Chapter 39 — Yu Fan, I Really…
Chen Jingshen stared into the darkness cupped by Yu Fan’s hand and obediently stopped breathing.
A few seconds later, his nose was released.
“Are you dumb? If I cover your nose, use your mouth.” Yu Fan’s fingers slid down and tapped his chin twice, light as a feather. “Breathe.”
Only when the chest beneath him started moving again did Yu Fan look away.
Outside, whoever was clawing at the sedan had no intention of coming in. Yu Fan’s patience ran out. The hand covering Chen Jingshen’s eyes loosened a little as he prepared to lift the curtain and check.
The red curtain snapped up. A pair of corpse-white hands hauled it open and the outside glow spilled in.
The NPC braced both palms on the frame and shoved a ghost face right up to Yu Fan in HD clarity, scarier than anything before.
She opened her blood-red mouth and shrieked in his face.
Yu Fan had guts, but in that tiny box it was a lot, and this NPC was clearly here for payback. Her scream was ten times louder.
F***.
He slammed his hand back over Chen Jingshen’s eyes.
The next second, Chen Jingshen’s arm curled in and covered Yu Fan’s eyes too.
The ghost bride howled for a long time. She lifted the “hair” off her face and stared at them for a few beats, then reluctantly backed away, growling as she exited.
Blackness pressed against Yu Fan’s eyelids. They felt warm. For a brief moment, all his mind could register was the heat and scent in Chen Jingshen’s palm.
The horror music cut. Chen Jingshen let go.
Cool air kissed his lashes. Yu Fan snapped back, yanked his hand away, hunched up, punched the curtain aside and bolted out.
He nearly ran into the other three coming to find them.
“Holy— this lighting is straight out of the underworld…” Wang Lu’an was terrified but could not stop looking. The red floor lights stabbed his eyes.
Standing in the glow, Yu Fan’s skin and white sneakers were washed a sickly red.
Zhang Xianjing saw him. “Where did you two go? I finished the rite for you already.”
“…Got chased,” Yu Fan said, short and flat.
“Where’s the top student?”
Yu Fan did not answer. He kept his face hard, turned and yanked the curtain. “Come out. No ghosts.”
Half bent, Chen Jingshen sauntered out of the bridal sedan.
Zhang Xianjing: “?”
Just as she was thinking this looked weird in a way she could not name, a hand patted her shoulder.
“Come on, last task and we are out,” Wang Lu’an said.
After they escaped, the owner himself brought tea and water, plus a QR code and a review slip. Fill it out for twenty percent off.
He could not help peeking at the tallest boy.
Those long, slender fingers held a pen. The boy’s face was cool as he scanned the line:
“How scary did you find ‘Bride of the Dead’?”
His hand lifted and ticked the last box: “Ultimate terror! Scared me to death!”
There was also a blank for comments. Chen Jingshen thought a second and scrawled:
【Satisfied.】
The owner gathered the forms, beaming so hard he almost spoke, and walked them to the door.
It was fully dark outside. They discussed and chose hot pot.
Wang Lu’an took command of the menu the second they sat, with Zhang Xianjing leaning over to veto or nod.
Yu Fan went for dipping sauce. When he came back, the only open seat was beside Chen Jingshen.
“Xianjing, want to sit by the top student?” Wang Lu’an eyed her chair in the aisle. “Servers keep passing. They will stain your skirt.”
“Nope, I am comfy.” She turned. “Yu Fan, what meat? I will make him order it.”
“Whatever.” Yu Fan dropped into the empty seat and set down his sauce.
After ordering, Wang Lu’an sagged against the banquette with a long sigh. “I am never doing an escape room again.”
“Advance notice. I am not escorting you or Zuo Kuan to the bathroom,” Yu Fan said. “Take care of each other.”
“Come on, Yu Fan, you were scared too,” Zuo Kuan blurted.
“Me? As if.”
“Do not deny it. We heard you. That last two-person task, even far away we heard you yelling.” Zuo Kuan put on his Yu Fan voice: “Chen Jingshen! Chen Jingshen!”
Yu Fan: “…”
Zuo Kuan finished and tried to confirm with the person across from him. “Right, top student?”
Yu Fan’s chopsticks cracked against his bowl. The poor bowl quivered.
“I did not hear,” Chen Jingshen said.
Zuo Kuan: “…”
Yu Fan still felt put out. That two-star review he had just left the place was too generous. Should have been half a star.
While Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan argued over who was the biggest coward, Yu Fan suppressed the urge to include Chen Jingshen in the nominations, lifted his water and took a long drink. He sensed a glance from beside him.
“You grabbed the wrong sauce.”
Yu Fan paused and looked down. “What is wrong with it?”
Silence, as if Chen Jingshen was replaying something. “You can eat cilantro?”
The hot pot place roared around them.
Cup midair, Yu Fan blinked at him. “Why could I not?”
Chen Jingshen met his gaze for a few seconds. “Nothing. Not many people around me like it. Some are allergic.”
“Oh.” Yu Fan took a sip. “I was allergic as a kid. It went away in middle school.”
Chen Jingshen wiped his hands with a hot towel. “I see.”
The place was packed. Their dishes took a good ten minutes to trickle out.
Halfway through, Wang Lu’an raised his tea. “Top student, thanks to you. When the scores came out my dad got so excited he kept transferring me money. I figured you might not drink, so no booze tonight. Tea for wine. Thank you for the selfless tutoring.”
“You are welcome.” Chen Jingshen lifted his cup and tapped his, then glanced at the person beside him.
Yu Fan’s head stayed down as he swished another thin slice of beef.
Wang Lu’an threw his back and, itchy-handed, poked Zuo Kuan with his other hand. “Dude, we are in second year already. Are you really not going to grind with us? Do not let me and Yu Fan hold hands into a first-tier program while you end up at the tech school.”
“Get lost. Like you could get into a first-tier,” Zuo Kuan snorted.
“I am serious. Try studying. I put in two weeks and it was not that hard.”
“Sure, you do you.” Zuo Kuan finally set down his phone, picked up his chopsticks and called, “Yu Fan.”
“Say it.”
“A girl in our class asked for your WeChat,” Zuo Kuan said. “I sent it to her.”
Yu Fan’s chopsticks paused. He remembered the homeroom chat next door.
So they really came knocking.
He almost turned to look at the person beside him, then caught himself. Why the f*** am I looking at him?
He straightened his neck and frowned. “Did I say you could?”
“No choice. If I do not hand you over, I lose my homework plug,” Zuo Kuan said cheerfully. “Relax. If she actually adds you, just decline. No one is forcing you.”
Yu Fan could not be bothered to argue. He went back to his hot pot.
They finished eating. After paying, Wang Lu’an asked for an invoice and then if anyone wanted a smoke.
“You go ahead. I will wait for the receipt,” Yu Fan said.
The three had just stepped out when the table ahead burst into good-natured hoots.
Lazy-eyed, Chen Jingshen glanced over. It looked like a public confession and a success. A shy couple hugged while their friends cheered.
His phone buzzed. He slipped his gaze back, checked the screen, his expression cooling, then locked it again.
The server brought the invoice. Beside him, someone said thanks, pushed back his chair and stood.
Chen Jingshen rose too. He waited two seconds and realized the person in front of him had not moved.
Yu Fan gathered himself, then finally said, “Chen Jingshen.”
“Mm.”
Yu Fan picked up his tea, awkwardly lifting it toward him.
Chen Jingshen raised a brow and took his cup.
Yu Fan was about to clink when Chen Jingshen’s hand drew back a fraction and he glanced at the next table.
Yu Fan frowned and followed his eyes.
A boy and girl, arms looped, lifted a linked-arm toast while everyone egged them on.
Yu Fan: “…”
He reached out and banged his rim against Chen Jingshen’s hard enough to slosh his tea. “Keep looking if you have a death wish.”
They split up outside.
After watching the others drive off, Yu Fan turned toward home.
This street was close. Ten minutes on foot.
He opened WeChat and transferred half the bill to Wang Lu’an.
【Wang Lu’an]: Why are you sending me money? 】
【-: We said we would host together. You and me split it. 】
[Wang Lu’an]: I was just talking. It is fine, my dad sent me a bunch. Tonight is on me.
Wang Lu’an had not known Yu Fan long, but they were close, and he knew a little about home.
【-: Take it. Stop yapping. 】
After a moment, Wang Lu’an accepted.
【Wang Lu’an: Next time I say I am treating, do not split it. 】
The little path was empty. Yu Fan took out a cigarette and had just touched the lighter when his phone chimed again.
This Wang Lu’an sure is chatty…
[s: photo]
Great. An even chattier one.
Yu Fan bit the unlit cigarette and opened it. A dim car interior, a casual shot.
[-]: ?
[s]: The car is really dark. I am a little scared.
[-]: ??
[-]: Scared of what? There is a driver up front.
[s]: I took a look. He looks like that NPC from earlier.
[-]: …
[s]: Can we video call?
[-]: No.
[s]: Okay.
Yu Fan was about to shove the phone back into his pocket.
[s]: It is fine.
[s]: I just got touched by a ghost today. It spooked me a bit. Should be better in a few months.
[s]: Sorry to bother you.
“…”
Cigarette between his teeth, Yu Fan stared at the messages.
He picked up the phone, set it down, picked it up again, repeated that a few times, then jammed in his earbuds with a murderous look and, gritting his teeth, placed a video call.
He answered in a second.
Walking, Yu Fan had to hold the phone low. The angle was not great.
He glanced down at Chen Jingshen, impatient. “With guts this small, do your parents have to sit by your bed at night?”
“My family is not home,” Chen Jingshen said.
“I am not videoing you to sleep,” Yu Fan blurted.
Silence in his ear.
“…” Yu Fan rubbed his brow. What the hell am I even saying.
“No need,” Chen Jingshen said after a beat, voice tired from the taxi ride. “I will have Fanfan at home.”
“Can your dog change names?”
“It would be hard. He has had it for years.”
Yu Fan walked one-handed, pockets and earbuds full, passing the occasional dog walker. He found himself glancing at the pets and thinking none looked as good as Chen Jingshen’s.
They chatted in fits and starts, half a minute of quiet here and there. Whenever the line went silent, Yu Fan would look down and, through the screen, meet Chen Jingshen’s eyes.
After a few times, he could not stand it. “Stop staring at me.”
“Okay.” Chen Jingshen dutifully looked away, then drifted back. “Did that girl add you?”
“What?”
“The girl from Class Eight.”
“No.”
“Will you go out with her?”
Yu Fan blinked.
What kind of question was that.
“No. I do not even know her.”
“Someday you will like someone.”
“…”
“If you have a girlfriend, you will not video with me, right,” Chen Jingshen said. “And we cannot sit together.”
“Who would care about that…”
“Maybe,” Chen Jingshen said, voice low under the sodium lights flickering across his face. “But I do not want to see you with someone else.”
“I will ask the teacher to change our seats.”
The taxi rolled down a side street. Light and shadow striped his cheek. He looked down, voice calm.
“I…” Yu Fan began.
“The letter I wrote you,” Chen Jingshen said, “you can throw it away. I did not write it very long. I did not edit it much.”
Yu Fan: “…”
“And the award on the bulletin board—”
“I said I am not getting a girlfriend!” Yu Fan snapped, shoving the phone up to his mouth. “I do not like any girl! If you want to video, then call me. If you want to sit next to me, then sit. Put the award wherever the f*** you want. What are you mumbling for?”
He ran out of air and took two hard breaths. When he looked up, people and dogs were staring.
If I video call Chen Jingshen on the street again, I am a dog.
Silence in his ear.
Yu Fan ducked into a park out of sheer pride. He checked the screen. It was black. Chen Jingshen had covered the camera.
He frowned. “Chen Jingshen?”
A few seconds later, a quiet “Mm.”
“Did you hear what I said?”
“I did.” Calm as ever. “I understand.”
Something felt off. Yu Fan squinted at the phone. “Show me your face.”
“…”
The fingers over the lens slid away.
Chen Jingshen had the phone a little low, showing only the bottom half of his face.
He pressed his lips together, holding back. They stared at each other. Then he finally lifted his hand, half covered his mouth, and his Adam’s apple bobbed once.
Twice.
Three times.
Yu Fan: “…”
For a heartbeat he forgot what he had yelled that could make Chen Jingshen laugh like that.
“Laugh again and you are dead,” he said icily. “Hold the phone up.”
“Sorry. Not on purpose.”
Chen Jingshen wrestled the phone higher and met his eyes for two seconds.
He glanced out the window, looked back, and like he could not keep it down, lowered his eyes. His voice turned hoarse from trying not to laugh. “Yu Fan, I really—”
The line cut.
Yu Fan stood in the park, frozen, phone raised. He waited a moment, then jolted and jabbed the hang up before the next word could land.
Beep. Call ended.
Night wind moved through the park.
His heart pounded against his eardrums. His brain was on fire.
He stood there until it eased, rubbed his face, stuck the cigarette from before between his lips, lit it with unsteady fingers, and started pacing around a tree.
Weird thing.
He had not said the last word, but Yu Fan felt like he heard it.
He heard Chen Jingshen in the back of a taxi, wind through the window, the driver’s odd glance in the mirror.
Chen Jingshen in the flicker of streetlights, saying:
Yu Fan, I really—
I really like you.
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