As news of Lin Ruoyi's death spread, the internet was filled with discussions about her for days. This was not only due to her status as the nation's girlfriend but also because of the company she founded, and the fact that she was only around thirty years old! Her beautiful life was just beginning. On the internet, countless people envied and yearned for such a life.
However, on such an ordinary day, this goddess was gone? Just like that? Gone. Countless young people were devastated. Some were so grief-stricken that they decided to leave the internet. "In this world, there is no longer the goddess or the game I love!"
For many young people, even if they were indifferent to Lin Ruoyi, they had heard of her. But for the aunties and uncles offline, what? What Lin? What Yi? Oh, someone died? Rest in peace. To these aunties and uncles, this news was less appealing than the neighbor Old Wang arguing with his wife again. They didn't know her, didn't know where she lived, and she wasn't a celebrity on TV. They couldn't even strike up a conversation about her.
When Xia Qingqing returned from her cram school, she saw the aunties and uncles in the neighborhood gathered together, animatedly discussing something. "Oh, what a tragedy, such a young child." "I heard she jumped off the roof because of too much academic pressure." "What were this family's parents thinking, not paying enough attention." "Alas, who knew this would happen..."
As they were chatting, an auntie turned around and saw Xia Qingqing returning with her small backpack. She called out, "Little Qingqing, you're back from school? Off to cram school again?" Xia Qingqing smiled politely and nodded. This auntie's family ran a卤菜 (lu cai - preserved meat) stall at the entrance of the neighborhood. Since Xia Qingqing's parents were workaholics, they often ordered takeout, so she was familiar with these shop owners.
The preserved meat auntie exclaimed, "She's only in elementary school, and she's already this hardworking." Xia Qingqing smiled, "Learning makes one progress, how can it be hard?" The preserved meat auntie tutted twice. Not receiving the expected response, she felt her words get stuck in her throat. After praising her, "What a good child, go do your homework quickly," she turned back to chat with the others.
Xia Qingqing, carrying her small backpack, walked briskly towards her home. As soon as she opened the main door, a head on the sofa looked over. Guodong (Xu Asan/Xu Liu) said, "Your parents are working overtime, they'll probably be back late tonight." "Oh."
Xia Qingqing changed her shoes and saw the television playing in the living room. She asked, "How long have you been watching?" Guodong's eyes flickered, "Just for a little while." Xia Qingqing glanced at him and went to feel the back of the television. It was warm, still very hot. "If you break the TV again, you're not allowed to leave it."
Guodong mumbled, "Only Sadako lives in the TV..." Xia Qingqing, too lazy to bother with him, turned to the refrigerator to get a mango-flavored cake. Guodong turned off the TV and came closer. His semi-transparent body was half in the kitchen and half outside the kitchen door. He said to Xia Qingqing, "I'm telling you, someone died upstairs."
Xia Qingqing licked the cream from the corner of her mouth, "And then?" Guodong: "He might 'manifest' tonight." Manifestation, they called it, meant that the soul hadn't left after death. It had mutated. It would repeat the scene of death at the place of death. "Oh."
Xia Qingqing responded indifferently, then thought of something. She looked at Guodong, "You're not trying to find me a companion, are you?" "Want to fall in love?" Guodong heard this and pouted, "The one who jumped was a boy, I don't have that kind of preference." "Then find you a girl?"
Xia Qingqing finished her cake and threw the paper box into the trash can. She asked, "What's your type, loli? Mature woman? Pure? Is it a mature woman? Every time in your novels, the female lead has a big bust and a slim waist..." Guodong suddenly got agitated, "Who said that? I, I didn't think of that." "You're just a child, don't think so much! Go do your homework!"
He finished speaking and ran off. He didn't give Xia Qingqing a chance to say more outrageous things.
That night. At three in the morning. A dull thud echoed from the neighborhood. Xia Qingqing, who was sleeping, was startled awake. She intended to roll over and go back to sleep, but then another thud came from outside. It was endless. She turned on the bedside lamp, rubbed her eyes, and sat up.
The next second, a dark shadow flashed past the window. It looked like something was being thrown from a tall building. Xia Qingqing's eye-rubbing motion paused. Not long after, the dark shadow reappeared outside the window, falling from top to bottom. This time, Xia Qingqing saw a young, immature face. A pale face, dark pupils. As it fell, it looked at her in the bedroom expressionlessly.
"..." Xia Qingqing picked up a toy plushie from the side and threw it towards the desk. The plushie hit Guodong, who was writing furiously. Guodong turned his head blankly. His neck twisted at a 180-degree angle. His hand continued writing the novel, "What's wrong?"
Xia Qingqing raised her small hand and pointed out the window, "It's disturbing my sleep." Guodong:? So it's disturbing you, what does that have to do with me? Although he thought this, he immediately stood up and said, "Coming." He walked directly to the window and opened the black gauze screen. Then he just stood there.
A few seconds later, the dark shadow fell again. As it passed the window, Guodong reached out and grabbed its ankle. The boy:??? Guodong looked down and seriously at him, "Can you jump somewhere else? It's too noisy." The boy:??? Guodong dangled him by the ankle, "Did you hear me? No more noise."
The boy snapped out of his confusion and reminded him hesitantly, "I, I'm a ghost..." How can you reason with a ghost? Oh, you're a ghost too... I see. But something feels wrong? "It's not something I can control," the boy said. His eyes held three parts innocence, two parts confusion, and five parts distraction.
Guodong glanced at his unfinished novel and impatiently scratched his head. At this moment, Xia Qingqing on the bed raised her hand and offered a red hair tie. Her eyes were still groggy, "Use this, quickly. I need to sleep." The hair tie was half a meter long and could be tied into a bow.
Guodong took it and gestured towards the boy. The boy's body swayed left and right with Guodong's movements, and his forehead hit the wall with a bang from time to time. "Hiss... Ouch! What are you doing?" Soon, he knew. Because he was hung upside down, tied to the gauze screen. Swaying in the night breeze.
"???" Hey, he's a ghost! Guodong clapped his hands, "There, that's quiet now." "Mmm." Xia Qingqing responded vaguely, then fell back onto the bed. Guodong also prepared to go back to writing his novel. After taking two steps, he returned to cover the child on the bed, then headed straight for the desk.
Just as everyone was returning to their places, the room suddenly changed. A black hole appeared on the ceiling, like a tornado, sucking in the person and the ghost inside. The boy by the window watched this scene in shock. Before he could recover, a suction force from the black hole pulled him in as well. But, his ankle was still tied to the window, and he ended up stuck at the entrance of the black hole.
About half a minute passed, and the black hole disappeared. Everything returned to silence. Only the boy was left hanging by the window, swaying in the breeze. His face was filled with confusion. What was that black hole? The boy's imagination was vivid, and in a short while, he thought of ten thousand possibilities. "An interdimensional portal? The underworld? Sharingan...?"
(PS: Xia Qingqing. Reincarnated Meng Po, possessing terrifying power.)