Chapter 1 The Tree

An Ruxue had been hanging from this tree for less than a day when the villagers stripped her clothes, snatched her hairpin, and buried her beneath this ginkgo tree.

She thought that upon death she would descend to the netherworld or go to some Western Paradise, but to her surprise, she discovered that she couldn't escape this place at all.

She still existed.

Even if her soul could wander, it would return to this tree at midnight.

And so, more than four hundred years passed until now, she was still here.

Like people say, a bound spirit.

Time can dilute many things, including hatred.

She no longer cared about that heartless man, Ruan Lang; she just wanted her soul to dissipate or to enter the cycle of reincarnation as soon as possible.

But regrettably, her soul was bound under this ginkgo tree, unable to go anywhere.

However, she could see and hear.

Centuries passed, the world changed, the former village was long gone, but this ginkgo tree still grew here, standing for thousands of years.

She just watched passers-by, bored.

Sometimes, she would also encounter some souls, which people in this era called 'ghosts', but they usually returned to the underworld on the seventh sunset to be reincarnated. Only she was trapped here for no reason.

She wondered if she could successfully dissipate if this tree was cut down.

But for some reason, this tree grew better and better, and was even protected.

And so, for hundreds of years, she lived like this, alone… no, existed as a ghost.

Until today, a boy found her hairpin and told his crippled sister the story…

Although there were many discrepancies, many differences in the details. For example, her home was indeed raided because her father had done business with the Woren (Japanese pirates).

But in reality, it was not that 'scholar' who brought people to ransack the house.

Of course, he was also involved.

The scholar had become an official at that time, and An Ruxue wrote to him for help, hoping that he could say good words to the local official in charge. But her Ruan Lang not only did not think of their past affection, but even asked his mother, who had been a wet nurse in her family, to testify – that there was indeed collusion with the Woren, she had seen it with her own eyes.

Thus, her home was raided.

After the raid, An Ruxue, in despair, hanged herself.

She wondered if she would have had a good ending with her beloved brother Ruan Lang if it weren't for her father.

After all, no matter how you looked at it, this tragedy was caused by her father's worldliness.

But hundreds of years later, after experiencing many, many things, she had figured out that problem.

Whether a person is bad or not never depends on what changes.

What a person is in essence is what they are.

Looking back, he had never done anything for her because he loved her.

Every time her father confronted him, he was forced to, compelled to swear an oath.

Moreover, after she became a widow, every time he saw her, although his words were nice, he actually despised her in his heart.

With his self-esteem, he had always been ashamed that his mother had been a wet nurse in the An family, so he was so agitated and frantic when she brought it up.

So, she had long been relieved.

Her love was cheap.

The person she loved was also cheap.

However, when others retold the story from her perspective, and repeatedly expressed sympathy in their words, the grievances of her memories suddenly surged into her heart.

She hated, she was bitter.

But ghosts can't cry, she could only show the sadness that no one could see after the two of them left.

Although that boy was vaguely calling me stupid, he was definitely a good person, and he buried the hairpin under the tree…

But how did he know those things?

And how did he know that I was buried under this tree?

Thinking this, she suddenly floated in front of Chen Yuan, facing him face to face, her eyes locked on his.

Then, in the next second, he passed through her body…

So, he can't see me?

But why does he know my story?

Is it really like he said, he had a dream?

Is it the hairpin, attached with some divine and ghostly power?

"Whoosh!!!"

In order to let the other party perceive her existence, An Ruxue blew hard at Chen Yuan's face.

Her cheeks were already puffed out like buns, and only managed to summon a small gust of demonic wind, slightly blowing up his bangs…

"What the hell, there's no wind?"

Chen Yuan felt a chill on his scalp, and his hairstyle was blown, so he impatiently fiddled with his bangs.

Then, An Ruxue blew hard on his forehead again.

Chen Yuan was annoyed and simply swept up his bangs.

An Ruxue: "?"

"There's no one around, why are you suddenly acting handsome?" Shen Xiao Ran asked, puzzled, seeing Chen Yuan making this small gesture that male leads in idol dramas love to do.

"Just handsome." Chen Yuan asked back directly, "What? Are you not convinced?"

"Indeed handsome."

It wasn't difficult for Shen Xiao Ran to admit this, after all, as a face-con, she couldn't find any fault with Chen Yuan's appearance, and of course she wouldn't stubbornly deny it.

Tsundere is outdated.

What Shen Xiao Ran dislikes the most now are tsundere characters.

She likes to read fantasy novels, and then substitute herself as the male lead. She can't resist those girls who speak their minds without being pretentious, are cute and generous without being jealous, and keep giving the male lead gold coins.

"Really eating roast meat rice?" Chen Yuan asked again.

"Anything is fine." Shen Xiao Ran didn't mind, and then took out a small wallet and said generously, "No matter how expensive it is, I'll treat you."

"I'm not so spineless as to farm gold coins from kids, keep it." He gently flicked Shen Xiao Ran's head and said calmly.

"What a handsome big brother." Shen Xiao Ran was so hit by this gesture that she couldn't help but have stars in her eyes.

"Then call me Onii-chan."

"That's a bit… too otaku." Shen Xiao Ran pursed her lips awkwardly, able to accept that Chen Yuan is an otaku, but not too much of a deadbeat.

"Did the anime community eat your rice?"

"People who are too two-dimensional in reality are somewhat scary."

"That's true, I also saw a fat guy wearing a Himouto! Umaru-chan cloak at the sports meet, and it really felt a little terrifying."

That feeling was like Rikka Takanashi appearing in a domestic high school.

"Then eat shrimp?" Chen Yuan pushed Shen Xiao Ran out of the park, and when he saw a shrimp hot pot restaurant, he took the initiative to ask.

"This…" Shen Xiao Ran looked up at Chen Yuan embarrassedly, "Isn't this a bit too expensive?"

Because Chen Yuan doesn't exploit children's gold coins, and Shen Xiao Ran also knows that he is just an ordinary high school student, and lives alone, so she hesitated.

"That means you want to eat, let's go."

Although Chen Yuan isn't rich, he still has 100,000 yuan in reserve funds. He won't go bankrupt no matter how he eats in these two years of high school.

Besides, today he was afraid of the female ghost, so he called Xiao Cha out to accompany him, so he should treat her to a meal.

What is the relationship between these two people…

An Ruxue was a little puzzled, because they looked a lot like siblings.

But the way the two got along didn't seem like the normal siblings she had seen in this era.

One was eleven or twelve years old, and the other was seventeen or eighteen years old, just like her and Ruan Lang's ages back then…

It's normal for two people to have mutual affection.

Let's see.

Thinking, An Ruxue floated next to the wheelchair, curiously observing the two of them.

Two people and one ghost entered the store.

Seeing Shen Xiao Ran in a wheelchair, the clerk quickly helped lead the way, taking the two to a seat inside.

Then, Chen Yuan naturally picked up Shen Xiao Ran from the wheelchair and placed her on the long chair.

Then, he leaned the wheelchair against the wall.

He sat opposite Shen Xiao Ran and started ordering.

"Why do I feel a little cold…" Shen Xiao Ran hugged her arms and said weakly.

"You're not wearing much, wait."

The store was quite warm, so Chen Yuan took off his school uniform and handed it to Shen Xiao Ran opposite him.

"Thank you~" Shen Xiao Ran playfully made a heart with her hands, and then prepared to put on the clothes, but when she held them in her hands, she couldn't help but slowly approach and sniff lightly with her nose…

"Don't do this perverted act, put it on."

Then, Chen Yuan pinched her face with his hand and taught her a lesson without politeness.

"Wuu… You're too cruel to call a little girl a pervert."

After Shen Xiao Ran muttered in a low voice, she put on Chen Yuan's wide clothes.

Then, like a ghost, she was completely wrapped in them.

When she raised her hands, it took a lot of effort to stretch her hands out of the cuffs.

Chen Yuan found it a little funny, but he held back, and helped her roll up and fold the cuffs of her hands so that her two little hands could stretch out.

"Hehe." Shen Xiao Ran blushed and smiled at Chen Yuan.

This time, she didn't tease anymore, but accepted it shyly.

In fact, after becoming disabled, she had always wanted to be treated normally, so she always did things that she could do herself, and resolutely didn't bother others.

Of course, she could also do small things like rolling up her sleeves.

But at this moment, she felt that it didn't seem like much to bother others.

It seemed pretty good.

After all, Chen Yuan was the one who wouldn't dislike her for not being able to go to the bathroom alone, and needed someone to push her wherever she went, which would only slow him down.

Then, the shrimp and some main dishes came.

The two began to eat hot pot.

Just as Chen Yuan lowered his head to dip the lamb rolls in the sauce and eat them, a small hand suddenly stretched out in front of him.

It was Shen Xiao Ran, she peeled the shrimp with her hands and handed it to him.

Chen Yuan originally wanted to refuse and let her eat it herself, but he naturally felt a little sorry for this child, so he picked up the bowl and let her put it in.

However, Shen Xiao Ran shook her head, and then looked at him, making a mouth shape: "Ah~"

Is this postal service your private part?

"Don't try to make me make a mistake…"

"Just this one, I don't have any bad intentions… You always guard against me like a thief, I obviously wish you two well." Shen Xiao Ran lowered her head resentfully and complained.

Indeed, Shen Xiao Ran was a lot more obedient, and the tea ingredients were basically not visible.

It seemed that she had accepted the fact that she was a little loser.

Alas, even more pitiful.

Chen Yuan felt that he was a bit too bad. In the past, when he watched Japanese anime, he liked to watch the author force the loser, and he thought it was very interesting, and he laughed out loud at that time.

But now, after really encountering it, he only felt that being a loser was really miserable.

But this little loser is indeed cute.

So, Chen Yuan opened his mouth to accept. And the gloom on Shen Xiao Ran's face was instantly swept away, and she fed the shrimp to the other party's mouth, then hummed a brisk song and happily ate the hot pot.

She seemed quite easy to satisfy.

Speaking of which, these two people… aren't they really siblings?

An Ruxue could tell that this crippled child liked this young man, but the young man only treated her as a younger sister, and was trying to correct her feelings.

Also, according to this girl, this young man has his own sweetheart… or according to the saying of this era, a girlfriend.

Then it seems that this man is okay.

However, whether his constitution, which attracts so much attention, will turn bad still needs to be observed…

After all, he ate the shrimp that someone else peeled, which is a little bit flirtatious.

Although it's nothing in this era, if it were in An Ruxue's time, this girl would be married in at most two years.

As she observed, she suddenly became hungry.

So, when Chen Yuan peeled the shrimp and was about to put it in his mouth, she floated over and took a slight breath towards the shrimp meat…

Munch, munch.

After Chen Yuan finished eating the shrimp meat, he suddenly felt that the taste was a little strange.

It's a bit bland.

The meat quality wasn't bad, and it was still delicious, but it always felt like it was missing a bit of the shrimp meat's freshness.

Then, he ate a few more.

Of course, they were all sucked on by An Ruxue in advance.

"What's wrong, is it not delicious?" Shen Xiao Ran asked, puzzled, seeing Chen Yuan frowning.

"The first one was okay, but the ones after that were a little worse…"

"Oh, you're making people shy." Shen Xiao Ran covered her mouth with one hand and said shyly, "It's just that the ones fed by beautiful girls are more delicious, I understand."

You know what.

The ones fed by Shen Xiao Ran are indeed a little more delicious.

How strange.

Seeing Chen Yuan a little puzzled, An Ruxue didn't continue 'eating', so as to avoid him really noticing.

Being a ghost still needs to be low-key.

"Hey, it's okay now."

"Maybe those few shrimp weren't fresh."

"Maybe."

And so, the two continued to eat.

When they were about to finish eating, Chen Yuan scanned the code again and ordered a serving of the signature dish here, pepper and salt phoenix tail shrimp.

"Hey? Are you still ordering? I can't eat anymore." Shen Xiao Ran said quickly to avoid wasting food.

"Oh, the shrimp here tastes good, I'll bring a serving to Xin Yu." When Chen Yuan explained, he said to the waiter next to him, "To go, and add more chili."

"…"

Obviously Shen Xiao Ran was sitting opposite him, but the one being cared about was Xia Xin Yu, and he didn't even ask if she liked spicy food. To this, Shen Xiao Ran could only read the lines and sigh, "He doesn't forget to bring food to his girlfriend wherever he goes, what a good man."

"You speak so nicely, I'll let you be the flower girl at the wedding."

"Tsk, I'll be all grown up by that time."

"Then you'll be the bridesmaid."

"…" Shen Xiao Ran closed her eyes, sighed a decadent breath, and then nodded, "Okay, okay, okay."

Anything is fine, everything is fine.

Destroy it, this world.

Fortunately, this man is quite clear-headed, and has clearly informed the other party.

Then I won't pursue the matter of feeding shrimp just now.

An Ruxue didn't think about why she was qualified to pursue this issue.

Because she was a woman, and had been let down by a scumbag, she subconsciously substituted herself into the perspective of his girlfriend to examine this man harshly.

So far, he's very qualified.

Of course, my Ruan Lang was also very good at the beginning.

Anyway, she could wander outside until 24:00, so she decided to continue following him.

And so, Chen Yuan paid the bill and put Shen Xiao Ran in the wheelchair. Then, he pushed her out of the restaurant.

The ghost followed.

"Then I'll go back first, let your mom come and pick you up."

Anyway, he had already dealt with that ominous object, and Chen Yuan had no reason to stay any longer. He still had to study his favorite physics.

"There… there's a bag." At this time, Shen Xiao Ran pointed to a small brown-black leather bag on the bench at the bus stop and said seriously.

"There really is."

Chen Yuan pushed Shen Xiao Ran over, and then looked around, and found that no one was related to this bag. So, he gently touched the skin of the bag.

Memories emerged.

About ten minutes ago, a woman wearing a burgundy dress, with hair down to her waist, who looked very temperamental, like a standard evening party dresser, sat here, put her bag aside to put on makeup, casually called a taxi, and then directly got into the car, without even looking at her bag.

A very classic idiot.

But this bag looks very good, the brand seems to be called Gucci.

If it's left here, it should be quickly taken away.

So, Chen Yuan opened the bag and found some lipsticks, cosmetics, a women's watch, and a bottle of perfume. There was nothing that could prove her identity or a way to contact her.

"Then we'll wait here for your mom, I'll send you away, and if the woman with this bag isn't here… then we can only call the police."

Saying to call the police was just handing it over to Li Tong, and then having her ride her motorcycle and send him back.

"I have a hunch that it's a very difficult little fairy who can even lose her satchel. I'll stay with you, so you don't get sprayed." Shen Xiao Ran volunteered to say.

"Be alert to the massive number of individual cases, don't uglify the image of women." Chen Yuan said quite calmly, "I'm also keeping her bag for her, if she's a normal person, she won't make trouble for me."

Of course, if that bitch says something is missing inside and wants to make trouble for me, I'll just kill her with lightning!

I'm serious.

Also, I really don't eat beef.

And so, the two waited quietly here.

One was waiting for Shen Xiao Ran's mom, and the other was that woman.

Sure enough, that guy quickly returned to this station after realizing that she had lost her things.

That woman, who was tall and graceful, about twenty years old, and looked a lot like a girl group idol, felt relieved after seeing the bag, and patted her chest.

Then, she walked quickly to Chen Yuan, smiled, and reached out, "This bag is mine…"

"Wait, how can you prove it's yours?" Shen Xiao Ran said vigilantly.

And she didn't even say thank you, what a terrible temper.

"Oh oh. There's perfume, a watch, lipstick inside, no ID card or wallet." The woman nodded and said with a light smile.

"Usually satchels have…"

"It's okay, it's hers." Chen Yuan smiled at Shen Xiao Ran, and then handed the bag to the other party, showing a very calm demeanor.

After all, memories don't lie.

But this bitch, hasn't she said thank you yet?

If you don't say it, I can give you the bag, but I'm going to strike you with lightning later.

And after the woman took the bag, she checked it slightly, and after nothing was lost, she put it on her shoulder.

The chain of the bag passed through the middle of her chest like this, separating two mounds that weren't exactly majestic, but were stronger than Yu Zi's.

Then, the woman took out a wad of money from a mini women's handbag, separated ten bills, paused for a moment, looked at the little disabled person next to the boy, and then added five more bills and handed them to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan blankly took the money, the woman smiled, nodded slightly, and then turned and left.

Not bad.

Although you didn't say thank you, I've decided not to strike you dead.

Just as Chen Yuan was about to put the money in his pocket, Shen Xiao Ran snatched it away.

Then, she drove the wheelchair aggressively to chase after the woman, and muttered indignantly, "I've spoiled you! So impolite, you didn't even say thank you!"

"…" Chen Yuan was stunned, shook his empty palm, and looked at Shen Xiao Ran, who had called out to the other party.

No, I thought it was very polite!