“No wonder your parents don't want you to go on blind dates; they’re afraid you'll come here instead,” Zhang Yan said while eating.
Liu Xian sighed and said, "If... Feng Qishi were at my house, he wouldn't have died, right?" As he spoke, he began to cry.
This time, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but shed tears.
Fan Yan didn't want Liu Xian and the others to see him crying, so he said, "Alright, let bygones be bygones. Eat, eat." As he spoke, he put a piece of cabbage into Liu Xian's bowl.
Mu Anxiao wiped away her tears with a tissue and, picking up her chopsticks, skillfully placed a piece of swished meat into her own bowl.
Fan Yan looked at the meat slice that landed in Mu Anxiao's bowl in surprise and said, "That's mine."
"You're still swishing it," Mu Anxiao said without looking up.
"Alright," Fan Yan pouted.
Liu Xian blew his nose in front of Fan Yan and said, "Why aren't you putting meat in my bowl?"
Fan Yan looked at Liu Xian's still-falling tears and agreed, "Okay." He then put a few pieces of raw meat into the spicy pot.
Zhang Yan looked at Liu Xian's face and asked, "Since then, have you cried in front of your dad, and he doesn't say anything to you anymore?"
"I'm all better, why would I cry? I'm a man."
"A man," Zhang Yan repeated, thinking about how Liu Xian usually cunningly ordered Fan Yan around, and smiled and nodded, "Yes, you're a man. But don't worry, I won't be like that old witch, looking for trouble for no reason."
"Do you know why she looked for trouble with me?" Liu Xian asked after taking a bite of his dish.
"Why?" Mu Anxiao asked, looking up.
Liu Xian put down his chopsticks and said with a serious expression, "Based on my years of observation, she just disliked me. Nothing else."
"Why don't you say she disliked your mischief?" Zhang Yan said.
Liu Xian shook his head, "Impossible. I was a good student back then. She just disliked me."
"Let's not talk about that for now. Did you cheat or not?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Liu Xian picked up his chopsticks. "I still remember that incident clearly. On the day of the exam, just as I was about to start the paper, the female classmate in the row in front of me, who usually disliked me, glared at me. Then I discovered a piece of paper in my pencil case. I didn't think much of it and opened it directly. Then, the teacher came, and next," he took a bite of food, "I was in trouble."
"You were framed," Zhang Yan pointed at Liu Xian and said.
Liu Xian sighed, "Framed or not, it's all in the past. It's good like this now."
"You're not angry?" Mu Anxiao asked.
Liu Xian smiled faintly, "What's there to be angry about? I don't keep in touch with them anymore. Even if we meet, we won't recognize each other. It doesn't matter. Eat." He picked up meat from the spicy pot.
Mu Anxiao smiled, "You're quite tight-lipped. You're only saying this now."
"I actually think Feng..." Liu Xian started, bit his lip, and shook his head, "Never mind, I won't say it. The more I talk, the angrier I get."
"You truly are a good person, not getting angry for yourself, but for others," Zhang Yan said.
"I'm still alive, and he's gone," Liu Xian said, lowering his head to eat.
Fan Yan looked at Liu Xian and said, "If I'm not mistaken, have you been communicating with that child every day?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xian was stunned. He looked up at Fan Yan and asked, "I didn't tell you, did I?"
"I saw it. The child in the school uniform has always been appearing, and you talk to him every day. I remember a while ago, he always looked glum, but recently, I saw him smiling," Fan Yan said. He didn't want to say it, but since the topic had come up, he couldn't help it.
"That child is very cute, only in middle school," Liu Xian said, lowering his head to continue eating meat.
Mu Anxiao looked at Liu Xian and Fan Yan, recalling the earliest encounters with them, and smiled, "Seeing your good qualities before I leave is also my pleasure." She then continued eating.
Liu Xian was taken aback. He put down his chopsticks, picked up his drink, and said, "Let's clink glasses."
"Okay," Mu Anxiao agreed and picked up her glass.
Zhang Yan and Fan Yan picked up their glasses together. After a gentle clink, Mu Anxiao said, "I wish you eternal happiness and joy."
"Thank you," the three of them said in unison.
Mu Anxiao grinned.
At the cinema, Feng Qishi asked, "Did he cheat or not?"
The follower shook his head, "No, it was a girl in front of him. I saw it."
"He was framed," Feng Qishi said.
The follower nodded.
Little Imp stared at Feng Qishi with teary eyes and said, "Liu Xian had such a past? I thought he was always happy."
"Everyone has a different past. I believe," Feng Qishi said, patting Little Imp on the shoulder, "that he has completely overcome it now."
"But you, you're dead," Little Imp said in a low voice.
"I'm not dead," Feng Qishi emphasized.
"The fact is, you're sick," the follower said.
Feng Qishi gave a bitter smile, "Even if you say I'm sick, I didn't commit suicide. Of course, I didn't reach the point of giving up my life."
"You're right about that," the follower nodded.
Feng Qishi's mind raced, and he said, "Then, in that case, Liu Xian wasn't crying because I was good, but because he had experienced something similar. He remembered the past, that's why he was sad for me."
"I think it's also because you're a good person. Anyway, don't think too much about it. The fact that he can shed tears for you proves he's kind," the follower said with a smile.
"You're right too," Feng Qishi nodded, then pointed at the movie screen, "Let's watch."
"Okay, I'll take you to another fun place later," the follower said with a smile.
Hearing "fun," Feng Qishi's scalp tightened, and he turned to look at Little Imp. Little Imp frowned deeply.
At midnight, Feng Qishi and Little Imp followed the soul children to a melancholic forest to play hide-and-seek.
Three hours later...
Little Imp held Feng Qishi's arm tightly and said, "Where do you think they are?"
Feng Qishi looked around and said, "I don't know. It's too dark here."
"It is too dark, and a little bit scary," Little Imp gripped Feng Qishi's arm tighter.
Feng Qishi frowned and said, "No, are you a male... dog? You're scared of this?"
"No, I really haven't been to a place like this. I don't go out at night. Even if I do, I stay in crowded places. This place is too terrifying, especially this gloomy wind," Little Imp shivered, "it makes me so cold."
"Why don't I feel cold?" Feng Qishi asked.
"You're a ghost, brother," Little Imp said helplessly.
"Being a ghost has this advantage. That's good," Feng Qishi said, looking up, then deliberately shouted, "Why are you here, Yincha (Underworld official)?"