Chapter 14: Are You Pregnant?

Xing Han finished the last bite of his meat, picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, and looked at the person across from him. He was immediately shocked by the frighteningly pale face of the other person. Frowning with concern, he asked, “Ling Yiran, are you feeling unwell?”

“My stomach hurts. I need to go to the bathroom. Wait for me here,” Ling Yiran couldn’t hold it any longer and quickly stood up. As he passed by Xing Han, there was a sudden “puff puff puff” sound, and he let out several loud farts.

“…” Xing Han didn’t have time to hold his breath and caught a whiff of the air. Surprisingly, it didn’t stink at all. Instead, it smelled like a delicious steak, just like when the waitress first brought the steak into the private room, filling the entire room with its aroma. The room even felt cooler than before.

Ling Yiran, too embarrassed to care, quickly opened the door and left. He rushed to a stall in the public restroom and vomited violently. The stuff he threw up was incredibly foul-smelling, almost knocking out the other guests in the restroom.

After vomiting, he sat weakly on the toilet. “Damn.”

It turns out that swallowing food from the human world is such a painful experience for a ghost. He vowed never to eat randomly again.

“Our first soul-collecting task today is in this restroom. There’s still half an hour before the soul-collecting time. Let’s wander around and see if we can bring back some goods to sell.”

Hearing a familiar voice, Ling Yiran immediately sat up straight and concealed all his ghostly aura. The person speaking sounded like Liu Mengqi, a first-class ghost officer.

This guy never liked him and Shi Yi because they only took a little over a hundred years to pass the exam and become second-class ghost officers. If they passed the next exam, they would be promoted to first-class, while Liu Mengqi took over five hundred years to reach first-class. That’s why he was jealous of them and always mocked them whenever they met. If he saw Ling Yiran in such a sorry state or with Xing Han, he would definitely ridicule him and spread the news in the underworld, or even sabotage him.

Ling Yiran hesitated about whether to escape through the ground, but Xing Han was still in the private room. It wouldn’t be right to just leave him behind.

He patted his pocket, but his phone wasn’t there.

Ling Yiran remembered that he had taken out his phone and put it on the table while eating.

Frustrated, he rubbed his face. Was he supposed to stay in the restroom for half an hour before going out?

Even if he planned to do that, Xing Han wouldn’t wait. He might rush into the restroom in ten minutes to find him or call an ambulance.

He thought about sneaking to the first floor and finding a place to call Xing Han, asking him to come down.

Uh, that’s not good either.

That would make Xing Han think he was avoiding paying the bill by going downstairs first. Plus, Liu Mengqi might be wandering around on the first floor, and he could run into him.

Ling Yiran suddenly remembered the mask and glasses he brought. His eyes lit up. As long as he wore them, Liu Mengqi wouldn’t recognize him.

He quickly took out the glasses and mask from his pocket and put them on, making sure Liu Mengqi wouldn’t recognize him before opening the door.

Just then, someone wearing the same clothes as him walked into the restroom.

The two glanced at each other’s outfits and silently looked away.

Ling Yiran left the restroom.

Suddenly, a group of people rushed out from the corner and pinned Ling Yiran down. “Don’t move, we’re the police.”

Ling Yiran: “…”

Why were the police arresting him?

One of the officers said, “Let’s not alert too many people. We’ll take the stairs down.”

The other officers nodded. “Okay.”

Ling Yiran was about to speak up and say they had the wrong person when he saw Liu Mengqi flying toward them. He had no choice but to stop struggling and obediently leave with the police.

In the private room, Xing Han waited for fifteen minutes but Ling Yiran still hadn’t returned. Worried, he went to the restroom to look for him.

But after calling out a few times and getting no response, he had to knock on each stall door to inquire, still hearing nothing from Ling Yiran.

Xing Han thought, could he have left?

But Ling Yiran’s phone was still in the private room. He couldn’t have just left like that. Could something have happened?

He quickly called the restaurant manager to check the surveillance footage.

As the security was reviewing the footage, Xing Han’s phone rang.

He answered and heard the other person ask, “Is this Mr. Xing Han?”

Xing Han replied, “Yes, it is.”

“Your partner is at the police station. Could you please come over?”

Xing Han was taken aback. “My partner? Ling Yiran?”

“Yes, we brought him to the police station.”

Xing Han: “…”

How did having a meal lead to being taken by the police?

He asked, “What did he do?”

“I’m just the messenger, not sure about the details. You should come over. He’s at the main station now.”

“Alright, I’ll head over now.” Xing Han told the manager to stop checking the surveillance, then paid the bill and drove to the police headquarters.

Upon arriving at the headquarters, he called Luo Yangyue. “Yangyue, I’m at your police station entrance. Could you help me with something?”

Luo Yangyue, hearing his friend was there, immediately came down to find him. “Yo, what brings our Major Xing to the headquarters?”

Xing Han’s eyes showed helplessness. “Let’s get serious. I have a friend who got arrested, and I want you to help me see what’s going on.”

Luo Yangyue asked, “Which friend of yours? Do I know them? What did they do?”

“His name is Ling Yiran. He was with me having lunch when he got taken.”

“So it’s him…”

Xing Han raised an eyebrow. “You know him?”

Luo Yangyue had a deep impression of Ling Yiran. “It was my people who brought him in.”

“What happened?”

“The story starts with the death at Jun Gui Bar last night. Upon investigation, the deceased had intricate connections with a major drug lord I’ve been investigating. So we looked into who killed the deceased and found someone who was with the deceased last night to be very suspicious. We sent people to follow him, and when he entered the restroom at the hotel where you were eating, he came out wearing sunglasses and a mask. My people, fearing he might escape, pinned him down and brought him back to the station. Who knew they caught Ling Yiran instead? But we suspect he might be colluding with the person we’re after to help them escape.”

Xing Han frowned. “Ling Yiran shouldn’t be in cahoots with them. I invited him to the hotel for lunch, and he went to the restroom because of a stomachache. He looked genuinely unwell, not like he was faking it.”

“But Ling Yiran was also at Jun Gui Bar last night, dancing on stage. You should have seen him.”

Xing Han nodded. “Let’s go in and see what’s going on.”

At this moment, the interrogating officer was still questioning Ling Yiran. “Why were you at the hotel?”

This was the fifth time the officer asked, and Ling Yiran, exhausted, replied, “To eat.”

“Then why were you in the restroom?”

“To poop.”

The officer, dissatisfied with his simple answers, angrily said, “Can you answer my questions properly?”

Ling Yiran, exasperated, said, “How am I not answering properly? Who goes to the restroom not to poop, pee, or wash their hands? Or do you think people go there to eat poop and drink pee? Oh, there’s also the possibility of having sex in there.”

He had once seen people having sex in a restroom while on a soul-collecting mission, and it was two men.

The officer glared at him and changed the topic. “Earlier, when asked for your ID number, why did you say you didn’t remember? Your ID represents your identity. How could you not remember your own ID number? Do you think we can’t find out who you are if you don’t tell us?”

Ling Yiran rolled his eyes. As a ghost officer, he didn’t have an ID number. “I really don’t remember.”

“Then why did you wear a mask and sunglasses in the restroom?”

“That was because…” Ling Yiran paused when he saw Xing Han walk in. Excitedly, he stood up. “Xing Han, you’re here.”

The officer shouted, “Who allowed you to stand up? Sit down!”

Xing Han asked Luo Yangyue, “Can I personally ask him what’s going on?”

Luo Yangyue agreed. “Go ahead.”

Xing Han approached Ling Yiran and reassured him, “Don’t worry. As long as you haven’t done anything wrong, they’ll let you go.”

Ling Yiran nodded. “I know.”

Xing Han asked, “Do you know why the police brought you to the station?”

Ling Yiran, looking miserable, said, “I know. It’s because I’m unlucky. I wore the same clothes as the person they’re after, and I was wearing a mask and sunglasses, so they mistook me for a murderer. I’m really innocent.”

Xing Han felt speechless again. “Why did you wear a mask and sunglasses to the restroom?”

“I ran into someone I knew and didn’t want them to see me, so I put them on.” Ling Yiran now really wanted to punch Liu Mengqi. If it weren’t for him, he wouldn’t have been caught and brought to the station, and now he couldn’t even explain himself.

Seeing no sign of deceit in Ling Yiran’s eyes, Xing Han knew he wasn’t lying.

Ling Yiran said, “Xing Han, can you use my phone to call Ling Zhen and tell him about my situation? He’ll bring my ID to help resolve this.”

Although he was a ghost officer from the underworld, he knew that fortune-tellers and feng shui masters had many unknown connections and would have a way to help him out.

Xing Han trusted him and called Ling Zhen.

After Xing Han hung up, Luo Yangyue asked, “Ah Han, I know most of your friends. When did you meet Ling Yiran?”

Xing Han didn’t hide it. “My grandma introduced him as my partner.”

“So you just met?”

“Yes.”

“And you trust him not to be involved with that person?”

Xing Han said, “My intuition tells me he’s not.”

“Hope your intuition is right.”

Although they were some distance from Ling Yiran, he still heard their conversation. Xing Han’s trust in him caused a subtle change in his heart.

Over an hour later, Ling Zhen rushed to the headquarters. “Little Ancestor, are you okay?”

Ling Yiran asked, “I’m fine. Did you bring my ID?”

“I did.” Ling Zhen handed an ID to the officer. He had hurriedly made it through connections. “Little Ancestor, don’t worry. They’ll let you out soon.”

“Mm.” If Ling Yiran could reveal his identity as a ghost officer, he wouldn’t have obediently sat in the police station for questioning.

The interrogating officer sneered. “If he hasn’t done anything wrong, we’ll let him go.”

Luo Yangyue looked at Ling Yiran’s face, then at Ling Zhen’s, and turned to Xing Han. “Are they twins?”

Xing Han wasn’t sure. “I think so.”

Luo Yangyue whispered, “Having twins as partners isn’t great. What if you mix them up? Especially in bed.”

“…” Xing Han glared at him with a warning look.

“Haha.”

Just then, the director called Luo Yangyue.

After a few “uh-huhs,” Luo Yangyue hung up and whispered to Xing Han, “Your grandma’s introduced partner isn’t simple. Not only did it alert the director, but even the people above him.”

Xing Han: “…”

Luo Yangyue told the interrogating officer, “Ling Yiran isn’t in cahoots with that person. Let him go.”

“Yes.” The officer unlocked Ling Yiran’s handcuffs.

Ling Yiran quickly rushed to the restroom and vomited again. By the time he came out, he was almost out of strength.

Ling Zhen asked with concern, “Little Ancestor, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just ate too much.”

Ling Zhen knew ghosts couldn’t eat food from the human world, so he kept quiet and didn’t ask more in front of others.

Luo Yangyue escorted them out, joking, “Mr. Ling, next time don’t dress like a thief. Otherwise, we might mistake you for an accomplice again.”

Ling Yiran gave him a strange look.

Luo Yangyue asked, “What? Did I say something wrong?”

Ling Yiran said, “The person last night wasn’t murdered. They were cursed to death.”

He had personally collected the soul and saw the scene clearly. The curse was wrapped around the deceased until they died, then it was lifted.

Ling Zhen: “…”

Luo Yangyue: “…”

Though he didn’t believe Ling Yiran, his confident tone made it seem like he was at the scene.

Xing Han glanced at Ling Yiran. “Do you want Yangyue to take you back to the station? If not, stop talking nonsense.”

Ling Yiran chuckled awkwardly.

After getting in the car, Ling Zhen whispered to Ling Yiran, “Little Ancestor, aren’t you afraid of being punished for revealing heavenly secrets?”

Ling Yiran raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t reveal who cast the curse, so it’s not revealing heavenly secrets. Besides, I said it was a curse, but Yangyue has to believe it for it to count.”

Ling Zhen smiled. “True.”

Xing Han drove them back to the top of Immortal Guest Mountain.

“Xing Han, let’s keep in touch.” As soon as Ling Yiran got out of the car, he hurriedly covered his mouth and rushed into the mansion.

Xing Han asked Ling Zhen, “Do you need to buy medicine for him?”

“No need. We have medicine at home. Major Xing, thank you for bringing us back. By the way, our Little Ancestor will be staying here for a while. You’re welcome to visit him anytime.” Ling Zhen felt like Xing Han’s eyes were like a lie detector, seeing through whether he was telling the truth or not. Not daring to say more, he quickly got out of the car and went home to check on Ling Yiran.

Ling Yiran, having eaten too much, kept vomiting non-stop. By the time it was evening, he hadn’t improved. He vomited every half hour. Fortunately, he had a partner; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to complete tonight’s task.

Shi Yi, seeing him vomit so badly, patted his shoulder and asked with concern, “Bro, are you pregnant?”

“Get lost.” Ling Yiran swatted his hand away in annoyance.

“But why are you vomiting so much?”

“It’s because I ate food from the human world. It’s fine, I’ll be okay after a day’s rest.” Ling Yiran planned to return to the dormitory to rest after completing the task. But thinking about the room his biological father prepared for him, which was more conducive to his recovery, he immediately headed back to the human world.