MLV Ch 15

When Jiang Ye got home, he deduced the locations of the pinhole cameras based on the angles of Jin Feize’s secret photos and dismantled all of them. Li Miaomiao watched from the side, utterly dumbfounded.

“Who installed cameras in your home?”

Jiang Ye didn’t answer. He had no plans to tell Li Miaomiao about her stepfather’s corpse for the time being. If she saw that her own father had been dismembered by Jin Feize, she would probably have a breakdown. It would be better to wait until after the cremation and just hand her the ashes.

“It couldn’t be your girlfriend, could it?” Li Miaomiao, struck by a sudden burst of cleverness, guessed correctly.

“Don’t worry about it.” Jiang Ye tossed the cameras into the trash.

“No, seriously, bro, isn’t your girlfriend a bit much? Cheating on you and spying on you, what’s her deal?” Li Miaomiao asked.

“Go to sleep.” Jiang Ye kicked her into the bedroom.

Shen Duo assigned two more people to Jiang Ye. This time, they weren’t bodyguards but his subordinates from the academy’s research institute. One was named Xiao Liu, the other Xiao He. They had been at the institute for over two years and were more reliable than hired bodyguards. One followed Jiang Ye, while the other escorted Li Miaomiao to and from school. A week passed like this, and the headless corpse never appeared again.

That day, when Li Miaomiao finished school at noon, Xiao Liu and Xiao He came to say their goodbyes to Jiang Ye and Li Miaomiao. Xiao Liu said, “Things should be fine now. Teacher Shen is short-staffed, so we have to go. If you need anything, call Captain Zhang Yang at the Public Security Bureau. He’ll help.”

Jiang Ye’s brow furrowed slightly. 

“Can’t I contact you directly?”

Xiao Liu explained, “We’re going on a mission. Even if you contact us, we won’t be able to rush back. It’s better to find Captain Zhang.”

Having spent over a week together, Li Miaomiao was a bit reluctant to see them go. 

“Where are you guys going? How come we can’t even reach you by phone?”

Xiao Liu smiled. 

“Little sis, study hard. We’ve helped you with the school boarding procedures. Starting today, you’ll live at school. Don’t crowd your brother anymore. He sleeps on the floor every day, how uncomfortable is that?”

Jiang Ye said to Xiao Liu, “Since you’re leaving, how about a hug?”

Xiao Liu was somewhat flattered. Jiang Ye was a distant person who didn’t talk much. Even though they had spent so much time under the same roof these past few days, it still felt like there was a vast distance between them. He hadn’t expected the young man to be so warm-hearted beneath his cold exterior. Xiao Liu hugged him and patted his back firmly. 

“Keep it up, look forward. We’ll come see you again in the future.”

After Xiao Liu and Xiao He left, Li Miaomiao stared at the rear of their departing car and muttered, “Where on earth are they going?”

“To find our mom,” Jiang Ye said suddenly. 

“Teacher Shen has probably already gone.”

“Huh?” Li Miaomiao was stunned.

Jiang Ye took out his phone and held it to his ear. The conversation between Xiao Liu and Xiao He in the police car came through the earpiece.

“Brother Liu, how are we getting there?”

“We’ll buy tickets for the flight to the provincial capital of Dianxi in three hours, then take a train to Gasa, and enter the mountains from there.”

“Is that place dangerous?” Xiao He’s voice sounded a little shaky.

“Don’t worry. With Teacher Shen there, it’ll be fine. In places like that, you can’t be scared. The more you fear it, the more terrifying it becomes.”

Xiao He seemed much more relaxed. They started chatting about trivial things like food and daily life, with no more valuable information. During the hug just now, Jiang Ye had placed a listening device under Xiao Liu’s collar. He’d bought it on Taobao; the quality was decent, and the sound was very clear.

“Bro,” Li Miaomiao asked tentatively, “do you want to go find Mom too?”

Jiang Ye looked down at the map, silent for a long while, then shook his head. 

“Let’s leave everything to the police.”

Li Miaomiao tugged on his sleeve. 

“If you go, remember to take me with you. If you dare to run off alone, I’ll tell the whole world that your girlfriend cheated on you, yet you can’t bear to break up with her and spend all your time power-leveling in games to earn money to buy her milk tea.”

Jiang Ye: “…”

Jiang Ye went home alone and continued to monitor Xiao Liu and Xiao He. His phone vibrated; it was a message from Jin Feize.

Candy-Loving Witch: [Xiao Ye, I want to drink a Hawthorn Berry tea. Can you go buy it for me?]

Argos: [No. And don’t call me Xiao Ye.]

Jin Feize sent no more messages. After a while, Jiang Ye heard panting sounds from next door. The soundproofing in the old apartment building was poor. He didn’t know what Jin Feize was doing, but the suggestive panting was clearly audible from his side. Wait. Jiang Ye froze, realizing that fellow Jin Feize was playing audio from Jiang Ye’s videos through a speaker. Jiang Ye’s face turned icy, as if covered in frost.

Candy-Loving Witch: [I want to drink Hawthorn Berry tea.]

Jiang Ye closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and replied.

Argos: [I’ll go buy it.]

Candy-Loving Witch: [I want to drink it every day.]

Argos: […I’ll buy it for you every day.]

Candy-Loving Witch: [Can I call you Xiao Ye?]

Argos: […You can.]

Candy-Loving Witch: [Xiao Ye is the best to me.]

In the afternoon, Jiang Ye’s guitar lesson ended. Speaking of which, the only reason Jiang Ye had started learning guitar was because the Witch had said she wanted to hear him play. Now he didn’t want to learn anymore, but he still had more than half of the lessons left, and the guitar teacher wouldn’t give a refund. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue. Carrying his guitar, he went to the bus stop alone to head back to his apartment. Outside the window, figures of people flickered past like a stream, their blurry faces overlapping as they receded. He glanced down at his WeChat. His mother’s chat window was as silent as death, the last message still reading, “Son, call me back as soon as you see this.”

Jiang Ye found a seat. A wave of drowsiness washed over him, and he began to doze off. The bus reached the next stop. A woman in a red dress stood on the platform. Her back was to the bus, and only the back of her jet-black head was visible. All the other passengers boarded, but she remained. The driver didn’t wait for her, closing the doors and pulling away from the station.

Two minutes later, the bus pulled into another station. Jiang Ye glanced up casually and was horrified to see the same woman in the red dress still standing on the platform. She still didn’t board the bus. The driver closed the doors and drove away.

All of Jiang Ye’s sleepiness vanished, replaced by a chill that rose from the soles of his feet to his chest. He stared intently out the window. When the bus reached the third station, the woman was still there on the platform. The other passengers at the stop boarded, and just as the driver was about to start the engine, Jiang Ye stood up and walked over to him.

“There’s still someone over there who hasn’t gotten on.”

“Where?” The driver looked outside. 

“There’s no one.”

“There’s a woman there, didn’t you see her?”

“Where?! The driver grew annoyed. 

“Go on, go on, don’t get in the way of my driving.”

Jiang Ye returned to his seat. He was supposed to get off at the next stop, which meant he would run right into that female ghost. He took out his phone and dialed Xiao Liu’s number, but it was off; he was probably already on the plane. Jiang Ye tried Captain Zhang’s number, but it didn’t go through.

As his stop drew nearer, Jiang Ye went back to the driver. 

“Sorry, uncle, I missed my stop. Can you let me off here?”

“No,” the driver shook his head. 

“Get off at the next stop and take a bus back.”

“Please bend the rules a little, there are no cameras on this road.”

“No, no, we have regulations. It’s not allowed!” The driver was stubborn and refused under any circumstances.

Ahead, someone was waving from the roadside to flag down the bus. Just as Jiang Ye was trying to figure out how to get the driver to stop, the driver suddenly pulled over. The person who flagged the bus got on and said with a smile, “Thank you, uncle.”

Jiang Ye looked closely and saw it was Jin Feize.

“Aiya, don’t do this next time,” the driver grumbled at him. 

“If my boss finds out, I’ll be fined. If it wasn’t for a handsome young lad like you, I wouldn’t have stopped.”

Jiang Ye: “…”

Why didn’t the driver stop for him just now? Do good-looking people get special privileges?

Jin Feize thanked him again, then turned to look at Jiang Ye. 

“What a coincidence. How are your guitar lessons going?”

He was about to get off, but Jin Feize grabbed him. 

“Where are you going?”

That slight delay was enough for the bus to start moving again. Jiang Ye frowned. Seeing his displeasure, Jin Feize smiled, sat down next to him, and started playing with his phone. Jiang Ye didn’t want to sit with him, so he stood up and moved to a seat next to someone else. Jin Feize didn’t seem to mind, a slight curve to his lips, showing no sign of annoyance. When the bus reached the final stop, Jiang Ye looked out the window. The platform was empty; the woman in red was gone.

“What are you looking for?” Jin Feize’s voice suddenly sounded beside him.

Jiang Ye looked up. He was standing in front of him, a gentle smile on his face.

Jiang Ye turned his head away. 

“Looking for a ghost.”

“Hmm?” Jin Feize asked. 

“Did you run into the headless corpse again?”

Jiang Ye shook his head, his brow knitted in silence.

He headed back to his apartment, and Jin Feize followed behind him, keeping a certain distance. Upon entering the building’s narrow corridor, he found it was strangely filled with offering lamps placed on both sides of the stairs, casting a crimson glow on the stairwell. Reaching the fifth floor, Jiang Ye saw a sandalwood altar table placed in front of Apartment 501. On it was a memorial portrait of a woman and an incense burner, flanked by floral wreaths.

As he went up the stairs, Jin Feize paused in the fifth-floor hallway, took a stick of incense from the table, and lit it for the woman.

Jin Feize said, “She was the resident of 501. She suffered from depression and passed away after jumping from the building. Today is the seventh day since her death. On the seventh day, the spirit returns home. Her family set out these lamps to guide her back.” He handed Jiang Ye three incense sticks. 

“Want to pay your respects?”

Jiang Ye ignored him and went straight upstairs to his apartment. He was about to change his clothes when he walked to the window to draw the curtains and suddenly saw a woman in red standing by the street below. She still had her back to the road, her slender figure and the dark back of her head adding a strange eeriness to the night. A cool evening breeze blew through the window screen, and the back of Jiang Ye’s neck grew cold.

Today was the seventh day since the auntie from 501 passed. Could that female ghost be her?

He drew the curtains, opened his laptop, and searched for suicide cases from seven days ago. A news article about a depression patient from the First People’s Hospital committing suicide was the top result. It said a woman had jumped from a building, landed face down, and her face was smashed to a pulp, a gruesome sight. Could that be why she was unwilling to show her face?

Jiang Ye dialed Captain Zhang’s number. This time, it went through.

“I’m being followed. That person is downstairs right now.”

Zhang Yang replied, “Got it. I’ll send someone over immediately. Stay at home and don’t go anywhere.”

Jiang Ye went to take a shower. When he came out, he received a message from Zhang Yang. It said they couldn’t find the stalker, but they had already dispatched plainclothes police to watch the building. They had also sent people to keep an eye on Li Miaomiao, so Jiang Ye shouldn’t worry. Jiang Ye stared at the message for a long time, feeling that this group of people wasn’t very reliable. The bus driver couldn’t see the female ghost, only he could. This ghost was probably not something ordinary people could deal with. He opened the Meituan Waimai app, bought several protective talismans, and had the delivery rider stick them on his door.

He pulled back a corner of the curtain and looked down. Jin Feize was downstairs taking out the trash. The female ghost was gone.

Jiang Ye frowned.

Unable to sleep, he decided to stay up all night playing games. He usually played with the lights off, but today he made an exception and turned them on. The room was bright, and the computer’s volume was turned up to the maximum, giving him a greater sense of security. He played a few rounds, completely forgetting about the female ghost. He didn’t notice the clock hands creeping forward, until with a click, they pointed to twelve. In an instant, all the lights in the room went out. The living room plunged into darkness, with only the eerie glow of the computer screen remaining.

A woman’s intermittent sobbing came from the speakers. Jiang Ye quickly shut down the computer. He sat for a moment, took a deep breath, stood up, and lifted a corner of the curtain. The street was empty, the night thick and dark. The woman wasn’t there.

Where did she go? The next moment, he had his answer. The sound of high heels echoed from the hallway—click-clack, click-clack—getting closer and closer, finally stopping at his door. He looked through the peephole and saw the back of a woman in dark red.

“You’re at the wrong door,” Jiang Ye said through the door. 

“Your home is on the fifth floor.”

The woman remained standing outside.

Jiang Ye took a few steps back and dialed Zhang Yang’s number. Just as he opened the keypad, he heard a creak. His front door had mysteriously opened a crack the width of a finger, and the eerie red light from the offering lamps flowed in like rouge.

He definitely hadn’t opened the door!

The crack widened, and the creaking sound stretched out, no longer sounding like a door opening but like a saw dragging across his heart. He remembered that during the day, once Jin Feize had gotten on the bus, the woman had vanished from the platform. When Jin Feize went downstairs to throw out the trash, she wasn’t there either. Could it be that evil ghosts are afraid of perverts? Honestly, he didn’t want to get close to Jin Feize, much less share a room with him.

The door was already halfway open, the woman’s crimson figure faintly visible.

Compared to a pervert, an evil ghost seemed harder to deal with. The pervert coveted his chastity, while the evil ghost coveted his life. He made a snap decision, rushed to the balcony, climbed over the railing, stepped along the edge, and jumped onto Jin Feize’s balcony. He opened the glass door, pushed aside the curtain, and stepped into Jin Feize’s bedroom.

Jin Feize stood by the bed with his back to him, naked from the waist up, his pants halfway down. The moonlight shone on Jin Feize’s fair skin, like water poured over jade, glistening and tantalizing. His frame was perfectly proportioned, his posture as straight as a pine, and the lines of his muscles looked as if they had been carved stroke by stroke by a master craftsman. It made one sigh at how biased Nuwa was when creating humans; he was a favored child, meticulously sculpted, while others were just flawed products flung from mud-splattered vines.

The night was silent. Jin Feize turned his head, and their eyes met. Time seemed to stop at that moment.

“There’s a ghost in my apartment,” Jiang Ye explained, his expression unchanged.

“I figured,” Jin Feize said politely. 

“Could you please turn around? I need to go to the bathroom to take a shower.”

Jiang Ye didn’t move, his gaze cool, as if he weren’t looking at Jin Feize’s naked body but at the shimmering moonlight he saw every night. With his hands in his pockets, he said, “You’ve seen me, but you won’t let me see you.”

Jin Feize showed a troubled expression. 

“I’m sorry, I’m not ready yet. If you really want to look, it’s okay if you don’t turn around.”

“No,” Jiang Ye’s voice was cold. 

“I don’t want to look.”

He turned around slowly, his face as calm and placid as ever. But if one looked closely, they would see that the tips of his ears were already burning red. Fortunately, the night was dark and the evening breeze was cool, helping to cool his pounding heart.

“Want to sleep here tonight?” Jin Feize asked.

“Sorry to intrude. I’ll leave after a little while.”

The sound of clothes rustling came from behind him. Jiang Ye’s ears turned so red they felt like they would drip blood.

Jin Feize gently tried to persuade him to stay. 

“If you feel safer here, you can stay as long as you like. It’s okay if you want me to sleep with you, too.”

“I’m not staying,” Jiang Ye refused.

“Really not staying?” Jin Feize’s tone was gentle, his voice like silk brushing against one’s ear. His invitation was like the song of a siren at sea, bewildering and impossible to refuse. He said softly, “Don’t worry, I won’t make a move on you. You can have the bed, I’ll sleep in the living room.”

Jiang Ye was silent, standing on the edge of the bedroom and balcony, faintly hearing the woman’s sobs coming from his apartment.

That female ghost hadn’t left.

Jiang Ye compromised.

“I’ll sleep in the living room.”

He closed his eyes and fumbled his way towards the door. Unfamiliar with the layout of Jin Feize’s bedroom, his shin bumped into the corner of the bed, making him wince in pain. He endured it, shifted his position, and continued forward, his hands outstretched to feel his way. As he felt around, he touched a cool expanse of chest. Stunned for a second, he snatched his hand back as if he’d been electrocuted. If he wasn’t mistaken, Jin Feize was probably completely naked now. Jiang Ye felt his ears were about to burn off.

Jin Feize caught his hand and, without another word, led him towards the door. He felt for the doorframe and was about to head to the living room when Jin Feize suddenly said, “Wait.”

He stood at the doorway with his eyes closed, waiting. A moment later, two quilts were pushed into his arms. Then he heard the sound of Jin Feize closing the door.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” Jin Feize said from behind the door.

Jiang Ye opened his eyes to the dark brown door panel.

He stood there for a few seconds, then bent down to spread the quilts on the floor, not forgetting to check the peephole. The hallway was empty. His own apartment door was half open, the inside a dark void, impossible to see clearly. He didn’t know if the female ghost had left or was sitting inside his home. Jiang Ye returned to the living room, lay down flat, and took the opportunity to open the Meituan Waimai app and leave a bad review for the shop that sold protective talismans.

In the dead of night, he could hear the sound of running water from Jin Feize’s room.

Lying in the darkness, Jiang Ye’s thoughts fluttered away like tiny butterflies. Why was the female ghost after him? He clearly didn’t know her. How was his mom? Had Shen Duo found her? He didn’t want to go to his guitar lesson tomorrow afternoon…

Jin Feize’s butt… was quite pale.