Ghost Diary

Chapter 9

March 22, 2005, It Was So Dark

I sat on the edge of the hospital bed, counting the days. Gu Ming lay there, calm and motionless, as if dead. The doctors said he had no problems; all his bodily functions were normal. They couldn't explain his current condition.

The dead don't breathe, the sleeping breathe steadily, but Gu Ming's breathing was intermittent, as if he might disappear at any moment. I suddenly remembered the petty curse I'd cast the night before last—I wished Gu Ming would lose to the female ghost, and everyone else would be safe and sound. It seems it really came true; Aunt Gao and the others are all alive and well, except for him…

So I started counting the days. Well, it started on March 6th, when I first met Gu Ming. He took me to Moonlight Cinema to see Jia Yanyu. On March 9th, Jia Yanyu turned to dust, and I began to hate and fear death. On March 11th, Gu Ming became my boss. I liked the salary; it was high. On March 21st, ten days later, he quietly lay in bed, no longer arguing with me. Time flies, and things change so quickly. While counting the days, I realized it was getting dark…

March 23, 2005 was still a cloudy day.

Deng Fei was very angry; he felt that Gu Ming's accident had nothing to do with me. I said that if I hadn't gone there and hadn't seen that female ghost, perhaps none of this would have happened. Deng Fei was silent for a long time, then asked me, "Xiao Mo, are you blaming me? I'm the one who took you there."

I snapped out of my daze and smiled at him. "How could that be? Deng Fei, you're overthinking it."

Then Deng Fei got angry. He said my smile looked uglier than my crying. Then he pressed my head down, pinched my cheek, and sighed, "How can you be so pitiful? How did I even get to know you?"

After Deng Fei left, I realized I hadn't seen Xiao Bi for several days. My phone was dead, and I wonder how she is...

March 24, 2005, was a bit sunny.

Deng Fei still came every day, as did Aunt Gao. They looked at Gu Ming with great sympathy. Later, Aunt Gao pulled me aside and whispered, "Child, this isn't your fault. Don't be silly. Listen to Aunt Gao and live your life well. This is what Aunt Gao owes you, and I will repay it."

Later, they all left. I stared at Gu Ming for a long time, thinking that this charlatan wouldn't die so easily. Didn't they say on TV that all the masters leave themselves a way out? Maybe in a few days, a deity will appear with a lotus throne, put Gu Ming on it for forty-nine days, and he'll wake up, his magic power will increase greatly, and he'll ascend to become an immortal. I can also get some of that immortal energy and live a life of wealth and luxury...

As I was thinking about it, I started to laugh, just as the nurses on duty saw me. They all assumed that I was having mental problems because I was too heartbroken over my partner's unconsciousness, and then they took me to the psychiatric ward for examination. I asked them, quite annoyed, what made me look like a witch doctor, and they became even more convinced that I was mentally unstable, and insisted on giving me a sedative injection.

Before I fell asleep, I chatted with a nurse in the psychiatric ward. She was very quiet and gentle, and I thought she looked a bit like Xiao Bi from junior high school. So I laughed and told her some stories about us, such as going to the cemetery in the middle of the night to catch cicadas, testing whether a gecko's tail could regrow after it was broken, and staking out the toilets near the elementary school to catch perverts...

As we were talking, I fell asleep. I only remember the nurse's face getting paler and paler, and finally she whispered to another nurse, "This girl is mentally unstable. Listen, she even dared to arrest a pervert..."

On March 25, 2005, Deng Fei lost his temper, and thunder roared.

When I woke up, I had been moved to a different ward. Deng Fei was sitting next to me with red eyes. I asked him why he looked like a rabbit, and he just snorted and ignored me.

After Aunt Gao arrived, she said that Deng Fei got furious when he saw the doctors say that I had a mental illness. When he heard that they had given me tranquilizers, he almost strangled the doctor to death.

Aunt Gao mimicked Deng Fei's tone perfectly, saying, "That's just how she is. She's always been like this. She's a little confused, a little simple-minded, and sometimes a bit slow, but she's not sick. Why did you give her the injection without even asking her first question? Are you going to take responsibility if you hurt her? You can't afford that responsibility. If anything happens to her, none of you will get away with it..."

Aunt Gao laughed as she imitated me, "Deng Fei, Deng Fei, it's been so long since I've seen him get angry. It seems like ever since high school, he's been pretending to be refined, never arguing or fighting with anyone. He's practically the epitome of a rich young master. He only shows a different side when he's with us."

Later I told Deng Fei, "Actually, you look very cool when you're angry."

Deng Fei paused for a moment before saying, "If I had known you would laugh at me, I should have kept you in the mental ward."

"Regret it?"

No regrets.

"Why?"

"Because I'm afraid that if you stay there, you'll drive all those mentally ill patients insane."

"They were already crazy."

"..."

Deng Fei is so stupid!

March 26, 2005 was a busy day.

Xiao Bi is missing. When I asked Deng Fei, he looked at me blankly and asked, "Didn't she come here?"

Then we started making phone calls and going to her workplace to look for her. We practically turned the ground upside down, but we still couldn't find her. I got a little scared, so Deng Fei called the police.

When I got back to the hospital, Gu Ming was still asleep. I stood next to him and thought how lucky this charlatan was. Everyone else was exhausted from taking care of him and worrying about him, but he was sleeping soundly. It was so unfair.

There was still no news from Xiao Bi in the afternoon, so Deng Fei started using his network of connections to find him.

That evening, Deng Fei called to reassure me. He said he would find her, and that Xiao Bi was only good at kidnapping others, while no one else could even dream of kidnapping her.

At midnight, I suddenly missed the moonlight and the ordinary days of the past. Then I started secretly plucking Gu Ming's hair and said, "You bastard, if you don't wake up soon, I'll turn you into a white-skinned chicken."

Later, I realized that my behavior of abusing patients was perverse, and tears streamed down my face as I repented for my mistake. Just as I was crying, I suddenly heard a very faint sigh.

I stared wide-eyed at Gu Ming, but he remained motionless, not even blinking. I thought I was hallucinating.

After a while, the nurse came to check and inadvertently noticed a few hairs on the snow-white sheet. She then looked at Gu Ming's slightly red arm in horror, turned to look at me with the same expression, exclaimed, and ran away.

Yeah, it turns out that being alone can be incredibly boring!

Sunny on March 27, 2005

Today is the seventh day since Gu Ming fell into a coma, and the second day since Xiao Bi was discovered missing. Looking out the window at the streets and crowds, I felt as if it were all a dream. This morning, my mom called to say the postgraduate entrance exam scores were out. I mumbled something perfunctorily, saying I'd check again tonight, and told her to take care of herself. My mom was stunned for a long time on the other end of the phone, then asked me suspiciously, "Xiao Mo, are you short of money?"

I said, "Huh? No."

She said, "That's really strange. Could it be that my little Mo has grown up and learned to care about others?"

I smiled, without telling her that I was actually really afraid of the departure of certain things and certain people.

Aunt Gao came again this morning, carrying a huge bouquet of lilies. She said they were a gift from the resort's employees to Gu Ming. As I looked for a vase to put the flowers in, I thought that this huge bouquet must be quite valuable. If Gu Ming, that charlatan, were awake, he would definitely be lamenting the waste.

Aunt Gao left after sitting for a while, leaving only the scent of lilies in the room. I frowned, worried about Xiao Bi, trying hard to recall where she could have gone. We searched her workplace, school, and other places she frequented. Deng Fei even made a phone call to her home, and judging from her mother's tone, Xiao Bi definitely hadn't come home.

As for whether we'd encounter bad people, I wasn't worried at all. Ever since I met Xiao Bi in middle school, I'd realized that the pretty girl wasn't as delicate as she seemed. Later, I witnessed her fighting and learned she was the school's female bandit. Then, she righteously dragged me along to the school restroom to catch a pervert. She then stepped on the tall man and fiercely declared, "You pervert! Don't you know whose territory this is? I, Bi Xiaofeng, am invincible in judo, taekwondo, and karate! I've never lost a fight since I was a kid! You dare resist? I'll beat you to death, XXXX!"

From then on, Xiao Bi's glorious image was etched in my mind. Ten or fewer thugs were no problem for her; the chances of her being harmed were practically zero. Later, to maintain her image and find a good boyfriend, Xiao Bi gradually began to hide her ruthless nature. But in certain situations where she had to act, the female bandit in my heart would suddenly appear, brave and invincible…

Achoo!

As I was thinking, I was suddenly startled by a noise in the ward. I hurriedly turned around, but there was no one there except Gu Ming and me. Strange, I clearly heard someone sneezing just now. Can there be ghosts in broad daylight?

Gu Ming is currently unconscious, and I can't handle any ghosts or monsters by myself, so I carefully got up to check on him.

Behind the curtains, under the bed, in the closet, in the bathroom...

I searched all over but couldn't see a single ghost. I tapped my head, wondering if I was really hallucinating.

Achoo!

I had just sat down in frustration when I heard another sneeze. I instinctively jumped up and went to Gu Ming's side. Even though he was unconscious, he was so powerful when he was awake that ghosts and monsters would probably be wary of him.

"Achoo! Achoo achoo..."

Another series of sneezes, loud and clear. I couldn't believe I was hallucinating. Could it be some kind of ghost causing trouble in broad daylight? Besides, the sneezes seemed very close to me. Could it be a ghost that Gu Ming had offended before, now coming back for revenge?

"Gu Ming... Gu Ming, please wake up soon..." I whispered, tugging at his clothes, my eyes glancing at the empty space around me.

Achoo!

“Gu Ming…”

Achoo! Achoo!

"Well... every grievance has its source, and every debt has its debtor. It has nothing to do with me..."

Achoo!

"Gu Ming, get up quickly! There's a ghost..."

Achoo!

"Friend, um... I don't know you, and you don't know me. I didn't hear anything, and I didn't see anything..."

Achoo! Achoo!

"..."

Achoo!

"..."

After being terrified for a while, I finally realized something was wrong. The sneezing sound seemed to be coming from behind me, and behind me were only Gu Ming and his bed…

Turning my head, I saw someone sniffle and then cooperatively sneeze.

"Gu Ming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I roared at the charlatan on the bed.

The nurse who had just stepped outside was startled by me and rushed in, asking, "What's wrong? What's wrong? Is something wrong with the patient?"

I said, "He...he keeps sneezing."

The nurse checked the patient by the bedside, then called the doctor over. A group of people surrounded the charlatan and fiddled with him for a while, before the doctor shook his head helplessly. "I'm sorry, miss, the patient is still the same as before, showing no signs of waking up."

"But he sneezed."

"Sneezing?" He looked at me suspiciously, and I suddenly realized that this doctor was the same guy who had diagnosed me with a mental disorder.

“Sneezing? Impossible. His body is in a sleep state right now; there's no way he'd react like that.” The doctor paused, looking at me thoughtfully. He clearly recognized me too, and then said, “Miss, have you been resting well these past few days? Are you… um, still feeling unwell?”

I watched as the doctor pointed to his head, clearly implying I was delirious. My face flushed red and then turned pale with anger. Suddenly, I missed Deng Fei and the bandit Xiao Bi. If they were here, that doctor would definitely be kicked flying right now…

In the afternoon, Deng Fei came and told me that Xiao Bi was still missing. I asked him under what circumstances Xiao Bi could be defeated. Deng Fei thought for a moment and said that unless he was surrounded by more than twenty young men who knew kung fu, Xiao Bi couldn't possibly lose.

Then the two of us stared blankly at the wall. After a while, I asked Deng Fei again, "Under what circumstances would Xiao Bi ignore us?" Deng Fei thought for a moment and said, "Unless he's surrounded by twenty handsome guys like Takeshi Kaneshiro."

I sighed and asked Deng Fei again, "Is it more likely that two young men who know kung fu will appear together, or that twenty handsome men like Takeshi Kaneshiro will appear together?"

Without even thinking, Deng Fei said that the probability of either outcome was zero.

This made me even more confused. Where did Xiao Bi go?

I don't know if it was because I was too tired these past few days, but I fell asleep early that night. Deng Fei told me to go back to school to sleep, but I was afraid that Gu Ming would suddenly wake up and run away, and I would be unable to collect my wages. So I decided to stay here and keep an eye on him.

Deng Fei said with a grim expression, "He won't wake up today. I'll take you back to school."

"No, I want to see my salary."

"Lin Xiaomo, are you going back or not?"