Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 39

The next morning, as soon as Zhu Xiao opened the dormitory door, he saw the familiar face of Wu Jiu.

“Zhu Xiao!” Wu Jiu called out cheerfully, shoving the bag in his hand into Zhu Xiao’s.

Zhu Xiao suddenly found himself holding a bag of steaming breakfast, unsure whether to take it or not.

Wu Jiu’s talk of “chasing him again” from yesterday… was actually serious.

“Are you going to throw it away?” Wu Jiu’s expression fell, like a puppy that had been abandoned. “Alright.”

“There’s no trash can here, give it to me,” Zhu Xiao said, though there was indeed a trash can nearby. He just didn’t want to see Wu Jiu’s disappointment if he threw it away.

Zhu Xiao didn’t give it to him, saying, “I’m not going to throw it away.”

The breakfast that wasn’t thrown away seemed to give Wu Jiu a signal. He became even more energetic, as if he had been injected with a dose of energy, and continued to show his devotion to Zhu Xiao.

In the afternoon, when Zhu Xiao entered the classroom, he found that his usual seat had already been taken by a book.

Wu Jiu had been waiting for Zhu Xiao. As soon as Zhu Xiao arrived, Wu Jiu’s eyes lit up, and he waved at him, “Zhu Xiao, over here.”

He had arrived early, and there were still many empty seats behind him.

But Wu Jiu looked at him expectantly, and after a moment of thought, Zhu Xiao sat down next to Wu Jiu.

“I know you like the seat in the middle of the sixth row,” Wu Jiu said triumphantly, his expression as if waiting for praise. If he had a tail, it would be wagging right now.

Zhu Xiao did indeed prefer that seat, but he wouldn’t feel upset if he didn’t get it.

He had never mentioned this small preference, and few people would have noticed it. If someone knew, it meant they had observed carefully.

It seemed that Wu Jiu had not only observed it ten years ago but also…

Zhu Xiao’s expression became a bit strange: “You remembered this trivial thing for ten years?”

Wu Jiu didn’t catch the underlying meaning in his words. He honestly said, “I remember everything about you.”

During the class, Wu Jiu was drawing again, still two abstract figures, but this time with a new twist.

Zhu Xiao glanced at his new drawing during the teacher’s monologue—this time, the two figures were kissing.

…His mental progress bar was moving quite fast.

He glanced at Wu Jiu, who was happily drawing, occasionally looking at Zhu Xiao for inspiration, and their eyes met.

He coughed lightly, embarrassedly averted his gaze, and covered his drawing with his hand.

“Zhu Xiao, pay attention to the lecture,” he said.

Zhu Xiao wanted to tell him that there was no need to cover it up. His abstract drawing, even if confiscated by the teacher and projected to the whole class, wouldn’t be understood by many people, let alone associated with him and Zhu Xiao.

“Isn’t this for me?” Zhu Xiao suddenly asked.

“Yes,” Wu Jiu said. His masterpieces usually featured Zhu Xiao and were meant to be given to him.

“But you can’t look at it now,” Wu Jiu said. “And you should pay attention to the lecture.”

He prophesied to Zhu Xiao, “You will be a great scholar in the future, just like me.”

Zhu Xiao didn’t say anything and turned back to focus on the lecture.

Sure enough, in the evening, Zhu Xiao found a drawing in his bag, signed “Wu Picasso Jiu”—the man had a clear understanding of his own style. Below the signature, he formally wrote, “For Zhu Xiao to keep.”

Zhu Xiao found a binder and placed this new drawing together with the one Wu Jiu had given him before.

Wu Jiu’s perseverance in chasing Zhu Xiao was astonishing. He reported to Zhu Xiao’s door punctually every day, sticking to Zhu Xiao for classes, and even cunningly took Zhao Zirui’s place to go to the library with Zhu Xiao.

He unfailingly gave Zhu Xiao the drawings he made in class every day, and soon Zhu Xiao’s binder was filled with them. The two figures progressed from holding hands to kissing, then lying on the grass together watching stars. Flipping through them was like reading a comic book.

But one day, Wu Jiu waited for a long time in front of Zhu Xiao’s door without him opening it.

Wu Jiu paced back and forth in front of Zhu Xiao’s dormitory, several times his hand was on the doorknob, tempted to just go in.

At that moment, his phone vibrated.

He took out his phone, and a new message popped up.

——It was from Zhu Xiao, the first WeChat message he had ever sent to Wu Jiu.

Zhu Xiao: [I’m sick. You should go back.]

Wu Jiu didn’t go back. He knocked on the door and said, “I’m coming in?”

The person inside didn’t object, and Wu Jiu, accustomed to taking silence as consent, pushed the door open.

As expected, Wu Jiu found Zhu Xiao, pale-faced, lying in bed.

This was clearly Wu Jiu’s first time in Zhu Xiao’s dormitory, yet it felt like he was very familiar with everything.

He not only knew exactly where Zhu Xiao’s bed was but also found Zhu Xiao’s cup with ease, skillfully poured a cup of hot water, and added several red dates.

Zhu Xiao silently watched him move around, taking in everything he did.

For a moment, he felt as if he had really been married to Wu Jiu for many years.

He handed the cup to Zhu Xiao, watching him take a sip.

Zhu Xiao placed the cup back in his hand, opened his mouth as if to say something—

Before Zhu Xiao could speak, Wu Jiu cut in, “Lecture, right? I’ll go for you later.”

He found the medicine Zhu Xiao needed to take and placed it in the most conspicuous spot on the table, reminding him to take it and telling him to rest well.

After doing all this, he prepared to go to the lecture.

“By the way, can I send you WeChat messages?” Wu Jiu said, “You sent me one today.”

After adding Zhu Xiao on WeChat, Wu Jiu had set him as the top priority and even secretly changed the intimate nickname, but he hadn’t sent a single message.

He was worried that Zhu Xiao had already deleted him, and if he sent a message, there would be a red exclamation mark. It was better not to send it at all; that way, even if Zhu Xiao deleted him, he would remain blissfully unaware.

Zhu Xiao: [You could have anyway.]

Only Wu Jiu would be so silly as to not say a word after adding a friend. That night, Zhu Xiao had watched the “typing…” notification linger for a long time, only to receive no message at all.

Wu Jiu was happy for a moment, then asked, “You won’t delete me, right?”

“……”

“No.”

If he were going to delete him, he would have done it already; he wouldn’t have kept him until now.

Wu Jiu left cheerfully, took two steps, and then spun back like a whirlwind: “Zhu Xiao, remember to check my messages.”

“Okay.”

As soon as Wu Jiu stepped out of the dormitory door, he started sending messages to Zhu Xiao: [Zhu Xiao, remember to check my messages!]

Thank goodness, the message was sent successfully, without a red exclamation mark.

Not only that, but Zhu Xiao even replied to his nonsense with: [I’m looking.]

Knowing that Zhu Xiao was looking, Wu Jiu became even more enthusiastic in his messaging, sending even more nonsense.

But after a while, he thought he was sending too much nonsense and disturbing Zhu Xiao’s rest, so he said: [You can turn it to silent and sleep. No need to keep looking.]

Zhu Xiao: [Okay.]

Then Zhu Xiao didn’t reply anymore, probably following his advice to turn it to silent and sleep.

So Wu Jiu continued to send messages to Zhu Xiao with peace of mind, saying random things, even taking a photo of the master’s bald spot on stage and sending it over—he thought that bald spot looked a bit like a heart.

Wu Jiu sat in the multimedia classroom, listening to the master drone on and on. He had never thought he would have the chance to attend this long and boring lecture a second time, but fortunately, he wasn’t bored this time.

On the other side, Zhu Xiao, with a headache and fever, was far from asleep.

He stared at his phone, keeping the same interface. Wu Jiu would send a message every now and then, sometimes complaining about the lecture, sometimes sharing a funny video he stumbled upon while browsing, and sometimes sending health tips he had found.

Among these random messages were a few personal ones.

Wu Jiu: [Can you give me your first aid certificate?]

Wu Jiu: [The one in your drawer.]

Wu Jiu: [I’m just asking, I don’t really want it!]

Wu Jiu added a few more “forget I said that” and “pretend you didn’t see it” messages, his desire to have it practically oozing out of the screen.

Zhu Xiao calculated the time, waiting until Wu Jiu finished the lecture, and then replied to his messages one by one.

After replying to the others, he specifically picked out the ones about the “first aid certificate” and asked: [Why do you want my first aid certificate?]

The chat interface showed several times “the other party is typing,” with Wu Jiu deleting and editing, until he finally told the truth: [I like that photo.]

Zhu Xiao recalled the first aid certificate in the drawer; the photo on it seemed to have been taken when he was eighteen.

He searched through his phone’s photo album for a long time and finally found the electronic version of that photo in the cloud backup.

He couldn’t give Wu Jiu the first aid certificate, but he could send him that photo.

Before long, it was the day Wu Jiu remembered vividly—it was the day of Zhu Xiao’s friend’s birthday celebration. Zhu Xiao received a party invitation.

Wu Jiu remembered it vividly not because he was close to Zhu Xiao’s friends, but because something important happened that day.

That day, Zhu Xiao left the library early, and Wu Jiu lingered behind, knowing that Zhu Xiao was going to hang out with other friends.

Wu Jiu looked at him with a hint of resentment but said sensibly, “You go ahead, I’ll leave.”

He said he would leave, but his eyes clung to Zhu Xiao, as if a part of him would be taken away with every step Zhu Xiao took. He exuded an aura of sadness, almost as if the words “I feel wronged” were written on his forehead.

Zhu Xiao walked out, then turned back: “Are you coming?”

Wu Jiu was taken aback, looked around, and realized Zhu Xiao was talking to him.

“Can I come?”

“You can,” Zhu Xiao knew his friend wouldn’t mind. He would be happy if everyone brought more people to make his birthday more lively.

“Then I’m coming.”

Wu Jiu’s face lit up. Zhu Xiao’s step back meant that he was including him in a closer circle; he was different from ordinary suitors.

“Come on then.”

Wu Jiu quickly followed, inexplicably feeling like he was being introduced to Zhu Xiao’s friends, so his steps were very lively.

Indeed, as soon as they entered, Zhu Xiao introduced Wu Jiu to everyone, though not in much detail, just mentioning his name and class.

Wu Jiu was somewhat dissatisfied. If it were ten years later—Zhu Xiao would definitely introduce him as his boyfriend clearly.

But there was nothing he could do; he was currently without a clear status.

The party seemed boring to Wu Jiu. He wasn’t interested in celebrating birthdays—unless it was Zhu Xiao’s birthday.

But he wasn’t idle; he had a mission.

—He remembered that Zhu Xiao got drunk at this party, and even kissed him in a daze!

So this time, he was determined not to let Zhu Xiao get drunk. As soon as there was alcohol in Zhu Xiao’s cup, he would drink it immediately. After all, he was a ghost; human alcohol wasn’t as strong as the Meng Po soup from the underworld.

Seeing Zhu Xiao’s cup always empty, people would kindly refill it for him.

So Wu Jiu drank cup after cup, and those who didn’t know might think he was drowning his sorrows after a breakup.

Zhu Xiao curiously asked, “Why are you drinking so much?”

Wu Jiu said seriously, “……I’m thirsty.”

The air in the private room was a bit stuffy, and after a while, Zhu Xiao stood up to get some fresh air outside.

Wu Jiu had been secretly paying attention to Zhu Xiao, and as soon as Zhu Xiao moved, he alertly followed.

“Going to the restroom,” Zhu Xiao stopped and asked him, “Are you following too?”

Wu Jiu said, “I’m going too.”

Zhu Xiao sensed something was off—Wu Jiu usually liked to stick to him but knew his boundaries, unlike today, when he was constantly watching him.

Zhu Xiao directly asked, “What’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing,” Wu Jiu said stubbornly, “I’m just like this.”

Zhu Xiao still felt something was amiss and asked again, “What’s really going on?”

Wu Jiu was embarrassed to say it and hesitated several times before speaking.

It seemed hard to say, Wu Jiu’s gaze wandered, and after a long hesitation, he finally spoke: “I remember around this time ten years ago… you kissed me.”

And at that time, Zhu Xiao even said “wrong person”!

So Wu Jiu had been very vigilant all day, afraid that Zhu Xiao would randomly grab someone and kiss them when drunk.

If Zhu Xiao was going to randomly grab someone to kiss, it would be better if that person was him.

However, Zhu Xiao had no idea about this incident. He only knew that Wu Jiu suddenly said this… and it seemed like he was upset that Zhu Xiao hadn’t kissed him.

Indeed, these days Wu Jiu had always predicted his actions based on memory and experience. It was rare for him to fail once, so of course he was anxious.

“Are you waiting for a rabbit by the tree stump?” Zhu Xiao asked, “Waiting for me to kiss you?”

“What, what are you talking about, I’m not,” Wu Jiu said, his voice lacking confidence as he was caught out, “I’m just keeping an eye on you so you don’t do anything rash.”

Zhu Xiao stared at him without speaking, then after a while, he suddenly smiled gently.

Wu Jiu asked, “What are you smiling at?”

“Sorry for keeping you waiting,” Zhu Xiao paused, then said, “Can I kiss you now?”

“Sure,” Wu Jiu instinctively agreed, then doubted he had heard wrong, “……What did you say?”

He felt as if he had drunk too much, his head feeling dizzy—although he was a ghost and human alcohol shouldn’t affect him.

Zhu Xiao didn’t repeat himself. He patted Wu Jiu’s head, signaling him to lower it.

Wu Jiu obediently lowered his head.

But before Zhu Xiao’s lips could touch his, he suddenly stopped him: “Wait.”

Zhu Xiao: “”

Wu Jiu asked anxiously, “Did you get the wrong person?”

What kind of question was that? Zhu Xiao was puzzled: “Aren’t you Wu Jiu?”

Wu Jiu nodded, “I am.”

“Then there’s no mistake,” Zhu Xiao said.

So Zhu Xiao was indeed planning to kiss him, not someone else… Thinking of this, Wu Jiu became happy again.

Zhu Xiao grabbed his collar and leaned in once more.

“Wait!” Wu Jiu stopped him again.

Zhu Xiao asked, “What now?”

“Are you drunk?” He himself wasn’t very sober, but he needed to make sure Zhu Xiao was.

Zhu Xiao raised an eyebrow and reminded him, “I drank all of mine.”

Because Wu Jiu was there, he had basically abstained from alcohol.

Wu Jiu was overjoyed: “Let me confirm again, so you’re sober and you want to kiss me?”

“……Yes,” Zhu Xiao frowned and asked, “Is there a problem?”

“No,” Wu Jiu grinned foolishly, “Hehe, no.”

“Are you going to check so many details every time you kiss me in the future?” It seemed a bit too troublesome.

Wu Jiu, worried that he might think it was too much trouble and not want to kiss him, quickly said, “No! I was just asking, I won’t do it next time.”

Zhu Xiao nodded slightly and said, “That’s better.”

Then he exerted force on his hand, lowered Wu Jiu’s head, and gently kissed him.

Wu Jiu had thought that, since he was from ten years later, he should be much better at this than the current Zhu Xiao. This was supposed to be his moment to show off his skills—

However, as soon as Zhu Xiao’s lips touched his, he forgot all the progress he had made over the past ten years.

When their lips parted, Zhu Xiao asked in confusion, “You said we got married ten years later, didn’t we ever kiss?”

“Of course we did!”

“Then why are you blushing?”

Logically, if they were married, he should be immune to such things.

“Although I’m from ten years later, this body is still from ten years ago…”

In other words, he was still easily affected by teasing, and any move from Zhu Xiao could make him surrender.

Zhu Xiao glanced down and snorted, “I can tell.”

Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 39

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Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

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