In the end, Lin Wushui still did not get invited by a certain someone to sleep together.
After Zhang Xianyu pasted the talisman papers, he felt he’d completed his mission, yawned twice sleepily, and went back to his room to continue sleeping.
Lin Wushui was left standing alone, staring at the tightly shut door.
After wrestling with it for a long time, he still couldn’t bring himself to shamelessly climb into bed with him, and gloomily returned to his own room.
Seems like I still haven’t mastered the essence.
Lin Wushui skillfully opened the forum, clicked on his bookmarked post “Self-Cultivation of a Crossdressing Boss,” and began carefully reading it again.
Taking to heart the key points the original poster mentioned, Lin Wushui suddenly remembered something.
He quietly walked over to the closet and abruptly yanked it open.
The little ghost curled up in the back of the closet was startled, its dark hollow eyes opening wide in terror as it looked at him.
Its face was deathly pale, and fine red lines like spider webs spread across its neck and limbs.
Lin Wushui narrowed his eyes and stared for a while, then expressionlessly closed the closet door.
The night passed without dreams.
The next morning, Zhang Xianyu had the early shift, got up at seven, washed up, and made tomato and egg noodles for breakfast with the eggs and tomatoes he bought yesterday.
Hearing movement outside, Lin Wushui also got up.
Still wearing Zhang Xianyu’s clothes, he swaggered into the kitchen with his long legs swaying to watch.
Zhang Xianyu brought out the noodles and called him to eat.
“I just threw it together, not sure how it tastes.”
The two steaming bowls of noodles sat on the coffee table in the living room.
Lin Wushui picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, then exaggeratedly praised: “Mmm, delicious! I’ve never eaten noodles this good!”
Zhang Xianyu took off his apron, ignored the over-the-top flattery, and picked up his own bowl, slurping away.
After breakfast, Zhang Xianyu set down his bowl and chopsticks, glanced at the person across from him still elegantly sipping soup, thought for a moment, and said: “I have to go to work soon. Which direction is your home? We can go together, I’ll drop you off at the bus stop on the way.”
Having just been satisfied by the good food, Boss Lin was not too happy, and his expression turned a bit resentful.
He quickly shifted modes, lowered his head, and said dejectedly: “Are you trying to kick me out?”
“…That’s not what I mean.”
Even though that was exactly what he meant, it wasn’t very polite to say it straight to a girl’s face.
Zhang Xianyu racked his brains for an excuse.
“I’m just worried you won’t know the way. It’s more convenient if we go together.”
Lin Wushui responded gloomily: “I know the way. You go to work first. I’ll leave after I tidy up. I won’t freeload here.”
Hearing the last sentence, Zhang Xianyu finally relaxed, and the smile on his face became easier.
“Alright, then when you leave, remember to lock the door.”
His cash was already deposited in the bank card, and the card was on him.
There was nothing valuable left in the house anyway, so if he wanted to stay a little longer, he could.
Zhang Xianyu happily cleaned up the dishes, humming a tune as he went off to work.
Lin Wushui watched his cheerful figure leave, touched his own chin, then lazily sprawled back on the sofa and started browsing Taobao.
Yesterday had been too rushed — he’d only prepared one set of clothes. He still needed to buy a few more sets to change into.
After buying clothes, his gaze was naturally drawn by Taobao’s various recommended cosmetics.
He still remembered the original poster’s “three essentials of crossdressing,” the most important of which was makeup.
Although he’d used spells to refine his appearance, that wasn’t a long-term solution.
After all, Zhang Xianyu was a Daoist.
Who knew when he might see through the magic?
To be safe, he still had to learn how to do makeup himself.
Lin Wushui rested his long legs on the arm of the sofa, completely immersed in the world of cosmetics.
That afternoon, after getting off work, Zhang Xianyu stopped by the market to buy groceries before slowly heading home.
At the entrance of the apartment complex, he unexpectedly ran into the neighbor from yesterday again.
When the other man saw him, he looked like he’d seen a ghost.
The two walked together for a bit.
When they reached the entrance of Building 3, the neighbor couldn’t hold it in anymore, pulled Zhang Xianyu aside, and lowered his voice: “Hey bro, you’re still living in there? I’m not trying to scare you, but something really did happen in unit 204. It was just over a month ago — a family of four living there all died.”
“Do you know how they died?”
He paused, as if recalling some horrifying scene, his eyes filled with fear.
“The whole family of four was dismembered. When they were discovered, pieces of their bodies were thrown all over the place, and blood had pooled thick on the floor.”
“That’s not even the scariest part. The scariest thing is, this must have been done with a chainsaw, right? Even if they were cutting in the middle of the night, a chainsaw makes such a loud noise — there’s no way to hide it. Not to mention this building’s soundproofing isn’t very good. But when that family died, the neighbors didn’t hear a single thing. No cries for help, no chainsaw noise — it was as quiet as if nothing had happened at all.”
If it hadn’t been for the hot summer weather causing the stench of rotting corpses to spread through the entire floor, forcing the neighbors next door to call property management to open the door, it probably would have been a long time before anyone discovered them.
“There were too many strange things about that case. The police still haven’t even found a suspect. Everyone says…this wasn’t done by a human.”
The neighbor deliberately lowered his voice for the last part.
Seeing that Zhang Xianyu still looked indifferent, he continued: “And that’s not all. Starting from the seventh day after their deaths, the neighbors kept hearing a child crying from inside. Coincidentally, the family that died had a seven-year-old boy. Everyone says the family died too horribly, so the child’s ghost can’t rest in peace.”
“They haven’t found the murderer yet?”
Zhang Xianyu listened and zeroed in on the most critical point.
The neighbor nodded.
“The police still haven’t found them.”
Zhang Xianyu looked at him with concern.
“Instead of worrying about ghosts, you should be worrying whether the killer is still living in this building. Someone who could so cruelly slaughter a whole family without leaving any clues might be a high-IQ psychopath who kills for pleasure. Maybe he’s hiding right here in Building 3, savoring the thrill of murder.”
Neighbor: Why are you so experienced at this?!
Zhang Xianyu patted him on the shoulder and turned to go upstairs.
The neighbor, unwilling to give up, chased after him.
“I’m Zheng Qiulin. Last night, you really didn’t hear anything?”
Helpless, Zhang Xianyu stopped and solemnly declared: “We are the successors of socialism.
We must believe in science. Reject feudal superstitions.”
Zheng Qiulin gave him a big thumbs up.
“Bro, you’re a werewolf!”
(Not quite sure what he meant by that — probably a local expression of admiration.)
Zhang Xianyu didn’t want to continue this topic and sped up the stairs.
Zheng Qiulin, thinking they had exchanged enough gossip to establish a revolutionary comrade-like friendship, kept chattering beside him.
“You really didn’t hear anything? Could I come in and have a look?”
Zhang Xianyu ignored him, pulled out his keys, and started to unlock the door.
But just as the key touched the lock, the door opened from inside.
Lin Wushui stood there, pulling the door open with a bright smile, like a wife waiting for her husband to come home.
“You’re back? Brought a friend with you?”
“Why are you still here?”
The words slipped out before Zhang Xianyu could stop them, surprised.
Realizing it sounded wrong, he quickly tried to fix it.
“Didn’t you say you’d be going back this morning?”
Lin Wushui’s delighted eyes dimmed instantly, his voice now tinged with sorrow.
“I…I have nowhere to go.”
Behind him, Zheng Qiulin glanced at the teary-eyed, tall beauty, then at Zhang Xianyu’s utterly indifferent face.
He seemed to understand something immediately and became righteously indignant.
“Bro, that’s not right. Your girlfriend is this pretty and sensible, how can you try to kick her out? If it were me with such a beauty as my girlfriend, I’d be worshipping her daily.”
Zhang Xianyu’s mouth twitched.
“She’s not—”
“Hey— I get it, I get it, I totally get it…”
Zheng Qiulin slung an arm around his shoulders like a close buddy and whispered: “Having such a gorgeous girlfriend at home must be a lot of pressure, right? But you can’t just break up on a whim. Take a brother’s advice — if you have someone suitable, cherish them. Don’t break her heart…”
Zhang Xianyu: “… The hell do you ‘get’? You don’t get anything.”
Pressing a hand to his throbbing temples, he pushed Zheng Qiulin’s arm off and said in defeat,
“Come inside, we’ll talk.”
Lin Wushui immediately brightened, happily responding, and once everyone was inside, he closed the door behind them.
It was Zheng Qiulin’s first time inside this apartment.
Naturally curious about the so-called “murder house,” he nervously wandered around since it was still daylight and there were people here.
Even though the place had been repainted and most of the furniture replaced, just thinking about the gruesome murders that happened here still sent chills down his spine.
“You bought groceries? I’ll cook.”
Lin Wushui blinked at Zhang Xianyu, trying to please him.
Faced with a girl being so meek and accommodating, all the words Zhang Xianyu had prepared to send her away got stuck in his throat.
“Why don’t you go home? Won’t your family worry?”
Lin Wushui lowered his head, hid his hands behind his back, and secretly pinched himself.
Tears welled up instantly, and his voice turned slightly choked.
“I don’t…have a home.”
Zhang Xianyu couldn’t very well keep asking,
“Why don’t you have a home?”
It would be too cruel to tear open someone’s wounds like that.
But he also didn’t want some random person suddenly living in his home.
So he could only brace himself and continue persuading: “You’re a girl, and I’m a man. If we live together, people will gossip.”
Lin Wushui peeked up at him, then shyly lowered his gaze again.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”
“I really want to shout at you: ‘You don’t mind, but I do!’”
Zhang Xianyu thought, utterly exhausted.
Reasoning didn’t work, he couldn’t exactly use force, so he just grabbed the groceries and went to the kitchen, deciding it was less frustrating to keep busy.
As soon as he left, Lin Wushui’s lips curled into a wide grin.
Inside, he clapped for himself in glee.
As expected, no man can resist a woman who cries.
Rubbing his cheeks to adjust his expression, Lin Wushui adopted a helpless, kitten-like look and followed him into the kitchen to help.
The kitchen wasn’t big; even just Zhang Xianyu inside made it feel cramped.
Add in Lin Wushui — who was even taller than him — and it became downright crowded.
Lin Wushui seemed blissfully unaware, constantly offering to help but not even able to tell salt from sugar, trailing behind like a curious little duckling asking endless questions.
Eventually, Zhang Xianyu’s head was pounding so badly that he forcibly kicked him out.
Outside, Zheng Qiulin saw Lin Wushui standing there with a pitiful face, wanting to go back in but too scared.
He laughed and said,
“You two are really close. Been together long?”
Lin Wushui shyly nodded, giving a soft “Mm.”
Zheng Qiulin sighed with envy.
“Ah, I’m really jealous. If I hadn’t broken up with my girlfriend back then, maybe we’d be sweet like you two now.”
Then he couldn’t resist nagging Zhang Xianyu again.
“I’m a cautionary tale. It’s too late for me to regret — my ex is married now. Don’t follow in my footsteps. Cherish the one right in front of you.”
Zhang Xianyu’s expression was numb.
He felt like no explanation would work at this point.
Because he was in such a foul mood, the dishes Zhang Xianyu ended up cooking looked horrifically charred — practically screaming
“Eat me! I’ll give you food poisoning for sure!”
Zheng Qiulin held a bowl of plain rice, looking absolutely miserable.
Meanwhile Lin Wushui was perfectly calm, picking up the food, chewing, and even giving a dramatic sigh of satisfaction.
“Mmm, delicious.”
Zheng Qiulin looked at him in horror, then gingerly picked up a tiny piece of food with trembling chopsticks.
And so, the meal ended with one person depressed, one person terrified, and one person enthusiastically pretending everything was amazing.
After dinner, Zheng Qiulin quickly found an excuse to leave — compared to the grisly murders once committed in Unit 204, it was this meal in front of him that had left the biggest trauma.
Zhang Xianyu’s gloomy buff still hadn’t worn off.
Lin Wushui, sensitive as ever, immediately noticed he was in a bad mood and took the initiative to clear the dishes and wash them in the kitchen.
Watching her busy figure, Zhang Xianyu let out a long sigh.
Anyway, there’s still a spare room.
Besides, the lease is only for a month — once the semester starts, I’ll move into the dorms.
For now…since she wants to stay, let her stay.
He resigned himself with that bit of self-comfort.
But just as he finished lecturing himself and hadn’t even relaxed for a moment, he heard two loud crashes from the kitchen.
Zhang Xianyu’s face darkened.
He quickly strode to the kitchen doorway — only to see a very innocent-looking Lin Wushui holding a bowl, while the remains of two plates lay broken at her feet.
Zhang Xianyu took a deep breath.
Maybe I really should hurry up and “politely” send this person off.