Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 17

With the old King of Hell’s words in mind, Butler Bai felt like walking on thin ice when he went down to report to Wu Jiu.

“What’s his name?”

Butler Bai gave a professional wry smile and mentioned the old King of Hell’s fake name: “Wu Jiahe.”

Wu Jiu, thinking it was the same as his own, immediately became like Ah Q and discontentedly said, “He also deserves to have the surname Wu?”

Butler Bai quickly explained that it was a different character for “Wu.”

Wu Jiu’s expression improved a bit, and he asked again, “What’s he like?”

“He, uh, is quite good,” Butler Bai, following Wu Xingdong’s instructions, picked out the positive traits to mention: “Mature, steady, knowledgeable, and modest…”

“Can you really sense all that from just one meeting? And what kind of lousy adjectives are these?” These words might be suitable for describing him, but using them for Zhu Xiao’s blind date was definitely a waste.

Wu Jiu had no interest in hearing any more of this. The more he listened, the more annoyed he became. He raised his hand to stop him, “Stop.”

Butler Bai promptly shut his mouth.

“How old is he?”

The old King of Hell’s actual age was close to that of a thousand-year-old turtle. Butler Bai quickly converted it into a human age in his mind and slightly reduced it: “Thirty-six.”

“So old.” Wu Jiu felt relieved. Zhu Xiao definitely wouldn’t like such an older man.

Wu Jiu thought he could already foresee the outcome of Zhu Xiao’s blind date. It would probably be similar to the previous Wall Street Pretentious Guy.

Thinking of this, he relaxed, and his posture became much looser than before—he was no longer in a state of readiness to spring into action. He picked out the things he wanted to hear and asked, “So their blind date must not have gone well, right?”

Butler Bai nervously wiped his sweat, “It was actually quite good…”

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and blurted out everything Wu Xingdong had told him: “They both had a good impression of each other, were very satisfied with the blind date, and it seems they will continue to meet in the future.”

Good, satisfied, continue?!

Wu Jiu’s face turned ashen, and he stood up abruptly, startling Butler Bai.

Butler Bai cautiously said, “Young master, it’s best that you don’t go to the human world for now… You can say the same thing through the Yin-Yang Messenger.”

“Why?” Wu Jiu asked irritably.

Wu Jiu had been in the underworld for a while and had recovered somewhat. He should be able to maintain a human form in the human world for a while.

Butler Bai tactfully said, “You still can’t maintain a human form for a long time… If you suddenly turn into a ghost, it will scare people.”

“Living people are very fragile,” Butler Bai added.

…

Whether living people were fragile or not, Wu Jiu didn’t know, but Zhu Xiao was probably quite fragile. Every time he was close to death, Zhu Xiao would cry. If he appeared in front of Zhu Xiao as a ghost, he didn’t know whether Zhu Xiao would faint first or start crying.

Although he was full of anger, Wu Jiu still listened to Butler Bai’s advice.

He didn’t go to the human world but chose to unilaterally start a cold war with Zhu Xiao.

Wu Jiu made up his mind in secret. He absolutely would not initiate a conversation with Zhu Xiao. Even if Zhu Xiao contacted him first, he would definitely not reply immediately. He would let Zhu Xiao wait for at least five minutes—no, five minutes was too short. At least ten minutes.

Then he endured the humiliation and waited for a full three hours.

During this time, he checked the Yin-Yang Messenger countless times to see if Zhu Xiao had sent a message, but the answer was always no.

The phone was as silent as if it were dead.

Wu Jiu grew impatient and even began to suspect that there was a problem with the Yin-Yang Messenger. He specifically called the Communication Office and, after receiving a negative answer, started to wonder if the underworld had lost its internet connection.

Finally, he couldn’t bear it any longer and sent the first message to Zhu Xiao. The cold war was declared over.

Wu Jiu: [Zhu Xiao, we haven’t spoken for three hours. Why don’t you ask me why I’m ignoring you?]

Zhu Xiao: [?]

Wu Jiu automatically interpreted this question mark as Zhu Xiao asking why he was ignoring him. Although the question was a bit perfunctory, to avoid Zhu Xiao really not knowing the answer, Wu Jiu magnanimously replied immediately: [Of course, it’s because I’m angry.]

Zhu Xiao sent another question mark: [?]

To be honest, he didn’t feel that Wu Jiu was angry at all, and three hours didn’t seem that long.

He reviewed the events of the past two days and couldn’t recall doing anything to make Wu Jiu angry.

Zhu Xiao asked him: [What are you angry about?]

Zhu Xiao was asking normally, but Wu Jiu became even more furious after seeing this sentence.

Wu Jiu kept staring at the phone in the same posture. If looks could be physical, he would have already sliced the phone into countless pieces, as if that would allow him to glare at Zhu Xiao on the other end of the Yin-Yang Messenger.

After a long while, Wu Jiu said quite irritably: [Zhu Xiao, you’re really something. Just you wait.]

A moment later, Wu Jiu still stood up from his spot.

“I’ll only be there for half an hour.”

Wu Jiu put away his phone and resolutely stepped out of the Yama’s mansion.

When Wu Jiu stepped into the human world, he was full of vigor, with the idea of having a earth-shattering, world-shaking argument with Zhu Xiao.

He had even planned out the specific process: first, he would take the moral high ground and accuse Zhu Xiao of his blind date behavior, then calmly and objectively point out that Zhu Xiao’s taste was incredibly poor, and finally make a big fuss and demand that Zhu Xiao never meet that older man again.

He intended to have a quick and decisive fight, but unfortunately, he arrived at an inconvenient time—Zhu Xiao was still teaching in the classroom.

Wu Jiu paced outside the classroom. At this moment, he had transformed into the appearance of a calico cat—he planned to remain in this form until he met Zhu Xiao alone, so that he could maintain his human form for a longer time.

He couldn’t just barge in like this; not only would it easily draw attention, but causing a teaching accident and getting Zhu Xiao criticized would be bad. Wu Jiu decided to wait until Zhu Xiao’s class was over.

He remembered Zhu Xiao’s schedule; there were no more classes after this one today.

So Wu Jiu found a prime spot outside the classroom—a platform in the middle of the window, which was not only shaded from the sun but also provided an excellent view of Zhu Xiao.

He pressed most of his body against the window, eyes wide open, staring intently at Zhu Xiao on the podium.

He originally planned to read Zhu Xiao’s lips to see what he was talking about to pass the time, but as he watched, his attention was diverted by Zhu Xiao’s face.

It was a universally acknowledged fact that Zhu Xiao was good-looking. Wu Jiu, like a student in the back row not paying attention, began to scrutinize the teacher’s appearance.

But the usually rosy and bright face with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes seemed a bit off today.

After a few more glances, Wu Jiu realized something was wrong.

Why was Zhu Xiao’s face so much paler than usual?

Wu Jiu felt agitated and pressed closer. He almost flattened his face against the window, wishing he could stick directly to Zhu Xiao’s face to see more clearly.

Perhaps it was because there were too many things in the past few days, and he was too exhausted, which led to a weakened resistance. Coupled with the recent seasonal change and a bit of wind, Zhu Xiao felt unwell when he got up this morning.

Asking for leave or adjusting classes was too troublesome. After assessing himself, Zhu Xiao thought he could still manage, so he went to school with determination despite his condition.

At first, it wasn’t too hard to endure, but as Zhu Xiao continued teaching, he began to feel cold and his head grew increasingly dizzy. He suspected he had a fever. He propped his hand on the table to relieve some of the strain and prevent himself from collapsing. He struggled through the remaining forty-five minutes and finally felt relieved when the class ended.

He left in a hurry and didn’t notice the calico cat that had been following him.

When he got back to his doorstep, he found a calico cat standing there.

But Zhu Xiao had no time to wonder where the cat had come from. He took out his keys and opened the door, wanting to get home as quickly as possible.

As Zhu Xiao closed the door, the calico cat, which had been waiting by the door, squeezed in through the crack with lightning speed.

Zhu Xiao looked down at the uninvited guest.

The calico cat seemed a bit embarrassed by his stare, raised a paw, and lightly tapped the door twice, leaving a faint paw print.

It meant, “I knocked.”

“……” Alright.

Zhu Xiao thought of Wu Jiu through this cat. Wu Jiu used to barge into his office like this, knowing he wouldn’t open the door, so he would squeeze in first and then knock as an afterthought.

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he felt like he might be delirious from fever, thinking of Wu Jiu just by looking at a cat.

Whether it was this thought or his actual lack of clarity, Zhu Xiao didn’t drive the cat away.

Zhu Xiao was really dizzy and uncomfortable. He just wanted to lie down as soon as possible. He randomly took some medicine from the first-aid kit and swallowed it whole, then hurriedly lay down on the bed.

The calico cat watched his series of actions, its paw lifting and lowering, seeming to want to say something but holding back.

Wu Jiu had originally come to argue with Zhu Xiao.

But as soon as he saw Zhu Xiao, he forgot how to argue.

Zhu Xiao lay there in a daze, faintly hearing someone coming in and out, taking his temperature, giving him water, and sticking a cool fever patch on his forehead. The person moved very gently, as if handling something fragile.

He wanted to open his eyes to see who it was, but his eyelids were too heavy to lift.

Zhu Xiao’s head was muddled, and gradually, all the external sounds faded away.

He fell into a peaceful sleep and naturally didn’t hear the person mutter in a mix of anger and urgency, “Zhu Xiao, I really give up on you.”

Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 17

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Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

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