Chapter 61: Xiao Zhengyi’s Non-daily Life (End)
“Is anybody there?” Xiao Zhengyi stood at the door. He put his right hand on his mouth and yelled towards the inside.
“I think you should ask, ‘Is any ghost there?’,” Fang Xiaoqian said uncertainly.
“I think you mistook the key point.”
No one answered them, so they directly went into the room, where was covered with a large amount of anime stuff.
As they expected, at the very moment they stepped in the room, chilling cold licked their hearts. They felt as if some stuff was peeping at them, which made them feel really creepy.
“Get out of here… riajuu… get out of here…”
Soon afterwards, the ghostly voice gradually echoed in the room.
Xiao Zhengyi forced himself to forget his fear and kept calm. He watched the milky white figure slowly climb out of the screen of the television, then he ground his teeth and made a decision. He picked up a roll of poster (which had a witch printed in red on it) from the side of his feet, then wrapped the “Bracelet Worth 0.5 RMB” on it, hitting the ghost with it.
“Ouch!” With a creepy scream, the ghost covered its head and rolled on the ground.
Instantly, the ice-cold feeling vanished from the room.
“You can touch me!” The otaku ghost stared at Xiao Zhengyi in surprise.
Xiao Zhengyi sighed with emotion in his heart and thought the stuff Xu Shenxing made was really easy to use. As he looked at the ghost, he put a false smile on his face. “Can we have a talk now?”
“Humph, you can touch me, but that doesn’t mean you have won! Don’t be naive. I’m proficient in Eight Extremes Fist, Chinese Shadow Boxing, Military Boxing, and the Eighth Version Radio Calisthenics – the Vigour of Youth! I will show you the horror of joint lock skill!”
The ghost sneered, then flew at Xiao Zhengyi.
The next second, Xiao Zhengyi punched it away as if it was a baseball.
“Coo! I forgot ghosts can’t touch humans… dammit!” The otaku ghost knelt down on the ceiling.
“Sigh. Does this moron really make up the whole event?”
Behind Xiao Zhengyi, Fang Xiaoqian said with a helpless tone. She covered her forehead, and suddenly felt it was really a shame to be tricked by this stupid ghost.
Xiao Zhengyi shrugged his shoulders. He waved the poster in his hand and tried to talk to the ghost.
“Hey bro, can you change us back?”
“No!”
“Sigh, so you want me release your soul from purgatory?” Xiao Zhengyi pretended to punch the ghost.
“Geee! Humans are terrible!” The otaku ghost hid behind the ceiling lamp.
“Weren’t you human before you death?” Xiao Zhengyi retorted.
Fang Xiaoqian stopped Xiao Zhengyi, who was apparently a little impatient, then said in a soft tone, “Don’t be afraid. We’re here to help you satisfy your desire.”
“Geeee! Womanish man is terrible!”
“Whose fault do you think it is!” Fang Xiaoqian got mad. “I’m gonna kill you!”
She drew out the gun and wrapped her gold necklace on the gun.
Xiao Zhengyi immediately stopped Fang Xiaoqian&
rsquo;s action as she was about to lose her sanity.
“All in all, just tell us your wish and let us help you achieve it.” After stopping Fang Xiaoqian, Xiao Zhengyi let out a sigh of relief. “Anyway, I think I know what an otaku’s wish will be… like, to have a girlfriend, right?”
They had arranged that as long as the ghost’s wish didn’t cross Fang Xiaoqian’s line, then his wish would be fulfilled by Xiao Zhengyi – by using Fang Xiaoqian’s appearance.
“Let KyOto Animation make ‘Full MOtal Panic IV’!” (To avoid tort, the original author used “O” here.)
“Impossible! If it’s possible I also want to watch it!”
“Let NiOtendo animate ‘POcket MOnster Special’!”
“Oh s.h.i.t, that’s my lifelong dream!”
“Let Fatso G know how to count to three!”
“Give up. He’s hopeless.”
“Hee hee, therefore, I think you can understand what a desperate feeling it is when you can’t do anything, right?!”
“Dammit, but I can’t retort back at you…”
Xiao Zhengyi knelt on the ground and mourned with regret.
“Eh… well, I don’t know who Fatso G is, but if you want to achieve the first two wishes, perhaps I can help you.” Fang Xiaoqian suddenly said, “My father has a business relationship with some j.a.panese animation companies. If the money is within 10 million, I can decide it myself.”
“Ay ay ayyyy!” Xiao Zhengyi and the ghost both exclaimed in surprise.
Then the ghost slapped Xiao Zhengyi. “Aren’t you partners? Why are you so surprised?!”
Of course, ghosts couldn’t touch any material objects, so Xiao Zhengyi just felt a gust of wind on his face.
“j.a.panese Yen?” Xiao Zhengyi swallowed his saliva.
“US dollars.” Fang Xiaoqian said without hesitation.
Xiao Zhengyi had vaguely felt that Fang Xiaoqian’s family wasn’t simple, but he didn’t expect that she was such a rich girl…
“10 million dollars to buy you a wish. In this way, can you feel our sincerity?” Fang Xiaoqian said to the ghost.
However, the ghost shook its head.
“I was joking. I do want to watch the two animes, but if you can achieve my wishes, I have something more important to request.”
The otaku ghost floated to a corner of the room, then told them his story.
He was born in a family of scholars. His father was a college professor, and his mother was a hospital scientist.
From his early childhood, his parents educated him very strictly. He had to study hard everyday, in order to go to a top university.
He was very sensible and never quarrelled nor made noise. He just studied and studied, as that was what his parents wished.
However, perhaps his talent wasn’t enough, his score could be counted as good, but it was still far away from what his parents wished.
After failing the college entrance examination twice, he still couldn’t get into any top university.
His parents’ disappointed look pressured his heart like a mountain.
Several years ago, he elaborately picked a gift for his mother on her birthday. However, his mother didn’t take it but said, “Compared to this, I’d much rather see that you go to Qinghua University or Beijing University.”
His heart was trampled, his effort was ignored, and his hope, it was also completely broken after failing the college entrance examination the third time.
After that, he fell out with his parents. He left his family and rented a room alone, then became addicted to anime and games, degenerating from a first-rate student to a so-called otaku.
“After my sudden death, my father came to mourn me. He said my mom was too sad that she couldn’t even keep working and had to resign…” The ghost crouched into a ball and looked pretty pained. “To be honest, I’m full of regret… of course I don’t regret watching anime and playing games… however, their high expectations had taken my breath away. My method of resistance was also wrong… if I had a good talk with them, perhaps everything wouldn’t have happened this way…”
“So, you hope…”
“I hope you can help me console my mom. I have died, but her life is still going on… she and my dad are still young. If possible, it doesn’t matter, e-even if they forget me, they can have another child…” As he said that, his breathing became heavy, “Well, if I was alive, I think I would be a good brother.”
“…”
For a moment, Xiao Zhengyi felt that the atmosphere was too heavy.
Therefore, he decided to change the topic to lighten the atmosphere.
“By the way, where did you get the money to rent the room and buy these anime and game stuff? Still from your mom?”
“Screw you! I was a youtuber, and submitted my writing for anime magazines, and wrote walkthroughs for game magazines. I could earn about this number per month.”
The ghost wiped its face and gesticulated a number.
“Whoa, it’s even more than my salary!” Xiao Zhengyi exclaimed, “I didn’t expect this kind of work can earn so much money!”
“Can it be counted as ‘much’?” Fang Xiaoqian tilted her head with confusion.
However, Xiao Zhengyi and the ghost both ignored her.
“Well, because my interest cost me a great deal of money…” As the ghost said this, it looked around the room. “By the way, the rental term of the room is going to expire. After helping me console my mom, can you donate these comics to the children in the mountain area?… I admit I just used them to avoid facing the reality, but many of them can bring people hope… comics are a thing that can bring people smiles… there are friendships, effort and victory in them; I think they can bring children some beneficial effects.”
“But some of them are p.o.r.nographic cartoons that not for children…”
“Sell them and donate the money to the Red Cross… no, I change my mind. Just burn them as sacrifices to me.”
“Hey, you pervert ghost!”
“No, because many of them are really hardcore… like yizhongjian. [1] I think if you sell them, you will be looked on as perverts.”
“What’re you saying? You ready-made pervert!”
“Well…” Fang Xiaoqian asked with curiosity, “What’s the meaning of ‘yizhongjian’?”
The otaku ghost and Xiao Zhengyi said no words.
“So be it. I will bless you on the heaven… en… en…”
“Don’t only vanish like a ghost at this time!”
——split line——
According to the address the ghost offered them, Xiao Zhengyi and Fang Xiaoqian went to his original home.
A middle-aged woman opened the door. She looked pretty doleful.
“Oh, police. Who’re you looking for?”
“Are you Mrs w.a.n.g Chunhua?” Xiao Zhengyi asked directly.
“Eh? Oh, yes…” The middle-aged woman shrinkingly looked at them. “What’s the matter?”
“We’re from the Special Victims Unit.” Xiao Zhengyi showed her his certificate. “We received a case report saying that there was weird sound in your son’s room. For public safety, we went to check the room and found your son’s relics there.”
“What…”
The middle-aged woman opened her mouth like a fish leaving the water, but couldn’t speak anything due to extremely excitement.
“The first is this.” Xiao Zhengyi just pull out a box, which was wrapped in printed gift paper.
The middle-aged woman took the box in a flurry from him, then teared off the gift paper.
It was a small brocade box.
She froze in there, as if she was struck by thunderbolt – this was the gift her son presented to him at her birthday, but at that time, she rejected it.
“Then this.” Fang Xiaoqian haned over her another stuff.
That was an envelope. In it, it was a letter the ghost wrote.
“I know it, it’s my son’s handwriting… it’s my son’s handwriting!”
The middle-aged woman s.n.a.t.c.hed the envelope. She shook her hands, drawing out the letter from it.
“I’m dead, but don’t cry for me. The door of another world is opening in front of me. We aren’t in the same world and you can’t see me, but you can still touch the things I left in the world. I know it’s hard to accept the fact, but as time goes on, you will have to accept it, eventually. I know you won’t forget me, but I hope you believe that I’m still staying with you. I’m watching you. Your gains and happiness are the biggest comfort to me.”
“Then, I want to say, ‘Sorry.’.”
“Sorry, I can’t achieve your expectations; sorry, my caprice troubled you; sorry, I can’t watch you growing old; sorry, I can’t lean close to you, and call you two ‘father’ and ‘mother’ again.”
“The happiest thing in my life is to be your son. If I have another life, I hope to be your child again – oh, will it be too willful? In that case, in my next life, I hope I can be your parent and take good care of you.”
“You two are my best loves.”
“Thank you, my dearest father and mother.”
After the middle-aged woman read through the letter, she had choked with sobs.
“What’re you doing?! Don’t bully my wife!”
This time, her husband just got home and saw this. He waved his folder and ran to here.
“Are you ready to run?”
“Geee! why?!”
Fang Xiaoqian was still in a trance. Xiao Zhengyi grasped her hands and started to run.
Fortunately, the man didn’t chase them, but came to console his wife.
After a while, they suddenly staggered together, then looked at each other with pleasantly surprised in their eyes.
They bodies had changed back.
“Is this meaning that guy has pa.s.sed away finally?” Fang Xiaoqian raised her head, looking at the direction of the apartment.
“I think so. In this way, he should be satisfied.” Xiao Zhengyi’s expression looked gray and sad.
In some sense, the otaku ghost shared the same rotten tastes with him.
“Hand… you’re still grasping my hand.” Fang Xiaoqian bleated feebly.
“Oh, sorry.” Xiao Zhengyi immediately loosed his hand.
However, he surprisedly found his heart suddenly felt empty after that.
“Nah, I think I understand why my parents didn’t want me to be a criminal police.” Fang Xiaoqian put her hands at the back and scampered leading the way. “If I die in the line of duty, they will feel sad, as the ghost’s mother…”
“Therefore, are you going to resign?” Xiao Zhengyi dejectedly asked.
“Of course not. If I resign, how can I run into such an interesting event again! Besides, you’re a quite interesting partner… I like this job very much!”
“Oh, oh, that’s good…”
Xiao Zhengyi’s face turned slightly red.
“Wait. Please wait for a while.”
At this time, the middle-aged woman suddenly ran towards them.
“Aunt w.a.n.g, anything else?” Xiao Zhengyi hurriedly took this chance to adjust his mood.
“I sincerely express my grat.i.tude to you.” Her eyes were still red and swollen, but her face looked more delighted than just now. “Thanks for the trouble.”
Xiao Zhengyi found that there was an exquisite necklace on her neck.
Was that the ghost’s gift? Well, that guy had a quite good taste…
After a while, Xiao Zhengyi and Fang Xiaoqian refused the woman’s invitation politely. They went back to the police car and drove to the police station.
Thinking of the look of the ghost’s parents, Xiao Zhengyi sighed with emotion.
Should he make a phone call to his parents?
However, he had already envisioned that his father would hem and haw, but didn’t say anything clearly; and his mother would ask him when he would get a girlfriend…
Thinking of which, Xiao Zhengyi sneaked a glance at the girl.
Fang Xiaoqian rolled down the window of the police car. The whistling breeze stroked the girl’s face and her long hair waved in the air. Everything looked like a dream.
The police car drove straight along the road. Outside of the car window, the sky was clear.
[1] 异种奸(yizhongjian): I searched this on google but found no accurate translation, so all you guys need to know that it’s a genre of p.o.r.nographic cartoon.