Round One (13)

“Still not getting up?” Shen Huai’s voice was laced with ice.

This was the first time Shen Yu had ever heard his uncle speak to him in such a tone.

Trembling, he crawled out from beneath the drunk and stood up, lowering his head like a quail.

What should he do?

His uncle had caught him entangled with a wandering spirit (?), and was probably furious. Would he get beaten?

What about the beautiful ghostly lady?

Would she be exorcised?

There wasn’t a sound around them. Shen Yu couldn’t bear the suspense any longer, so he secretly raised his head a little, craning his neck to look.

Shen Yu: “!!!”

What did he see?

Si Jiu, drunk as ever, had both hands pressed on the armrests of Shen Huai’s wheelchair, leaning in, her face dangerously close to his.

That posture was the very picture of a “chair kabedon.”

But that wasn’t what left Shen Yu dumbfounded.

The real shock was… his uncle wasn’t angry, hadn’t shoved her away, hadn’t dodged. Instead, he simply looked up at the drunken ghost above him, gaze unwavering.

That look… Shen Yu couldn’t describe it, but he knew he had never seen his uncle look at anyone like that before.

The drunk ghost, emboldened by her inebriation, stared at Shen Huai for a while, as if deep in thought or perhaps confusion. She even raised a hand and used her index finger to lift his chin.

She studied him for a long moment, and as if uncertain, parted her red lips lightly. “Huai?”

Shen Huai’s breath suddenly grew rough, his eyes dark as an abyss.

His voice was hoarse. “Who are you?”

Si Jiu fell silent again. She just stared, as if some unanswerable riddle had formed in her mind, her expression growing even more dazed.

The man sat in his wheelchair, chin lifted by her hand, forced to tilt his head back. From his chin to the curve of his neck stretched a long, graceful line, sharp-edged, Adam’s apple trembling, and yet—there was a fragile beauty in his expression.

Strangely… alluring.

Shen Yu choked, feeling he shouldn’t keep watching.

Shen Huai had no time to care about the little one’s gaze.

His eyes traced slowly over Si Jiu’s brows, eyes, lips…

A completely unfamiliar face. And yet, from deep within, something in him trembled uncontrollably.

“What did you mean by what you just said? Who are you, really? You—”

His words broke off abruptly.

Sealed by a kiss.

Si Jiu suddenly bent down and kissed him.

His narrow, phoenix-like eyes widened in startled disbelief, the fingers on his knees curling tight.

All he could smell and taste was the rich fragrance of wine.

He hadn’t had a drop, and yet he was utterly drunk.

Shen Yu: “Uh!!!”

Those sharp eyes suddenly swept toward him, and the look was so fierce it seemed to physically stab Shen Yu.

In that gaze, he suddenly understood exactly what his uncle meant: Get lost!

A pang of sourness stabbed Shen Yu’s heart.

He couldn’t even tell who or what he was jealous of, but he turned and ran away, tail between his legs.

Shen Huai gripped the back of Si Jiu’s head, intent on turning the tables, but Si Jiu abruptly withdrew, staring at him wordlessly.

At that moment, Shen Huai’s mind was a whirlwind. Under her steady, solemn gaze, he actually felt nervous.

He had lived more than a hundred years.

There was only ever one person who could make him nervous in all that time.

“Tan—” He’d only spoken half the name before falling silent, realizing not only that she might never have been called Tang You, but also that her expression had abruptly darkened.

“Little fool, why did you suddenly get shorter?”

Shen Huai: “???”

“Stealing your uncle’s wheelchair?” she suddenly grinned, sly as a fox. “Let big sister teach you a fun game, hmm?”

Si Jiu got up, a little unsteady, and circled behind the wheelchair, placing both hands on the handles.

Shen Huai’s heart suddenly thundered out of control.

A chill tinged with wine brushed his ear, her drunken voice soft and languid, almost like a child whining.

“That big fool Shen Huai, mistaking me for someone else, even hit me. Hit me so hard I nearly scattered. It hurt so much.”

A sharp pain stabbed Shen Huai’s heart.

“And I had to watch him hug and kiss an empty shell. Ha…”

“From now on, I won’t play with him anymore,” she said.

“Are you ready?”

Her last words were light as air, yet landed heavy on Shen Huai’s heart.

She said, “Hold on tight, big sister’s taking you for a rollercoaster ride.”

With a clatter, she shoved the wheelchair and charged ahead at full speed.