1.
Zhuang Jue grew up with his parents in a big city, but after his maternal grandmother became seriously ill, he decided to return to the small, obscure city where she lived and attend high school there.
He never expected that, as soon as he got back to Huaicheng, something completely unscientific would happen to him, despite his unwavering faith in science. A water ghost disguised as a drowning victim lured him into the river, nearly making him its next sacrificial victim.
Luckily, a pale hand reached underwater in time, grabbed Zhuang Jue, and hauled him out.
Ignoring his drenched, disheveled state, Zhuang Jue hurried to thank his rescuer. When he looked up, he saw a girl crouching in front of him, smiling with crescent-shaped eyes.
"You're back from out of town, right? This is the first time I've seen your face. But all the kids in the old Wei family are pretty much identically good-looking, so I recognized you right away."
2.
Zhuang Jue never expected to run into Chu Dongqing at the snack stall by the school gate.
The pretty girl stood there, poised and graceful, staring fixedly at the takoyaki tumbling on the hotplate. For some reason, she reminded him of the stray cat he'd often fed since arriving at his grandmother's house.
"Hey, Zhuang Jue, what are you looking at?"
The classmate beside him followed his gaze. The smile instantly froze on his face.
At that moment, Chu Dongqing noticed them looking at her. When she saw Zhuang Jue, she waved cheerfully at the two of them.
"Hey, you two, whatever you do, don't go out tonight. You might go out and never make it home again."
With that, Chu Dongqing took her freshly made takoyaki and skipped away.
His classmate looked uneasy. He gave an awkward laugh and asked Zhuang Jue if he really believed what some random person had said.
Remembering what had happened the first time he met Chu Dongqing, Zhuang Jue felt her warning might not be baseless.
So, after thinking it over, he ultimately turned down his classmate's enthusiastic invitation to go hiking in the mountains at night.
3.
Zhuang Jue ran for his life up the mountain.
Dark tree shadows pursued him relentlessly. The cold white moonlight revealed his ashen face, and although the trail had taken only half an hour to climb before, now he couldn't seem to reach the end no matter how far he ran.
Zhuang Jue strongly suspected that whatever was chasing him was deliberately keeping him trapped.
Even so, as an ordinary person, he had no way to deal with it. His phone had lost its signal long ago.
Just as Zhuang Jue couldn't stand it anymore and decided to stop for a short rest, a soft hand suddenly reached out from behind and patted his shoulder.
His heart nearly stopped.
"Didn't I tell you in advance not to go out tonight?"
A familiar female voice rang out, tinged with laughter. Zhuang Jue turned around and saw Chu Dongqing standing behind him in a white cotton nightgown, smiling brightly.
At the sight of her, Zhuang Jue was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that there wasn't a single shadow beneath her clean feet.
His heart leapt into his throat again. Zhuang Jue had no idea whether the person speaking to him was human or ghost.
Reader's guide:
1. This is a story to unwind with, and the genre seems pretty niche, so I'm writing what I want and letting loose.
2. Inline comments are on. Comments are welcome.
3. Everything in the story is fictional and has no real-life inspiration.
4. To be decided.
Blurb saved on 2026/04/17.
Theme: Believe in love and hope.
