Chapter 58: Open Marriage

Tan Xueci couldn’t help but think of the movie One Missed Call. In the film, as soon as someone answers the phone, they hear a scream from the other end, and everyone who receives a call meets a violent end.

Although it had nothing to do with He Xunye, Tan Xueci was being unreasonable; his snowy little face slumped.

With a husband like that, what time would you even go home?

Jin Chen and Lu Qi had finished signing a contract and emerged from the meeting room. When Lu Qi looked up and saw that the rims of Tan Xueci’s eyes and the tip of his nose were a bit red—as if he had just cried—he was momentarily stunned.

“What’s up?” Lu Qi waved a hand in front of him, bending down with his hands on his knees to ask, “What’s wrong?”

Tan Xueci was a bit clingy. Back when Lu Qi first started managing him and they stayed in hotels for work, Tan Xueci would call home every night. He would wrap himself in a blanket, curled into a tiny ball with only half his face showing, hiding on the sofa while clutching his phone.

At first, Lu Qi thought he was actually talking to someone. Later, he realized no one ever picked up. Every time, Tan Xueci would just listen to the dial tone, talking to himself until the line went dead.

Once, when he took Tan Xueci to a banquet, the boy secretly tugged at his sleeve and asked timidly if he could take a piece of fruit, saying his brother liked to eat them.

Lu Qi thought he was going home that night to see Tan Shangli, so he told him to go ahead. However, when he dropped Tan Xueci off at the gates of the Tan residence, the boy didn’t get out. Instead, he sat in the back seat clutching the fruit and wiping away tears, staring blankly at the front door.

When Lu Qi asked why he wasn’t getting out, Tan Xueci murmured vaguely that his brother “wasn’t there anymore,” then went silent again.

He sat with his head bowed, his skin appearing particularly pale in the night. Tears dripped patter-patter onto the fruit; he looked incredibly lonely.

Lu Qi had been stunned. His own father had passed away years ago, and his mother had a new family. He didn’t want to bother them, which meant he effectively had no family left in this world. He spent his years alone, staying by himself after work.

Actually, he had really enjoyed the time he spent staying in hotels with Tan Xueci. Back then, Tan Xueci didn’t know how to do anything—he couldn’t even figure out how to turn on the showerhead. Though Lu Qi grumbled and cursed under his breath, he never actually felt annoyed, because “Little Lamb” was there to keep him company.

Being by Tan Xueci’s side gave him a sense of home.

Lu Qi had reached out, took the fruit, and ate it. It was covered in the bratty little sheep’s tears; it tasted salty.

Tan Xueci watched him eat, wiped his eyes, and stopped crying.

…

As Lu Qi thought back on this, he couldn’t help but grit his teeth, his expression twisting. He knew that marrying a “dead husband” was useless—the wife was crying like this, and not even a ghostly shadow was in sight.

Divorce!

Lu Qi wanted to stay with Tan Xueci for a while, but he was very busy. Jin Chen had a variety show coming up in a few days, and it was time for Tan Xueci to pick a new script. He had looked at several and was currently in negotiations.

“I’ll take him out to play for a bit,” Jin Chen said from the side, his hands coolly tucked in his pockets as he looked at them.

He found Lu Qi quite annoying—either Lu Qi was eyeing his “manhood,” or he was eyeing Tan Xueci’s backside. This kind of pimp-like manager was easily one of the most disgusting things ever.

However, seeing Lu Qi and Tan Xueci crouching together—one crying with red eyes and the other hovering around looking pathetically miserable—reminded Jin Chen of those mobile games he usually played where you help a mother and daughter fix a broken house. The two of them huddled together in the wind and rain, shivering, made his hands itch to “fix the windows” for them.

Lu Qi hesitated for a moment before instructing Jin Chen, “Then remember to both wear masks and hats. Send him home when you’re done playing.”

Tan Xueci was very popular now; he was a celebrity, after all. It would be a lot of trouble if the paparazzi caught him.

“Got it,” Jin Chen answered impatiently.

Tan Xueci was dazed. No one had ever taken him out to play at night before—except for his dead husband.

He really didn’t want to go home, so amidst Lu Qi’s nagging instructions to wear a scarf and gloves, he followed Jin Chen out.

It was already November. Tan Xueci wore a white down jacket, while Jin Chen only wore a black leather jacket. He started up a motorcycle and—vroom vroom vroom—took Tan Xueci to a bar.

He felt that Tan Xueci might still be saved. What was the point of hanging around with a male ghost?

It was time to take Tan Xueci out to see the world.

It wasn’t Tan Xueci’s first time at a bar, but it was the first time several girls greeted him the moment he walked in.

They all seemed to know Jin Chen. Tan Xueci’s face flushed, and his head felt dizzy. He didn’t even know what he had said before finally struggling through the crowd to follow Jin Chen to a private booth.

The variety show they were on was trending heavily. Tan Xueci had been sleeping during the day and hadn’t checked, but Mountain Wilderness Tracks had been at the top of the trending searches almost all day because a criminal case was involved.

As soon as the director got out, he immediately called the police. When the police arrived, they found that most of the people in the village were dead—many had been dead for over six months—and there was a burnt-down temple.

Police found the dozen or so missing staff members near the graveyard. They were all collapsed next to tombstones. Fortunately, the weather hadn’t been particularly cold lately, otherwise, they might have frozen to death after a night outside. Ambulances quickly rushed everyone to the hospital.

The “Underworld Marriage” (Yanxia Marriage), ghost weddings, and even the drowning of many “deformed” children were exposed.

The production team released the footage with a suspenseful editing style that felt strangely exhilarating. It looked as if Jin Chen had been lying in wait, planning to wipe out the wicked villagers in one fell swoop. Even Tan Xueci’s dazed little face while sewing dolls was edited to look like he was unbothered by major events.

Instead of a disaster, it became the highest-rated episode of the year.

Jin Chen was actually quite disciplined; he didn’t mess around with messy relationships. He brought Tan Xueci out just to sing, drink, and chat with friends; he had no other intentions.

He looked down at his phone, tsk-ing from time to time. Before long, Tan Xueci’s solemn little face leaned in.

Jin Chen: “…”

Jin Chen had no choice but to read it out line by line, and only then did Tan Xueci realize what had happened.

He felt that Bai Shuizhang had blocked the signal but hadn’t stopped the live stream. Perhaps it was because Bai had been lonely and in pain for so long that he wanted others to see what Yanxia Village was really like.

Looking at the burnt-down Granny Zhang Temple, Tan Xueci’s eyes dazed for a moment. He felt something was off—the General’s Temple next to Granny Zhang’s was gone, as if it had never existed.

Bai Shuizhang said the General protected the peace of the region, but the village chief said the General was a River God who would punish them if they didn’t provide sacrifices.

Tan Xueci didn’t know who was lying, but since almost everyone in Yanxia Village was dead, he had no way of asking anyone.

While they were looking at the phone, Qin Shuyao suddenly sent a message. The guests had a small group chat.

[Qin Shuyao]: Holy crap, let me tell you guys something. Whatever you do, don’t be scared. [Jin Chen]: ? [Zhang Chengfa]: ? Tan Xueci also slowly followed up with one. [Qin Shuyao]: Chen Qing just called me. He said he’s in the hospital with pneumonia. He never went to film the variety show with us at all!

Tan Xueci and Jin Chen both froze instantly, a chill running down their spines. If that was the case, who was the “Chen Qing” who had stayed with them for several days?

Tan Xueci frowned and sent a voice message to Qin Shuyao, telling her to be careful. If the Chen Qing who filmed with them wasn’t Chen Qing, was the Chen Qing who called her necessarily human?

[Qin Shuyao]: Don’t worry, before I left, I bought a ton of talismans from Master Yu. My whole house is covered in them. It should be fine.

Tan Xueci temporarily suppressed the unease in his heart and didn’t think further.

Jin Chen went out to the restroom. Left alone in the dark bar booth, Tan Xueci felt a little scared. He moved toward the corner of the sofa and suddenly sat on something. He picked it up and saw it looked like Jin Chen’s bag, which wasn’t zipped properly.

He reached out to push it aside but accidentally knocked the bag under the sofa. He hurried to pick it up, but a piece of clothing was partially pulled out. His gaze instantly froze.

He thought it was some kind of black coat, but it turned out to be layers of fluffy black skirt hem. No matter how you looked at it, it was a maid outfit.

Just as Tan Xueci was holding the skirt with a vacant expression, a scream suddenly came from the booth door.

“What are you doing?!”

“I…” Tan Xueci tossed the skirt away with a start. Heavens, isn’t Jin Chen straight? He actually has the same hobby as my dead husband! His mind was so blank he forgot to act pitiful and just said dryly, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

With a dark face, Jin Chen strode over and stuffed the maid outfit back into the bag.

But Tan Xueci had still seen it—the skirt was an XXL… it looked like Jin Chen’s own size.

Jin Chen grabbed a can of beer and downed it. His ears were bright red as he glared at Tan Xueci and said, “Laugh if you want to!”

Back when he was the leader of a boy group, he was the oldest member. He had to worry about every member’s daily life and sleep; the pressure was immense. He had become obsessed with wearing women’s clothing in private as a way to relieve stress.

He was eventually discovered by his teammates, who misunderstood him as being gay. They drugged him and sent him to a wealthy boss.

Jin Chen had endured the effects of the drug to escape the hotel. After going to the hospital for an IV, he went to settle the score with them. However, the leader felt no remorse and even sneered at him, saying, “Who knew you dressed so provocatively but weren’t actually gay?”

Jin Chen’s face was grim. He was homophobic, but after this period of time, he didn’t mind Tan Xueci that much. After all, Tan Xueci was clearly the one whose “backside” was being eyed; he wasn’t much of a threat to Jin Chen.

But now… Tan Xueci was so “evil,” who knew what he would say?

“You…” Tan Xueci hesitated, then reached out to pick up the skirt and look at it again. Instead, he asked, “Does wearing this make you happy?”

“…” Jin Chen was stunned and looked up.

Tan Xueci wasn’t being “evil” tonight. He helped Jin Chen fold the skirt neatly and put it back, saying, “As long as you’re happy, it’s fine.”

When he was a child, he had run outside with his stuffed sheep to play with other kids, only to be mocked because his sheep was ugly. He had gone home crying, and his brother told him: As long as Xiao Gui is happy, it’s fine. What others say doesn’t matter.

Since Tan Xueci wasn’t being evil, Jin Chen felt awkward instead. With red ears, he finally said harshly, “Fine, fine, stop saying such disgusting things.”

Truly terrifying. Tan Xueci was not only “soft-handed” but also clingy and mushy.

Tan Xueci pouted and took a sip of a drink. it was spicy and uncomfortable.

After a few cans, Jin Chen was feeling a bit tipsy. He sent a message to someone to borrow a skirt and insisted that Tan Xueci try it on with him.

The skirt he borrowed for Tan Xueci was also a maid outfit, even shorter than his own—it barely reached the base of the thighs. Beneath the bud-like fluffy hem were snowy-white, plump thighs.

Tan Xueci’s slightly red ears were hidden under his black hair. He couldn’t help but press his legs together, making the soft flesh bulge.

Tan Xueci had zero alcohol tolerance. He was dazed and, somehow, ended up putting on the skirt. It wasn’t until he glanced toward the booth door that he suddenly sobered up. Trembling, he called out to Jin Chen, “There seems to be someone outside…”

Jin Chen also looked up. There was a window on the upper half of the booth door. The eerie green light from the hallway reflected a pale face staring straight at them. It looked like a woman with jet-black hair, but her eyes had been gouged out into two bloody holes.

“I’ll slap your father!” Jin Chen also woke up instantly. His chest muscles were too big, and the dress was being stretched to show cleavage. He clutched his chest and hid next to Tan Xueci, stammering, “What the hell is that?!”

The hallway lights were like disco balls, flickering between bright and dark and changing colors. The lights dimmed, and when they brightened again, nothing was there. Only then did Jin Chen finally calm down.

He and Tan Xueci cautiously walked over and pushed open the door. The hallway was empty; there was nothing there.

“I think we should go play outside,” Jin Chen had become very superstitious after Yanxia Village. “With more people, the ‘Yang’ energy is stronger.”

He put on a long, wavy wig and a mask. The bar lights were dim, so no one would recognize him. He often played like this.

Tan Xueci’s long hair hadn’t been cut yet, so going out like this was fine. His eyes were sparkling—he had never been clubbing before.

People wore all sorts of things at this bar. Jin Chen was a bit conspicuous because he was so muscular, but Tan Xueci was slender and thin. With his long hair covering him, from the back, he looked like a tall girl.

Tan Xueci didn’t know how to dance; he just jumped around randomly. Just as he was jumping excitedly, he looked up and met a dark, tall silhouette in the dim crowd.

The other person’s pale, gloomy face wore a smile. He looked straight at him across the crowd, scaring him so much he huddled together with Jin Chen.

Jin Chen was also scared to death. Meeting the man’s cold, angry eyes, he felt inexplicably guilty and lowered his head.

He Xunye loathed Jin Chen. Even though he knew Jin Chen was straight and wouldn’t do anything with Tan Xueci, seeing his own snowy-white little lamb mixed up with a “black sheep” from next door who looked like he had epilepsy still made him very unhappy.

Tan Xueci had no idea how He Xunye had found him. He thought he wouldn’t be recognized in a skirt.

But the evil ghost had already walked toward him.

He was tall and wore a high-quality tailored suit with a grey peak-lapel overcoat draped over his shoulders. Amidst the “demons and monsters” dancing in the bar, he looked impeccably dressed, noble, and handsome. His aura was so imposing that the people nearby instinctively made a path for him.

The evil ghost’s inner eyes were blood-red. He looked at Tan Xueci with a half-smile, his tone seemingly cold as he said, “Tan Xueci, do you still remember you’re a person with a family?”

To stay out all night fooling around with another man.

Even though he called Tan Xueci by his full name, Jin Chen’s scalp tightened instantly. He very disloyally slipped away through the crowd, and Tan Xueci couldn’t even grab him.

Tan Xueci swallowed, casting a guilty glance at He Xunye. He gripped his upturned skirt hem and pushed it down. His eyes were bleary from drink; the alcohol was kicking in. Perhaps the drink gave him courage, as he stammered, “Have you… have you heard of an open marriage?”

He felt they could each play their own way.

“…”

The evil ghost seemed to let out a cold laugh. His voice was even colder than before, his crimson lips curving as he said, “Never heard of it. I’m a traditional man who follows the ‘Three Obediences and Four Virtues.’ If abandoned by my husband, I can only hang myself.”

Tan Xueci: “…”

“What should I do then?” The evil ghost seemed to just realize something. His eyes, turning increasingly scarlet, stared at him intently. He smiled and said, “It seems I’m already dead. Then I can only have you come and accompany me, Little Lamb.”

As he spoke, he actually reached out his hand, appearing as if he were going to choke Tan Xueci’s neck. Tan Xueci flinched in fear.

But he wasn’t sober yet. Even though he was scared, his brain was in a muddle. He couldn’t even stand steadily, swaying back and forth, the hem of his skirt fluttering at the base of his thighs, revealing the soft leg meat beneath.

The evil ghost’s face darkened. He grabbed his wrist and led him to a deserted hallway nearby.

The alcohol had completely surged up now. Tan Xueci’s waist was soft; he only managed to avoid falling because he was supported by the ghost’s large palm. He leaned against the wall and looked up at He Xunye.

He Xunye’s features were very three-dimensional, giving him a bit of a mixed-race look. Both He Wuling and Xu Yuzhu were very good-looking, especially Xu Yuzhu, who must have been a great beauty when she was young.

The lights split He Xunye’s deep and upright face into flickering patches. A shadow fell over He Xunye’s left eye. No matter how hard he tried, Tan Xueci couldn’t see clearly. He cupped He Xunye’s face, dazed for a moment, and said, “Hubby… Hubby, did you get hit?”

Who hit his husband?!

The veins on He Xunye’s forehead were throbbing. To put it nicely, he felt like he was about to come back to life; to put it bluntly, he felt like he was being angered back to life. He had been away for less than half an hour, and his wife had run off with someone else, refused to go home, and came to a bar to dance.

Does Tan Xueci really not like him at all?

He Xunye still had his arm around Tan Xueci’s waist, fearing he would fall, but he let go of his shoulder.

Looking at the dark hallway, Tan Xueci suddenly remembered something. He lunged forward with a thud, burying his face in He Xunye’s chest muscles. By the time he realized it, he had already rubbed against him several times.

Having drunk alcohol, he felt very hot; He Xunye felt cool and comfortable. He grabbed one of He Xunye’s hands and tried to put something on it, saying, “This… this is for you.”

He Xunye froze as he looked down. Tan Xueci’s slender, fair hand was holding his, trying to put a ring on him.

Tan Xueci could wear this ring on his index finger, but he struggled for a long time to fit it onto He Xunye’s hand. In the end, he could only aggrievedly put it on the pinky finger.

There were no diamonds or expensive jewels; the ring setting had a small light on it. it was a little gift given to him by a waiter when he first entered the bar.

“At night… you can use this at night,” Tan Xueci murmured, leaning in He Xunye’s arms. “Then you won’t be afraid of the dark…”

He had secretly kept it for He Xunye, originally intending to give it to him at home. He buried himself in the ghost’s embrace, hugged his waist, and rubbed against him a few more times, sinking his face into a firm spot.

He Xunye was much taller than him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t wrap his arms all the way around him. He could only manage to raise his hands, his soft palms lightly patting the other’s back.

He simply thought He Xunye was afraid of the dark and didn’t dare to sleep alone as a ghost, which was why he had come to find him.

The evil ghost’s scarlet, cold eyes were stunned for a moment. He didn’t say anything, but bowed his head and buried it in his wife’s neck.

Holding He Xunye, Tan Xueci would recognize him as his husband one moment, his eyes turning red as tears dripped into the man’s chest. He felt incredibly aggrieved, hugging He Xunye and saying, “Hubby, someone kicked my butt.” He Xunye helped him rub his butt. Then Tan Xueci started crying again, saying his body was wet and uncomfortable, covered in water.

He felt as if he were about to drown, unable to breathe properly.

The evil ghost’s deep peach-blossom eyes were dark and thick. He leaned down to kiss him and said enticingly, “How about Hubby helps you drink it all up?”

Dazed, Tan Xueci agreed. But he didn’t know what would happen next until he saw something like a big black dog buried under his skirt hem.

He let out a small scream and cried for his husband. His husband, busy with something, didn’t pay him any mind.

He then called for “Brother Lu” (Lu-ge), only for his thigh to be pinched dissatisfactorily by something. Finally, he could only murmur with a sob, “Brother…” (Ge-ge).

The tone in which he called “Ge-ge” was very reliant, sounding much more familiar and intimate than when he called for “Lu-ge.” It was clear at once that he wasn’t calling for Tan Shangli.

He Xunye: “…”

He Xunye paused. The evil ghost’s pale, greyish face turned as dark as water as he looked up at Tan Xueci.

Where did another ‘Brother’ come from?!

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