Chapter 9: Now Able to See Ghosts (Please Vote for Recommendations)

"How terrifying, I just saw my missing brother smiling at me in the photo," Su Qianqian said, her voice still trembling with lingering fear.

Zhang Xiaofan patted her shoulder gently. "Your brother probably meant well. Don't forget, if he hadn't written those acrostic lines to warn us that someone was behind us and told us to run, we would have been in much greater danger."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Xiaofan suddenly cried out in pain. Only then did he realize that in the chaos, when he had pushed Jiang Jiawei, something had cut his hand. Blood was streaming from the wound in his palm.

"Ah, you're hurt," Su Qianqian said, lifting his hand with great care. She brought her lips close and blew softly on the wound. "Does it hurt?"

To be honest, having Su Qianqian hold his hand like this filled Zhang Xiaofan’s heart with warmth. The pain seemed to vanish in an instant. He replied, "It's just a scratch."

She frowned at him, "Look at you, your face is covered with injuries too, and you say it's nothing. I have some bandages and ointment in my dorm. Why don't I help you dress your wounds?"

Before Zhang Xiaofan could answer, Jiang Jiawei nudged him. "That cut could get worse if you don’t take care of it. You should let her help, Qianqian. Xiaofan’s in your hands now—I’ll head off first."

As he spoke, Jiang Jiawei shot Zhang Xiaofan a meaningful look, as if to say: What a perfect opportunity, Xiaofan—I'm giving you two some time alone, don’t waste it.

Though the message was clear, it was all received and understood by Zhang Xiaofan. After Jiang Jiawei left, the two of them walked to the girls’ dormitory.

Su Qianqian went upstairs to fetch her first-aid kit. Under the streetlight, she carefully dressed Zhang Xiaofan’s hand. Watching her earnest expression as she worked, Zhang Xiaofan felt a surge of excitement. Ever since he was a child, he had always been poor and frail, his clothes unfashionable and plain. He’d been bullied and looked down upon at school. As for girls, not one had ever glanced at him with interest. In fact, many girls like Chen Jing had even scolded him, saying they’d rather die than even consider him, which had always left him feeling wretched.

But now, Su Qianqian was treating him so kindly—how could Zhang Xiaofan not be overjoyed?

"Xiaofan, I never realized before, but you’re actually quite brave," Su Qianqian said, looking up after finishing the bandage.

From this angle, he could clearly see her delicate chest. She was slender, yet her figure was full where it mattered. Especially her chest—Zhang Xiaofan estimated he couldn’t hold it with just one hand, probably not even with two.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the sight. He’d never seen a girl’s chest this close before, and a drop of drool even slid from his mouth.

Su Qianqian caught him staring. Her cheeks flushed a lovely pink as she stood up abruptly. "Where are you looking?"

"I wasn't looking at your chest... No, I mean... your chest, I didn’t look—I mean, you have a nice chest... No, I—" Zhang Xiaofan stammered, utterly flustered.

She burst out laughing at his foolishness. "Look how scared you are."

Zhang Xiaofan scratched his head sheepishly.

"Are you hungry? How about we get something to eat?" Su Qianqian suggested.

"Sure!" The thought of sharing a meal with the girl of his dreams made Zhang Xiaofan agree instantly.

They made their way to the entrance just outside campus. Unless it was raining, this place transformed into a street bustling with barbecue stalls and stir-fry vendors every night, doing brisk business with students from all the nearby schools.

They sat down and ordered fifty or sixty yuan worth of skewers. Su Qianqian even got two bottles of beer. Zhang Xiaofan was surprised. "You drink?"

Su Qianqian sighed. "With our class playing those terrifying red envelope games every day, who knows when I might die? Might as well drink a little more and not dwell on things too much."

Zhang Xiaofan nodded. "I'll drink with you."

"Thank you." They clinked glasses and downed their drinks.

"Qianqian, don't worry. If anything happens to you in the future, I’ll protect you," Zhang Xiaofan said solemnly.

Su Qianqian smiled faintly. Suddenly, Zhang Xiaofan gasped as a stabbing pain shot through his right eye.

"What's wrong?" Su Qianqian asked, concern etched on her face.

"It's nothing. My right eye always hurts for a bit at this hour every night. It’ll pass—just an old problem."

"Do you want to see a doctor tomorrow?"

"No need. I got hit on the head a year ago, and it’s been like this ever since. The doctor said it won’t affect anything," Zhang Xiaofan replied, shaking his head. He glanced up—and froze, his hair standing on end.

Behind Su Qianqian stood the ghost of a young man, his face twisted with greed as he sniffed at her. Clearly, he was a lustful ghost. Judging by his student uniform, he must have been a student before his death.

An inexplicable impulse surged within Zhang Xiaofan. He sprang up, grabbed Su Qianqian, and pulled her a few steps back.

"What’s wrong?" Su Qianqian was startled.

"Can't you see him?" Zhang Xiaofan pointed at the male ghost.

Su Qianqian shook her head in terror.

A chill settled over Zhang Xiaofan’s heart. He could see ghosts invisible to others—what did that mean?

"You can see me?" The male ghost, unlike the vengeful spirit of Bao Lei, showed no trace of aggression.

"Don’t even think about hurting anyone," Zhang Xiaofan said.

"No, no, I’m not a malicious ghost. Only evil spirits harm people," the ghost replied.

"Then what do you want?" Zhang Xiaofan asked. He knew he must look crazy talking to thin air, but he couldn’t help his curiosity—this was the first ghost he could actually communicate with.

"I was killed by an evil spirit at school. Now I can only wander nearby. You’re the first person who can see me. Could you take me to a nearby temple and help me move on? I don’t want to be a lonely, wandering soul any longer," the ghost pleaded.

Zhang Xiaofan was about to answer when several discordant voices broke the night.

"Well, if it isn’t one of our campus beauties—Su Qianqian," someone sneered.

Three electric scooters screeched to a halt nearby. Five delinquent-looking boys dismounted. Leading them was someone Zhang Xiaofan recognized—Zhang Bing, Zhang Hua’s thug of a brother.

These boys were infamous troublemakers at school. Normally, Zhang Xiaofan would have run at the first sign of them. But with Su Qianqian here—and after just promising to protect her—he forced himself to stand his ground.

"Zhang, Zhang Hua is our classmate. Please, could you give us a break?" Zhang Xiaofan said, his voice tense.

Zhang Bing, a cigarette dangling from his lips, glared at him with heavy, dark circles under his eyes and messy, unkempt hair. Zhang Xiaofan guessed he’d just come from a fight.

Zhang Bing took a long drag, flicked the cigarette to the ground by Zhang Xiaofan’s feet, and sneered, "My sister’s classmate? She’s got plenty of classmates. She’s never mentioned you."

"We’re in the same class. When you beat up Zhou Liping, I was in the classroom. Su Qianqian is in our class too," Zhang Xiaofan said.

"Oh, is that so? All right, I’ll give you a chance. Scram. As for Su Qianqian, I think we should get to know each other better," Zhang Bing replied, his cronies eyeing them both with ill intent.