Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 108
by Little PandaMy Wife (20)
“Isn’t it just perfect for you when it’s this hot?”
The girl hugging Zheng Zhiyu froze for a moment, as if she couldn’t understand what she was asking. Her smile became increasingly sweet, and even her ingratiating voice sounded somewhat cloying:
“What are you saying?”
Zheng Zhiyu savored this voice for a moment. Although she already knew that something seemed to have possessed Xu Jiao’s body, and the urgent matter was to force that thing out, she had to admit that hearing this person speak to her in such a tone truly pleased her to the core.
For once, she didn’t immediately take action to slap that inexplicable thing out of Xu Jiao’s body. Instead, with a slightly wicked sense of amusement, she raised her hand to grip the other’s neck, maintaining a hold that was inescapable yet not suffocating. She leisurely gazed into those deep brown eyes and said again:
“Hmm… just stay like this now, and say a few more words for me to hear.”
The thing possessing Xu Jiao’s body: “…?”
Did she recognize it or not?
Damn it, it’s just an ordinary red-clothed ghost, but why does it feel like this one’s power is stronger than the average evil ghost?
Especially when facing her head-on like this.
The evil spirit possessing Xu Jiao’s body only slightly turned its eyes before quickly putting on a somewhat ingratiating appearance. Although it was somewhat afraid of what Zheng Zhiyu might do to it next, for the sake of survival, it still cleverly took the initiative to embrace Zheng Zhiyu’s neck. Trying hard to hide the greed and fear in its eyes, it spoke in a coy, affected voice:
“You… you weren’t like this before.”
“I’m not feeling well now, and my head hurts a bit. Why are you so cold?”
“Won’t you hug me? Please?”
Zheng Zhiyu carefully savored this tone, like a judge on some show, and seriously gave her evaluation: “No good, not as natural as the previous few sentences. It sounds very fake. Ah, after all, it’s an impostor—”
As soon as she finished speaking, wisps of yin energy seeped out from her palm gripping the other’s neck. But before the yin energy could penetrate Xu Jiao’s skin, the girl she was holding suddenly shuddered violently, closed her eyes, and seemed to faint in an instant.
Immediately after.
The girl fainted briefly and quickly regained consciousness, as if switching personalities like a mental patient. When she opened her eyes again, she frowned slightly, first looking left and right at her surroundings, then casually pressing her temples. She looked up at Zheng Zhiyu above her and exhaled:
“Just now…”
Zheng Zhiyu answered instantly: “Just now, something careless possessed your body. I was about to drive it out when you woke up. Are you alright now? Is there anywhere you don’t feel comfortable?”
Xu Jiao was stunned by her overly eager concern. After a long pause, she slowly spoke: “Um, I feel a bit dizzy. Give me a moment.”
Zheng Zhiyu raised her hand, intending to massage Xu Jiao’s temples.
Xu Jiao closed her eyes, allowing her to do so. After the initial darkness, the memory of being possessed by that filthy thing quickly appeared in fragments in her mind. At first, she was still pondering what exactly had possessed her body, but later, she slowly opened her eyes and stared directly at Zheng Zhiyu.
Zheng Zhiyu was captivated by her gaze. Her hand movements became slower and slower, almost coming to a stop, with only her cool fingertips still resting on the side of Xu Jiao’s head.
She blinked slowly, lowering her eyes to ask Xu Jiao: “What’s wrong? Is the pressure I’m using not quite right?”
Xu Jiao stared at her with an ambiguous smile. As Zheng Zhiyu gradually became uneasy under her gaze, she unhurriedly opened her lips and repeated a few words in a light tone:
“A hug?”
The same words, when spoken by that impostor earlier, sounded like someone in a lower position begging for a favor from the object of their admiration. But now, coming from Xu Jiao’s mouth, it instantly became like someone in control willing to let the other person get close to them.
The change in tone created a world of difference.
When Zheng Zhiyu heard these words, her first reaction was that Xu Jiao hadn’t fully recovered. Then, realizing the tone, she felt somewhat flattered. She tentatively reached out and embraced Xu Jiao, clearing her throat to ask:
“Why so proactive all of a sudden?”
It made her feel strangely uncomfortable.
Previously, during that time in the clouds, it was because of Xu Jiao’s proactive invitation that her emotions surged, and she momentarily lost control, causing things to get a bit excessive. Xu Jiao had been angry with her all day yesterday because of it.
But now she was proactively asking for a hug. Zheng Zhiyu felt her cold heart being warmed.
Xu Jiao had originally just wanted to remind a certain ghost about pretending to be ingratiating when possessing someone else’s body earlier. However, when Zheng Zhiyu actually hugged her and asked like this, Xu Jiao began to wonder if she was usually too cold towards people.
She stopped talking and endured her headache, allowing Zheng Zhiyu to hold her for a while.
Whether it was psychological or something else, the heavy feeling of being weighed down that she had upon waking had disappeared. The anxious feeling from last night’s dream of not being able to find someone had also subsided considerably, and there was even an inexplicable sense of relief.
After a while like this, Xu Jiao suddenly said:
“I’ve been thinking, I didn’t encounter any filthy things before, except for that creepy doll. What exactly was inside it?”
Zheng Zhiyu didn’t seem to care much about such things. Her reaction to these filthy things wasn’t as strong as seeing Xu Jiao skip a meal. She gently massaged Xu Jiao’s head, her black eyes showing no emotion, and her tone carrying a hint of disdain:
“A small thing.”
“Though after being nurtured for a few years, it’s not really a small thing anymore.”
Xu Jiao: “?”
Zheng Zhiyu then mentioned what she saw on the rooftop last time: “The small thing had your classmate’s aura. I suspect it’s either related to her by blood or was nurtured by her blood, with its soul sealed inside that doll.”
Xu Jiao listened thoughtfully.
Then, she heard Zheng Zhiyu slowly say: “Originally, I didn’t plan to meddle in such trivial matters. Who knew that thing would set its sights on us? Since that’s the case, I don’t mind carrying out heaven’s will.”
When Xu Jiao heard the phrase “carrying out heaven’s will” come from her mouth, she felt an inexplicable sense of absurdity, wondering how an evil ghost like her could have a stronger sense of justice than humans.
However, Xu Jiao didn’t reveal her emotions on her face. When facing Zheng Zhiyu now, she still habitually treated her as the female protagonist from her writings. Regardless of their identity, protagonists are usually positive and upright, and Xu Jiao was pleased to see this aspect.
She nodded and responded: “Yes, we should find an opportunity to look into it. This person was able to put a little ghost on me today and has raised it to this state. It’s possible they’ve done this countless times before and have become quite proficient at it.”
“But we haven’t really heard of any deaths at school because of this,” she added, changing the subject.
Judging from how the news about the deaths at the back-alley hotel spread like wildfire through Qian Ai, if this girl from the neighboring department had caused any major incidents with this thing, the school wouldn’t have been able to cover it up even if they wanted to. So it definitely wasn’t related to any deaths.
Following the principle of “return kindness tenfold,” Xu Jiao decided to reciprocate by sending some care and warmth to this classmate.
She raised her hand to brush away Zheng Zhiyu’s hand and sat up from her lap, preparing to get off the bed because she was feeling a bit hungry.
Zheng Zhiyu followed her, remembering how Xu Jiao had awakened using her own strength earlier, and asked from behind: “How did you wake up just now?”
Xu Jiao reached down to tighten the slightly loose shoelace on her right foot, then looked back at Zheng Zhiyu and recalled: “At first, it seemed like I was trapped in a dark room, but because I wanted to get out, so…”
Zheng Zhiyu listened intently—
But Xu Jiao’s answer was simply: “So I came out.”
Zheng Zhiyu: “…”
Zheng Zhiyu: “???”
Why could this person handle all ghost-related matters with such a matter-of-fact, simple attitude?
Could any ordinary person possessed by a ghost expel the other’s soul so easily?
She unconsciously thought of the ghost cores she had once fed to Xu Jiao. She could only assume that perhaps these ghost cores had strengthened Xu Jiao’s soul, allowing her to generate the power to resist these evil spirits.
Thinking of this, Zheng Zhiyu nodded and didn’t ask any further questions.
Xu Jiao took her toothbrush and cup out to wash up.
Perhaps because she hadn’t woken up too late today, there was a long queue of girls around the washbasins. At the end were two who had come down from upstairs, complaining that the water pressure up there was insufficient and the flow was too weak.
Xu Jiao stood at the back, and the chatter naturally flowed into her ears:
“Isn’t there an essay for the aptitude test to write this week?”
“It’s due next week, didn’t you get it wrong?”
On the other side, two girls were examining each other’s faces:
“Hey, I haven’t been staying up late recently, so why have I gotten so many pimples? I’m going crazy.”
“Me too. I used a new product a couple of days ago and started having an allergic reaction. It hasn’t gotten better this whole time.”
Someone nearby who knew them overheard, turned to look at them, and said with a smile: “Doesn’t your dorm have the great beauty Su? Why don’t you ask her for some skincare advice?”
The two girls waved her off: “How could we? Su Qiong is different from us. She’s naturally beautiful. No matter how much we spend on skincare, we could never be as good as her!”
“That’s right. In this hot summer, everyone gets tanned easily when going out in the sun. But look at her skin, it’s still as smooth as a freshly peeled egg. Ah, it makes one envious to tears.”
As soon as Xu Jiao heard this name, she immediately recalled that girl’s face and the strange doll.
A thoughtful look flashed in her eyes.
Soon, the girls in front finished washing their faces and left. It was Xu Jiao’s turn to use the faucet. She calmly finished washing up and returned to her room. As she closed the door, she said to Zheng Zhiyu:
“I think I know how she became beautiful, but I need a bit more evidence.”
Zheng Zhiyu had just seen her wash her face with cold water and ignored this statement. She just raised her hand to feel Xu Jiao’s forehead, and then spoke with a slightly colder voice:
“You’re a bit hot again. Don’t wash your face with cold water next time. This on-and-off fever isn’t good for your body.”
Xu Jiao glanced at her sideways, her eyes seeming to sparkle, as if unintentionally seductive:
“Is that so?”
“Isn’t it just perfect for you when it’s this hot?”
Zheng Zhiyu: “…!”
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