Chapter 43: Baby, Talk to Me for a While

“When something happens, the first person you turn to is her. Do you like her?”

The ghost infant’s eerie voice echoed beside my ear.

“Like her?” I repeated the question.

“I don’t think it’s to that extent.”

“She probably likes me,” I said.

“And for me, not disliking her is enough.”

The ghost infant looked confused.

“You really are a strange person.”

“If you don’t like her, then why did you make that promise with her?”

My slender, pale hand rested lightly on the keyboard.

My voice, ethereal and distant, seemed like it could only be heard by one person in the world.

“Because I’m shallow enough… that just liking her face is enough for me.”

Just as I once evaluated myself a long time ago—

From beginning to end, I’ve always been an ordinary person.

No system like those people in stories have, no impressive family background.

Diagnosed with cancer at a young age.

Someone as plain and mediocre as could be.

“That’s two different concepts, though,” the ghost infant argued.

“Besides, how could someone who got into Beiqing University be called mediocre?”

I gave a soft smile, offering no clear answer.

“Because I don’t even know how to respond to your question. Or rather… maybe the question itself was meaningless to begin with.”

“How can two people with so little shared experience talk about who likes who more? The word ‘love’ was never something that could be summed up in a few shallow lines. Most of the time, it’s just about finding someone pleasing to the eye, easy to be around, not annoying—nothing more.”

The ghost infant fell silent for a long while.

“…Why do I get the feeling that most of the time, you’re just pretending to be dumb?”

Compared to her silence, mine was even deeper—wordless.

“Or maybe… have you considered the possibility that I’m not dumb at all? Humility is just humility. Excellence only matters depending on who you’re compared to. Otherwise, all of it is meaningless.”

“Besides, ever since you showed up, I really have gotten a lot duller. Most of the time my mind is foggy, I just go along with people, and I barely have any opinions of my own.”

Back when I made it through rounds and rounds of selection, when I could still hold my own in both open and hidden battles with Su Liumeng, I wasn’t someone easy to defeat.

If not for my physical constitution ultimately holding me back… who could say I’m a failure now?

Su Liumeng’s track record really was impressive.

Compared to hers, my own life experience felt thin and unsubstantial.

But for me to be able to stand on the same level as her, constantly competing and going head-to-head—how “ordinary” could I really be?

“Oh, I get it now,” the ghost infant said. “You think you’re not good enough.

It’s precisely because you’ve seen more dazzling, extraordinary people that you keep harping on about how average you are. But in reality, you’re way more impressive than most ‘normal’ folks.”

“Is that a fair assessment?”

The ghost infant narrowed her tiny eyes, as if she’d seen right through my not-so-humble humblebragging.

“Something like that.”

I leaned back in my chair, swinging my legs lazily, my slippers dangling off my small feet in a haphazard way.

The whole posture screamed casual indifference.

“You’ve gotten way more sentimental.”

The ghost infant kept me company, rambling about all sorts of things.

On many nights, before I fell asleep, she would talk to me.

Loneliness truly can eat away at a person’s soul.

And she—able to sense my emotions so clearly—never tried to force emotional closeness, yet through her quiet presence, I could feel that maybe, just maybe, she didn’t care as little about me as she liked to claim.

“This sentimentality is all your fault,” I dared to joke with her now.

My courage had grown a little—though deep down, I still harbored fear.

Every step I took with her was a cautious one, the nerves so ingrained they might well be part of my bones by now.

The ghost infant didn’t respond, simply changed the subject.

“Let me take a look and see what she’s saying about you behind your back.”

“…”

You had this ability, and you’re only bringing it up now?

The ghost infant seemed to see straight through my silent protest.

“You never asked, did you?”

A minute later, she yawned inside the sea of consciousness.

“Oh, she’s trying to take some risqué photos of you.”

The ghost infant delivered her summary with maddening brevity.

“…What the hell?”

My already large and pretty eyes widened in shock.

“Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?”

The idea that a pervert could be lurking in the girls’ dorm was something I had never considered.

The ghost infant peeked again, then came back to report,

“Seems like someone paid her. They want her to take some private photos of you. Said something about you being some kind of delicate flower they want to completely destroy… It’s all pretty unhinged.”

“…” I was speechless again.

To be honest, I hadn’t met many truly normal people.

In fact, the ghost here might be the most normal being around me—her values didn’t even need my guidance, yet they were already more righteous than most humans.

“Hmph! Is it really so hard to admit that your Ghost Queen is amazing?”

The little ghost infant huffed proudly.

“You have no idea. I’m getting better every day, you know! While you’re sleeping, I’m secretly sensing the outside world, mimicking and learning how people behave.”

“Mhm,” I said indulgently, clapping softly.

“Baby really is the best.”

They say a mother’s praise is the most beautiful melody in a child’s heart—and clearly, the little ghost infant was no exception.

Her chubby pink cheeks instantly turned red, and her tiny hands clasped tightly behind her back, looking slightly nervous and unsure of what to do.

“W-Who asked you to praise me anyway…”

Her voice faded quickly, like she was fleeing in embarrassment.

“Baby.”

I lay sprawled across the desk, hands folded under my chin, my wide eyes sparkling like a child who’d just discovered something amusing.

That childish wonder hadn’t been snuffed out yet—I kept repeating the word, over and over again.

“Baby… Baby…”

“Keep me company for a bit, talk with me.”

“I almost have a name for you. Do you wanna hear it now?”

“I… do… not!” The tiny ghost infant quickly covered her ears with both hands. “Wait till you’ve thought it all the way through before you tell me.”

This wicked bad girl—no way was she going to let me ruin the anticipation.

If she heard it too early, it wouldn’t be exciting anymore.

The light in my eyes slowly dimmed, like something had hit me deep inside.

All the playful sparkle from just moments ago vanished.

I stared blankly ahead, my gaze dull and lifeless.

On the darkened computer screen, the reflection showed a girl with reddened eyes.

Her gaze was soft and shimmering, as if she might cry at any moment.

Of course… there was no way she didn’t hate me.

Everything was just an illusion.

I thought our relationship had really gotten better.

“Hey, why are you crying now? Don’t cry!” The little ghost infant panicked.

“I’ll listen, okay? I’m listening now—happy?”

I broke into a smile, and the dimples on my cheeks appeared softly.

My eyes regained their sparkle, a faint glint of mischief flashing through them.

People always say that the person who dotes on a child the most must be their own mother.

So why did it feel like the ghost infant was the one doting on me?

Was it really just my imagination?

The despair and suffocating fear from the time the ghost infant almost killed me still felt vivid in my memory, making the present feel strangely unreal.

I pressed my lips together and made a mental conclusion—perhaps she was just having one of her rare moments of kindness.

The road ahead was still long and full of uncertainty.

“First, the name definitely needs to have grandeur.”

“Second, it should be elegant. That way it’ll spark associations… Something like…”

Inside the dorm room, the girl’s gentle murmurs echoed clearly and sweetly.

Li Mei had tried to eavesdrop several times but couldn’t make out what I was saying.

My brows were slightly raised in a smile, like a crescent moon.

My tone was crisp and light, but unknowingly verbose—as if I felt the need to explain every single word multiple times, just to make sure the ghost infant would remember it.

In that moment, my big, bright eyes seemed to be sparkling with the joy of sharing a secret with Baby.

A secret just for the two of us.

In this whole world—

No one else would ever know it.