After buying the lipstick, Ruan Bei went to the supermarket and bought some snacks that Qin Gu liked.
It was almost eight o'clock when I came out of the mall, and the sky was already dark. However, the city lights were still dazzling, and the nightlife was just beginning, with crowds surging everywhere.
The last bus to his house had already left, and Ruan Bei, now wealthy and powerful, didn't care about the taxi fare and readily hailed one.
After getting in the car and announcing his destination, the driver started the meter and drove off. Ruan Bei heard a very slight noise, as if something had fallen onto the roof of the car.
He looked up, but of course couldn't see anything. The noise was too faint, so he didn't think about it further. Perhaps a tree branch or something had scratched the car.
Some drivers are quiet, while others are very talkative. The driver we met this time happened to be a talkative one. He also had a child about the same age as Ruan Bei, and he kept talking about how the child was disobedient and didn't like to study.
Ruan Bei chatted with him all the way, and before they knew it, they arrived at the outside of his residential area.
Ruan Bei paid the fare, opened the door and got out of the car. Just as he was about to say goodbye to the driver, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
He looked up and saw the pretty young lady he had met in the mall sitting cross-legged on the roof of a taxi, smiling at him with her chin resting on her hand.
Ruan Bei: "..."
"Little brother, am I pretty?" The female ghost winked at Ruan Bei, her eyes sparkling, her beauty captivating.
Ruan Bei: "..."
He stiffly turned his neck, his gaze falling into empty space, pretending, as if burying his head in the sand, that he hadn't seen the female ghost sitting on the roof of the car.
"Child, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Just as the driver was about to drive away, he saw the child who had just gotten off the bus standing blankly by his car. He had looked fine before, but now his little face was deathly pale.
Ruan Bei was startled and quickly reached for the car door to get in: "Yes, yes, I'm not feeling well, uncle, please take me to the hospital."
You can't bring this female ghost home.
The female ghost sat motionless on the car roof, leisurely watching Ruan Bei perform his one-man show. She chuckled and said, "Little brother, won't you take your sister home to show her the place? Or should I wait for you here?"
Ruan Bei's face grew even uglier. He couldn't stay away from home forever. What would he do if the female ghost was guarding the entrance to the residential area?
In a flash, Ruan Bei had a solution.
Go to Kunkun's house!
Uncle Ran said that Kunkun's family has something that can suppress and harm ghosts. Although he doesn't know what it is, it can keep him safe for a while.
If he can get through tonight, he can go to the Ran family's house after sunrise tomorrow and borrow the Buddha statue for two days.
Anyway, ghosts and monsters can't stay in the mortal world for long; we can't outlast them.
Having made up his mind, Ruan Bei smiled apologetically at the driver: "I think I'm better again. I'm sorry to have taken up your time."
The driver waved his hand dismissively: "It's good that you're alright. Go home and rest. Let your parents see you. If you're still not feeling well, go to the hospital."
After he finished speaking, he drove away. Before the car started, the female ghost who had been sitting cross-legged on the roof of the car gently landed on the ground. Her posture was elegant, and she was more beautiful than the goddesses and immortals on TV.
But Ruan Bei had no interest in appreciating it at all. He walked towards Qin Gu's house with his head down, ignoring the female ghost's incessant chatter beside him. He acted as if he were an ordinary person, unable to see or hear anything.
When they reached the second floor, the female ghost's smile gradually faded. She glanced at Ruan Bei hesitantly, then looked up at him with a wary expression.
Although Ruan Bei neither looked nor listened, he was secretly observing the female ghost's situation so that he could react in time.
It has to be said that meeting Ran Yusheng and interacting with him for so long before did help him build up his courage. At least this time he wasn't completely terrified like last time, running around aimlessly without any sense of direction.
Upon noticing the female ghost's strange demeanor, Ruan Bei was secretly delighted. It seemed that the unknown magical artifact in Kunkun's family was indeed useful and very effective, perhaps even better than the Buddha statue in Ran's family.
This discovery made Ruan Bei's steps lighter, and he went upstairs even faster. The female ghost hesitated for a moment, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes, and then chased after him.
The higher she went, the worse her complexion became. Ghosts are naturally pale, but now their faces were abnormally pale.
Ruan Bei walked past his own front gate without even glancing sideways, continuing to walk uphill.
The female ghost stopped at the top of the stairs in front of his house. She dared not go any further up the stairs, stomped her foot angrily, and glared at Ruan Bei's back with resentment.
Hahaha, she's scared!
Ruan Bei felt incredibly happy. In the past, he was the one who was afraid of ghosts, but now it was the ghosts' turn to be afraid of him!
If you could turn around at this moment and taunt them: "Go ahead and try again if you dare!"
That would be incredibly cool.
Unfortunately, he didn't dare.
If you drive the ghost crazy and try to harm it with all your might, that would be courting death.
Just then, the door creaked open behind them, and Mrs. Ruan poked her head out: "Xiao Bei, why are you running upstairs again? Have you had dinner?"
Ruan Bei froze, stiffly turning around. The female ghost had somehow appeared beside his mother, slowly raising the corners of her mouth to reveal a malicious smile.
Ruan Bei staggered downstairs and rushed to his mother's side, separating her from the female ghost.
"Xiao Bei?"
Ruan Bei felt a chill run down his spine as he stared intently at the female ghost.
He remembered that Uncle Ran had said that although ghosts cannot touch people, they can indeed harm them.
If they intentionally want to harm someone, as long as they keep bothering that person, the yin energy will enter their body, making them weak and sickly. Over time, their organs may develop diseases, eventually leading to serious, incurable illnesses.
There are also things like sleep paralysis and being trapped in a ghost's maze. At night, a ghost may press down on a sleeping person, causing chest tightness, shortness of breath, sleep disturbances, mental confusion, and neurasthenia.
When traveling at night, you might be misled by illusions and accidentally run into the middle of the road, losing your life while others think you deliberately ran a red light and courted death.
All of this was taken into consideration by Ran Yusheng, who knew that given his ability to see ghosts, he would inevitably have to deal with ghosts and monsters in the future, so he specially told him everything he knew.
Although Ran Yusheng himself had never harmed anyone, he had encountered some wandering spirits and had learned quite a bit of information.
"Little Bei, what a filial and adorable boy!" The female ghost chuckled, completely ignoring Ruan Bei's wary gaze, and went into his house on her own.
Ruan Bei was so anxious that he didn't know what to do, and blurted out, "Mom, why don't you and Dad go stay at Kunkun's house for a few days!"
Mother Ruan, puzzled, touched his forehead and said, "You silly child, what nonsense are you talking about? Who stays at their neighbor's house instead of their own? Come in quickly, I brought back a pineapple, I've soaked it and saved it for you, it's very sweet."
She pulled him inside and then closed the door.
Ruan Bei was about to cry. What kind of mess is this?!
The female ghost had already circled his house, acting completely at ease, as if she didn't consider herself an outsider at all.
Unable to do anything else, Ruan Bei took advantage of his mother going to get him a pineapple and ran to the female ghost, whispering, "Go to my room and wait. We can talk about it privately."
The female ghost glanced at him sideways, then suddenly reached out and touched Ruan Bei's face, teasingly saying, "Little brother, are you all grown in yet? You want your older sister to come to your room. What... what are you doing in private? But little brother, you're really handsome..."
Ruan Bei's face turned completely red in an instant. He was so frightened that he took several steps back and covered his face, which had been humiliated, in terror.
This...this is actually a lecherous woman!
The female ghost was amused by his reaction and burst into laughter. Ruan Bei was both angry and anxious. Just then, his mother came out with a plate of sliced pineapple.
"Xiao Bei, come and have some fruit."
Ruan Bei quickly took the plate from her: "Mom, I'll eat in my room. I have a lot of homework this week. You go to sleep first and don't worry about me."
"Okay, then you study, Mom won't bother you."
Mrs. Ruan stopped watching TV, picked up her phone, and was about to go into her room when she remembered something halfway there. She said to Ruan Bei, "Xixi said she's coming back today. Hide the gift well so she doesn't see it."
She knew Ruan Bei was going to buy a birthday present for his sister, and she readily agreed to his idea of giving his sister a surprise.
Ruan Bei glanced at the time and frowned: "It's already past eight o'clock, why aren't they back yet?"
Mrs. Ruan chuckled and said, "You're so worried. She went to see a movie with her classmates and said she had dinner out before coming back."
Ruan Bei was relieved and kept a close watch on the female ghost to prevent her from moving, watching his mother enter the bedroom.
The snack shop is busy at night, and his dad usually doesn't close the shop and go home until after 10 pm. Now, only he and a female ghost are left in the living room.
The female ghost watched with great interest as he talked with his mother for a while. At this moment, she was looking at the small photo frame next to their TV, which was a family portrait.
"You have an older sister!" she drawled, her meaning ambiguous.
Ruan Beixin immediately became alert: "What do you want to do?"
"What can I possibly do? I'm just a pitiful, helpless ghost~" the female ghost chuckled softly, her expression and demeanor revealing no trace of pitifulness.
In an instant, many stories flashed through Ruan Bei's mind, such as Painted Skin and Reincarnation. He wished he could make a phone call immediately and tell his sister not to come back.
"I'm warning you."
Worried that his mother might hear him in the bedroom, Ruan Bei lowered his voice and gritted his teeth, saying, "There's a ghost hunter living upstairs from me. If you dare to hurt my family, I'll have him capture you and extract your bones..."
He originally wanted to say "strip you of your bones and skin," but then he thought that ghosts wouldn't have bones and skin, so he changed his words to "beat you until your soul is scattered!"
The female ghost's smile froze, her expression turned displeased, but a hint of fear flashed in her eyes.
She wasn't one of those clueless new ghosts; even the Taoist priest had met a few of them.
The person upstairs, though not there, left behind some kind of magical artifact, talisman, or array, which she couldn't even get close to, clearly indicating a highly skilled cultivator.
It's strange that this child in front of me has a pair of yin-yang eyes but no magical abilities whatsoever.
"Hey, why are you being so fierce?"
The female ghost, perhaps lost in thought or genuinely frightened by Ruan Bei, gave him a coquettish wink: "You heartless little thing, I didn't do anything, why are you scaring me?"
It will be too late by the time you do anything!
Ruan Bei looked around. The living room wasn't a place to talk. If his mother came out and saw him standing alone in the living room talking to himself, she might think he was possessed.
"Come with me."
He brought the female ghost to his room, and didn't forget to bring the plate of pineapple along, whether he ate it or not.
Unlike Ran Yusheng, the female ghost was not polite or well-mannered. After entering, she didn't care that it was Ruan Bei's private space. She looked around first, and then sat on Ruan Bei's bed without any politeness.
The sheets were changed in a little while.
Ruan Bei gritted his teeth and asked, "Why are you following me?"
The female ghost cupped her face and looked at him with a smile: "How boring! I'm just a ghost, and nobody talks to me. I'm so lonely. It's rare to find someone who can see me. Let's find someone to chat with."
Ruan Beicai wasn't fooled: "You can communicate with other ghosts."
Although the proportion of ghosts is very small, with such a large number of deaths, the number of people involved is bound to be small.
In fact, besides this female ghost, Ruan Bei had also encountered a car accident ghost before, which lingered at the intersection and refused to leave.
Ruan Bei knew that he would leave the mortal world at the appointed time, so he didn't meddle and walked past without paying attention. The car accident ghost didn't follow him.
Ghosts are yin in nature and generally don't go to crowded places. So, in the shopping mall, Ruan Bei let his guard down and was attracted by the female ghost's captivating appearance, which led to the current consequences.
"What's the point of talking to those ugly ghosts?" The female ghost curled her lip, making no attempt to hide her attraction to good-looking people.
Ruan Bei: "...How about I search for you to see if there are any ghosts in the entertainment industry lately?"
Don't make friends with ghosts, and don't come looking for me.
The female ghost couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Little brother, you're so cute!"
She is so beautiful; when she smiles, there is a captivating beauty.
Unfortunately, Ruan Bei was a clueless little boy, hard-hearted and unmoved.
"Say yes or no. If you agree, I'll find you a handsome ghost to keep you company. Don't come looking for me anymore. I don't have time to chat with you. I'm going to be a senior in high school soon, you know how precious time is for high school students preparing for the college entrance exam!"
The female ghost scoffed, "No matter how pretty you are, can you be prettier than me?"
Ruan Bei: "..." I couldn't refute it.
"Then what do you want?" Ruan Bei asked helplessly.
The female ghost rolled her eyes and looked at the schoolbag that Ruan Bei had thrown on the chair. Inside were his textbooks and the gift he had bought for his sister.
"I want the lipstick set you bought."
If she didn't like them, she wouldn't have braved the bustling crowds in the mall to look at those lipsticks and cosmetics. Fortunately, there weren't many people at the counters, so she was able to sneak in and browse properly, but unfortunately, she could only look and not use them.
Ruan Bei hesitated; this was something he had bought for his sister.
"What, you're reluctant to part with it?"
Ruan Bei gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll give you this set, but you have to agree that you're not allowed to come looking for me again."
I can just go buy my sister another set tomorrow, and a better one!
He thought for a moment, then added, "And you're not allowed to harass my family or friends either."
The female ghost grinned and reached for his backpack, seemingly already eyeing the lipstick set as hers. Yet, she still wouldn't back down, saying, "Don't do that, little brother. I won't hurt you. Why are you acting like we're severing ties?"
"This lipstick set must be expensive, right? Do you still have any pocket money left?"
After taking a stroll around Ruan Bei's house, the female ghost could roughly estimate the family's financial situation. They might not be poor, but they weren't exactly wealthy either. For a boy Ruan Bei's age, a set of lipsticks costing over three thousand yuan would probably require saving up pocket money for a long time.
The girl felt a pang of jealousy at how kind the boy was to his sister. She decided that she would go and see her poor brother again tomorrow. Seeing that they were not doing well would make her happy.
"None of your business."
Ruan Bei thought it was better to lose money than to suffer a terrible loss, but he was not going to be nice to the female ghost!
The female ghost instantly floated in front of Ruan Bei, approaching him despite his repulsive gaze. Ruan Bei immediately shrank into a ball like a cat with its fur standing on end, watching her warily.
The female ghost blinked and pouted, deliberately trying to be cute, but it wasn't greasy at all.
"Little brother, look, your sister is so beautiful, she deserves the most gorgeous jewelry and the most expensive cosmetics, right?"
Ruan Bei was about to nod when he suddenly realized something was wrong and hurriedly said, "Don't even think about it, I don't have any money."
He uses his meager savings to buy gifts for family and friends, and to buy materials for himself. How could he possibly use it to support a female ghost?
No matter how beautiful the female ghost is, it's absolutely impossible. Three thousand yuan is the bottom line; he will never pay a single penny more!
"Tch, would I really cheat a kid like you out of a little pocket money?"
The female ghost crossed her arms and said disdainfully, "When I was alive, I was a young lady from a wealthy family. Although I don't have money to give you, I have plenty of jewelry. If you do my job well and buy me some cosmetics, I'll give you any piece of jewelry, and that will be enough for you to make a living."
"I don't want your jewelry, go buy it yourself."
Ruan Bei refused. If he were greedy, he would have asked Ran Yusheng for it in the first place.
Besides, such windfall might cause trouble if he took it; he didn't have the time to make money off ghosts.
The female ghost's eyes widened: "You don't believe me?"
Ruan Bei said impatiently, "I believe you, why wouldn't I believe you? But what does it matter to me whether you were rich or poor in your life? I'm a high school student, and my priority now is to improve my grades. Can you tutor me? If you can, I'll buy you a few more things as tuition."
Can you do it?
The female ghost: "..."
She turned her head awkwardly: "Uh, let me see this lipstick set first."
He's a terrible student.
Ruan Bei calmly made a judgment and, out of kindness, did not press the matter further, which would only rub salt into the ghost's wounds. He then took the lipstick out of his bag and, at the ghost's request, opened the box.
The female ghost really liked these things; she looked at them with shining eyes, wishing she could handle them herself and try them out.
Ruan Bei turned a lipstick over and asked in confusion, "So how am I supposed to give you these things?"
She can't even touch it; she needs his help to open a box. So how is she supposed to use lipstick? Besides, can ghosts wear lipstick?
Female ghost: "...Put it down, I can do it myself!"
Ruan Bei obediently placed the lipstick chosen by the female ghost on the table. The female ghost reached out to take it, and Ruan Bei watched curiously. He remembered that Uncle Ran could not touch anything.
The female ghost's fingers grabbed the lipstick, but instead of passing right through it, she held it briefly, lifting it up slightly, but it quickly fell back down, rolling twice on the table.
The female ghost: "..."
Ruan Bei hesitated for a moment before applauding her. This female ghost might be a bit more powerful than his Uncle Ran; he couldn't afford to mess with her.
The female ghost glared at him angrily: "Are you laughing at me?!"
That would be a terrible injustice!
Ruan Bei protested innocently, "Who laughed at you? I didn't laugh at all."
The female ghost stared resentfully at the disassembled set of lipsticks, her heart itching with desire.
She didn't have so many beautiful, fancy, and exquisite cosmetics when she was alive. Most girls were lucky to have a box of clam oil, and if they had a box of face cream, they would be the envy of all the girls in the village.
It's hateful that she was born at the wrong time and died young, never getting to enjoy what she was meant to.
"Should I apply it again?"
Ruan Bei waited for a while, and seeing that she didn't react, he urged, "Why don't you tell me where you're staying? I'll send you this lipstick set tomorrow, and you can take your time looking at it however you want."
Seeing that she could apply it but couldn't, the female ghost angrily exclaimed, "Didn't you see I can't apply it?!"
When she lost her temper, it seemed she couldn't control herself; her face suddenly contorted, startling Ruan Bei, whose heart raced.
"What should we do then?" Ruan Bei muttered softly, "I can't just apply it for you..."
The female ghost paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Okay."
Ruan Bei: "...?"
Silence spread through the small space.
The female ghost sat down, leisurely crossing her arms and looking at Ruan Bei: "Go ahead and apply it, help your sister try out the colors. If it looks good, your sister won't bother you while you're studying."
Ruan Bei took two steps back towards the door and said awkwardly, "No, no need, how about I buy you another set of cosmetics? Do you want a face mask?"
The female ghost lay down on his clothes and said, "I won't leave until you apply the ointment."
Ruan Bei: "..."
After a difficult process of mental preparation, Ruan Bei finally convinced himself.
It's just putting on lipstick. He's come back from seven years in the future. It's become normal for boys to wear makeup, it's just that he doesn't have the habit himself.
Besides, no one saw it anyway, and the only witness can't say anything.
Having figured it out, Ruan Bei walked over and asked, "Which one should I apply?"
The female ghost chose a color that Ruan Bei couldn't quite describe; in his eyes, it was just a red of varying shades, and this one was a slightly lighter shade.
Ruan Bei grabbed the bottle and was about to shove it into his mouth when the female ghost looked at him speechlessly: "Look carefully before you apply it! Be gentle, or it'll break!"
Ruan Bei stopped helplessly: "I can't see..."
"Find a mirror!"
"There is no mirror in my room."
"...Go to your sister's room, she'll definitely have it there!"
Ruan Bei was not happy, but the female ghost was clearly going against him, passing through the wall on her own and going straight to his sister's room.
Helpless, Ruan Bei had no choice but to quickly grab the lipstick box and chase after her, fearing that she might be up to something in her sister's room.
Afraid of disturbing her mother in the bedroom, Ruan Bei tiptoed into her sister's room.
Their parents respected their siblings and wouldn't go through their rooms. They also wouldn't let the neighbor's kids into their rooms, so Ruan Bei and Ruan Xi's doors were never locked.
As soon as Ruan Bei entered, she found the female ghost wandering around her sister's bedroom again. She was immediately at a loss and quickly called out to her, "Didn't you want to see lipstick swatches? Come here, don't touch my sister's things."
The female ghost curled her lip and snorted, "Who cares? My old room was much bigger than this."
"Yes, yes, yes, a rich girl, huh?" Ruan Bei didn't argue with her; he just wanted her to finish reading as soon as possible and then send the ghost away.
Ruan Xi's room has a dressing table, which her father specially made for her. Actually, her room is a little bigger than Ruan Bei's, and she also has an extra wardrobe.
Ruan Bei understood this perfectly. Girls need more space for all kinds of clothes, shoes, hats, bags, and accessories. He doesn't need to dress up, so a bigger room would be perfect for his sister.
Besides, his room had a small balcony connected to it, and Kunkun's house was upstairs. When he was little, he often sat on the balcony, looked up and talked to Kunkun, which he found particularly interesting.
Ruan Bei sat down in front of Ruan Xi's dressing table. There was a half-length mirror on the dressing table, and some cosmetics, skin care products and small accessories were placed on the table. Ruan Bei did not touch them, and carefully placed the lipstick box on the empty space in the middle.
The female ghost was extremely envious of Ruan Xi's possessions, but Ruan Bei was staring intently at her, so she couldn't move and could only watch and enjoy the sight.
"Apply this first."
As she instructed, Ruan Bei carefully applied a layer of lipstick. Although he had no prior experience, his hand was steady, and the result was quite good.
Looking in the mirror, Ruan Bei was surprised to find that it did indeed improve his complexion. His skin was fair, and the red lipstick made him look even more handsome with his white teeth and bright red lips.
"This coral color is really nice, let's try this one too!"
Ruan Bei had no choice but to wipe off the lipstick on his lips and get another tube that the female ghost had requested. At this moment, he regretted it immensely. Why did he buy such a big box, more than a dozen tubes? Would his lips get chapped?
Treated as a heartless color-testing machine, Ruan Bei numbly repeated the process of applying lipstick, looking in the mirror, wiping it off, changing colors, and applying again.
By the time he got to the sixth or seventh tube, he felt he could no longer distinguish the colors at all.
My hands were moving mechanically, but my thoughts were wandering far away, even starting to think about the physics problems I hadn't solved that day.
He was so distracted that he didn't notice the door god until he heard Ruan Xi talking to his mother in the living room. His mother said that he was doing his homework and asked his sister not to disturb him.
Ruan Bei frantically started picking up the scattered lipsticks, while the female ghost screamed from the side, "You put the wrong cap on!"
Ruan Bei didn't care about her at all, and threw everything into the box. Suddenly, he remembered that he hadn't wiped off his lipstick, so he quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped it off haphazardly.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Ruan Xi pushed open the door, startled by the person inside, then looked at Ruan Bei in surprise: "Xiao Bei, what's going on here...?"
Ruan Bei blushed, lowered her head, too embarrassed to look at her sister, and after a long while stammered, "I...I bought you a set of lipsticks, I wanted to help you try them out and see if they're any good..."
He then realized the reason was ridiculous, and in despair, he wiped his lips forcefully and said, "Fine, just pretend I suddenly went crazy..."
Ruan Xi was instantly amused. She walked over and ruffled Ruan Bei's hair, then glanced at the lipsticks haphazardly tossed together and gasped, "You bought these? Where did you get the money?"
Ruan Bei whispered, "It's pocket money Aunt Ran gave me."
Ruan Xi didn't press the matter further. She knew Madam Ran and that the aunt was very fond of her younger brother.
"Sit down." She pulled Ruan Bei and made him sit down in front of the dressing table.
Ruan Bei panicked: "No, no, I don't want to apply it anymore, sister."
Ruan Xi glanced at him sideways and said, "If you don't want to put it on, then don't. What's the rush? It's fine for boys to wear makeup. If you want to learn, I'll teach you in private. You can't put on so much at once. The skin on your lips is very delicate and will get hurt."
She rummaged through the bottle and turned Ruan Bei's face towards her: "Also, you didn't remove your lipstick properly. You need to use a special eye and lip makeup remover, you know? Otherwise, there will be residue."
She cupped Ruan Bei's face in her hands and gently but quickly wiped away the lipstick that he had smeared on half of his face, giving him a beautiful and clean younger brother again.
"Okay, my Xiao Bei is so handsome!" Ruan Xi said happily.
Ruan Bei scratched her burning ears and mumbled, "Sister, I'm going back to my room now."
As he spoke, he picked up the box of lipstick that had caused the trouble and kept winking at the female ghost, trying to get her to come with him.
Ruan Xi helped him put the lipstick cap back on and asked with a smile, "Didn't you say you bought it for me?"
How could Ruan Bei give this set to his sister? Not only had he already used it, but there was also a female ghost watching him.
"This one won't do, I'll buy you another one tomorrow."
"No, no, I was just kidding." Ruan Xi quickly refused. This set of lipsticks wasn't cheap, so how could she let her younger brother pay for it?
Ruan Bei pouted unhappily: "I bought it for you anyway, to give you a surprise."
As a result, this female ghost not only stole her sister's gift, but also forced him to try it out. To make matters worse, her sister caught them in the act!
Ruan Xi was deeply moved and reached out her hand. Ruan Bei immediately lowered his head and let his sister rub his hair.
"How can our Xiao Bei be so good!"
Ruan Bei secretly curled the corners of her lips and muttered softly, "What if you have another younger brother later?"
In less than a year, Lu Sibai will come to acknowledge his family.
"No one can compare to Xiao Bei!" Ruan Xi waved his hand and declared, "I declare that little Ruan Bei is the best little brother in the world."
Ruan Bei chuckled: "I'm not a little kid."
Ruan Xi smiled and said, "You are my little friend."
Ruan Bei cuddled with her sister for a while, then, still thinking about the female ghost, she returned to her room with her lipstick in her arms.
"Well, I've done what you asked for. You can go now." Ruan Bei was exhausted, both physically and mentally. The thought of not having finished his homework made him even more tired, and he simply didn't have the energy to deal with this female ghost anymore.
For some reason, the female ghost became unusually silent ever since Ruan Xi appeared.
Ruan Bei urged her to leave again, so she rolled her eyes and snorted, "You haven't finished trying yet."
Ruan Bei snapped, "I'm not trying it anymore. My sister said I can't apply it tonight, or it will hurt my lips."
The female ghost fell silent. After a while, she said coldly, "I can't use this set of lipsticks. Burn another set for me."
Ruan Bei was furious. "You want it even though you don't need it? You made me try it, ruining my sister's gift. Now this set is useless!"
"No way! You've gone back on your word! I'm not going to care about you anymore!"
"I'll give you money and exchange it for jewelry."
"I don't want to! Go buy it yourself, don't bother me!"
The female ghost sneered, "Fine, then I'll go find your sister."
"You dare!" Ruan Bei rushed over and blocked the door: "If you dare touch my family, I will never let you go. I mean what I say. Even if it costs me my life, I will take revenge on you!"
"You think I'm afraid of you?!" The female ghost roared, her beautiful face twisted and deformed, revealing countless wounds, as if she had been slashed countless times with a sharp blade.
Ruan Bei felt a cold sweat break out on his back, his legs went weak and his hands trembled, but he still stood in front of the female ghost and mustered his courage to say, "You may not be afraid of me, but I know a powerful ghost catcher. Are you afraid of him?"
He made up his mind that once this matter was over, he would ask Aunt Ran for help and ask her to introduce him to some powerful masters so that he could find a way to protect his family.
The female ghost froze, her expression shifting several times before gradually returning to calm, and the scars on her face slowly disappeared.
After a brief standoff, Ruan Bei, mindful of his family, had no choice but to compromise: "I can burn another set for you, but this is the last time."
The female ghost sneered, "You stingy bastard, how will you ever find a girlfriend?"
You're not my girlfriend, why should I spend money on you?
Ruan Bei thought to herself, but didn't hold back with her words: "Yes, I'm poor. Didn't you want to trade your jewelry for mine? Come on, give me the money!"
The female ghost glanced at him and said, "Burn it first, then I'll give it to you."
Ruan Bei picked up the lipstick box, wanting to check the ingredients, but then frowned: "Can this stuff be burned? Won't it release toxic fumes when burned?"
The female ghost laughed loudly, "Are you stupid? Who told you to burn this? Go to the paper offering shop and buy me a paper offering!"
Ruan Bei: "...I didn't burn it!"
And do paper craft shops also make paper cosmetics?
"Alright, I promise. I'll go buy it for you tomorrow. How should I cook it for you?"
The female ghost said, "Find a secluded place, draw a circle with chalk, put the things inside and burn them, and chant my name as you burn them, and I will receive you."
Ruan Bei asked, "So what's your name?"
The female ghost: "..."
Why aren't you saying anything?
"...Ma Chunhua."
Ruan Bei: "..."
He turned his head away, struggling to suppress his laughter. The female ghost was emitting black smoke from her head; if she really laughed, she might eat him.
The female ghost—no, Ma Chunhua—slapped Ruan Bei's arm aggressively. Ruan Bei felt a sudden weight on his arm, followed by a feeling that he had used too much force and couldn't exert any strength.
What did you do?
Ma Chunhua pretended to be fierce to scare him: "I'm leaving you a mark. If you don't keep your promise, I'll come looking for you again."
Ruan Bei said angrily, "You know where I live, so why are you still taking pictures of me?"
Ma Chunhua rolled her eyes, becoming increasingly unrestrained and utterly lacking in elegance: "What if you run away?"
Ruan Beibai was angry, and it was obvious that Ma Chunhua was retaliating against him, not because she was afraid he would run away.
"When will my hand get better?" He tried to move it; he could still move it, but it was so tired and weak that he couldn't muster any strength.
He still had the energy to think about it, thankfully it was his left hand, so it didn't affect his homework.
"Scared now, aren't you!" Ma Chunhua said smugly. "In ten days or half a month!"
She patted some yin energy into Ruan Bei's arm, which blocked some of his meridians, resulting in the current effect.
However, these yin energies are like water without a source once they leave her; they will gradually dissipate. If she frequently sunbathes or eats aphrodisiac foods, they will dissipate even faster.
However, there's no need to tell Ruan Bei this.
As long as he can get better, that's fine. Ruan Bei knows there's no reasoning with ghosts. Ma Chunhua has treated him like this, so she definitely won't help him recover. He doesn't want to say nice things to Ma Chunhua or try to please her.
"Alright, are you satisfied now? Can you leave?" Ruan Bei was unhappy. Being scared by a ghost was bad enough, but being bullied by a ghost was even worse. He was too unlucky.
"Fine, I'm leaving. Don't you find it cramped in such a small room?" Ma Chunhua said with a look of disgust, then walked straight through the wall and disappeared.
Ruan Bei didn't dare to relax. She made an excuse to go to her parents' bedroom, her sister's room, and other parts of the house to make sure that she had really left before she felt at ease and went back to her own bedroom.
The next day, Sunday, Ruan Bei did his homework and had tutoring at home during the day. His sister introduced him to a tutor, but they had nowhere to have classes. Other children usually had classes at home, and Ruan Bei couldn't let his sister know that he was catching up on his previous lessons.
It was so frustrating, I ended up finding a coffee shop to study in...
He paid the teacher for the half-day class. Because he had to coordinate with Ruan Bei's schedule, he always made an appointment with the teacher in advance and paid immediately after class, which satisfied both sides.
In the afternoon, Ruan Bei went to a paper craft shop to buy cosmetics for Miss Ma Chunhua, as requested.
He was initially worried that his boss would think he was causing trouble and kick him out, but he had underestimated his boss.
The boss is a man who has seen a lot in life. He pointed to the villas and luxury cars in the store and told him to look around as much as he wanted. He said that as long as you can afford it, he can set up a cosmetics production line for you.
Finally, Ruan Bei left carrying a bag full of various paper cosmetics. Although they were made of paper, they weren't cheap, but they couldn't compare to the real ones. Thinking about it that way, Ruan Bei felt better.
As evening fell and night descended, Ruan Bei found a secluded spot, drew a circle, and burned offerings for Ma Chunhua. Besides cosmetics, there were also some that the paper craft shop owner had given her before.
Ruan Bei burned them all together, shouting as he burned them, "Ma Chunhua, come and collect your tribute."
Suddenly a gust of cold wind blew, and the fire in the circle grew a little bigger. Several ghosts suddenly appeared in front of Ruan Bei, all staring longingly at what was in the circle.
But the circle drawn with chalk prevented the ghosts from getting close. Some ghosts reached out to grab it, but as if they were burned, they quickly withdrew their hands.
Ruan Bei was so frightened that he almost threw away the unburned paper money in his hand. He remembered that his parents had never encountered such a scene when they burned paper money for their ancestors during the Lunar New Year and Qingming Festival!
No, that's not right. He couldn't see ghosts back then; maybe they just couldn't see them.
Ruan Bei trembled slightly, not daring to run, afraid that the ghosts would discover that he could see them. He pretended nothing had happened and continued burning paper money, cursing Ma Chunhua for tricking him in his heart.
Just as they were cursing, the main culprit arrived. Ma Chunhua was probably a powerful ghost; she drove away all the other ghosts as soon as she arrived.
Only after no other ghosts could be seen did Ruan Bei breathe a sigh of relief and complain, "Why did it take you so long?"
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