Winter Is Ending - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“That doesn’t count. I didn’t actually get to kiss you.”

The male ghost lightly pressed the pad of his finger against the corner of my eye and smiled. “I’m kidding. Go to sleep. I won’t bother you.”

Wow. Real heartless thing to say, buddy.

With a whole entire ghost standing by my bed staring at me, I would need a heart as big as the Pacific Ocean to fall asleep.

I said, “I can’t sleep with you here…”

“All right, then I’ll go. I’ll come find you again tomorrow.”

The moment his figure vanished, I yanked my head under the covers.

I had discovered this male ghost right before bed.

After washing my face, I looked up and suddenly saw two faces in the mirror.

One was mine. The other was his.

He was standing behind me in a lazy sort of way, fiddling with the new sky-blue little table clock I’d just bought with his long, slender, translucent fingers, pushing it bit by bit toward the edge of the desk.

Like a cat up to no good.

Then the him in the mirror turned his face toward me, his smile so bright it didn’t look ghostly at all. “I like this color.”

Me: “Aaaaaah!”

On pure instinct, I threw the bar of soap beside me at him, then bolted back to bed at the speed of my high school eight-hundred-meter run and wrapped myself in the blanket like a cocoon.

He drifted over at an unhurried pace, hands tucked into his sleeves.

Straight through the wall.

After that, we had a series of discussions on the topic of “ghosts can’t attack humans who are under the covers.”

After he left, I should have felt lingering terror. After all, humans and ghosts walk different roads; being afraid would have been normal.

But maybe because he had seemed relatively friendly, I honestly wasn’t that bothered. I even sank into a deep sleep faster than usual.

Chapter 2

He came again while I was eating breakfast.

“Xiaolongbao! Eight-treasure congee! My favorites!”

I was still in the kitchen ladling out the eight-treasure congee, and he was already sitting properly at the dining table like an obedient elementary school student.

Seeing him in broad daylight wasn’t as disorienting and horrifying as seeing him at night.

But my heart still gave a little lurch.

“Can you not just appear out of nowhere? It’s terrifying.”

He asked very good-naturedly, “Then should I go outside now and knock on the door again?”

“Then I’ll perform an on-the-spot death for you!”

He smiled politely. “Did you make the xiaolongbao yourself? They look delicious.”

Of course they were store-bought semi-finished ones, but did he think I was going to say that?

I invited him, “Can you eat?”

He shook his head regretfully. “I can’t. I’m not human anymore.”

As he spoke, he sighed.

Actually, I had only made enough for one person anyway, but hearing him say that, I hurriedly put on an expression that said, “Oh, what a pity, I’ll treat you in your next life.”

He exposed me without mercy. “Fake.”

As I ate, I asked, “Why did you come looking for me? It’s not like we have any grudges between us.”

“I lived here when I was alive, so of course I live here after I died too.”

Huh?

Was this guy the previous owner?

When I bought the place, the real estate agent never told me someone had died in it!

“What are you thinking? I had an accident while I was out having fun. This apartment is a good apartment.”

Oh. All right, then.

I bit my chopsticks and listened as he continued.

“My guess is that I still have an unfulfilled wish, so I can’t reincarnate.”

“If you can help me fulfill this tiny little wish, maybe I’ll be able to leave, and you can have… peace and quiet.”

I immediately asked, “Then what wish do you still have unfulfilled?”

Naturally, I would run myself ragged and brave any danger for him.

I had to help him fulfill his wish as soon as possible and send him on his way.

“I lost a ring. When I was alive, I planned to propose to the person I liked with it. But before I got the chance, I left her behind.”

“She must have been heartbroken.”

He lifted his eyes and gave me a light glance.

I tilted my head, not understanding.

“She actually wasn’t that heartbroken. But that was exactly what I hoped for.”

“So you want me to help you find the ring?”

“Yes. That ring cost me quite a lot of money.”

Curious, I asked, “How much is quite a lot?”

His expression was calm. “Three hundred and sixty thousand.”

I struggled to imagine the suffocating pressure a six-figure ring would bring to a poor soul like me.

“Could it be… possible that your obsession is actually that you wasted so much money?”

He smiled. “Why would you say something so painfully true?”