Chapter 22

Ling Chen held the photo of the deceased in his arms and quickly walked back to the funeral room. The door clicked shut, and before he could relax, a semi-transparent figure passed through the door, lightly floating beside him.

“Xiao Ling, I’m so glad you arrived in time,” He Jinchao said, still shaken. “If that photo had fallen, we wouldn’t have been able to salvage the situation today.”

“You should know better,” Ling Chen carefully placed the photo on the table next to him and covered it with a white cloth.

He had just sent a few groups of guests to their families, without having had a chance to catch his breath, when he heard a commotion from the funeral hall. Normally, he wouldn’t get involved in such disturbances, but given the special circumstances, he decided to step out and take a look, which allowed him to save the situation just in time.

Ling Chen turned around, leaned against the table with his arms crossed, and looked up at He Jinchao. “Big movie star, what’s wrong with you? You’re an adult, and you can’t even handle a little ghost?”

He Jinchao noticed that every time Ling Chen wanted to scold him, he’d sarcastically call him “Big Movie Star,” turning a respectful title into something almost derogatory.

But what could he do? He Jinchao knew that he was in the wrong.

Seeing He Jinchao silent, Ling Chen was surprised. “Aren’t you going to argue back?”

“There’s nothing to argue,” He Jinchao said. “It was my mistake. I was fighting with that little girl over the photo, and I didn’t expect the camera to suddenly focus on us. So I…”

Ling Chen understood. “You stopped because you were afraid it would be too obvious?”

“Not really,” He Jinchao admitted. “It was just a professional habit; I wanted to show the best side of my face for the camera.”

Ling Chen was speechless. He really felt like shoving He Jinchao into the cremation furnace.

Now that they had secured the photo, the funeral hall had quieted down for the time being. He Jinchao floated out to observe and saw the production crew and Zheng Linlin arranging the flowers and ornaments that had been “blown over by the wind.”

The show seemed to have resumed normal recording, though the atmosphere was very tense. Some people were quietly discussing the “strange wind” that had blown through earlier, but the director quickly silenced them.

He Jinchao returned to report to Ling Chen. “The show is continuing, Zheng Linlin looks a bit pale but is still trying her best to perform in front of the camera.”

“What about the little ghost?” Ling Chen asked.

“She disappeared again.” He Jinchao raised an eyebrow. “She must have exhausted a lot of energy from our fight earlier, probably hiding away to cry.”

He said it lightly, but Ling Chen still sensed something was off.

Ling Chen analyzed, “Her behavior is too odd. Zheng Linlin values this job so much, yet the little ghost deliberately sabotaged it. It’s contradictory.”

“Indeed,” He Jinchao agreed. “Although she’s young, she doesn’t seem unintelligent. You can’t just explain her behavior as childish.”

The body farewell ceremony would be held tomorrow morning, and tonight Ling Chen would work overtime to do makeup for Mr. Guan’s daughter. The little ghost wouldn’t let it go so easily and might cause trouble again tonight.

Both Ling Chen and He Jinchao had a strong feeling—if she acted again, it would definitely be more than just a little prank.

“I’ll stay with you tonight,” He Jinchao said. Ling Chen instinctively wanted to refuse, but the man interrupted him. “Don’t refuse yet. I know you don’t want anyone to see the deceased while you’re doing the makeup. I’ll turn my back and not look, but I can’t leave you here alone.”

Ling Chen clicked his tongue. “Do you really think I’m a child and need you to keep me company?”

“But you are a child,” He Jinchao said.

Ling Chen: “?”

He Jinchao asked, “How many years older am I than you?”

Ling Chen, still confused, answered, “Five years.”

He Jinchao said, “When I shot my first film at fifteen, you were in the fourth grade. If you’re not a child, then who is?”

Ling Chen was both amused and exasperated. “Big brother, what kind of logic is that? According to your reasoning, even if I live to ninety-five, you’ll still see me as a child?”

“That’s not the case,” He Jinchao replied. “By the time you turn ninety-five, I’ll have been reincarnated seventy times. We’ll be strangers by then.”

Ling Chen: “…”

He fell silent for a few seconds, as if about to say something, but quickly bit his lip.

Seeing Ling Chen holding back, He Jinchao broke the silence. “Why are you quiet? Is the topic too heavy for you?” He smiled lightly. “In eighty days, I’ll be leaving. Didn’t we already know this?”

Their meeting felt like they had opened a calendar together, but it was a calendar with all the dates in reverse. With each passing day, they tore off a page, and when the hundredth page was torn, it would mark the time of their separation.

He Jinchao deliberately asked, “Or maybe—Xiao Ling, you’ve already started to feel reluctant?”

“…Not really.” Ling Chen finally spoke. “I’m just thinking about something.”

“What is it?”

Ling Chen: “I’m curious—how can you be so sure you’ll be reincarnated as a human in your next life?”

He Jinchao: “…”

Ling Chen: “With your annoying face, you’d be more suited to reincarnate as a parrot. You’d just look at the mirror and say, ‘Mirror, mirror, who’s the most handsome parrot in the world?’ If the mirror says any other parrot’s name, you’d get so mad you’d die. That way, seventy years would be enough for you to reincarnate seventy times.”

After hearing this, He Jinchao laughed. “Don’t worry, if I reincarnate as a parrot, the first thing I’ll do is bring a poisoned apple to find you.”

Just as the two were arguing fiercely, they heard three knocks on the door of the funeral room, breaking the “harmonious” atmosphere between them.

Ling Chen raised his voice, “Who is it?”

Unexpectedly, a woman’s voice came from outside. “Xiao Ling, it’s me, Zheng Linlin.”

Ling Chen and He Jinchao exchanged a glance, both sensing caution in each other’s eyes.

He Jinchao nodded at Ling Chen. “It’s fine, I’m here.”

Ling Chen wiped his sweaty palms on his uniform before opening the funeral room door.

To maintain the deceased’s state, the room had a 24-hour air conditioning system that kept the temperature extremely low. Ling Chen had already gotten used to this temperature, but clearly, Zheng Linlin hadn’t prepared herself for it. As soon as the door opened, the biting cold air surged out, and Zheng Linlin instinctively shivered, hugging her arms. “Ah, it’s so cold in here…”

What she didn’t know was that as she spoke, He Jinchao suddenly lunged at her, his right index nail growing sharp and slender, aimed directly at her eyes—stopping just 0.1 centimeters from them.

“Oh? Even in this situation, you’re not going to protect your master, little ghost?” He Jinchao asked with interest.

There was no reply.

Zheng Linlin had no idea how close she had come to danger. She turned to Ling Chen and said earnestly, “Xiao Ling, I forgot to thank you earlier. If you hadn’t arrived in time, the show would have had a major mishap.”

Ling Chen replied indifferently, “To you, it’s a show, but for me, it’s my responsibility to send the guests off with dignity.”

Meanwhile, He Jinchao withdrew his hand, circled around Zheng Linlin, and stopped beside her, bending down slightly to look at her left pocket. “Little ghost, I know you’re hiding something in there. Let me guess what it is—protective talisman, keychain, or maybe a phone charm?”

No matter how He Jinchao tried to provoke the little ghost with words, it was as if the little ghost had disappeared, with no response whatsoever. He Jinchao tried to pull the “amulet” out of Zheng Linlin’s pocket using his own strength, but as soon as he pulled—

“Snap.” A lipstick fell out.

He pulled again—

“Snap.” A pack of tissues.

He pulled even harder—

“Snap.” A bottle of eye drops.

Zheng Linlin exclaimed, “Oh no, why is everything falling out!”

Ling Chen, who had been watching from the opposite side, blinked his eyes: “Is your pocket leaking?”

Taking advantage of the moment when Zheng Linlin bent down to pick up the items, Ling Chen silently mouthed to He Jinchao, “Are you a cat? Why do you have to paw at everything you see and knock it to the ground?”

He Jinchao looked innocent: “I clearly felt that ‘amulet’ in her pocket, but I just couldn’t get it out.”

“Then don’t take it out!” Ling Chen made a gesture across his neck, silently saying, “Behave yourself!”

Before his hand could fall, Zheng Linlin, having finished picking up her things, looked up and saw the scene.

Ling Chen: “…”

Zheng Linlin: “Uh, Ling Ge, are you dancing the Xinjiang dance?”

Ling Chen twitched his mouth: “…”

Unexpectedly, He Jinchao burst out laughing: “Pfft hahahahahaha, I never realized this little girl is so funny.”

Seeing that Ling Chen didn’t respond, Zheng Linlin awkwardly said, “Sorry, I just wanted to lighten the mood.”

Ling Chen glanced at He Jinchao, who couldn’t stop laughing, and then turned to Zheng Linlin: “Congratulations, you really did lighten it.”

Zheng Linlin: “?”

But when she looked left and right, she didn’t see Ling Chen smile.

At that moment, the crew’s logistics staff came to inform them that dinner had arrived.

Although only Zheng Linlin appeared on camera, the whole crew had nearly twenty people. To make filming easier, they didn’t go to the canteen to join the other staff, but had meals delivered by tricycle from the unit’s canteen every day.

Each meal was packed in a lunchbox, and for the twenty people, there were nineteen lunchboxes.

“Why are there only nineteen?” Ling Chen asked.

Zheng Linlin’s assistant hurriedly explained, “Ling Ge, Sister Linlin has her own dinner.”

While speaking, the assistant pulled out the last small box from the bottom of the thermal box, which contained sliced tomatoes, a quartered raw green pepper, and a bottle of strange brownish liquid in a mineral water bottle.

Then, under Ling Chen’s gaze, Zheng Linlin took a bite of the raw green pepper and drank from the bottle.

Ling Chen asked her what she was drinking.

Zheng Linlin smiled and replied, “This is a vegetable juice made from bitter melon and kale. It’s quite refreshing. Ling Ge, would you like to try some?”

Ling Chen quickly declined. He thought that Zheng Linlin and Director Song should have a lot in common. Director Song liked to use strange insects to make liquor, and Zheng Linlin could drink mixed vegetable juice without changing expression. They could probably exchange ideas on making magic potions.

Ling Chen took out his phone and typed a message for He Jinchao to see: “Everyone who belongs to the little ghost must offer tribute. She won’t be offering these things to the little ghost, right?”

He Jinchao replied seriously: “I heard that cutting off carbon can make people emotionally unstable—so suddenly going crazy and smashing a mourning hall could be understood.”

This was obviously a joke. While Ling Chen ate, he kept observing Zheng Lincin secretly, but she seemed perfectly normal, chatting easily with the people around her, and didn’t seem like the type to go down the wrong path.

Suddenly, the director and producer, Director Chen, received a call. She stood up and walked aside to answer. The faint sound of her voice could be heard saying, “Mm, okay, we’re almost ready here… Yeah, no rush, just be careful on the road.”

After hanging up, Director Chen told everyone, “I just got a call from Mrs. Guan. The funeral car has left the hospital and will take about an hour and a half to arrive.”

Hearing this, the previously cheerful atmosphere suddenly fell into silence.

Everyone understood the meaning of the words—within an hour and a half, they would meet the “main character” of this episode, the eight-year-old girl who had tragically passed away.

Looking at the lunchboxes in their hands, everyone lost their appetite, especially the staff who had children. They sighed deeply in empathy.

“Alright, alright, everyone, cheer up,” Director Chen clapped her hands to encourage everyone. “I know everyone feels down. This topic is a new challenge for our program. Mr. and Mrs. Guan trust us to let us capture their last goodbye with their beloved daughter on camera, so we must not let them down. Also, Xiao Ling,” she suddenly turned to Ling Chen, “Thank you for cooperating with us.”

Ling Chen responded with a slow “Mm” and put down his lunchbox. “It’s my job.”

Director Chen said, “Director Song said you’re experienced. Well, to be honest, at my age, I’ve attended a few funerals, but they were all for elders, or at least friends or colleagues older than me. This is the first time I’m attending a child’s funeral. Most of our colleagues are also attending for the first time. If we do anything wrong or violate any taboos, please remind us in time.”

Zheng Linlin immediately stood up, “Ling Ge, please guide us, and don’t hesitate to let me know if I need to do anything.”

Ling Chen nodded in agreement.

Taking advantage of this topic, the staff started chatting among themselves.

Someone casually asked, “The Guans only have one daughter?”

“Yeah, only child, so it’s especially heartbreaking for them.”

“They don’t look that old, do they look under forty?”

“No, they’re just overworked, so they look older. Actually, they’re only in their thirties.”

“They’re still pretty young. They could have another child.”

“Yeah, they could…”

Hearing this discussion, He Jinchao’s expression gradually turned serious: “What are they talking about? Just lost a child and they’re talking about having another one? It’s not like raising a dog, losing one and getting another? No, even with dogs, it wouldn’t be so cold-hearted!”

He thought Ling Chen would agree with his point, but to his surprise, Ling Chen shook his head and quietly told him, “You don’t understand.”

He Jinchao was surprised: “Xiao Ling, you don’t agree with them, do you? Replacing one life with another? What does the second child even mean?”

Ling Chen looked up at the man floating in mid-air. In order to not attract attention, he spoke in an extremely low voice: “I don’t agree, but humans are a very complex species. Losing a child and losing a parent are two completely different kinds of trauma.

“Losing a parent is like cutting down an old tree that has already withered. You’ve picked its fruit, you’ve seen it lush with leaves. You’ve enjoyed its shade, and even if it dies, you’ll still remember the feeling of resting under it.

“But losing a child is like digging up a tree that hasn’t even fully grown. You imagined countless times what it would be like to see birds building nests in its branches, but you’ll never see the spring when the birds arrive. The hole left by that tree will remain forever, even if it’s filled, you’ll still remember. Only by planting a new plant, watching it grow, and taking care of it, will you feel a sense of satisfaction.”

“He Jinchao, do you think they just planted a new tree? No, they planted hope for the future.”

He Jinchao was left speechless.

He wanted to say something but suddenly realized that the more he spoke in front of Ling Chen, the more he would expose his own immaturity.

This immaturity was not about age, but about experience.

Ling Chen had seen far too many tears, pain, and farewells. He always appeared calm, not out of numbness but as a sign of respect for both death and rebirth.

Seeing He Jinchao in deep thought, Ling Chen lowered his head and continued eating the boxed lunch in his hands. Unlike the other staff who ate absent-mindedly, he had long since learned how to cope with the negative emotions brought on by death.

The conversation among the staff shifted from discussing the He family to the next topic.

“To be honest, having more children is good. My wife is one of three siblings, and when my mother-in-law was hospitalized, the three of them could take turns caring for her.”

“I think it’s better to have just one. My son is in his second year of middle school. He’s trouble enough, constantly causing me headaches. If there were another one, I’d probably lose it.”

“People like me who don’t have kids are the best! I’ve got my cat, and that’s enough.”

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere began to lighten.

“Speaking of which,” Director Chen turned to Zheng Linlin, who had been silent for a while, “Linlin, how many kids does your family have? Are you an only child?”

Zheng Linlin paused for a moment, then said after a long silence, “I’m an only child, but… I should have had a younger sister.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but as soon as she said “should have,” everyone around her immediately perked up. People in the entertainment industry loved gossip, especially when it was about celebrities.

He Jinchao also instinctively raised his head—he could clearly sense that the mysterious object, which had been tucked away in Zheng Linlin’s coat pocket, began to move restlessly.

He turned to Ling Chen. “Did you see that?”

Ling Chen nodded.

He could see that Zheng Linlin’s left coat pocket was faintly emitting a glow—not a warm, bright light, but a dark, almost ink-like black glow.

None of the people present noticed anything. Zheng Linlin sat there, her fat-free vegetable meal in front of her, speaking in a tone that anyone could tell was intentionally light and carefree. “My dad was dead set on having a son, and when my mom got pregnant with the second child, he had someone check and found out it was another girl. He insisted that my mom should abort her, or he would divorce her. It seemed like only my mom and I were looking forward to my sister’s arrival.”

“…”

“During that time, the atmosphere at home was full of arguments every day. Then, one day, my mom told me that I would no longer have a dad, nor a sister.”

“…”

A male staff member subconsciously asked, “Huh? Why did he beat her and then divorce her?”

To him, it seemed that since she had been aborted, the couple could still stay together, and if they divorced, the second child could be raised alone.

As soon as he spoke, the female staff members all shot him a glare, “If you don’t understand, shut up. This isn’t the place for men to talk.”

The female staff members looked at Zheng Linlin with sympathetic eyes. Through her, they could imagine the dilemma and the difficult decision her mother had to make.

“Anyway, that’s how it was,” Zheng Linlin said with a forced smile. Her smile was stiff and deliberate, as though she believed that by telling this story out loud, as loudly as possible, it could be extracted from her soul, that her emotional wound could be filled. “I’m an only child, just my mom and I at home. By the way, my last name was changed later.”

As she spoke, her fork subconsciously poked at the raw tomato on her plate. The abundant juice from the tomato flowed over the edge of the plate and stained her fingers, looking like fresh blood at a quick glance.

Her assistant quickly handed her a napkin to wipe her fingers.

But for He Jinchao and Ling Chen, they had no time to notice the blood-red stain on her fingers—they were too focused on the fact that she had already been consumed by the black glow.