Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 4

Zhu Xiao sat casually in front of Wu Jiu’s grave, holding a piece of paper and a pen, lost in thought. The alcohol he had consumed earlier finally began to affect him, making his head feel heavy and dizzy.

Eventually, he started writing, driven by the alcohol. He wrote a sentence, then crossed it out; wrote another, and crossed it out as well. Eventually, he tore up the entire sheet of paper and threw it into the trash bin. This process repeated several times until only the last piece of notepaper remained.

Zhu Xiao was usually decisive in his actions and had never been so indecisive. With a chaotic mind, he lowered his head, stabbing the pen tip repeatedly on the last piece of paper, hesitating several times before finally writing just one sentence. He then slipped it into an envelope, sealed it, and threw it into the incineration bucket, all in one fluid motion, leaving no room for regret.

He silently watched the letter turn to ashes under the licking flames. After a long while, he stood up and left without a word.

By the time he returned to the apartment building, it was already the middle of the night. Zhu Xiao shook his dizzy head, feeling unsteady as he leaned against the wall and took out his keys from his pocket.

At that moment, a rustling sound came from his feet. Looking down, he saw a small black-and-white kitten.

…Where did this cat come from?

It didn’t seem afraid of people and even touched Zhu Xiao’s trouser leg with its paw, its bright gold-green eyes seemingly asking if it could come inside. Zhu Xiao didn’t stop his action, and with a “click,” the door opened.

The kitten touched Zhu Xiao’s leg again with its paw, this time less reserved, and even tapped his calf with its tail.

…

The two, big and small, stared at each other for a moment, but in the end, Zhu Xiao gave in first and stepped aside to let the kitten in. The kitten walked in with its head held high, as if the short distance from outside to inside the door were its coronation path.

The alcohol was taking effect, and Zhu Xiao’s headache began. After entering the house, he sat down on the sofa, leaned his head back against the sofa back, and closed his eyes.

He didn’t move, and neither did the kitten, which just stared at him intently. After a few minutes, realizing that Zhu Xiao wasn’t going to move, the kitten widened its eyes and took a few steps to the left and right, making some noise. It climbed onto the sofa, patted Zhu Xiao’s shoulder with its paw, and gently swept his neck with its tail, but still got no response.

The kitten seemed to get angry and jumped onto Zhu Xiao’s leg, stomping on it fiercely. Zhu Xiao finally responded reluctantly—he didn’t even open his eyes, just raised his right hand and pushed the kitten to the side.

His hand was a bit cold, and the kitten shrank back from the touch. After being pushed aside, Zhu Xiao didn’t feel like moving again and didn’t open his eyes the whole time.

The kitten glared at him for another full minute before it couldn’t bear it anymore. It stamped its foot and transformed into a human form in an instant.

If Zhu Xiao had opened his eyes, he would have recognized that the person in front of him was Wu Jiu.

If he had been sober, he would have also noticed that this Wu Jiu was different from the previous one.

Wu Jiu had stayed in the human world for too long, and the imbalance between Yin and Yang had caused a backlash, forcing him to return to the underworld. He couldn’t maintain his human form in the human world for the time being.

So now he came to the human world in his ghostly form. He could barely maintain his original form when he turned into a cat or a dog, but when he turned into a human, it was somewhat eerie—his appearance remained the same, but his body was semi-transparent, a textbook example of a ghost.

“I give up. I died and still stayed out so late,” Wu Jiu complained, staring at Zhu Xiao’s jade-like sleeping face. “You’re such an adult with no common sense. You sleep in the living room without even finding a blanket to cover yourself.”

Saying this, Wu Jiu went to the next room and brought out a thin blanket. Still angry, he threw the blanket over Zhu Xiao like an Indian pancake.

Zhu Xiao didn’t react at all, not even noticing when the blanket slipped off him. With no other choice, Wu Jiu had to go up and neatly cover Zhu Xiao with the blanket himself.

He never expected that, while he was covering Zhu Xiao with the blanket, Zhu Xiao would suddenly open his eyes.

“Wu Jiu?”

Wu Jiu’s whole body stiffened.

Zhu Xiao seemed to have trouble seeing clearly. He squinted, reached up, and pressed Wu Jiu’s neck, forcing him to come closer.

Caught off guard, Wu Jiu’s heart raced. He was currently not in a human form, and this made him even more nervous, with smoke rising from his head.

Fortunately, Zhu Xiao was not very conscious at the moment, otherwise he might have been frightened by Wu Jiu’s ghostly appearance.

“What… what are you doing?” Wu Jiu stammered, his face flushed with heat. His hands were supporting Zhu Xiao’s neck, and he was so nervous that he was stuttering. “Don’t… don’t try to take advantage of me again. I was just trying to be nice and cover you with a blanket. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

Zhu Xiao didn’t understand what he was saying and reiterated, “You are Wu Jiu?”

Wu Jiu snorted, “You can still recognize me?”

“Did you really die?”

“Dead, dead as a doornail.”

Zhu Xiao’s head still ached, and his thoughts were not very clear, but that didn’t stop him from considering the possibility that this was all a dream—so he pinched Wu Jiu to see if he would feel pain.

Wu Jiu’s head was still smoking, but such a minor injury was nothing to him, so there was no reaction.

Disappointed by the lack of reaction, Zhu Xiao pursed his lips.

It’s a dream.

So what is this now? A dream visit?

Wu Jiu really is in a bad situation, Zhu Xiao thought again, even his dream visit ends up with someone like me, who he doesn’t have a particularly close relationship with.

“Wu Jiu—”

Wu Jiu pricked up his ears, “What?”

Zhu Xiao murmured, “You’re an idiot…”

“…” Well, that’s just great. He went through all the trouble of coming to the human world, only to hear this. This was the second time Zhu Xiao had called him an idiot, and he should have known better than to expect anything else… He really didn’t know why he bothered.

Wu Jiu sulkily covered Zhu Xiao with the blanket, using the same technique he used for making dumplings, and even stuffed the hand that had just pinched his neck into the blanket, wrapping Zhu Xiao tightly inside.

He was in a bad mood, and his movements were particularly forceful.

Unfortunately, it was all for naught, as the only thing that suffered was the blanket.

Zhu Xiao, wrapped in the blanket with only his head exposed, looked like a wilted flower in a vase.

He called out again, “Wu Jiu.”

“What now?”

After Wu Jiu finished speaking, he wanted to slap himself. He knew Zhu Xiao would never say anything nice, so why did he react so quickly?

But after Zhu Xiao called out, he didn’t say anything else.

Wu Jiu was left hanging, not knowing whether to go or stay. Zhu Xiao’s words were never pleasant, but his silence was even more unsettling.

… It would have been better if he had just called him an idiot.

Wu Jiu thought for a moment and changed his tone, “What’s up?”

Zhu Xiao hesitated, “You——”

Wu Jiu patiently waited for the rest.

He had expected to hear another form of “idiot,” but instead, after a long pause, Zhu Xiao softly asked, “Did I drive you to your death?”

Wu Jiu was stunned, “What?”

Zhu Xiao repeated, “Did I drive you to your death?”

“How could I? Am I stupid to risk my life competing with you? Besides, competing with you is effortless and easy. Just look at who I am.” Wu Jiu looked down at his transparent body and felt he couldn’t stay in the human world any longer. “I have to go now.”

Zhu Xiao didn’t say anything and closed his eyes again.

He didn’t hear the expected “Get lost,” and Wu Jiu touched his nose, got up, and prepared to leave.

Wu Jiu floated to the door, but suddenly felt that it was eerily quiet behind him.

Had he wrapped Zhu Xiao too tightly with the blanket, making it hard for him to breathe?

In an instant, Wu Jiu’s mind raced with thoughts of news stories about people dying at home unnoticed.

If Zhu Xiao died here and no one found out, wouldn’t that be his responsibility?

Thinking this, Wu Jiu couldn’t help but turn his head.

And as soon as he did, he visibly panicked: “You’re crying…?”

Zhu Xiao had opened his eyes again, his face expressionless, but his eyes were red.

He stared intently at Wu Jiu, tears silently falling. They were like shards of broken porcelain, sharp yet fragile.

“…”

Wu Jiu forgot all about the potential consequences and hurriedly returned to wipe away Zhu Xiao’s tears, “Why suddenly? Why are you crying?”

He wiped Zhu Xiao’s tears with his fingertips, but as soon as he wiped one away, another fell.

“I thought you were quiet and calm…” Where did all these tears come from? Like a sponge.

Wu Jiu suddenly realized something and paused, “Did you cry because of me? Because I died?”

The answer was Zhu Xiao’s tears.

Wu Jiu’s mood had briefly improved, but quickly worsened again. He caught the teardrop that fell for him and hastily said, “Not dead through, I’m not dead through!”

Contradicting his earlier statement, Zhu Xiao looked at him in confusion.

“Really, really, it’s not a dream.” Wu Jiu freed Zhu Xiao’s hand from the blanket, “Don’t believe me? Hit me.”

Zhu Xiao didn’t hesitate and slapped Wu Jiu’s crown, forcing the smoke that didn’t match his temperament back into his head.

There was still no significant feeling, but Wu Jiu dramatically shouted, “Ouch, that hurts!”

His reaction was a bit over the top, and Zhu Xiao stared at his palm in confusion.

Wu Jiu also felt he had overacted just now, but fortunately, Zhu Xiao wasn’t fully conscious and wasn’t that clever.

“See, it’s really not a dream.”

“I’m just going to be away for a while, and I’ll be back in a bit.”

“I really have to go now, but don’t cry. I’ll try to come back as soon as possible… okay?” Wu Jiu had never spoken so gently and nauseatingly to anyone, especially Zhu Xiao, and he felt goosebumps on himself.

If someone had taken a picture, it would be enough to be his cyber scandal and make Zhu Xiao laugh for three years.

But fortunately, it was effective, and Zhu Xiao’s tears finally stopped.

Wu Jiu breathed a sigh of relief, bent down to cover Zhu Xiao with the blanket again, “I’m leaving now?”

Zhu Xiao had returned to his usual indifferent demeanor, and he nodded slightly, reluctantly approving, “Mm.”

Only after returning to the underworld did Wu Jiu realize something was wrong. Why had he spoken so softly and obediently to Zhu Xiao?

He thought resentfully to himself while calling the Communication Office.

Ten minutes later, the head of the R&D department of the Communication Office came as ordered to report on the work.

While waiting for the ghost officer to arrive, Wu Jiu took out his ghostly drawing again and added a frowning face to it.

When the knocking sound rang, Wu Jiu got straight to the point and asked, “When will the Yin-Yang Communication APP be ready?”

The R&D director replied respectfully, “Within two months.”

“Too slow.” Wu Jiu frowned, “How can it be faster?”

The R&D director smiled awkwardly and said, “It’s a bit difficult…”

Wu Jiu directly said, “What about adding money?”

“It’s hard to say…” The R&D director swallowed his saliva, carefully asking, “How much?”

“This amount, from my private account.” Wu Jiu scribbled a number on a piece of paper and pushed it to the R&D director with two fingers together.

The R&D director was so shocked that he almost popped out two eyes. He hastily picked them up, blew them back into his eye sockets, and grabbed the paper as if Wu Jiu might change his mind, “No problem, we’ll get it done in three days.”

“…”

The R&D director looked away guiltily, “There’s no way, money makes the ghost push the millstone.”

He might be the first and only ghost to work for free by paying out of his own pocket. Wu Jiu, who had emptied his savings, rubbed his temples and waved his hand to let the R&D director out.

The R&D director happily went out and, with great restraint, let out an excited howl after walking three meters away.

The deafening howl almost lifted Wu Jiu’s crown. He really had fallen into Zhu Xiao’s trap, Wu Jiu thought with a dark face.

He took out the drawing that he hadn’t finished in days from the drawer and made a few changes, turning the crying face with tears into a grinning face.

Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 4

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Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

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