Honey, Did You See a Ghost?

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Coming soon: My Dear Husband Keeps Trying to Die for Me!

[Deeply Devoted, Scheming Older Top x Silly, Goofy, Straight-Man Bottom]

Shi Wenbei practices an ancestral trade from western Hunan: corpse driving.

Put simply, he escorts people who died far from home back to their hometowns.

His professional motto: The dead deserve respect. Let them rest in peace. Not one gets left behind.

Then, a few days ago, he died first.

After finishing a major job, he was on his way back to the village with his pay when two robbers cut his throat. Someone then set his corpse on fire, leaving not even a whole body behind.

In the Hall of the King of Hell, the Judge of the Dead flipped through the ledger of good deeds, clicking his tongue as he read. "Shi Wenbei, you've earned merit driving corpses and sending hundreds of people home. The underworld recognizes your good deeds and will let you return to life."

He was overjoyed. "I can come back to life? Great! Can I keep doing my old job?"

The Judge: "...I've arranged a good body for you. Off you go."

Shi Wenbei: "A body? What kind of body?"

The Judge: "A rich young master, twenty-eight years old. He's been bedridden for ten years and just passed away."

Shi Wenbei: "...Fine. It's better than a grave."

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in a bed so soft he sank right into it, with machines all around him beeping and whirring.

Good grief, this 'ghost city' was even livelier than the markets back home in western Hunan.

A man sat beside the bed. Delicate features, truly handsome.

His eyes were red as he stared at Shi Wenbei, who had suddenly woken up. His voice trembled. "Wenyu, you're finally awake!"

Wenyu? Oh, that must be the name of this body.

He Wenyu, the only son of a wealthy family. He'd been injured in a car accident at eighteen, people said, and had lain unconscious for ten years.

Shi Wenbei opened his mouth. His throat hadn't been used in ten years, and the sound that came out barely sounded human. "But... who are you?"

The man froze, then smiled, though his eyes darkened. "I'm Lu Feng'an. Your... lover."

Lover?!

Shi Wenbei had been a corpse driver. In his previous life, he hadn't even touched a girl's hand. Now, on the very first day of his new life, he had a partner. But why was it a man?!

Shi Wenbei: "...Oh."

He: "You used to call me hubby."

Shi Wenbei: "???"

Shi Wenbei: "...Hubby???!!!"

[Bonus Scenes]

1. On Studying

Lu Feng'an: "Wenbei, you're thirty now. It's time to go to college."

Shi Wenbei: "Why would I go to college? I can't even read all the characters."

Lu Feng'an: "I'll teach you, one character at a time."

Six months later, the entire He family was in an uproar: Their young master, who'd been paralyzed for ten years, had gotten into the very university where his partner taught!

A reporter cornered him for an interview. "How did you do it?"

Shi Wenbei, expressionless: "It was all thanks to my better half, who stayed up every night threatening me with a peachwood sword until I memorized my books."

Lu Feng'an: "Well... that's what we call supportive education."

2. On Seeing Ghosts

Late at night, Shi Wenbei was sleeping soundly when someone suddenly poked him awake.

Lu Feng'an held up a compass, his expression grave. "Wenbei, there's something evil in this room."

Shi Wenbei: ... (In my last life, I dealt with evil things every day. In this life, the biggest evil thing is you.)

With his eyes still closed, he grabbed a pillow and hurled it with perfect aim.

"Lu Feng'an! That's the cat you adopted just last night!"

Cat: "Meow."

3. On Repaying a Favor

Shi Wenbei: "What is it you even like about me? In my last life, all I did was collect your corpse."

Lu Feng'an: "That's not all. You escorted me the whole way. You didn't leave me behind for even a single mile."

Shi Wenbei: "...That was my job."

Lu Feng'an: "So this time, I'll be the one to escort you."

Shi Wenbei: "...Escort me... where?"

Lu Feng'an: "Into my heart."

Shi Wenbei: "..."

Shi Wenbei: "Lu Feng'an, you're a feng shui teacher. How did you learn to say cheesy lines so fast?"

Coming soon: My Dear Husband Keeps Trying to Die for Me! Blurb:

Unhinged, devoted billionaire CEO, pursuing his wife after the breakup, top x Cool, sharp-tongued, transmigrated Republican-era, bottom-tier actor, bottom

[Past Life: The Aesthetics of a Tragic Ending, with a Goofy Commentary Track]

In the chaotic Republican era, Ye Jili was a dazzling male opera performer onstage, but broke as a joke offstage.

One day, while busking on the street, he was caught in a bombing. A soldier who seemed to appear from nowhere suddenly threw himself over Ye Jili, taking every bit of shrapnel with his face.

Ye Jili: ??? Who the hell are you, bro?

The soldier's face was a bloody mess. He was barely breathing. "If there's another life... I'll tell you... I love you... I've loved you for a long time..."

Ye Jili: ??? No, don't die yet! At least tell me your name first, okay???

The soldier died.

Ye Jili died too, blown up by the bomb.

When he opened his eyes again, he had transmigrated to the twenty-first century, to Hengdian World Studios.

[This Life: The Art of Being a Bottom-Tier Actor]

Ye Jili, male, renowned Republican-era opera performer in his previous life, now a bottom-tier short-form drama actor.

Specialties: Playing corpses (a perfect fit, since he's died once already), playing eunuchs (great voice), and playing background extras (handsome face, no connections).

Daily life: Getting yelled at by directors for not knowing how to act, having his lunch stolen by castmates, and getting hounded by his landlord for rent.

Life motto: If I die fast enough, poverty can't catch me.

Then one day, while performing at a commercial event, he met the gaze of a man in the audience.

That man was Lin Chongwei, a business tycoon worth tens of billions, married, with a child, and a straight man through and through, or so he thought.

Lin Chongwei, at first sight: Heart racing.

At second sight: Mind blown.

At third sight: What the hell is this feeling???

Lin Chongwei, calm and composed: I simply admire his art.

Lin Chongwei, late at night: He smiled at someone else today. Damn it.

And so the billionaire CEO embarked on his spectacular train wreck of a campaign:

"I'm rich, but I have no idea how to pursue someone."

Flowers? He sent chrysanthemums, because he'd heard Ye Jili "liked simple, elegant things."

A car? He sent a hearse, because he thought, "It's spacious, so he can rest in it."

Keeping him? The contract stipulated, "Monthly meal allowance: two meat dishes and one vegetable dish."

Ye Jili: ...Did this man's brain get blown up once too?

[Forced Love, But Make It Goofy]

Lin Chongwei decided to take a more forceful approach.

He cornered Ye Jili against a wall. "Come with me. I can give you anything you want."

Ye Jili: "I want you to get divorced."

Lin Chongwei: "...Anything but that."

Ye Jili: "Then I don't want anything."

Lin Chongwei, angry and embarrassed, began his "straight-man-style forced romance"...

He forced Ye Jili into a luxury car, then realized he couldn't drive. They sat in the car doing nothing for two hours.

He forced Ye Jili to a fancy restaurant, then ordered a table full of spicy food. Ye Jili cried from the heat, and Lin Chongwei panicked and called emergency services.

He forcibly announced, "You're mine." By the next day, the whole company knew the boss was keeping a bottom-tier actor, and paparazzi chased Ye Jili down three whole streets.

Ye Jili: What terrible thing did I do in my past life to deserve this?

(Last life: You did, actually. Someone died for you.)

[The Truth, But Make It Goofy]

That day, Ye Jili was filming an explosion scene, and the props crew had used just "a little" too much explosives.

Boom!

A certain wire in Lin Chongwei's brain snapped too.

Images of artillery fire and thick smoke flashed before his eyes, along with a figure in costume. Without thinking, he rushed over and pinned Ye Jili to the ground.

Ye Jili: ??? We're filming! It's fake!

Lin Chongwei trembled all over and murmured, "Don't be afraid... This time, I definitely..."

Ye Jili froze.

He'd seen that look before. A hundred years ago, on a face covered in blood and gore.

"I remember now."

"Everything."

Lin Chongwei: !!!

Lin Chongwei: Aaaaaaaaaah!

Memories came flooding back like a tide.

[Reading Guide]

Past and present lives, happy ending (but plenty of brain cells will die along the way)

Forced love, turning a straight man gay, and pursuing his wife after the breakup (the fire is huge, so have a fire extinguisher ready)

Angst and silliness in equal measure

Top: I'm rich, I'm domineering, I... I don't know how to pursue someone. Help.

Bottom: I've died once. I'm not afraid of that, but I am afraid of being poor.

Goofy Bonus Scenes:

Bonus Scene 1

[Their First Meeting Backstage]

Lin Chongwei stared intently at Ye Jili. His heart pounded painfully, and his voice was low and trembling. "I feel like I met you a long time ago."

Ye Jili rubbed the dust off his costume, looking utterly sincere. "Mr. Lin, were you at the crew's meal yesterday? I was squatting in the corner eating."

Lin Chongwei: ...No.

Ye Jili: "Then was it last week, when I played a dead guy by the roadside in that Republican-era short drama?"

Bonus Scene 2

[Forcibly Keeping Him Around]

Ye Jili struggled. "Mr. Lin, you have a wife and child! This isn't proper! The virtues of propriety and integrity I learned in the Republican era aren't meant for this!"

Lin Chongwei gripped his wrist, a century of obsession surging in his eyes. "I don't care."

Ye Jili, heartbroken: "A hundred years have passed. Why are rich people still so uncivilized?"

Bonus Scene 3

[The Flower-Delivery Disaster]

When Lin Chongwei pursued someone for the first time, he asked his assistant, "What kind of flowers should I send?"

Assistant: "Roses. Everyone sends roses when they're courting someone."

Lin Chongwei frowned. "Too cliché."

Assistant: "Then... lilies?"

Lin Chongwei: "Bad luck."

Assistant: "Then what would you like to send?"

Lin Chongwei pondered for three seconds. "Chrysanthemums. Elegant and tasteful."

That day, Ye Jili received a huge bouquet of white chrysanthemums. The card read, "You're special."

Ye Jili stared at the flowers for a long time, then turned to his landlady. "Sis, you can have these. I'm afraid they'll bring bad luck if I keep them in my room."

Landlady: "Who sent them?"

Ye Jili: "No idea. Maybe they want to send me off."

Theme: What goes around comes around. Good deeds are rewarded.