Control Freak

[New story next door: Your Contract Ghost Is Online]

Clever, beautiful, and good at everything: that's how other people describe Wu Chu.

Wu Chu thinks there's one more thing to add: she cares about her junior schoolmate.

Wu Chu looks after her junior schoolmate Jian An in every way, down to the smallest detail.

So she could be in the same class as Jian An, Wu Chu tutored her relentlessly, helping her skip two grades in three years and become a genius in everyone's eyes.

To help her junior schoolmate grow up healthy, Wu Chu gave Jian An plenty of rules: no eating too many sweets, no staying out after school, no going to bed late, no skipping class, and most importantly, no dating before adulthood.

One gentle trap after another made Jian An grow accustomed to Wu Chu and depend on her. Until one day, Wu Chu held Jian An in her arms and said softly, "An'an, all those men are awful. They'll bully you. I'm the only one who will never hurt you."

-

When Jian An was in kindergarten, she met a girl a little older than her, pretty as a doll. All the children gathered around her.

Jian An wanted to join them too, but she couldn't squeeze her way in.

How could she get the doll-like girl's attention?

Why not try a little trick?

Excerpts from the nonexistent Jian An's Diary. Who writes a diary these days, anyway?!

X Month X Day, Cloudy

Today I caused the doll-like girl a little trouble.

If I help her now, I'll look like a cute little angel.

Thanks... not needed.

X Month X Day, Cloudy, Clearing

I did something big today. I made the doll-like girl embarrass herself in front of everyone.

Only I get to see her so fragile and helpless.

X Month X Day, Sunny, Turning to Heavy Rain

The doll-like girl hasn't been very good lately. So many boys are surrounding her. I should... punish her a little!

X Month X Day, Heavy Rain, Turning to Thunderstorms

The doll-like girl's jealous expression is so cute.

She's so oblivious. When will she realize that she's jealous because she likes me?

X Month X Day, Sunny

Doll-like girl, I won't tell you that I enjoy your possessiveness.

P.S. Thanks to my friend Bi Lu for the cover.

Coming soon: A Deadly Dating Show for Someone with Paranoia. Please add it to your reading list.

Tang Xin joins a dating show:

Her three ex-girlfriends threaten her, possibly plotting to kill her out of jealous obsession.

Her sworn enemy can't stand her, and might try to kill her out of hatred.

Even her longtime friend is starting to look at her more and more strangely...

Tang Xin: There's bloodlust in the air!

As someone with paranoia, Tang Xin thinks a dating show is terrifying!

A mild reverse harem, with a love-triangle battlefield.

My Contract Girlfriend

A tsundere young lady with the ability to see spirits × a warm-on-the-outside, cold-on-the-inside ghost who lies through her teeth

Wen Qiyao died on her eighteenth birthday.

When she was alive, Wen Qiyao was an inconspicuous nobody with an average family, average grades, and an utterly ordinary personality.

After death, Wen Qiyao became bold and passionate. As a ghost, she clung to Su Qingye, the famous young lady at school.

She followed her everywhere, never leaving her side, and even climbed into the young lady's bed after she fell asleep.

Young Lady Su Qingye came from a wealthy family, was strikingly beautiful, and excelled at school. But she was solitary and cold toward everyone.

The young lady lived alone. When she got home, she found warm meals waiting for her. The flowers in the house were replaced with fresh ones each day, and there was always a light left on for her when she came home late. On her birthday, she was no longer alone.

The young lady had a secret: she was born with yin-yang eyes and could see ghosts. She saw everything the ghost did, including the way one particular ghost climbed into her bed in the middle of the night. She just couldn't be bothered to respond and pretended not to see.

Anyone who deliberately gets close must have an ulterior motive.

Wen Qiyao would often speak of her love for the young lady as if to herself. She said she'd had a crush on her for three years. She said she'd once found a notebook of wishes. She said the wish she'd written down was: to become Su Qingye's girlfriend.

The young lady didn't believe a single word the ghost said.

She had seen Wen Qiyao fall to her death right before her eyes, her head split open. The ghost before her had lied about even her name and identity. How could a little liar who lied through her teeth know anything about true love?

The young lady, her eyes full of indifference, clasped the ghost's wrist. Her voice was cold as ice, yet the distance between them kept shrinking. "What, trying to make me your sacrificial substitute?"

The ghost's warm breath made her shiver. Then she smiled brightly. "So you can see me, Young Lady? Why have you ignored me all this time? I just... want to make a contract with you. I'm useful, you know. Gentle, well-behaved, capable; I can cook and keep your bed warm. Young Lady, give me a chance?"

Young Lady: "Get lost!"

That night, the young lady fell asleep holding the ghost.

Theme: Things have two sides. Every cloud has a silver lining.