Fu Fengqing returned to his hometown after years abroad to attend a funeral.
The deceased was his close friend's younger brother, barely in his twenties.
The boy had once been very attached to him, but after Fu went abroad, the two hadn't been in touch for eight years. Their relationship had faded into nothing.
*
On the seventh day after the funeral, he boarded a long-distance bus bound for an unrenovated village in the southwest.
The bus route ended at the foot of a low hill.
He followed the address he'd copied onto a slip of paper, eventually stopping in front of a rammed-earth house.
The landlord wasn't home, so another friendly tenant opened the door for him.
That evening, as Fu ate in the courtyard with everyone else, the landlord finally returned.
Fu Fengqing looked up. At the sight of him, his chopsticks fell into the dirt. He sprang to his feet and said, "Hengzhi? You're Hengzhi, right? You..."
Yu Hengzhi was the name of his close friend's deceased younger brother.
The landlord coolly waved him off. "You've got the wrong person."
*
It was Young Master Fu's first time in the countryside, and everything seemed novel to him.
The landlord loosened the soil and planted vegetables, while Fu followed behind with a camera.
The landlord swept the courtyard, while Fu stood off to the side eating dust.
The landlord showed off his cooking skills, while Fu stood beside him taking notes.
The landlord finally lost patience and told him to get lost.
Fu smiled. "Landlord, let me stay. I'll pay whatever you ask."
Landlord: ?
Yu Hengzhi was dead.
His greatest regret in life was never getting to confess to the person he loved.
The absurd thing was that on the seventh day after his death, he met Fu Fengqing again.
But there was no joy at their reunion, nor any excitement at finally getting the chance to express his feelings.
He was uneasy, anxious, terrified, and panicked.
He didn't want Fu Fengqing coming here.
This was the house of the dead.
*
Yu Hengzhi resolved to play the part of an unfeeling, prickly landlord, hoping to drive the other man away as soon as possible.
But he couldn't keep his secret identity straight.
Fu Fengqing spoke.
He listened with adoring eyes, then came to his senses and hurriedly shot Fu Fengqing a glare.
Fu Fengqing smiled.
He smiled foolishly along with him, only managing to suppress the twitching corners of his mouth after a while.
Fu Fengqing praised the full moon, said it was beautiful.
He replied, "Brother, I love you too."
Fu Fengqing, hopelessly straight: ?
"Go. Go back. Leave the house of the dead."
Gentle, sunny folklorist who studied abroad x cheerful, possessive ghost who has loved him in secret for years
Oblivious to romance x a love that has endured for years
[Reader's Guide]
1. Yu Hengzhi is the top, and Fu Fengqing is the bottom.
2. This story is not based on any real people or events.
3. This story promotes no harmful ideas and does not encourage feudal superstition. Believe in science and stay positive. All negative events and descriptions serve the plot!
4. Weibo: @Jinjiang Huaban Chai
5. Blurb captured on 2024.05.19
Theme: The mountain has trees, and the trees have branches. I love you, but you don't know.
