The Haunted

Chapter 15

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Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Alone

Chi Yan had planned to make full use of their three-day, two night holiday, but after what happened the night before, as well as rolling in bed with Ye Yingzhi until dawn, he only managed to sleep at 4am. By the time he woke up, it was already 11am, and half of the day was gone.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a smiley Ye Yingzhi lying beside him. Ye Yingzhi leaned over and kiss his eyelashes, ‘Did you have a good rest?’

Chi Yan grabbed his pillow and swung it at him, ‘Ye Yingzhi you are not human are you? How could you be so energetic at night?’

With one hand, Ye Yingzhi took away the soft weapon and opened his arms wide, catching Chi Yan in his embrace. He caressed Chi Yan’s neck and said cheerfully, ‘Nope, I’m energetic in the morning too, if you are up for it.’

Even though he said otherwise, Chi Yan was full of happiness. He felt that he was born loving this person. To be able to see him, to touch him, lie against him, hug him, made him so overwhelmingly happy that he could cry.

The two of them lounged in bed, enjoying each other’s company. For lunch, they simply called for delivery. A vacation was meant for one to relax anyway, so they were making full advantage of it.

Chi Yan answered the door to accept the delivery and asked the delivery girl if there were any places of interest besides the lake. She told him that there was a mountain on the east side. It was barely developed but tourists who visited had praised the beautiful scenery and tranquility.

Due to the strange nightmare yesterday, Chi Yan felt repelled at the thought of going to the lake, however he didn’t want to go trekking either.

He asked Ye Yingzhi to decide. Bluntly Ye Yingzhi said, ‘Let’s play in the room.’

Chi Yan decided to go to the lake in the end. The lake here was the most famous. They didn’t spend much time exploring yesterday, and didn’t get to check out any of the tourist attractions.

The touristy part of the lake was crowded. There were small cruises, water scooters, speedboats. One could get a ticket to ride on a barge that could carry about twenty, or rent a small pedal boat to go around.

Ye Yingzhi decided, ‘Let’s rent a pedal boat.’

Chi Yan went to make payment, and the man manning the booth said, ‘Young lad, why don’t you take the barge? You’ll be able to visit most of the sights comfortably and the price is also much cheaper.’ The pedal boat was popular and there were only a few left. On the other hand, the barges were mostly empty. It would be difficult trying to promote the barge to couples or families, who preferred the pedal boats, but seeing that Chi Yan was alone, he decided to give it a shot.

However once he said it, he felt chills at the back of his neck, and his heart skipped a beat. Uncontrollably, he shrank his neck and lost the enthusiasm to continue promoting.

Chi Yan smiled and shook his head, ‘It’s ok.’ Of course the pedal boat would be more comfortable and pleasant with its private s.p.a.ce for them lovers.

This lake was called Daughter Lake. Though it was known to be of a crescent shape, it was more like a K, as the inner curve was not straight. Moreover, due to the landforms, one half of the curve was steeped in sunlight, while the other was covered in shade, a yin-yang formation. The house they were staying at overlooked the shady part.

The boat rental shops were all at the sunny part, thus that area on the lake was more crowded with boats as well. In contrast, past the bend, there we

re few boats.

Ye Yingzhi pointed to the curving coastline afar, ‘Ah Yan, there are too many people here, let’s go there. You pedal first, I’ll take over over there where there are fewer people.’

Having no objections, Chi Yan started to pedal over to where Ye Yingzhi had pointed. Ye Yingzhi kept to his word and took over the ch.o.r.e of pedalling once they were at the shady part. Here, there were hardly any boats, and Chi Yan was able to relax and enjoy the view.

A boat went past them in the other direction. A little boy on it suddenly pointed at Chi Yan’s boat shouting, ‘Mom, Mom. How come that man didn’t need to pedal or steer to move the boat?’

The young mother looked back at the distancing boat and said softly, ‘You must have seen wrong.’

At this moment, the little girl who was munching on snacks silently suddenly said, Big brother was lying! There was another man sitting beside him, driving the boat. I also saw a woman trying to climb onto their boat, and was kicked away by that man.’

The boy protested, ‘I wasn’t lying! There was only one man on the boat! Mom must have seen it too!’ He stood and turned to his mother for support.

The young woman only felt a chill on her back, and didn’t even hear what her son had said. Her daughter was only three and a half years old. How could she make up something if she hadn’t seen it? Both she and her son only saw one person on the boat…

Ye Yingzhi kept his smile on as he stomped unnoticeably on the skeletal pale fingers gripping at the side of the boat. The unusual location of the lake and its odd shape resulted in an imbalance of yin and yang, which was why there were many water ghosts.

Ye Yingzhi stopped the boat in the centre of the lake. Chi Yan was leaning over the side of the boat, admiring the scenery when suddenly a slim but strong hand pulled him in.

Chi Yan turned and Ye Yingzhi stretched over and put his hands at each side of Chi Yan, caging him between his arms. Ye Yingzhi slowly bent down and Chi Yan unconsciously closed his eyes. He felt Ye Yingzhi’s lips gently touching his.

‘Don’t be afraid, no one will see,’ Ye Yingzhi said rea.s.suringly, their lips still pressed against each other’s. ‘Doesn’t it feel like there’s only two of us in the world now?’

And only I possessed you.

‘Only two of us,’ Chi Yan repeated, the words reaching deep inside him and striking a chord in his heart. He couldn’t help himself but leaned further into the kiss, kissing his lover deeply.

At night, Ye Yingzhi was still adamant about not eating outside and Chi Yan indulgently agreed. After dinner, they went out for another stroll and the night was already dark at 8pm. Nearby, there were all sorts of homestays, some which looked like farms, while others had BBQ pits set up in the yards, the smell of grilled fish lingering in the air. There were also people singing and dancing.

‘Uncle.’ Chi Yan was talking to Ye Yingzhi, but suddenly felt a pull at his pant leg. He bent and saw a small little girl.

The girl looked up at them, ‘Uncle, I saw the other uncle beside you on the lake, but my mother and brother both said they didn’t.’

T/N: From what most of the comments are saying, I think I should clarify that this novel has a few stories. Chi Yan and Ye Yingzhi will spending a few different lives together…

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