Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 30
Wu Jiu rummaged through his belongings and finally found his household register. Once he had it, he rushed back to the human world.
However, he didn’t go to Zhu Xiao immediately. Instead, he went to have a ring custom-made. According to his design, the ring featured intertwined begonia flowers and leaves.
He paid a hefty price for expedited service and received the ring within a week.
With everything ready, Wu Jiu dressed up neatly and knocked on Zhu Xiao’s door.
Zhu Xiao noticed that Wu Jiu’s appearance was different from usual. Even the position of his tie clip was meticulous, making him look as if he were about to attend a wedding.
Half-jokingly, Zhu Xiao asked, “Are you here to propose?”
“…”
They had just met, and Zhu Xiao had already stolen his line.
Wu Jiu’s ears turned red as he was exposed.
Seeing his reaction, Zhu Xiao was surprised, “Are you really here to propose?”
Wu Jiu didn’t answer, but his flushed face was an answer in itself.
Zhu Xiao quickly stood up straight, adjusted his collar, and put on a formal demeanor, “Go ahead.”
The lines he had prepared all night were now useless. Wu Jiu hesitated for a moment before simply saying:
“Zhu Xiao, will you marry me?”
Zhu Xiao quickly agreed, “Yes, I will.”
“But,” Zhu Xiao asked in confusion, “Can we get married?”
Zhu Xiao hadn’t really thought about marriage, not because he didn’t want to, but because Wu Jiu was a ghost and he was a human. The difficulty of making it happen was higher than just dying and having a ghost marriage.
“Of course,” Wu Jiu handed Zhu Xiao his household register, “Look at this.”
It was called a household register, but it was just a thin piece of paper.
Unlike the household registers in the human world, this thin piece of paper was Wu Jiu’s fate contract as the Yama, closely tied to his destiny and the most important thing to him.
As long as Zhu Xiao’s name was written on it, it would take effect and form a contract, making Zhu Xiao his eternal legal partner, sharing immortality.
Zhu Xiao pointed to the spouse column and asked, “Just write the name here?”
“Yes. But you need to think it through, Zhu Xiao. If you don’t want to live that long—I mean, if you want to live a normal life, grow old, and end your life without being bound by this contract, that’s fine too. We don’t need this contract; it’s just icing on the cake…”
Before he could finish, Zhu Xiao picked up a pen and wrote his name in the spouse column next to “Wu Jiu.”
“Zhu Xiao! Why did you write it right away?” Wu Jiu was stunned, “I haven’t even proposed yet.”
The last stroke of “Zhu Xiao” was already elegantly completed, and as he finished writing, a faint golden light appeared, sealing the contract.
Zhu Xiao asked curiously, “Weren’t you just proposing?”
“That doesn’t count. I was just asking you to think it through…” Wu Jiu had been weighing the pros and cons with Zhu Xiao, not formally proposing, “And I haven’t even taken out the ring.”
“There’s a ring too?” Zhu Xiao extended his hand, “Then give it to me now.”
Looking at the hand stretched out to him, Wu Jiu instinctively took out the ring he had prepared.
He carefully slid the ring onto Zhu Xiao’s ring finger—it fit perfectly, a testament to Wu Jiu’s understanding of Zhu Xiao.
Zhu Xiao examined it closely and, seeing the design, smiled, “So we’ll see each other every day from now on.”
Wu Jiu was mesmerized by his smile and, as if guided by some unseen force, gently kissed Zhu Xiao’s ring finger.
This is wonderful, Wu Jiu thought. Now he could see Zhu Xiao every day.
“Where’s yours?” Zhu Xiao asked.
Wu Jiu placed his own ring in Zhu Xiao’s palm.
Zhu Xiao smiled warmly and personally put the ring on Wu Jiu’s ring finger.
Then they clasped their hands together, fingers interlaced, and the two rings lightly clinked together, making a clear sound like a firm promise.
Wu Jiu, feeling dizzy, looked at their tightly clasped hands. As the gaps between their fingers were filled, so was his soul.
At this moment, he was completely certain that this was the most complete moment of his long life.
“Wait, wait,” Wu Jiu struggled to regain some clarity from his dizzy state. He realized he hadn’t finished explaining to Zhu Xiao, “Zhu Xiao, you wrote too quickly. I haven’t finished speaking.”
“It’s written, can’t be changed.” Zhu Xiao left no room for regret; he had thought it through.
Wu Jiu caressed the contract with Zhu Xiao’s name on it, feeling both treasured and anxious, “I’m not an ordinary ghost…”
Zhu Xiao listened attentively, “Then what are you?”
Wu Jiu seemed a bit embarrassed, opening and closing his mouth several times before finally uttering the words.
Zhu Xiao repeated, as if confirming, “Yama?”
No wonder Wu Jiu could travel between the human and ghost realms. No wonder Wu Jiu said he didn’t need to reincarnate… Going back further, no wonder Wu Jiu had such strong vitality and couldn’t die.
Everything made sense now.
“Don’t be mad. I never intended to hide it from you. I always wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you’d be scared, so I only said it now.” Wu Jiu paused, then leaned in to carefully observe Zhu Xiao’s expression, “Are you okay?”
Zhu Xiao didn’t speak, making Wu Jiu a bit uneasy. He began to worry about what to do if Zhu Xiao regretted signing the contract.
Zhu Xiao was a bit dazed but not angry.
“Yama…” he murmured.
After a pause, Zhu Xiao said in a tone that was hard to decipher, “I almost dug up your grave…”
Back then, when Wu Jiu had just died, he had gone with a shovel, never expecting that Wu Jiu had landed a significant position in the underworld.
Wu Jiu laughed, “It’s okay. I almost dug up my dad’s grave too.”
They were the only two who had attempted to dig up a Yama’s grave, truly a match made in heaven.
With Wu Jiu’s words, Zhu Xiao quickly accepted it.
Whether he was a Yama or an ordinary ghost, Wu Jiu was just Wu Jiu.
With a serious expression, Wu Jiu asked, “Zhu Xiao, would you be willing to come home with me?”
“Your home?”
“Would you be willing…” Wu Jiu clarified, “to come to the underworld with me and meet my parents?”
Having signed the contract, Zhu Xiao could now travel between the human and ghost realms like Wu Jiu.
“Don’t worry, the ghosts in the underworld are very clean. Other than being a bit transparent, they’re just like normal people,” Wu Jiu explained, worried that Zhu Xiao might be scared, “And with me there, nothing will happen. Just think of it as a trip.”
“Of course, if you don’t want to go, we don’t have to.”
For a living person, going to the underworld was no small challenge. Although nothing particularly thrilling would happen with Wu Jiu there, it still required some mental fortitude.
“What do you think?” Wu Jiu asked.
Soon, Wu Jiu heard Zhu Xiao’s answer.
“Don’t worry, even if all the ghosts in the underworld are bloody,” Zhu Xiao chuckled, “I’ll still go home with you.”
To welcome Zhu Xiao, the underworld was newly decorated, and even the guard dogs were dyed pink.
The scenery in the underworld was vastly different from the human world. Since it was Zhu Xiao’s first visit, there were many unfamiliar things he had never seen before, but he had no time to admire them.
He stopped and asked Wu Jiu, “What should I say?”
“Say whatever you want. Just chat casually.——Wait,” Wu Jiu said curiously, “Zhu Xiao, are you nervous?”
“…No.”
He clearly was, but Wu Jiu knew him too well.
“Don’t be nervous,” Wu Jiu said with a smile, “They all like you.”
Especially his dad, who would be overjoyed to see Zhu Xiao.
They had arranged to meet Wu Jiu’s parents at the underworld’s reception office. Wu Xingdong had arrived early and was already seated inside.
Seeing Zhu Xiao from afar, Wu Xingdong stood up excitedly to greet him.
“Xiao Zhu, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you!”
The elder in front of him was enthusiastic but also somewhat familiar.
Zhu Xiao looked puzzled, “Mr. Wu…”
Wu Xingdong’s expression changed slightly—he had been so happy these past few days that he had forgotten about this!
“Ah, you know the old man?”
Wu Jiu was also confused. He hadn’t introduced his dad to Zhu Xiao yet, so how did Zhu Xiao know him?
Zhu Xiao’s confusion deepened, “Isn’t this Mr. Wu Jiahe?”
Wu Xingdong awkwardly laughed, looking at the ceiling and then the floor, finally landing his gaze on the table in front of him, abruptly changing the subject, “This table is getting cold. Let’s sit down and talk.”
“What, you’re Mr. Wu Jiahe?” Wu Jiu was stunned, then furious, “You’re so old, and you’re still going on blind dates?”
Wu Xingdong, who was a bit embarrassed, got angry at Wu Jiu’s words, “Who’s old? Your mom was praising me as a blooming flower just yesterday!”
“Besides, if I hadn’t spent eight hundred and eighty-eight on this blind date from that lawyer, you would have been poached by him!”
“Rubbish,” Wu Jiu spat, “No ten lawyers combined could compare to me. Zhu Xiao would never trade me for something less.”
“Right, without me, you wouldn’t have a wife so soon.”
“Hey, that lawyer is quite talented and looks much more filial than you,” Wu Xingdong stretched his neck, deliberately speaking to Zhu Xiao behind Wu Jiu, “Xiao Zhu, I was wrong to break you two up. I’ll send you his WeChat later.”
Zhu Xiao: “……”
“No way! Old man, if you do something so mean, you’ll shorten your lifespan.”
“Haha, I’ll push it if I’m afraid of shortening my lifespan.”
“Alright, then I’ll tell Mom about the two hundred bucks you hid under your pillow.”
“You dare? Just because you’re grown up doesn’t mean I won’t discipline you!”
“You really think so, ha, old man, you’re done for. Just you wait.”
“Wu Jiu, you unfilial son!!!”
…
As they argued, Zhu Xiao tried to interject but failed, so he simply sat down and decided to wait for them to finish.
He had barely sat down when Wu Jiu’s phone rang.
Wu Jiu stuck his head out and said, “Zhu Xiao, I’m almost winning. Could you answer the phone for me?”
Zhu Xiao answered the call for him.
On the other end, a female voice said, “Hello, Wu Jiu, I can’t reach your dad. If you’re free, come pick me up at the crossroads.”
“Hello, I’m Zhu Xiao,” Zhu Xiao looked up at the still-fighting father and son, “They’re both busy right now. I’ll come pick you up.”
“Oh, Zhu Xiao,” the voice on the other end softened significantly, “Hello, I’m Lian Yuqing, Wu Jiu’s mom.”
Ten minutes later, both father and son had a smoking bump on their heads, sitting face to face and reluctantly shaking hands under pressure.
At eleven minutes, Wu Xingdong, in a fit of frustration, changed his personal motto to “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”
“Alright,” the woman who arrived late rubbed her wrist, sat down gracefully, and smiled warmly at Zhu Xiao, “Now let’s talk about your wedding.”
With Wu Jiu’s mom around, the meeting with the parents went exceptionally smoothly. When they left, the atmosphere between them was so warm that it could almost be nominated for “Model Family.”
“Xiao Zhu, I’m very happy to see you and Wu Jiu together,” Lian Yuqing sighed, “I almost thought he was going to be single for life.”
Wu Jiu protested, “How could that be!”
Wu Xingdong chuckled beside them, “That’s what I thought too.”
Lian Yuqing shot a glare at them, and both father and son immediately fell silent.
“Let Wu Jiu show you around. The underworld will be your home too from now on,” she said to Zhu Xiao, “Feel free to visit anytime you want.”
“Okay,” Zhu Xiao replied sincerely, “Thank you.”
…
It was only after visiting the underworld that Zhu Xiao began to truly grasp the fact that “Wu Jiu is not an ordinary ghost.”
He followed Wu Jiu to the Yama’s residence and saw where Wu Jiu lived and worked.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Wu Jiu said, “But I won’t offer you any water. You can’t drink it here.”
Although Zhu Xiao could drink it now, the water in the underworld was terrible, so it was better not to.
Zhu Xiao’s gaze swept over the wall of thank-you banners behind the desk—filled with words of praise. It seemed that Wu Jiu was not doing badly down here and was quite popular.
His eyes came back to Wu Jiu, who coughed discreetly, clearly waiting for him to speak.
So Zhu Xiao shared his impression: “Impressive.”
Wu Jiu nodded with satisfaction, “Of course, you should know who I am.”
“What’s this?” Zhu Xiao walked to his desk and pointed to the stack of notebooks on it.
Wu Jiu glanced at them without a detailed look and said, “Those are the Books of Life and Death. You can flip through them if you want.”
Zhu Xiao, seeing the Books of Life and Death for the first time, was about to open one when he suddenly asked, “Can I write the reviewer’s name in it?”
Zhang Yuexiu’s paper had just been rejected by the reviewer for the second time.
“…Zhu Xiao, these are Books of Life and Death, not Death Note. You can’t write who dies,” Wu Jiu said, then added in a low voice, “Otherwise, I would have written ‘Wu Jiahe’ in it long ago!”
“Alright,” Zhu Xiao wasn’t that disappointed. He had just been curious.
If it were possible, he might have written his own name first, especially when reading Zhang Yuexiu’s paper. He always had the illusion that dying might be healthier.
The Books of Life and Death looked like ordinary notebooks. Without thinking much, Zhu Xiao opened the first page.
Wu Jiu’s handwriting caught his eye.
Strangely, it didn’t seem like the Books of Life and Death he had imagined.
Instead of recording the life and death of a mortal, it seemed to record Wu Jiu’s daily life.
[Today I was kissed by a beauty. I almost died as soon as I arrived in the human world… I don’t believe he kissed me to save me. He’s very good-looking, but I didn’t come to the human world to fall in love!!!!]
Zhu Xiao checked the date—it was the day he first met Wu Jiu.
[Turns out his name is Zhu Xiao]
[Zhu Xiao called my name today. The old man didn’t give me a very impressive name. Not powerful at all:]
For a while, Wu Jiu’s records turned into “Zhu Xiao Observation Notes.”
[Found out why Zhu Xiao is shorter than me—he doesn’t like milk. Why is he so fair-skinned if he doesn’t drink milk?]
[Discovered that Zhu Xiao doesn’t like eggplants. So picky. How did he survive this long?]
[He doesn’t like liver either. He has so many dislikes. Good thing I’m not cooking for him, or I’d be driven crazy.]
The further he flipped through, the more frequently “Zhu Xiao” appeared.
[Zhu Xiao likes to sit in the middle of the sixth row in the classroom]
[Zhu Xiao’s group presentation was really bad. Far worse than mine]
[Zhu Xiao didn’t come to class]
[Zhu Xiao is sick. His face is as pale as a ghost. So ugly.]
Zhu Xiao continued reading and found an entry:
[The benefits and effects of red dates: tonifying the middle and benefiting energy, nourishing blood and calming the mind, strengthening the spleen and stimulating the appetite. Red dates are rich in iron, which can promote the synthesis of hemoglobin. Eating them in moderation can help boost immunity.]
…No wonder Wu Jiu always brewed red date tea with a deadly amount of red dates.
There were also records of several health tea recipes, taking up two whole pages.
No wonder Wu Jiu was average at cooking but quite skilled at making health tea.
[Today Zhu Xiao went to the library with someone surnamed Zhao (the name is too complicated to remember)]
[He went with Zhao again. I don’t want to remember. Annoying.]
Then Wu Jiu really didn’t record for several days, skipping a few dates before new entries appeared.
[Someone actually confessed to Zhu Xiao. Is this person blind?]
[Another person confessed to Zhu Xiao. Is blindness contagious?]
[Damn it, who posted Zhu Xiao on the confession wall? Boring. I reported it!!!]
Zhu Xiao kept flipping through.
After starting work, Wu Jiu continued to record persistently.
[The canteen food is terrible, but luckily I’m adaptable. Zhu Xiao definitely can’t stand it.]
[Zhu Xiao seems to be cooking. The smell is drifting to my place! Is it poisoned?]
After several days of recording “Zhu Xiao is poisoning” and “Zhu Xiao is poisoning again,” Wu Jiu seemed to finally reach his limit.
[I need to learn how to cook human food.]
[Failed. The kitchen exploded.]
[Failed. Need to buy a new pot tomorrow.]
[Failed. It caught fire. Zhu Xiao came.]
…
[Seems like I succeeded. Ask the Rat Immortal to taste it tomorrow.]
[…Damn it, the Rat Immortal died after eating two bites and went back to the underworld! And Zhu Xiao saw it. I’m so angry. Zhu Xiao must think I can’t cook.]
[Haha, he really thinks I can’t cook]
Later on, Zhu Xiao flipped to the most recent entry.
[I have to die. I hope Zhu Xiao won’t cry. I remember he looks ugly when he cries.]
[…Leave all the inheritance to Zhu Xiao.]
[How soon did Zhu Xiao start blind dates after I died? Speechless.]
[Hate old men!!!!]
For several days, Wu Jiu’s entries all ended with “Hate old men” plus three exclamation marks.
Until one day, there was a change—
[I realized I like Zhu Xiao. I confessed to Zhu Xiao.]
Zhu Xiao flipped to the last page.
This page was different from all the previous ones. A few large words took up the entire page.
[I’m going to marry Zhu Xiao!!!!]
The words were written so large, and the overwhelming exclamation marks conveyed an unparalleled sense of excitement.
Zhu Xiao touched the exclamation marks and couldn’t help but smile.
“Why are you laughing suddenly?” Wu Jiu asked, puzzled, “Whose fate is so funny?”
Then, Wu Jiu looked at the frayed notebook in Zhu Xiao’s hand and suddenly realized something. He quickly stopped him, “Wait, that’s not the one!”
The notebook in Zhu Xiao’s hand was his diary. It had been placed with the Books of Life and Death to confuse people and avoid being seen.
Now, it had been seen by the last person he wanted to see it, and thoroughly at that.
Wu Jiu rushed forward, slammed the notebook shut without a word, and pulled open the drawer of his desk, throwing the notebook into it as if it were a hot potato.
Unfortunately, it was too late. Zhu Xiao had already finished reading.
Wu Jiu felt a bit desperate but still tried to salvage the situation, “…I didn’t write that.”
“Hmm,” Zhu Xiao smiled, “It was written by a ghost.”
Zhu Xiao bent down and took out the notebook from the drawer again.
Wu Jiu reached out to stop him, “Zhu Xiao, there’s nothing more to see. Don’t read it…!”
Zhu Xiao pushed Wu Jiu’s hand aside and took a pen from Wu Jiu’s desk.
He lowered his head, flipped to the last page, and wrote under Wu Jiu’s last sentence.
Thus, after years of records, there was the first response.
[Okay, let’s get married.]
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Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?
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