Chapter 17

The next day, Lu Chi brought a poster of the ghost-catching deity Zhong Kui to school, attracting quite a lot of attention.

By the window, Lin ChuSui saw him and called out, "Lu Chi, are you posing as a door god? You've been wandering around the door all morning!"

Lu Chi waved his hand impatiently, "Don't make a fuss, just watch!"

Soon after, Xiao Yan walked over in loose blue and white school uniform, his face glowing in the sunlight.

The sunlight shone on his delicate face, making his long eyelashes seem crystal clear, giving him a very pure aura.

Lu Chi immediately held up the poster of Taoist Zhong Kui high towards him.

Xiao Yan passed by him with his eyes straight ahead, not even glancing at him as he walked straight into the classroom.

Seeing Lin ChuSui poking her head out the window, Xiao Yan casually asked, "Finished making up your homework?"

She quickly covered her math exercise book, "How did you know I was making up homework?"

"It's rare for you to come to school early, if not to make up homework, then to make up sleep?"

Lin ChuSui defended, "This goddess is here to make up sleep!"

Xiao Yan hooked up the corners of his eyes and glanced at her with a faint smile, "Then go ahead and sleep."

"I...don't want to bother with you."

Lin ChuSui continued to write furiously.

Zhang Cheng Yu sauntered into the classroom with little steps. Lin ChuSui conveniently handed him her thermos, "Octopus bro, help me fill up some water."

A strange smile appeared on Zhang Cheng Yu's face. He said, "Leave it to your octopus bro, that's right! Wait for it!"

A few minutes later, Zhang Cheng Yu returned the cup to Lin ChuSui. Without thinking too much, she took a big gulp, only to be choked by the spicy liquor in the cup, spurting it all out.

Xiao Yan, with his hair dripping wet from the spray, hopelessly tilted his head, "Drinking before class, I'm telling on you."

"..."

Are you in elementary school?

Lin ChuSui angrily smashed the thermos on Zhang Cheng Yu's desk, "What is this?!"

Zhang Cheng Yu: "Realgar wine."

"Why did you pour me realgar wine?!"

"To exor...exorcise."

"Exorcise what, my dad is not a demon! He's my dad! Kind Uncle Lin who gave you Walmart Q Q candy when you were little, remember?"

Zhang Cheng Yu bowed to Xiao Yan, "Uncle Lin is so good! We remember your great kindness of Q Q candy, and have always been good friends with Chuchu! Strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious... Amitabha."

Xiao Yan really didn't want to bother with these idiots. He casually took out his English long sentence reading book.

Finally, before morning reading class, Lin ChuSui finished all her math homework.

Xiao Yan casually glanced at her homework, "Quite impressive."

"Right?" Lin ChuSui felt a sense of accomplishment, "I came to the classroom at six this morning!"

Xiao Yan: "Managing to perfectly avoid every right answer is indeed quite impressive."

Lin ChuSui: "..."

Xiao Yan leaned in slightly, closer to her, "May I ask what your friends are doing?"

Lin ChuSui smelled the familiar laundry detergent scent on him, like the morning sun on the window sill, her heartbeat quickened a little, "They think... you're my dad possessing you."

"Oh."

She asked seriously, "So has my dad come back?"

Xiao Yan: "He's back."

She excitedly grabbed his collar, "Really?!"

Xiao Yan: "Really, call me dad."

Hearing his tone, Lin ChuSui realized he was joking. She let go dully, "Don't joke about our Old Lin, or I won't be polite and beat you up."

Xiao Yan tidied his collar and said, "What rapport do we have?"

Lin ChuSui smiled and said, "I usually don't hit on pursuers."

"Gloomy and sloppy, apart from me, you have no pursuers at all."

"Don't look down on people!"

Lin ChuSui was indignant for a few minutes before her mind clicked, "You...admitted you like me?"

The corners of Xiao Yan's thin lips moved slightly. He paused for a few seconds before ruthlessly rejecting――

"Huh." Behind them, Zhang Cheng Yu was still upset about the wasted realgar wine. He poured the wine into an empty perfume bottle and occasionally sprayed it into the air, especially towards Xiao Yan's direction.

Xiao Yan expressionlessly said to Lin ChuSui, "Why don't you make some normal friends?"

"When I was little I wasn't very sociable. These quirky friends were exchanged for me by my dad using Walmart Q Q candy in the community courtyard one summer."

"Oh."

So this is what a father is like. Xiao Yan had never known that before.

He had been adopted by a family before. That couple looked really kind, enthusiastically welcoming his arrival.

He had also loved them wholeheartedly.

Only to find out later that beneath the fake exterior was all lies and deception.

He shook his head, not wanting to think further.

Lin ChuSui continued, "They are always so boring, superstitious when bored. They even worshipped you before exams, but I have never been superstitious."

Having said that, she fished out some millet from her bag and carelessly sprinkled it on Xiao Yan's desk.

Xiao Yan: ...

"Then what are you doing now?"

Lin ChuSui tidied her hair around her ears, "Oh, nothing, afraid you might be hungry, so feeding you."

Xiao Yan: "Feeding me millet?"

"Uh."

"Then you eat one and show me."

Lin ChuSui picked up a sticky rice grain and chewed it in her mouth.

She wanted to see if Old Lin would be forced to appear by the sticky rice, after all that's what the feng shui books said.

But...no effect.

As she threw the sticky rice into her mouth, Xiao Yan grabbed her wrist, "Your hands are dirty."

"Why are you so OCD." Lin ChuSui looked at her claws, "Where is it dirty?"

"Wash your hands before eating from now on."

Lin ChuSui moved closer to him and said with a smile, "Our Old Lin always makes me wash my hands before meals too."

"I'm not Old Lin," he emphasized, "but Xiao Yan who 'deeply loves' you."

Lin ChuSui quickly pushed his forehead away, "Ew ew ew! Professor Xiao... Restrain your overflowing feelings, we won't have any future!"

...

Behind them, Lu Chi asked Xu Jia Ning, "Young Master Xu, are you a virgin boy?"

Zhang Cheng Yu: "He grew up abroad, of course he's not."

Xu Jia Ning sneered coldly, "Sorry, but I actually am."

Lu Chi said maliciously, "Then can we get some of your virgin boy pee later?"

"Disgusting." Xu Jia Ning frowned in distaste, "Don't you have your own?"

"I do, but I already peed this morning, won't have more until the afternoon."

Xu Jia Ning: ...

You are truly... enduring.

After school, Xiao Yan went to the school psychological counseling room. Lin ChuSui followed him like a cat, secretly observing and tiptoeing after him the whole way.

Seeing him go into the counseling room, she crept by the door to eavesdrop, hoping to hear about clues regarding her father.

The counseling room was very professional, with qualified psychology teachers sitting duty.

With the intense pressure of college entrance exams, nearly every day some students went to the counseling room for advice.

The psychologist was a woman in her thirties, with long hair draped over her shoulders, wearing a white coat and rectangular glasses.

Seeing a handsome young man walk in, she adjusted her glasses and asked, "Consulting about a puppy love issue?"

"No."

The psychologist pointed at Lin ChuSui peeking through the door gap, "Your girlfriend is here too, so isn't it puppy love?"

Hearing this, Lin ChuSui scurried away, only to be dragged back in by Xiao Yan grabbing her collar, "If you want to listen just do it openly."

"Oh." Lin ChuSui stood against the wall with her hands behind her back, embarrassed.

The psychologist asked, "What puppy love issues do you have?"

Lin ChuSui: "Doctor look at him, the grade's top student. Now look at me, a failing student who only got 9 points in math because I wrote a poem praising the teacher instead of solving problems. If we really had a puppy love, would I still be alive? The class advisor would've beaten me to death."

Before Lin ChuSui could finish her barrage of words, Xiao Yan pressed her forehead, "Too much nonsense, shut up."

She obediently shut up.

Xiao Yan sat down in the chair across from the desk and calmly recounted, "Recently I feel like I'm having... a split personality."

"Can you elaborate on that?"

Xiao Yan described in detail, "I've been having hallucinations and hearing voices lately..."

The psychologist frowned, looking at the pair of youths before her in their prime: "In such cases, we usually think it's displacement of emotions onto the opposite sex classmate due to exam pressure in 12th grade." "..."

"Young man, it's normal to like a female classmate. You can't look down on her just because she only got 9 points in math. Refusing to admit your feelings today, even implying a split personality - that's going overboard."

Xiao Yan: "Doctor, is your specialty puppy love research?"

"My specialty is adolescent psychology research."

Nevermind then.

Xiao Yan didn't want to explain further. Unless he went to a neurology department for professional evaluation, this psychologist wouldn't be able to give him the answers he wanted either.

What system, what returning from the dead, what possession...

The things he had experienced were bizarre to begin with.

"Doctor, is this split personality serious?" Lin ChuSui cut in to ask. "Will it affect studies or IQ or something?"

"It's possible." The psychologist nodded thoughtfully. "Love makes one become a fool."

"Oh no, what to do? I was hoping to copy his homework."

"Classmate, you're in 12th grade now. As your teacher I have some advice - the ocean of learning is boundless, it's never too late to mend. Do your own homework."

The psychologist wrote a number on a note and handed it to Xiao Yan, "I know a neurology doctor who I can give you as a contact."

"Thank you, teacher."

Only then did Lin ChuSui remember the purpose she came to the counseling room for. She hurriedly asked, "Doctor, have you encountered cases before, where someone who died a long time ago, would suddenly come alive in another person?"

"Can you elaborate on that?"

"Like someone who died, then one day, you suddenly see their shadow in another person, including but not limited to their speech, mannerisms, talents etc..."

The psychotherapist nodded thoughtfully, "It happens, but most people who come to consult about this kind of problem, in most cases, it's because they miss their loved ones too much, which leads to hallucinations and unconsciously reinforces this perception, so they mistake one person for another."

"I see." Lin ChuSui was a little disappointed.

The psychotherapist looked at Lin ChuSui, "So, are you having similar psychological issues?"

Lin ChuSui told the truth, "I just feel that the other personality in his body is most likely my deceased dad."

The psychotherapist: ...

She pointed to the paper with contact details, "I suggest you go see a neurologist with him too."

Lin ChuSui and Xiao Yan walked out of the counselling room, and the sun had already set in the west.

She looked at his tall, slender figure, and wanted to reach out and hold his hand several times, but didn't quite dare to.

He is Xiao Yan.

Old Lin was like his shadow, sometimes there, sometimes not.

Xiao Yan lowered his head and saw the little girl's outstretched little claws retract several times.

He simply grabbed her wrist and held it, just like a father holding his daughter's hand.

Looking at his sharp side profile, Lin ChuSui's heart skipped a beat.

She knew that it wasn't Old Lin holding her hand, it was Xiao Yan.

"You said you didn't love me."

"I love you to death."

...

On the edge of the sports field, Lu Chi and Zhang Cheng Yu and some other athletics team members were preparing for a marathon.

Lu Tian, dressed in a light green plaid skirt, stood at the edge of the track and waved at Lin ChuSui.

"I'm going to train now."

"Don't stay out too late, remember to do your homework when you get back."

Xiao Yan put his hands in his pockets, carrying a backpack over one shoulder, and walked away lazily.

Lin ChuSui grabbed the hem of his shirt, "Wait a minute."

Xiao Yan turned around, only to see her tiptoe and poke his forehead with her finger, "Mr. Genius, can I ask you to pass a message to Old Lin?"

"Maybe I can't get it to him."

"If you can't get it to him, I'll just say it louder so he can hear me."

Lin ChuSui put her hands around her mouth and shouted at the sports field and sky―

"I'm sorry!"

Xiao Yan looked at her. The setting sun cast a soft glow on her cheeks, making them rosy. Her clear eyes were filled with intense guilt―

"I'm sorry, Dad, that you have to see me like this, you must be very disappointed."

Xiao Yan could feel a throbbing pain in his chest.

Lin ChuSui calmed herself down, and used her dirty sleeves to wipe her face. She smiled and said, "Let's go."

After watching her leave for a long time, Xiao Yan retracted his gaze and prepared to leave.

Just then, a clear voice rang out from inside his body―

"Xiao Tongxue, do you want to eat Q.Q Candy?"