xing, as if sizing him up or sniffing his scent.

Xu Xing noticed something about him that caught the female ghost's attention the moment he entered the room.

Jiang Zhuochen, standing beside him, nudged him and whispered in his ear, "Does she like you? Why don't you seduce her?"

Xu Xing raised his hand and tapped him, saying with a headache, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

The female ghost slowly retreated to the center of the room, saying, "Whatever you're doing, don't get in my way."

As soon as she finished speaking, the female ghost vanished from the spot.

Jiang Zhuochen sighed; after chatting for so long, he hadn't gotten any useful information out of her.

Given the current situation, the female ghost certainly wouldn't come out again. Jiang Zhuochen cleared away the ghostly energy here and pulled Xu Xing away.

Back in the room, Jiang Zhuochen checked Xu Xing again to make sure that the extra glances the female ghost gave him weren't because Xu Xing was going to die soon, before he felt relieved.

Then the two faced a pressing problem: there was only a single bed, and the only sofa was less than half their height.

Jiang Zhuochen and Xu Xing exchanged glances, their faces contorted in dismay. "We already told you to go back to sleep, what do we do now?"

"What else can we do?" Xu Xing raised his chin and said very naturally, "Just make do for one night."

"The bed is so narrow." Jiang Zhuochen said in disbelief, gesturing with his hand. "Can anyone sleep in it?"

Xu Xing was amused by his actions, "How will you know if you don't try?"

After saying that, he sat down and asked, "Which side do you sleep on?"

Jiang Zhuochen had no choice but to kick off his slippers and climb onto the inside of the bed, demonstrating his choice through his actions. He wasn't about to roll off into his sleep and onto the floor.

"I told you it was very crowded."

The two lay side-by-side, their bodies just the right width apart; any movement would expose them. Jiang Zhuochen turned to try and push Xu Xing away a little, but the other pulled him into his arms with his eyes closed. He paused, stopping his movements in confusion.

Xu Xing gently patted his back, his voice low and deep, as if from the exhaustion of the late night, echoing in Jiang Zhuochen's ears.

"Be good."

Jiang Zhuochen felt a tingling sensation in one ear, and his heart felt like a feather had fallen on it, making him want to flutter around in someone's arms.

He unconsciously bit his lower lip, lowered his head and nuzzled the other person's neck, falling into a deep sleep in the warmth of the embrace.

Feeling the long, even breath on his neck, Xu Xing gradually stopped patting his back. He lowered his eyes and stared at that profile for a long time.

This was clearly the first time he had shared a bed with someone since he became conscious, yet he felt a sense of familiarity as if it were meant to be, just as he couldn't bear to see this person sad.

The darkness in his eyes blurred, and he pulled the person closer in that position.

A note from the author: