Please Top Up My Account

Chu Lin was a ghost who had finally passed the civil service exam to work in the underworld. But on his very first day, he reaped the wrong person.

Che Yangxi was born into a wealthy family and was every bit the rebellious rich kid, racing cars and partying night after night. He wouldn't listen to anyone.

Until one day, while indulging in the revelry at a banquet, Chu Lin suddenly reaped his soul.

Someone in the crowd cried out, "Ah! Young Master Che has stopped breathing."

*

Chu Lin led him forward carefully, sensing the new ghost behind him seething with resentment, as if he wanted to snap Chu Lin's neck.

After finally bringing him to the underworld, Chu Lin compared his face over and over with the photo in the Book of Life and Death, then asked, "Huh? Why isn't it you?"

"You don't know you reaped the wrong person, you bastard?" If it weren't for the soul-binding rope, Che Yangxi's explosive temper would have killed a ghost for sure.

Chu Lin apologized as he escorted him home, managing to bring him back to life just before the cremation.

And so, a bond formed between them.

Only when Che Yangxi burned paper offerings for him could Chu Lin's true body in the mortal world remain.

*

But by then, after Che Yangxi had died and been reborn, he was branded an ill omen and driven out of his wealthy family. Penniless and with nowhere to go, he could only sit in a dark alley, sharing his days with insects and rats.

On the low wall behind him, the name "Chu Lin" was scrawled in bloody letters. His hatred ran deep, and he wanted nothing more than to tear Chu Lin limb from limb if they ever met again.

The wind howled, and torrential rain washed over the bloodstained wall. The harsh rain struck his face like a sharp blade. The boy curled up on the ground wore thin clothes that clung wetly to his frail body. Raindrops beat against his defiant eyelashes, again and again.

Suddenly, a large umbrella shielded him from the raging storm. Before him stood a pair of straight, pale legs. The boy's face was hidden behind a mask, leaving only a pair of beautiful, misty eyes visible. He bent down gently and placed two banknotes in the overturned stainless-steel bowl.

"G-go find somewhere to shelter from the rain and warm, warm yourself up."

A trace of bewildered warmth appeared on Che Yangxi's face.

The beautiful boy looked into his eyes and dared to say, "If, if you can, please use the rest of the money to buy spirit money and burn it for Chu Lin in the underworld..."

Before he could finish, the boy on the ground opened his bloodshot eyes and rasped out one word: "Get lost!"

*

Che Yangxi's eyes reddened twice in his life. The first time, he viciously told him to get lost. The second time was halfway through making love, when he saw his lover's body gradually turning transparent because he hadn't topped up the offerings. With tears in his eyes, he went to burn paper money first.

Theme: Keep kindness in your heart,