Chapter 20: Ghost School

Tan Xueci spent the entire night trapped in a dream of sleep paralysis. He felt something heavy pressing down on him, attempting to burrow under the covers. He shivered from the cold, but no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn’t move the weight.

When he finally woke up, he was in a daze. He rubbed his eyes and went to the bathroom to wash up, but when he caught his reflection in the mirror, he froze.

His skin was exceptionally pale, so even a slight rub turned it red. Now, on the side of his neck, there was a prominent red mark, as eye-catching as a cornelian cherry on a field of snow.

Tan Xueci reached out blankly to touch it. It didn’t hurt. If he had to describe it, it looked as though someone had been sucking and licking the spot, leaving a “hickey.”

He shuddered, forcing himself to stop overthinking. I must have rubbed it myself by accident, he thought. After all, there was no one else in the bedroom.

Fortunately, the mark was near his collarbone, so his clothes could mostly hide it.

It was late September, and while the weather hadn’t turned completely cold yet, his poor health made him very sensitive to the chill. He had been wearing long-sleeved hoodies constantly.

After spending a few days at the He residence without seeing any more ghosts, Tan Xueci felt that Dr. Xie’s new medicine was working wonders. His condition had improved significantly after just a few days; after all, it had cost over 3,000 yuan.

There was still no official news from the production crew, but Golden Epoch Entertainment was a titan in the industry. Their boss, Xu Zongdu, had died suddenly and gruesomely. Even though the police tried to suppress the news, the outside world was already in an uproar.

Zhai Fang was in a total panic. A paparazzi might have been filming on set that day, capturing footage of the crew leaving one by one while Zhai Fang was kept behind until the end.

A few marketing accounts had already been whispering about a “sponsorship” relationship between him and Xu Zongdu. Now, Weibo was popping up with new rumors every few hours.

“A certain male celebrity with a two-character name was being kept by Mr. X; suspected of a ‘passionate killing’ after failing to blackmail the benefactor into marriage.”

Zhai Fang was flying into a rage. Who the hell would want to marry that dead pig demon? He had endured humiliation for years just to become famous.

Now that the boss was dead, Golden Epoch’s PR department wasn’t as attentive to him as before. Fortunately, Zhai Fang had his own studio. However, his studio lacked the power of a major firm, and unable to think of a better solution, they resorted to their old tricks: throwing all the dirty water onto Tan Xueci.

Zhai Fang’s team released a video of Tan Xueci and Xu Zongdu rehearsing a scene. It was intentionally edited to look ambiguous—lingering stares, lowered smiles, and clever camera angles that made it look like their hands were touching.

Tan Xueci hadn’t been debuted long, and his fan base was already shaky. Being repeatedly trampled into the dirt by Zhai Fang had ruined his reputation. People were ready to believe anything negative about him.

• “I just want to say, please get some better taste.”
• “No wonder he got into the ‘Entangled’ crew. The lead is Wen Yaochuan, yet a guy like this gets the third male lead? Turns out he has a ‘Sugar Daddy’ behind him.”
• “Insider info: I heard he’s also He Sui’s ex-boyfriend.”

He Sui was a graduate of a prestigious university with a prominent family background and superior looks. His resume was flawless, and he had spent his 21 years surrounded by glory. Furthermore, he was always good to his exes; he’d have flings while single, but once in a relationship, he cut them off and gave generous breakup fees.

His exes only ever felt regret; none ever spoke ill of him. Given that, the fact that he treated Tan Xueci with such coldness and disgust was very telling to the public.

• “Want to bet? He definitely cheated on Young Master He with Xu Zongdu, and got dumped once he was caught.”

Tan Xueci was being torn apart by the insults, turning from a soft, fluffy bun into a flattened pancake.

Lu Xi told him to uninstall Weibo and look at nothing, but Tan Xueci still saw the comments elsewhere.

He cared deeply about his fans. Very few people liked him, so he cherished every single one. Fans were always generous with their praise; in all his years, he had never heard such passionate, unreserved compliments. He actually loved being an actor.

When someone pretending to be a fan told him about a dead father and paralyzed mother, he believed it. He was starved for love; if someone showed him even a tiny bit of kindness, he was willing to give them everything. If someone were to truly love him, he would likely go through fire and water for them. Unfortunately, no such person existed.

He didn’t care about the rest, but seeing fans “turning” on him and attacking him made him truly sad.

But there wasn’t much time for sadness before it was time to return to the set. The police had determined that Xu Zongdu was still alive when he left the filming location, so his death had nothing to do with the production. Filming resumed quickly.

When Tan Xueci arrived at the set, he felt everyone’s expressions were strange—especially Zhai Fang’s.

Zhai Fang looked haggard. It wasn’t just a “fallen” face; he looked as if his very essence had been sucked out. He was gloomy and decadent.

When Tan Xueci looked at him, he froze. The little girl ghost behind Zhai Fang had previously been thin and weak; though her face was pale, she had looked more or less like a human child.

Now, she was completely bloated, swollen to twice her previous size. The swelling was so severe she appeared much taller—previously reaching Zhai Fang’s waist, she now reached his chest. Her face was a ghastly, bruised green, like a spectral face from a horror movie.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Ci?” Wen Yaochuan saw Tan Xueci’s expression and whispered mysteriously, “Did you see something?”

Tan Xueci hesitated. In the past, whenever he saw things and warned others, he was almost always scolded or even nearly beaten. This was the first time someone had actively probed for information.

He glanced at Wen Yaochuan, then lowered his head and said nothing. Wen Yaochuan practiced boxing; he couldn’t win that fight.

Zhai Fang was in a bad mental state and kept spacing out during scenes. After several takes, the director’s expression grew sour. Previously, with Xu Zongdu around, he had humored Zhai Fang. Now that the boss was dead, his temper was rising.

Eventually, Wen Yaochuan stepped in. “The crew has been through a lot of turmoil lately. After we finish tonight, I’ll treat everyone to dinner to calm our nerves.”

“Mr. Wen,” the director’s anger immediately halved. he said with a forced smile, “How could we let you do that?”

Wen Yaochuan didn’t mind. “No need to be polite.”

He frequently treated the crew; to survive at the top of the entertainment industry, one usually has to be good at social graces. Since he offered, no one refused.

Wen Yaochuan even said to Tan Xueci, “Xiao Ci, you come too. Last time I wanted to treat you to hotpot and it didn’t happen. This makes up for it.”

Tan Xueci didn’t really want to go. He Xunye had told him he was wearing a “Ghost-Attracting Talisman,” and he had been feeling uneasy ever since.

Going out at night was much more dangerous than during the day. But Lu Xi told him to learn from Wen Yaochuan—to stop being like a “little monkey” who couldn’t integrate with humans after being out for so long.

He finally agreed.

This time, Wen Yaochuan learned his lesson and booked a private room in advance. Nothing went wrong. By the time they finished dinner, it was past 10:00 PM. Zhai Fang was carrying the soft, bloated, corpse-like little girl on his back; Tan Xueci kept a wide distance from him.

He didn’t dare take a taxi back to the hotel. Based on years of experience, if the driver turned out to be a ghost, he’d be doomed.

Aside from the incident with the ghost agent, he had experienced it before—getting into a car that drove further and further into the middle of nowhere. When he cautiously asked the driver where they were going, the driver headed toward a crossroads and said, “Aren’t you going to the funeral parlor?”

Tan Xueci’s face had turned deathly pale from fright.

But perhaps the protection He Xunye spoke of was real, or the character Ci written on his palm by the old monk really worked. When he said he wanted to get out, the ghost driver let him off without incident.

Still shaken, Tan Xueci decided to take the bus home. He saw headlights in the distance, but before he could see the bus number, a damp, cold little hand suddenly pushed him from behind.

Tan Xueci stumbled. When he looked up, he felt a bit dazed. Where was I going?

He looked down at himself. He was wearing a blue and white school uniform. Right, I have to go to school. A dilapidated school bus pulled up and stopped beside him. Tan Xueci walked straight onto it.

Behind him, a faint, phantom-like sigh echoed in the air.