My Ghostly Darling Cuddles Me Every Day - Chapter 23.2

Chapter 23.2

Why wouldn’t she stuff a pillow into her pajamas? Why did she insist on stuffing Xiexie into them?

Sitting in Nanyan’s car, Nanyan asked how it went. Bo Yu took out some disinfectant and tissues to wipe her hands, saying everything was fine and that she had bought some calming and sleep-aiding medicine for Zhu Ying. She felt that the pulse pillow must have been touched by many people, and she had wanted to take out the disinfectant to wipe her hands while still in the consultation room, but it would have been impolite, so she forced herself to endure it.

“As long as you’re okay,” Nanyan said, watching Bo Yu wipe her hands, asking with a smile, “Do you have hand cream? I have some here.“

“No need, I brought my own.” Bo Yu took a tube of hand cream out of her bag.

Nanyan reached out: “Then squeeze some for me. I usually smell how fragrant you are.“

Bo Yu laughed: “You smell very fragrant too.“

The two of them smiled as they applied the hand cream. Meanwhile, Xie Yinwan was fuming in the bag because Bo Yu had stuck out her tongue and offered her hand to the doctor, and because Bo Yu didn’t want to continue having erotic dreams. She sat in the bag with a sullen, sour face.

But Bo Yu was completely oblivious and unaware.

Nanyan asked: “Are we heading to the mall now?“

“Yes. Besides clothes, I also want to buy a camera and a tripod.“

“Why the sudden interest in those? Do you want to film vlogs?“

“Yeah, something like that,” Bo Yu continued her string of lies. “I want to go out and photograph birds when I have time. I’ve taken a liking to birdwatching lately.“

Sheng Nanyan smiled and praised Bo Yu for liking to observe nature and for her uniqueness. Bo Yu felt awkward being praised and used small talk to bypass the topic.

The two of them bought a lot of things, and the store manager arranged for everything to be delivered to the house. The shopping trip ended, and they returned home before sunset. After dinner, Sheng Nanyan stayed in the living room to distribute the purchases to everyone. Bo Yu used the excuse of being tired from shopping to hide in her room and study the tripod and camera.

After figuring them out, Bo Yu turned off the camera to save memory, intending to turn it on only when she was ready to sleep.

As night fell, Bo Yu took her Yin-nourishing and fire-reducing medicine but didn’t feel like sleeping. She went upstairs to look at Grandma’s flowers that had been moved inside that morning. The flower shop owner who usually helped Grandma tend to the flowers must have visited today; the flowers that had withered this morning were gone, and fresh ones had bloomed in their place.

Bo Yu wore headphones and squatted in front of the flowers to look at them when suddenly a flash appeared before her eyes—a figure in light bamboo-green floated by.

Xie Yinwan had arrived!

Bo Yu quickly followed. Xie Yinwan didn’t look back as she drifted down the stairs; Bo Yu skipped the elevator and ran down the staircase after her. Xie Yinwan floated very fast, and Bo Yu hurried to keep up, watching her footing as she ran.

Xie Yinwan entered Bo Yu’s room, and Bo Yu followed her in. Immediately after Bo Yu entered, all her clothes were torn apart once again!

Why is Xie Yinwan’s temper so explosive today?

Flushing red, Bo Yu first locked the door, then squatted down while covering her chest, grabbing the shredded fabric to shield her body. Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Bo Yu looked up from the floor. Xie Yinwan was wearing beautiful wide-sleeved garments, but her face was dark, cold as frost, and radiating a murderous aura.

What is it this time?

Bo Yu pursed her lips slightly and forced a pleasantly surprised smile, greeting her politely: “Immortal, good evening.“

Xie Yinwan looked down coldly at Bo Yu, her voice chilling: “Bo Yu, I want to kill you. Are you willing?“

Bo Yu: “???“

Bo Yu turned pale with fright and scrambled to stand up, but realizing she had no clothes, she didn’t dare to. Meanwhile, the temperature in the room plummeted, making her stiffen and shiver.

“Unwilling?“

“No, it’s not that.“

“Then you are willing.“

“No, no, Immortal,” Bo Yu’s teeth chattered from the cold, and she couldn’t hide her panic. “Immortal, do you need me to do something? I can do it for you while I’m still in the human world.“

“You cannot do it. Only the dead can give me what I want,” Xie Yinwan said in a low, raspy voice.

Bo Yu panicked. To have a ghost tell her to die—how could she not panic?

“Does the Immortal need my body? I can give it to you. I can use this body during the day, and the Immortal can use it at night. Would that work?” Bo Yu’s face was white as paper from the cold, and she hugged her shoulders as if she were about to collapse.

Xie Yinwan’s cold eyes narrowed slightly.

Suddenly, the freezing temperature surged back up. The sudden shift from cold to hot caused Bo Yu to break into a damp sweat, and her body went limp, nearly toppling over.

Suddenly, a hand caught her by the waist and propped her up: “Truly weak to the point of death.“

“…“

Xie Yinwan lifted Bo Yu into the air. Bo Yu’s slippers fell to the floor one after the other as she was carried to the bed and set down. Xie Yinwan didn’t let go; her wide sleeve remained wrapped around Bo Yu’s lower back. Bo Yu instinctively leaned forward, hoping Xie Yinwan’s long robes would cover her body.

Xie Yinwan lowered her gaze: “What are you doing? Throwing yourself into this Immortal’s arms?“

Bo Yu: “…“

One second they were discussing her death, and the next she was being teased; Bo Yu’s mind was nearing a breakdown.

“No,” Bo Yu whispered honestly. “It’s a bit uncomfortable being naked. Could the Immortal let me put on some clothes?“

“Are you afraid of this Immortal seeing you?“

“…No.“

“Since you aren’t afraid, there is no need to wear anything.“

“…“

“Hmm? You still want to wear them?“

“…No, I will listen to the Immortal.“

“Mhm.“

Bo Yu took a deep breath, trying to remember what she had wanted to say to Xie Yinwan during the week they were apart. Xie Yinwan’s arrival had been too sudden, her clothes were torn too suddenly, and now Xie Yinwan was holding her and wouldn’t let go. Her head was a bit muddled.

“Right,” Bo Yu remembered and asked softly, “Immortal, did you receive the wine I burned for you? Did you like the two new flavors? The square bottle was plum wine, and the round-bellied one was cherry wine.“

Xie Yinwan spoke briefly: “Peach blossom wine.“

Bo Yu understood. After trying others, she still preferred the peach blossom wine she had the first time. Just like a demanding client—next time, she would continue burning peach blossom wine for her.

Bo Yu asked again: “How about the peach blossom pastries? Was the taste acceptable? From the initial soaking of the blossoms, I made them all by myself; I didn’t let the helper touch them.“

Xie Yinwan was taciturn: “Acceptable.“

Bo Yu thought, Great. “Then does the Immortal want peach blossom pastries again next time, or should I change to some other desserts?“

Xie Yinwan glanced down at her: “You talk too much. Do I need to sew your mouth shut?“

“…“

Bo Yu pondered for a moment and understood. Xie Yinwan’s meaning was likely for her to switch to some new desserts. Xie Yinwan was arrogant and wouldn’t say directly that she wanted to try other flavors, so she used threats instead. She tried to memorize this way of communicating with this “tsundere” ghost.

“You have the scent of that stinky Daoist on you.” A sinister reminder suddenly came from above.

Xie Yinwan’s feet never touched the ground, so she was currently taller than Bo Yu. Bo Yu looked up at her in surprise, only just realizing that Xie Yinwan was angry because of that?

“You only said I shouldn’t take her things anymore. Is it not okay to even have a meal with her?”

Besides, the meal was yesterday. She had showered three times between yesterday and today.

Xie Yinwan sneered: “Eating together yesterday—next time, will you be watching the moon and stars together?”

Bo Yu: “…” That sounds a bit sharp.

“I’m sorry,” Bo Yu lowered her head, deciding to just admit fault. “I was wrong. Don’t be angry; I don’t want you to be angry. I’ll go take a shower in a moment.”

Xie Yinwan kept a cold face.

The temperature around them was still a bit chilly. Bo Yu looked up to coax her: “From now on, regarding anything to do with Daoist Jin Xuan, whether it’s meeting or calling, I will tell you everything in advance. I’ll only do it if I get your permission. Is that okay?”

As she coaxed her like this, Bo Yu had the strange illusion that she was pampering a little ancestor. Xie Yinwan’s face remained cold.

Bo Yu wanted to touch Xie Yinwan’s sleeve, but she could never reach it. A fleeting look of daze passed through her eyes, and she coaxed softly again: “‘I will not have any intimate relationships with any humans, nor will my body be tainted by the scent of any other humans, otherwise you will kill us all, dismember us, and execute us with a thousand cuts’—I have always remembered the words you said, Immortal. I wouldn’t dare to disobey.”

There was a dead silence in the air. But Bo Yu felt that the atmospheric pressure around them wasn’t as suffocating anymore.

“Hmph.”

Hearing that sound, Bo Yu finally let out a sigh of relief. Then she saw Xie Yinwan flick her sleeve and heard the sound of water in the bathroom.

Bo Yu understood: “I’m going to shower right now.”

Saying that, Bo Yu covered her chest and turned around. However, she felt a chill on her back as Xie Yinwan embraced her from behind, her arms wrapping over Bo Yu’s shoulders and her wide sleeves covering Bo Yu’s chest.

Xie Yinwan buried her face in the hollow of Bo Yu’s left neck, inhaling the fragrance deeply. Bo Yu tilted her head to the right. A sensation like a cold wind or a feather moved slowly across her neck, like a snake, making her entire back tense up.

Then, the heat-inducing images from her dream flooded back. Bo Yu’s breathing gradually became hurried, and her legs went weak. If she kept having contact with Xie Yinwan, she feared that even taking Chinese medicine every day wouldn’t be enough to lower her “fire” and clear her heart.

“So fragrant,” Xie Yinwan whispered as she circled her neck. “This Immortal truly wants to eat you.”

“…”

“It seems to be the scent of agarwood,” Bo Yu said tentatively. “If the Immortal likes it, shall I burn more agarwood incense for you?”

“No need. Smelling you is enough.”

“…”

Each second felt like a year. Finally, Xie Yinwan let go. Bo Yu’s entire body went limp and she lost her strength, nearly kneeling on the bed, but she was caught by Xie Yinwan and heard another “weak to the point of death.”

Bo Yu felt she was already quite impressive; after being smelled by Xie Yinwan for over ten minutes, she could still maintain her reason.

Xie Yinwan held Bo Yu and flew toward the bathroom. The bathtub was already full to the point of overflowing. With a flick of her arm, Xie Yinwan tossed Bo Yu into the tub.

Fearing she would hit her head, Bo Yu reflexively tried to cover it, but as she hit the water, she felt as if she were enveloped by a soft buoyancy, slowly sinking into the water. The water temperature was perfectly comfortable. Bo Yu let out a sigh of comfort in her heart and looked up at Xie Yinwan gratefully.

Xie Yinwan stood above the bathtub, having returned to her cold and solemn state, looking down at her with indifference. Bo Yu hugged her knees in the water, thought for a bit, and continued to coax her softly: “Immortal, I have prepared some entertainment for you. There is a new phone for watching videos, a large TV that can play videos, and I bought some calligraphy and paintings from the Wei and Jin dynasties so I can teach you how to read. Are you interested in any of those?”

Xie Yinwan said icily: “None.”

“…” And the conversation dies.

Bo Yu tried again: “Then does the Immortal want to look at the phone?” Before Xie Yinwan could bring it up, she took the initiative: “I’ve been thinking about dancing for the Immortal. How about the Immortal browses the phone for a while? If you see a video you like, you can ‘favorite’ it, and I’ll learn it during my breaks at work. How does that sound?”

As she spoke, she explained terms like “favorite” and “video” that Xie Yinwan might not understand. Xie Yinwan had no interest in those beautiful women, but she was very interested and expectant about the prospect of Bo Yu dancing while taking off her clothes.

She pretended to be uninterested and bored, saying reluctantly: “Acceptable.”

Bo Yu immediately stepped out of the water, grabbed a bathrobe to wrap herself in, and went to get the new phone. When she was moving flowers for Grandma this morning, she had asked for a new phone, and Grandma had given her two. That way, if Xie Yinwan got angry while playing and smashed one, she could still use the other.

She didn’t actually want to dance for Xie Yinwan; she just wanted to distract her. She wanted Xie Yinwan to spend more time on the phone and gradually become addicted to it so she would stop being addicted to smelling her. Perhaps when it became absolutely necessary, she might dance—something like raising her hands to do a “flower hand” shake, moving from left to right and wiggling her hips. It was a bit tacky, but if she treated it like radio calisthenics, it seemed easier to do and wouldn’t make her feel too ashamed. If Xie Yinwan really made her dance and threatened to kill her if she didn’t, she would just have to choose her life over her dignity.

Bo Yu went to the desk and pulled a phone out of the drawer. Just as she was about to turn around, she felt Xie Yinwan follow her, stopping right behind her.

“First, tell this Immortal how to write your name,” Xie Yinwan said arrogantly.

Bo Yu felt a surge of joy. This meant Xie Yinwan was interested in learning to read. If she had interests, she would be easier to coax in the future.

Bo Yu immediately brought out the Western Jin dynasty calligraphy copybook she had been looking at, Ode to the Expedition. While looking at the rubrics, she had specifically searched for her surname “Bo.” In the eighth column from the right, the second character down was “Bo.” The original text was “Bo Fa Xian Yun.” Ignoring the meaning and just looking at the character, “Bo” in this script looked like the character for “medicine.”

Bo Yu circled the character and said: “This is the ‘Bo’ in Bo Yu. Reading this character alone, the Modern Mandarin pronunciation is very similar to the Wei and Jin pronunciation—both are ‘Bo’—but in the Wei and Jin period, it was pronounced more abruptly. If a character follows it, you would read it as ‘Boke,’ where the ‘ke’ is pronounced together with the next word.”

Bo Yu didn’t know if Xie Yinwan could understand, but she explained patiently and gently, and she wrote the character “Bo” in regular script stroke by stroke on a piece of paper nearby.

Xie Yinwan held Bo Yu’s waist from behind, her chin resting on Bo Yu’s left shoulder. Listening to Bo Yu’s soft and patient voice and watching every stroke she wrote, she remained quiet and didn’t speak.

Bo Yu continued flipping through the rubrics, explaining in a gentle tone: “My ‘Yu’ character isn’t in these famous rubrics. Rubrics are templates written by calligraphers, who are people very skilled at writing with a brush. When my mother named me, the name she wanted was ‘Hao’ (Good), but ‘Bo Hao’ didn’t sound right, so she chose ‘Yu,’ which looks very similar to ‘Hao.’ Let me show you ‘Hao’ and ‘Yu’.”

Bo Yu wrote “Hao” stroke by stroke, then “Yu” stroke by stroke. She turned her head and asked Xie Yinwan with a smile: “Don’t they look similar?”

Xie Yinwan looked down at Bo Yu’s “Yu” and said softly: “Your writing is very beautiful.”

Bo Yu felt like she had never been praised by Xie Yinwan before and broke into a delighted smile: “Really?”

“Mhm. You are the person with the most beautiful writing I have ever seen.”

Bo Yu was even more delighted. Then Xie Yinwan added: “Because you are the only person I have seen write.”

“…”

Bo Yu was amused and annoyed. Was Xie Yinwan doing this on purpose? She was exactly that kind of ghost who liked to scare humans, with a bit of a mean streak—she seemed to enjoy bullying people with her black humor.

After a moment, Xie Yinwan frowned in thought: “Is your ‘Yu’ the ‘Yu’ (Fish) that can be eaten from the river?” Even though she didn’t recognize the character for “fish” either, she just felt this “Yu” didn’t look like a fish from a river.

Bo Yu: “…?” So Xie Yinwan always thought her name was Bo Fish?

“No, the ‘Yu’ in Bo Yu isn’t the fish you can eat.”

Bo Yu didn’t laugh at her. She unconsciously smoothed her hair and pulled out Wang Xizhi’s Carp Rubric. She used a pen to point to the character for “Fish” in the original text “Sending this carp with respect” for Xie Yinwan to see: “This is the fish from the river. If you see this character, you should understand its meaning, right? The pronunciation in the Wei and Jin period was something like ‘ng-i-o.’ If you read it together, it’s a bit like Cantonese. Do you want to try reading it with me?”

“No need.”

“…” Bo Yu went quiet. She still couldn’t quite grasp the rhythm of chatting with Xie Yinwan.

Xie Yinwan also fell silent. She sent a hair ribbon flying out and tied it around Bo Yu’s loose hair. Bo Yu glanced at the ribbon, finding it wondrous. The ribbon was the pure white one she had burned for Xie Yinwan. So now, was Xie Yinwan using the “soul” of the ribbon to tie her hair?

“Does everyone understand these things?” Xie Yinwan asked casually.

Bo Yu shook her head: “Probably very few people do.” She felt a bit embarrassed: “I just learned these in the last couple of days.”

Bo Yu didn’t want to continue the topic because her goal of pleasing Xie Yinwan seemed too obvious, and she felt awkward. So she slowly wrote the three characters for “Xie Yinwan” and asked her: “Do you recognize these three characters?”

Xie Yinwan’s face went cold again: “Do you take this Immortal for a fool? This Immortal wouldn’t recognize her own name?”

“…” But aren’t you illiterate? How would you know your own name? And you even recognize the three modern characters for ‘Xie Yinwan’.

Xie Yinwan’s inconsistent common knowledge confused Bo Yu. Maybe it’s like talking to a four- or five-year-old? Some things they know, some they don’t?

Bo Yu suddenly said: “Xie Yinwan, your ‘Wan’ has the ‘Woman’ radical, and my ‘Yu’ also has the ‘Woman’ radical. Look.”

Xie Yinwan: “…” What does ‘Woman radical’ mean?

She was so angry. She had just said she wasn’t a fool, and now she wanted to know what a “Woman radical” was but couldn’t bring herself to ask.

Bo Yu then traced the “Woman” part of the character ‘Wan’: “See, this is ‘Woman’.”

Then she traced the “Woman” part of ‘Yu’: “See, this is also ‘Woman’.”

Xie Yinwan understood. She curled her lips and said coldly: “No need for such a detailed explanation. This Immortal is not a fool.”

“…”

Bo Yu didn’t know why she always managed to provoke Xie Yinwan’s temper. She stopped talking, lowered her head, and unconsciously wrote both their names. She was using a fountain pen, and her strokes were very beautiful.

Bo Yu Xie Yinwan, Bo Yu Xie Yinwan, Bo Yu Xie Yinwan.

To their side was a round makeup mirror. In the mirror, only Bo Yu was visible. Xie Yinwan looked toward the mirror. In it, Bo Yu was focused on her writing; her profile was beautiful, peaceful, and gentle. Xie Yinwan’s lips curled into a faint, pleased smile. She liked these five characters—Bo Yu, Xie Yinwan. She liked that both their names had the “Woman” radical.

And she really, really, really liked Bo Yu.

Realizing she was smiling, Xie Yinwan forcefully pressed down the corners of her mouth, not wanting Bo Yu to notice.

Wait. She had been very angry since yesterday. She was angry that Bo Yu ate with Jin Xuan, angry that Bo Yu had woken up from the dream regardless of her feelings, and very angry that Bo Yu went to a doctor to stop having erotic dreams. She was so angry she wanted to kill Bo Yu. Yet, looking at their names together now, she felt an indescribable pleasure in her heart—it was even more pleasurable than when they were kissing.

“Enough!”

Xie Yinwan suddenly flicked her sleeve, and the white paper with their names on it instantly turned into fine powder. Bo Yu slowly closed her eyes. So hard to please.

Xie Yinwan licked her lips and commanded: “Take off your clothes.”

“?” Bo Yu opened her eyes.

“Take them off.”

“You… you aren’t going to watch the phone videos?”

“This Immortal is telling you to take—off—your—clothes.”

“…”

Bo Yu stood up silently, took off her bathrobe silently, stood before Xie Yinwan covering her chest silently, and lowered her head silently. One moment she felt like she was raising a “little ancestor,” and the next she felt like a canary being raised—summoned and dismissed at will. The Canary and the Little Ancestor. The canary had to listen to the ancestor’s whims. Bo Yu’s mind was a mess of wandering thoughts as she tried to lessen her sense of shame.

Soon, she was flown onto the bed, her limbs once again spread out. Then she saw Xie Yinwan’s two other hair ribbons—one light peach and one light bamboo-green. They were tied to each of her ankles, the trailing ends swaying gently in the windless bedroom.

Xie Yinwan admiringly looked at Bo Yu’s fair, slender ankles and pretty arches and toes, her gaze gradually moving upward. Bo Yu felt like she wanted to die. With her eyes closed, her voice trembled with shame: “Immortal, I want to cover myself with a blanket. Is that okay?”

“No.”

“…”

Xie Yinwan felt her throat go dry. Ghosts didn’t sweat, but they had feelings, especially since she was different from other ghosts. Temporarily shifting her gaze away from the alluring scene, Xie Yinwan looked at the object standing by the bed: “Is this what you bought today?”

When Bo Yu was shopping today, she had grown tired of listening in the bag and had fallen asleep. She didn’t know exactly what Bo Yu had bought, only that she and Nanyan had bought many things.

Bo Yu realized Xie Yinwan knew she had gone shopping, but she wasn’t sure how much she knew, so she explained partially: “This is a camera. You press a button and it takes a photo. Lately, I’ve wanted to go outdoors more to photograph birds, so I bought it to try it out.”

Xie Yinwan: “If you don’t press it, it won’t take a photo?”

Bo Yu: “Yes, that’s right.”

That was the truth. Bo Yu’s face was flushed due to her position, but she opened her eyes and looked sincerely into Xie Yinwan’s cold yet charming eyes.

She wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but she felt that today’s Xie Yinwan was even more beautiful than before. The first time they met, Xie Yinwan’s face was pale, even deathly white. Today, it wasn’t exactly rosy, but there was a hint of color, soft and moving like a petal about to bloom. Xie Yinwan’s figure was truly excellent as well. Even with such complex clothing, her waist was still very thin, her chest was firm, her posture was as elegant as bamboo, and her aura was as captivating as red jade.

Xie Yinwan didn’t see any guilt in Bo Yu’s eyes, so she casually withdrew her gaze from the object, no longer paying it any mind or being on guard.

Bo Yu let out a long sigh of relief in her heart. She turned her head to look at the cute Xiexie on the sewing table—wearing a pink maid dress and pink cat ears—hoping that tonight she would record the footage of how Xiexie managed to get into her pajamas.

Support My Ghostly Darling Cuddles Me Every Day