Chapter 18

Two days ago, Hu Yizhi repeatedly reminded Ling Chen and the others to stay away from Zheng Linlin and avoid any interaction. Who would have thought the world was so small, and the other party actually took the initiative to approach him.

“That’s strange,” He Jinchao muttered to himself while staring at the photo on his phone. “She only signed with the company last year, and though she’s appeared in many works, they were all small supporting roles. This program contacted me first, and after I declined, they should have gone to find an artist of a similar level. How did such a good opportunity land on Zheng Linlin? This is highly unusual.”

Ling Chen, worried about being overheard by his colleagues, quickly typed a message on his phone for He Jinchao to see: “Could it be that her agent is more powerful? I’ve heard that in the entertainment industry, if you want to get good resources, you have to rely on your agent to ‘fight’ for you.”

“That’s the second unusual thing,” He Jinchao’s finger pointed to the middle-aged man standing next to Zheng Linlin. “Do you remember this face? This is my former agent; he was also at my funeral.”

Now, even Ling Chen felt something was off—an 18th-tier artist with little status in her agency not only “inherited” He Jinchao’s resources but also his agent. If there’s no trickery involved, this would be strange!

Realizing this, Ling Chen immediately returned his phone to his female colleague and quickly stood up, bustling to pack up his work makeup kit.

“Yang Jie, Lin Jie, Yue Jie, I’m heading out,” Ling Chen said. “I have quite a few tasks today, so I’m going to the morgue.”

“Huh, you’re leaving already?” Yang Jie asked in disbelief. “There’s a TV station here today filming a program, aren’t you interested in the excitement?”

Ling Chen thought to himself, what excitement? The more he watched, the bigger the spectacle would become—he could easily end up as the center of attention.

He hurriedly grabbed his bag and left. He Jinhaco originally didn’t want to go but was forced to follow him, bound by their “connection.”

He Jinchao floated beside him, asking, “Why are you walking so fast?”

With no one around, Ling Chen didn’t mind being overheard and said, “Did you forget what Hu Yizhi said? These small stars who raise ‘ghosts’ sacrifice their futures to gain present glory. Now, suddenly two big opportunities fall into her lap. Do you believe it’s just luck, or do you think that little ghost is helping her?”

The stronger the power, the more easily it backfires. The little ghost, who appeared innocent and cute, had a surprising level of influence—it even dared to covet He Jinchao’s things.

Such a powerful ghost, if it suddenly turned on them, Ling Chen had no strength to resist.

He had only worked for three years, hadn’t earned enough, and hadn’t even received his year-end bonus, quarterly bonus, or this month’s salary. He certainly couldn’t sacrifice himself here.

Ling Chen, adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, decided to spend the next week hiding in the morgue to avoid Zheng Linlin and her ghost.

He walked toward the morgue, but after a few steps, he felt his right pinky finger tighten, and the invisible “line” started to act up again.

He looked back in surprise—He Jinchao was standing still, his arms crossed, glancing to the side, completely ignoring Ling Chen.

Ling Chen: “…He Jinchao, do you have a problem?”

Which basically meant: He Jinchao, what’s wrong with you again?

This was the second time Ling Chen felt the “line” was affecting him.

The first time, He Jinchao had left in the funeral car, and neither he nor the ghost was prepared. Ling Chen “fished” He Jinchao back. But this time, it was different—He Jin Chao stood still, deliberately opposing Ling Chen. He wouldn’t move, and no matter how hard Ling Chen tried to drag him, he couldn’t pull him away.

In that moment, Ling Chen felt like he was walking a dog… no, more like walking a cat, a very curious, bold, and mischievous cat (ProMax version).

He Jinchao then said, “Xiao Ling, I want to see Zheng Linlin.”

“…?”

“Although I only interacted with her a few times during filming, she didn’t seem like an ambitious person. I’ve met many people who are solely focused on ‘getting famous,’ and their eyes give it away. I suspect there’s some misunderstanding. Maybe that ghost wasn’t ‘invited’ by Zheng Linlin but accidentally attached itself to her. Since it’s happened, I can’t just stand by.”

“He Jinchao, I think you’re more like a cat,” Ling Chen angrily laughed. “You’re like the kind of idiot who, hearing strange noises in a horror movie, goes to investigate what’s happening. If this were a movie, you’d definitely be the first to die.”

He Jinchao actually had the nerve to joke, “It’s okay, I’ve died once already.”

“You can die a hundred times, but it won’t matter!” Ling Chen snapped firmly. He tugged hard on the “line” on his pinky, and He Jinchao, caught off guard, stumbled and flew toward him.

Ling Chen, irritated, warned, “He Jinchao, stay put, or else… or else I’ll confiscate your phone and coffee machine!”

He Jinchao, still regaining his balance: “…”

Uh, how was he supposed to tell Ling Chen that with his control over electronics, he could still use a vacuum cleaner to grind coffee beans and surf the internet?

So, Ling Chen’s “threat” didn’t really count as a threat.

But smart men know to keep quiet at the right moments, or else their destined spooky partner will definitely get even more angry.

—-

For the rest of the day, Ling Chen locked himself in the morgue, focusing on his work. He had a lot of tasks and didn’t even go to lunch. By the time he finished with his last client, he was starving.

He didn’t keep track of the TV program’s progress, and his work group was silent. However, He Jin Chao’s phone was buzzing non-stop, clearly busy with something.

He Jinchao kept updating Ling Chen: “The program started recording. The first part was Director Song representing the park. He was so nervous, he was sweating, and his wig slipped off.”

“Zheng Linlin went to the administrative office to learn about the history of the funeral center.”

“The crew just went to the farewell hall to find a family for a follow-up, but they were rejected repeatedly.”

“They went to the cremation hall. Zheng Linlin was very pleasant, and when people asked for her autograph or photos, she agreed.”

“—Pause.” Ling Chen made a stop gesture, his voice suspicious. “You didn’t hack our park’s security cameras, did you? How do you know so much about the program’s movements? Isn’t that invading their privacy?”

“Xiao Ling, so in your eyes, I’m just someone who’ll do anything to get what I want?” He Jinchao was surprised by the lack of trust. He moved his lips, wearing a bitter smile, his eyes showing unspoken heartache. “I admit, I’m curious, but I would never do something so despicable.”

For a brief moment, Ling Chen almost softened, nearly blurting out “I don’t distrust you,” but just before he could speak, he pinched himself hard to stop falling into He Jin Chao’s emotional trap.

Ling Chen kicked He Jinchao’s leg, pretending to be firm: “Stop acting, tell me the truth.”

He Jinchao, realizing he couldn’t deceive him, sulkily returned to his original appearance and listlessly said, “The reason I’m so well-informed is that I joined your unit’s ‘Shangfen’ group.”

Ling Chen thought he had misheard: “What group?”

“The ‘Shangfen’ group,” He Jinchao pointed to his phone, “Its full name is ‘Shangban Ru Shangfen’ group. More than half of your colleagues are in it. Any gossip gets shared there immediately.”

“…” Ling Chen, who had worked at the funeral home for three years, had no idea such a mysterious gossip group existed in their unit. He Jinchao had only been dead for a few days, and yet he had infiltrated their company!

Ling Chen picked up He Jinchao’s phone. The group was scrolling furiously, with dozens of messages appearing every minute. He even saw several familiar profile pictures from colleagues in the adjacent office.

It turned out that while they were quiet as mice in the office group, they were lively in the gossip group.

“This group isn’t usually this active,” He Jinchao told Ling Chen, “Mostly it’s about stock market updates, complaining about family matters, or occasionally someone asking for a discount on Pinduoduo. Today, the TV crew came to film, so everyone’s more active.”

Ling Chen had no idea how He Jinchao managed to sneak into the group, especially with his odd username, but no one seemed to notice anything wrong.

Fortunately, thanks to this group, Ling Chen was able to stay ahead of the program team’s movements.

According to the gossip in the group, Zheng Linlin and her crew were on their way to the makeup department for the deceased, where Director Song was going to introduce them to the makeup artists.

Ling Chen made a quick decision: “Let’s go to the cafeteria!”

He Jinchao asked, “Huh?”

After the crew headed to the makeup department, Director Song would probably notice that Ling Chen wasn’t around and might come looking for him at the body holding room. So Ling Chen decided to avoid them and head to the cafeteria early. It was still not quite dinner time, so going against the crowd would help him stay out of sight.

Hearing Ling Chen’s plan, He Jinchao couldn’t help but sigh: “Are we playing a game of ‘eagle catching chicks’? Even if you avoid them today, do you think you can hide for the next week?”

Ling Chen snorted, “Better than your plan of throwing yourself right into the trap.”

Ling Chen packed his belongings and headed toward the unit’s cafeteria.

As a city-run institution, the funeral home had great benefits: they provided free apartments, holiday bonuses, and the cafeteria offered balanced meals with a good variety of meat and vegetables.

Dinner was served at 6 p.m., and Ling Chen arrived an hour early. Since the food wasn’t ready yet, he wandered around the food stalls and ended up choosing wontons.

The wontons were made fresh, and as Ling Chen swiped his card and waited for his order, he overheard the cafeteria staff discussing the visiting TV crew.

Impatient, Ling Chen urged the cook to hurry with the wontons.

The cook leisurely unfolded the wonton wrappers while replying, “Young man, don’t be so impatient. Even if I wrap them quickly, we still need to wait for the water to boil.”

The cook’s hands were skillful, wrapping the filling in thin wonton skin, shaping them into large ingot-like pieces. Ling Chen watched the rapid movements of the cook’s fingers, and despite not understanding why, he started feeling uneasy.

Just then, He Jinchao buzzed in his ear, “Ling, I saw in the group that the program crew…”

At that moment, Ling Chen didn’t want to hear anything about the crew. He snapped at him, “Shh, meow meow meow.”

He Jinchao was baffled, “What language is that? I don’t understand.”

Ling Chen replied, “You wanted to adopt a cat, and you don’t understand this?”

As they exchanged a few words, a commotion suddenly erupted at the cafeteria entrance. Footsteps and low voices filled the air, and Ling Chen stiffened, his hair standing on end.

He didn’t dare to turn around, but the cook, excitedly peeking his head out from the window, said, “It’s really the program crew! Wow, I didn’t expect them to come to the cafeteria!”

Ling Chen turned rigidly and glanced at He Jinchao.

He Jinchao spread his hands, “I was just about to tell you. The group said—meow meow meow.”

Ling Chen wanted to flee, but before he could take a step, Director Song spotted him.

“Ah, Ling Chen!” Director Song quickly walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Good thing you let me borrow your little electric scooter this morning, or I would have almost missed it.”

Ling Chen didn’t dare to look back. “I’m glad I didn’t delay anything important.”

A series of footsteps stopped behind him, and a middle-aged woman asked, “Director Song, who is this?”

Director Song answered, “This is Ling Chen, a key staff member in our ‘Deceased Makeup Department.’ He joined us right after graduation, works hard, but he’s a bit shy and doesn’t talk much.”

As he introduced Ling Chen, Director Song placed both hands on his shoulders, forcing him to greet everyone.

At that moment, Director Song’s hands felt like mechanical claws from a claw machine, and Ling Chen was the plush toy, helplessly pulled into view in an awkward position.

Ling Chen forced a calm smile, turned, and stood up, “Hello, everyone.”

A quick glance revealed the scene: in front of him stood around ten people, half of whom wore work vests and badges, clearly staff from the program crew. The rest were actors and their managers.

Zheng Linlin stood in front of the camera, wearing a simple white shirt and black skirt, poised and elegant. The only unusual thing was the semi-transparent little girl sitting on her shoulder. The girl had swapped her cherry dress for pumpkin overalls, with pitch-black eyes and no sclera, curiously glancing around.

Despite the crowd, no one seemed to notice the little girl on Zheng Linlin’s shoulder.

—They couldn’t see her.

Ling Chen had taken off his mask to eat dinner, revealing his handsome face. He had fair skin from staying indoors without sunlight, with thin lips and long, thick eyelashes. As he spoke, he deliberately avoided making eye contact with others.

Even though the people around him were used to seeing celebrities, they couldn’t help but be impressed by his appearance.

“Director Song, your young employee… is really good-looking,” said the middle-aged woman, her eyes lingering on Ling Chen’s face. “If you hadn’t said he’s your employee, I would have thought he was an artist signed to some agency.”

Ling Chen just smiled without responding.

Inwardly, he was desperately trying not to turn his head in Zheng Linlin’s direction. From the corner of his eye, he could see the little girl on her shoulder sucking her thumb and eyeing him with curiosity.

He Jinchao, standing beside him, couldn’t help but move closer to Ling Chen, trying to block the little girl’s line of sight. Although she hadn’t shown any aggression, they couldn’t let their guard down, especially with Hu Yizhi’s warning still fresh in their minds. They absolutely could not relax.

Their silent standoff went unnoticed by everyone else.

Meanwhile, Director Song continued introducing the crew: “This is Chen Lan, the producer and director of ‘Workers Who Forge Ahead’; this is the cameraman… And here, this is Zheng Linlin, an artist from xx talent agency, also a guest for this episode.”

As described in the “Grave Visit Group,” Zheng Linlin, although a star, had no airs about her. She proactively extended her hand to Ling Chen.

“Nice to meet you,” Zheng Linlin smiled warmly and kindly, “I’ll be troubling you a lot this coming week.”

Looking at her outstretched hand, He Jinchao remained on guard, lowering his voice to warn Ling Chen: “Be careful.”

But with so many leaders around, Ling Chen couldn’t refuse in a rude manner. He hurriedly reached out his hand, briefly shaking the girl’s hand.

Although they had seen each other just a few days ago, neither of them acknowledged it, pretending it was their first meeting.

They thought they had managed to pass this off, but before Ling Chen could retract his hand, a childish voice suddenly interrupted.

“Uncle Ling, you’re so strange,” the little girl shook the small braids on her head, her round and short little hand reaching straight toward Ling Chen. Her face was full of innocence and curiosity. “You’ve always been able to see me, so why are you pretending not to? Don’t you want to play with me?”

“…”

“Uncle He, so you’re dead too,” the little girl turned to He Jinchao. Her long lashes fluttered, and her dark pupils fixed intently on him, but her voice was sweet, carrying an extreme contrast to her words. “Since you’re dead, can you be my dad?”

“…”