Su Ji couldn't understand.
It wasn't until three days later, when You Xiaoxiao was buried.
Watching her grave appear in the cemetery, Su Ji was struck by a sudden realization.
You Xiaoxiao was truly gone.
There was no longer such a person in this world.
After returning home, Su's parents kept a close eye on Su Ji's state.
They wanted to comfort him but didn't know where to start.
"Son, you know, Xiaoxiao has just gone to live in another world..."
"Yes, isn't there a popular thing among you young people, something called an underworld live stream?"
Su Ji suddenly looked up. That's right, there was the live stream!
The streamer!
Su Ji took out his phone, and for the first time, he couldn't hold it steady and dropped it on the floor.
He scrambled to pick it up, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
After a series of operations, he finally managed to open the live stream.
But all he saw was a black screen.
[The live stream is not broadcasting. Go check out other streamers!]
Below, there was the usual idle chat from viewers.
Su Ji was stunned, then suddenly thought of something.
He ran straight out the door.
Su's parents quickly followed.
They were afraid their son would do something foolish.
They had practically watched that girl, Xiaoxiao, grow up.
To see a perfectly fine girl disappear just like that.
Let alone their son, they were also quite upset.
Su's parents followed all the way, only to find Su Ji arriving at a shop selling items for funerals and weddings.
He bought a large pile of joss paper and other items.
Then he went to You Xiaoxiao's grave to burn them.
Because he bought so much, the smoke billowed as he burned.
While burning, he murmured distractedly, "You Xiaoxiao, all this money is for you, for you..."
"If you want to reincarnate, you should at least wait until the seventh day after death."
"Take this money first, and if you need anything, find a ghost messenger for help... If the money isn't enough, send me a dream to tell me..."
In recent years, for the sake of environmental protection.
Burning joss paper was not allowed in public cemeteries, but generally, many people couldn't resist their longing and would secretly burn joss paper there.
Some public cemeteries were very strict about this, while others simply turned a blind eye.
As long as it wasn't too excessive.
The public cemetery where You Xiaoxiao was located belonged to the latter.
Originally, the cemetery security guards weren't going to bother this time.
However...
Looking at the increasingly strong fire, the smoke had formed a pillar.
The cemetery security guards' eyes twitched.
No matter how much they turned a blind eye, they couldn't ignore this!
So, Su Ji was, as expected, kicked out.
...
After returning home, Su Ji lay on his bed.
His mind couldn't help but recall all the moments he had spent with You Xiaoxiao over the years.
As he thought, sleepiness came over him.
The fatigue from not sleeping well for days washed over him at this moment.
Su Ji fell into a deep sleep.
In his dream, there were all sorts of things, figures moving, voices clamoring.
He even heard You Xiaoxiao's voice.
"Su Ji! Su Ji! Wake up!"
"Su Ji!"
Su Ji frowned, "Don't be noisy."
"Su Ji, silly Su Ji, Su Ji Su Ji!"
"!!!"
Su Ji couldn't stand it anymore and suddenly turned over.
He woke up instantly.
Opening his eyes, he found himself in complete darkness.
Clearly, it was not yet dawn.
The cool autumn breeze blew in from the open window, and Su Ji felt a cold, sticky sensation on his face.
He reached out to touch it; it was sticky.
Was this... crying?
"Su Ji! You're finally awake!"
In the quiet bedroom, a familiar and clear voice suddenly rang out.
Su Ji was startled, and before his brain could react, his body had already leaned back against the wall.
Then, with a snap, he turned on the light.
The sudden burst of light made Su Ji squint his eyes in discomfort.
But it also allowed him to quickly scan the room.
He was sure no one was around.
But that voice just now... it sounded as if it were right beside him.
"Are you looking for ghosts?"
The clear voice rang out again.
This time, Su Ji found the source of the voice.
βIt was his phone, placed by the bedside.
In an instant, Su Ji's scalp tingled.
For the first time, he thought it might be a hallucination.
But now, he was absolutely certain that he was not hallucinating!
And this voice was clearly You Xiaoxiao's!
Had he accidentally clicked on an old video or voice message?
Or something else?
In the bedroom, Su Ji swallowed.
He reached out to pick up his phone.
Then he quickly flipped it over, screen facing up, and unlocked it.
On the illuminated screen, no video or voice message was playing.
It was still the same apps, the same green wallpaper.
The time displayed was 5 AM.
Su Ji looked around and, in a SMS app, saw a Q-version miniature figure.
Su Ji frowned, "Is my phone malfunctioning?"
At this moment, the Q-version girl looked around and then said:
"I just checked, there's no malfunction. No... Su Ji, I have something to ask you!"
The voice came from the phone, unmistakably You Xiaoxiao's voice.
It could actually answer!?
Su Ji was stunned, "You say."
The Q-version girl opened her big eyes, her expression serious:
"Am I really dead? Has my body been cremated?"
Hearing this, Su Ji fell silent, "...Mm."
"Ahhh... What should I do?!"
The Q-version girl covered her face with both hands, feeling a headache.
"I was hoping for a possibility of borrowing a corpse to return the soul! I'm only twenty, and I've died just like this."
"By the way, did the person who hit me pay any compensation? They must pay!"
"My best years... gone just like that..."
Su Ji listened to the familiar voice blankly.
He was somewhat lost.
"Hey, Su Ji, are you listening? Did they pay compensation or not?"
Su Ji instinctively replied, "They did..."
"That's good..."
The Q-version girl's shoulders slumped, "At least my parents will have their retirement pension now."
Su Ji picked up his phone and looked through it again, still feeling as if he were in a fantasy. "Are you really You Xiaoxiao? Aren't you dead?"
The Q-version girl glanced at him, "I am dead! You know that, right? The body was cremated."
"Then what is this..."
Su Ji hesitated, "Have you become a ghost? What's going on?"
Speaking of this, the Q-version girl, You Xiaoxiao, was also quite confused.
"I don't know either. Anyway, when I woke up, I was in a small, dark box."
"I looked around, read your WeChat chat records, and some Alipay and bank card information, and then I confirmed that this was your phone."
"After exploring a bit, I found that I could see you outside."
She paused here and said teasingly:
"By the way... were you crying just now? Because of me?"
Su Ji stiffened his neck and said, "No, I was just having a dream!"
"Huh... really?"
"Of course!"
"Alright, let's assume it's like that."
Q-version You Xiaoxiao covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.
Stubborn to the end.
When she was browsing the phone earlier, she had seen quite a few of her photos in the album.
There were photos of them together, and photos of her alone.
Judging by the angles, they were clearly stolen shots, and the photos were blurry.
...