"This is your home? It's really nice! Much bigger than mine."

The ghost girl beside me hadn’t stopped chattering since we left. By my count, she was a certified chatterbox—but understandable after over a month of silence. Anyone would crack.

"Come in, but don’t materialize randomly. My aunt’s just a normal human."

"You’ve kept mentioning your aunt. What about your parents?"

"They’re… well, they—"

"Don’t say it. We’re both victims of cruel fate." Mengze patted my shoulder with mock sympathy.

My eyelid twitched. I chopped the back of her head with my hand.

"My parents are alive! They’re just working abroad—on a *second* honeymoon. My aunt’s looking after me. (Though honestly, I take care of *her* most days.) Got it, you idiot maid?"

"N-no! St-stop pinching my cheeks!"

"Ghost or not, your skin’s weirdly soft. Wonder how you’d taste?"

*(That last bit was pure nonsense. Ignore it.)*

"So you *are* an evil sorcerer planning to grind me into medicine!"

*Sorcerer?* Hell no. That high-risk job meant backlash curses, sanity-shattering potions, and getting locked in a psych ward in this science-obsessed world. Not happening.

"Ugh… so noisy. Yuchen? That you?"

Aunt Mengmeng shuffled out, robe slipping off one shoulder, damp hair dripping water. "Why so late? Ugh! What’s that *smell* on you? Disgusting."

Crap. Caked in yellow mud and sweat, I reeked like a dumpster diver.

"Did you dig up a septic tank? Change clothes and shower *now*. You’ve got class tomorrow!"

"Right away."

I scrubbed Mengze’s skull clean and hid it under my bed. If found, I’d never clear my name.

"Listen up: while I shower, stay put in my room. No wandering."

"I-I wouldn’t peek at your naked body anyway!"

"Good."

In the bathroom, peeling off my clothes confirmed the stench was inhuman. Aunt Mengmeng hadn’t thrown me out—miracle.

Mid-shower, *crackle-pop* explosions and shrieks erupted outside the door.

"Master! You trapped me with a Barrier! You lured me home just to imprison me! Being a ghost is *hard*!"

*Exactly why I set the Barrier.* Knew this perverted ghost would ambush me mid-shower.

Hot water eased my aches. Almost midnight. Sleep or I’d collapse tomorrow.

Back in my room, Aunt Mengmeng lay sprawled on my bed, thumb in her mouth—childish sleep for a woman who looked like a mature beauty. Zero correlation between her looks and brain.

"Hey. Wake up. Go hug your teddy bear in your own room."

"*Snore…*"

Nope. Dead to the world. Guess I’d sleep on the couch tonight…

"Stop staring. Why watch me sleep at this hour?"

"But I’m a ghost! Ghosts don’t sleep."

*Valid.* But *I* need sleep! First, my aunt hijacks my bed. Now a ghost babysits my nightmares. How tragic is my life?!

"The TV’s in the living room. Turn the volume low. Leave me alone."

"…Okay."

Finally, peace. If that dumb ghost wakes me again, I’ll flush her down the toilet.

"*Ahhh!*"

A shriek jolted me awake—Aunt Mengmeng’s voice!

I sprinted to the living room. She lay unconscious on the floor. Mengze hovered nearby, eyes wide with panic.

"Mengze! What happened? Why’s my aunt collapsed?!"

"W-well… um…"

"Spit it out! Was she attacked?"

Mengze mumbled, head bowed: "I was bored watching TV… so I crawled *inside* the screen. Tried a real-life *Ring* remake. But then…"

"But Aunt Mengmeng saw you while getting water. Hence this mess. Right?"

"Bingo!"

*Bingo my ass!* I slapped her into mist. (She’d reform in seconds.)

"How *dare* you hit a girl! You’re the worst!"

"Cut the tears. Ghosts feel no pain. I brought you here to help your wish—not to terrorize people. If my aunt’s traumatized, our contract’s void. I won’t help you anymore."

Mengze crumpled, sobbing apologies.

Seeing her pitiful state cooled my anger. Aunt Mengmeng just fainted from shock. Her airheaded nature meant a silly excuse would fix it. But *no more* TV-crawling horror cosplay.

"*Sniffle*… Yuchen! A ghost! There was a ghost!" She clamped onto my neck, choking me.

I patted her back. "Shh. No ghosts. Just a bad dream. Drink this water."

"But I *saw* it! It was terrifying! *Wahhh…*"

She sobbed like a child. Seriously—she’s in her twenties! I shot Mengze a death glare: *Next time, you’re toilet-bound.*

"Alright, Mengmeng. I’ll sleep with you tonight." *Ugh.* Calling my aunt by her first name felt gross.

"Really? Promise you won’t leave?"

She was genuinely shaken. Who knew she had zero ghost tolerance? Sigh. Guess I’d be her human teddy bear tonight.

By the time I processed this, Aunt Mengmeng was already asleep on the couch, still clinging to my neck. *What excuse do I give tomorrow?*

"Sorry! I never meant for this…" Mengze offered. "I’ll call in sick for you?"

"Nah. I’ll manage."

Morning brought the classic consequence of bad sleep posture: a locked neck. I sat crooked like a cartoon villain.

*Brain… vibrating…* Anyway. Painful. Culprit obvious.

"Sorry! But sleeping beside such a beauty isn’t all bad, right?"

"*Right my ass!* She’s my *aunt*. Guard the house. No trouble."

"Eh? But I finally get to roam free! Let me follow you? I’ll stay invisible!"

Leaving her home meant delaying her wish. I didn’t want a permanent ghost roommate.

"Fine. Tag along. But *no* chaos."

"Yay! Freedom at la—"

"*Aaah!* My eyes! It burns!"

"Oops. Forgot to mention: as a half-ghost, sunlight hurts. Wait a week. Endure it."

"Rude!"

=============

After a rushed breakfast, I slid into class as the bell rang. Neck pain forced me to slump on the desk. Luckily, first period was Aunt Mengmeng’s—she’d ignore my laziness.

"Yo. Why’s your neck like that?" Shen Yufeng leaned over.

"Slept weird."

"Oh? I know a cure."

"Since when are you a TCM master, you degenerate? What’s the trick?"

He placed a small bottle on my desk.

"Dude. After years of perving on girls, you’re hitting on *me* now? I’m not gay. And this wishing bottle won’t boost your ‘likeability’."

"Pfft! Sure, you’re almost as handsome as me—but if I wanted you, I’d have made a move years ago. This has special healing power. Wear it. You’ll be fine by tomorrow."

The bottle looked ordinary. But it was his goodwill. Fine. A tiny bottle wouldn’t kill me. (Even if guys wearing them looked weird.)

"Thanks. I’ll take it."

"Don’t remove it—even while sleeping."

"Got it. Wake me when next class starts. Nap time."

"*What?!* Skipping Mengmeng’s class? Did your sexuality flip?!"

*Ugh.* If he knew my neck pain came from *her* clinging to me all night, he’d strangle me.

Evening. Home. Xia Bing cooked in the kitchen. Aunt Mengmeng scrolled on the couch. Peace.

In my room, Mengze cradled her skull, gazing at the sunset—eerily beautiful.

"You really love your own skull?"

"*Ah!* You’re back! Warn a girl!"

Since when did I need permission to enter my own room? If the others heard me talking to air, they’d commit me.

Mengze hid the skull behind her back like a scolded child. A faint blush colored her cheeks—sunset glow or shame?

"Look. That skull’s yours, but I don’t want a flying skeleton scaring the neighbors. Put it away."

To me: a beauty holding a skull, hauntingly alluring. To others: a horror movie prop.

"But… what if it grows moss under the bed? Or gets eaten by bugs?"

*Why care about weird stuff?* Soul over body. My past life’s corpse still hung as decoration on some castle gate—I never complained.

"Hand it over. I’ll preserve it properly."

"P-promise you won’t… do weird things to it?"

*I’m not a necrophiliac!*

As I reached for the skull, a yellow light-wall *slammed* Mengze backward. I froze, stunned.

"Mengze! You okay? What was that?!"

"My chest… feels punched. But I’ll live."

*How?*

Everything was perfectly fine this morning. For something like this to happen, clashing objects must have collided. Could I have something on me that counters ghosts?

My gaze shifted to the wish bottle on my chest.

No way...