The Restless Spirit's Father

The three men sat Liu Xiaodan on the floor where they joined him later. They huffed all at the same time, staring at the man who was being demanded to explain. Since there was nothing but silence, Wen Taio cleared his throat.

"Look, Xiaodan, I understand the theory of privacy, but we"re your bros. Don"t you think we should know if you started dating Chuan Nayi at some point?" His sentimental tone sounded ridiculously hurt, and the way the other two agreed made it less sincere.

"I really have no idea what you are talking about. I am not dating Nayi." Liu Xiaodan scratched his head in resignation. Well, if he thought back, the lady had been dragging him in all sorts, and even tested a baby name she likes with his surname... after recommending his name to her mother"s pregnant friend. And to think that the mother said it was out of the question still bothered him now that they were again talking about it.

The man in the hot seat only hissed as he forced to say something about a topic he had no knowledge about. "Geez, guys, if you"re confused by what"s happening, I am more so. I didn"t know why she started crossing the acquaintance line, okay? As much as I remember-"

He stopped.

It somewhat started after Liu Guangru tailed her on Liu Xiaodan"s way to the hospital. She was still the normal Chuan Nayi by then, but the one he met after that was a little bolder. And to think that she started feeling this gaze from the ground after that.

"You remember what?" Xu Disung tried to make him continued, only to be met by silence.

"Guys, I remembered I lost my cat." That was the stupidest excuse that came out of his mouth. Liu Xiaodan opened the door and yelled out the hallways. "Guangru!"

"Guangru is the cat?" Ruan Jin frowned in disbelief, earning the same sentiment as the other two.

Instead of leaving him alone, the three decided to chase Liu Xiaodan and helped him find the cat. Animals were forbidden in the campus and dorms, so if someone else found the cat, it could have been kicked out of the dorm. Even though they knew Liu Xiaodan did not have a cat, they thought he must have secretly taking care of a stray.

Lunch time came, and Liu Xiaodan still had not seen his little boy. For some reasons, it must be because he was agitated. He tried to calm down, and yet he was worried he must have done something to Chuan Nayi. He ended up in the undergrowth behind the closed face of the boys" school dorm. The gra.s.s hid his feet from his sight, but it did not matter. He continued to wade through the gra.s.s as if it was mud or flood water.

"Guangru! Guangru!" He called out as he came to a stop, his hands cupped before his mouth to resemble a megaphone. "I"m not mad, Guangru! Just come out!" He brought his arms down and looked around the trees, hoping to spot a beautiful dark-haired kid.

His phone started to vibrate inside his pocket. He took it out and saw Chuan Nayi calling him. Liu Xiaodan waded out of the undergrowth as he answered her, "h.e.l.lo? Nayi?"

"Xiaodan, come to the dorm. I"m scared." She then hung up.

The man pocketed his phone and ran all the way towards the girls" dorm. His bros could have seen him pa.s.s by, but all they saw was a quick whiff of black and white figure heading through the girls" dorm. Ruan Jin"s breath stopped as he saw something close to what he fear in broad daylight.

Liu Xiaodan slowed down as he met the door of the dorm. He knocked on it, and had no one open it for him. He touched the k.n.o.b and heard a click from inside. He let go, thinking someone was going to open it. However, confusion took over as no one opened the door still.

"Xiaodan!" Wen Taio called out as the three came towards him. He held on Liu Xiaodan"s shoulder. "Something went past us and went here. Like an actual ghost." He took a deep breath and noticed that the man was confused as to why Wen Taio came to him. "Well, duh. We chased it."

"Oh," was the only sound he made in response.

Screaming then came from inside the dorm, and so the four hors.e.m.e.n broke in the dorm. There was no one by the lobby, but they heard small screaming from deeper into the kitchen area. Soon, the women were on sight, and Liu Xiaodan called for Chuan Nayi. The girl turned to him, and the rest of the women made way for the men to take a closer look. Ruan Jin and Xu Disung gasped at it, while Wen Taio cussed under his breath.

Liu Xiaodan"s eyes widened as he saw a man stuffed inside the oven. The light was on so it meant it was still cooking. Chuan Nayi went to hold him close in fear, shoving her face against his chest to get the image out of her sight. The other women were also terrified, hands held one another. Someone must have gone to call the police or the guards at least.

The magic one detached himself from Chuan Nayi, and he went closer to inspect the immediate surroundings of the oven. He felt a little churn in his stomach as he wanted to throw up his lunch; then again, he had not yet eaten so nothing went up fortunately. There was no signs of struggle either, as if it was a voluntary work. Liu Xiaodan thought of his son again as he took a mitten from the counter and put it on. He then reached out to turn off the oven to stop the man from being cooked some more.

The guards of the school came at this point, and so Liu Xiaodan backed off to let them handle it. He just turned to Chuan Nayi who was pretty much shaken more than everyone else. The girls and the four boys were gathered in the lobby, with a police inspector asking them questions. Police was also called due to the severity of the case.

"So, does anyone here know who that man was?" Officer Bai started the interrogation of the group. Seeing that the girls chattered, and some of them shrunk their shoulders, he could tell he was known to all of them. He then eyed at the boys who seemed to be more clueless since they just looked at one another. The officer scratched his head at the edge of his cap. "You four, what are you doing here in the girls" dorm?"

"Ah, we saw something run this way so we followed it." Xu Disung answered since he was the most composed. "Then we heard the girls scream from inside. We barged in and saw... that."

"Something, huh." Officer Bai raised an eyebrow.

"I think it was me." Liu Xiaodan took a deep breath. "Nayi called me and said she was scared so I ran as fast as I could."

"Scared? Who is Nayi?"

"That man was Huang Kun." Chuan Nayi started to talk, squeezing the hand she borrowed from Liu Xiaodan earlier. "He was pursuing me, but I keep on turning him down. Just earlier, he went up to me after Xiaodan and the others left. He got angry that I spoon-fed Xiaodan when we shared the cake." She took a deep breath. "He started yelling and trashing the place. He just calmed down when a housekeeper came to check. He then asked to use the kitchen since the boys" dorm"s oven was out of order." A sigh came out of her lips. "Since the housekeeper trusted him from his previous visits, he was allowed to stay in the kitchen."

She then wheezed in terror. "Since he would only talk to me, the other girls urged me to check up on him- because there was something smelling awful in the kitchen." She used her vacant hand to show her phone. "I called Xiaodan before going down to the kitchen. When I opened the door, I saw him there. Then the other girls came in and screamed when they saw him."

"When you saw him, why didn"t you make a sound?" Officer Bai hummed.

"I don"t know. I was frozen." That was she answered as the tremor coming from her hand grew stronger.

The officer then hummed and scratched his head. "I guess we"ll have to close off the kitchen for an investigation. You should all go out for lunch at this time."

The students were released, and the girls tried to console Chuan Nayi, but she only kept on holding Liu Xiaodan"s big hand. As a result, her friends got lunch together with the four hors.e.m.e.n. Even though it was truly shocking, Chuan Nayi managed to eat, but she could not manage to smile. Soon, the boys had a grand plan: they asked Liu Xiaodan to walk Chuan Nayi around, just the two of them. It was thereby approved by the women as well, even though everyone would be watching from afar.

It did not take another minute until Liu Xiaodan and Chuan Nayi were alone together. She was still holding his hand in a tight grip as if she was still scared. The man could only promise protection with a less tight grip. Soon, as they pa.s.sed the small pond somewhere in the vicinity of the school dorms, Chuan Nayi stopped walking.

The pond was a waypoint between the two dorms, and it was surrounded by some cemented flower and plant boxes that served as the seats. There was a huge fountain in the middle with a monument of a gathering of flamingos as its design. Trees were lined up on the other side of the boxes, making it picturesque only from one side, where the path between the dorms were. Chuan Nayi did not even look at the scenery next to her; she only had her head low.

"Xiaodan, can you promise me you"ll take me seriously?" she spoke again after minutes of silence.

"Sure, I"ll believe everything you"ll say." The man smiled at her with rea.s.surance.

"The reason why I didn"t scream was that... I saw something else in there with him." Her words were slow and almost inaudible, but the man heard her with ease. She lifted her face and almost clawed his hand. "There was a child on the counter."

Liu Guangru. The father"s eyes widened in shock.

Chuan Nayi stared at his reaction of disbelief. She turned away and continued nonetheless. "He had light skin, and dark hair. He was holding a black horse doll. He was sitting on the counter top, looking down at the oven. I only saw him for a second, but I"m pretty sure I had seen him before." Her nails dug into his skin more. "When I was running yesterday morning, I saw him staring at me from an alley. I thought it was just my imagination because I didn"t see him again when I returned to check.

"Then there"s this gaze coming from the ground." The girl started crying again. "Xiaodan, what if it was him all along? What am I going to do?"

Liu Xiaodan had no choice but to pull her to his chest as she cried loudly. He only held her tight as she bawled her eyes out in fear. His eyes glared at the pond, at the direction of Liu Guangru who was hiding his face behind the black horse. He was standing by the fountain, failing to hide from his father"s line of sight. By the look of things, the child had done something wrong again, and unlike the first one, he lamented over it.

The girl then only wheezed and took deep breaths to calm herself. She pulled away a little from Liu Xiaodan who was silent as well. She dried the corners of her eyes, and managed to smile as if making fun of herself. "It"s hard to believe, isn"t it? There"s no way a child could have done that."

"Nayi, listen to me." Lu Xiaodan smiled at her as if making her feel better. "Don"t worry about it, okay? If he wanted to hurt you, then he should have. He attacked the other person so there must be a reason why." He raked his fingers at the side of her hair, letting her soft locks move with his hand"s motion. "Don"t be scared."

"Xiaodan..." Chuan Nayi stared at him, only to blush faintly as she noticed their faces were so near each other"s. She backed away again, and turned her head away from him, However, his hold on her shoulder tugged her back against him. She began pulling away harder. "Xiaodan, let me go."

"Wait, Nayi, you"ll fall into the water." Liu Xiaodan chuckled nervously, seeing the misunderstanding coming from a mile away. He watched her check behind her, and so he moved her to the side a little before letting her go. He then bowed to apologize. "Sorry for holding you so close."

The lady hummed a nod before walking off towards her dorm. Liu Xiaodan would accompany her, but he knew it would help making the situation go downhill. He then stared at the direction of the friends, and waved his cupped hand towards the direction Chuan Nayi was taking. Ruan Jin spoke to the girls, and they all raced to get to Chuan Nayi"s side, walking with her back to the dorm.

Wen Taio led the boys to Liu Xiaodan and then asked what happened. "She doesn"t seem to like what happened just now."

"She"s so scared of what she saw." The man glared at a direction. Soon he turned to his bros. "Who was that man again? Huang Kun? How long has he been courting Nayi?"

"No info on that yet, man." Wen Taio fished for his phone and checked the messages. "Looks like the girls" dorm was talking about what happened earlier. Worst, they think Chuan Nayi did it."

"Why would a sweet girl stuff a man in the oven!?" Ruan Jin yelled in rage. He liked Chuan Nayi as well as the other guys in cla.s.s. He could not forgive them for even thinking she was capable of doing something like that.

"If they think so, then she must have a motive." Xu Disung shrugged his shoulder, earning the frowns of the other three. He then waved his hand and dismissed them. "Guys, we"re already "investigating" the thing about the housekeeper. Are we going to poke our nose in this one, too?"

"Duh! This is Chuan Nayi we"re talking about here!" Ruan Jin yelled at Xu Disung, but he was tapping against Liu Xiaodan"s chest with slight force. He only stopped when Liu Xiaodan caught his hand, but it did not make him tear his gaze from Xu Disung. "This is more important!"

Wen Taio raised his hand. "Don"t you think it could be connected?" The three turned to him this time. "The thing that spooked the housekeeper could be the same thing that killed that guy." They all twitched, and so Wen Taio stroked at his chin with a big grin. "Let"s play paranormal detective later. I should gather information first."

The other three agreed and discussed with Wen Taio. Liu Xiaodan could only glance back, to see Liu Guangru still hiding from his sight behind the pond"s fountain.