IMAG Chapter 4

| Previous | Table of Contents | Next |

Xiaolin’s parents were always busy and rarely home. The housekeeper would leave after preparing meals, so to prove his determination not to be drained of his yang energy, Xiaolin threw himself into his studies. He spent the entire afternoon and evening doing exercises, even forgetting to eat dinner.

Ghosts didn’t need food. In their world, there was no distinction between night and day—only Xiaolin, who could hear him at all times and was always with him.

"Have you decided which university you want to apply to?" the ghost asked.

Xiaolin pulled himself out of the sea of questions and suddenly realized his stomach was growling.

He scratched his head and replied, "I used to want to be a pilot, but then I figured my physical condition might not be good enough. I have a slight fear of heights. I’ll probably study history or archaeology instead."

"Then you should apply to T University," the ghost said.

Xiaolin yawned and casually responded, "Sure."

Then, he became curious. "Didn’t you say you lost your memory? How do you know about T University?"

"I don’t know, it just came to me. Maybe I graduated from there?"

Xiaolin deliberately teased, "Or maybe you desperately wanted to get into T University but failed the entrance exam dozens of times and eventually went insane, leading to your death. Otherwise, why are you so obsessed with doing exercises?"

"To absorb yang energy."

Xiaolin: "..."

Ghost bro had figured out his weakness—a one-hit KO. Xiaolin, frustrated and embarrassed, threw down his pen and ran off to heat up his dinner.

Before he even finished eating, he was already so sleepy that he dozed off right at the dining table.

Half-asleep, he found himself standing at the gates of T University. The sky was bright, and he was chatting and laughing with a group of new classmates, filled with anticipation for university life.

Ahead, someone was walking briskly past him. Though he couldn’t see the person’s face, the figure seemed familiar. Xiaolin’s heart skipped a beat, and he left his classmates behind, jogging forward.

"Ghost bro!" he couldn’t help calling out.

The person stopped.

Xiaolin was overjoyed. He stepped forward and patted the person’s shoulder with a grin. "I finally found you!"

The person turned around—eyes like copper bells, a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth—yet wore an expression of shyness.

"Classmate, are you looking for me?"

Xiaolin nearly jumped out of his skin, every hair standing on end. He instinctively backed away, shaking his head violently.

But his hand seemed glued to the person’s shoulder, refusing to let go no matter how hard he tried. As the terrifying face grinned wider and wider, the mouth stretched until it nearly covered the entire face.

Xiaolin was so scared he almost wet himself. He nearly cried.

"Ghost bro, please don’t scare me!"

The creature suddenly lunged and bit down on his hand—

Xiaolin screamed and woke up.

He was still at home.

Not at the dining table, but in bed, covered with a blanket.

Dazed for a moment, he noticed a blurry figure sitting by the desk, seemingly looking at his study exercises.

At first, he was startled. Then, he recognized the figure. "Ghost bro?"

"Mm." The ghost’s voice was calm. "Don’t turn on the light. I can only appear like this right now. If you turn on the light, you won’t see me at all."

Xiaolin looked down at the blanket covering him and felt a bit touched. Other people’s ghost encounters were horror stories—his was turning into a heartwarming fairy tale.

But before he could fully recover from his sentimentality, the ghost said, "You got one of the questions wrong."

Xiaolin’s mouth twitched. "I’ve already made significant progress. At this rate, I’ll have no problem getting into T University."

"Wrong is wrong. Accept your loss."

Before Xiaolin could even see how the ghost moved, an icy sensation covered his lips.

A cold… touch?

It felt like being kissed by an ice cream bar. Xiaolin’s eyes widened.

But soon, a shadowy hand floated in front of his eyes, blocking his vision.

Xiaolin never expected his first kiss wouldn’t be with a girl, nor even a guy, but… a ghost.

He had no idea what kissing a human felt like, but now he knew what kissing a ghost was like.

Could he apply for a Guinness World Record? He wondered drowsily.

It was strange. Ghost bro wasn’t supposed to be tangible, but when he closed his eyes, he could clearly feel the other’s lips and tongue. It was a bit chilly, but since it was summer… he might as well consider it like eating watermelon or ice cream.

In the darkness, Xiaolin’s face turned completely red. He didn’t know where to put his hands. Instinctively, he tried to push against the ghost’s chest, but his hands passed through nothing but air.

After that…

Well, there wasn’t much else you could do with a ghost.

Xiaolin didn’t know when he fell asleep. He only knew that the next day, he felt dazed the entire time.

He blamed it on having too much yang energy drained the night before. When he got home that evening, he couldn’t help protesting.

But the ghost teased, "I didn’t drain any of your yang energy last night."

Xiaolin’s rant abruptly stopped. His mouth hung open, his face shifting between pale and flushed.

The ghost smirked. "Want to experience it again?"

Xiaolin instinctively covered his mouth and jumped three feet away.

The next day, a transfer student arrived in class. Dressed in expensive brands except for the school uniform, he carried an air of arrogance. The teacher assigned him to sit in front of Xiaolin.

Rumors about the transfer student spread quickly. Xiaolin overheard bits and pieces: supposedly, he came from a prestigious background, wasn’t dropped off by his parents but by an assistant or secretary, and even the principal personally escorted him.

After school, Xiaolin saw the transfer student arguing with a glamorous woman at the school gate. The student turned and ran off, while the woman got into a car and had someone chase after him.

His classmates eagerly speculated about the student’s background.

Then, out of nowhere, the ghost whispered to Xiaolin, "I have a feeling… I might be leaving soon."

Xiaolin suddenly stopped walking.

All other sounds faded into the background.

His world was reduced to just the ghost’s words.

"Why?" Xiaolin blurted out.

His classmates gave him odd looks.

"Why what?" one of them asked, confused.

Xiaolin’s heart sank.

Because he never heard the ghost’s reply again.

T/N: Please give support on my ko-fi, thank you☕☕☕