Chapter 160: The Cannon Fodder Who Can’t Survive Three Chapters (3)
Knowing that panicking would only encourage the vengeful spirit, like a cat playing with a mouse, Bei Xing calmly put the coins back in her pocket and returned to the game room.
“You’re so slow…” her friend, who had already rearranged the tiles, said, her boredom momentarily dispelled. She pointed at the rows of tiles on the table. Bei Xing sat down, not bothering to sort her tiles, picking them up in stacks and slowly flipping them over.
Lost in thought, she still seemed distracted. But as she arranged the tiles, she suddenly straightened up.
“White Dragon,” Chu Yinxi, the winner of the previous round, discarded a tile.
The person on her right followed: “Nine of Bamboo.”
Everyone looked at Bei Xing, who was still arranging her last two tiles, her expression serious, a deep frown on her face.
“Bei Xing, hurry up…” the girl on her other side urged impatiently.
Chu Yinxi, eager to practice her newly acquired mahjong skills, also looked at her expectantly, her gentle eyes fixed on Bei Xing.
Bei Xing, ignoring their expectant gazes, revealed her tiles: Seven of Bamboo, Eight of Bamboo, Nine of Bamboo—
Then, from right to left, she pushed down the other tiles: Six of Bamboo, Five of Bamboo, Four of Bamboo…
Fourteen tiles, all Bamboo suits.
And…
A winning hand.
“Holy shit.”
Her friends stared at her in disbelief, wondering how she had managed to draw a “concealed hand” right from the start, a legendary hand in mahjong.
Even Chu Yinxi’s earlier winning streak hadn’t surprised them this much. Beginner’s luck was common, but this?
A concealed hand from the initial draw?
They had only heard of it in theory.
Bei Xing herself was stunned.
She stared at the tiles, her gut feeling telling her that this was related to the coins in her pocket… This kind of luck, bestowed by a vengeful spirit, wasn’t something she wanted.
She shuffled the tiles, her voice slightly strained. “I must have washed away the bad luck earlier, let’s play again.”
Chu Yinxi smiled faintly, touching the bead pendant around her neck.
The bead was ordinary, like a cheap trinket, perfectly round, a thin string passing through it.
Bei Xing glanced at it, then quickly looked away.
But for some reason, she heard a faint “tsk,”
As if laced with disdain.
She almost jumped out of her chair, her nerves already frayed from her sudden arrival in this world. She forced herself to remain calm and picked up her tiles.
One of Characters.
Two of Bamboo. Three of Bamboo. Four of Bamboo.
After just one stack, her composure crumbled.
She didn’t want to draw another winning hand. She clutched her stomach and slumped onto the table, her brow furrowed, her teeth biting her lower lip, a convincing portrayal of a sudden stomachache.
“Xingxing? What’s wrong?” Chu Yinxi was the first to approach her. A maid, who had just brought in a plate of fruit, also hurried over to help.
Bei Xing, her face pale, shook her head weakly. “It’s nothing… I probably left in a hurry this morning and forgot to eat, my stomach is acting up.”
With one player incapacitated, the game couldn’t continue.
A maid helped Bei Xing to the dining room downstairs, where she was given a warm, sweet soup and some pastries. Chu Yinxi instructed the chef to prepare some congee.
The sweet aroma from the kitchen wafted through the air.
Bei Xing, pretending to have a stomachache, sat at the table, a cup of hot water in her hand, more for warmth than for drinking.
She looked at the rain outside the window, the lightning and thunder, usually a source of fear, now strangely comforting.
Lightning was pure yang energy, what demons and ghosts feared most. Even though many horror stories featured ghosts appearing during thunderstorms, their figures illuminated by lightning…
…ghosts, beings of yin energy, were actually afraid of thunder.
And with Chu Yinxi nearby, Bei Xing felt safe, even with the four coins in her pocket.
Although she didn’t know the vengeful spirit’s intentions, if it was giving her good luck, it probably wouldn’t kill her… but this ill-gotten gain was unsettling, she didn’t want it.
She quickly ordered takeout with the money she had won and shared the snacks with Chu Yinxi and her friends.
—Like a child who had found money on the street.
Chu Yinxi was listening to Bei Xing’s friends recount the events at Su Mingxiu’s funeral, including Bei Xing’s dramatic display of grief.
She was surprised, glancing towards the dining room, finding it hard to believe.
But then, she remembered how Bei Xing had always tried to get Su Mingxiu’s attention, and she was strangely convinced.
… Perhaps it’s true?
Had Bei Xing always been in love with Su Mingxiu?
Chu Yinxi, the object of the original Bei Xing’s affections, considered this, a faint smile on her lips, then walked over to the dining table, wanting to check on Bei Xing.
Bei Xing grabbed her skirt.
“Can we talk?”
Chu Yinxi sat down beside her, a calming sandalwood fragrance surrounding her.
The original Bei Xing wouldn’t have recognized the scent, but now, she knew it instantly.
But she wasn’t interested in the fragrance, her gaze fixed on Chu Yinxi. She had thought about it, an object capable of warding off evil spirits had to be worn constantly. In the original owner’s memories, Chu Yinxi had always worn that bead pendant, so…
It couldn’t be an ordinary trinket.
“What do you want to talk about?” Chu Yinxi asked patiently. Since learning about Bei Xing’s true feelings, she had become more relaxed around her.
“I remember you saying that you were always sick as a child, then your family got you a protective amulet, and you got better, is this bead your amulet?”
Chu Yinxi nodded after a moment of thought.
Bei Xing reached out curiously. “Can I see it?”
Just as her fingers were about to touch the bead, Chu Yinxi pulled back slightly, a look of apology on her face. “I’m afraid not, amulets can’t be touched by others, sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Bei Xing didn’t mind, her expression still curious. “Where did you get it? You know… because of Susu, I’ve become interested in these things, about life and death… it feels like knowing more can somehow… make up for it… do you understand?”
Chu Yinxi nodded.
But she still looked hesitant. After a while, she said: “My parents got it for me, they’re on a business trip right now, in a different time zone, I can ask them when they return, okay?”
She seemed genuinely clueless.
Bei Xing, observing her expression, gave up on trying to get information from her, guessing that the protagonist would probably encounter some supernatural event later on, leading her to learn more about the other world.
“Okay,” she agreed.
That evening…
Bei Xing, feigning illness, only had a bowl of sweet porridge, which, surprisingly, she finished, the chef’s skills impressive.
After dinner, her two friends went to the home theater to watch a movie, Chu Yinxi was studying, and Bei Xing, pretending to study, stayed with her in the study.
She checked a class group chat on her phone, her mood plummeting as she saw the numerous English PDF files, then a new notification: the final exam would be entirely in English.
Bei Xing: “…”
Maybe Su Mingxiu should just kill her now.
She put down her phone, then, glancing at Chu Yinxi’s advanced calculus problems, decided not to disturb her.
She stared blankly into space.
9 PM.
Chu Yinxi finished studying and left the study. Bei Xing quickly followed. “Are you going to have a late-night snack?”
“It’s late, I’m going to bed,” Chu Yinxi shook her head.
But it’s only 9 PM?!
Bei Xing, staring at the disciplined school beauty, could only follow her, borrowing her bed and her bathroom, then lying in the soft bed at 10 PM.
She couldn’t sleep.
But she didn’t dare to leave.
Only after Chu Yinxi was asleep did she take out her phone, dimming the screen, and started scrolling aimlessly online, until 3 AM.
She pulled the blanket closer, snuggled up to Chu Yinxi, and closed her eyes, feeling safe.
Half an hour later—
She opened her eyes.
Confirming that there was nothing unusual in the room, she finally fell asleep.
The consequence of staying up so late was that she couldn’t wake up the next day, especially after hearing that Chu Yinxi was going to the Su residence to pay her respects. Bei Xing didn’t want to go.
She didn’t want to have anything to do with that vengeful spirit.
Besides…
The weather was beautiful, the sun warm and inviting. She pulled the blanket closer and continued sleeping, enjoying the safety of the Chu residence.
1 PM.
The hottest part of the day. Bei Xing shifted in bed, seeking a cooler spot.
Then, she felt a sudden falling sensation.
She opened her eyes, surrounded by grey mist, the warmth of the sun replaced by a bone-chilling cold.
She was wide awake now.
What’s going on? Just being in the Chu residence isn’t enough, I have to be right beside Chu Yinxi?
How can this ghost withstand sunlight?
As she looked around, a force pushed her, and she fell, her hands landing on something hard and uneven, almost twisting her wrists. Her back also hit something hard, and she saw a flash of gold, like…
Gold ingots.
Why am I falling onto a pile of gold?
Then, a vibrant red filled her vision, a color so ominous that it froze her in place. She watched as the red figure approached, the vengeful spirit’s face now before her—
Unlike the crudely made-up face in the coffin, this face was flawless, no bloodstains, no disfigurements.
Her eyes darker than night, her lips redder than blood.
But undeniably… beautiful, even more stunning than in the original owner’s memories.
Bei Xing stared, mesmerized, as the figure leaned closer and closer—
Until…
Cold lips pressed against hers.
A shiver ran down her spine.
Bei Xing snapped back to reality, her eyelashes fluttering, her lips trembling. After a long moment, a single thought:
Oh no.
This ghost wants to steal my yang essence!
Leave a Reply