After the Young Master’s Death, He was Kissed by His Mortal Enemy! - Chapter 97

Truth be told, Shen Ran was not bragging; his crane machine skills were indeed superb.

For almost every plush toy Xiao Dong wanted, he managed to hook it up effortlessly in just a few tries. He was even more adept at the coin pusher machines, sliding coins in one after another while stacks of prize tickets poured out from the bottom.

Cheng Yi flipped a switch, and a small carousel in the center of the hall began to rotate. Xiao Dong was having a wonderful time sitting on a small horse, while Shen Ran, riding a horse that looked a bit too small for his frame, shouted toward Cheng Yi:

“Cheng Yi, look at me! Do I look like a Prince Charming? Do I look like a total Prince Charming!”

Cheng Yi’s lips curled up high. “You look like a Prince Crazy.”

“Cheng… Yi!”

“No need to shout so loud, Prince Charming. I am not deaf yet.”

Shen Ran felt that the title of “sharp-tongue” might follow Cheng Yi for the rest of his life. If it were just mean-spiritedness, then Cheng Yi would be a truly bad person. Even with jokes, there would come a day when Shen Ran would genuinely feel resentful.

However, Cheng Yi was a master of the “carrot and stick” approach. One second he was mocking him, but by the time the carousel stopped, a mango slushie had appeared in his hand.

Taking the slushie, Shen Ran felt his temper vanish instantly.

“How did you know I was thirsty? You really are a mind reader.”

“This arcade is quite large and features a drink bar. I made this for you while you were playing marbles with Xiao Dong. I also made some popcorn; do you want some?”

Shen Ran blinked, finding it hard to imagine Cheng Yi operating a popcorn machine. He initially wanted to refuse—drinking a slushie in the middle of the night was one thing, but eating popcorn felt a bit excessive. However, looking at Xiao Dong circling around him, Shen Ran ultimately took a small bucket. If there was an opportunity, he really wanted Xiao Dong to experience foods that were new and exciting for him.

Though there were many coins left in the crate, they had played enough. If they did not head home soon, the sun would be up. Xiao Dong chose only one plushie to take back, so Shen Ran downed his mango slushie in a few gulps and stuffed the toy into the hands of the hardworking Cheng Yi. “Let’s go home!”

On the way back, Shen Ran chatted with Xiao Dong in a soothing, kid-friendly tone.

“Xiao Dong, how did you find Sister Huang Yiheng? Can spirits really feel each other’s presence?”

Xiao Dong nodded vigorously. “Yes. To find her… I walked through walls.”

Hearing this, Shen Ran let out a deep sigh. “How come a convenient skill like that didn’t land on me?”

Technically he was a normal person, but since he had been reborn, he clearly was not quite normal. Yet, calling him a spirit was not quite right either; though he could see them, he had no sensory abilities, and he certainly could not float or walk through walls.

“Does this mean I have been kicked out of the spirit register?” Shen Ran muttered in a low voice before asking Xiao Dong casually, “So, Xiao Dong, are there any spirits around us right now?”

He did not know if there were spirits nearby, but at this hour, there certainly was not another living soul besides him and Cheng Yi.

Xiao Dong closed his eyes to sense the surroundings, then opened them and nodded. “There are, and they are very close, Brother Shen Ran.”

Shen Ran raised an eyebrow. “Really? Where? How come I don’t see anything?”

Suddenly, he felt a warmth leave his hand as Xiao Dong let go and ran toward a nearby alley.

“Xiao Dong!” Shen Ran called out briefly. “This kid… I only said I didn’t see one, I didn’t say I actually wanted to look for one!”

Please don’t let him lead out a terrifying, mangled spirit, Shen Ran thought. I would actually die of fright!

In that moment, he felt a twinge of envy toward Cheng Yi. After all, as long as Cheng Yi did not open his phone camera, he did not have to see any of this.

Just as his heart climbed into his throat, Xiao Dong ran out of the alley.

“Brother, look!”

“I really don’t dare to look—wait. Is that a puppy?”

Shen Ran was scared, but he took a quick peek. Behind Xiao Dong followed a fluffy little thing. Upon closer inspection, it really was a puppy—a translucent spirit puppy that looked absolutely adorable.

The fear vanished instantly, and his heart settled back into his chest. Cheng Yi also seemed curious about what was happening, so he took out his phone and pointed the camera at them to watch.

Shen Ran crouched down, and the puppy immediately ran over. It sniffed Shen Ran’s fingers, barked twice, and rubbed its head against his hand, its tail wagging frantically. In an instant, Shen Ran’s heart melted.

“So spirits aren’t just people, they are animals too? This puppy is so cute… and so well-behaved!”

Xiao Dong was also enchanted by the puppy. Mimicking Shen Ran, he crouched down and reached out a small hand. The puppy lunged into Xiao Dong’s arms, making the boy laugh shyly.

“Brother,” Xiao Dong said, holding the puppy and looking at Shen Ran with longing and caution, “Can we take it home?”

Shen Ran was so moved he could cry; the child was finally proactively asking for something!

“Yes, yes, yes! It likes you too, so let’s take it home! Let’s give the puppy a home!”

Just as the words left his mouth, Shen Ran felt an exceptionally cold breeze blow from the alley. There were no footsteps, but a clear, slightly anxious voice echoed from a distance:

“Mop? Mop? That’s strange, where did the puppy go? Oh! There you are! Mop, what did you see just now? You ran so fast I couldn’t keep up!”

Shen Ran watched in silence as a person appeared from the alley. This person did not look much older than him, with clean, handsome features—he looked like a bright, sunny college student.

…But he was a spirit.

This spirit seemed to only have eyes for the puppy. He crouched down in front of it and chattered away for a good while before suddenly stopping and looking up blankly. He locked eyes with Shen Ran, Xiao Dong, and even Cheng Yi.

“You, you can all see me?!”

Following the principle that if you are bringing one, you might as well bring two, Shen Ran ended up bringing both the person and the dog back with him.

The young spirit clearly had nowhere else to go, so he happily followed Shen Ran and Cheng Yi home with a guileless, sunny disposition. As a result, Shen Ran’s apartment was unusually lively.

Xiao Dong loved the puppy and immediately began playing with it. Meanwhile, the simple-minded spirit started his self-introduction with a bit of shyness as he moved into the apartment.

“Um, my name is Xia Xingyuan.”

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