My Ghostly Darling Cuddles Me Every Day - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: “You Certainly Know How To Enjoy Yourself. Does It Feel Good?”

Bo Yu sat on her bed, feeling a heavy dullness. She knew that what she was longing for wasn’t Xie Yinwan herself, but the chance to see her mother.

Although she had been sick the past two days, she had actually been incredibly happy—happier than she had been in over a decade. But now that her hope had fallen through for a night, she felt like a puzzle piece had gone missing, and might stay missing. Her eyes grew dim, and her heart was filled with a sense of loss.

After a long while, Bo Yu got out of bed, her feet feeling heavy as lead. She walked to the sewing machine, picked up Xiexie, and sat by the edge of the bed. “Tell me,” she asked, “did that bad ghost who calls herself an ‘Immortal’ just not come last night, or did she come and I just didn’t wake up? Do you know?”

Bad ghost?

Xie Yinwan’s expression grew even colder.

Bo Yu felt that Xiexie’s gaze today seemed a bit indifferent, especially after she said the words “bad ghost.” She was startled for a second, then decided it was just a projection of her own mood—because she was unhappy, Xiexie looked cold to her.

Bo Yu suddenly felt a twinge of guilt, like a mother caught speaking ill of someone behind their back to her daughter. She smiled and poked the corner of Xiexie’s eye. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t usually talk behind people’s backs. I’m a good owner, and she… she’s a good Immortal too, okay?”

Xie Yinwan remained indifferent.

Bo Yu smiled at Xiexie, but the doll naturally gave no response. Yet, as she stared, why did Xiexie’s aura seem to grow even more detached?

She chuckled and stroked the doll’s face, attributing the strangeness to her own state of mind. She had never been particularly jubilant or particularly devastated before; usually, any emotions she had could be processed silently by talking to Xiexie in her head. This morning, however, the frustration was so stifling she felt the need to speak aloud to vent.

Bo Yu set Xiexie down and walked to the window to pull back the curtains. The sound of cicadas in the courtyard drifted in—noisy and full of life. The morning sunlight was soft, filtering through the swaying leaves of the century-old sycamore tree. The dancing shadows felt vibrant.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, her mood lifted slightly. She looked out toward the artificial lake on the right side of the yard. The housekeeper was accompanying Grandma as she practiced Tai Chi by the water. Finally, the corners of Bo Yu’s mouth curved into a gentle smile.

At breakfast, Bo Jingxian kept glancing at Bo Yu. She enthusiastically reached past Grandma to put a serving of celery into Bo Yu’s bowl, asking with a smile, “Sis, are you going to work today or staying home?”

Bo Yu looked at the “peace-offering” celery and then tilted her head toward her sister. “Is something up?”

Bo Jingxian beamed. “A friend of mine just got back from abroad and wants to meet you. He saw your photo on my social media and asked if he could be friends. You know how it is with people from overseas—they just like making friends, nothing else to it.” She really wanted her sister to start dating and move out.

Bo Yu’s aunt, Fang Zheng, became interested. Of the three sisters, Bo Yu was the most likely rival to her own daughter, Bo Mi, for the family assets and group inheritance. She also hoped Bo Yu, the grandmother’s favorite, would move out soon. She asked with a smile, “Male or female? What does he do? How’s his character? To be friends with our Xiao Yu, looks are secondary—character is what matters.”

Bo Jingxian leaned in. “He’s a handsome guy, works in finance, just back from Wall Street. He even met our aunt while he was abroad. His work ability and character are both top-notch.”

“Is that so? Then save him for me,” Bo Mi interjected, sliding into the conversation. She squinted at Bo Jingxian. “Don’t you see your eldest sister is still single? If you’re so ‘considerate,’ introduce him to me first.”

Bo Jingxian snapped back, annoyed that Bo Mi always sided with Bo Yu. “But Sis, don’t you like girls?”

Bo Mi raised an eyebrow. “Don’t go putting me in a box. I’m bisexual. As long as they have good character and make my heart flutter, I like men or women. Problem?”

Bo Jingxian looked at her mother, but Fang Zheng didn’t dare cross her own daughter; Bo Mi was at the top of their small family’s food chain.

Suddenly, Bo Qin (the father) spoke up: “Xiao Yu is twenty-three. She can start dating. She should try getting to know people.”

Bo Yu, who usually avoided conflict and rarely spoke, paused her chopsticks. She slowly raised her eyes to look at her father and gave a thin smile. “Sure. Why don’t you pick someone out for me? Choose whoever you think is suitable, print out their profile and a photo, and I’ll go ask my mom if she thinks it’s okay.”

Bo Yu never spoke like this. The table fell into a stunned silence. Bo Qin was furious; the daughter who hadn’t been close to him since she was seven had just turned his face cold with anger.

“Enough,” Grandma Bo said, gently patting Bo Yu’s leg under the table to stop the topic. “No one needs to set Xiao Yu up. If she wants to stay single, I’ll take care of her for the rest of my life. When I’m gone, her aunt will continue to look after her.”

The mention of “dying” while supporting Bo Yu made Bo Qin and Bo Jingxian quiet down sullenly. The aunt and uncle hurried to distract the old lady with pleasantries, and the morning passed in that noisy, cluttered way.

During the day, Bo Yu still didn’t go to work. She put on her backpack, grabbed her sun umbrella, and went out to walk Hanhan.

She circled the courtyard, and halfway through, she squatted down by the base of the wall. After tethering Hanhan, she pulled a beach mat from her bag and sat Xiexie on it to “tan.” Then, she took out a small garden trowel and began vigorously digging up the talismans from the dirt.

She didn’t know why Xie Yinwan hadn’t come last night, but she wondered if the self-proclaimed Immortal had been bragging—maybe Jin Xuan’s charms actually had blocked her. She decided to dig up two or three just to see if it would make a difference tonight. Regardless of whether it worked, she had to try.

Xie Yinwan, watching Bo Yu dig up the talismans with her own eyes: “…”

Before she knew it, Bo Yu had dug up five charms, which she folded neatly into her bag. If she saw Xie Yinwan again and the ghost said the charms weren’t the reason, she’d just bury them back.

Bo Yu picked up Xiexie, cradling her in one arm while leading the dog with the other.

Inside the doll, Xie Yinwan swayed with Bo Yu’s movements, looking at the daylight world through the doll’s eyes. Her mood seemed slightly less terrible. Ghosts can never walk in the sun; a single touch of sunlight would scatter their souls. Daylight belongs to humans—that is the law of their survival.

But if they possess an object, it’s possible.

Sunlight, white clouds, green trees, swaying leaves… Xie Yinwan narrowed her eyes comfortably in Bo Yu’s embrace.

As Bo Yu walked the dog, things got stranger. Hanhan was exceptionally well-behaved today—almost listless. But even so, the dog kept straining at the leash to stay as far away from Bo Yu as possible, letting out little whimpers. It was the exact sound Hanhan made when she had done something wrong and was afraid of being scolded by Bo Mi.

Hanhan looked back at Bo Yu, then at the doll in her arms. Xie Yinwan glared back coldly. Hanhan whimpered, eyes darting away, and hung her head piteously—too afraid to bark or complain.

Xie Yinwan: Stupid dog. Hanhan: Whimper.

Bo Yu: “?”

Worried that Hanhan was unwell, Bo Yu took Xiexie back to her room and called a vet. After checking the dog, the vet said, “She’s perfectly healthy. She’s probably just faking it.”

Hanhan: “…” Furious at being misdiagnosed with “faking it,” Hanhan barked madly at the vet. The vet laughed even harder. “Look at that spirit. Confirmed: she’s definitely faking.”

Hanhan: “…………”

Once she knew Hanhan was okay, Bo Yu felt relieved. The day passed in a flash. At night, she filled her bathtub with essential oil bath bombs, creating a thick, fragrant foam topped with rose petals. She locked the door, undressed, and hopped in to watch a movie while she soaked.

Bo Yu knew how to love herself; when her mood was bad, she did things to relax.

“You certainly know how to enjoy yourself. Does it feel good?”

Bo Yu froze. Her heart rate spiked instantly as she looked up into the air with joy.

In that second, the white bubbles and red rose petals from the tub and her body flew up into the air.

Xie Yinwan, dressed in the ethereal, wide-sleeved white Wei-Jin robes Bo Yu had burned for her, floated in the air. Her hair was half-pinned, and her sleeves fluttered as if in a phantom breeze.

Xie Yinwan was here!

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