Uncomfortable
Liu Muzhe didn't answer him and turned his back.
Ye Jingan coaxed, "Alright, alright, Brother Liu, don't be unhappy. Uncle probably just doesn't know how to express himself. Last time I asked Brother Liu to feed me ice cream, didn't Brother Liu say I was disgusting and cheesy?"
"I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about doing this!" Liu Muzhe said.
"Yes, the uncle didn't say the two of us, he said we kissed on the cheek." Ye Jing'an said with a smile.
"This is different!" Liu Muzhe said.
"What's the difference? Brother Liu, do you think kissing me on the lips and cheek is disgusting?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"It's not disgusting." Liu Muzhe said.
"That's fine. Don't worry about what others say. As long as Brother Liu doesn't feel disgusted, that's fine." Ye Jing'an said with a smile.
"I don't like hearing others say that." Liu Muzhe said.
"Okay, if you don't like it, then don't listen. From now on, we won't kiss in front of others." Seeing that Liu Muze was still unhappy, Ye Jing'an hugged him and said, "Don't pay attention to these things. People are different. Some people like it, and some people hate it. Ignore them."
"I understand the logic, but hearing these words makes me feel...uncomfortable." Liu Muzhe said.
"I understand, I understand. But with these opposing voices, it makes more sense for us to be together, so that others know that no one can break us up. Could it be that Brother Liu doesn't want me anymore because of a stranger's words?" Ye Jing'an said with a smile.
Liu Muze chuckled twice. He couldn't win the argument with Ye Jing'an, but he didn't feel uncomfortable anymore. He hugged Ye Jing'an and said, "Go to sleep."
"What are you laughing at? Are you really planning to abandon me?" Seeing that Liu Muzhe ignored him, Ye Jing'an hummed twice in a wronged tone, "Brother Liu doesn't want me anymore..."
"Yes." Liu Muzhe said.
"Why don't you hold on tighter!" Ye Jing'an said with a smile.
In the early morning, Liu Muze was awakened by a knock on the door. He opened the door and saw Song Yiyu standing outside with a terrified look on his face. Liu Muze asked, "What's wrong?"
"Let's talk inside." Song Yiyu walked into the room and locked the door.
"Brother Liu?" Ye Jing'an was woken up. He struggled to find Liu Muze but couldn't find him. He opened his eyes and saw Song Yiyu. "Fuck! Why are you in our room so late at night?"
"Shh! Don't shout!" Song Yiyu said in a low voice, "I have something urgent to tell you."
"What's so mysterious? And you have to talk about it so late at night." Ye Jing'an complained.
Song Yiyu said: "I'm going out to find Ren Heshu..."
"What?! Didn't I tell you not to go out and cause trouble?" Ye Jingan said.
"Hear me out first. I couldn't sleep so I decided to go out for a walk. When I got to the village entrance, I heard a baby crying. It wasn't too far away, and I had no idea where it was. I followed the sound all the way to the house at the end, but the crying suddenly stopped. The door was unlocked, so I walked in." Song Yiyu frowned. "Just as I was about to go upstairs, something got tangled up on my foot. I shone a light and saw a monster with four arms."
"A monster with four arms?" Ye Jing'an suddenly remembered the image of the little earth jade spirit waving its four claws.
"It wasn't just four arms. I caught a glimpse of a deformed face on the back of its head," Song Yiyu continued. "I raised my foot to kick it away, but it called me daddy and asked me why I didn't want it."
"Call you dad? Where did you get a little monster as a son?" Ye Jing'an asked with a smile.
"I didn't do anything wrong. I just came to ask you because I don't know what happened." Song Yiyu said.
"Are you not hurt?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"No, it didn't seem to want to hurt me. I kicked it away." Song Yiyu said.
"Where is it? Let's go and take a look." Liu Muzhe put on his coat.
"Come with me." Song Yiyu led them to the house at the end of the village. He ran back in a hurry and didn't close the door tightly, so it was blown wide open by the wind.
They walked into the house. The living room was empty. Opposite the door stood a wooden table with a black-and-white photo of a woman on it. Fruit offerings and incense burners were placed before her. Song Yiyu pointed at the stairs and said, "I was about to go upstairs when that little monster grabbed my foot."
"Let's go upstairs and take a look." Liu Muzhe said.
The second floor was cluttered with miscellaneous items, covered with a thick layer of dust. The air was filled with a dry, musty smell. It seemed that no one had been there for a long time.
"It's gone, go back to sleep." Liu Muzhe said.
"What kind of monster is it?" Song Yiyu asked.
"It's not clear yet." Liu Muzhe said.
"Never mind him. Let's find your girlfriend and rescue her first." Ye Jing'an pulled Liu Muzhe back.
There were so many things going on last night that they forgot to set the alarm. When Ye Jing'an and the others woke up, the sun was so bright that it was blinding. A glance at the time revealed it was almost eleven. Ye Jing'an said, "It's over, it's over! I wonder if Song Yiyu has gone out looking for someone again. He still doesn't know what we talked about yesterday!"
Ye Jingan put on his clothes and ran downstairs. All the red paper flowers downstairs had been taken away. Song Yiyu was sitting on the sofa drinking tea, and the uncle was chatting with him with an apologetic smile.
"Good morning, Song Yiyu, what are you doing?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"Uncle told me about our homework, and I think it's good. Keep it. I'll pay for it, and you just do the work." Song Yiyu said.
"Alright, Young Master Song has the final say." Ye Jingan breathed a sigh of relief and walked upstairs slowly. "I'll go wash up first."
"How is it, where is Song Yiyu?" Liu Muzhe squeezed the toothpaste and handed it to him.
"It's fine. As long as that guy doesn't act impulsively, he'll be fine." Ye Jing'an leaned on Liu Muze, "He's getting too aggressive. Let's get on with it."
Ye Jingan and Liu Muze washed up and went downstairs to eat. The uncle said that they would eat downstairs. Seeing that it was already lunchtime, Ye Jingan thought that he would just eat some cakes to fill his stomach and then have lunch directly.
Seeing that his uncle seemed like a different person today, Ye Jingan smiled and said, "Uncle, have you found out everything? I didn't lie to you, did I?"
"No, no, hahahaha." the uncle asked.
"Then uncle, tell us about the ghost marriages here. If it sounds suitable to me, I will stay and take pictures." Ye Jingan said.
"Okay, this ghost marriage is marrying a dead person. It starts tonight. They just took away the paper flowers to decorate it early in the morning." said the uncle.
"I read in a book that ghost marriage is when a living person marries a dead person. Who would be willing to do that these days?" Ye Jing'an said.
"Of course she is willing. They spent a lot of money to find a girl, and she is willing," said the uncle.
"Is there anyone willing to die these days?" Ye Jing'an sneered.
"Oh, I'm short of money." The uncle sighed helplessly. There is nothing that can't be done with money these days.
"Then you are breaking the law. We dare not touch anything illegal, so let's not film it." Ye Jing'an said.
"Hey! Who said we were going to kill her?" the uncle whispered. "It's just a formality. Someone will rescue her after she's buried."
"After she is rescued, will she be let go?" Song Yiyu asked.
"Of course, do you think we would really commit murder and arson?" the uncle laughed.
"That's pretty good. Let's stay and take some photos." Ye Jing'an said.
"Then this money...if I give it to you later, what if I can't find you and you run away?" the uncle asked.
"Uncle, are you kidding me? We're students, where can we go? If you don't believe me, we'll give you the money first!" Ye Jing'an transferred 7,000 yuan to him, "plus last night's accommodation fee, is this okay?"
"Okay, okay! Hahahaha..." The uncle's mouth never lowered.
"Then let's go out for a walk and take some photos." Ye Jingan said.
"Wait a minute! If anyone asks you, just say you are my relative and came here to film a video while doing homework. Don't let anything slip! They don't want outsiders to know about this ghost marriage." said the uncle.
"I understand." Ye Jing'an smiled meaningfully.
Although the wedding is tonight, the appearance of the village has not changed at all. Apart from the red paper lanterns hanging in front of every house, there is no sign of wedding preparations.
In ancient times, ghost marriages were extremely common and cost a fortune. After all, who would want to marry the dead? Therefore, these arrangements were typically reserved for the wealthy. If a son died prematurely, the heartbroken parents would seek to arrange a ghost marriage for him, even if it meant spending a fortune. At the time, people believed that those who did not marry and have children were unfilial and unhappy, destined to suffer alone in the eighteen levels of hell after death.
Another theory is that when their son was alive, he was an unfilial beast, doing all sorts of unscrupulous things. If his parents don't arrange a ghost marriage for him after his death, they will come after his parents and continue to harass and torture the entire family. The negative energy will surround the family, causing everyone to suffer disasters and never have peace.
Therefore, whether it is for their children to have a companion after death and not suffer alone, or for them to prevent their family members from being harassed by these resentful ghosts, relatives are willing to spend money on ghost marriages. It can be regarded as a kind of spiritual sustenance and a way to buy peace of mind.
The ceremony on the day of the ghost marriage is also very particular, with strict rules for everything from the decoration to the wedding ceremony. After all, marrying a living dead person is no small matter, even more important than marrying a living person. It is said that the wedding should be so lively that people would think it is a wedding of a living person.
However, since no one believes in ghosts and gods these days, these feudal customs have gradually faded. Ye Jing'an couldn't understand this group of people. They believed in ghost marriages, but they didn't hold them as grandly as others. Come to think of it, how could they dare to do it? The people were kidnapped, and if they did it too grandly in broad daylight, they would probably be chased by the police. They guessed that the fun would get going at night.
Ye Jing'an and the other two walked around the village. Surprisingly, even at noon, there weren't many people around. They wondered where everyone was busy. They reached the end of the village, where a small house stood against the hillside. It looked quite shabby. Outside, festive couplets were posted, and the gatehouse was decorated with red flowers. The vibrant red looked festive, but these arrangements were meant to resemble a funeral hall, and upon closer inspection, they felt strangely awkward and unnatural.
When they arrived here last night, there weren't so many things. Liu Muze said to Ye Jing'an, "I heard some noises of people moving things inside. Let's knock on the door and go in to take a look."
"Okay." Ye Jingan plucked a few red flowers and threw them on the ground, then knocked on the door. "Is anyone there? The flowers are gone!"
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