After Ghost Marriage with My Arch-Rival - Chapter 22.1

Before Liu Xiangyi could even process what was happening, Zhong Qinhuai leaned in. A sudden chill brushed against his lips.

It felt like a snowflake drifting onto his mouth.

It was a shallow, fleeting kiss by the window.

Devoid of intense passion, it felt more like a sacred, pure ritual. Their lips simply pressed together for a few seconds before parting.

Liu Xiangyi: “?”

Something isn’t right.

Aren’t we arch-enemies?

Doesn’t Zhong Qinhuai refuse to date?

Didn’t he even warn me not to be a “love-brain,” and even take me to the park where Wang Baochuan famously dug for wild vegetables to show me the consequences of being blinded by love? So why.

Liu Xiangyi was so stunned he didn’t even remember how he made it down the mountain. He didn’t even notice the look the little crow on the banyan tree gave him.

The little crow let out a soft “Eh?”

This human’s expression is so, so weird.

The little crow couldn’t quite identify the emotion; all it knew was that “overjoyed” certainly wasn’t it.

Noticing the jade pendant was still missing from the man’s neck, the fledgling tilted its little head and let out a smug snort.

“I t-t-told you so! You made A-Huai an-angry, he definitely won’t give it b-back!”

Seeing the human walk past as if he hadn’t heard a word, the little crow became even more certain—this human had definitely suffered a defeat at A-Huai’s hands.

The fledgling thought for a moment and then scurried up to the balcony.

“A, A-Huai.”

It hopped through the window into the master bedroom and walked toward the coffin, intending to ask how he had disciplined the human. But when it looked down, the coffin was empty.

The fledgling’s golden vertical pupils went wide.

“Wh—where’s A-Huai?”

The car that had broken down last night had already been repaired. After descending the mountain, Liu Xiangyi sped away from Mount Wu in his yellow Bentley.

As he drove, he suddenly heard a soft click from the passenger seat. He turned his head to find Zhong Qinhuai sitting beside him silently, even properly buckling his seatbelt.

After a brief moment of shock, a thought popped into Liu Xiangyi’s head.

“You aren’t planning on following me to the office, are you?”

“Don’t normal human couples do this? Going everywhere together.”

Zhong Qinhuai spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Though he had never dated, he had seen it at school: couples did everything together. They ate together, went out together, and slept together.

Only then did Liu Xiangyi realize that Zhong Qinhuai wasn’t joking about this “dating” business.

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

Zhong Qinhuai is my rival.

And he’s a ghost.

The idea of dating him was beyond Liu Xiangyi’s imagination.

Just as his brain was spinning to find an excuse to politely decline, he caught a glimpse of Zhong Qinhuai leaning lazily against the car window, toying with the jade pendant in his hand.

Liu Xiangyi: “!”

So, this brat really did pick it up.

While stopped at a red light, Liu Xiangyi didn’t say a word—he simply reached out to snatch it back. But Zhong Qinhuai was too quick and dodged him easily.

He even held the pendant up and dangled it.

“Want it back? Then President Liu should tell me first, who gave this to you?”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

The jade had been given to him by his second brother; it was designed to track the progress of absorbing Yin energy by changing color.

Now.

Liu Xiangyi glanced at the pendant. It was already half-white and half-yellow.

The progress was encouraging.

But none of this could be known by Zhong Qinhuai. Liu Xiangyi cleared his throat and arched an eyebrow. “President Zhong, prying into someone’s privacy like this is a very easy way to get dumped.”

Zhong Qinhuai glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Seeing his obvious guilt, Zhong Qinhuai put the jade away again.

“I recall that in human relationships, couples are supposed to be honest with each other. President Liu, is this your idea of a ‘dating attitude’?”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

His eyes remained glued to the pendant in Zhong Qinhuai’s hand. Unfortunately, as a mere human, he couldn’t exactly win a physical struggle against a ghost.

Liu Xiangyi could only manage a thin smile. “President Zhong, normal human couples are not only honest but also reasonable. Since you found my pendant, it’s only reasonable to return it, right?”

Seeing how nervous Liu Xiangyi was about the pendant, a flash of playful mockery appeared in Zhong Qinhuai’s eyes. He shook the pendant and asked, “You really want it back that badly?”

Then, like a magic trick, he closed his fist around it. A second later, when he opened his palm again, the jade had vanished.

Heaven knew where he had hidden it.

“Depends on your performance. And my mood.”

Now that he had something to hold over Liu Xiangyi, Zhong Qinhuai naturally wouldn’t let go of it easily.

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

I feel like I’ve played myself.

He couldn’t even blame Zhong Qinhuai. He could only blame himself.

Who told him to make up all those lies just to absorb Yin energy? But then again, who could have expected that the man who claimed he’d never date would actually, take it seriously?

Liu Xiangyi took a deep breath and hit the gas. By the time the car stopped at the office, he had already finished his mental preparation.

Xia Qing and several company executives were already waiting in the conference room. Liu Xiangyi subconsciously glanced to his side; Zhong Qinhuai was sitting right next to him, though Xia Qing and the others couldn’t see him.

They were all looking directly at Liu Xiangyi.

Liu Xiangyi felt a bit more at ease. Upon asking, he learned that Xia Qing’s company was supposed to participate in an important project bid. All the documents and data were stored on a USB drive, but at the critical moment, it had suddenly vanished.

The surveillance footage had yielded nothing.

“I’m afraid an insider took it and leaked our bid amount. If our competitors find out, we’re in trouble.”

“Yeah, it’s too late to call the police. The bidding starts tomorrow at 10:00 AM. There’s no time to redo the proposal.”

It was indeed a thorny issue.

Liu Xiangyi couldn’t think of a solution immediately. Just then, Zhong Qinhuai spoke up lazily from beside him:

“President Liu, in a normal human relationship, when one partner encounters trouble, they ask the other for help.”

Liu Xiangyi: “?”

He snapped his head around to look at Zhong Qinhuai.

Immediately, everyone else’s eyes followed his gaze, looking confusedly at the empty chair he was staring at.

Liu Xiangyi cleared his throat, stood up, and said he was going to the breakroom for a coffee to clear his head. As soon as he stepped inside, he leaned against the counter and raised an eyebrow.

“So, President Zhong, what are your terms?”

He didn’t even need to ask; he knew Zhong Qinhuai wouldn’t help him for nothing. The ghost wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to mess with him.

When he learned that Zhong Qinhuai’s only condition was for them to go see a movie together, a flash of surprise crossed Liu Xiangyi’s eyes. He hadn’t expected the request to be so simple.

Zhong Qinhuai gave a casual smile. “Of course. Normal human couples go to the movies after they start dating.”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

He learned that the USB drive had been sitting on the desk of the person in charge of the bid. The man had only stepped out to use the restroom, and by the time he returned, the drive was gone.

Zhong Qinhuai used his fingertip to pick up a tiny, yellow hair from the desk.

“This is.” Liu Xiangyi leaned in to look.

Zhong Qinhuai: “Cat hair.”

Liu Xiangyi was shocked. “So, you’re saying a cat made off with it?”

Zhong Qinhuai smiled. “Why don’t we just ask the cat?”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

Cats can’t talk!

Furthermore, a new problem arose: the cat was missing.

The person in charge said with a long face, “President Liu, the front desk did adopt a stray cat. We were planning to get it vaccinated tomorrow, but it disappeared a few days ago!”

“This is bad. If a cat really took it, where would it have gone? We can’t even find the cat.”

The room filled with sighs of despair again.

Liu Xiangyi sat in his chair with his eyes closed, trying to think of a way to find the cat. Unexpectedly, after a while, he actually drifted off into a daze.

He had a dream. A strange dream.

He dreamed of a cat. It was stuck between two cabinets, unable to move, letting out faint, pathetic mews. It had been stuck for so long that its cries were weak and heart-wrenching.

“Meow. Meow.”

Eventually, the sound was almost inaudible.

Under the kitten’s paw, it was clutching a small black object—the USB drive!

Liu Xiangyi’s heart jolted. He snapped his eyes open.

He came face-to-face with Zhong Qinhuai’s enlarged face. The ghost was sitting across from him, resting his chin on his hand, staring at Liu Xiangyi without blinking.

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

Seeing that Liu Xiangyi was awake, Zhong Qinhuai twirled the cat hair between his fingers and said languidly:

“Did the cat visit you in your dreams?”

So that was it!

Liu Xiangyi recalled the details from the dream: the kitten was stuck between two cabinets. The cabinets were black, and there was a potted cactus sitting on top.

At Liu Xiangyi’s prompting, the receptionist cried out in surprise, “I know! It’s the storeroom!”

The storeroom door was usually locked and rarely entered. When they opened it, they indeed found that the cat had likely jumped in through the window and gotten wedged between the two cabinets.

It had been stuck for days and was on the brink of starvation. Clutched beneath its paw was the black USB drive.

The drive was recovered, and everyone wept with joy.

The project manager was so relieved he almost cried; if the company had missed the bid because of him, his entire career would have been over. He excitedly reached out to shake Liu Xiangyi’s hand, but his hand trembled and missed.

He didn’t care, asking with a mix of shock and delight, “President Liu, how did you know the cat was there?”

Liu Xiangyi cleared his throat and gave a mysterious smile.

“I suppose the kitten visited me in a dream.”

The room erupted in laughter. No one took Liu Xiangyi’s words seriously, assuming he was just joking.

Xia Qing also let out a sigh of relief. When those usually cold eyes looked at Liu Xiangyi, they held a hidden warmth.

“President Liu has done us such a huge favor. We must find a way to properly thank you.”

Xia Qing immediately extended an invitation to Liu Xiangyi: “Are you free tomorrow night, President Liu?”

Beside him, Zhong Qinhuai spoke up languidly: “President Liu, my movie is also tomorrow night.”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

Before Liu Xiangyi could respond, Xia Qing continued, “It’s an art exhibition. I remember hearing from upperclassmen back in school that you used to study painting. The opening is tomorrow night at eight.”

Zhong Qinhuai followed up instantly: “My movie is also at eight tomorrow night.”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

Finally, Xia Qing looked at Liu Xiangyi. A flicker of anticipation rose in his eyes, though he hid it well. “So, are you interested?”

Then came Zhong Qinhuai’s laugh—ostensibly understanding, yet sounding utterly sinister. “Well then, which one does President Liu want to see?”

Though his lips were curved into a smile, the look he gave Liu Xiangyi said otherwise. He stared at him with a ghostly intensity, as if the moment Liu Xiangyi dared to agree to Xia Qing’s invitation, Zhong Qinhuai would hurl him out the window.

Pinned by that eerie gaze, Liu Xiangyi cleared his throat and offered Xia Qing a polite refusal.

A shadow of disappointment crossed Xia Qing’s cold eyes, but he masked it quickly, returning to his usual calm. “Then I’ll ask again when you’re free.”

The chaotic evening finally drew to a close, and fortunately, the USB drive had been recovered.

On the way back, Zhong Qinhuai sat in the passenger seat, head down, playing with his phone. Liu Xiangyi stole a glance at him while driving.

Fine. Even if Zhong Qinhuai is a ghost.

Dating a ghost isn’t entirely without its perks. At the very least, a ghost can do things a normal human can’t.

Noticing Zhong Qinhuai was about to look up, Liu Xiangyi quickly averted his eyes and focused on the road ahead.

The moment he looked away, a soft chuckle sounded beside him. “Why’d you stop looking?”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

Without waiting for an answer, Zhong Qinhuai asked, “Is there a movie you actually want to see?”

Liu Xiangyi: “?”

A thought occurred to him, and he arched an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say tomorrow at eight? Was that all a lie?”

Zhong Qinhuai’s finger paused for a fraction of a second on the screen before he replied with unbothered grace, “If you want to go to that art exhibition, you can ask me to go with you. However.”

Zhong Qinhuai turned his head, his tone turning chilly. “If a normal human couple isn’t loyal and dares to ‘step on two boats’ at once, they get condemned, right?”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

When they arrived home, Liu Xiangyi walked in to find that his living room had once again merged with Zhong Qinhuai’s villa.

By the time he finished washing up and stepped out of the bathroom, Zhong Qinhuai was already settled on one side of his large bed.

Liu Xiangyi’s footsteps faltered for a moment, but he walked over as if nothing were wrong. He had shared a coffin with this brat before; there was nothing left to be afraid of.

He lay down and was about to close his eyes to rest when a ghostly voice drifted from beside him.

“Does President Liu plan on just going to sleep like this?”

Liu Xiangyi smiled with his eyes closed. “Otherwise?”

Zhong Qinhuai went silent for a few seconds, then added, “Don’t normal human couples have a goodnight kiss every night?”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

Zhong Qinhuai raised his hand, and the jade pendant miraculously appeared in his palm. He dangled it mockingly. “President Liu, you don’t want this anymore?”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

The jade was in the ghost’s hands, and he truly did need to absorb more Yin energy. There seemed to be no reason to refuse.

Liu Xiangyi cleared his throat and reached out to turn off the light. Then, he fumbled his way into a sitting position.

Even with the lights off, stray beams of moonlight spilled across the windowsill. Liu Xiangyi could clearly see Zhong Qinhuai lying there, his eyes burning with intensity.

Feeling unsettled by that direct stare, Liu Xiangyi reached out and covered Zhong Qinhuai’s eyes with his hand.

Zhong Qinhuai was surprisingly cooperative, allowing Liu Xiangyi to keep him blinded.

Only then did Liu Xiangyi slowly lean down, hovering over Zhong Qinhuai, and gave him a quick kiss. It was as light as a dragonfly skimming the water.

He intended to retreat immediately after the contact, but before he could pull away, the back of his neck was seized by Zhong Qinhuai’s hand.

The grip was firm, refusing to let him go. With a slight exert of force, the ghost pressured Liu Xiangyi downward. Simultaneously, Zhong Qinhuai tilted his chin up.

Their lips pressed together once more.

Liu Xiangyi: “!”

Zhong Qinhuai let out a low laugh against his lips. “Such a perfunctory goodnight kiss. Your attitude isn’t up to par, President Liu. Do you still want your jade back or not?”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

Zhong Qinhuai’s tone was lazy and laced with a hint of provocation—the kind that easily ignited one’s competitive streak.

Liu Xiangyi was no exception. He arched an eyebrow and fired back, “Since you’ve put it that way, President Zhong.”

He leaned down. This time, he sank his teeth into Zhong Qinhuai’s lip.

Zhong Qinhuai’s brows knitted slightly from the bite, but his expression was one of pleasure and enjoyment. With a touch of indulgence, he even began to chuckle.

His voice was pleasant—like the mist in a midnight forest, cold and ethereal. To Liu Xiangyi’s ears, however, the brat just seemed insane. Who laughs after getting bitten?

Their eyes locked. Liu Xiangyi saw that familiar competitive fire rising in Zhong Qinhuai’s gaze. He knew a new contest was about to begin.