Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 5

The next day, Zhu Xiao once again appeared at the bar right on time. However, he didn’t drink; he just sat there.

Upon seeing his friend Zhao Zirui, Zhu Xiao’s first words were still, “I still think Wu Jiu isn’t dead.”

Zhao Zirui: “…”

Zhao Zirui questioned, “Didn’t you say yesterday that he might really be dead?”

These past few days, whenever they met and chatted, the topics were either “Wu Jiu is dead” or “Wu Jiu isn’t dead.” Zhao Zirui inwardly grumbled, could it be that Wu Jiu was doing sit-ups in his coffin?

Zhu Xiao didn’t speak, looking as if he was deep in thought.

After the failed attempt to dig up Wu Jiu’s grave, Zhu Xiao had come to believe that Wu Jiu was dead over the next few days.

It wasn’t until this morning, when Zhu Xiao woke up and glanced at the blanket wrapped around him.

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a blanket meant for covering; it was just a decorative bedspread from the guest room.

Moreover, the blanket was wrapped quite tightly around him, in a manner similar to a kidnapping— the person who covered him even tied several knots using the tassels on the side. Zhu Xiao had to struggle a bit to free himself.

In an instant, Zhu Xiao was certain that he hadn’t covered himself with the blanket.

His head still ached a bit from the hangover, and Zhu Xiao spaced out for a moment, trying to recall what had happened yesterday. Unfortunately, his memory stopped right after ringing the bell; he couldn’t remember anything afterward.

For no particular reason, Wu Jiu’s face suddenly popped into his mind.

A guess emerged: he had seen Wu Jiu last night.

He tried hard to remember again, hoping to find more details to confirm his suspicion.

Regrettably, he still couldn’t remember anything.

Was it a dream?

Zhu Xiao lifted the blanket, sniffed it for no particular reason, and then, as if conducting a research, he meticulously inspected the living room.

Apart from two strands of cat hair that had somehow drifted by the door, he found nothing suspicious.

Yet, Zhu Xiao felt that Wu Jiu had been there.

This idea was quite far-fetched; he had no objective evidence to prove that Wu Jiu had been there. It was not only far-fetched but also a bit eerie—if Wu Jiu was really dead, his guess would have to lean towards the supernatural.

After a quick wash and change of clothes, Zhu Xiao left his home and rang the doorbell of the neighboring apartment.

The apartment he lived in was allocated by the school, with two units per floor, and Wu Jiu lived next door to him.

He rang the bell three times, but there was still no response.

Zhu Xiao took a step back and noticed the same two strands of cat hair by Wu Jiu’s door.

This was a very minor detail and clearly had nothing to do with Wu Jiu.

However, as someone who believed in science and evidence, Zhu Xiao rarely chose to trust his intuition.

But this time, he did.

He felt it had something to do with Wu Jiu.

With that thought, Zhu Xiao suddenly said, “Let me try again.”

Zhao Zirui was puzzled: “Try what?”

Zhu Xiao answered with his actions.

He stood up and rang the bell on the table once more.

This time, Zhu Xiao was completely sober and hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol.

Zhu Xiao went to the cemetery again.

He saw Butler Bai Yu once more.

It seemed as if the butler had been waiting for him there. As soon as he saw Zhu Xiao, he quickly greeted him.

The butler eagerly handed Zhu Xiao a thick book.

Zhu Xiao looked down and saw that the book cover was colorful, with a silly, grinning child with big teeth drawn on it.

The title was also humorous: “A Hundred Laughs: The Ultimate Joke Collection.”

Zhu Xiao’s expression was somewhat disdainful: “?”

“I bought this book specially for you because you seemed so upset last time,” the butler said. “You can flip through it when you have nothing to do; it might help lift your spirits.”

It turned out that Wu Jiu had instructed the butler to buy it after his last visit to the human world—apparently, he had seen Zhu Xiao in tears and couldn’t bear to see him so sad.

Although the butler was skeptical about Wu Jiu’s words, he still followed his orders.

After all, money is hard to earn, and work is hard to do.

“Thank you, but no,” Zhu Xiao returned the book, indifferently saying, “I’m not sad.”

Given his relationship with Wu Jiu, he wasn’t really heartbroken; at most, he felt a bit uneasy. Moreover, he still believed that Wu Jiu wasn’t dead.

The butler recalled what Wu Jiu had said and asked curiously, “Didn’t you cry when you visited Mr. Wu’s grave?”

Zhu Xiao was even more puzzled: “When?”

“It was, uh,” the butler didn’t want to be too specific and vaguely said, “During the two days when you visited Mr. Wu’s grave.”

Zhu Xiao immediately denied it: “That never happened.”

He realized something and narrowed his eyes: “Did Wu Jiu ask?”

“Yes—but that’s not exactly what I meant,” the butler almost fell for the King of Yanluo’s trick again and quickly tightened his guard, fearing that Zhu Xiao might start digging graves again.

“I, I don’t want to scare you,” the butler forced a smile, “Mr. Wu is already dead.”

“Alright,” Zhu Xiao was surprisingly easy to talk to this time and didn’t pursue the matter further.

Zhu Xiao looked around and saw new paper and pen placed in front of the tombstone.

—These were also placed by Wu Jiu’s instructions, but according to Wu Jiu, it was just a casual mention because he wasn’t waiting for Zhu Xiao to burn the letter.

Zhu Xiao picked up the paper and pen, thought for a moment, and then wrote a few words.

He avoided the butler’s prying gaze and put the letter into the envelope, sealing it.

The butler failed in his attempt to peek and instead brought over the incineration bucket, “Mr. Zhu, shall I light the fire for you?”

“There’s no need,” Zhu Xiao said, “I don’t plan to burn it.”

“If you don’t burn it,” the butler hesitantly reminded him, “Mr. Wu won’t be able to see it.”

According to the rules, things from the human world couldn’t be directly taken to the underworld; they had to be transferred through burning or offerings.

Zhu Xiao placed his letter in front of the tombstone but still had no intention of burning it. Instead, he helped put out the fire.

“If he can’t see it, then so be it,” Zhu Xiao said coldly, “It’s meaningless to say these things to the dead.”

“After all, the person is dead; let the deceased rest in peace,” Zhu Xiao unexpectedly asked, “Don’t you agree?”

The butler’s nerves were still on edge and he dared not respond casually, only managing to mumble, “Ha-ha, I suppose so.”

Within two days, Wu Jiu, who was far below, had already heard the news that Zhu Xiao was out enjoying himself again.

Not only that, but he also learned that Zhu Xiao had completely forgotten about the events of that night and even denied crying.

After hearing the butler’s account, Wu Jiu’s voice rose an octave, “He forgot again?”

The butler coughed lightly and reported truthfully, “Mr. Zhu did say ‘It never happened.'”

“I knew it,” Wu Jiu lamented with regret and anger, grinding his teeth, “I should have recorded it…”

Zhu Xiao’s habit of going back on his words wasn’t a one-time thing; Wu Jiu should have anticipated it.

Recalling some past events, Wu Jiu couldn’t help but stand up, ready to confront Zhu Xiao again.

“Young master, you really can’t go to the human world again right now. Last time, you almost didn’t make it back!” Seeing Wu Jiu about to head to the human world again, the butler earnestly persuaded him, “No matter what, you have to wait for a few more months.”

Wu Jiu, who had already stood up, sat back down reluctantly, like a spring that had been forcibly pressed down: “…I know.”

“But Mr. Zhu left a letter, saying it was his heartfelt words…” the butler said, “But he placed it in front of your grave without burning it.”

“Heartfelt words?” Wu Jiu’s expression softened for a moment, but then he raised his eyebrows again, scornfully saying, “What kind of heartfelt words could he have? It’s probably just that one sentence.”

He didn’t say the exact sentence, but he was still holding a grudge from last time.

After waiting for three seconds, Wu Jiu said to the butler, “Go and burn it for me.”

“Is that really okay?” the butler hesitated, “If I burn it secretly, Mr. Zhu will find out.”

Wu Jiu knew this was definitely a trap set by Zhu Xiao, but he thought for a moment and then said, “Couldn’t it have been blown away by the wind?”

The butler: “…”

Having worked in the workplace for many years, the butler had already mastered the art of survival by going along with whatever was said: “Of course, it was blown away by the wind.”

So the butler diligently came to the human world, picked up Zhu Xiao’s letter like a thief, and burned it in front of Wu Jiu’s grave.

A moment later, Wu Jiu had the letter in his hand.

After opening it, he saw that Zhu Xiao’s “heartfelt words” were as concise as ever.

Though the words were few, the meaning was clear.

There were only three big characters on the paper, written specifically for Wu Jiu to see.

——Get out here.

Looking at the familiar handwriting, Wu Jiu could almost imagine the cold face Zhu Xiao would have when saying these words.

It was obvious that Zhu Xiao had anticipated he would get this letter.

Wu Jiu subconsciously looked around to make sure Zhu Xiao wasn’t there before saying, “What a temper! I give up; I’m the King of Yanluo, after all.”

Just then, a trumpet-like shout came from outside the door: “Leader! Leader!”

“Good news!” Before he was seen, the R&D director rushed to Wu Jiu’s office door, his face beaming as he knocked on the door, “Our Yin-Yang Communication app is online!”

Wu Jiu neatly folded the letter along its original creases, put it back into the envelope, and then placed it in the drawer on his right, alongside the previous letter.

After doing this, he looked up at the R&D director, putting on his dignified demeanor as the King of Yanluo, and calmly said, “Show it to me.”

The R&D director came closer as requested and eagerly demonstrated their achievement to Wu Jiu: “We’ve imported the data from the Book of Life and Death, so everyone, whether human or ghost, is recorded here…”

After listening, Wu Jiu paused for a moment and nonchalantly asked, “Can this app send messages to people in the human world?”

“Of course. It’s just that the signal will be a bit weak due to the separation between the two worlds.”

The R&D director took out his eyeballs, polished them, and put them back on, looking at Wu Jiu with his bright and clear eyes, sincerely asking, “Do you have someone you care about in the human world?”

Wu Jiu immediately said, “No.”

Zhu Xiao was by no means someone he cared about; at most, he was a stubborn, tearful person who always denied owing favors.

The R&D director’s eyes filled with disappointment: “Alright, if you had someone, I could download the Yin-Yang Communication app on their phone, and you could contact them.”

“This function hasn’t been tested yet. Since you don’t have anyone, I’ll ask others,” the R&D director said.

“…”

Recalling Zhu Xiao’s red eyes and the tears that had fallen into his hand, Wu Jiu changed his mind: “There is someone.”

The R&D director’s eyes lit up again.

“It’s not what you think,” Wu Jiu emphasized sternly, “I just have something to discuss with him.”

“Sure, sure,” the R&D director didn’t think much of it, as long as it was a living person in the human world, “Could you please write down his phone number for me?”

Wu Jiu took a piece of paper and effortlessly wrote down a string of numbers.

It wasn’t because of any attachment; it wasn’t because of that threatening letter.

He just didn’t want to see Zhu Xiao cry. Wu Jiu thought, Zhu Xiao looked really ugly when he cried!

Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 5

Comments for "Chapter 5"

Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

Announcement