Holding our movie tickets, Xi Zhou stared at me with an expression laced with pure skepticism.

“With a spine as fragile as a toothpick, are you completely sure you want to watch a horror movie?”

“Absolutely, positively, a hundred percent!” I nodded like a jackhammer. “This movie is trending everywhere. As long as you’re beside me, I’ll definitely be brave!”

Xi Zhou offered a calm, definitive diagnosis: “Not a chance.”

As it turned out, he was right. The moment the credits rolled, I stumbled out of the theater floating entirely outside my own body. Xi Zhou had to grab me by the back of my collar just as I was zombie-walking straight into the men’s restroom.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Oh… so that’s the men’s room…” My mouth ran on autopilot. “And here I thought it was the men’s room.”

Xi Zhou: “…”

Perhaps terrified that I might wander straight into another dimension, he reached out and took my hand in a firm grip. His voice was low, laced with a gentle indulgence: “Hold tight. Don’t go wandering off.”

All the way from the theater back home, he didn’t let go of my hand once, except for when he was driving. His palm was broad and warm, acting like a high-grade lucky charm that completely banished every last jump scare haunting my brain.

When bedtime rolled around, I “accidentally” scooted closer and closer to his side of the bed. Xi Zhou closed his book and glanced down at the human caterpillar tightly wrapped up next to him. “Where did this little caterpillar crawl out from?”

“Can I… hold your hand while we sleep?” I swallowed my pride and whimpered. Seeing him remain silent, I immediately pulled my ultimate move: “I’ll give you thirty seconds to think about it! Silence means consent! Thirty… ten… three… one! Time’s up!”

I snatched his hand at lightning speed. “I’m sleeping now! Good night!”

Xi Zhou let out a heavy sigh. “Did your English teacher teach you math?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and played dumb, clinging to his hand like my life depended on it. In the darkness, I heard the faint rustle of a soft laugh, and then the warm glow of the nightlight bathed us both. “Go to sleep, scaredy-cat.”

The news of Chu Qi’s return struck right as I was gushing to Qingquan about my major “achievement” of holding Xi Zhou’s hand to sleep. The grin vanished off my face the instant Shang Chi shoved the door open, looking insufferably smug.

“Xia Haowan, you’d better get back and guard your husband! Chu Qi is back in the country!” He deliberately added fuel to the fire: “I’m only telling you this because I consider you family, definitely not because I want you to stop clinging to my wife. Got it?”

I got… jack squat! Even though I knew he was exaggerating on purpose, a fire flared up in my chest. After weighing my options, I came to a grand decision: Instead of sitting around waiting to get dumped, I needed to go meet this “rival” face-to-face!

Thanks to the intel provided by “informant” Shang Chi, I managed to sneak into a high-end auction where Chu Qi was attending. The moment she stepped into the room, I froze in my tracks. She was… stunning. Draped in a form-fitting silk dress with cascading waves in her hair, her aura was a blend of radiant glamour and effortless elegance.

Long story short: Girl, you’re so fine, I think I’m gay now!

When our eyes locked, I panicked and whipped my head around to pretend I was admiring the decor. But Chu Qi actually took the initiative to walk over, bringing with her a subtle scent of fresh roses. “Is anyone sitting here? Do you mind if I join you?”

“No, not at all! Please, take a seat!” I bumbled out nervously.

Turns out, this gorgeous woman wasn’t just drop-dead gorgeous, she was insanely easy to talk to. We didn’t buy a single thing during the entire auction, but we ended up adding each other on WeChat and deciding to grab dinner together right after. Sitting in the passenger seat of her flashy red Porsche, I completely forgot I had set out to “confront the mistress.”

Just as we were about to order dinner, my phone buzzed incessantly.

Xi Zhou: You’re not home?

Me: You’re home early? I’m not eating at home tonight, you’re on your own!

Xi Zhou: ? Who are you having dinner with?

Wait, he usually took half a day to reply to a single text, why was he suddenly so free today? I didn’t dare bring up Qingquan’s name (for fear of Shang Chi blowing my cover), so I pulled a random high school friend named Li Yan out of thin air. This time, he stopped replying. I let out a sigh of relief and went right back to gushing over everything under the sun with Chu Qi.

Chu Qi was an incredible listener, which made me spill my guts out before I even realized it. In the blink of an eye, it was already nine-thirty. Suddenly, my phone vibrated violently against the table.

The screen lit up with three ominous words: The Ghosting King.

I nearly dropped my phone and scrambled to make an excuse to dash into the restroom. This was the first time Xi Zhou had ever actively called me at this hour! Shaking like a leaf, I hit answer.

“Hello… I’m listening.”

There was a second of dead silence on the other end, followed by Xi Zhou’s bone-chillingly cold voice:

“Li Yan is currently standing right in front of me, asking to borrow a book from you. So… which ‘Li Yan’ are you having dinner with right now?”

Me: “…”