Chapter 4: Ghost!

“That Shen Shilang must be blind as a bat!” Wei Jianming cursed. “Does he think he’s too good for you? I bet he’s just too proud to admit it.”

“Second brother, stop talking!” Wei Ruyan snapped, both furious and annoyed.

She had always thought highly of herself, but since Shen Shilang was brought back by Wei Zhaoxian as a child, he had never paid her much attention.

As she grew into a graceful young lady, many young men admired her, yet Shen Shilang never tried to please her whenever they met. She had never seen even a trace of admiration in his eyes.

Who did Shen Shilang think he was?

He was nothing more than a good-looking face, with nothing else to offer, yet he dared to look down on her?

Wei Jianming’s words seemed like consolation to Wei Ruyan. She neither needed nor wanted anyone’s pity or comfort!

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop.” Wei Jianming’s lips curled into a sinister grin. “I didn’t expect he could still get up, looking as if nothing had happened. Looks like I didn’t hit him hard enough. Once father leaves, I’ll teach him a proper lesson!”

Seeing that these two not only failed to recognize their wrongdoing but planned to escalate it, Su Jinshi forcefully poked the back of Wei Jianming’s head.

Just as Su Jinshi was wondering if her forceful poke would be felt by Wei Jianming, his head jerked forward violently.

It was as if someone had pushed him hard from behind. Caught off guard, Wei Jianming stumbled a few steps forward.

Wei Jianming spun around abruptly. “Who dares to hit—”

The unfinished words died in his throat as he saw the emptiness behind him.

There was nothing but the empty road and the increasingly eerie trees casting shadows in the moonlight.

“Second brother, what’s wrong?” Wei Ruyan asked.

Wei Jianming called out to the servant walking ahead with a lantern, “Did you see anyone around here?”

The servant looked puzzled. “No, I didn’t even hear any other footsteps.”

“Second brother, what happened?” Wei Ruyan asked again.

“Someone just hit the back of my head!” Wei Jianming glared around fiercely. “Shen Shilang, come out!”

Only the cold, silent air responded.

“Shen Shilang, I know it’s you. If you have the guts, come out!” Wei Jianming’s expression grew more menacing, but Su Jinshi felt that he was actually trying to mask his fear.

Su Jinshi snorted and slapped Wei Jianming’s forehead hard again.

Wei Jianming’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. This time he saw clearly that there was nothing in front of him, yet his forehead was definitely slapped hard by someone.

Wei Jianming trembled for a while, then suddenly screamed, “Th-there’s a… gh-ghost!”

Before he finished speaking, he had already abandoned Wei Ruyan and run off.

Wei Ruyan, frightened, clung tightly to her maid’s arm. “Wh-what ghost? What’s second brother talking about?”

Su Jinshi looked at Wei Ruyan, who was quite beautiful but cruel-hearted.

She had nearly beaten Shen Shilang to death along with Wei Jianming, proving she wasn’t a good person either. So, Su Jinshi yanked Wei Ruyan’s hair hard.

“Ah!” Wei Ruyan grabbed her hair and turned to ask her maid Chun Yun, “Did you pull my hair?”

Chun Yun, equally terrified by Wei Jianming’s outburst, turned pale and stammered, “I… I didn’t! How could I dare!”

“B-besides, both my hands are holding the lantern,” Chun Yun explained fearfully.

Wei Ruyan looked down and saw that Chun Yun indeed had both hands on the lantern.

Just then, Su Jinshi yanked Wei Ruyan’s hair again. Wei Ruyan was staring at Chun Yun’s hands, which hadn’t left the lantern.

“Ah!” Wei Ruyan was so frightened she fainted on the spot.

“M-miss… don’t scare me!” Chun Yun cried out in fear. “Help! Someone help! The young miss has fainted!”

Seeing all this while standing at the courtyard gate, Shen Shilang muttered, “No wonder I just called that female…”

For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to say “female ghost” and felt less hostile toward Su Jinshi than before, even though it had only been one day he’s known her.

What did that female ghost say her name was again?

Jinshi?

“That’s a nice name,” Shen Shilang murmured.

Earlier, when Wei Jianming and Wei Ruyan left, he had called out to Su Jinshi but got no response. Curious about where she went, he heard Wei Jianming shouting his name outside the courtyard. Standing at the courtyard gate, he saw Wei Jianming shouting “Ghost!” in terror at the empty air before abandoning Wei Ruyan and running away. He then saw Wei Ruyan faint from fright.

Shen Shilang knew it must have been Su Jinshi’s doing.

Did she… go to take revenge for him? Was it because she had heard that his injuries were caused by them so she went to stand up for him?

A faint, unconscious smile appeared on Shen Shilang’s lips.

Since the fall of the Shen family, he hadn’t experienced the feeling of being valued, of having someone stand up for him.

General Wei was a good man, upright and just. But precisely because of this, Shen Shilang couldn’t trouble him. So even when General Wei wasn’t at the mansion, even when he was bullied and looked down upon by servants, he never said a word.

In everyone’s eyes, he was just a poor relative seeking refuge with the Wei family. In fact, that wasn’t far from the truth. Without General Wei’s protection, he wouldn’t have survived to this day.

When Su Jinshi returned her attention to Shen Shilang, she caught sight of the faint smile on his lips, so subtle it was barely noticeable without careful observation.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of that slight curve of his lips. She unconsciously reached out and gently touched the corner of his lips.

Feeling the light touch on his lips, Shen Shilang’s face trembled slightly, and he suddenly turned away.

As he turned, Su Jinshi saw that his ears were so red they could have illuminated the night.

[System: Shen Shilang’s Favorability +1]

Su Jinshi: “…”

What’s going on? A touch on the lips increased his favorability? Does Shen Shilang like this?

Su Jinshi followed Shen Shilang back to his room.

Having just recovered from a fever, Shen Shilang was still weak and lacking in energy, so he went to lie down on the bed.

Su Jinshi gently touched the corner of Shen Shilang’s lips again.

Shen Shilang froze for a moment, then hurriedly pulled the blanket to cover his mouth, accidentally exposing his bright red ears.

“Y… you shouldn’t touch me anymore…” Shen Shilang dodged left and right, finally hiding his entire body under the blanket.

Su Jinshi waited for a while but didn’t see any system prompt for increased favorability. “Maybe it wasn’t because of touching his lips?” Su Jinshi was puzzled, but fearing Shen Shilang might feel uncomfortable under the blanket for too long, she stopped poking.

After a while, Shen Shilang slowly and cautiously peeked out from under the blanket.

Seeing his face flushed from being under the covers, Su Jinshi felt too embarrassed to poke him again and let him rest properly.