Spirit Reaper - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: The Past — People on the Internet are like grass without roots…

New Era Year 5, May 15th Today is the day the group officially forms. I’ve finally made it! From today on, I can start earning money! When I make my first pot of gold, I’m going to buy myself a beautiful princess dress and a puppy plushie to make up for my childhood! Sigh, if only I could have a real puppy! Lily, Lily, you have to work hard!

New Era Year 5, October 23rd Our group has gone viral! I guess I’m somewhat famous now? Hehe, I’m so happy. It’s so good to be liked by everyone! I must keep working hard to be worthy of the fans’ love! I want to be a proper idol! I’ll focus on being a talent-based artist! I won’t let the fans down!

New Era Year 6, May 2nd I finally have a real puppy! She’s a lovely girl, a tiny white thing like a snowy dumpling, so I’ll call her Xiao Tuan Little Dumpling! Every time I come home from a schedule, she wiggles her butt and wags her tail, pouncing to lick my face. She covers me in slobber every time, haha! I declare Xiao Tuan is my closest family!

New Era Year 6, December 31st In the past, I was always alone on New Year’s Eve. When you’re alone, you just muddle through, but this year is different. I personally cooked a huge table of food for Xiao Tuan! She really gave her big sister face, hehe—she cleared every plate! I don’t feel lonely anymore.

Up until the end of Year 6, the tone of the diary was the Xu Li that Yu Wuyi was familiar with. Through the words, she could almost see the radiant girl who was full of hope for the future. Passionate, kind, vibrant, and working hard bit by bit toward her ideal life.

New Era Year 7, February 12th Spending New Year’s in the company dormitory again. This is the second year I haven’t gone back to “that” house. They probably think I’m dead anyway, except for when they want money. Sigh, everyone says being a celebrity makes you rich, so why isn’t it like that for me? When will I be able to buy a house of my own? The company house is nice—a big villa with strong security—but it’s not how I want things to be. Actually, if I could, I’d go live like a hermit. I’d build a small log cabin in the mountains, paint all the walls pink, buy a big princess bed, a pile of pretty dresses, and bring all my plushie babies over. Most importantly, I’d bring Xiao Tuan with me! She’d love running around in the mountains! But I can’t do that yet, so I’ll settle for painting a pink dog bed for Xiao Tuan first! I hope she likes it ^v^

Building a log cabin in the mountains?

Yu Wuyi looked out the window at the continuous mountain ranges covered in dense green vegetation. Was that memory fragment of Xu Li’s just her imagination? No, that wasn’t right. Xu Li had likely really built that cabin.

New Era Year 7, May 10th The paparazzi leaked black material about me. They said I had a “sugar daddy” back during the trainee competition and that my debut was the result of capital manipulation. It’s all completely made up! I wanted to fight back, but I couldn’t. The person in the photo was a host of a dinner party that Xu Ming made me attend. It was clearly just business socializing, but he won’t let me respond. He said “black-marketing” is still marketing, and that free traffic is a waste to ignore—we can clarify later. I refused, so he took away all my social media accounts and blocked me from working. I can only stay at home. Xiao Tuan seems happy, though; I can play with her every day now.

New Era Year 8, July 9th The internet is saying I’m trying to grab attention again, that I’m desperate for traffic because my “sugar daddy” dumped me. But I never had one! These hit pieces are all targeted attacks from malicious people. I went to Xu Ming and demanded he issue a statement and sue those liars to clear my name. When did he become like this? Why does he treat my words like wind passing his ears? Who is the one truly crazy for traffic?

New Era Year 9, April 7th I’m probably sick. I have been for a long time, but I’ve only just realized it. To Xu Ming, I’m just a cash cow to be discarded once my utility is gone. To my so-called family, I’m just an ATM to be constantly squeezed. Whenever I can’t give them money, they go online to perform a drama about being abandoned by an unfilial child. And I have no way to defend myself. People on the internet are like grass without roots; they lean whichever way the wind blows. Whatever. At least I still have Xiao Tuan.

New Era Year 10, April 2nd My home is finished. I’ll pick a good day to move. This is the happiest thing that’s happened lately. They keep saying I’m “going missing” or “acting out” to drive them to death. Maybe. I’m moving, but Xiao Tuan can’t come yet. She’s the one I’m most worried about. My puppy sister.

The diary ended abruptly. By the time Yu Wuyi snapped out of it, her face was washed with tears and her vision was blurred. Whether it was a strong sense of empathy or the bond formed during her time with Xu Li, her heart ached sharply. A massive wave of grief enveloped her like a dark cloud.

Rustle— The oil-paper umbrella on the bed began to shake uncontrollably. Yu Wuyi stepped closer and whispered, “Do you want to come out? You’re going to remember sooner or later. If you want to come out, then do it.”

She wiped her tears and opened the umbrella. After a flash of red light, Xu Li appeared in the room. She wandered around, and upon seeing Xiao Tuan’s collar and dog bed, she clutched her head in agony.

“Who is Xiao Tuan? And who am I? Is this my home? No… this isn’t my home. My name is Xu Li… Wuyi, I remember. I remember it all…”

When she looked up again, Xu Li was weeping. The extreme emotional fluctuation caused her ghostly power to skyrocket, and the temperature in the room plummeted to the freezing point. She picked up the collar, her expression tragic. “This shouldn’t be here. I clearly put it on Xiao Tuan before I left. Wuyi, she must have gone to find me… to our home. Take me to find her, please? The house is on the back mountain, I’ll lead the way.”

“I promise you. But remember, once you find your home and Xiao Tuan, you have to come with me.”

“Okay…”

“Why hasn’t Master You Er come out yet?” “Let me in to see!” “Oh, no, you can’t! You’ll disturb the formation! How can you—”

BANG— The door was thrown open. Xu Ming and Xu Li’s family burst in. The temperature inside clearly startled them; their momentum halved as they pulled their necks into their collars from the cold.

Xu Ming strode over to Yu Wuyi. Seeing the messy nightstand, his previous humble facade vanished. He glared at her. “Who told you to touch her things? I’m telling you, this is malicious infringement of property. I can sue you!”

He reached out toward Yu Wuyi, his tone vicious. “Give me that notebook. Otherwise, neither of you is walking out of here today! In this wilderness, if an ‘accident’ happens, I doubt anyone would be suspicious.”

A beast is a beast, no matter how it disguises itself; eventually, it will show its bloodstained fangs.

Looking at the four people closing in, Yu Wuyi scoffed. “Scared I’ll expose how you oppressed Xu Li? If you knew this day would come, why act that way in the first place? What are your hearts made of? How could you bear to treat her like that? From beginning to end, she only did one thing wrong: she was too kind.”

“You don’t know shit!” Xu Ming bared his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. “Which star didn’t start out like this? In the era where traffic is king, if there’s traffic, you fight for it—even if it’s ‘black’ traffic. If you want to be famous, you pay the price! It was Xu Li herself who wanted everything but couldn’t handle the cost. She was weak-willed; she deserved it! I brought her to debut, made her viral, made her money—wasn’t that enough?”

“Heh, debut? Viral? Making money? Are your so-called ‘contributions’ just accumulating groundless scandals and making her sign unfair contracts to become a money-making puppet you can control at will? You’re all insane.”

“So what? She signed the contract voluntarily. Did I force her? If you want to talk about who really forced her, wasn’t it her ‘good’ mom, ‘good’ dad, and ‘good’ brother?”

“How dare you talk like that!” Xu Li’s father punched Xu Ming in the face. “Don’t you dare blame us for what happened! Xu Li giving us money was natural and right! A daughter supporting her parents—what’s wrong with that?”

“Bah! You think I don’t know? Every time you asked for money, it was for your precious son.” Xu Ming spat in the father’s face. “Acting all concerned about your daughter’s whereabouts now… you’re just afraid of losing your stable ATM.”

“You!”

“Enough, old man, Xiao Xu! Now is not the time to fight.” “Exactly, we need to stand together against the outsiders!” “Right, right.” Xu Ming and the father stopped fighting and turned back to Yu Wuyi.

“Don’t push me.” Xu Ming pulled out a combat knife from somewhere. “Hand it over!”

“Too late.” Yu Wuyi smirked, showing her phone screen. “How can you be so stupid? You just confessed on record.”

“Then go to hell!” The man lost all reason and lunged at Yu Wuyi with the knife.

At that moment, a sharp, mournful wail echoed through the room. Yu Wuyi’s heart sank as she turned to look at Xu Li. Xu Li’s floral dress had transformed into a blood-red gown. She held her hands high, her giant sleeves masking her face.

Crap! Xu Li had heard everything. Now she had been triggered into a “Red-Clothed Malicious Ghost” with profound resentment. This was a total disaster!

“What was that sound?!” “It sounds like a woman crying!”

Xu Ming’s group huddled together, terrified. They looked at Yu Wuyi, trembling. “Is this your doing?!”

“Your grandfather’s doing!” Yu Wuyi cursed. “You heartless lot, I really don’t want to save you! Xu Li, don’t be so agitated. Let’s go find your home, okay?” Yu Wuyi shook her bell, trying to calm her.

“Screw you! Still trying to bluff me?” Xu Yaozu (the brother) spat. “That thing turned into a ghost? Kill me then, if you have the guts! Stop talking nonsense and let’s just finish her!”

“Hahahahaha—” Hearing the brother’s words, Xu Li’s wailing turned into a piercing, hideous laugh.

“Fine… then everyone can just die!”