Chapter Three: Living with a Ghost?

Tang Wange barely slept a wink that night; she was sitting up the moment the sky began to turn pale. Zhaohua, who had been by her side, was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, a faint, fragrant scent of rice porridge wafted to her nose.

She turned back, dazed, to see a bowl of rice porridge still steaming on her desk. Beside it lay a single piece of spirit money.

Zhaohua had told her that when the sunlight appeared during the day, he would revert to the form of spirit money. Only when night fell, or in places where the sun could not reach, would he manifest in human form. With nowhere else to go, he would be living in her home for the foreseeable future.

Coexisting with a ghost—the thought alone made her head throb.

Looking at the steaming, appetizing porridge, she suddenly lost all sense of hunger. *If a ghost makes food, will eating it kill me?*

Shaking off the thought and the chaos in her mind, she grabbed her school jacket and backpack, then hurried out the door.

Back in the room, the steam from the porridge swirled gently. The piece of spirit money on the table suddenly stood upright. It hopped onto the windowsill, used its short, stubby hands to push the window open, and then sat on the ledge, swinging its small legs as it stared intently at the girl’s receding figure below.

The school bell had already rung for the second time by the time Tang Wange shuffled into the classroom. Her heavy, dark circles startled her desk-mate, Ling Fei.

"Wange, you haven't looked well these past few days. Is something wrong at home?" Ling Fei whispered, poking her.

"Something huge," Tang Wange replied listlessly, flipping open her book. "There's a ghost in my house."

She said it with absolute calm. Ling Fei, however, stood up abruptly, her eyes wide. "What did you say!?"

Their teacher, who had been writing on the blackboard, whipped around. With a sharp glare, a piece of chalk flew across the room and struck Ling Fei on the head.

"Ling Fei! Do you know what time it is? And you, Tang Wange, you’re an honor student—are you joining in on this nonsense? Both of you, get out and stand in the hallway! Don't disturb the other students!"

The teacher’s temper was unusually explosive; she was clearly in a bad mood.

That was just as well. Tang Wange had no heart for the lesson anyway. She put down her pen and led the way out of the classroom.

In the quiet hallway, the two girls stood side by side.

"Wange, are you just under too much pressure because of the upcoming college entrance exams?" Ling Fei muttered. "How could there be ghosts in this world? I thought my mom was superstitious enough, but why are you like this too..."

Tang Wange tilted her head back against the wall and let out a long sigh. "I think my mind might be breaking, too."

"..."

Ling Fei offered an awkward smile, then tugged at her sleeve. "I was just saying. Look, I’ll give you the address of the spirit medium my mom always visits. If you’re really at your wit's end, go see her. It might at least put your mind at ease."

A spirit medium?

Tang Wange frowned, then looked hesitantly into Ling Fei’s eyes.

The medium’s shop, which Ling Fei’s mother frequented, was located in a commercial street near the school. It was hidden deep within a winding alleyway, dark and gloomy—enough to make one’s heart flutter with unease.

"Are we sure this is the right place?" Tang Wange asked, taking the lead out of necessity.

Ling Fei gripped Tang Wange’s arm tightly, her body curled into a ball. "Yes, this is the door! Come on, let’s go in."

After a polite knock, the two girls stepped inside cautiously.

It was a small, dim hall draped with strange, colorful bags. In the center stood a gauze curtain, with a figure sitting behind it.

"Is the young lady’s distress caused by a spirit haunting her home?"

The voice of the woman behind the curtain belonged to someone around thirty, and it hit the nail right on the head.

"That's incredible—you could tell just by looking?"

Tang Wange’s fear vanished instantly, replaced by curiosity. She knelt on the soft cushion, eyes wide. Ling Fei didn't dare to speak, keeping to the doorway.

The woman behind the curtain chuckled. "Tell me, how did this come to be?"

Tang Wange briefly summarized the events of the past few days, telling her almost everything about Zhaohua.

After hearing the whole story, the woman behind the curtain remained silent for a long time. Finally, the gauze rippled, and a wrinkled hand reached out from behind it, holding a red sugar brick.

After leaving the medium, Tang Wange parted ways with Ling Fei and went home.

Standing at her front door, she squeezed the sugar brick in her pocket until her knuckles turned white. She took a deep breath before pulling out her key.

As expected, the lights were on, and a tall, slender silhouette was visible through the kitchen door.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid, but she tried her best to stay calm.

With trembling hands, she pushed open the kitchen door and saw the tall youth. He was shirtless, his wheat-colored skin exposed. He wore black pants that were clearly hers—they were far too short, clinging tightly to his calves.

The kitchen was filled with steam, and the faint scent of rice made Tang Wange have a fleeting, delusional thought: *If only he were human.*

Lost in her daze, she felt a tap on her arm. A hand with distinct knuckles held a red fruit out to her. She looked up into his curved, smiling eyes.

"Found it in the fridge. There was only one. Here, eat it." He smiled, revealing two small fangs. He looked completely harmless.

"I..."

She opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat. She reached out and took the fruit.

She suddenly felt that he wasn't as terrifying as the ghosts in television dramas; he was actually kind of handsome. Aside from his occasional teleporting and turning into a piece of spirit money, he was no different from an ordinary teenage boy.

She turned away and sat listlessly at the dining table, staring at the lonely bowl of rice porridge.

Her fingertips brushed against the sugar brick in her pocket, and she stiffened. The medium’s words echoed in her mind: *Give this to the spirit. Once he reverts to his original form, bring him to me, and I will take care of him.*

That was right... Zhaohua was not human, after all. She couldn't let a ghost follow her for the rest of her life. It was too terrifying, too unimaginable.

"A-as a thank you for making the porridge, let me pour you some water!" Tang Wange stood up abruptly and started toward the kitchen.

"I cannot drink water," Zhaohua said, staring at her intently while fiddling with a piece of spicy snack.

Since his physical form was paper, his greatest fears were water and fire.

*If he can't drink water, how am I supposed to get him to eat the sugar brick?*

"What do you have in your pocket?" Zhaohua’s seemingly casual question reached her ears, making her body tense.

"Nothing, just a piece of candy." She forced a smile and took a step back.

He rested his chin on one hand, tapping the table with the other. His eyes held an emotion she couldn't decipher.

After a long silence, he lowered his gaze and smiled slightly. "Bring it over. Let me have a taste."

*Let him have a taste?*

Was she imagining it? She had a faint feeling that he knew exactly what that object was. Yet why... why would he ask her to let him taste it?

Her fingernails dug into her palm, but she stepped forward and held out the sugar brick.

She watched as he picked it up and slowly tore away the wrapper. He held it, bringing it toward his lips. As he inhaled the sweet scent of the sugar, his smile deepened.

Then, he suddenly raised his eyes and looked straight into hers.

"Tang Wange, there is something you should know."