Chapter 2: A Good Person

Darkness swallowed Su Wanqing whole, and the icy chains dragged at her soul, as if pulling her into an endless abyss.

Suddenly, a violent tremor shook her.

Su Wanqing’s eyes shot open to find herself still floating above the cemetery, raindrops still passing through her and landing on the grass.

She looked down at her ankle; the shadow chain was still there, only it was no longer pulling—it now hung loosely, seemingly suppressed by some force for the time being.

She hadn’t descended into the underworld, nor had she disappeared.

“Why…” Su Wanqing murmured to herself, trying to move. Her body drifted forward lightly; the chain truly no longer restricted her movement.

Most of the crowd had dispersed, and the rain was letting up, with only a few figures remaining by the tombstone.

Zhou Mingyuan was comforting her parents, who looked at him gratefully—as if he were their own child.

Su Wanqing took one last look at them.

She fell silent.

Her gaze quickly locked onto Lin Cheng in the distance.

He stood at the very edge of the cemetery, head down, back to the tombstone, muttering something under his breath.

Su Wanqing floated closer, for the first time seriously observing this boy she had once ignored.

His face was pale from the rain, his brow furrowed with fatigue. His injured arm trembled slightly, as if still in pain.

“Lin Cheng…” she called out softly.

Complex emotions welled up inside her: regret, gratitude, and a strange, unsettling flutter she couldn’t quite place.

I’ve done him such a great wrong.

She remembered Lin Cheng’s previous warnings, his inexplicable attempts to get close.

He clearly knew she disliked him, yet he appeared by her side time and again—even getting his arm broken to save her.

Su Wanqing clutched her hair, feeling self-reproach for the first time in her life.

Lin Cheng… he really likes me, doesn’t he.

Even now, in the rain, with his hand still hurting, he was still willing to come see me.

“Su Wanqing, you’re dead, but I still have to protect you.”

Lin Cheng’s mutterings stunned Su Wanqing, a sour feeling intensifying in her heart.

He got up, patted the mud off his pants, and began the heavy trudge home.

Su Wanqing floated behind him, following in silence—until she was stopped at Lin Cheng’s door by some strange force.

She pounded on the door with all her might but couldn’t get in.

…Right, if I’m a ghost now, a wandering spirit, how could I enter someone else’s home?

Su Wanqing sighed. Not wanting to go anywhere else, she silently crouched by Lin Cheng’s door all night.

The next day—April 1st, Monday.

The monthly break was over, and school returned to its usual hustle and bustle.

Lin Cheng sat in the back row by the window, staring blankly at his textbook.

The teacher droned on at the front of the class. The fan swirled hot air, and the room was filled with a stuffiness that hinted at the coming summer—and mounting pressure.

Su Wanqing’s death had caused quite a stir in the class, but for most, shock was shock.

The college entrance exams still had to go on.

“Lin Cheng, are you okay?” a gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.

Lin Cheng turned his head. His deskmate, Li Xiaoran, was looking at him, her eyes filled with concern.

This girl was known in class for her gentleness.

She had good grades, was exceptionally pretty—with cherry lips, a delicate nose, and almond-shaped eyes that were especially beautiful.

She didn’t usually talk much. He was on good terms with her; she often treated him to meals and would even occasionally wash his school uniform for him.

She was indeed very gentle.

In the novel’s plot provided by the system, she was an eighteenth-tier side character who was mentioned once with the line: “She’s a good person.”

Today, she had her hair in a low ponytail, a sliver of a white sweater peeking out from her school uniform’s collar, making her skin look even fairer.

“I’m fine,” Lin Cheng said, then went back to staring into space.

Li Xiaoran leaned a little closer, lowering her voice. “I heard you… were at the scene when Su Wanqing’s accident happened, is that true? Everyone’s saying you ran over to try and save her and got hurt.”

Lin Cheng got angry just thinking about it.

If that fool Su Wanqing had been even a little smarter, she wouldn’t have been hit by a dump truck.

If she’d been a step slower, I could’ve pushed her out of the way. If she’d been a step faster, she would’ve avoided it entirely. But fate, circumstance, and even people weren’t on my side.

This damned female-oriented novel… and that bastard male lead, Zhou Mingyuan, listening to the female lead and wanting to kill Su Wanqing.

And he still didn’t even know who the female lead was. The plot provided by the system only covered the first half.

The female lead wouldn’t appear until later.

Originally, if he had completed the mission to protect Su Wanqing, he could have returned to reality with one hundred million yuan.

The female lead would have been none of his business.

But now Su Wanqing was dead, and the mission had restarted.

Who knew what would happen next?

Li Xiaoran’s tone carried a hint of cautious probing. “Don’t be too sad. Wanqing, she… sigh, it’s not your fault. Who could have expected something like that to happen?”

She paused, mustered her courage, and gently touched Lin Cheng’s arm, her voice even softer.

“How about… we go get something to eat after school? I know a place with really good milk tea. It’ll help you take your mind off things?”

Lin Cheng was about to agree when his peripheral vision caught a flicker in the corner of the classroom.

Su Wanqing was floating there, her transparent body pressed against the wall, her eyes wide as she stared at Li Xiaoran.

In that instant, a fire seemed to explode in her heart—not anger, but a strange, bubbling, sour feeling.

It was like… her things were being coveted by someone else.

“No, on what grounds?” Su Wanqing’s transparent fists clenched tightly.

“The moment I die, you deliberately come looking for Lin Cheng?”

“The whole class knows Lin Cheng likes me, don’t you? What are you pretending to be a green tea for?”

She floated over to Lin Cheng’s desk, glaring at the hand Li Xiaoran had placed on his arm, wishing she could slap it away. Unfortunately, she couldn’t even touch it.

“Lin Cheng is mine! Ptooey… no, I mean, he saved me, he likes me. A great guy like him, is it your turn to comfort him?”

Su Wanqing knew this thought was a bit ridiculous.

She was dead, so why was she getting jealous here?

No, no, this doesn’t even count as jealousy. I have no real relationship with Lin Cheng…

But seeing Li Xiaoran’s gentle, attentive, and slightly flirtatious manner, Su Wanqing just felt a tightness in her chest.

She floated behind Lin Cheng, glaring at him with puffed cheeks and muttering, “You dare agree to her! I’ll… I’ll…”

She didn’t know what she could do, so she could only circle Lin Cheng in a huff.

Lin Cheng, of course, couldn’t hear her indignation, but for some reason, the back of his neck suddenly felt cold.

He rubbed his neck, looked up at Li Xiaoran, and shook his head.

“Forget it, no thanks. I have other things to do.”

He felt a bit bad for always eating and drinking on her dime.

Besides, his arm was broken now, and he really wasn’t in the mood to go anywhere.

The doctor had told him to rest at home.

Li Xiaoran was taken aback, her smile freezing for a moment, but she quickly recovered and said gently,

“Alright then, just let me know whenever you’re free. Don’t always keep things bottled up.” She paused, then added,

“I’m… always here for you.”

The way she said it was rather suggestive, and even a few nearby classmates couldn’t help but steal a couple of glances.

There were many rumors in the class: Su Wanqing and Zhou Mingyuan were a match made in heaven; Lin Cheng, the transfer student, liked Su Wanqing; and Li Xiaoran, the quiet and gentle girl, was especially nice to Lin Cheng.

Lin Cheng was used to it.

Li Xiaoran often said things like that to him, but gentle girls were all like that—kind to everyone, especially to those who seemed lonely and pathetic. They would appear extra gentle.

Su Wanqing, off to the side, was about to explode with anger.

She floated in front of Li Xiaoran, repeatedly making punching motions at her face.

“Always here for me? Are you pretending I don’t exist!”